Jarvus woke early that morning. With their new guest he had trouble focusing on his work. Because of this, he now had to work longer hours. Though once he got into his forge, a surprise greeted him.

Jarvus squinted as he was still half asleep and didn't know if what he was seeing was real. "Mr. Mayor, how have you been? Also how did you exactly get in here?"

The mayor greeted him with a smile and open arms, "Can't I just stop by every once in a while, or have you grown to dislike me that much in recent years."

The two embraced, Jarvus still confused about why he was there. Though what he did notice was the metal bracers on the mayor's hands.

Jarvus furrowed his eyebrows and sat at the table that was away from the forge equipment. He kept it around, in the rare case that a visitor showed up. Though now it was scattered with pieces of paper, scrap metal, and messed up products.

Jarvus slid it all off the table onto the ground and motioned for the mayor to sit, "Do you want anything to drink? Coffee?"

The mayor shook his head, "No, I just came to talk."

Jarvus looked again at the bracers, and took out a knife from his pocket and started to sharpen it, "Well I just came to check up on your progress with my order, and to check up on you and Alyze of course."

"The order will be done when I told you it would be done. You should know this by now."

The mayor nodded his head with a laugh, "Of course, but it is still one of my duties to do so."

Jarvus looked up at the mayor with a suspicious glance, "You mentioned checking up on me and Alyze. You haven't shown up out of the blue to do that in...well I don't even remember when the last time was."

"Don't look at me like that. I just saw Alyze in the market the other day, and remembered what you just said. That I haven't come over just to talk in so long."

Jarvus nodded with a, "hmm, I heard about that," and went back to focusing on his knife.

After a moment of silence the mayor started to strum his fingers on the table, as if to build up the courage to speak, "You know she said something really funny when I spoke to her."

"Oh, really."

Jarvus knew what was coming. In fact he knew right when he saw the mayor what he really wanted to talk about. Jarvus had expected him to come sooner. Though the fact that he had come now meant one of two things. One, that something had occurred to push him to come; something that strengthened his suspicions. The second, was less preferable. That he was using the time that he didn't come to confront Jarvus to prepare to deal with the threat.

The mayor had started to laugh, "She said that my clothes looked familiar! Can you believe it! I almost couldn't believe my ears."

Jarvus gazed up from his knife, eyeing the mayor, trying to look irritated, but debating how dangerous the mayor was to him, “Wasn’t she with you during the last war? Surely she could have seen...one of them then.”

The mayor shrugged, "That’s what I thought at first, but that wouldn't make sense would it? Why would she say something like that now? She would have had to see something like that recently," The mayor leaned in and lowered his voice, "What do you think about that?"

Jarvus coughed, "if you'll excuse me I'll be right back."

The mayor scowled and leaned back in his chair, "I'll be waiting."

Jarvus walked nonchalantly back into the house, disregarding the mayor's attitude.

The mayor looked around the forge in disgust. It looked like an unorganized mess, and with it in the state it was in he was surprised Jarvus still found business. Though he couldn't argue with Alyze that clients definitely got what they pay for.

After a moment the mayor began to grow restless, and started strumming his fingers on the table again. Just when he was about to barge in the house out of frustration the door opened.

Jarvus walked back out with a bundle in his hand. Before the mayor could recognize what it was he threw it onto the table.

The mayor jumped out of his chair letting it fall over.

Jarvus sighed, "There's no need for any of that."

What Jarvus had put on the table left the mayor speechless. It was a black cloak made out of a material that was of unknown origin, but seemed similar to silk.

The mayor's voice was unsteady, "Where...di...did you get...that...that thing Jarvus."

Jarvus raised his eyebrow, "Oh. Am I not allowed to have any souvenirs from the war."

"But...still...this thing is...why would you have something like this."

Jarvus raised his voice, "I don't want to hear that coming from you. Just look at what you're wearing."

The mayor glared at him, "You know why I wear this Jarvus."

Jarvus nodded his head, "You know I do. You know I understand better than anyone else your vendetta against them, or should I say your revenge."

"Then why..."

Jarvus slammed his hand on the table "Am I not allowed to have something like this. I have a better reason than you do for having it! She was my wife dammit!"

The mayor drooped his head. "I know. I know, but still...why haven't I heard or seen this before."

Jarvus smiled dryly, "I'm sorry that I don't want to flaunt it like you do." He made a gesture to the mayor's clothes.

"But even so, none of them have been spotted for months"

"You must be able to tell that the thing is far from new. See all the tears and mud stains. You know better than anyone that I wouldn't go through the trouble of washing the thing."

"But Alyze..."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Jarvus cut him off, "She saw it while she was reorganizing the place. I actually had forgotten about it. It has been over ten years since it happened ya know."

The pair looked at each other for a moment. Both suspicious of the other,

The mayor sighed, "I think I'll take that coffee now." He looked around the forge once more, "Not here. Anywhere but here in fact."

Jarvus smiled at that.

As he gestured the mayor into his home, all he could think about was just how relieved he was that the mayor believed him. It really was a coin flip on whether it was going to work or not. The mayor could have taken him to the dungeons right when he threw that thing on the table.

Jarvus walked to the table in the main room with two mugs in his hand, "I hope you like it black."

The mayor waved his hand, "It's fine thank you."

The two men took sips of their coffee trying to come up with something to say, but their previous conversation still weighed on their shoulders.

The mayor finally piped up, "So how has Alyze been?"

"Same as usual. Still interested in any new thing she can get her hands on. She’s still obsessed with those flowers."

The mayor smiled to himself, "I'm relieved."

"About what?"

"That she hasn't changed. I have talked to her when she's around town but she seems a little distant."

Jarvus chuckled, "Can you blame her. After you tried to 'set her on the right path.'"

