Arai could hardly contain his excitement. "You're sure about that? Grizz, the commander of the Steelmen, is in Carmaine?"

  "Last I heard," the ship captain said, scratching the back of his head.

  "Grizz," Arai murmured, unable to stop himself from grinning. "Grizz is in Carmaine." He turned to the others. "We have to go there."

  "I thought you wanted to go to Salos City," Sir Estil said.

  "Change of plans." He felt giddy. "We have to meet up with Grizz and the others."

  "But we'll be putting ourselves right in the middle of this war," Lillandra said. "Is it really such a good idea to go to Carmaine right now?"

  "I'm not going anywhere near there," the captain interjected. "Just so you know. If you want to go to New Carmal you'll have to find yourselves another ship."

  "That's fine," Arai said. "Thank you for your help." He started to leave, but then stopped and asked the man another question. "Is there anything else you can tell us about the Steelmen? How long have they been in New Carmal?"

  "No idea," he said. The man's attitude had changed; he was much less interested in them now that Arai had changed his mind about going to Salos City. "I heard they were hired by New Carmal to defend the Crevak de Che. That's all I know."

  "The Crevak de Che?" Shell asked. "What's that?"

  "It's a big castle on the border of New Carmal and Manrador. Very important, strategically." He thanked the captain once again, and the four of them left the wharf, making their way back to the long, busy boardwalk which stretched from one end of the port to the other. "Grizz," Arai said again, now muttering to himself. "He's still alive. But what the hell is he doing in Carmaine?"

  "Who is this person, anyway?" Sir Estil asked. "I'm sure you've mentioned him before, but..."

  "He's the son of a Velonese nobleman. He was like an uncle to me. He took over command of the Steelmen after Lord Pierce had my father killed, and he helped me fight Lillandra's monsters and Lord Pierce's men after I returned from the Frozen Mountains. I never would've made it to the Nightfall without him. And now he's in Carmaine, just across the bay."

  "Squaring off against this Dayan character," Lillandra said, rather archly. "I ask again, is it really such a good idea to go to Carmaine right now, with this fighting going on?"

  "Grizz will be able to catch us up on everything that's happened in Velon since we left. He'll know what happened to Lord Pierce; he'll know what's going on at the Waterglass Palace. He can tell us whether Vex is alive or dead. He might even know something about Odo and Maya. We have to talk to him." He paused. "Besides, the Steelmen are like family to me. They waived their fee to help me liberate Velon. I should try to help them if I can."

  "Help them? Help them fend off an army, you mean?" Lillandra was clearly skeptical.

  "I don't know," he admitted. "I don't even know what they're doing in New Carmal. I half-expected them to remain in Velon, or to make their way back down to the Marquisates, at any rate." He frowned thoughtfully. "We should ask around. There has to be someone here who knows more about what's going on in the Holy Empire."

  And they went on to visit several taverns and pubs, asking after the Steelmen and the situation in the Holy Empire; they also looked for a ship that might take them to Carmaine. Arai was afraid that Elentish merchants would be avoiding the city, but this turned out not to be the case -- there seemed to be dozens of ships planning trips to Carmaine, presumably to sell food and weapons and other goods in case the city should come under siege. After quickly booking passage on one of these, which was leaving in the morning, they found a cozy inn and spent their last night in Elent eating mazarat and sleeping in large, comfortable beds.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Mazarat, a mix of beef, flat noodles, and cheese in a red sauce, was a popular dish within the Holy Empire, but apart from Arai none of them had had it before, not even Lillandra. Sir Estil wasn't sure about the sauce, but Shell loved it. They followed up the mazarat with blueberry pie and iced cream, another dish which neither Shell nor Sir Estil had ever had -- blueberries, apparently, were endangered in the east, and iced cream was entirely new to them. "It's so simple," Sir Estil said, tasting the dessert. "Cream, sugar, salt, and flavorings, crushed together and kept frozen. I wonder why no one's ever stumbled upon this recipe in Galleus."

