When Gee and Nathan returned to his room, Brady had finished washing the cadet's clothes and they were draped over chairs to dry. His cloak was too big to fully submerge into the sink, but he was trying his hardest to clean it when the boys pushed open the door.

Gee took one look around the room and his face split in a frown. Brady wasn't quite sure how he could figure that Gee was more masculine today than yesterday, but he felt sure of himself as Gee came up beside him and took the cloak from his hands.

"You should sit down, let me finish this."

"Why?" But as Brady stepped back, he felt his weight buckle his right knee, and he barely caught himself in the chair hung with Matt's pants. Gee smiled at him and raised his brows as if he was a mother chastising her child — See? I'm always right. Brady ignored his look. He started recounting the story for Gee as he worked at scrubbing, trying his best to whisper and resting his sore leg. Nathan slipped around silently, wringing the clothes out the tiny window Brady owned until sometime tonight. Even though he moved like an agile cat, Brady saw the bags under his eyes that told a bigger story.

"You look like shit," he said, instead of giving up his chair, and Nathan sneered at him.

"Thanks. You look just as good."

"Boys," Gee snapped, but he glanced at them uneasily. "Maybe there's room next to Matthew."

"There's barely room in there for himself," Nathan corrected, but he sat down against the wall and closed his eyes. "I've never seen magic like that before." Brady turned to watch the thief, but his eyes stayed closed as he rested.

"I guess devil princes get spooky healing magic, too."

"What was it like?" Gee asked.

"Smokey. Adam practically bathes in the stuff, apparently. How does that prophecy start, 'son born in tendrils of smoke'?"

"I wonder what it was like for his mother," Gee added absently, and Brady shut his mouth. He wasn't feeling so put off by his thoughts on the noble anymore, but the image of the green and black fog being thrust against a nearly dead cadet still haunted his mind. It had been too close to the image of a zombie being risen, and Brady shuddered. He caught Nathan peeking at him.

Ten minutes later, there was a hesitant knock at the door and Brady rose to find it was their healer. George had his familiar bag over his shoulder, but he'd traded his faded yellows and blues for something a little sturdier: a leather tunic. His scuffed town shoes were replaced with boots. He looked more like the boys littered around the room than a noble, built for wear and tear instead of pleasant nights in a library. Brady thought it was hilarious.

He didn't get a chance to poke fun at him before George was pushing past him, coming to Matt's side with a look Brady recognized from his days in the tiny hospital in his hometown: a healer on a mission. Matt stirred quickly under his fingers, his eyes batting open as the cadet came to consciousness, and then groaned loudly as he tried to sit up. George pushed him back down.

"That's okay, relax. Adam said you were battered, and I have a lot of experience fixing battered boys." He smiled easily and Brady could've been jealous of the kindness George was showing him. Besides for the moment at the Honey Mead last night, Brady was pretty sure George hated him, so it was odd to see the noble acting so kind to another nobody-kid. It must be because his family owns the camp, Brady thought. Lots of practice taking care of his investments, but it's not like George stank of his family business. If anything, he worked more for Adam's.

George removed his covers and took stock of Matt's beating before fishing his pendant out from under his tunic. He pushed it to his lips and began moving a hand over Matt's shoulders. Unlike Adam's magic, which had revealed itself the instant he began casting, George's was silent and unnoticeable, except for the fact that Matt's skin began to revert to normal. Brady thought that was unfair, watching the speed at which George healed.

"You're much better than Adam," Nathan mused, and Brady noticed he was watching too.

"I've been training much more than him, so I'd hope so. He has different strengths." Brady rolled his eyes. He was fond of Adam too (he did have to remind himself he was fond of him), but George's tendency to suck up to him was laughable sometimes. He understood that nobles must have some sort of comradery, Brady knew they didn't get much support from urchins like him who didn't care for them so much, but George's support came off more as blind adulation.

He decided it was time to make fun of George a little bit, so he poked fun at his peasant cosplay. George didn't have the same kind of wealth Adam had, Brady knew that from the first moment they met in the hospital, but it was still funny to see such a prim kid in the same armor as Nathan. He compared them and George scoffed.

