“A task? What kind of task?” Tucker asked.

  “One that we won’t like.” Alex grumbled while crossing his arms. He could see the smile on Dale’s face and knew that something troublesome was being pushed their way.

  “Relax old friend. I just need you to escort someone out of a certain location.” Dale casually retrieved an envelope from his desk and slid it over. “It’s someone you know very well, in fact. His daughter and son saved you recently.”

  “That doesn’t make it anymore reassuring.” Alex sighed, dropping into the velvet chair. “Let me guess, is it Owl?”

  Dale nodded, his smile fading. “He’s gotten himself into quite a predicament behind the enemy lines and has requested for assistance to escape from the Empire.”

  “Ha…I’m not surprised. He always gets himself into those types of situations. It’s a bad habit I told him to fix.” Alex glanced at Tucker and gestured for him to sit down. “But why us? We’re not exactly the best fit for a rescue operation, much less a stealth one.”

  “That’s the best part. You don’t have to be.” Dale took a pencil and drew a line on the map mounted on the wall behind his desk. “You just need to get him and whatever he has out.”

  Tucker watched as Dale drew several circles throughout the front lines and then marked them with an “X” before placing the pencil down. He narrowed his eyes. The areas of interest were all several kilometers behind the enemy lines, and there was no straightforward way to approach them. Yet for some reason, Tucker could see Alex clicked his tongue to the side.

  Alex glared at Dale as he smiled. “You don’t want us to be stealthy. You want us to make as much of a disturbance as possible.”

  “That’s right, even though Owl needs to escape from the Empire. It doesn’t have to be quiet. You’re free to use whatever means necessary,” Dale said.

  “But what is Owl doing that far behind enemy lines? He should have been able to evacuate through one of our safe houses.”

  “His previous task was investigating the inner circles of the Empire, but now that the war has arrived, there’s no longer a need for him to continue.” Dale tapped a region further behind enemy lines, then a location of a well-known safe house beside the city. “As to why he hasn’t evacuated yet… let’s just say one of our greenhorns that were stationed in the region caused some unexpected issues.”

  “Unexpected issues?” Alex raised a brow and scoffed. “Like what?”

  Dale forced a smile. “They blew up the safe house with the teleportation device.”

  Tucker sat there in shock upon hearing this while Alex rubbed his temples in frustration. The old man then turned to Tucker and asked, “Are all of you this bad?”

  “Honestly, we’re a bit of a black sheep in the Order, but I didn’t think someone from my group could fuck up that much,” Tucker replied, shrugging his shoulders. “If anything, I would blame the training process. It’s clear it’s not working—”

  “You!” Alex immediately smacked the back of Tucker’s head, causing him to wince in pain. “My apologies Dale, my rookie still hasn’t learned manners yet.”

  Dale gazed at Tucker and smirked. “That’s fine. It seems we’ve been complacent with our methods. I honestly thought that the recent batch was fairly prepared.”

  “It seems like you’re wrong on that one,” Alex tiredly said, burying his face in the palm of his hands. “I swear, is that entire batch this much of a headache?”

  “Come on, we’re not that bad. Right?” Tucker chimed in.

  The room fell silent at the question, with neither the old man nor the Head Administrator commenting on the matter.

  “I mean, at least we’re better compared to the previous generation, right?” Tucker watched as both of them focused on the map with a dumbfound expression, but soon closed his mouth as they ignored him.

  “I take it we can’t refuse this mission?” Alex asked.

  “Not unless you want to be trialed for treason,” Dale replied.

  “That’s an abuse of authority.”

  “Not for those in my role,” Dale refuted.

  Alex bitterly shook his head and rose from his seat, picking up the brown envelope. “Alright, so how would we even get there then? Is there another safe house close by?”

  “No, you’ll have to take the teleporter to the neighboring kingdom and use a caravan to get closer.” Dale took out an obsidian coin with a skull engraved on it and flicked it towards Alex, who easily caught it. “You can choose which kingdom you want to enter from, doesn’t matter to me which one you pick. As long as you get to Owl in time.”

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Alex tossed the coin over to Tucker and ignored the rookie as he clumsily caught it. “If we’re going that far, then I take it we’re not the only ones tasked with this mission.”

  “Indeed, I already sent two other watchmen over there. The brother and sister duo,” Dale replied.

  The veteran’s face immediately contorted as his sharp eyes fell on Dale. “You should know that isn’t the best choice. Owl would never approve of this.”

  “I know, but they’re the only ones we could spare.” Dale returned Alex’s gaze with eyes that seemed to cut right through him. “Whether Owl approves doesn’t matter. As long as it meets the result.”

  The old man pressed his lips together and reluctantly nodded. “I see, then I take it all the information we’ll need is in here?” Alex waved the envelope and stopped once Dale acknowledged his gesture. “Alright, we’ll leave now then.”

  “I pray you’ll return safely with the others.”

  Alex pushed the rookie along. “We’ll report back to you once we’re done.”

  Once Alex and Tucker left the office, a voice echoed throughout the room. “Sir, are you sure it’s acceptable to have Salamander on this mission?”

  “Of course.” Dale gazed out the window and watched as the sun rose above the horizon. “It’s what he wants after all.”

