Karon and Trixie didn't move as they looked down at the calm sea. The body of the unnamed assailant had surfaced shortly after plunging into the water, and was now floating peacefully upon the gentle ocean waves.

However after a few minutes had passed of staring down at the corpse, the peacefulness of the sea was disturbed as several swiftly moving figures came around the bend of the great cliffs, and went straight towards the body. Great deltas trailed behind them, and several of the figures broke through the surface in leaps, sending water splashing around scales that glittered in the sunlight.

Karon blinked once, then waited until another came splashing through the surface and sailing through the air before he could confirm what he was actually seeing.

“Are those … mermaids?”

Their slender forms carved through the water effortlessly, and made it look like a thing of enjoyment, rather than effort. Their scales shone in blue, green and gold and from what Karon could see from his position far above, their upper bodies looked like hauntingly beautiful females. Hauntingly beautiful naked females.

Karon stood transfixed and watched them playfully make their way towards the floating body, wondering if they would try and save him.  But when they reached the body and started circling around it, they didn't stop to try and see if he was still alive. Instead they kept circling, until  eventually, with shrill wails they all tore into the body as one, ripping off pieces and quickly disappearing under the surface with their prize.

In less than a minute there was nothing left but a red stain on the ocean, slowly being washed away by the waves. Both Karon and Trixie hadn't moved the entire time it happened, and it took a long while before Trixie eventually opened her mouth and spoke.

“Karon … don't fall into the water.”

“No, that would be bad,” he agreed and swallowed.

“You know, I can kind of understand why the people here would be so averse to anything out of the ordinary or suspicious. I wonder how many men happily jumped into the sea when they saw a gorgeous naked woman wave them in before they figured out that it wasn't that great an idea.”

“It probably still happens from time to time. People here look pretty dumb.”

Karon backed away from the edge and Trixie did the same, both of them looking at it nervously. Wordlessly they went back on their path, trying to follow to where the crowd had taken Selena. And where it was most likely they would find the sorcerer hiding.

“So what's the plan?” Trixie asked, breaking the silence between them.

“I don't know, doing this quiet doesn't seem like an option now.”

“So we get to do it my way?” Trixie asked and her eyes lit up fiercely.

“No. Selena is still technically our employer and she said not to hurt the people here. The sorcerer is the only one those instructions wouldn't apply to, and we need him for the ritual.”

“Karon, we just killed four people,” Trixie objected.

“Yeah, but they were assholes. Assholes are always an exception.”

Trixie looked down on the steel plates they walked on with disappointment and sighed loudly. “So what should we do then?”

“I'm thinking of turning this guy's plan on himself,” Karon told her with a wolfish smile.

“I'm listening,” Trixie said and her ears twitched.

“The folk around here don't like magic, which means that whatever he has done to get the people to obey him doesn't involve a lot of honesty.”

“You want to expose him as a sorcerer,” Trixie said, and some eagerness returned to her voice.

“Yes, shouldn't be that hard really,” Karon told her confidently and looked up into the sky while putting a hand behind his neck.

“Oh? You've got something planned already?”

“We'll give him what he wants the most,” Karon explained.

“Power over all the cities?”

“No...” Karon said and turned to her with eyes shining in bright amber.

Then he explained.

                   ********************************************************

The place they had taken Selena was a grand three story building standing in a sheltered area of the cliff to protect it from the wind and violent storms. It was the grandest of the buildings around, and the least downfallen. It had served as the city's home of government for as long as anyone could remember, and it also had the only cells available for criminals and suspicious people.

It had taken Karon and Trixie a while to find it, and more than once the former had been forced to enter the mind of one of the locals to gain information. Eventually, they had learned that Selena had been put in one of the cells, where she would remain until they could be sure that she was safe from the very mysterious power of the strangers. None of the citizens had liked it, but their new leader had ordered it, and the sense Karon had gained from the minds he had entered was that the people of the city trusted him implicitly.

There were guards posted outside the building in great numbers, though none of them had the looks of a fighter. They were all simple citizens; afraid of the unknown and hardened by the world they lived in. In their hands they held large fishing hooks, small knives and poles with a curved hook on top. Things made for the gutting of fish and the labor of a harbor, not for fighting monsters or defending against magic.

As Karon and Trixie snuck by them unseen and unheard, he saw their worried eyes darting from place to place, and the slight shake of their hands. They all huddled together in groups and never once knew that their 'enemy' was passing them by so close he could have reached out and taken any one of their lives.

When the two of them quietly slipped inside through the main door, Karon and Trixie found themselves inside a grand room of steel pillars and ancient fishing nets hanging from the ceiling. One look made it clear it was more than the biggest and most convenient setting for the ones ruling the city. It was a place of memories. The presence of things ancient hung in the air, and the walls were covered with paintings of old ships and great constructs at sea, far more majestic than the broken and rusted city Karon had been faced with.  

Light shone down in light gray illumination from windows up high, and lanterns provided what other light they could from their positions at the walls. Even so, there were plenty of shadows, and Karon and Trixie moved into one of the deeper ones to the right of the door. There he let go of the cloaking as he sat hunched down, and after the worst of the pounding in his head settled he whispered thoughtfully to Trixie, “I think I'm starting to understand the people here.”

“How so?”

“This place isn't very nice. The forest might have been pretty, but the rest we've seen … they're scared.”

“So? What does that have to do with this?”

“Nothing really, I was just ... forget it.”

Confused silence was the only response he received, and from somewhere deeper inside the building the sound of footsteps echoed.

“Look, this plan will hinge on you and Selena doing your part without fault--“ Karon started to say, until Trixie interrupted him with an irritated voice. “I know the plan Karon, and I'm not gonna fail if it means putting you in that kind of danger.”

“Good, because I'm kinda against going up against this sorcerer after everything I've done today. I'm having trouble concentrating on just having this conversation, two or three more tricks and then I'm done, or I'll burn something out.”

“It's okay, I'll do my part. Besides, if things get really serious I will blow this entire city up. I'm not losing you because of a job.”

“Heh, maybe Promise will cut loose and kill everyone before you get a chance to blow anything up,” Karon said with a smile in his voice.

“Hmph. Don't try and compare that thing with me Karon, it doesn't love you like I do,” she whispered into his ear.

“It might disagree on that,” Karon muttered, mostly to himself.

“Well if Promise ever tries anything then it can look forward to me melting it.”

“Please don't try. I wouldn't like it if you two tried to kill each other,” Karon said and rubbed the spot between his eyes.

“As long as it knows you're mine,” Trixie said firmly.

“Hey there's plenty of Karon to go around,” he answered and gave her a wide smile hardly visible in the shadows.

He couldn't make out her expression in the dark, but Karon could feel the focus that her mind sharpened into; the same as that of a tiger about to pounce on its prey and tear it to pieces.

“You were saying?” she asked in an emotionless voice.

“I said you are the most beautiful creature in the universe and I love you more than anything,” Karon said quickly.

“Oh?” she asked again in the same voice.

“And nothing and no-one will ever be able to compare to you.”

“Was that it?” she asked again.

“And you're the best, and pretty and … flowers and stuff … sexy...”

The silence hung heavy in the air as Karon's voice trailed off, and even the sounds drifting in from the outside sounded fainter. Trixie said nothing, only watched Karon with an unreadable expression made even more unreadable by the deep shadows.

“I … should be going then,” he said and got up too quickly, sending his head swimming as spots danced in the corners of his vision. “Got a sorcerer to fight and everything,” he added and sneaked out of the shadow.

