Zeltara watched as Kaztos’ group left. She understood why they couldn’t bring her along. They were going for important negotiations, and she wouldn’t have helped matters. But that didn’t change the fact that she wanted to see more of Mousafont. She had never been to a city before, never even been anywhere except Urada. So, the idea of being in such a large city excited her. Even the fact that she might not be welcomed here didn’t deter her. At her side, Saiya seemed unbothered about the situation. Then again, the blond girl wasn’t one to care about finding trouble.

  “Zeltara, Saiya,” Yena said, walking up to them. Zeltara waved at the older woman while Saiya gave a nod. “Would you two be willing to help us set up camp?”

  “Why are you asking us? You usually just give us an order,” Zeltara asked. Yena nodded.

  “True, but remember your agreement with Dinaro? You will work with the caravan until we reach a settlement. Now that we’ve made it to Mousafont, you’re free to do what you want.” Zeltara’s eyes widened at the realization. They could go if they wanted. Do whatever they wished, barring the guards keeping the caravan here. She looked out towards the city, listening to the countless people living their lives. It all seemed overwhelming to her, like being dropped into the ocean without a boat.

  “I think we will help. I hope you don’t mind us sticking around. At least until we can get our feet under us.” Zeltara knew that just wandering into the city and hoping for the best was foolish. She didn’t even know what they would do. They could stay at an inn, but Zeltara didn’t even know how much money they had between the three of them. That’s assuming they could find somewhere to stay. The entire prospect seemed almost scary now that she thought about it. At least staying in the caravan would at least provide them a safety net.

  Yena seemed to know what she was thinking and gave her a soft look. “Your first city? It can be overwhelming. Technically, you’ll have to talk to Dinaro about staying here, but he won’t mind. Besides, he has something to discuss with you when he gets back.” That settled it in Zeltara’s mind.

  “Alright, I’ll talk to him. For now, where do you need us?” Yena pointed toward the cooking wagon.

  “Now that we’re settling in more permanently, we’ll be moving more equipment out of the wagons. I could use your help in setting up the cooking area.” Saiya nodded and headed over. Zeltara rushed to follow her.

  Walking beside Saiya, Zeltara said, “So, I finally get to see inside the cooking wagon. What’s it like? You were in there every day.”

  Saiya shrugged. “It has several mana appliances to use. Storage enchantments store the food. Nothing noteworthy.” So, nothing that she could use. If there was one thing that frustrated Zeltara, it was that so many everyday items required mana to use. She cursed whoever had thought of getting rid of traditional stoves centuries ago. Sure, the mana ones took up less room and were safer, but not everyone could use them.

  The two spent the next hour setting up camp. After helping Yena get all the cookware set up, they turned to their own campsite. As Zeltara worked, she overheard some Al’Yanda men talk about their journey. It had been over a year of travel until they finally settled down. That amount of time made even her balk. She would have to remember that they would need breaks in between their adventures. The last thing they needed was to burn out traveling for years straight. Maybe they could use this brief time of respite to relax before they started as adventurers.

  Once they set up camp, everyone started to lounge around. It felt strange to Zeltara to see everyone relaxing despite it being early afternoon. She still had energy to spare. Enough that she felt the urge to explore the city. Zeltara looked over to Saiya, who had sat down and began rummaging through her satchel.

  “Hey, Saiya. Let’s go.” The blond girl shot her an annoyed look. “Come on! We have an entire city to explore. It’ll be fun.”

  “I don’t think wandering off into an unknown city where anything could happen is my idea of fun. It’d be better to stay in the safety of the caravan.” Well, that wouldn’t do. And Zeltara couldn’t think of a logical reason that would convince Saiya to come along. She wanted to do it only to sate her curiosity. That left only one option.

  “Let’s go! It won’t be so bad!” Saiya pulled out a book and began reading.

  “No, we’ll just find trouble.” Zeltara obnoxiously sighed.

  “We’ll be quick and get back before Kaztos returns. You can keep us out of trouble. Please, can we go?”

