The guard examined Camille and me from head to toe, his suspicious gaze lingering a second too long on each. “What’s the meaning of this?” he asked.

I tightened my grip on the reins as my horse shifted nervously beneath me. The beast’s discomfort mirrored my own. The horse ornaments we’d borrowed from Kent’s men were convincing enough, or so I hoped. My fingers brushed against the identification scroll tucked securely in my belt.

CAMILLE: Call him comrade. They love to use that word.

“Evening, comrade,” I said, trying to keep my tone casual. “We’re back from our scouting mission. Apologies for the delay.”

The guard’s eyes narrowed. “Scouting?” he repeated, his brow furrowing. “Since when do we do scouting?”

My pulse quickened, but I held his gaze, forcing a half-smile. “You’ve seen how strange things are getting, comrade?” I asked, gesturing vaguely toward the city. “Better to be cautious, right?”

CONNOR: Camille… What should I tell him? Give me a name.

CAMILLE: Larendo doesn’t command them directly. There are sergeants in charge of each district troop, and there’s a head of operations too, who commands joint action. You can tell him that Commander Ingo ordered it; he’s the top brass. Um… No, better not. That’s too general.

The guard tilted his head, studying me more intently. “Have I seen you before?” His tone was sharper now.

CAMILLE: Alright. Try this. Tell him you’re from the Northeastern district.

I cleared my throat, forcing my shoulders to relax as I met his gaze. “I’m from the Northeastern district.”

He frowned. “So the leaders sent you two on a scouting mission, and no one thought to inform me?”

CAMILLE: This guy’s been here for, what, half an hour? The watch has already shifted. Most likely he wouldn’t have seen you. Tell him the previous guy should’ve told him.

“They should’ve told you,” I said, feigning annoyance. “Didn’t the last watch give you the heads-up before they left?”

The guard’s jaw tightened, and for a moment, I thought he might argue. Instead, he muttered something under his breath, his teeth grinding audibly. “Alright, alright. Identification scrolls.”

I nodded, keeping my movements deliberate as I unfastened the metal vial from my belt. Inside was the parchment Kent’s men had prepared for us. I slid it out and held it toward him, unrolling it just enough for him to see the neatly forged text. Camille followed suit, her hands trembling slightly as she passed her scroll forward.

The guard barely glanced at them, the flickering lantern illuminating his furrowed brow. Could he even read?

“Hmph,” he grunted, his eyes darting between us. I stole a glance at Camille, who kept her head low, the oversized helmet obscuring much of her face.

“That helmet is quite big for you, comrade,” the guard remarked, suspicion creeping into his voice again.

Camille stiffened, her lips parting slightly as if searching for an excuse. Before she could speak, I stepped in.

“He’s new,” I said quickly, offering a lopsided smile. “Still getting used to the gear and haven’t found a helmet that fits. It’s why I brought him along—to learn the ropes.”

The guard’s eyes flicked toward me, then back to Camille. After a long pause, he shrugged. “Fine. Get inside, then. Just don’t let the captain catch you looking sloppy.”

“Understood,” I said, nodding sharply, imitating a salute by bringing my fist to my chest. “Thank you, comrade.”

The man pulled the lever attached to the door and started working the mechanism. It seemed to require quite a bit of muscle.

I looked up, hoping that the guards up on the battlements wouldn’t find us suspicious. Perhaps, just my paranoid mind at work.

CONNOR: Be ready in case things get ugly.

CAMILLE: I’ll be ready.

Iron chains and levers moved as the gate opened ever so slightly, just enough to let our two horses through. We trotted lightly, feeling relief as we left them behind.

CAMILLE: Turn left.

CONNOR: Huh?

CAMILLE: He expects you to go in that direction. Northeastern Station, you know.

CONNOR: Alright. But after we pass them. We’re attempting to go elsewhere, aren’t we?

I altered the course and reached for the grid. I couldn’t see the girls anymore through the system, but I expected to be able to contact them through the group chat.

CONNOR: LARIEL? ALYNNA?

ALYNNA: We’re on the roof. It’s west of your current location.