The mayor shook his head, "You know it had to be done. Especially after what happened to her mother I couldn't let her go off on her own. It's better this way. Her with her flowers."

Jarvus raised an eyebrow, "Flowers can only get one so far. To truly reach your goals you need to grow wings and shed the roots that bind you to the ground."

"You know what she wanted to do. I couldn't allow it. Besides the ways she went about it..."

Jarvus raised his hand up defensively, "Don't get me wrong if she couldn't get past you as an obstacle, I guess it wasn't meant to be."

The mayor smiled wryly, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Jarvus sipped on his coffee, "Nothing." Though his eyes once again drifted to the metal bracers, "You're wearing those again. Is there something I don't know about?"

The mayor shook his head, "You can never be too careful, especially with Galaris coming around. I even doubled the guard around the city."

Jarvus choked on his drink.

"Is there something wro..."

Just then a rumble came from somewhere inside the house. It was hard to hear if you weren't looking for it, but the mayor heard it nonetheless.

The mayor pushed back his chair, "I'm sorry."

He walked quickly to the source of the noise. What looked to be the pantry. He quickly threw the door open.

"Hey, Mayor, what are you doing?"

The mayor grimaced, "Nothing. Nothing at all."

He stared into an empty room.

***

When Jarvus had initially walked back into the house and left the mayor in the forge. Panic filled his thoughts. He honestly didn't know what to do, but he had to warn the boy.

As he walked to the pantry he could only think of how thankful he was that Alyze was out on her morning walk. Having her here would make things way more difficult.

When he opened the door to the pantry he found Umbren laying on his bed exhausted. Jarvus didn't even want to think about what he had been up to the previous night. His cloak especially looked different. It was covered with mud and had more tears in it than when Jarvus had first looked at it. Really, what had the boy done the previous night?

The cloak looked worn. Before it could pass as being brand new. If Jarvus had shown it to someone they probably would have thought it was a relic…

"Hey boy!! Wake up."

Umbren's eyes bolted open, and he looked at Jarvus with fear and concern on his face.

"Quick, give me your cloak."

"Why?"

Jarvus was moving his hands widely in the air, "That doesn't matter right now. If you don't give it, our heads might end up on the chopping block."

Definitely Umbren, but Jarvus would probably get a way lighter sentence.

Umbren took off his cloak and carefully handed it to Jarvus, who was scanning the room for anything else.

"Also take those weapons and be ready to get out of here."

Jarvus didn't know how he would explain having a kukri or any of the other weapons in his possession.

"Okay, but when should I leave? It's a little risky being daylight and all. Also when should I come back."

Jarvus shook his head, "I don't know probably when I come back into the house, and for coming back, I'll make sure you know."

"But what if anyone sees me."

Jarvus was starting to panic, he had left the mayor out there by himself for long enough, "There's a bright green cloak in my room, you can't miss it. Just cover yourself up in that and find somewhere to stay."

Jarvus walked out of the room without saying anything else.

***

Umbren didn't really know what to make of the man's instructions, but he followed them anyway. He put all the weapons on his person. Jarvus had improved all of them-except the kukri-at least a little bit. As he did this he thought about whether he would get that cloak back from Jarvus. If he didn't he was definitely going to be killed by Mortis.

Umbren found the bright green cloak that Jarvus mentioned in his room. He laughed to himself when he found it. It was brighter than the cloaks used by the high ranked Black Crescent but it was still green. To Umbren's pleasant surprise the cloak was so big on him that it actually covered his whole body pretty well, and if he wanted to hide his pale face and crescent eyes he easily could.

Umbren went back and waited in the pantry for the sound of a door opening. With each passing moment he grew evermore anxious. Sudden;y he heard the door to the forge open and shut.

At this he went to climb a shelf to reach the skylight. When he was halfway up it he saw something out of the corner of his eye that caught the light.

It was in the very corner of the room, hidden away behind many barrels. If Umbren didn't catch it when he was at a high vantage point, he probably would have never noticed it before. Though what it was surprised him.

It was a talisman, silver with a small tree at the top, and as you went down massive intricate roots made up most of the talisman.

Umbren whispered to himself, "A mark of Tenebrage. What's this doing in a place like this?"

He was captivated by it. It was one of the only things he had seen since arriving in Lucel that reminded him of home..

Umbren rushed to get the talisman and scurry up the shelves of the pantry to the skylight above, making more noise then he wanted

He found it funny that he was doing it again so soon.

***

The mayor sighed as he went out the front door of Jarvus's house. Their confrontation went much differently than suspected.

"Oh! Mr. Mayor. Were you talking to my father."

The mayor looked at her. The talk with Jarvus had old memories flooding back.

"Alyze, what are you up to?"

She laughed, "I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm just getting back from a walk."

The mayor furrowed his brows, "You know exactly what I mean. You're up to one of your old juvenile stunts again."

Alyze waved her hand, "Those? I thought you knew I was passed all that. What would make me go back to doing stuff like that."

The mayor went down the steps to the house, and passed Alyze. "I never knew why you did them from the start. I even got scared at some points."

Alyze's voice adopted a coldness, "Leverage."

The mayor turned around in shock. She sounded exactly like she had years ago after what happened to her mother, "What did you just say?"

Alyze turned around with an innocent smile, "Hmm...I didn't say anything."

She started up the stairs, and just before she opened the door the mayor called out, "If you're up to something, I won't hesitate to stop you. Like all those times before."

Alyze paused at the door for a moment, and spoke dryly, "You can do whatever you want."

She closed the door leaving the mayor alone. Though by some chance of misfortune it started to rain soon after, Hard.

The mayor looked down at the droplets on his hand, "Now where did this come from all of a sudden. I should have seen a storm this strong coming from a mile away."