  Saiya’s eyes narrowed. “I can’t stop you from doing anything. So the answer is still no.”

  “Please,” Zeltara said, drawing the word out.

  “No,” Saiya said, looking agitated now.

  “Please.” The word was drawn out even longer.

  “No! Stop asking!” Saiya lowered the book and glared at her. Zeltara gave her a grin. She opened her mouth to say please again when Saiya’s hand shot out and covered it. “Fine! If it’ll get you to stop.” Saiya sighed at Zeltara’s muffled cheer. The blond girl lowered her hand. “Do you have to act like a five-year-old?”

  “No, but it got you to agree. So, where do you want to head to first?” Zeltara glanced around, but every direction just seemed the same to her.

  “Two problems,” Saiya said. “First, we don’t know where anything is. So I can’t answer that. Two, how are we getting past the guards watching the camp?” Zeltara turned her attention to the perimeter and noticed a flaw in their current watch.

  “Look.” Zeltara pointed to opposite sides of the camp. “There are only two guards. We just have to wait for one to get distracted and we can get away easily.” She realized how odd it was that the security was so light. Were they needed somewhere else?

  Saiya nodded. “So we pick a side and both of us watch a guard? Which direction will we go?”

  Zeltara thought for a moment before pointing to the southeast. “Let’s go over there. The buildings are closer, so it’ll be easier to break their line of sight.” Having no objections, Saiya agreed.

  The two walked over to the camp perimeter and monitored the guards. They weren’t subtle, but it didn’t matter because the guards were inattentive. Zeltara wondered if they could get away with just walking out of camp. She decided to play it safe, so they waited. It wasn’t long before the opportunity came. One guard got distracted talking with another, who had walked by. Zeltara got Saiya’s attention, and the two moved.

  The lot they were on was a few dozen feet from any nearby buildings. A distance that felt like an eternity as they traveled out into the open. Zeltara wanted to run, but knew that would only attract more attention. Fortunately, they made it to a nearby alley without being spotted.

  “We made it,” Zeltara said. Saiya visibly relaxed now that they were home free.

  “Fantastic! Where are we going?” Zeltara and Saiya jumped at the voice behind them. They turned to see Pence standing there.

  “Pence, what are you doing here?” Zeltara asked. He looked between the two with a grin.

  “I overheard what you two were planning, so I decided to come along.”

  Saiya said, “You can’t be here.”

  “Yeah, it’s one thing for us to go sightseeing. At least we’re free to go whenever we want to. You don’t have that luxury.” Pence seemed unaffected by their words.

  “I know. That’s why I didn’t ask and just came along. Now you’re stuck with me, yes? Unless you’d rather I alert the guards on my way back.” Zeltara and Saiya stared at him. Surprised by his audacity.

  “You little shit,” Zeltara said. She then sighed. “Fine, but stick with us. Dinaro would kill us if something happened to you.”

  “Forget Dinaro. What Yena would do to us would be much worse,” Saiya added.

  Pence cheered. “This will be great! So, where are we going?” Zeltara shrugged.

  “I don’t know. We were just planning to explore. See where our feet take us.” Saiya shook her head and muttered something under her breath. Though Zeltara didn’t hear much of what Saiya murmured, she caught the word “trouble”.

  Pence said, “Alright, let’s go.” The three went to the other end of the alleyway and walked into the thin flow of traffic. They headed in a random direction and took in the sights. However, just a few minutes in, it was apparent something was wrong. It wasn’t very subtle, starting just moments after exiting the alleyway. The issue centered on Zeltara.

  She was getting looks. Not out of curiosity, but disdain. As they walked, people on the streets would stare at her. While it wasn’t from everyone, it felt like over half of the street was giving Zeltara dirty looks. It made her anxious. Maybe leaving the caravan wasn’t the best idea.

  “Do you notice it?” Zeltara asked. Saiya got a little closer, observing the people around them.

  “I do. Let’s find somewhere more private.” Her confirmation did little to calm Zeltara’s nerves. For just a moment, she thought she might have imagined it. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. At least having Saiya’s support helped. She didn’t know whether she could handle this alone.

