Chapter II

Tel'bestra

            Zarr was already awake and walking the streets before the sun had even a chance to rise. However, it was slight mistake on his part for most businesses and buildings weren't even open at this hour. Having nothing else to do, he decided to just wander the streets aimlessly until the city became livelier. In Fros, everyone would be awake and running by now! Shops would be selling their wares and the fishing ships would already be out at sea! As much as he liked the humans, they worked so completely different in regards to time.

            It was about two more hours before people started to come out of their houses and businesses began to open their wares for sale. Having wandered the entire city in those two hours, Zarr was pretty sure he had the layout of Tel'bestra's streets memorized. Focusing back on his main task, finding the much desired book, Zarr decided it'd be better to ask someone rather than search aimlessly. He spotted a group of students making their way towards his direction and assumed that out of all people they would know more about books.

            “Pardon me, but do any of you know where I can find this book?" he asked the students as he showed them the title written on a piece of scrap paper. Most of them shook their heads save for one.

            “If you're looking for a book, your best chance is to look in the Omni Archive. They're lots of books contained there, but an archivist can find the one you're looking for quickly," the student said before continuing on their way with the others. Zarr was mentally punching himself right now. Of all the places in Tel'bestra he didn't even think to look at the motherlode of all books—the Omni Archive. The massive building was considered Tel'bestra's second treasure! It looked like Zarr really didn't have the entire city mapped out in his head as he thought he did. He glanced around and above him to see if he could spot the building, barely spotting its pointed ceiling behind another building. Unfortunately, it was on the other side of the city…. With a groan, Zarr made his way to the Omni Archive with quick steps. The city was starting to really wake up and the streets had become more populated with people going about their businesses. Fortunately, Zarr was a lot taller than the humans around him so he didn't need to worry about getting lost in the crowd and losing sight of his destination.

            After making his way through the crowd, Zarr finally arrived at the imposing Omni Archive. The entire structure was larger than any other building in Tel'bestra, save for the Seven Spires of course. Most of the building was constructed from a black stone with only white marble used for decorative purposes. Color-wise, the Omni Archive stood out the most among the white buildings surrounding it. Wasting no time, Zarr entered through the large, ornate, wooden doors and immediately stopped in his tracks when he gazed upon the massive collection of books before him.

            “Whoa…," he whispered under his breath. In all his travels, Zarr had seen some pretty impressive libraries in the other kingdoms, but this one…it trumped them all! Hundreds of shelves, with thousands of books, filled the interior of the building from every wall to the tightest corner. Yet, somehow, the entire space felt so open! Zarr was never a reading enthusiast, but being here made him want to pull a book off a shelf and get started! He only took a few steps forward before being greeted by a receptionist behind a large desk.

            “Good morning, sir. Is there anything I can help you with today?" She was a pretty human with chocolate brown hair tied back in a bun. Her teeth were a dazzling white and her complexion flawless. Zarr might have offered her a chance to spend a night with him in bed, but she wasn't his type of meat. However, she could help him in another way.

            “Yes, I'm searching for this book. I was told by some students that it might be kept here." Zarr showed her the scrap piece of paper with the title written on it. She took it from his hand, studied it for a moment, before returning it and pulling out a large deck of cards from a box. The cards were separated with lettered tabs and the receptionist worked with quick fingers to pick out the card with the specific book's title. After a few seconds, with an audible flick, she pulled out the card and handed it to Zarr.

            “Here's the book information! Just find an archivist and they'll guide you towards the book." She smiled at Zarr before he thanked her and entered deeper into the Omni Archive. The receptionist had a slight blush when he had given her the title of the book, Zarr noticed, but he didn't think much of it.

            With the information card in hand, Zarr walked between rows and columns of bookshelves with no idea of what he was doing. He was looking for an archivist, but with all these books and shelves how would he be able to find one?! He'd have to spend a century in here looking for the book by himself! Unfortunately for him, the Omni Archive had just opened and there weren't any patrons around to ask for help in locating an archivist. Having no other options, Zarr studied the information card carefully, picking out what he could understand, but it was all just confusing numbers and symbols. Having nothing else to go off on he choose a direction and walked towards it until he reached a bookshelf that looked promising. Randomly he pulled out a large book with an old, green cover and glanced at the title—Botanical Analysis: Deepwoods.