  "It's too hot there," Shell remarked, savoring the taste. "How would they keep it frozen?"

  "Ice and snow are not unknown in Galleus, my dear," he said. "We have winters, too, although they're certainly not as harsh as these. And there are sorcerous methods of producing snow and ice in any case; Lillandra could probably tell you something about that."

  Lillandra nodded. "The Frozen Touch," she said.

  "You'll have to teach me that one," she said absently, slurping up more iced cream.

  They retired to their rented room shortly after that. Arai was still giddy over the prospect of reuniting with Grizz and the Steelmen, but Lillandra, he noticed, seemed distracted; she had only picked at her food. "Are you all right?" he asked her, when they were alone.

  "I'm just not sure going to Carmaine is such a good idea," she said. "I understand you want to catch up with the Steelmen, but the last time we wandered into a battlefield--"

  "In Grand Skir, you mean?"

  "Yes. The last time we wandered into a battlefield, we had to fight a sorcerer and a dragon and we only barely made it out alive."

  Arai studied her. "We've faced danger before. Is that really what this is about?"

  "What else would it be about?"

  "Lill..."

  She looked at him unhappily. "All right, I admit it. I'm not looking forward to meeting the Steelmen. What if they find out who I am? As far as they're concerned I'm responsible for your father's death."

  "I'll explain it to them."

  She barked out a laugh. "You'll explain it to them? What makes you think they'll believe you?"

  "I know them. I told you, they're practically family."

  "They'll think I've put a spell on you."

  He sighed. Maybe she was right. It had taken months for him to warm to Lillandra, to understand and accept that she wasn't the monster he had always believed her to be. It was foolish to think that the Steelmen would come around just like that. "I understand," he said. "I don't think they'll suspect you, but it couldn't hurt to give you an alias, anyway. Any ideas?"

  She thought for a moment. "My grandmother's name was Leila."

  "That's a pretty name."

  "Yes," she said, a little distantly. But then she wagged a finger at him. "It's not just the Steelmen I'm worried about, though. I'll say it again -- we're going to be putting ourselves right in the middle of this conflict, and this fight sounds a lot bigger than the usual skirmishes in the Holy Empire."

  Arai couldn't deny that. Arl's City had been captured, Pontiaks Cathedral had been looted, and this Dayan character -- with the apparent assistance of the priest-sorcerer Bellarue -- had already destroyed three armies sent against him. According to the sailors and barflys they had spoken with, some were even calling him the latest incarnation of Arl himself, sent to unify the Holy Empire once more.

  And now he was on his way to Carmaine, to face the Steelmen at the Crevak de Che. The castle was ancient, and had a reputation for impregnability, but if Arl's City had already fallen...well, just about anything could happen, in that case.

  "I don't want to spend any more time in New Carmal than we absolutely have to," Arai said. "But the Steelmen were my family, and it's been so long since I've seen them..."

  "I know," she murmured. But then she looked at him seriously. "Are you planning to return to the mercenary life after this is all over?"

  "No," he said. "I told you before, I've had enough of that. After we've settled things in Velon--"

  "What? You'll rebuild your father's house on the Tuv? You'll become a farmer or fisherman?" She shook her head. "I don't think that's what fate has in store for you. I don't think that's what it has in store for us." She reached over and slid her sword, Helene, a few inches out of its scabbard. "Have you forgotten about these?"

  Arai frowned, and looked down at his own sword, Silus. Lillandra had a point; these legendary swords -- the Radiant Blade and the Bright Hope -- had obviously been given to them for a reason, and that reason had not yet been revealed to them. If the shades of Illu Matté and Maximine had wanted them to find a quiet life somewhere, they probably wouldn't have entrusted them with the blades in the first place.

  "I haven't forgotten," he said. "But you're the one who's always talking about not allowing fate to have the upper hand."

  She smiled faintly. "That does sound like me."