  The staring distracted her so much that Zeltara didn’t notice the person standing in front of her until they knocked into each other. It was a middle-aged man who stumbled back before catching himself. An apology was on the tip of her tongue, but she stopped when the man looked at her.

  His expression became disgusted as he said, “Watch where you're going, null blood.” Zeltara froze as she realized what all the looks were coming from. Entering with the caravan gave her a false sense of security. She must have just been hidden from general view. But then a familiar anger came rushing in. What right did he have to call her that?

  “Shut up. I should kick your ass for calling me that.” Before Zeltara could do anything else, Saiya grabbed her wrist and dragged her away. Pence trailed behind.

  The man scoffed. “Go stay in the null quarter like the rest of your kind.” Zeltara struggled with Saiya, so Pence had to help pull her away. She took notice of all the glares directed at her. It only aggravated her further.

  Saiya led them into an alley, away from prying eyes. Zeltara growled and said, “Let go! I need to punch that asshole.”

  “Calm down. We can’t get in trouble, remember? Breathe,” Saiya said. Zeltara listened and took a deep breath. Her anger lowered to a simmer.

  “I can’t take that lying down, Saiya. You could have at least let me get a hit in.” Saiya looked frustrated as she let her go.

  “I’m upset about it too. But we can’t get caught.” Zeltara hated the fact that she was right.

  “I know,” Zeltara said. She let the logic of the argument wash over the fires of her anger.

  Pence put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry that you had to deal with that. It wasn’t right.” Zeltara nodded in thanks. “What should we do now? We can’t walk around if Zeltara is getting harassed.”

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  Something the man said came back to Zeltara. “He mentioned a section of the city where other elves are. We could be welcomed there.” The thought of meeting others of her kind was exciting. It’d make the poor start of their excursion worth it.

  “Sounds like a plan. What do you think, Saiya?” Pence asked.

  Saiya looked reluctant. “I don’t know. We’ve already run into trouble. What if it turns out to be the reverse for us? They may not be accepting of humans.”

  “Then I’d stand up for you guys. Come on, I want to go check it out.” That there was an entire section of the city that housed elves piqued Zeltara’s curiosity. Back in Urada, Selossa was the only other elf. She longed to meet more of her people.

  Saiya said, “Fine, but we don’t know where to go. You’re also attracting too much attention right now.” Zeltara knew she was right and tried to think of a solution. Before she could, Saiya turned to the alley entrance. “Pence, keep an eye on Zeltara. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” She and Pence turned to Saiya, surprised.

  “Where are you going?” Pence asked. Saiya reached the end of the alley and glanced back at them.

  “To go solve our current problems.” She then disappeared around the corner, leaving Zeltara and Pence alone. Zeltara observed the alley to make sure it was safe. Besides the trash that littered the area, it was only the two of them. Seeing no other choice, she settled in to wait.

  A few minutes passed with no sign of Saiya. Zeltara felt anxious, wondering where she could be. Usually, Zeltara was the one in the know and taking charge. The current situation left her uncomfortable. Her eyes kept glancing back and forth between the alley entrance and deeper in. If something were to attack them, she didn’t like their chances. Pence was enthusiastic but, from what Zeltara had seen, he wasn’t a good fighter.

  “Don’t worry, she’ll be fine,” Pence said, as if reading her thoughts. Zeltara looked over to see Pence giving her a reassuring smile. “Saiya can handle herself. She’ll be back before you know it.”

  Zeltara let out a huff of amusement. “Who said I was worried?” The look Pence gave her changed her tune. “I am. It’s just that Saiya’s not too big when it comes to busy areas like this. That, and she’s alone out there. I don’t know if something is happening to her right now or not.” Pence nodded in thought.

  “I understand. But do you know what I think? Saiya can handle herself against anything out there. If she could run into danger to save me from that monster, then she can do anything. Saiya’s cool like that.” Zeltara noticed Pence blushing as he finished speaking. A smirk found its way onto her face. So, that’s how it was? She prepared to tease him when a crash rang out from deeper in the alley.

