It took only a few days for the Archduke and generals to give out assignments for each geokey. While the Archduke himself had offered the High Mage to stay in the capital, he insisted that he should go as well. While he would never admit it, he doubted that the military would be willing to give him the details of what they would find. Details that lead to war with the Brighthawks.

On the day of his departure, Giris was sent off with Clovus and the eyesore squadron. To his surprise the group of men that had escorted him on his chase for the Dukeslayer were only part of a whole. They were members of the Shipjacker Platoon, marines who would be hunting down pirates near the border if it were not for recent events. Now they traveled alongside Giris towards the lakeside city of Old Blue in the Prosperian Republic. The republic sat comfortably between the edges of Honea and the Tavaranean empire. While they were welcoming to other nations the commanding officer of the Shipjackers still saw it as necessary to keep their colors hidden. The geokey was supposedly inside of a large church in the city, a church founded under the Brighthawk religion of Heightism. If the Brighthawks were to arrive first, they would have a great advantage. As his ship sped through the rest of Honea, Giris could only hope that they would make it in time.

Old Blue had not just received its name through laziness. Stretching into the horizon was a great lake that reflected the same dark blue hue from the sky above. For its age, the city was quite small and was packed along the coastline. Scattered in an organized manner were many brick buildings that were painted in many different colors. They were of similar style and highlighted the towers that sprang above them. Giris looked over the edge of the ship to find the church, it was easy to see its bell tower and the garden that created a large green patch that was easily spotted from above. It was built of stone and most likely from an age long past.

"You see it?" Sergeant Clovus asked as he came up beside Giris with the rest of Eyesore Squadron. Giris was getting used to calling the men by rank. He had grown a greater respect for the soldiers over the past few weeks. Because their lives were on the line he saw it fit to at least be in good favor with his protectors.

Giris was given authority on par with the Lieutenant Commanding Officer meaning he could give out orders, but only if the Lieutenant was not near him. This of course made the Lieutenant just as vocal as Captain Sudai, arguing to the Arch Duke about how unfit the mage was to give orders when officers were already onboard. The Arch Duke was insistent and informed him that the High Mage had already proven his worth during his previous assignment. Giris made sure to run into the Lieutenant as few times as possible. He had learned that frequent complainers ruined his mood even more than being away from his quarters.

Giris pointed out the church to Clovus and the others. "It's definitely a Heightist church. Considering how large it is, there may even be a back entrance.”

"Good to know we won't need to find it. That lighthouse nearby will give Garidge a good vantage point."

Giris looked at the stone lighthouse that stood along the coast. The lack of any seafaring ships likely meant that the thing was never used. A great place for someone to remain hidden. He nodded his head, Garidge was the man who agreed to be a sharpshooter. He was the one who would be using a large crossbow to ensure that no one got in their way. When Giris looked back at Walfus the man had an eye stuck to his spyglass. He was looking towards the ports with a weary expression on his face. "That's not good." He said plainly.

"What's not good?" The fact that it came from Clovus’ mouth made Giris more worried than usual.

"Single warship is at the dock, men on board wearing white tabards. Don’t need any other clues to know who they are." He lowered the spyglass. "The Lieutenant needs to hear about this." He quickly strided towards the quarterdeck without another word.

A chill went down Giris’ spine. He looked over the ship towards the city dock. It was hard to not notice it. On the water was a large military ship that easily outranked their own. It was a cruiser, a ship that could easily take the entire city if it wanted to. A ship that they were about to land right next to.

It did not take long for things to get worse. "Starboard, Prosperian colors!" Yelled a crewman to the Lieutenant. Giris looked both ways until he saw the warship flying beside them in the distance. The Lieutenant watched it with his spyglass before putting it away with a sigh. "Pay it no heed, it will fear the Brighthawk ship far too much to care for us."

"Things are going to get crowded down there sir." Wulfus said as he took to relaxing against the railing. "Best we don't cause a scene."

"I'll try to be optimistic about it Sergeant." Responded Giris sounding not too optimistic.

"Probably the only thing we can do for now." Walfus looked down his spyglass. "Knights. Probably as bad of news as bringing a whole army here."

"They still have those?"

"Not really, more of a title. They're the Sky Knights you can recognize by their banner, the Winged Lance. Not the people that you ever want to see. They're marines like us but they’re very good at magic.”

“A ship full of magiwarriors?” Giris said nervously. “They say that even a lone magiwarrior is dangerous.”

“Like I said, not the people you want to see.”

Giris started to nervously scratch his arm. To think that a lack of opposition during days past had almost made him feel lucky. Now he was going to have to go down there, where two armies would be breathing down his back.

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A group of five guards approached while they landed, The port was crawling with them. It would be foolish to do anything out of line. "Identify yourselves." Ordered a guard with a blue tabard and plume.

The Lieutenant looked over the side of the ship to speak to him. "We are mercenaries of the Shipjacker company."

"And what is your company's business in this quiet town?"

"Our men are tired and our ship needs work. This was the closest place on the map so this is where we landed. Is that sufficient enough for you?"

"Yes, but I'd not like to see anything mercenarylike out of you! My men will be watching your ship very intently. Carry on."