"I think they both look nice," Gee said, winking at the noble as attention shifted towards him. A soft blush colored his cheeks and George redoubled his focus on healing. Brady was aghast to finally see the noble flustered like he'd done to Adam the night they met. George had been a ball of disdain for him that never did more than roll his eyes at Brady's teasing, but Gee had found the right combination of flattery to undo his composure. It made him smile.

His train of thought was broken by a knock followed quickly by the other noble, returning and dressed in perfect ironed blacks and a coat, although it was unremarkable compared to some of the others Brady had seen before. He noted the white gloves over his hands as Adam wove between their bodies and placed a bag on Matt's bed, by his feet.

"I have good news and bad news," he said, digging through it and pulling out several small pouches of coins. He tossed one to Nathan and Gee, but he handed the third one to Brady carefully. He would've protested, except he appreciated the consideration.

"The world is ending?" Gee asked, peering in his bag and then whistling. "But it doesn't matter because we're rich now." Adam smiled.

"No, not exactly. Bad news first: the camp knows Matt is missing, but I didn't hear anything about an attack. Good news: we still have a few hours before they suspect George's contract is a clue and he gets locked in his room until the investigation is over. We need to buy the gear we need, heal up, and leave before then."

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"Is George's contract a clue?" Nathan asked, and suddenly all eyes locked onto Matt, one eye closed as George's hand roved over his black and blue ribs.

"It was the last thing that happened before my commander pulled me out of bed this morning. He was furious that I'd been hired. I think he was trying to keep me at camp by sparring with me–"

"By stabbing you and leaving you to bleed to death, you mean," Brady interjected hotly. Matt bit his lip.

"Yes. I don't think he'll tell the general it happened like that, but if he can spin it that I tried to break my own contract, or that I ran away before being stationed at the Nattien's manor this morning, they'll head there."

"Which is a problem because my father doesn't know anything about the contract," George admitted, and the room rung in silence.

"Shopping spree it is," Gee concluded, clapping his hands and the room began to stir. Anyone not directly involved in healing started to stand up, and George warned them to partner up. Nathan refused to let Gee go with anyone else, which left Brady and Adam together. Brady wished he could forget the gross feeling in his gut and act normal around the boy he'd kissed less than twelve hours ago, but it stuck like a bad cough refusing to move on. At least Adam was giving him the same treatment.

They split from Group Two (Brady demanded that his group was Group One) immediately, and he followed Adam's sure steps deeper into town. He knew it would be inappropriate to try to talk like normal to his noble, so he kept his mouth shut. Adam let him walk in silence until the inn was out of sight.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked finally, and Brady kicked himself for being too scared to speak first.

"No."

"Then why are you acting like I have?" Brady pulled at the noble's sleeve to get him to stop walking, and Adam turned to him like a shy kid. "I'm sorry if I'm being petty," he mumbled quickly. He kept his eyes trained on their feet.

"Please, out of the two of us, George is the petty one." Adam didn't smile at his joke. "I'm just exhausted, and I was worried for my friend."

"Did I scare you?" His small voice made Brady's heart throb, and he couldn't help but take Adam's gloved hands.

"You don't scare me. Your magic was a little scary, but I've decided you're harmless."

"We haven't even left town yet and one of us is hurt. I wouldn't call that harmless." Adam spat the last word and Brady frowned.

"That wasn't your fault."

"Wasn't it? He's only being hired because I'm trying to chase delusions."

"He's only being hired because I convinced him to come," Brady corrected. Adam finally raised his eyes to his, but Brady had lost his resolve. Something was making him sick to his gut, but he could finally understand that it wasn't from Adam's display of magic. "So," he continued, forcing the quiver out of his voice and trying to sound upbeat, "I would really like to get him a sword or something, so he can stab the guy back next time."

"Brady–"

"You said it yourself, we have to hurry. If we don't make it in time, I might be humble enough to take full responsibility, and then the real problems begin. So come on." He started dragging the noble by the hand. "There's the world to save or something."

"It's not–"

"I hope you know something about swords, because I'd just get the biggest one and tell him to deal with it." Adam grumbled in annoyance, but after a brief pause, he responded.