  Their heads whipped around towards the noise. Zeltara dragged Pence behind her and pointed her gauntlet forward. A moment passed before the sound of more things being knocked over reached them. She tensed, ready to attack, when the thing came around the corner.

  It was a stray cat walking forward. It spotted them, hissed, and ran away. Zeltara and Pence sighed in relief, their postures relaxing. Nothing to worry about then. The cat noticed them and hissed before running away. The two exchanged a look and laughed. Maybe she is getting too wound up over the situation.

  “Glad to see that you're enjoying yourselves while I’m gone.” Zeltara whipped around to see Saiya at the mouth of the alley, holding clothing. “I guess you didn’t miss me too much.” She walked over to them.

  “I’m glad you're back. I was beginning to get worried,” Zeltara said. Saiya rolled her eyes.

  “Now you’re the one sounding paranoid. I can handle myself. Here, put this on.” She handed Zeltara the clothing. It was a dark brown cloak. She understood what Saiya was thinking. “I asked around and found out where the elf quarter is. It’s not a long walk from here.” Zeltara started to put the cloak on but realized that her coat was in the way. She took it off and handed it to Pence.

  “Here, take this. I can’t wear that and the cloak at the same time.” Pence took the coat and put it on. Zeltara figured that worked better than his carrying it around. She donned the cloak and raised its hood, angling her ears back. She turned to Saiya. “What do you think?”

  Saiya nodded. “That should work. The only way someone would notice something is off is if they were looking closely from straight on.” Zeltara glanced over at her coat. It looked like she would have to redesign it when she had the chance. Maybe streamline it and add a hood? See if she could add some armor of some kind. She originally designed it bulky to hold all her gear, but her gauntlet made it somewhat redundant. On second thought, it may be best to start over.

  “How about you keep that, Pence? I’ll make something new for myself when I have the chance.” Pence looked at her with stars in his eyes.

  “Really? Thank you! But how are you going to sew something new? Aren’t you only a tinker?” Zeltara laughed at the inquiry.

  “Do you think that tinkers only know how to work on tools and furniture? We’re supposed to know how to fix anything, and that includes clothing. I’ll just use this cloak as a base and go from there.” Now that she looked at it, Zeltara noticed the cloak was of fine quality. It was slightly better than the one she used to have back in Urada. “Where did you find this anyway? Did you buy it from a nearby store?” She didn’t think Saiya had the money for that.

  There was a momentary pause before Saiya said, “Yes. But we should get going. We don’t have forever to wait here.” Zeltara noted the deflection, but let it slide for now.

  Pence didn’t seem to notice the strange answer and asked, “Where do we need to go?” The three began walking to the alley entrance.

  “We were actually not far off. If we head a few streets south and keep going in this direction, then we’ll make it,” Saiya said. Zeltara smiled. It seemed like they would make it there with plenty of time.

  “Sounds good. Then we’ll head over and take a quick look around before coming back. Lead the way, Saiya.” The three reached the end of the alley. Zeltara felt uneasy about exiting. What if the cloak didn’t help? She took a deep breath. Best to get it over with. They exited the alley and began walking. They received brief glances from several people as they entered the street. Zeltara’s heart rate shot up, but then she realized they only looked because two cloaked figures exited an alleyway. Well, better to be looked at with slight suspicion than with hostility.

  It took the trio ten minutes to reach the elf quarter. They had taken a wrong turn once or twice because of their unfamiliarity with Mousafont, but still reached it without too much trouble. As they traveled, Zeltara noticed that the buildings and street became more run down. Rather than stone, the buildings were now mostly made of cheap wood. The area was poorer, and more beggars loitered on the streets. The sight disheartened Zeltara, but she couldn’t say she felt surprised. If today revealed anything, it was that the elf quarter probably didn’t receive much help from the city.

  Still, that did little to dampen Zeltara’s spirits over seeing more elves. What would they be like? How physically similar would they be? She was only a half-elf, but how strong did the traits she received from her mother compare to a full elf? As they got close, Zeltara kept an eye out for anyone. But the streets kept getting emptier. If the city was scarce before, it felt abandoned now.