CONNOR: Thanks. Camille? Tell us exactly where he could be hiding?

CAMILLE: The cathedral is my first option. I think he’d want to go there because he’d be sure they would support our cause.

CONNOR: That’s kind of straight ahead, isn’t it?

CAMILLE: Exactly. And please, let us hurry up before he does something foolish.

We trotted steadily for a few blocks. There were very few lights in the city, with only the faint moonlight guiding our horses, but the street lanterns seemed to have been put off.

The city still smelled like crap.

Suddenly, my grid displayed a flickering light beneath me. Red dots pointed to a building south of us.

I braced my horse, looking back at Camille.

“Where else could he have gone?” I asked.

Camille shrugged, holding her helmet in place with one hand. “I think that’s what he’d do, you know.”

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“There must be another place.”

Camille let out a sigh. “Why?”

“Aria doesn’t want me going that way. Something’s flickering on my grid. Something must have tipped her off.”

And then, signs of that started appearing on the grid. It took a few seconds until we heard hooves and a wooden carriage making noise in the middle of the night, framed by trotting soldiers, all of them heading in the opposite direction.

CONNOR: Lariel, Alynna. Have you seen that commotion? Any idea what they’re after?

LARIEL: Affirmative.

I turned toward Camille, not minding the current status of our signals. “What’s in that direction? Anything that could be relevant to your brother.”

She took a deep breath, her eyes flickering from one side to the other.

“Lord Eschelon’s estate.”

“Who?”

“One of Malor’s best friends. He lives in a manor close to the Royal Gardens.”

Now the fact that so many city guards were going in that direction wasn’t good at all.

“Let's go!” I hissed through my teeth.

I spurred, pulling the reins of my horse and racing across the streets. The grid popped in my mind again from an aerial view, guards moving in haste.

CONNOR: Alright, Camille. Give me a landmark. What does it look like?

CAMILLE: Red roof. Large garden, a pond in the middle.

CONNOR: Got it. The girls have a chance of reaching before the guards. I’ll try to be there as well. Girls? Can you read me? You’re close. I need you to move three blocks in front of you and then west. You’ll see a large garden and a manor with a red roof.

LARIEL: Understood. We’ll be there.

The wind howled as we sped up, Camille galloping close behind me. The streets blurred past in streaks of shadow and muted torchlight. My heart thudded in time with the rhythm of the hooves.

The grid in my mind flickered with the moving form of the guards, until. I finally could see Malor’s location near the manor’s gates. It was a massive set of buildings with a red roof, framed by a large flower garden and an iron fence. I closed in through Aria’s grid.

And then, I found him.

His face was pressed against the ground, lips stained red with blood as soldiers restrained him, a knee pressed against his back. He struggled against the guard, but the man had Malor’s arm behind his back. The pain etched across his face made my stomach churn.

Malor’s screams echoed in my mind as I approached. His eyes were fixed on the gate, as if he were calling out for someone. “Ainor, it’s me! It’s really me!”

“Shut up!” the guard barked, an iron book slamming against his ribs.

CONNOR: Girls! They’ve got him. It looks like they’re gonna break him even before they put him in prison.

“Not if we get there first,” Camille hissed next to me, leaning forward in the saddle. I spurred harder; my horse responded, breaking into an even faster gallop.

As we closed the distance, I unsheathed my weapon, the cold steel a reassuring weight in my hand. Camille mirrored my movements, her blade gleaming faintly in the moonlight.

The guards hadn’t noticed us yet, too focused on corralling Malor toward the carriage. The remaining escorts stood by the vehicle, scanning the area. They weren’t expecting trouble this far into their own territory.

I directed my thoughts toward the group chat.

CONNOR: Lariel, Alynna. What’s your status?

LARIEL: In position above the manor gates. Three guards are visible. We can create a distraction if needed.

CONNOR: Alright. Camille. Where would the guards be taking him? Is there a base or provisional prison?

CAMILLE: We’ll have to see.

And the worst thing was the crowd that was forming. People coming out of their homes to stare at the commotion.