The guards left the ramp and surrounded the outside. The Honeans were encircled but they didn't mind as long as it wasn't by their competition.

Giris and the eyesore squadron quickly exited the ship as soon as the guards had cleared. The Brighthawks were likely already on their way there and the Sky Knights had begun to march out of their ship in an orderly fashion. Their plate armor clinked and twinkled as row upon row of soldiers went down the ramp. "Seems like things will get ugly soon." Wulfus told them. "Remember to stay out of their way." Even though they carried weapons with them, the guards stayed out of their way, believing they would not make a move near such a display of force. This did not stop Garidge from covering his crossbow in a blanket though.

Giris took a whiff of the soft ocean air, the day was too wonderful for violence. He believed that even nature could tell though, as a burst of wind forewarned of the dark storm that began to cross over the lake.

The edge of the city was full of people going about their day in a relaxed manner. As the group walked through the colorful streets they became the center of attention. The people began to realize something unordinary was going to happen. They quickened their pace, avoided their eyes, and locked their doors. There had already been one army marching through the streets, the chance of another was so unthinkable that there was only one answer to what would happen next. Giris did not see this as a bad thing, empty streets meant less people in his way and the less of a chance he had of injuring civilians the more comfortable he felt. While he did volunteer to go, he felt that as a scholar he had a much greater respect for his fellow man.

Since the church was on the other side of the city, Eyesore squadron had much walking to do. They took each step cautiously, their heads moved in every direction and turned to the quietest of sounds. The sight of the Brighthawk ship ingrained into their mind the amount of strength that they were opposing. There was no way that they could hide that many men within the city.

Soon the tip of the church came into view at the misfortune of them all. "Garidge, get to that light tower. I give you the signal, you fire." The man nodded and quickly ran out of sight to Clovus’ orders. The tower was at least a hundred meters away from them. Giris did not expect the man to hit a shot from that far, but if Walfus ordered it then it held merit. At Least he thought so, or the amount of experience the man had amounted to nothing.

Wulfus made sure that the path they took would lead them around the church. They had found a place where they could watch from afar, behind a line of bushes at a storefront. Directly outside the church was a large park made of both green and stone. This is where the Brighthawks were. There seemed to be almost a hundred of them, in the tower and inside of the church. They had made the place into a fortress. At the center of the park was the church's pastor wearing the white and gold robes of his position. He was speaking to a mage in white but they were too quiet to be of any use. "We take a breather for now." Wulfus told them. "No way we'll ever get there with so many of them around."

"Then what happens next sir?" Asked one of the soldiers behind him as he sat himself cross-legged on the ground.

"We wait for them to fight."

"Who, the Prosperian's?" Giris asked with intrigue. "You really expect them to do that? It'll be a bloodbath!"

"Whether it is or isn't it will at least cause enough of a scene that we’ll have a good distraction to sneak inside. You saw how many came out of their ship, they'll challenge the Brighthawks as soon as they come face to face." He hid his head behind the bush and drank from his flask. "Anyways, don't let them see you. Not even the Prosperians, or we’ll get mistaken as Brighthawks.”

The stomping of metal feet against stone caused the Eyesore Squadron to hug their weapons more tightly. "Make a wall! They’ll have to get through us if they want to get our knights from the back!" Yelled one of the men who were causing the ruckus. Wulfus looked over the bush and tilted his head to show as little of himself as possible. He went down as slowly as he rose. "Prosperian militia, lots of them." He whispered. "I don't have a clue why they have so many but they might be just a good enough distraction.” The sound of soldiers marching and organizing resounded around the perimeter of the church. They were going to trap the Brighthawks in.

"How are we supposed to get in now?" Giris asked.

Wulfus looked over the bush once more before standing up. "We go now." He said. The squadron stood up in unison although Giris’ nerves made him the last in line. They made their way around the buildings that surrounded the church. The civilians had cleared out of the streets and in their place were soldiers who were too focused on the church to notice them. This did not bode well with Giris as they too were about to be closed in.

Wulfus signalled the soldiers to halt as they came directly behind the church. He looked around the corner for a split second. "Looks like they went to check on something, we're in the clear for now. But we have to be fast."

As they were about to advance, a sudden change in wind speed gave them a very great surprise. Before they could turn their heads, their bodies were all thrown up into the air. Giris collided into the stone wall of a nearby building. He held his head, his vision was blurring and the only sound he could hear was a loud thumping in his ears. He felt no fear, but his heart began to beat quickly and a chill went down his spine. The soldiers lying beside him groaned in pain as they tried to compose themselves.

The feeling of someone grabbing his shoulder made Giris jump back into consciousness. His eyes immediately focused on the event transpiring ahead of him. Lying on the ground was a mage in white robes. He was surrounded by soldiers of the order who had leapt for him in a futile attempt to help. They were all looking around for something. It took Giris a few slow seconds to piece it all together. In the back of the mage's head was a crossbow bolt that had gone all the way through. As Giris was pulled off the ground another bolt came, it was as if it appeared out of nowhere. One second it did not exist and the next it collided into the face of one of the soldiers, killing them instantly.