  They heard a man’s yell from around the corner. Without thinking, Zeltara ran over and peaked onto the neighboring street. Saiya and Pence followed behind, keeping out of sight as well. There, three armed men were harassing a middle-aged man in front of what looked to be a store. Zeltara’s breath caught as she realized the accosted man was an elf. She examined the men in more detail.

  All three of them wore the same dark red vest over their regular clothing. Zeltara wondered if they were part of some group. The men carried swords, but they hadn’t drawn them yet. They appeared satisfied with just pushing the elf around.

  After the elf took a hard shove that dropped him to the ground, he said, “Please, that’s all I have. I’ll be able to pay you more next week.” One man scoffed.

  “You’re the one under our protection. That means you need to pay us for our services. If you don’t...” He gestured to a burnt down building down the street. “I’m sure you don’t want that. So, pay us what you owe.”

  “We need to help him.” She prepared to charge in before Saiya grabbed her wrist. She turned to face the blond girl, who shook her head.

  “Stay out of it. The last thing we need is to get into a fight. He’ll be fine, probably.” Zeltara pulled her wrist away and glared.

  “And what if he isn’t? I’m going in there to help. Are you coming or not?” The two had a brief standoff before Saiya looked away.

  “Fine, I have an idea to make this quick.” She pulled out a vial of orange liquid from her cloak. “It’s a light paralytic. It won’t completely freeze them, but it’ll slow down their movements.” Zeltara and Pence stared at the vial in open awe.

  “Wow, that’s amazing!” Pence exclaimed.

  Zeltara turned her attention to Saiya. “So this is what you’ve been working on, huh?” Saiya answered with a smirk. “Yeah, we can use this. I assume you want us to cut them before they realize we’re there?” Saiya nodded and then pulled out three throwing knives and coated them with the liquid. She handed one to both her and Pence. Zeltara took the knife, cursing the fact that she couldn’t use her explosives. That would attract too much attention.

  “This seems dangerous. Are you sure we should be doing this?” Pence asked. He held to dagger away, afraid of accidentally cutting himself.

  “I don’t see what the problem is. Besides, you're the one who wanted to come along,” Zeltara said. She glanced around the corner. The three men were still harassing the elf. They weren’t very observant of their surroundings. “Okay, here’s what we’ll do. I’ll take the guy in the middle. Saiya, you take left and Pence take right. We pretend to just be passing by until we’re right behind them. Attack when you see me lunge.”

  “Won’t they notice us?” Pence asked.

  “Not if we act natural, like we’re just people going about our day. They don’t seem afraid of being seen since they’re doing this in broad daylight.” Zeltara glanced back at Pence and Saiya. “Ready?” They both nod.

  Zeltara hid the knife under her cloak and turned the corner. Saiya and Pence were by her side as the three stared straight ahead, giving the altercation no mind. One man glanced over at them before turning his attention away. By now, the men had stopped talking and started kicking the downed elf. They made it behind the three men. Zeltara’s hand tightened around the knife.

  She lunged forward, followed by Saiya and Pence. The three strikes land on the men, ripping cuts into their bodies. Zeltara targeted the shoulder, not wanting to inflict a major injury. The three men shouted in pain and turned toward them. They clutched their new wounds.

  “You bastards! How dare you attack us?” The man tried to take a step forward, but he stumbled. “What is this? What did you do to us?” Their momentary distraction gave them the opening to strike. Zeltara uppercut the man’s jaw using her gauntlet. The extra force from the metal and the paralytic combined to down him in one strike. Saiya ducked under a grab attempt from her opponent and snuck around him. Before he could turn around, Saiya clocked him in the back of the head with her knife’s hilt. Pence punched the last man, but wasn’t able to down him. The man pushed Pence to the ground. Before anything else could happen, Zeltara punched him in the back of the head, knocking him out. The three men lay unconscious on the ground.

