“A hundred crown bounty, huh?” Lura said. She elbowed Tanzik in the side. “Impressive. Beats my record.”

“That’s… a lot more than I expected,” Tanzik said as he pulled his hood over his head.

“Treason and murder?” Allena asked. The worry crept into her voice despite her best efforts.

“I promise, I never killed anyone. The man who captured me said the same thing—three dead soldiers in Bandhi’s Watch. But it didn’t make sense. Something’s wrong.”

“What happened in Orbrozan?”

“I hated how the Empire treated the people there. Was given an order I couldn’t comply with, so I walked away.”

“You never said what order.”

“No, I didn’t. But since you’ve all been so open about your past, I should be too. The Empress always made a big deal about how we’d respect the native traditions, but that’s not what happened. I and a few other soldiers were sent to stop one of their festivals in Bandhi’s Watch. Part of the celebration involved a show of weapons. I can’t say I understood what it meant, but it was peaceful.”

“Bet the general didn’t care,” Lura said.

“He did not. He just heard chanting and saw spears waving and told us to stop them. I could tell it was going to get bloody, so I refused. From what my captor said, the natives didn’t hurt anyone, but three soldiers were killed. Apparently this was blamed on me since I left. But I didn’t kill anyone. I left in the middle of the night, quietly. Crossed the river over to Perandor then made my way to Serevar and settled in Violet Shoals.”

“Someone in the Empire must really hate you.”

“This changes things. I didn’t realize it was this bad.”

Lura scoffed. “Tanzik, they sent a bounty hunter halfway across the continent for you, I think it’s safe to say it’s pretty bad.”

“But a hundred crowns?”

“Well… yeah, I mean that’s a lot. Not ideal, really. We could always go around.”

“Gods above,” he said. He put his hands on his hips and walked away from the signboard shaking his head. “No, we can’t go around, it’ll take too long. Everyone in the city must know my face.”

“Then let’s change it,” Allena said. “Shave the beard, cut and color your hair… we can pass you off as someone else.”

“My face still looks like me,” he protested. “Unless there’s magic that can change it, but I don’t think I’d want that.”

“I have heard of magic that can alter appearances and weave illusions, but it’s far beyond my ken. We can make you look different enough that people might not notice, though.”

“So we’re giving Tanzik a makeover?” Lura asked with a groan. “Not where I saw this adventure headed.”

“I’ll do what I can with it, then,” he said.

“You’ll do nothing of the sort,” Allena said with a frown. “I’ve seen men cut their own hair before, we want you to look presentable.”

“Don’t speak for me,” Lura said, “I’m staying out of this.”

“Just don’t make me regret this,” Tanzik said.

Allena smiled. “I won’t! I promise. I’ll go buy the supplies. You and Lura can search the woods nearby. I think I saw some walnut trees, gather enough to fill this bag.” She handed them a small satchel. “Some spring water too, if you can.”

“You’ve done this before.”

“Once or twice. In my travels I’ve learned some basic herbalism. It’ll look fine, don’t worry about it.”

“I wasn’t before…”

She waved back at them as she jogged toward the homestead. Lura looked up to Tanzik, biting her lip to hide a mischievous grin.

“Hm,” she said.

“Hm?” He asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

“Nothing. Just trying to picture you with brown hair.”

Tanzik sighed. “Let’s just get those walnuts.”

***

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

After they gathered a satchel full of walnuts, they made their way toward a spring at the head of a stream. Tanzik knelt down to fill a bottle.

“So do you have any other relatives around here?” Lura asked.

“Not that I know of. If so, they clearly didn’t make an effort to find me. I had an older sister, but she left home when I was little.”

“Sorry to hear that. I don’t think I’ve got anyone either.”

“Guess we all have a lot in common.” He stood back up and stopped the bottle, then hooked it to his belt. “I know we’ve all had our differences, but I’m glad we’re working together.”

“That’s your doing. You kept us together when we were falling apart. I’m not really a group person.”

“I think you are a little more than you give yourself credit for.”

“How’s that?”

“Just noticed you and Allena getting along a little better. You two have done most of the work with our more recent plans.”

“Well, yeah. No offense, Tanzik, but subtlety’s not really your strong suit.”

He smiled. “None taken, you’re right. I’m a fighter, it’s about all I’ve ever known. I didn’t even think of a peaceful solution when we ran down the couriers.”

“And thieving and skulduggery are about all I’ve ever known. And besides, I don’t think the traitor queen would’ve sent anyone other than a true believer. You wouldn’t have talked them into anything.”

“You’re more than that, though. We’re all good at different things. We make a great team together. I meant what I said back in Stormhall, we couldn’t do any of this without you.”

“All right, let’s not get all sentimental,” she said. She looked away and started walking back toward the homestead.