Trixie's voice drifted after him with an amused tone in it. “Aren't you forgetting something?”

“What?” he whispered back with a confused look on his face.

The silence stretched for a few seconds as the cogs in Karon's head spun, and Trixie waited expectantly. Then he sighed and rubbed his temples with two fingers.

“Right, saving the damsel in distress first.”

“That's right Karon, you know, the one this plan of yours will rely on quite heavily and who without is doomed to fail.” Trixie commented with a crooked smile as she came out of the shadow and walked up to him.

“I think I liked you better before you learned sarcasm,” Karon huffed and switched his grip on Promise.

“No you didn't,” Trixie told him without a hint of worry.

They continued on their way down dimly lit passages, and unlike the patchwork of steel plates that had made up the floor outside, the one they walked on now only squealed every once in a while.

Despite the amount of people that had stood guard outside, the inside of the place appeared almost deserted. Only once did they run into someone else. As they passed around one corner, they had both frozen as a young man dressed in the standard blue and white of the city did the same, and stared at them with bulging eyes. Before he could scream Promise had come around in a wide arc and smacked into the side of his head with the butt of the spear, and the helpless boy had bounced off the wall once then crumpled into a heap on the floor.

They had dragged his body and hidden it behind a stack of steel barrels before continuing forward. Karon was guided only by the most general of layout he had received from the minds he had entered. Which explained why reaching the cells took forty minutes instead of ten.

When they eventually did, it wasn't as grandiose as Karon had imagined considering the emotions that were attached to the impressions he had stolen. There was a wide set of stairs leading down into what was the bare rock of the great cliff, where there were exactly two small cells carved into the bedrock.

There were no guards posted outside, and if it was simply from overconfidence or the fact that escaping from the cells was considered impossible was hard to say. It wasn't the most precise work, and the cell doors sat a little awkwardly against the stone. One of them was empty, and in the other a familiar blue clad shape sat hunched in a corner with a blanket draped around herself.

She lifted her head up when the sound of footsteps reached her, and when she saw who it was approaching her cell she hurried forward and pressed her face to the bars. She started to speak, then stopped herself when she remembered they couldn't understand, and a look of consternation briefly flashed across her face.

Karon looked at her understandingly, then reached out with his right hand and pressed it against her forehead, gently re-establishing a connection between them.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“I'm okay, they didn't want to hurt me. They are just afraid I am being controlled by you. Please tell me you didn't hurt anybody!?”

“I didn't hurt anyone in that mob, I scared them away,” he thought to her, carefully shaping them so the white lie wouldn't be noticeable.

“Thank you,” she thought, and with it came a flood of relief and gratitude.

“You're welcome,” he thought and suppressed the twinge of guilt he felt. “Now I have a plan that might be enough to defeat this sorcerer and get your destiny back without bloodshed. I will need your help for it though.”

“Whatever you need. I'll do it,” she reassured him.

Karon nodded with a pleased smile, and spent the next few minutes carefully explaining his plans to Selena. When he was done she was looking at him uncertainly, and the thought she sent back was laced with doubt.

“Are you sure this is the best way? It seems too risky.”

“There's a lot of room for error, yeah, but this is the best I could come up with that entirely avoids bloodshed. Everything else will involve a confrontation with the people here eventually.”

The look on her face said she wasn't entirely convinced, but she didn't argue any further. Instead she took a couple of steps back from the bars and asked, “How are you going to get this door open?”

Karon smacked his lips and gestured Trixie forward with a quick bow, and she gracefully stepped towards the cell door with a pleased expression. She looked it over once, then cracked her neck and took three steps to the side and her horn started to glow. Karon quickly stepped to the side of the door as well, and motioned for Selena to keep away from it.

A blue glow spread out and enveloped it entirely, and it started to squeal as metal bent, until the entire door flew out in a shower of twisted metal and rock. Selena came out a moment later, brushing the dust of her dress and looking at Trixie with no small measure of fear apparent in her eyes.

“Ready to handle your part?” Karon sent to her.

“I … yes. I'll do my best to time it right.”

“Good. Now before we get started there's still the matter of your language.”

“Right ... I'm ready, just...”

“I'm not going to hurt you.” Karon sent to her as soothingly as he could.

They kneeled down opposite each other on the ground and closed their eyes. Karon's face remained an impassive mask of calm concentration, while Selena's face kept twitching and turning, like she was having a hard time keeping still.

Trixie stood motionless and watched the two. Her eyes were fixed on Karon, and even though she was no virtuoso with the more sensitive sides of the arts, she still had no problem sensing Karon's aura and getting a rough estimate of its state.

He had been pushing himself hard the entire day, and it was starting to become really noticeable. Lines of energy leapt across his mind like solar flares, and the will guiding all of it was slipping. It wouldn't be much longer before he lost control of something completely. For Trixie such a loss of control would have meant maybe blowing something up spontaneously; for Karon it meant sending himself or another into a waking nightmare, or burning out entire memories.

Magic is no toy, and Trixie could see Karon was nearing the end of where he could handle the power he wielded with surety. She could pump him full with energy, or they could draw from the environment. But that would be a short term solution that might make it worse. What he really needed was rest, a chance for his being to restructure and realign itself into the pattern that was Karon.

If he pushed too far, that pattern might change, and then he wouldn't be Karon anymore.

She breathed a sigh of relief when he finally opened his eyes, but her concern didn't entirely disappear when she noticed the distant look in Karon's eyes, like he wasn't even aware of where he was. She stepped forward quickly and put a hoof on his shoulder, giving him a slight shake.

He didn't react, and Selena rose with a fearful expression on her face. Trixie caught it and turned her face to the human and snarled, “What happened!?”

Selena recoiled from the furious unicorn, and she hastily said something in her own language. The fact that Trixie couldn't even understand just made her scowl deepen, and she took a step towards the human before she felt Karon's hand reach up and grasp her mane gingerly.

She stopped immediately and turned back to him, and even though his eyes were still distant and without focus, she felt his fingers wrap themselves around her mane. She took the hint and didn't move, instead waiting for any further sign from him in silence.

It took a long time, or maybe it just felt that way, before Karon's eyes came into focus and turned to meet Trixie's. She smiled when he did, and brushed her face against his lovingly before asking, “What happened?”

“Not much really. I have absorbed her language but they … think and perceive the world a lot differently. It took time for me to be able to understand the mindset behind the language is all.”

“Karon, are you sure you're up for this? Maybe I should be the one to confront the sorcerer?” Trixie asked with a worried frown.

“You don't speak their language, and it's kinda important to the plan that the one who confronts him does.”

“So we'll make a new plan, or we just start hitting him until he gives up.”

“He'll find a way to turn it against us, and Selena wanted her people undamaged.”

“I don't care about them, I care about you. If I think this is going wrong, I'm going to abandon the plan and take you away while turning everything in my way to ash.”

“You're sexy when you're murderous,” Karon replied and stroked her face.

“I'm always sexy,” she told him and placed her hooves around him in an embrace.

They held each other for a moment while a wicked smile made its way to Karon's lips. When they let go of one another he leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “Wanna go ruin a sorcerer's life?”

She matched his smile and nodded wordlessly. Karon shook his head a few times before standing up, and even then he needed to lean against Trixie for support.

“Okay, how does this sound?” he asked Selena in the newly absorbed language.

Her head twitched and she made a grimace before answering, “You speak the words horribly, but I can understand you.”

“Good,” he replied and took a few deep breaths before shifting his weight and stood without support. “Now, is there some kind of big room at the top floor?”

