Kez followed to leave behind the Captain, still a little shaken from what’s just happened. He walked through the cell-laid corridor. Most of them were empty except for a few drunk-looking fellows. Crime in the city must be at an all-time low. Or there is no point waiting in a cell for a trial for most criminals. Justice was often executed without a judge in most countries formed after the collapse of the Old Empire, Aldunis included.

They came to the big room at the end of the corridor, in which most of the watchmen would do their activities, be it paperwork or be it resting after their patrol. Keziah came in here once or twice during his time in Avinea to get some information that could help him in completing his contract. With that and the frequent changes in the watchman's workforce, he doubted they recognized him before apprehending him from the guild tavern.

“There has been a mistake. This man was falsely accused of being the thieves’ leader. He is to be let go,” announced the Captain, matter-of-factly.

“Wh-what? But…” stammered one of the watchmen present.

“He took the statue from the actual leader, who is now on the run. You are to be looking for a tall man with long, blond hair from now on,” interrupted the guardian of the king. It didn’t escape Kez’s notice how easy it was for him to lie to the watchmen. “Give him back his belongings.”

“Y-yes, sir!”

The Captain of the Royal Guard left then, seemingly confident that Kez would follow through with his order. The local peacekeepers were left even more dumbfounded than Keziah. Looking at each other, they didn't quite know what to make of it all. Finally, the sheriff brought his workforce back from this state of mass confusion.

“You heard the Captain! Give him back his possessions,” he shouted and turned to Kez. “Apologies for the misunderstanding. You can go on your way,” he continued, trying to make it seem like it was he who made the call about Kez.

“Don’t mention it, officer. These things happen.” teased Keziah, drawing a sour look from the chief watchmen.

The person who went to get his belongings came back, successfully retrieving Kez’s small bag and sword from the back room. The statue was obviously no longer in the bag. Excluding it, the bag currently contained just a few coins and rations meant to last for two days. He carried them in case of an emergency. Unanticipated escape from the city or potential abduction were things he sometimes couldn’t control or predict.

The watchman looked unaccustomed to wielding swords of the quality of Augustus and ran a finger along the blade, admiring it. Blood flowed slowly down the centuries-old steel, making its temporary holder jolt away.

“H-ow? I didn’t even feel it…” stammered the watchman.

“It’s just recently honed, nothing more,” said Keziah, trying to avoid further questions concerning Augustus.

Thankfully, the other watchmen didn’t make much of it and Kez was soon walking on the neatly cobbled street in front of the watchmen's station. It was located in the same district as the guild's tavern, not far from the Main Gate. Neighboring Lower Waterside, it was considered one of the most active areas of Avinea. Merchants, taverns, main road. All of it made Main Gate the region with the most interaction with the world outside of the city.

Keziah made it home as soon as the sun of early spring started to set. He managed to dodge the welcoming attack of the doorframe and sat in his usual place near the table. After summarizing to Augustus what happened when they were separated, Kez asked, “What do you think?”

<What do I think? We are waist-deep in rat shit, that's what I think. >

“So I don’t have any chance of defeating that guy?” He put his elbows on the table, crossing his hands.

<Defeating? Maybe you could. He is a Light Manipulator, after all. Fighting shouldn’t be his specialty,> explained Augustus. <What’s keeping us from standing up from all of this rodent dung is the fact that he commands 500 hundred Royal Guards and could see what you are doing at any moment he desires to. >

“No choice after all then, huh?”

<None that I see. The job he gave you is shady like a well-dressed man offering help to the poor, but we just must pull through. >

“Right, barely any information, no details, unknown risks, and no pay. My favorite kind of contract.”

Light shimmered in the corner of his eye. His head moved slightly to get a better view of the forming words in the air. Don’t tell anyone about your order. They then disappeared as quickly as they materialized. Keziah got up to cover the window with his sleeping blanket, banishing the sunset light from his room. Light Manipulators had to use existing light to make use of their abilities. They differed from Light Creators, who could make their own light from mana, although not at such a distance.

“Should have done the first thing after coming back,” berated himself Kez.

<It’s not like he saw anything other than you sitting at a table… >

“I know. Still, it creeps me out.”

<Right. So now that you aren’t being creeped out, you can work on your mana channels,> lectured Augustus.

“You are still convinced that it might somehow help me?” asked Keziah. “Even if I had the best mana efficiency and response, it wouldn’t matter. I just have to manage with what I can do within this three feet area around me. I don’t need better channels to do that.”

<But what if one day you could create and control lightning like you used to? It’s not impossible. >

“Thousands of years old and still a dreamer, huh?” joked Kez. He started to work on his channels, anyway. Perhaps because he wanted his oldest friend to feel better. Perhaps because he was a dreamer, too.

After the night spent in training, Kez went out to scout the place of his ambush on the carriage. It was given to him in the morning, the same way he was warned not to tell anyone about this job the previous night. It was not far from one of the lesser popular eastern city gates, on the road towards Blackwood Forest. The reason for its rather small usage was the fact that it led nowhere else than to the forest or the isolationist country of Volgan. There were human settlements in the Blackwood but they were scarce and mostly self-sufficient. This, combined with their remote location, meant that this road was only used for the occasional trade of wood and furs, leaving it unoccupied most of the time.

Keziah wondered why would a carriage would ever pass here, but these thoughts quickly faded away. He didn’t need to know, nor did he care. All he was supposed to do was to burn it when it reached a few miles from the city walls.

Kez walked down the stone-paved road, looking for a suitable place to carry out the ambush. Nothing but fields and pastures could be seen for a good 15 minutes of walking, with few farmers and shepherds working them. The sun glared in his face, warm maius beams forcing him to squint his eyes. It must have been around noon, with the sun so high up in the sky. Keziah didn’t carry a watch on him, so the position of the sun was his primary way of telling time. Too expensive and too easy to lose being his reasons for not having one.

When the stones on the road started to turn into dirt and mud, so did the meadows and fields turned into hills covered with a small patch of trees. Coming over them, Keziah noticed that anything behind these hills was virtually obscured from view from the city. The distance was matching what the Captain ordered and Kez started to scout the spot in which he would ambush the carriage.