            “Damn!" he cursed, shoving the book back into its slot. He looked above him at the towering height of all the bookshelves above and around him. His pointed ears drooped as he whimpered softly. This was probably going to be one of his most difficult tasks.

            The streets of Tel'bestra were buzzing with activity and Silnis was really wishing he had set out sooner to avoid all the clutter and chaos. It didn't help that he lived on the other side of the city opposite of the Omni Archive. He had to walk through more crowds than necessary just to get there! After meandering his way through the streets he arrived and hastily made his way into the building. At least the Omni Archive was more stuffed with books than people! He greeted the receptionist with a nod and smile, having acquainted himself with her many times in the past, and steered himself to the Office of Licensure and Registration. Having been in this building numerous times, Silnis was confident he knew the basic layout of where everything was. He'd have to dedicate more than his entire life just to memorize where every book was placed in here if he wanted to. As much as he loved reading…spending the rest of his life in here studying books didn't sound appealing.

            “Grrahh!"

            Silnis halted himself after hearing the angry outburst nearby. Whoever it was they didn't sound too far from him. Carefully, Silnis glanced around the corner of a bookshelf and saw the back of a large wolf holding several books in his paws. A pile of books laid near his feet, most likely the wolf's doing.

            “Is he…lost?" Silnis thought. Knowing from experience, Silnis knew it was easy to get lost in the Omni Archive. After all, it was enormous and the archivists unintentionally made themselves difficult to track down. Being in no hurry, Silnis decided to help the wolf out of empathy. “Excuse me sir!"

            Zarr turned around at the sound of a voice addressing him, still gripping the books in his hands. He sighed in relief thinking that someone had come to help him find the damned book he needed. However, to his surprise, he saw that it was the young, silver-haired human from yesterday who had helped him find an inn. What a coincidence it was meeting him again.

            “Hey, it's you!" he said, startling Silnis, “I was the wolf you met yesterday on the street. I have to thank you again for helping me." Silnis studied the wolf for second before recognizing that it was in fact that same wolf from yesterday! It seemed that coincidence had brought them together again.

            “Oh, it was my pleasure," Silnis replied, referring to yesterday, “but I can see that you need help again. Am I right?" Zarr only nodded his head eagerly, getting frustrated with his useless search that he was desperate for any form of aid. Silnis chuckled to himself, bending down to pick up the fallen books and taking the ones from Zarr's hands before placing them back in their proper places.

            “Let me help you then. I've been in here plenty of time to know my way around. I can't guarantee I'll find the exact book you're looking for, but I can get you to the right area. All right?"

            “Any help is greatly appreciated!" Zarr thanked, giving Silnis the information card from the receptionist and following him deeper into the Omni Archive. They climbed a few flights of spiral stairs before stopping at what must have been the fifth level. Zarr followed Silnis as the latter bobbed and weaved through rows and columns of bookshelves before stopping at a particular one. Silnis glanced at the information card once more, checking to make sure he was in the correct area, before carefully scanning the tiny markings on the spine of each book. His fingers traced along the spines before coming to a halt at a small, inconspicuous book with a dark leather cover. Pulling it out of its slot, Silnis glanced at the cover and the information card before turning and placing the book into the awaiting hands of Zarr.

            “Here you go, and we didn't even need to track down an archivist to help us!" Silnis said with pride, placing the information card between the cover for a prompt return to the receptionist when Zarr would inevitably check the book out. Unknown to Zarr, but quite noticeable to Silnis, his tail was wagging happily behind him and was kicking up some dust whenever it hit the nearby shelves. Silnis couldn't help but chuckle to himself and had to cover his mouth with a hand to keep from being rude.