“Yes, the meeting hall.”

“Okay, that's where we'll find him.”

“How can you be so sure?” she asked and tilted her head.

“Because staying in any other place besides the one where you might expect to find an evil mastermind would be a strategically sound decision that doesn't cater to drama,” Karon replied with a shrug.

Selena apparently didn't know what to say to that, as she remained silent. Karon raised an eyebrow in surprise from the lack of a comment, and turned his eyes to Trixie. The unicorn looked back at him with a worried expression, but her eyes remained hard and focused.

“Well then, let's do this,” he said, and together the three of them left the empty cell behind.

                          ************************************************

The room was shaped in an almost perfect square, and lacked any and all signs of the rust that could be found in every other part of the city. Windows shaped in half circles opened up to the world outside, and allowed a generous amount of light inside. The walls, floor and ceiling was the same dull gray of metal as every other building, but there was a smattering of color added through a few old and worn rugs placed on the floor, and even a few curtains hanging around the windows.

The door leading to the room was of a more elaborate making than most of the others, and gleamed in polished splendor. Until it was loudly kicked inwards by Karon as the trickster strode inside the room with a smug expression and the runes on Promise glowing threateningly with orange light.

There was a long table placed in the center of the room with a dozen chairs around, all of it made out of the same metal as everything else. On the other side of the table stood a darkly clothed individual staring out the window with his hands placed around his back.

“I've been expecting you,” said a voice that carefully sounded out each syllable.

“Then couldn't you have prepared some kind of drink for me? Tea or something? You can't play the sinister mastermind without offering token signs of respect and hospitality,” Karon explained while leaning on the spear.

The black clothed individual turned around and threw back his hood, revealing a pale face with long dark hair and stubble. Karon got the impression that the man had tried to grow a proper beard, but failed. The man had brown eyes and his face was slightly wrinkled, though if it was from age or weariness Karon couldn't tell.

Then Karon turned his eyes downwards.

“Are you … wearing a cape?” he snorted.

“Does this amuse you?” the man asked coldly.

“No, not at all.” Karon replied and put a hand in front of his mouth as he turned his giggle into a cough.

The man frowned angrily, and the next words came out through clenched teeth. “You came here with the woman, Selena. She has brought you here to return what I took from her?”

“Yeah she's hired us to get her destiny back,” Karon confessed and held out his palms while resting Promise against his shoulder.

“You will fail,” the man growled and arched his back so he looked down on Karon by way of his nose.

“Not if I win … by failing!” Karon announced heroically and puffed up his chest until his lungs felt ready to burst.

The sorcerer lost his composure and stared at the trickster in confusion.

“What are you doing?” he asked, his voice suddenly a lot less deep and intimidating; more like the slow drawl of a country boy than a dark sorcerer.

Karon let out all the air and shrugged, “I thought we were doing a thing.”

The sorcerer's face gradually went through looks of disbelief, disappointment, anger and finally settled on a haughty look of contempt.

“I see I overestimated you. Now before I commence in destroying you, I would wish to know where your familiar is?”

“My what? Oh you mean Trix? Man, don't let her catch you calling her that. She's down in the cells freeing Selena.”

“Then I shall deal with your pet right after I'm finished with you,” the sorcerer said and reached into his black robes, from where he pulled out a sleek wand.

“Wait, you have to use tools even for combat?” Karon said in disbelief.

The sorcerer didn't reply, instead he raised his wand towards Karon and snarled, “Any last words?”

Karon didn't answer at first, instead he put a finger to his chin and tapped it a few times while his eyes roamed the room, like he was thinking about it. Unnoticed by the sorcerer, his eyes lingered a little longer at one of the chairs around the table.

“Yeah, a question: who the hell are you?”

The sorcerer looked at a loss for words, and the wand wavered slightly, before he brought it back up again and spoke in a suspicious voice, “Why do you wish to know that?”

Karon rolled his eyes at the suspicious tone, and he banged his spear once into the floor and looked to the chair again. It still looked like nothing out of the ordinary.

“Why wouldn't I? A little banter is the standard before a fight between a hero and villain; not that I'm a hero mind you. I'm here because I get paid.”

“Well you will just have to die ignorant then, because I am-”

Before the sorcerer could get any further the chair Karon had been paying special attention to was enveloped in a blue aura of energy for the briefest of moments, and moved a fraction of an inch. Karon caught it, but so did the sorcerer.

“What did you do?” he demanded, and the wand in his hand started to shine with a white light.

“Man this is going to hurt.”

“You should worry about what I'm about to do!” Karon shouted and took a running leap forward, jumping up on the table and rushing towards his opponent with Promise held out in front of him, the runes on the spear glowing.

Halfway towards the sorcerer he stepped over an invisible line, and a carefully conceived magical trap was activated. Several lines of scribbled symbols appeared around the sorcerer and glowed with charged energy. It buzzed like a thousand angry bees, and then was projected forward in a flash against Karon.

It struck him right in the chest, and the trickster was caught in a cloud of white flames hot enough to burn him to ash in seconds. It lasted for just a few heartbeats -and left a large section of the metal table glowing red- but when it was over Karon was nowhere to be seen.

The sorcerer stared at the spot wide eyed for a second, then began cackling in a high pitched voice.

“Yes! Yes! I knew it would work! Bow before me you sniveling fools, I am Nagrosh the Dark!”

His celebratory laughter was interrupted when one of the chairs around the table fell backwards, and where there had been nothing but empty air a second ago, Karon appeared and fell down on the floor. He turned around on his back and breathed heavily with crossed eyes that soon came into focus. In his right hand he held a loose grip around Promise, on which the runes were flashing sporadically, like it was running low on energy and trying to hold on.

“Just a little longer.”

“Shielding you from the trap took most of the energy I had stored master, I won't be able to hold on for more than a minute or so.”

The sorcerer stared at the still breathing trickster with an open mouth, which he slammed shut as he walked over to Karon briskly. He kept an eye on the spear as he got closer, but it was obvious Karon was in no state to wield the weapon against him.

“How did you survive the blast!?” the sorcerer demanded as he stood above the panting trickster, his wand pointed straight between his eyes.

“Hehe, if you wanna lure someone into a magical trap you should make sure they aren't sensitive to those sort of things first,” Karon wheezed out with a laugh.

The sorcerer kicked him in his side, and Karon dropped Promise to the floor as he curled into a fetal position with a groan. The wand started glowing white again, and with a wicked smile the sorcerer pulled it back like it was a hammer he was about to strike down on his opponent with.

“Any real last words?” he asked again with a smirk.

“Yeah, what are your plans?” Karon said and turned his face up towards the smug looking sorcerer.

“My plans? Why isn't it obvious? I stole the destiny of that pathetic woman Selena, and I aim to unite all the cities of this world under my rule. I mean to use them as a means to gain power and eventually turn them into an army. The people of this world are dim witted and will be easy to enslave once I have enough time to use my magic against them.”

Karon just stared at the sorcerer, and blinked.

“Wow, that was easy.”

“Now, die.”

“Trix,” Karon whispered.

And the sorcerer's hand flung down towards Karon, empty. He looked at it, confused by the lack of glowing wand. And when he looked around he saw it hovering in the air behind his head, enveloped by a blue aura.

“Finally,” Karon said with a deep sigh, and his body went limp as he finally could relax.

And as he did, the illusion of an empty doorway disappeared to reveal Trixie standing in the opening. Behind her stood Selena, and several of the local people. The latter all stared at the sorcerer in anger and shock, and he stared back at them dumbfounded.