“It’s me!” Malor exclaimed, his voice rough and pained. “I’m your king. You must listen to me. Virna has taken…”

That brought him a kick to the head that made me wince. But we were finally close. I raised my hand, prompting Camille to brace herself. We could finally hear his screams without the grid.

“Let’s wait on the next street,” I said, positioning myself on the side of the road.

“But my brother…!” Camille exclaimed, deep worry in her voice.

“There’s a large crowd out there, and I don’t think it’ll help. Tell me how far the next base is. We’ll try to intercept them.”

Camille’s horse moved closer to mine. “I need to protect my brother!”

“We’ll do it. It’s my priority. But I need your help. Trust me. I’ve got a plan.”

She inched even closer to me.

“With all due respect, tactician. They’re hurting him! I can’t stand around while he’s tortured to death.”

“Trust. Me.” I said sharply.

We were still a block away from the events. I watched through the grid as the guards lifted him up and pushed him into the carriage. Just then, a young man ran across the manor gardens toward the fence. He looked about Malor’s age, his fingers clinging to the fence, blonde hair spilling over his shoulder.

“Malor. Is it really you?” he asked impatiently. “I went to your funeral procession!”

He rushed toward the gate, but a sturdy man was already standing there, catching him and pulling him back with a wrestling move.

“Father? What have you done?” the young man hissed, trying to break free.

“I’ve done what I must, child,” replied the other man.

“Father!” the young man exclaimed. “That’s my friend out there. He’s your king.”

“He’s an impostor, Ainor! Understand! This is our duty to the crown.”

The young man headbutted his father and scrambled out of his grip, toward the gate at the center of the fence, unlocking it and racing toward the carriage. Two guards stepped in, holding him by the shoulders as they locked Malor in the carriage.

And I could hear the men and women, the crowd that had gathered. I focused on their words, their hushed whispers in the night.

“Is that really the king?”

“Impossible. This must be elven sorcery.”

“It’s even worse,” exclaimed an elderly man, his skin almost hanging from his skull. “It’s a demon come out to haunt us for our sins.”

And the carriage started rolling.

CONNOR: They’re going west. How far is the base? We must act now. Do you know of a base in that direction?

Camille hesitated for a moment, her fingers tense on the halberd.

“Yes. There’s one.”

“What does it look like?”

“It… has a red banner above.”

I gritted my teeth, hoping that we’d have no problem locating it and that there wouldn’t be too many to handle.

Luckily for us, they’d left a few guards to control the crowd. And they behaved quite aggressively.

CONNOR: Lariel. We’ll follow them and intercept them. Let me check.

I scanned through the grid, speeding my vision through the road and fearing that I’d not find it, cold anger and concentration in my mind.

I dug my heels in, hooves slamming against the cobblestone, Camille following me closely.

And then I saw it through the grid.

CONNOR: Girls! Get ahead. It’s three blocks ahead of your current location and two to the left. They’ve got to cross at a corner; there’s a narrow one. If they cross before I tell you, ambush them there. I want each of you on one side. We’ll intercept them.

I turned to Camille and spoke to her through the chat.

CONNOR: Your Highness. Let’s flank them in uniform. We’ll come in pretending to be reinforcements. Be ready to defend yourself if they’re suspicious.

CAMILLE: ... Yes, tactician.

We hastened along the road, taking a shortcut and cutting in ahead of them. Once the carriage and the guards had to turn on that narrow corner of the street, we lowered our speed and rode at the flanks.

We saw them approaching us. The carriage rolled steadily, flanked by four armored guards. The rest had remained to control the crowd. They didn’t seem surprised to see two more armored guards next to them.

I looked over the grid, finding each of the girls right above us on the roofs.

CONNOR: Alright, girls. Position yourselves on each side of those buildings. I want you to take out those four riders as soon as we pass.

LARIEL: You’ve got it.

ALYNNA: Let’s do it!

We rode slower, guiding the horse to turn at a corner. I knew I could rely on the girls.

I looked up, noticing a silhouette parkouring from one roof to the other.

And then I heard a mumble behind me. One of the guards had noticed the girls.