            “Once again I am in your debt," Zarr graciously thanked, kneeling on one knee before Silnis in true Fros custom. Silnis was about to protest, but he bit his tongue back. He knew that fulfilling promises and debts was a serious custom in Fros. If any member were to fall back on their promise, or never fulfill their debts, they would be seen as dishonorable and shamed. If Silnis were to deny Zarr a chance at paying back his debt to him, it would be detrimental!

            “I'm glad to have been of great service to you…umm…?" Silnis realized he had never asked for the wolf's name. He had also never introduced himself to the wolf as well!

            “Zarr Ashen, mercenary for hire," Zarr finished for Silnis, standing back on his paws. Silnis bowed respectfully before Zarr before introducing himself in the same manner.

            “Silnis Hearthglen, scholar and soon-to-be Master Alchemist." They both shook hands and smiled warmly at each other before making their way back towards the stairs.

            “If there's anything that you need I would be more than happy to do it for you free of charge!" Zarr offered Silnis as they arrived back on the main floor, “Do you need someone dead? How about needing some beast slain? Perhaps you need some item from another kingdom? I can do all of that and more!"

            “You sound like a merchant advertising his wares," Silnis commented jokingly. The two laughed heartily as Silnis followed Zarr back towards the entrance of the Omni Archive. More patrons were starting to come into the building and Silnis knew he needed to get to the Office of Licensure and Registration before it would become too crowded and the line would become unbearably long. He wished Zarr his best wishes before quickly making his way back up the stairs and onto the tenth level. Hopefully the office would be just opening for him to be the first in line!

            Now that Zarr had the book he needed there was no longer any reason for him to stay in Tel'bestra. The sooner he traveled back to Edenclad the sooner he could reap the benefits of his reward and bonus! His stomach, however, had more immediate plans to satiate his hunger. With an audible rumble it alerted him to the fact that he had completely skipped breakfast in his hurry to find the book this morning. As much as he wanted to depart from the city as soon as possible, the smell of food began to invade his sensitive nose and immediately the thought of leaving was replaced with delicious food. If there was another thing that Zarr liked about humans, besides their scents, it was that they cooked amazing food! Letting his nose guide the way, Zarr absorbed all the enticing scents of hot, cooked food from fish, beef, soup, and salads. Of course, being a wolf, he would devour any meat quicker than a bowl of greens. His stomach stopped him at a tavern with a sign that read—The King's Feast.

            Stepping inside, Zarr glanced around to see most of the tables in the tavern were occupied with beautiful waitresses serving food and drinks to its patrons. Spotting a vacant table far off in a corner, Zarr hastily made his way to it before anyone else could steal it from him. He sat himself down on the wooden chair just before a large equine man was about to the same. Zarr gave the equine a toothy smile, receiving a glare from him, before being left alone.

            “What would you be having today, sir?" A waitress asked him as she approached with a notepad and pencil. Zarr noticed that the way she dressed was meant to entice him to purchase more than just food and a drink. Her clothes were form-fitting to accentuate the curves on her lithe body, and her full breasts were exposed just enough to tease any man desperate for company in bed. However enticing she may be, Zarr had food on his mind and he was not going to deny himself a nice, juicy steak for a whore.

            “I'll have the largest steak you offer, and a full mug of beer!" he had to shout over the sudden applause from a nearby table.

            “Will that be all? Is there anything else that you may wish to have…?" As the waitress said this, she subtlety compressed her chest with her arms to further accentuate the size of her breasts to Zarr.

            “Yes, that will be all," Zarr didn't even hesitate to reply, shooing her away with the gesture of his hand as she left with a disappointed expression. It didn't take too long, despite how busy it was, for his food to arrive hot and steaming. His large mug of beer was filled almost to the brim with the thirst-quenching golden liquid. Immediately he dug into the steak with his teeth and shivered as the juices of the meat flowed into his mouth and activated a torrent of saliva to rush out from his glands. With all his jaw strength he ripped a large chunk of the steak off and proceeded to happily chew away at his breakfast. For the moment, Zarr was experiencing complete bliss.