“What? You honestly thought a punk like you could kick my ass for real?” Karon asked in a contemptuous voice and rose to his feet unsteadily.

The sorcerer turned to stare at him, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. Then abruptly he brought up his right hand and pointed it towards Karon, as it started to glow red with gathering energy.

Before anything could happen Trixie's horn glowed, and a blue cloud of energy surrounded the sorcerer, and promptly slammed him into the closest wall. Once, twice, thrice he was slammed hard enough for Karon to wince as the loud sound of flesh hitting metal echoed through the room.

When she was done, Trixie dropped the dazed sorcerer down on the floor. His eyes were glazed and there was a tiny stream of drool escaping his mouth. She stalked over to him calmly, and when she reached his limp body she glared at him with icy cold eyes and leaned down.

“'Pet?'” she asked in an all too calm voice, before striking the sorcerer hard in the crotch with a hoof.

The poor man squealed in protest before his breath came out in hacking coughs, and his eyes closed as he fell unconscious from the pain. Trixie didn't spare the man a second glance, and she hurried over to stand beside Karon with a worried look.

He turned down to her and winked, before turning his eyes back to the gathering crowd of Kashmens, as the people of the city called themselves.

“Their language isn't half bad once you get used to it.”

“Even so, I don't feel like staying here for a vacation.”

“Seconded.”

They were all babbling almost incoherently, all of it directed at Selena. The woman whom they had all at one point or another come to with a problem, and who had supported and helped them to the best of her ability. She was doing her best to calm them down and explain the situation, and eventually she succeeded enough for them to merely whisper amongst themselves while she walked over to Karon.

“They're all very upset about what they just saw, and I think it's going to take a lot of time for word to get around about what is really going on. But still, they trust you two for the moment,” she told them.

“Good,” Karon replied, “then they won't be getting in our way while we perform the ritual to get your destiny back.”

Selena's face shone with gratitude when she heard him say it, and her eyes grew misty at the prospect of finally getting back that which gave her very existence a purpose.

“When … when do you think you can do it?” she asked in a shaky voice.

Karon grimaced and looked down on Trixie, and something wordlessly passed between them that Selena couldn't interpret.

“It might … be a while. Not very long, don't fear. But I'm still a bit tired after all the energy I've had to throw around today, and we really don't want to mess this ritual up.”

Selena's face fell just a little bit, but she nodded in understanding. “How long will you need before you're ready?”

“Just a few hours of rest. Trixie will be able to watch over the sorcerer and make sure he doesn't escape while I'm out.”

Selena nodded, and turned around to face the crowd. She spoke quickly and with a confidence born out of having seen almost every citizen at their lowest at one point or another, and instructed them to take the sorcerer down to the cell that was still intact, and prepare a room for Karon.

Few of them looked happy, but they obeyed without any objections. It had become apparent that what was going on was above their heads, and so they put their trust in the one person that was familiar and safe.

Selena, Karon and Trixie followed the two men dragging the sorcerer to the cell, and watched as they locked him in. Afterward Selena led the two off-worlders to the room that had been prepared, and she left them there to go deal with the other citizens and make sure everything was under control.

As soon as the door closed behind her, Karon sagged and dropped Promise to the floor, and Trixie rushed over to give him support. She gently moved him over to the bed, made out of steel but with a mattress made out of a material that felt soft and flexible.

He groaned with pleasure when his head flopped down, and his hand sought its way to Trixie's face. She shook her head slowly, making sure that his hand still touched her cheek. “You're an idiot, you know that, right? Why do you insist on making sure every plan ends up with you either half beaten to death or on the brink of exhaustion?”

“On the brink? Girl, I passed over the brink of exhaustion hours ago,” he said groggily and smiled with his eyes half closed.

She sighed and leaned her head in to kiss him on the forehead, then she pulled her head back and took a few steps towards the door.

“You were cutting it awfully close with the sorcerer, a few seconds more and he would have turned my head into goo,” Karon said before she reached it.

She turned her head around and smiled a smile he couldn't see through his closed eyes, but he could feel the flash of amusement that went through the unicorn's aura.

“I just wanted to make sure you know just how much you need me,” she said, and left the room before he got a chance to reply.

Karon laid in silence and listened to the slight squeak the door made as it closed behind her, and took a deep breath before he snorted, “Women,” and let fatigue drag him into unconsciousness.

                           ****************************************************

When Karon awoke, more than just a few hours had passed. He rose from the bed and walked over to the window, from where he got the view of the rusted city framed in by the surrounding sea. The stars shone distantly in the sky, and while no moon graced the heavens the horizon was a shade brighter than the rest, announcing the sun's imminent return.

Karon yawned and sat down at the edge of the bed. His sleep had been filled with intense dreaming, and even though they were all starting to drift from his consciousness back into the fog of his deeper mind, they left a foreboding feeling. Some dreams are just mental junk, and some dreams are more important than that. Karon suspected that he had tapped into something of importance while his mind was drifting across the veils, he just couldn't remember the details.

The overall message had been clear though, he was on the right track. But the road ahead would not be easy.

He cracked his knuckles while he thought about what that would mean in a practical sense, and from the depths of his mind a dry, sarcastic voice surfaced.

“We should probably continue doing what we're doing, and get ready for some tough times.”

“Because so far we've just been coasting along without anything exciting happening, right?”

“Don't act like that when the universe just handed you a notice saying things would get rough. Somewhere someone will take it as an excuse to make it even worse just to prove a point.”

“Which is?”

“A little humbleness goes a long way when dealing with beings that make you look like an emancipated ant.”

“Am I still dreaming or are you actually advocating humbleness?”

“When we're dealing with greater forces that actually seems to have our best interests in mind, yeah; they like us at least enough to give us a heads up when something bad is approaching.”

“I never got the feeling that some big bad was approaching, not in the foreseeable future anyway. Just that...the road ahead won't be easy.”

“Then toughen up, because we're not stopping anytime soon right?”

“Course not. If not this, what would we do?”

“Nothing that wouldn't land us in a prison somewhere.”

“Exactly.”

Karon rubbed his eyes and blinked hard a few times, forcing the last remnants of sleepiness away.

“So ... what are we going to do with the sorcerer?”

“We could just execute him, or leave him here.”

“The second is the same as the first. The people here won't stand for what he's done.”

“Considering what he's done and planned to do, I wouldn't lose sleep over it.”

“I don't know. He's an asshole for sure, and tries way too hard with his image, but still ... he's a practitioner. Sorcerer yeah, but he didn't fuck up too badly here. He's young, magical development-wise. Maybe with time he would grow into something more given the chance.”

“Should we give him that chance?”

“There was a time when we weren't that different, and the title of asshole fit us snugly.”

“It still kinda does.”

“Yeah but now we're a badass asshole with redeeming qualities.”

“We are indeed. So ... set him free?”

“That would be inviting trouble. We'll talk with him, maybe poke around his mind a little bit, see what turns up. I'm very curious about the 'this world' comment he made during all that villain exposition.”

Karon snorted.

“I can't believe he fell into that trap so easily.”

“It wasn't that much of a surprise. It's obvious he wants attention and to satisfy his ego before all else.”

“Speaking from personal experience?”

“Speaking from having to share a mind with you for the last three years.”

“Touche.”