"I do, and 'humbly', I will be taking full responsibility when Matt swoons over his new blade." They walked hand in hand to a smithery, and neither brought up the guilt clawing at his heart for the rest of the trip.

~'~'~

When all groups reconverged, Matt was up and moving again, although George asked to sit for a while before they left. Brady and Adam returned with a long blade for the cadet, who took it with immense gratitude and spent some time judging its balance.

"How do you like it?" Brady asked eagerly, and Matt strapped it to his hip.

"It will cut things, so I like it." Brady tsked and turned to Adam, who was busy dividing rations into six parts and stuffing them into individual backpacks.

"Yeah, you can take full responsibility for that one," he huffed, and Matt looked between them in confusion as Adam laughed. He got distracted as Gee pushed him into a chair and began checking new boots against the size of his foot. Matt blinked in astonishment at being pushed around, but Gee just smiled slyly at him as he determined the size would fit him, throwing socks in his face. He had half the mind to apologize for needing so much clothing, but no one listened to him when he tried. He'd been pulled out of his bed this morning in little more than his underwear.

Nathan busied himself counting their remaining coin and inspecting the map over George's shoulder, who had "commandeered" it from his father's study. The noble's finger traced up the main road toward the capital and stopped at a town at the foot of the mountain, built off a major lake.

"If we can travel twenty miles in a day, we'll reach Lochton in three days. If we're on a treasure hunt, we need to keep our eyes and ears open for rumors, and the sun is listed first."

"If we can't figure it out, at least we'll die somewhere pretty," Nathan mused, and George almost laughed. The thief flicked the map in his hands. "I'm rubbing off on you."

"Forgive me for doing what I need to to stop the world from ending," George retorted, folding the map carefully and stuffing it in his shirt. Nathan shrugged and tossed the consolidated coins into his lap. He didn't like holding that much gold, it made him want to run down to the sewers and take a few hundred off of his debt, but that was definitely going to be the end of him. His eyes found Gee on the other side of the room. He was sewing Matt's shirt while it was still on the cadet's body, the big boy trying his best to dodge the needle as he worked, and Nathan bit his tongue to stop the confession from tumbling out of his mouth.

I'M GOING TO GET YOU KILLED!! he wanted to scream, but he held the words tight to his chest. He hadn't told Gee about the lynchings. Until a few days ago, there was no plan for him to get out of the Brotherband before he was found out as a rat, and he couldn't even imagine what Gee would do to try to protect him. Last time he'd done that, Nathan had ended up pledging himself to the Mothers.

His thoughts were interrupted by a mug of coffee bumping into his shoulder. He started and quickly took it, since it had been floating next to him with no one holding it. Brady cackled on the other side of the room, and the thief glared at him as everyone else reached for their own floating cups. He wasn't used to magic hands everywhere, but Brady seemed to love using them. Nathan tried to ignore the voice in his head that considered how much easier his job would be if he had those same powers, bitterly sipping from his cup.

"I figured we're about to be on the road, potentially for the rest of our lives, so we deserved a treat before we set out," the little sorcerer said, sitting dramatically on his slightly bloody bed and smiling gleefully.

George groaned. "I didn't consider that we wouldn't have coffee."

"That's your big deal breaker? Not sleeping in bed rolls, or freezing our asses off, or potentially being killed by devils. But coffee?" Nathan teased, and George shot him an indignant look.

"I've been dealing with devils my whole life. Coffee, on the other hand, is my only love."

"Only?" Adam asked, and he pretended to pout. George rolled his eyes and hid blushing cheeks behind his mug. "Obviously I bought coffee."

"Thank the gods."

"If we're ready, we should leave now," Matt interjected, looking like himself again in his brand-new equipment. "Who knows what the city will be like in an hour. Let's leave before they know to stop us." The room began to buzz as coffee cups were slammed back. Weapons were strapped to hips, bags slung over shoulders and adjusted on friend's backs, and shoes tightened for the long day of walking ahead of them.

They worked their way north through town until the big stone walls loomed ahead of them, pillars of safety they would leave behind in a few hours, when Erilea faded from view. Each of them breathed in the last familiar smells of the city as they passed through the bustling Northern Gate, stepping into the bright morning sun that would guide them to the end of the world.