  Zeltara turned to the elf on the ground. He tucked his knees to his chest and used his arms to cover his head. She crouched down and said, “Don’t worry. We took care of them. They won’t bother you anymore.” He lowered his arms and looked around. Seeing that the danger had passed, the elf began to get up. Zeltara offered him a hand, but he ignored it while continuing to observe his surroundings.

  “Damn it.” Zeltara turned to see that one of the assailants had woken up. He attempted to get up off the ground but couldn’t seem to get his limbs to work correctly. Saiya’s poison must be in full effect now. “Why can’t I move right?”

  Saiya leaned down and held a knife in front of the man’s face. “You were cut with a coated knife. Don’t worry, it’s only a mild paralytic.” He gulped, seeing the knife inches from his face. The man’s struggles increased.

  “Is it wearing off?” Zeltara asked, watching movement return to the thug. Saiya nodded. She turned to the downed man. “If you promise to leave with your friends. We’ll let you go this time. If not, then I’ll let my friend have some fun with you.” To emphasize her point, Saiya pressed the edge of her blade against his cheek. He paled at the threat.

  “Of course! Please, just let us go.” Zeltara nodded, and the man relaxed. He stood up, his movements still stiff. The other two were now stirring. “Wake up! We have to get out of here.” They shot awake and rushed to stand as well. Despite their slow movements, Zeltara remained on guard. She didn’t know if they’d stick to their word.

  Fortunately, the first man said, “Come on, you two. We need to leave. The boss needs to hear about this.” The other two grumbled as they followed the order. Under their watchful eyes, the three men walked off. As they did, one of them glanced back and said, “Don’t be too happy with yourselves. You just made an enemy of the Kolidato gang.” The thugs stumbled into a nearby alleyway. They heard a crash followed by cursing that faded into silence.

  “Well, they were quite the gentlemen, yes?” Pence said as he chuckled. “At least that’s over with. I was worried we’d mess that up.”

  Zeltara waved the concern off. “We’re fine. All it took was a bit of surprise to get the drop on them. Now then.” She then turned to the other elf. “Are you doing alright, sir?”

  The elf looked at the three of them with suspicion. It was apparent to Zeltara that he barely trusted them more than the men they had just chased off. He examined her closely, and his eyes widened. The elf’s posture relaxed.

  “You’re an elf too?” Zeltara nodded. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t tell at first. Thank you for helping me. My name is Friari.” He gestured to the building they were standing outside. “This is my shop, The Trinket Bazaar. I sell just about anything someone could dream of. From weapons and armor to appliances and medicine. Almost anything you need is behind these doors. All for an affordable price.” The sudden sales pitch had Pence almost bouncing in excitement and Saiya shaking her head.

  “Well, I’m glad to have helped,” Zeltara said. “Who were those guys anyway? Any reason for them to target you?”

  Friari said, “We can talk more once we’re inside. I need to sit down after that ordeal.” Zeltara didn’t see a problem with it.

  “Alright.” The three followed Friari into his store. After hearing Friari talk about it, Zeltara had high expectations. It was safe to say they were not met. She thought that there would have been some high-quality items in the store. Something they might need in the future.

  Instead, the interior was rather rough. Like the building itself, the shelves and counter were made of old wood. Cobwebs clung to the corners of the ceiling, and the floor had the thinnest layer of dust. As Friari stated, weapons, armor, and other equipment were present. But Zeltara could see that they were of low quality. The obvious attempts at maintenance failed to hide the fact that everything in here was at least secondhand. At least the affordability part of the sales pitch would be true. At least Zeltara hoped so.

  As they walked through, Pence looked at everything, unimpressed. Zeltara figured the Al’Yanda rarely dealt in low-quality items. Saiya gave a similar look over at the store, but returned her attention to the store owner. Friari led them to the counter in the back of the room and sat down on the chair behind it. Once settled, his eyes landed on Zeltara. “So, I haven’t seen you around before. Are you new?” The question surprised Zeltara.

  “Yes, I am. But how did you know?” Friari let out a soft laugh.