A slight smile touched Karon's lips, and he rose from his seat at the bed and headed over to the door. Next to it, Promise stood leaning against the wall, and he grabbed it before putting a hand to the door. It was chilly to the touch, and it squeaked loudly when he opened it. Outside there sat an old man with graying hair, half-dozing. Karon lifted an eyebrow and cleared his throat loudly. The man opened his mouth and smacked it absently a few times before he turned two bloodshot eyes towards Karon.

When he did the man's eyes widened and he opened his mouth, but no words came out. Tension hung in the air, and the man looked ready to bolt at the first sign of movement from Karon.

“I'm not gonna hurt you,” Karon told him in the local language.

The man's mouth dropped even further, though surprise made its way to his eyes to mix with the fear. Maybe he didn't know Karon could speak it, or as was more likely, Karon's terrible accent was just so strange that it was enough to make the man feel a little less intimidated.

“I … I was told to … bring you to Selena when you woke up. Not ... I mean ... do you wish me to show you the way or...?” The man stammered in a wheezing voice, and he started coughing violently.

Karon would have started to pat the man on the back if it weren't for the fact it would probably trigger a heart attack. So instead he stood silently and waited for the man to regain his composure.

When he finally did and looked up to Karon with watery eyes, the trickster motioned with his hand forward and simply said, “Lead the way.”

The man nodded quickly, and hurried down the hallway. He led them down the same path Karon had followed on his way from the cells, and deduced that was where they probably were headed. The assumption was proven correct, and when they reached the one cell in the entire city, he found Trixie sitting on a blanket just outside it, keeping a watchful eye on the sorcerer within.

The man leading Karon stopped on the stairs leading down to the cells, and Karon could feel the very intense flash of fear that went through the man like a shiver when he looked at Trixie. He looked around the small room several times, despite the fact that you could see everything with one look.

Karon passed him by, and Karon was met halfway down by Trixie rushing over and giving him a lingering hug.

“Feeling better?” she asked and looked up at him lovingly.

“Much better now,” he said and kissed her.

When they parted Karon turned to face the old man, who was staring at them with naked shock on his face.

“Right … this isn't exactly a normal relationship...” he whispered to Trixie, and she giggled.

The man didn't understand the language they spoke, and he once again looked ready to bolt at the slightest provocation.

“What is it?” Karon asked him in an attempted soothing voice.

“I … it … uhh, Selena was supposed to be here,” he said and looked around again, as if Selena would suddenly appear out of one of the cracks in the stone.

Karon turned to Trixie and asked, “Was Selena here?”

“Yes, though she left a while ago when another woman came and got her. She had dark hair and was wearing a blue and green dress, kinda similar to the one Selena wore actually.”

Karon nodded, and forwarded the information to the old man. He listened intently, then told Karon he knew who the woman probably was, and that he would go and look for Selena. He very politely asked Karon to remain at the cells until he returned with Selena, and Karon reassured him he would.

“Good, will give me time to interrogate the sorcerer.”

They waited until the echoes of the man’s footsteps receded, and even then Karon cast out his senses to make sure they were alone. Tentative acceptance or not, if the locals caught him using magic they would probably panic and lash out in fear of him doing something sinister.

But it turned out they were as alone as could be, with the one exception of the sorcerer. Karon turned towards the cell, and his eyes narrowed slightly as he gazed into the shadowy nook the would-be conqueror was hiding within.

In his hand Promise flared in orange light, and a hungry anger rolled off the spear. The details didn't matter to the spirit of the spear, if something living dared threaten its' master it wanted to kill it, painfully.

Karon smirked at the spear, and he held it before himself as he walked over to the cell door, banishing the shadows with its angry light.

Inside the cell, the sorcerer was pressing himself up against the opposite wall, and glared at the approaching trickster.

“Have you come to gloat?” he hissed.

“No, just here for some answers.”

“You won't get anything out of me!” the man hissed again.

“Really? Do you HAVE to act like this all the time?”

“What?” the man asked in confusion, his hissing voice falling away and revealing the slight drawling of a farm boy.

Karon sighed and massaged his forehead.

“You're overacting. It turns what might have been a slightly intimidating and respect inducing demonstration of your badassness into a demonstration of your brainlessness.”

“I will laugh as I tear the flesh off your bones!” the sorcerer shrieked and a red glow started to gather in his palms.

Karon banged Promise against the bars on the door loudly, and the sorcerer flinched when the spear's light grew even brighter. Hunger emanated from the spear in almost physically tangible waves, and he took the hint. The red glow died away and the sorcerer's shoulders slumped in defeat.

“Look, if you give me what I want, I'll make sure you make it out of this alive,” Karon told the sorcerer, using the same soothing voice as he had used with the old man.

The man looked back at him in disbelief, and then smiled an acidic smile.

“You're a terrible liar.”

“No, I'm a masterful liar. Comes with being a trickster.”

“A trickster?” the man hissed, and looked at the cell wall thoughtfully.

Karon raised his eyebrows and titled his head, before asking, “You know what a trickster is?”

“My grandm--...I mean my teacher told me about tricksters. 'Beware the tricksters, they deceive and lie like no other' she used to say.”

“Well that's kinda … obvious, but still. However that may be, I'm telling the truth now. You might be a wannabe dark lord, but we're all children at some point, and it's not my place to kill a fellow practitioner unless I really, really need to.”

The sorcerer stared at Karon, but there was a tiny flicker of hope evident in his eyes. And also plainly visible on his aura.

“What do you want to know?” he eventually asked.

“Well, he broke fast.”

“Are you surprised?”

“Not really.”

“What is your real name? I refuse to believe your name is 'Nagrosh the Dark'.” Karon asked.

The sorcerer hissed as air passed through his clenched teeth. He refused to meet Karon's eyes, but his voice came out clear.

“Leti.”

“Leti. Okay Leti, you're not from this world are you?”

“No, I'm not,” he admitted.

“So you're either skilled enough to actually travel between worlds, which I doubt, or you are in possession of a tool or a set of tools that helps you with that. Which is it.”

“It is a ritual,” Leti spat, hurt evident in his voice. “I'm not without skill.”

“Yeah, yeah you can do some regular sorcerer's tricks. Where did you get this ritual?”

“From my teacher.”

“Your grandmother?” Karon asked and hid his smile.

Leti didn't answer, but the silence made the truth of the statement clear.

“I take it that is from where you got the ritual to transfer destinies as well?”

“Yes. That and much more.”

“Well good for you, but this is kinda gross abuse of them. Do you have any idea what will happen to you should some higher power get a whiff of what you've done? I'm talking the fury of the heavens coming down on you like a holy sledgehammer of ouch.”

“I don't fear the heavens,” the sorcerer said with a confident smirk.

“Then you're an idiot. Now, if you nullify the effects of the ritual and return Selena's destiny to her, I will take you away from this world and drop you off at the bazaar. You know what that is?”

“I've heard of it,” came the sorcerer's reply.

“Good. Give Selena back her destiny voluntarily, and spare me the trouble of bashing my way into your skull, and I will take you there. After that you're on your own. Think you can do that?”

The sorcerer didn't say anything, but he sighed in frustration and nodded. Karon smiled in satisfaction and stepped back from the door.

“Good. We'll perform whatever ritual you need to do in order to return her destiny, and then we'll say good bye and leave this world.”

The sorcerer didn't answer, he turned his head away and shuffled over to a corner, where he hunched down in silence.

“Seems like this conversation is over.”

“We got what we wanted. Now we just have to wait for Selena.”

The wait wasn't long, and after twenty minutes spent next to Trixie, enjoying the warmth of her body as he played with her mane, Selena came walking down the stairs briskly. Her eyes focused on Karon immediately, and the eagerness in her eyes was obvious.