  “But… he is well in his rights to retire.” The figure knelt before the Head Administrator, their green cloak plopping on the ground. “Shouldn’t we have him spend the rest of his days within the Keep?”

  “You know I am not one to cage my companions.”

  “Yes however—”

  Dale turned to the figure and coldly interrupted. “We both know that this is what Salamander wants, and you are well out of line to say otherwise. Even if you share his blood.”

  The figure’s shoulders shook as she unwillingly nodded before a thick mist shrouded her body. Without uttering another word, she vanished from the Head Administrator’s office, leaving Dale to himself.

  He placed his hand on his forehead and closed his eyes. “I hope everything goes smoothly.”

  .

  .

  .

  “What just happened?” Tucker asked.

  “We just got screwed, that’s what happened.” Alex paced down the hall while opening the brown envelope. “When the Head Administrator personally delivers a task, it’s never a simple one.”

  At first Tucker was troubled, but soon he smiled. “But that just means he trusts us, right?”

  Alex paused for a moment before agreeing. “I suppose so.”

  Tucker couldn’t help but rub his nose. “What can I say? It’s about time someone noticed my capabilities and who else except for our boss? You should take some notes old man.”

  Alex rolled his eyes. “That’s enough of you tooting your own horn. We’ve got work to do.” Alex examined the contents of the mission and frowned. “It’s not going to be easy. We’ll have to pay a visit to the Reinhart dwarves and see if they’ll cooperate with us.”

  “Dwarves? Like the ones that are part of the Earthen race?”

  “That’s the one.”

  Tucker’s eye’s flashed with a hint of excitement but soon faded as he stared at the envelop. “But will they help us?”

  “Perhaps. I know a few of them quite well, but it depends on their mood,” Alex replied.

  “Then should we wear disguises and sneak past them?”

  “Denied. They’re dwarves Tucker, our height is a dead giveaway.” Alex watched as Tucker jokingly shrugged his shoulders. He could tell the suggestion was half baked, but if they were facing a human settlement, then he would have entertained the idea. “They’re also not our enemies, if they can’t help us. They’ll just send us back. What we need to focus on is getting to Owl.”

  “How long do we have to find him?” Tucker asked.

  “A few days, maybe longer, if he does a good job at hiding.” Alex passed the pages to Tucker. “Read it through in your head and pass it back to me when you’re done. We’ll burn the contents before leaving.”

  Tucker nodded and skimmed through the pages with a curious expression. Besides the general appearance of Owl, a forty-year-old man with grey and brown hair and golden eyes, and where he was last seen. One piece of information caught his attention. “We need to retrieve a canister? What’s so important about this canister?”

  “I have no clue, but according to Owl’s notes, it’s more important than his life.”

  “What? So if we had to choose between it and Owl, we would abandon him?”

  “Correct.”

  Tucker crumpled the paper and tossed it over to Alex. “What could be so important that we would sacrifice one of our own?”

  “That’s not for us to know.” Alex caught the crumpled pages and held it for Sally to ignite.

  As the paper ball ignited in flames, Tucker couldn’t help but feel disgusted at the idea. “We’ll rescue Owl and bring back the container.”

  “If it’s possible—”

  “I’ll make it possible.”

  Alex glanced at Tucker and saw something unexpected. The usual carefree attitude had vanished and instead a newfound resolve took its place. The old man couldn’t help but grin. “If you say so. For now, how we approach it is up to us to decide.”

  “I’m guessing you have some sort of plan in mind?”

  “I do, but whether it goes according to it is another story.”

  As they reached the end of the stone halls, the gothic arches in the chamber came into view once more. Countless watchmen were checking their equipment and swapping out their weapons for ones that suited their task. Tucker couldn’t help but be taken aback as it was the first time he had seen so many of them within one room, and the reality of the war finally sank in. Yet the old man carried on through the chamber as if nothing had changed.

  Alex stepped onto the teleportation platform and waited for the custodian. Once they were ready, he whispered a set of coordinates into their ear. After a few moments, the custodian nodded, shifting the runes on the pedestal shifted several times.

  The custodian stared at Salamander and gestured for their companion to hand something over to the Old Man. Soon another custodian stepped onto the platform, carrying a satchel of tools for the veteran. Once Alex received the satchel, they moved away from the teleportation device.

  “Alright, you ready rookie?” Alex asked, pulling up his half mask.

  Tucker quickly did the same. “Hold on, give me a second to compose myself—”

  Before Tucker could finish his sentence, a shimmering glow filled the platform and, in an instant, their bodies momentarily hovered in the air. Soon their figures vanished from the area with Tucker screaming his lungs out and Alex covering his face with his palms. Their next location was the stronghold of the Reinhart Dwarves.

  I know it's a surprise, considering I didn't plan to release any chapters that weren't between Tuesday and Saturday, but after so much support, I figured why not.

  That being said, I will aim for six chapter releases from Monday to Saturday if possible.

  It'll be my last hurrah as I push my "Rising Star" run. Then, I go back to my regular 3x schedule and rest in my hermit shed, knowing I did my best.

  So... a few more hours in a dark, damp, cold word mine would be fine? Right?

  If you're enjoying the story so far, it would mean a lot to me if you could follow, favorite, or leave a review!