Leaving the cabin by the lake, Lyra and Co. returned to their path into Ravens Country's Shadowmere. However, before that, Lyra and Cassandra had a few things to say regarding Aurora and Tierney’s “project.”

“What were you thinking, Aurora?” Lyra exclaimed. “Messing with something like that when trying to understand your own powers was selfish and irresponsible.” She had been passing back and forth in the cabin's living quarters while Aurora and Tierney sat on wooden chairs, their heads bowed and their hands pressed together nervously.

“You could have been seriously injured.”

“Or worse,” Cassandra added. She stood off to the side, arms crossed, and glaring at the two girls. “You know, especially Tierney.”

She flinched at Cassandra’s curt tone and mumbled, “Sorry.”

Aurora's distraught expression looked to the deflated Tierney. If she had never goaded her, none of this would have happened.

“Please don't yell at Tierney. I pushed her to do this.”

Lyra shook her head. “That is not the point, Aurora. You both have your own mind and can say ‘no’ anytime. You both are at fault; is this how I should trust you?”

It was Aurora’s turn to flinch, knowing that this was the last thing she wanted to do and mess with the trust they had just established.

Malakyh, who had been off and leaning against the wall, casually walked over to the group, hoping to deflate the conversation and keep them moving.

“I don't mean to butt in and undermine your teaching, but I think the girls understand they screwed up. You should have seen how Aurora looked when Tierney passed out; she already thought she could have killed her. Not to mention, had I not given them an idea or told you what they were up to, none of this wouldn't have happened.”

Lyra's brows twitched. She didn't thoroughly look at Malakyh but glared at him from the corner of her eye. “Yeah, I'll deal with you later.”

She sighed. “You both did something wrong and dangerous. It could have sent you to see Lumos real quick. Why did you do that anyway?”

Tierney and Aurora looked at each other. Aurora turned to Lyra and said, “We wanted to help find Eamon so we can find him and better stop the Altars.”

Now, it was Lyra and Cassandra looking at each other. Even Malakyh seemed surprised by their response.

“I think,” Cassandra said. “We've berated them enough. I hope you girls know how dangerous your actions could have put more than your lives at stake. The Children of Deimos are already looking for us, and if they find out how strong either of you are, that will be one more thing to worry about.”

Lyra nodded. “Cassandra is right. Don't ever try to handle things like this alone again. We are going to find Eamon and demolish the Altars no matter what. You can bet Lumos on that.”

Having been lectured enough, they left the cabin to find Sly sitting on the railing of the stairs.

“Sly!” Lyra called out in surprise. “There you are. When you weren't in your room, we thought you might have left already.”

She smirked. “And let you kids have all the fun with these Altars? I'll tag along with you all if you don't mind.”

“Of course!” Lyra excitedly said.

“I have no issues with it.” Cassandra shrugged. “The more the merrier.”

“Agreed.” Malakyh voiced last.

They set off on their destination through Raven Country's rural regions.

The open plains field spread for miles, with tall wheat grasses growing. Several forests and two-story vernacular homes stood in the far distance.

There was something pleasant about the natural air of the countryside, which seemed peaceful. There weren't even any Fiends in the area, nor Veilspawn.

It wasn't until the next few hours that they found themselves upon a split road, a sign in between. To the left was Shadowmere, and to the right was Eden Highland and an Eden Military base.

“Military base?” Lyra questioned. “I didn't think there would be any military if no guilds were around.”

“On the contrary, actually,” Sly pointed out matter of fact. “There is a Locksmith guild in the Highlands. This EMB must be pretty new.”

Lyra pursed her lips. She wanted to see what the military did for herself, but they couldn't diverge their plans further than they had.

A hand rested on her shoulder. Cassandra’s face was forlorn, as if she understood Lyra's turmoil. They would come back eventually when they had the time. For now, if the people of Shadowmere didn't have a problem with them, they would put their minds at ease.

They headed to their destination on the left, and the moment they entered the gates of Shadowmere’s farm town, it was riddled with the military like many other places they had been to.

“It's like they're roaches or something.” Lyra squinted her face at the armed and uniformed soldiers.

“I'm going to take a guess here and say that activity is never like this,” Malakyh noted.

“You would be right,” Sly said. “Come on, let's ask someone what's going on.”

The first person they encountered was a military personnel in a purple uniform and cap who was looking at some documents in his hand.

“Excuse me?” Sly called out to the gentleman. He looked their way and raised a brow, seeing a variety of diverse individuals in one group. “I'm hoping that you will be able to help us.”

“That depends on what business you may have. Any Locksmith appointed duties will need to be held at the guild in the Highlands.”

Lyra pursed her lips, already annoyed. “We weren't exactly intending on doing any quest runs or anything… Sir.”

“Oh?” He seemed intrigued by that reply, but the papers were no longer his interest. “Hmm, actually, you look… kind of familiar?”