Trixie made an annoyed sound when she had to move and allow him to rise, and Karon stroked her head with a sympathetic look. He went over and stopped before Selena, noting the almost burning need shining inside her aura.

“Ready to get back what's yours?” he simply asked.

The woman drew a shuddering breath, and her eyes shone with held back tears. She couldn't get any sound out, so she nodded fervently and smiled towards him joyfully. Karon put a hand on her shoulder and smiled back encouragingly, then turned around and walked over to the cell.

“It's time. Behave and everything will work out fine,” he told the sorcerer, who came out of the shadows with a completely emotionless expression.

He looked over at Selena, nothing on his face betraying what he felt or thought. It took Karon a mere glance at his aura though to determine the frustration he felt, and he strengthened his grip around Promise on the off chance Leti might decide to try something after all.

Selena came over to stand next to him and brought forth a set of keys from a pocket in her dress. She unlocked the door, and it swung open with a shrieking squeal of metal, leaving tiny flakes of rust drifting down from the hinges. She didn't look the sorcerer in the eyes, and her nervousness shone in stark contrast to the sorcerer's frustration.

The man came out in a dramatic swish of his dark clothes, the cape draped around him exaggerating every movement he made. He looked at Karon and Selena, and he stood tense as a calculating glance took in the room. It ended the moment Trixie cleared her throat and raised her eyebrows towards him.

“Go ahead and try something,” she said hungrily. Even though Leti couldn't understand her, the tone conveyed the message clearly. He swallowed, and shifted his eyes to Karon.

“I will need chalk, or something other to mark out the ritual area,” he said.

“Selena?” Karon asked and looked at her questioningly.

She nodded, and went up the stairs in search of something to draw with, and left the three magic users in an awkward silence that lasted all the way until she returned. When she did, she had a seashell with her. She gave it to the sorcerer and he turned it over and looked at it skeptically.

Despite refusing to meet his eyes, Selena noticed the look and said, “Blue liquid comes out the end if you squeeze it lightly.”

The sorcerer did, and indeed there came out a small trickle of light blue liquid. He sighed and frowned at the thing, his face telling them he thought all of this was far beneath him.

He kneeled down on the floor, and started to draw several sets of symbols he connected with triangles. The three others backed away and looked at the process, Selena with worried nervousness, Trixie with a bored expression, and Karon with curiosity.

It took only a few minutes before the sorcerer stood up again, and turned to Selena, unable to quite hide his disgust.

“Stand in the middle,” he told her.

She complied, and stepped over to stand in the middle of the scribbled symbols. The sorcerer cracked his knuckles, and moved over to stand opposite Selena outside the reach of the symbols. He stared down at them, and Karon could see how his aura started to swirl with gathering energies.

“We will be watching,” he said to the sorcerer as a final warning. If Leti even heard it, or if he was too far gone into the trance Karon didn't know, but however it may be the sorcerer didn't acknowledge it.

Gradually the symbols were beginning to glow, and energy spread out between the binding lines in blue and silver light. Selena was staring down at it fearfully, and both Karon and Trixie saw how the energy was slowly seeping into her being.

Outside the small field of energy the ritual took place in stood the sorcerer, his eyes closed and his body swaying from side to side as he was muttering something under his breath. The energy grew brighter and brighter, and started to move out of the inscribed symbols as it was given focus.

It lasted for less than three minutes, until all of it reached a soundless crescendo and the energy died  away completely. No flash of light, no great thunderclap; it simply disappeared in the blink of an eye. Selena staggered to the side, and Karon hurried forward to steady her.

She looked up at him, still the same woman, but with a discernible difference in her eyes. They were fuller, and the blue was more distinct, as if there was now a light behind them. Her eyes flickered back and forth like she was feeling out something inside of herself.

Whatever had been missing was now returned, and the smile that graced her lips when she realized this could not be described in any other way than beautiful.

Selena's entire being seemed to shine with joy, and she embraced Karon gratefully. When she pulled back there was a slight blush on her cheeks, but her eyes continued to shine with unbridled joy.

“Thank you,” she said, and there was so much heartfelt emotions in those few syllables that Karon looked away, uncomfortable.

“Well, yes. We were hired to do a job,” he told her.

Her smile didn't falter, but it turned crooked, like she didn't buy his attempt at sounding businesslike at all. She then turned to Trixie, and walked over to embrace the small unicorn the same way and thanking her with just as much emotion. The unicorn took it better than Karon, and merely shrugged with a slight smile in response.

The rest of the time spent on the world Karon had no name for -- in their own language the people merely thought of it as 'where we live' -- went by surprisingly fast. With Selena's destiny returned, it was as if the entire place had shifted a little, including the spirit of the city's people. They were still a fearful and xenophobic lot, but they all happily put that aside whenever Selena gave instructions. And the more Karon saw, the more he became convinced that she would unite all the cities not as a conqueror, but as someone who ruled simply because the people of the world would come to love her so much that they wanted her to rule them.

As far as power plays goes, he could imagine worse.

There were the standard celebrations Karon had gotten used to after a job was finished, and the food was surprisingly good considering the state of everything else in the city. The sorcerer was kept close by where both Karon and Trixie could keep an eye on him, even though it was doubtful he would be stupid enough to try and escape. The proximity to the two mystic mercenaries was mostly for his own protection. As the rumors of what had truly happened had spread, the people of the city had all reacted with one sided rage towards the man who would have taken their beloved Selena away. And Karon had made it clear that if Leti tried to escape, he would not interfere when the local people gutted him with their fishing tools.

And so, they spent the remainder of the day in the city of the Kashermen, being showered with praise from Selena and disgruntled, yet grateful, looks from the others.

At the end of the day when the sun was beginning to set, the four of them gathered in the harbor where a boat stood ready to take Karon and Trixie back to land. The setting sun had set the sea on fire with red and orange light, and Karon stared out at the beautiful vision. Though he still kept a careful eye on the surface, looking for any sign of approaching mermaids that might like the idea of snatching him if he got too close.

There were some people gathered in the background as well, standing on the edges of the platforms high above, or leaning out windows. Trixie's good bye was short, as it involved only a polite nod towards Selena and kicking Leti on the ass to get him moving down to the boat.

That left Selena and Karon standing alone on the stairs leading down to the dock. An easy breeze was blowing by, making the red robe he wore flap slightly. In his right hand Promise reflected some of the sunlight, and there was an easy feeling of contentment coming from within the spear. Despite the fact it hadn't been allowed to kill Leti, it had at least been allowed to kill someone.

“I just wanted to say thank you again,” Selena told him.

“As I've said before, it's what we we're hired to do,” Karon responded with the tone of someone who was repeating something for the hundredth time.

“I'm still grateful. I never knew what I was meant for before, even when I was set on the path of my destiny, and I'm still not quite comfortable with the way I am meant to rule others. But I think that after what I've seen in the bazaar, it is time at least someone tries and bring about more to the people here than what we have at the moment.”

“Yeah, some fresh change will probably do them good,” Karon agreed, then halted when a thought struck him. “Wait, if you're going to become a ruler then that means that technically ... you're royalty. Or will be.”

Selena blinked, then looked away awkwardly. “I don't know, maybe.”

Karon stared at her, and his face said he was struggling with an important question. Eventually he seemed to reach a conclusion, because his mouth shaped into a wry smile.

“Well, I guess this is good bye then.”

“Maybe we'll see each other again,” Selena said hopefully.

“Yeah, maybe,” Karon agreed and turned around.