“Why not?”

“Because I might start believing you.”

***

Allena met them toward the edge of the woods smiling as she carried a bundle of supplies. “You get everything?” Tanzik held up the water and walnuts. “Perfect. Figured we should do it out here away from prying eyes.”

“Good idea,” Tanzik said. He was glad to see Allena looking happy for something. She had been sullen and withdrawn since they saw the Phoenix and it was good to see her smile again.

They moved further into the woods and found a clearing where and they sat down together. Lura went off a few feet and laid down against a tree trunk. Allena took out some scissors and cut Tanzik’s ponytail off and trimmed his head short. Then she trimmed his beard to a manageable length for her to use a straight razor with some lather to remove the rest.

Then she crushed the walnuts in a mortal and pestle and mixed with some other herbs she had purchased. She added the spring water and mixed until it made a thick paste that she applied to his hair. She massaged it in until his hair turned from blonde to a dark brown. She rinsed it with the rest of the spring water and held up a small mirror for him to look at.

“What do you think?”

Tanzik looked in surprise and how different he was. He still looked very similar to the picture, but there was enough of a difference that the resemblance could be easily explainable.

“Finally,” Lura said as she got up and stretched. “Now we just need to give you a fake name. “Allena and I will change too, on the off chance word got out that we’re traveling together. I usually go by Hab when I’m hiding my name.”

“I’ll go by Adhma,” Allena said.

“Never heard that one before.”

“Someone from home,” she said quietly.

“I’ll go by Forn,” Tanzik said.

“That’s what Serevar used to be called,” Allena said.

“So bad name?”

“Not for a horse,” Lura said. “Isn’t that what Väskr named the horse you used?”

Tanzik frowned. “I’ll pick a different name.”

“No, it’s fine!” Lura said with a grin. “Forn, Adhma, and Hab, just three travelers passing through Makan.”

Tanzik put his hood up. “Let’s just make this quick. No stopping.”

They headed down the road that led to Makan. The city was sprawling, unlike the tightly packed stone buildings of Stormhall. The buildings were mostly wood, favoring light colors accented by bright blues and reds. Buildings had an abundance of windows and the larger buildings had wide, tapered domes adorning the top.

As they made their way to the other side of the city, Tanzik stopped at a large stone monument of a family holding their hands to their hearts looking skyward. On the plinth that supported it was a plaque that read “In loving memory of those who died in the Sacking of Makan. Generously donated by Alqan Khayin.”

His fists clenched. He felt a hand on his arm and looked over to see Allena looking at him sadly. Her eyes held a deep understanding. He sighed and walked away.

“Was he one of the people who started the conflict?” She asked.

“Alqan? Yeah. He’s the patriarch of the Khayin family. Outspoken imperialist. I was too young to pay attention to politics when I lived here so I don’t know more than that.”

“So you don’t think the gesture was genuine?”

“No. Maybe. I don’t know.” He sighed. “It just feels wrong. Him and his family were responsible for all these deaths. He can assuage his guilty conscience, but he can’t make it right. As far as I’m concerned, he killed my parents. You don’t get to put up a statue and dust off your hands like that fixes anything.”

“No, I suppose not. Neither time not distance can heal a wound like that. I’m sorry.”

He nodded, and drew his cloak around himself tighter, keeping his head down. As they traveled, they noticed that the streets were empty. Toward the center of the city, they saw the reason why. In front of a tall, imposing building, they saw a gallows had been set up in the wide open space. There was a woman bound and gagged standing on a stool with a rope around her neck. Her eyes were defiant and showed no fear of her impending death.

Tanzik moved in closer to see what was going on. Something about her looked vaguely familiar, and he wanted to see if he knew her. “Hey,” Lura said. “What happened to no stopping?”

“It’ll just be a minute. Besides, it’s on the way out of the city.”

“Tanzik, there’s a lot of people here, and getting lost in a crowd is a skill you haven’t learned.”

“They’re looking at the gallows. I just want a closer look.”

As they approached, a man stepped up on the gallows and began to read an execution writ. They couldn’t hear him from where they were, but his voice became clearer as they got closer.

“…and now, for the aforementioned crimes, the worst of all being slanderous sedition, by order of Lord Khayim of the illustrious city of Makan, we hereby sentence the accused to death by hanging. Due to the nature of your crimes, your right to last words has been revoked.”

If she was afraid, she didn’t show it. She stood tall and unwavering as the man walked toward the lever and took hold of it.

“And now we commission your soul to the Void. Rest in peace, Tihara Albard.”

Tanzik’s jaw dropped. “Wait,” Lura said. “That’s your name. Do you know her?”

Tears formed in his eyes and he began to shake. His fists clenched. “That’s my sister.”