Crap. He might recognize me from that Troér announcement I made a month ago.

Sly, however, anticipated this and intervened before the soldier could piece together the truth.

“What we do is take notes from the military to see how it's done, you know? With the Chancellor’s speech in full effect, unity is rising as we speak.”

With Lyra forgotten, he turned to Sly with an entirely different expression.

“I'm glad you think so. General Morgan wouldn't mind accommodating you by answering some questions.”

“Great. Where can we find him?”

“Eh, unfortunately, he's been tied up in meetings all day at the Highlands. I'm not sure when he'll get back.”

“Oh, how unfortunate. Well, no matter– I appreciate giving us your time,” Sly said with a slight bow to the soldier. “But before we leave, have you noticed anything strange happening with any of the Fiends?”

“Strange?” The soldier repeated. Be squared his eyebrows and looked up, thinking. “Maybe… they've been a lot more aggressive of late…”

He stopped mid-sentence as if realizing what he was about to say was classified and not to be repeated.

“But don't worry, everything is safe. You can count on the military.” With a fist to his chest, then a bow. “Now, if you will excuse me.” he walked off to do something else.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

They waited until he was out of earshot to speak.

“Well,” Cassandra said. “That wasn't suspicious at all.”

“Indeed,” Sly agreed. “It would seem like they're hiding something.”

“We already know that the military and Chancellor Radovinov are hiding what they truly know,” Lyra said, her arms crossed and eyes closed. “Hmm… We need to visit the Highlands and speak with General Morgan.”

“Oh?” Sly said with a raised brow. “And what are you thinking?”

“That there's more that they're letting on.”

A blaring alarm sounded through the air, and the military began to panic. They shouted to each other to get into formation.

“It's some kind of emergency,” Malakyh said. He took notice of a young blonde-haired soldier running past him. “What's happening?

“I-It’s unreal… something out of a horror– the tower just showed up, and the Veilspawn have breached the base.”

Everyone looked at each other, thinking the same thing: “Altar.”

“Time for us to visit the Highlands,” Lyra said, leading them back to the road.

•†•

The widespread fields stretched out for miles through sprawling and endless land that covered a large portion. Different kinds of Fiends roam the area as they mind to themselves.

“Let's get a move on,” Sly said. “We won't have all day to travel through here. Onward to the base.” The others followed after her.

The walk toward the base took several hours, and they eventually found themselves in a settlement of cedar-wood log houses.

Someone came out of the log house wearing a tunic and leather skin shoes with the familiar emblem of the Locksmith.

The person with tawny brown skin and long black hair noticed them first. His eyes are a dark hazel. “Oh! I never would have expected to meet Locksmiths from the suburban area. What brings you folks here?”

“It's good to meet you. We were hoping that you could help us out,” Lyra started. You see, some strange and scary tower-like structures are coming up from the ground. We wanted to know if you saw anything like that around here.”

“Not to mention, we heard an alarm go off in Shadowmere. Is the Eden military base in trouble?”

“Ah, you caught me about to head out and check it out. As for your question, a tall structure appeared in Eden’s Highland not far from here; it fomented much of the Highland's eastern area, but when we sent out a group of us to check it out, the military barred us from investigating the matter. Not sure if you'll get an answer, but perhaps you can weed something out of General Morgan– do you all ride?”

He gestured to beautiful stallions that were behind a fence.

“First time for everything, I guess,” Lyra said, though some of her seemed intimidated by the giant beast.

“Great! My name is Gideon, by the way. Now, if you follow me….”

The horses galloped across the vast fields, their hooves hitting against the dirt floor. The scenery of rolling cliffs and mountains zoomed past them.

“Hm? Open your eyes, Lyra.” Aurora sat in the front on the horse while Lyra sat behind her, with her eyes closed.

She opened one eye and looked down at the chestnut horses' hooves kicking up dirt, and immediately, a tension headache filtered through her head.

“I think I'm going to be sick.”

“Really? You can fight Fiends and Veilspawn, sailing through the air to Fight Magycte Beasts and riding a horse. Is that your worry?” Cassandra chimed in. Tierney was sitting in front of her.

“Hey, I got on it, didn't I?” Her eyes were closed as she said, and her arms squeezed tightly around Aurora’s waist.

Malakyh chuckled. “It's not that bad when you get used to it.”

“Tch, easy for you to say! You fight spirits for a living.”

The horse passed over a bump, causing Lyra to yell as she was tossed in the air before landing back in the saddle.

“You have quite an energetic bunch,” Gideon said. Sly, the closest to him, nodded.

“Agreed. We've also traveled quite a bit together, so there's chemistry there.”

“Hey, what's that?” Tierney called out, pointing to a statue in the mountains. “Is that some kind of Fiend?”

“It has wings, too!” Aurora exclaimed.

“Oh, that? Those used to be ancient dragons of the pre-Primal Chaos era.”