After a few steps he stopped, and turned around saying, “One more thing though.”

Down in the boat Trixie was entertaining herself with glaring at the sorcerer, who was doing his best to look unworried, but his eyes kept flickering to hers as sweat trickled down his forehead. Her fun was interrupted when a lot of shouting came from the upper parts of the city, and Trixie turned her head to watch Karon come running down the stairs with a huge grin plastered on his face. Behind him stood Selena with a beet red face, staring after him with shock written all over it.

When Karon reached the boat he threw himself in it and shouted something to the man who was supposed to take them back to shore. The man looked confused, but he complied with whatever Karon had said, and the boat started up and left the city and the upset citizens behind.

“What did you do?” Trixie asked with narrowed eyes.

“Ohh nothing. They were just shouting good bye,” Karon answered.

“Uhuh...” came Trixie's response, accompanied with a glare directed Karon's way this time.

The rest of the trip was taken in silence, and the four aboard spent most of their time staring out at the sea and the setting sun. When they reached land, they chose to be dropped off close to the beach and wade in the rest of the way, rather than arrive by way of the dock and face the locals there who had no idea of who they were and what had occurred out at the city.

The boatsman had no problem with that, and half an hour after they'd left the city, Karon, Trixie and Leti were standing on the beach and facing one another with water dripping from their lower halves.

“So ... how are we supposed to get out of here Karon?” Trixie asked.

“I'm waiting for someone,” he answered cryptically and looked out towards the sea.

“Who?” Trixie asked confused.

“Very clever, I underestimated you,” came a calm and melodic voice from behind them.

All three turned to see an aged man, with short white hair and a neatly trimmed beard. His eyes were light gray, almost silver, and there was a depth to them that spoke of the understanding and wisdom that rested behind the calm surface. He was wearing a plain white shirt and beige pants, and stood in the sand barefoot.

“And who are you?” Trixie asked, and even though the man seemed harmless she tensed up and her tone said she was ready for a fight.

“They call me a lot of things. Karon already knows my name,” the man answered, and gave the trickster a look of curiosity. “How long have you suspected I was around?”

“Not long, it was mostly a stab in the dark,” Karon admitted.

A slight smile graced the stranger's lips, and he seemed more amused than anything else at what was going on.

“Well, your sense for these things is growing. Good for you.”

“Thank you, now what do you want?” Karon asked and rested Promise against his shoulder.

“Not much, just documenting things as usual. Observing your work, which spared my colleague a lot of time by the way. But I think you want something from me, am I correct?”

“Yeah, just information though. The kind of thing you deal with.”

“Very well, ask,” the stranger said and took a relaxed stance with his hands in his pockets.

“How much freedom am I allowed at the moment?” Karon asked with a tone that implied there was a lot more to the question than what was obvious.

“As much as anyone of your station can expect. You're back in the good graces of the powers, mostly, and can enjoy the liberties that brings.”

“And the duties?” Karon asked in the same tone.  

“You're fulfilling them well enough so far,” the man said without elaborating.

“That's all you're gonna give me?”

“It's as much as you need. As for details ... you are allowed to do as you please as long as you don't interfere in any of the local works of the places you visit. Destiny is not to be trifled with, and as long as you don't act within our design, you are only allowed to act without supervision in the lesser.”

“Pretty much what I expected, so directed gateway works and world jumping is fine? I don't need to use the established roads or tools?”

“If you don't want to, but only in service of your own works. Am I clear?”

“Yes,” Karon answered.

The man gave a tiny nod of acknowledgment, and then disappeared. No flash or light or sound, one second there, the other gone.

“Frigging angels,” Karon murmured with a smile.

“Karon, who was that?” Trixie asked with her eyebrows raised high.

“A monkey with a stick,” he said and suppressed his laughter at her confused expression.

“Come on Karon, who was he?” she insisted.

“I'll tell you some other time,” he promised and took Promise in his hands.

He walked forward a few steps where there was ample room, and started drawing a few symbols in the sand. It was nothing as complex as the scribble Leti has used in his ritual, and when he was done Karon stepped back with a smug look on his face.

“What is this?” Leti asked and stared down at the symbols with squinted eyes.

“This is the result of real training in the arts,” Karon told him with a raised eyebrow.

“You didn't answer my question,” the sorcerer growled.

“It's a gateway key, more or less. This should allow us to open up a gateway to the bazaar, or at least a path close by that can lead us there.”

The sorcerer stared at him with his mouth slightly agape, “That's impossible!”

“For an amateur, maybe,” Karon said and gave the sorcerer a meaningful glance.

Leti didn't respond, he just glared at the trickster. Trixie on the other hoof walked around the drawn symbols, studying them intently.

“Really, this simple? I don't remember Varsif ever talking about this,” she said.

“You never were an official student. He just taught you a few tricks and helped you harness the skills you already possessed,” Karon explained.

Trixie nodded absently, and moved back a few steps. “So, how long will the ritual take to perform?”

“A few minutes, nothing more,” Karon reassured. “You ready?”

“I think we're done here yes,” Trixie told him, and walked over to stand beside Leti.

The two watched as Karon stood silent before the symbols, several minutes passed where nothing seemed to happen. Until he shoved Promise right into the heart of the symbols, and a line of energy shot out of the tip and ignited the magic. All the symbols flared in different colors, and then they all coalesced into one black hole that gradually shifted in color to a deep blue.

“That was easier than I expected,” Karon muttered and waved the other two over.

“Are you sure this is safe?” was the first thing Trixie asked with worry evident in her voice.

“...yes,” Karon responded hesitantly.

Trixie looked up at him with utter skepticism in her eyes, and then she nodded towards Leti. “He goes first.”

Karon looked at the portal, then over at Leti. After two seconds of consideration he grabbed the sorcerer by the neck, and before the man had the chance to do nothing but squeak in protest, he shoved him into it.

He disappeared soundlessly, and it seemed like an eternity before he popped back out again with a furious scowl on his face. Karon tried his best to look back at him innocently, while Trixie didn't try and hide her condescending smile at all.

“Uhrm, well then let's all get going,” Karon announced while clearing his throat, and ushered the other two through the gateway.

On the other side they were met with the same blue fog they had passed through on the way from the bazaar, and Karon instantly went on high alert. Next to him he felt Trixie tense up, and the both of them cast their senses out as far as they could, trying to scan for any danger approaching.

They could feel none, but neither of them let their guard down as they moved forward expectantly.

“Is something wrong?” the sorcerer asked and looked around himself.

“We passed through this way before, there were ... things attacking us.”

“What kind of things?” Leti asked nervously and looked around with jerky motions.

“Don't know, they were corporeal and wanted to steal our body heat, I think. Just keep your senses open, and if we get attacked again stay close to Trixie if you want to survive.”

“That sounds kinda contradictory in his case.”

“I'm sure he's aware of that if his face is anything to go by.”

The trio made their way through the blue fog, this time guided on their path by the red sun shining high in the sky. The fog swirled with the same, almost familiar, syrupy movement as they had encountered before, but without the sickening feel the creatures had left when they were being hunted.

For all appearances, there seemed to be no danger lurking in the thick fog, and even though Trixie's senses might be fooled, Karon was far too sensitive not to notice the shift in the environment the hunter's mere presence would cause.

So they went forward, senses perched and magic readied for a confrontation that never came. Time flew by without any way of being measured, and eventually they arrived at a dark tunnel leading into a mountain that appeared out of the fog without any sign of having been there seconds earlier.