  “Because I know just about everyone in the area. There are only around fifteen hundred elves living in Mousafont, and we stick to ourselves. So, seeing a new face like yours is a surprise. Where are you from?” Hearing how many elves lived in the area shocked Zeltara. The place seemed almost abandoned so far. She would need to take another look around here if she had the chance to.

  “I come from Urada. It’s to the east. Or at least it was.”

  Friari said, “I haven’t heard of the place. But at least it was somewhere you would have been treated well. Now, you wanted to know more about those men?”

  Zeltara nodded. “Yes, if it’s not too much trouble. It seems like we have made ourselves a target.”

  “Of course. It’s the least I can do for you.” Friari leaned forward in his chair. “As you heard, those men are part of the Kolidato gang. They’re a new group that started in the aftermath of what happened two months ago. From what I’ve seen, the gang is rather inexperienced. Their members have only done muggings and protection rackets. But they seem ambitious, so don’t be surprised if they expand their operations soon.”

  Pence asked, “Why hasn’t the city stopped them? They don’t seem that dangerous.”

  “Well, that has to do with the missing section of the city. Do you know about that?” Pence and Zeltara nodded. “Well, there was a large barracks in that part of Mousafont. It must've housed almost twenty-five percent of the guards in the city. Most of them are gone, and with the influx of refugees, the city can’t keep up. Crime has fallen out of control. It’s why you don’t see many people out on the streets. Now, people are afraid to go outside. The elf quarter has devolved into almost lawlessness. It’s how the gang can operate freely in the area.”

  “What’s being done about this?” Zeltara asked. “It’s been about two months. Surely the city could restore order by now.” Friari sighed.

  “From what I’ve heard, the duke has been trying. There’s just been too much going on. There are too many problems to be dealt with. He’s tried to send out an expedition to find some help, but it ended in failure. Apparently, another is being sent out soon, but I don’t know the details. People won’t say it, but if nothing changes, the city will soon be in crisis.” Zeltara noted that. That expedition might be just what they're looking for. It might also help the city, from the sounds of it.

  But she would think about that later. Instead, she said, “Well, I’m glad you’re alright. Thanks for the information. We need to be heading out now.” Friari stood up from his seat.

  “Why don’t you buy something on the way out?” Zeltara shook her head at the request.

  “Sorry, not right now. We can come check it out another day.” It might not be the highest quality, but it was likely all they could afford at the moment. That, and it didn’t hurt to shop in a store where the owner owed you a favor.

  Friari sighed. “Very well, I’ll hold you to that.” His expression then brightened. “Thank you again for the help back there. You’re welcome here anytime.” They exchanged goodbyes, and the three left the store. The street was still abandoned, but at least they knew why now. Zeltara began to walk back towards where the caravan was. They were gone long enough.

  “I’m surprised,” Saiya said. Zeltara looked over at her curiously. “I thought that I would have to warn you about getting back. We wanted to return before Kaztos did. I was sure I’d have to drag you two away to make it.”

  Pence pouted at her. “Ah, we’re not that bad.” Saiya stared at him. He fidgeted. “Okay, maybe we are.”

  “I just think we had enough excitement for the day,” Zeltara said. “Besides, we accomplished what we came out to do. We know more about what is going on than before.”

  “You’re right. Mousafont does put up a strong front to hide the struggle underneath. Though, the question remains of what we’re going to do next,” Saiya said.

  Zeltara said, “I think I have an idea on that. Something Friari said caught my attention. For now, let’s meet up with Kaztos and hear what happened with him.”

  “I’m glad to have come along. You two always make things exciting,” Pence said. Zeltara glanced over at him.

  “No problem. Try to ask next time. You almost gave me a heart attack sneaking along.” Pence blushed and rubbed the back of his head.

  “Sorry. I’ll keep that in mind.” As the three continued on, Zeltara thought about what she had learned. Mousafont city was in trouble, and if things didn’t change, then it would only get worse. Something would have to be done. An idea formed, and Zeltara knew what they should do next. But that was for tomorrow. For now, she decided to just enjoy the walk back to the caravan.