            “Ay, wolf, you're sitting in my spot!" a sudden gruff voice exclaimed at him. Zarr glanced up from his meal and noticed a large, human with two others on either side of him. The three of them were glaring at him and brandished sheathed weapons on their backs. The one in the middle, the assumed leader, stood a bit taller than his friends and wore many battle scars across his body. His sudden outburst had silenced the entire inn and drawn everyone's attention to the corner. Zarr ignored them for a moment, focusing on finishing his steak and beer, but he was rudely interrupted by the trio again. The man pounded the opposite side of the table with his fists and caused Zarr's beer to partially spill out the mug.

            “Are you deaf? You're sitting in my spot, dog!" Zarr stopped swallowing when he heard that last word. Living in Fros, Zarr got called a lot of things that may have been more offensive in the other parts of Omnis, but it was simply friendly trash talk among the warriors. However, that one word, dog, would always get his blood boiling. Plus, Zarr never liked being disturbed when he was eating. Getting up on his paws, Zarr slammed his fists down on his side of the table with equal strength and growled at the man.

            “What did you call me?" Zarr had heard the man clearly before, but he just wanted another reason to pick a fight with him.

            “A dog, that's what you Frosen are, right?!" The man jeered as his two friends chuckled with him. It was one thing to call Zarr a dog, but he would not stand by having this human call his people dogs! In the frame of a second, Zarr punched the man's face and sent him sprawling into the arms of his friends while everyone else reacted with shocked gasps or entertained grins. Zarr didn't wait for the man to recover before he tossed the table up at the other two men, sending them flying back a few feet, and picking up the leader off the floor by his collar. Meeting eye to eye, Zarr put on his most threatening face in front of the man and growled menacingly.

            “You better take your words back, human," Zarr warned. The man only chuckled, smiling with bloodied teeth, before spitting at him. Zarr was about to toss the man across the inn, but was stopped by a sharp pinch to his arms. He felt them slowly become numb before his hold on the man weakened and let go. There was no sensation in his arms, and he couldn't even move them!

            “Frosen, for disturbing the peace and assault, you are under arrest by authority of the Tel'bestran Order," he heard from beside him. Turning his head, Zarr saw a group of men dressed in matching blue uniforms with the Tel'bestran insignia embroidered on their right chest area. Zarr recognized these men and knew they worked for the Tel'bestran Order, the main peace-keeping and security force of Tel'bestra. The Order also served as the kingdom's military during times of war, but that scenario has hardly ever happened. The peacekeeper who had subdued Zarr seemed awfully familiar to him, but he couldn't figure out why. He was a young man with short, dark-brown hair and wore a stern expression. Something about his face brought on the familiar feeling.

            “He was disturbing my peace!" Zarr argued, glaring at the man who was being attended to by his friends. The peacekeeper simply glanced at the trio, gesturing with a movement of a hand for his colleagues to arrest them as well.

            “We didn't do nothing!" The man exclaimed as he put up a fight from the restraints being placed on him. It was no use struggling as the peacekeepers employed the same tactic on Zarr to subdue the men, jabbing their fingers sharply into a specific point into each of their necks. The men's body went limp before they were dragged out the tavern without a word. The peacekeeper beside him knelt down to his level, studying Zarr, before asking a series of questions.

            “What is your business here, Frosen? You don't look like a nobleman's son sent here to be educated."

            “I'm a mercenary. I came here to retrieve a book as requested from my client," Zarr answered, withholding the details.

            “A mercenary? Fetching a book? That's quite an unusual task for someone of your occupation," the peacekeeper commented.

            “I only agreed to this task for the gold!"

            “I see…." The peacekeeper went over to where Zarr's pack laid on the floor and searched its content, pulling out a leather-bound book with the title—Pleasure for the Body and Soul. He smirked at the title, knowing the subject of the book, but his grin instantly faded when he opened the cover and saw that an information card from the Omni Archive was placed inside the book. The book hadn't been checked out and Zarr had stolen it. The peacekeeper met eye to eye with Zarr and showed him the book with the information card with an unpleasant frown.

            “What?" Zarr asked, confused.