When they went through and were enveloped by the dark, a collective sigh of relief could be heard from all three of the travelers, and after a few minutes the tunnel opened up to the brightness and bustle of the bazaar.

There were a few other customers in sight, and in the distance constant movement could be seen at the streets and squares littered over the valley. Karon watched it for a moment, then turned to face Leti, “This is where we say good bye. Let me give you a piece of advice before you go: You have a chance at a lot of things just by being a student of the arts, even if you're a mere sorcerer now, you can perhaps grow into more later. Lose the dramatic flare and starve your ego a little and you might survive to see that day.”

The sorcerer snorted, but Karon caught the flicker of uncertainty in his eyes before he turned around and left him and Trixie behind. The unicorn in turn was staring at Karon with reproach.

“What?” he asked.

“One: you should have done more than just that after what he did. Two: aren't you being a bit hypocritical with what you just said?”

“Just because it comes from a hypocrite doesn't mean it's wrong,” Karon said sagely and wriggled his eyebrows.

Trixie huffed and shook her head, then turned her head back up to him with an eager gleam in her eyes.

“Let's go and get paid,” she said.

“Hell yeah!” Karon exclaimed, and together they made their way down towards Bitz's shop.

They mixed in with the strange multitude of creatures perfectly, and where earlier Karon had felt nervous, almost fearful, he now felt safer. It was something about returning there instead of just discovering it that lent an air of familiarity, and he realized as they walked forward that it was because he felt a sense of belonging. Dangerous or not, the bazaar was a place of the things and beings that stuck out in every world, and eventually made their way here. A trickster fit right in.

Promise clicked with every step they took as it struck the rock and cobblestone they walked on, and it grew more and more distinct as the bustle of the market died down as they neared the area where Bitz had made his home.

When they reached the small looking tent they didn't stop, and simply entered with a loud cough to announce their entrance. Inside Bitz immediately popped up from behind a large chest. When he saw who it was he smiled widely and hurried forward, carefully noting Selena's lacking presence.

“You have returned! Have honored Selena had her destiny returned then? Did the candle speak true or was poor Bitz played for a sucker?” he asked rapidly.

“The job is complete. Selena is back on track with her destiny and the sorcerer has been removed from that world,” Karon said and leaned against his spear.

“Excellent, Bitz sources spoke true! A glorious day it is for all hunters of fine prices everywhere!”

“Yes, speaking of prices ... we were promised payment for this...” Karon trailed off and gave the trader a meaningful look.

“Yes, yes. Bitz keeps all his deals without fault. In return for this great service Bitz will offer a reward of most incredible value, of the most splendid worth, and of the uttermost magnificence.”

“This should be interesting.”

“Bitz think you are familiar with The Walker's Rest, yes?” he asked with eager eyes.

“Yes, we're familiar with the place,” Karon said hesitantly.

Bitz rubbed his hands happily, and from one of the folds of the fabrics twisted around him he brought forth a golden key with an intricate swirling design around it. He looked at it for a moment, then offered it to Karon.

The trickster shifted Promise to his left hand and took the key with his right, turning it over in his hand and looking at it curiously.

“What is this?”

“A key,” the vesh answered and looked at Karon like he was a little slow.

The trickster in turn resisted the urge to facepalm and smack the trader, and instead asked in a very calm voice, “Yes, but a key to what?”

“This key...” they trader said and licked his lips, “is for a room at The Walker's Rest.”

“A room?” Karon asked confused.

“Yes, a spacious room where one, or two, can make their home.”

Slowly realization dawned on Karon, and his eyes widened until it felt like they were going to burst from their sockets.

“You … do you have any idea of how valuable this is!?” Karon hissed and looked around for anybody else listening.

“Bitz knows the value of all the spoils of his hunts, don't insult Bitz by thinking him a bad hunter. This is the reward I offer for the service you rendered, and for returning honored customer, and treasured friend, Selena's destiny,” the trader said seriously.

“Is it really that big of a deal?” Trixie asked with raised eyebrows.

“Trix, I could buy entire worlds for this thing,” Karon said, breathless.

Slowly, the unicorn's eyes began to widen as well.

“Ohh,” was all she could say.

They both continued to stare at the golden key for a long time, until Karon finally managed to swallow and turn his eyes back to Bitz.

“Thank you, are you sure this isn't too much?” he asked.

“Bitz is a good hunter, and makes no mistakes. Enjoy the spoils of your hunt, and if you are pleased with it Bitz is happy to offer more work. And knows others that could use two skilled hunters.”

Karon and Trixie looked at one another, then nodded in perfect synchronicity and with eager lights shining out of their eyes.

“Bitz is happy to see such young and motivated hunters, brings a warmth to his old and tired bones.”

“What kind of work are we talking about?” Trixie asked.

“Bitz needs others to hunt artifacts, sometimes customers need help recovering specific prey. Sometimes there is reward for hunting legendary things, like answers.”

“Wait, people pay for answers?” Karon interrupted.

“Yes, yes. Many old questions whose answer has been hunted for long. 'What is the greatest victory?' is the most sought after right now, many want that answer.”

“Well, it sounds like there's a lot of things needing doing,” Karon noted.

“And a lot of reward to be collected,” Trixie added and smirked up at him.

The three of them discussed the details of what kind of work was most urgent, and what was most well paid, for over an hour before they were done. After that Karon and Trixie left the old trader to go investigate their new home in one of the most powerful and mysterious places in the known universe.

After the flap of the tent fell back in its usual place and the two were gone, Bitz waited for a moment to make sure he was truly alone, then turned around and walked over to the other end of his tent.

Standing out of sight behind a large set of statues stood the same stranger that Karon had meet on the beach, curiously eying one of the statues with a nostalgic look on his face.

“Bitz did as great wall painter asked,” he said to the stranger.

“Good, that should make sure they are kept on the right track,” came the easy answer.

“Bitz wonders, why did it provide the key for such a grand gift? Are there not others more deserving of a place in the lair of the great white one?”

“Uncountable, but it is a place without measure so don't worry. Those that need to or are meant to end up in the right places, and the trickster and his consort need to be there for the moment.”

“Bitz does not understand, but Bitz does not need to. He is glad to serve the great ones...” the vesh trailed off, and it looked like he wanted to add something.

“I know the question that haunts you hunter, and yes, there were others that fled and made it out alive. They are in a faraway place, but you would not like them; they learned nothing from their past mistakes.”

The trader's shoulders slumped, and he looked down at the floor sadly.

“Fear not, there will be chances for them to learn those lessons from others, if they refuse to face them on their own. You know your place here, don't throw it away for a dream that could never be.”

Bitz nodded and turned his head back up towards the angel standing in his shop, in one of the seediest trading quarters in existence, and lastly asked, “Why the trickster?”

The angel took a long time before answering, and then it was with a cryptic smile.

“It's because he is starting to understand something.”

And then he was gone.

                             *************************************************

Out in the shadowy streets of the trade district Bitz tent could be found in, Trixie was nearly prancing forward, her head skipping with each step in a joyous dance. Behind her Karon was watching her progress with an amused expression, and when they reached a small intersection they both stopped and looked down the different paths they had to choose between.

“So, it looks like we have a lot of options before us,” Karon noted.

“Yeah, and a lot of things to keep us occupied,” Trixie said.

“What do you say Trix, wanna see what's waiting behind the corner?”

The unicorn looked up at him with a wry smirk, and she answered with a laugh.

“It's what we do.”

Next Chapter: Dark Roots (Part 1) Estimated time remaining: 10 Hours, 3 Minutes