The evening sun cast its warm glow upon a group of soldiers, returning from battle, as they approached the town. They were greeted by a row of locals, whose faces adorned welcoming smiles. Even from a distance, the signs of injuries could be seen, though not too severe.

Soon, the two groups merged, filling the air with laughter and lively conversations, spreading across the small settlement like wildfire. The inn was inundated with weary troops, greeted with comforting meals, beer, and wine.

A troupe of local musicians positioned themselves on the street, ready to provide music. People took the opportunity to dance, their bodies swaying to the rhythm. The celebration was in full swing.

However, in the alchemical workshop, Bruno was engrossed in testing his newly constructed device. It stood assembled, filled with formulas, and strapped to his back. He pulled the lever, pumping air inside, and from the leather hose connected to a ceramic nozzle, water sprouted in multiple small streams, synchronizing with the movements of the protruding metal piece.

He aimed the water toward the rows of potted plants lining the shelves.

Suddenly two men barged in, their laughter echoing through the room, each holding a mug. It was Javohir and Raul, their faces beaming with wide smiles. Their arrival caused the young alchemist to glance over his shoulder.

"I thought you had forgotten about me and decided to get drunk on all that beer," he remarked, a playful smirk forming on his lips.

"We came to celebrate with you!" Javohir announced. "The battle was a success!"

"It couldn't have been any other way, considering I sent my best man," Bruno replied as he started to remove the device from his back. Placing it on the ground, he grabbed a chair and sat down in front of them. "Now, tell me all about it."

And so, a long and exhilarating tale began. Raul listened with a content smile, while Javohir, on the other hand, paced around, waving his hands in the air, passionately describing every detail of their victory.

"Well done," Bruno praised him when the story concluded. "I knew you would perform well, but you exceeded even my expectations. You came up with this strategy only with the single game we played. I’m proud. Today, let's celebrate, but tomorrow we'll be back to work. Don't let your triumph get to your head. There's still much to do and to learn."

"Yes. When you find some time, I want to play more of that game. I can see how useful it can be," Javohir pointed out.

Bruno let out a chuckle, which spread to his friends, and soon the laughter filled the room.

"Now, let me get a glass of wine as well. Since you all are already indulging, I might as well enjoy myself," the young alchemist declared. "I have some bad news to tell you, so we might sweeten it a bit with a good drink.”

His words wiped the smiles off his friend’s faces. Nevertheless, they all got up, heading for the door.

„Where is Viki?” Raul asked before they reached the outside.

„Safe. I sent her to the port, to stay with pirates. This is why I wanted to talk about… The old man is making his moves. You should leave as well. Tomorrow, or maybe even tonight. This last stretch… I need to do it alone,” despite his grim words, he did his best to appear confident, and even kept up a smirk on his lips.

„Do you have a plan?” Javohir asked, as his hand rested on the handle of the door.

„I do,” Bruno confirmed.

The Exalonian pressed the handle and revealed to all three of them a group of armed men, who were awaiting on the street, with some of the soldiers keeping an eye on the armed strangers from the distance as they enjoyed themselves with beer and food.

„You are coming with us,” A burly bald man, with his skull adorned by scars, announced.

„And you are?” Bruno asked in response.

„I’m the guy who takes you to Razun,” Redfield responded.

„Is there an issue here?” Brish’s voice reached the whole group, as the captain appeared coming from inside the inn. He was flanked from both sides by two of his soldiers.

„Sir Bahir demanded we bring them to Razun,” the bald man informed looking over his shoulder at the former noble lord.

„And who you are?” Brish asked.

„I’m one of Sir Bahir’s men. They call me Redfield,” he said slowly turning around to face the captain.

„I’m going to accompany you, Redfield. You better be telling the truth, because all of those three men, you are trying to snatch, are very important to this kingdom,” Brish said with the tone of his voice laced with a threat.

„Of course, sir,” the baldy responded, turning around to face Bruno and his companions. „Grab them,” he instructed his men.

Several came to seize the three. Raul struggled a bit, but Javohir and the young alchemist understood it was futile, so even the tall young warrior stopped. Moments later they all were packed on a wagon, surrounded by over two dozen other figures. Some belonged to the shady crew, supposedly sent by the treasurer, and others the toughest-looking members of the militia, led by Brish.

 

---

 

The world turned into shades of grey with the sun almost entirely behind the line of the horizon. At that moment of the day, a group of soldiers and mercenaries arrived at a fenced-off plaza in front of the castle. Bahir already awaited them, surrounded by a group of armed guards.