“Hmm, I read about the pre-era,” Cassandra said. “There were supposed Titans a world before Lumos, the Wellspring, and the first human civilization.”

Gideon nodded. “You would be correct. They were even the first guilds and eventually the first Locksmiths without the capabilities of harnessing Essentia from Wellspring like you do now.”

“I think I remember that history during mass,” Lyra said, shutting her eyes from the jump every so often. “That was in 2000, of the Continental Calendar, right? Five hundred years after the Titan Wars.”

“You'd be correct.” Gideon nodded at her correct answer. “The world once belonged to Titans until their eventual downfall.

“And it wasn't until 600CC that dragons returned and the first settling humans bonded with them,” Sly said. “At least what I remember from my teachings in mass when I was younger.

“You folks certainly know your stuff. These statues were made in their honors for their aid and assistance to man. But they've only been revered as legends nowadays and less of notable history.”

Lyra snorted. Fear of the galloping horse for a moment. “Yeah, we all thought that way about the Altars and Magycte Beast. Now look.”

Gideon furrowed his brow with a tilt of his head. “Altars and Magycte Beast, you say? Is that what's causing all of this?”

“Uh…”

On the one hand, the more people who knew, the better to keep the public safe, but on the other hand, the more people knew, the more panicked they would be, and negativity would fester. It was already an issue with the Altars, and now the Harmony Tax is raising taxes, recessions, and a worldwide draft with the military raising propaganda.

They couldn't risk the Astral Contract coming into play even faster than it was already.

“I think I see the base now!” Sly exclaimed, interrupting them from having to reply to Gideon.

Everyone turned their attention to a large military base made of gray steel with black-tinted windows. A fence surrounded the front of the building, and rocky mountains surrounded the back.

Military trucks and Soldiers stood out in front as they readied their officers for what was to come.

The group saddled up to the gated fence and slowed their horses when an older, beefy man with mousy, laid-back hair and a straight muscle seemed to stomp over to them.

“What's with the caravan here?” the man yelled. His voice seemed to carry over several miles, and there was a slight echo in the cavern their base was sandwiched in between. “I didn't call for Locksmiths to come here. What's the meaning of this, Lafayette?” he looked at Gideon with pierced gray eyes, his bushy brows knitted together.

He was dressed similarly to Nikolai but in a different-colored uniform: dark and lighter green. He had several stars above his breast pocket and stitched black lettering that read General Usef Morgan.

“Forgive the intrusion, General, but these Locksmiths only wanted your time for a moment.” Gideon rushed to say.

“Then we'll be out of your hair,” Sly added.

It didn't take long for the General to say past his lips, “No.” before turning his back on them and heading back to where he had been.

Everyone seemed flabbergasted by what he had said. Looking at one another with bewildered looks.

Gideon frowned deeply. “I was sure that he would least hear you out. I didn't think he'd turn you away so fast.”

Lyra shook her head. “Well, he's going to listen to us whether he likes it or not.”

“Lyra…” Sly gave her a warning look. She watched her, unsuccessfully, stumble off of the horse. “I hope you know what you're doing.”

She smiled. “Don’t worry. I've got this.”

General Morgan spoke to several troops who stood at attention, waiting for orders. It wasn't until the general caught sight of Lyra from the corner of his eye, his eyes angrily pinched together and fire burning, that some of the other soldiers in the vicinity shuddered and hesitated.

Lyra ignored it—to the soldiers' awe and surprise—and trudged toward their General with vigor in her step.

Even the General was both annoyed and surprised by her straightforwardness.

“I thought I told you folks to turn around. This is insubordination, and I can have you arrested, Locksmith or not; this whole area is my jurisdiction, and whatever I say goes.”

“That all may be well and true, General, but the incident that the Locksmiths saw was also on their territory. We all know rules state that interference in a Locksmith's duty to protect the public from threats is also against the law.”

The area of surrounding soldiers stared at others– too scared to whisper– but the wide eyes on their faces showed how much they were shocked by how she spoke to the General and how right she was.

The general pursed his lips. Annoyed, he crossed his arms over his chest but allowed the young girl to speak.

Lyra mentally sighed. She managed to bypass the first step, but now she only had so much time and evidence to allow the General to listen to her and allow them to assist.

“I appreciate you taking the time to listen to me.” taking a page out of Sly’s book. The simple line still gave the other person false power, as if they had control the entire time.

Unfortunately, it didn't work too well with General Morgan, but the curt man still allowed her to proceed.

A boon is a boon, now how am I going to convince the General….

General Morgan…” Lyra started to say. She thought of the words carefully that would hopefully change the general's mind. “...let us join you, help you, in taking down this threat, and if I'm wrong… no more Locksmiths will interfere in this district, again.”

There was silence as Lyra’s request to forfeit the rights of all Locksmiths sunk into the heads of soldiers and the General himself.

His glare hardened as he stared for several minutes. “Very well. It's A deal.”