            “This book hasn't been recorded as checked out from the Omni Archive. You stole this book and thought you could walk out of this city without following the law!"

            “How was I supposed to know? I've only visited this city on three separate occasions and none of them involved books!"

            “You are charged with disturbing the peace, assault, and attempted theft!" The peacekeeper proclaimed before his colleagues returned inside and carried Zarr out into a caged wagon where the other three humans sat against each other still unable to move.

            “This is ridiculous! I'm not to blame for not knowing your stupid laws!" Zarr shouted at the peacekeeper.

            “Then you should have spent a year educating yourself here before walking on in. The High Court will decide your fate, Frosen." The peacekeeper signaled for his colleagues to move the wagon as Zarr continued to throw out profanity at him. He simply shook his head, not sure whether to feel sympathetic to the wolf or not. The wagon had disappeared from sight, along with the cursing of the wolf, before another voice drew his attention behind him.

            “Alec!"

            The registration process for Silnis' license had taken little to no time and he had departed the Omni Archive in a little under half an hour. He was fortunate that the office was just opening when he arrived at their door and he breezed through the paperwork effortlessly. Now with his official Master Alchemist license in hand, Silnis casually strolled the streets of Tel'bestra with no other appointments today, wondering how he would occupy the rest of the time he had today. He had little time to ponder on the thought, however, hearing distant shouting and curses as he spotted Alec just ahead standing outside of an inn. Shouting his name to get his attention, Silnis ran towards his older brother who greeted him with a stern expression.

            “Guess what? I'm officially a Master Alchemist!" Silnis announced to Alec, showing him the license card with the freshly printed ink stamped onto the sturdy paper.

            “Don't do anything too dangerous," Alec shattered the mood with his precaution, pulling out some papers and glancing at the patrol schedule. Silnis grumbled to himself while Alec busied himself with his duties, wishing that his brother would at least give a care about his greatest achievement. Not even a “Good job!" or “I'm proud of you!"

            “So who did you apprehend this time?" he asked Alec, knowing that talking about his brother's job would make him a bit more talkative.

            “Just some Frosen who thought they could start a fight in a crowded tavern…," Alec replied without even taking his eyes off from his papers. Reading the patrol schedule a second time, Alec calculated that he had approximately half an hour before his next route. That was plenty of time for him to return the stolen book back to the Omni Archive. “Stay out of trouble Silnis. I need to attend to other duties."

            With that said Silnis watched as Alec walked towards the way he had come holding a pack in his hands. No doubt it was going to be confiscated. Silnis pitied the poor soul who had been arrested at his brother's hand. Alec was known for being a pretty tough prosecutor when brought onto stand in the High Court no matter how petty the crime was. It's gained him some reputation, but also enemies among the criminals he has incarcerated. Alec was concerned about Silnis' safety, but Silnis felt that his older brother should be more concerned about his own. He was confident that Alec could handle himself in a fight, but what would be the chances of him making a mistake at the cost of his life? Silnis tried hard not to think about it at times, but the thought would always appear in his mind and cause some distress.

            With nothing to occupy the rest of his day, Silnis decided to make use of his new license and experiment with some alchemical mixtures he had written up. The only legal place to practice as a Master Alchemist was at the Academy of Science's laboratories. Nine of the twelve were always filled with classes, but the remaining three were especially reserved for people such as himself now. The Academy wasn't too far from where he was and Silnis found himself walking into the grand foyer in no time. Classes were in session right now and the corridors were quiet save for the few students who wandered around. Silnis ascended the many stairs until he reached the sixth floor where the three reserved laboratories were situated. He quickly peeked inside each room to check for vacancy before locking himself in one. Peering around the room, he could feel his body shiver in excitement at the tools and ingredients at his disposal. Silnis walked over to the window and pushed it open, feeling a fresh breeze brush against his face as he looked below him at the bustling streets and above at the towering Diamond Spire.