The little army separated, and the mercenaries came to the front, pushing ahead the three youngsters. The old man paid no attention to this detail since his eyes were focused on Brish, scrutinizing his facial expression, but when Bruno was stopped by Redfield, almost right in front of his face, Bahir was forced to look away, at the young alchemist.

"As you ordered, sir. Three of them in good condition," the baldy reported.

"Good. Now you will hang the two of them," the old man said, pointing at Javohir and Raul.

"What?!" The Exalonian exclaimed, but nobody paid much attention to him, since Brish stepped forward, stealing it all.

"What is the meaning of this? On whose authority are you doing this?" He asked with a tone of voice laced with anger.

"King’s authority. They were plotting against the kingdom, so now they have to be punished. We can’t hurt this one because our allies will get mad at us, but those two are useless," Bahir pointed at the two victims again.

"They fought for Zoulan alongside me," the captain protested.

"Which is very noble of them, but doesn’t pay for their crimes," the old man argued.

"And what crimes exactly those would be?" Bruno decided to chip in, his lips twisted with a rare sign of anger.

"You know exactly, so there is no need to discuss this. Now do what you’ve been told," the old man's attention shifted to his men.

Brish gritted his teeth loudly while clenching his fists, but that concluded his reaction.

"Stop!" Bruno snapped. "Let them go. You want me to cooperate with you, then let them go."

A chuckle left the old man’s mouth. "You are going to cooperate either way. Accept it, you’ve lost."

"I lost?" A cheeky smirk returned to the young alchemist’s mouth. "Why would you think so?"

"Because I have everything I wanted. I have you, and I have all your notes," he snapped his fingers, making Rex emerge from behind the line of guards. He was holding the book with Bruno’s notes. "Now I can afford to give you the necessary time to start cooperating, but first you will need a little push. Death of your companion will make you understand your situation better than my words ever could."

Redfield and his comrades began pulling Raul and Javohir away. Both of them resisted, but it all came to a halt when Bruno burst into laughter. "You don’t have anything!" he shouted at the old man. "Have you even checked what this little rat brought you?"

Brish frowned, quickly approaching Rex to snatch the book from his hands.

"I’ve switched it, as you ordered. He is only trying to stall," the young man said, but the treasurer ignored his words.

He opened the book and began checking the text, making quick breaks to steal glances at the young alchemist. Judging by his expression, it was quite obvious that he didn’t see what Bruno was speaking about.

"I see you both are blind. Look closer. Carefully, and you will notice it," he encouraged.

The old man snorted as he was turning the pages until he arrived at the fragment of the book which was different. The pages were greased, and sections of text, as well as parts of the sketches, were missing. Unfortunately, Bahir only noticed the grease, even checking it with his fingers.

„Read!” Bruno shouted. „Can’t you see, you blind old fool? The recipes have missing parts. Some sketches are not there! Do I have to spell it all for you? And you thought you got me?! I got you. You want my cooperation? Let my friends go, and then I will consider helping you. Otherwise, you might as well throw away this book because you will never figure out its secrets. Even with the help of this rat,” he pointed at Rex. „I knew you sent them to secure the recipe for the growth formula, as well as to learn how I think, so you wouldn’t really need much of my help to take the ideas from the notes.”

Redfield’s eyes shifted from the young alchemist to Bahir, but the old man shook his head. „They are not going anywhere.”

„Then let me propose a solution,” Brish stepped in. „I’ll take the two of them with me. They will stay in my custody. Safe. I give you my word,” his attention briefly shifted to Bruno, before moving back to Bahir, „but still in our hands.”

Before the treasurer was able to say anything, The young alchemist nodded. „I can accept that.”

A growl left the old man’s throat. Before anger overtook him, Brish turned and gave a signal to his men. „Take them. Escort them to the mines, where they will stay under guard and our protection. Safe!”

The soldiers immediately moved, surrounding Bahir’s men, who were ready to resist. Redfield, unsure what to do, was peeking at his employer, ready to pull his blade.

„Fine. Take them, but he goes to the dungeon,” the old man pointed at Bruno. „Grab him!” He shouted to the guards.

They quickly rushed to grab the young alchemist and began escorting him toward the castle. He managed to look over his shoulder at his companion and shout: „I’ll be fine! Just wait, and don’t do anything stupid!”

Those were his last words before he was taken through the corridors of the castle and shoved into a very dimly lit cell, somewhere underground. There was even a guard awaiting there to keep an eye on him.