The grim reality for enchanted relics is that we have to be prepared for long periods of solitude. Some of us handle the idle time better than others, but if there's a way for me to will myself to return to being dormant, I've yet to find it. I tried, I really did, to keep calm in the depths of my cramped prison, but the bag's dampening cloth suffocated my magic, sapping me of any energy. I couldn't even shapeshift, as the fabric absorbed my mist before I could grasp onto the flexible metal that enveloped me. With no sight of sunrises, or the steady tick of a clock, it took only a few hours for time to lose all relevance to me. ...At least, I think it was a few hours.

  The sensory deprivation wreaked havoc inside my mind before long, and I started to worry about anything and everything. What if weeks, or months, had passed by and I'd been forgotten down here? What if Janine really had been corrupted by my magic and now that she's got a clear head, she thinks I'm a danger to everyone? What if something happened to her because I wasn't there to assist? Any other day, I'd brush away those thoughts—our bond ran deep even though Janine's Passguard work didn't require my presence on a typical day. The doubt lingered all the same.

  Without warning, I heard the bag's fabric rustle around me. Was I being picked up? It's finally over! Or, at least I thought it was, but I remained in the bag. I couldn't hear anything beyond the crinkling of the bag's fabric, since its magic-nullifying effects restricted any ability to sense the outside world through my mist. But something was happening... I jostled around in the bag in an even rhythm, so I concluded that we must be walking.

  Strange. Why didn't Janine pull me out right away? ...Oh! Maybe she came back early to take me on patrol and she's hiding me from the captain. I wouldn't mind that, even if it broke Galen's one condition for Janine's promotion.

  My concern grew the further we traveled. We must have walked far beyond Quinn's Peak, why would Janine need to conceal me for this long? Before I could ponder any further, the bag opened up and flipped over, sending me tumbling into a waiting palm.

  Into Rufel's palm.

  No, this is impossible! What cruel joke were the Fates pying on me?! The mercenary ughed his low, rumbling ugh as he grinned down at me. A yer of fresh snow crunched underfoot as he walked a path adjacent to a churning, rushing river. Only his footsteps marred the snow in any direction on this rarely-used trail—far from anyone who might stop a thief. Even with fkes freezing to his scruffy beard, Rufel shrugged off the cold, fixated on his new prize.

  "Credit where it's due, little relic," he said as he rolled me over in his hand, examining my every detail with an unsettling zeal, "Galen's a clever one, he's good at figuring people out. I told him there was no way a magician's daughter would be too dumb to know that Soundlocks are vulnerable to Second-Speak gems, but she didn't check for any voice magic at all! I get a magic sword, Galen gets rid of some headaches, you get a chance to do some real damage like you're meant to, and Janine... well, her loss is my severance pay. Hah!"

  I couldn't believe Galen would betray us like that, after Janine and I had saved his expedition from disaster! He should have been begging for us to fix his failures! Instead, he let his pride cloud his judgment—he got exactly what he'd wanted since the day we met. With a good enough story, he might actually convince everyone that Rufel had pnned everything and take minimal bme.

  I had to get back home, I had to set things right and reveal the truth somehow. I didn't need to sit around and listen to Rufel's pns! My ethereal mist burst outward in a green fsh, pelting the grizzled mercenary's skin with tendrils of energy. If I could just inject some of my will into Rufel like I'd done accidentally to Janine, to turn him back to town and make him expose Galen for his deception... but he kept walking. I didn't know how to bridge a connection to another person, especially when I'd rather keep my distance from someone so repulsive.

  I recalled the mist to me when my first pn failed, scrambling for other ideas. Maybe I could climb the mountain myself... I could try using my shapeshifting to crawl home, we weren't that far. If I could get away from Rufel when he's not paying attention, I might have a chance. Failure would mean a return to the bag, and that would suffocate any hope of escape.

  Rufel sneered as his fingers clenched around me. "Done with your tantrum? Let me make it perfectly clear: I'm your champion now, and we're going to crush anyone who stands in our way of glory! When we get back to Jaegrius, you and I are will teach our enemies real fear. And we're gonna get rich doing it!"

  Rufel rambled about 'glory' for another mile along the river's edge before a faint purple glow emanated from the trees bordering our path, growing brighter just moments ter. A lone Py'riel trudged onto the path before us—I never thought I'd be gd to see these monsters, but I'd take any means of stopping Rufel from taking another step!

  "I hoped I'd find one of you today." Rufel held me up in front of him, pointing me at the Py'riel with a mispced confidence over his command of me. "Show your new champion what you're made of, huh? None of that fancy fairytale garbage like you did for the kid, though. Give me a real sword."

  I refused. A tree monster harassing the mercenary sounded like the perfect opportunity to disappear—no matter how sturdy Rufel believed himself to be, even he couldn't handle a Py'riel in single combat without my help. His grin faded as he shook me like a bottle of sauce that wouldn't pour. "Come on, transform! I command it!"

  The Py'riel took a tentative step forward, but kept its distance. Just my luck... the monster recognized me as a threat. It didn't want to engage on the off-chance that we were tricking it into a fight it couldn't win.

  Rufel clenched his teeth as he seethed in rage at my insubordination, veins on his forehead throbbing as he tried to crush me into submission with his hand. "Transform! What's wrong with you! Do as I say, or I'll lead this creature and all of its friends right back to Quinn's Peak! I'll let it burn down that miserable little town you and Denholm worked so hard to protect! How's that for incentive?"

  My magic fred out as I bristled at Rufel's threat. How dare he threaten my home for his petty desires!

  I enveloped my metallic shell with mist, turning it to liquid as I prepared to reshape myself. Pleased at my compliance but still erring on the side of caution, Rufel wrapped the neckce chain around his wrist to secure me to him. With a smug grin returning to his face, he widened his stance and outstretched his arm as if he already held a weapon, bracing for my new form to take hold.

  You want a sword, Rufel?

  Fine.

  This one's all yours.