            “All right…time to put this license to use!" Silnis said with glee, rushing over to a large, wooden cabinet with labels for what each compartment contained. Sulfur, mercury, poison ivy, prepared dragon gel, crystallized cyanide, and so much more! The possible combinations and their reactions made Silnis giddy with each ingredient he looked at. Before he could get too carried away, Silnis took a step back and breathed deeply. He needed a calm, rational mind if he was going to work with this stuff. All of them were hazardous and he needed to be aware of their dangers just as well as their chemical properties. Pulling a sheet of paper out of his pocket, Silnis looked at the first item on his list of creations—hypnosin. Basically, it would be a purple, powdered substance that could travel very well in the air and cause a strong state of drowsiness to whoever inhaled it. For now, Silnis was only planning on creating a very weak concentration to test for signs of exhaustion. If the results from his tests came out positive, then he would steadily increase the concentration until the desired amount. Donning a lab coat, apron, and mask, Silnis grabbed all the necessary ingredients onto the large, steel table and began preparing for the synthesis of the final product.

            “First…crush the flowers of the twilight acacia until fine. Then pass through filter to collect pollen…," Silnis talked himself through the steps he had theorized in his mind when he first thought of the idea. He wasn't so sure himself if it was going to work, but he wouldn't know until he tried! Thus was the thrill of science and alchemy!

            With a pot of boiling water, Silnis carefully transferred the twilight acacia pollen into hot liquid and began steadily adding in more ingredients such as Eden root extract, frost weed, and daze adder venom. Silnis made sure to remind himself to be careful with the last ingredient and not add too much otherwise the concentration would rapidly skyrocket and cause a coma rather than drowsiness. Letting the brew sit and reduce itself, Silnis happened to notice that it was almost night as he glanced at the window out of the corner of his eyes. How long had he been working for? What felt like only two hours must have been ten! He needed to hurry before the academy closed, but worst of all, before Alec would lecture him again. Ugh….

            It wasn't too long before the brew had finally reduce and all that was left was the much desired hypnosin. Silnis carefully scooped the powder into a small glass vial, sealed it with a cork, and placed it into his pack. He hurried on out, seeing the custodians cleaning the floors and classrooms, and exited the academy before he could be locked in. There were other ways to exit the building, of course, but the feeling of being locked in never felt reassuring. With quick steps, practically power-walking, Silnis swiftly made his way towards home. The night was still young and many people still walked the streets so he had little to worry about if Alec brought up that the streets were deserted at this hour. Silnis was only another two blocks away until a sharp psst nearby caught his attention and slowed him down to a halt. Down a darkened alleyway, Silnis noticed two glowing eyes staring at him. He cautiously reached into his pack and uncorked the vial of hypnosin, prepared to use it in the name of self-defense. Though it would only cause his attacker to feel like they had ran an Omnis-wide marathon, it should be enough to give Silnis an opportunity to escape.

            “I'm warning you! I have a means to defend myself!" Silnis cautioned the stranger in the shadows, taking a step back.

            “N-No! Don't! It's me! Zarr!" The ashen wolf stepped out from his hiding spot, but unfortunately Silnis' brain had not processed his words in time and Zarr was met with a face full of purple powder. At first, the hypnosin had no effect, but in a matter of seconds Zarr felt his body become severely weak and tired. He couldn't fight the effect of the hypnosin and immediately fell to the ground flat on his face. It wasn't until Zarr had collapsed onto the ground that Silnis realized his mistake.

            “Oh no! Zarr! I'm so sorry!" Silnis dropped to the ground beside Zarr and turned him over. Zarr was still conscious, but he looked absolutely drained of all energy.

            “What….?" Zarr slurred, confused and tired.

            “I hit you with a very weak version of a sleeping powder I made. I thought you were going to attack me," Silnis explained while checking Zarr's vital signs. He hadn't tested the hypnosin at all and who knows what kind of ill effects might have occurred considering the ingredients that went into making it! However, thinking to himself in the deepest corner of his mind, Silnis was pleased that he had a live subject to test the hypnosin on and that the result looked promising.

            “Is that why…I feel so…tired?" Silnis replied with a simple nod, breathing a sigh of relief as his physical examination showed no major injuries to Zarr's body, at least for now.

            “I'm so sorry Zarr…. If I had waited a second longer you wouldn't be…tired."

            “Well…I guess it didn't help that I was hiding in the…alleyway like some mugger," Zarr joked, trying to bring some of the blame onto himself as well.

            “Let me take you to my home. You can rest there for the night while I mix up a stimulant to counter the effect of the hypnosin," Silnis offered, getting Zarr up into a sitting position. As much as Zarr wanted to decline, he knew his body was useless after being hit with the powder. He wouldn't be able to travel back to Edenclad in his current condition and without the book. If only that damned peacekeeper hadn't confiscated his belongings.

            “I hope your family won't mind my sudden intrusion."

            “Oh, nonsense, my mother and father love having guests! They've been so busy with work nowadays that having you over will be a welcomed break," Silnis reassured, hoisting one of Zarr's arms around his back before lifting the large wolf to his feet. He was thankful that he had only made the hypnosin cause exhaustion otherwise he'd have a much more difficult time hauling Zarr back home. The walk back home took a while longer while accompanying Zarr, but Silnis was relieved when they finally walked through the front gardens and entered the main door. A servant had seen them coming and reluctantly opened when they first saw Silnis propping the much larger Zarr on his shoulders.

            “Master Silnis, is everything all right?!" they asked, concerned.

            “Everything is fine, don't worry. This wolf will be needing a room to sleep here for tonight. Please take him to one of the empty guest bedrooms while I inform my parents," Silnis explained, handing Zarr over to the servant before he left to tell his parents of their unexpected guest. He knew where they would be at this hour of night and entered into the family room to see them having a quiet conversation with Alec.

            “What were you doing out so late?!" Alec started, making Silnis groan to himself. He was about to give his older brother a piece of his mind, but luckily their mother stopped them before things could escalate.

            “Now, Alec, it's only three hours before curfew. I'm sure your brother was at the academy and promptly returned home when he saw the time." Alec only sighed, looking at Silnis with wary eyes, before grabbing a book nearby and flipping to a random page to read its contents. With his brother silenced, for now, Silnis could finally tell his parents the news.

            “Mother, Father, I came to tell you that we'll be having a guest tonight. He's a friend of mine if you must know." Alec immediately shot his eyes back at Silnis with a concerned look, but his parents were delighted.

            “Oh, a guest! It's been so long since we've had anyone stay over! Should I bring him some treats?" Silnis' mother offered, smiling with glee.

            “I'm sure he would appreciate it, Mother, but he's had a long day today and is very…exhausted," said Silnis, “I hope that is fine with you, Father."

            “Oh, I do not mind at all! Any friend of yours is welcome to stay at our home. Should he need anything just tell him to ask," his father kindly offered. Silnis bowed graciously at his parents, about to leave to tend to Zarr, but Alec stopped him before he could even take a step.

            “Who is your friend, if I may ask?"

            “He's a Frosen. He was visiting the city and I happened to bump into him in more than one occasion. He didn't have a place to stay for the night so I offered him our home. Is there something wrong with that, Alec?" Silnis challenged his brother with the last line. Silnis knew Alec wouldn't dare start an argument in front of their parents or else be shut down by their mother. Without waiting for a reply, Silnis turned and left to find which of the three guest rooms the servant had brought Zarr into. On his way there, he stopped in the kitchen and quickly mixed up a stimulant to cure Zarr of his artificial exhaustion. He found Zarr lying on the bed in the farthest of the three guest rooms and made sure to lock the door behind him in case Alec decided to get snoopy.

            “The powder you threw at me isn't lethal is it?" Zarr questioned with a hint of humor in his tone.

            “No, it shouldn't be…I think…," Silnis replied, cracking a smile at the end to reassure Zarr he was only teasing. Sitting the bedside, Silnis helped Zarr up into a sitting position and held the stimulant, an odorous mixture of herbs and uncommon ingredients, up to his nose. It didn't take too long for Zarr's body to come over the hypnosin's effects and the wolf jumped back in revulsion at the vile scent.

            “What is in there?!" Zarr asked, fanning his nose for fresh air.

            “You don't want to know." Silnis chuckled as he set the bowl of mixture aside. “So what brought you here to Tel'bestra?"

            “You know already that I'm a mercenary. I'm here in Tel'bestra because a client in Edenclad wanted a book found in your Omni Archive and was paying a handsome sum for it. I found the book, thanks to your assistance, but unfortunately I had it confiscated from me soon after by some peacekeepers from the Tel'bestra Order," Zarr enlightened Silnis.

            “Confiscated? Don't tell me you forgot to return the information card to the receptionist and have it checked out?!" Silnis commented, a bit shocked.

            “That, but I also got into a fight in a tavern when I stopped to grab a meal. The peacekeepers noticed my book problem after they had arrested me."

            “Wait…if you were arrested…then you…," Silnis was about to say, but Zarr finished for him.

            “Escaped? Yes. It's not the first time either. I've been arrested plenty of times in the other kingdoms, Edenclad in particular, but I've always managed to escape." Silnis could imagine that Zarr must be quite the wanted man, especially with the equines. The two of them sat in silence for a while before Zarr let out a loud yawn and nearly fell asleep.

            “I think you should get some sleep. The hypnosin hasn't completely worn off yet, but your body should filter it all out in the morning. If you need anything don't hesitate to ask me. I'll be in my room not too far from here," Silnis said, assuming that Zarr would be able to find his room with his nose if need be. Zarr only nodded sleepily, wishing Silnis a goodnight and expressing his thanks once more, before Silnis left the room. It was getting late now and Silnis was strangely tired from the events of today even though they weren't physically demanding. Maybe he inhaled some of the hypnosin when he threw it at Zarr from earlier? Either way, sleep was the only thing on his mind now. He was about to enter his room, he heard the shuffling of feet from inside. Was Alec in there? The last thing he needed was a late-night lecture from his older brother about bringing strangers into their home.

            “Alec, I really don't want to hear from you right now. Can't this wait until tomorrow morning?" Silnis said, opening his door and stepping inside. To his confusion, Alec wasn't inside. Was he imagining things now? He wasn't that exhausted to be hallucinating.

            Click.

            Silnis quickly turned around when he heard the door shut quietly behind him, seeing one of the servants standing there. Something about this unnerved Silnis and he took a few steps away. What was he doing here? All the servants should have returned home by now!

            “Who are you, and what are you doing in my room?" Silnis demanded. The servant didn't reply, but instead took a step forward. “Don't take another step!" Silnis didn't have anything to defend himself with, quickly glancing around for anything to use as a weapon. Before he could even settle on a weapon, the servant lunged at Silnis and threw him onto the bed. Silnis tried to fight back, but his assailant was too strong! The servant pulled out a cloth soaked with a sweet-smelling liquid and viciously pressed it against Silnis' face. Silnis' eyes shot open in panic as he recognized just what the cloth was soaked with—chloroform. He punched, scratched, and did everything he could to shake the servant off, but he quickly felt his senses shut down and everything fade into darkness.

            “What does the Mistress say?"

            “Install the devices. Take from the city seven natives. When diamonds shine brightest under the sun's light, await the cries of the missing seven. One by one the gemstones will fall from their thrones and shower their people. When diamonds shed their tears, take up arms and shed the people's blood. Begin the first two immediately."

            Without further word, the shadowed group dispersed throughout Tel'bestra. Every home was searched and not a whimper or scream was to be heard as the seven victims were dragged from their homes, silenced through physical or chemical means, and brought into a secret location. While the manhunts were progressing, inconspicuous devices were set in their designated locations within the city. All of this was done in an hour with no one outside of the group taking any notice of what had transpired in the darkness of night.

            “Tomorrow…Omnis will be reborn…," a cloaked figure spoke to himself, chuckling evilly as he played with a knife between his clawed paws. He stood above the seven victims as they all laid unconscious before him, unaware that they would be the first of thousands to die for a new world. “You should all be honored."