A layer of mist hung above the waters of the boatyards in the crisp morning air. Summer had truly ended in the city of Alandria, and now that the heat was receding and the clouds had rolled in, the city had become a much quieter place. While it was a capital, and to a degree was always busy, Alandria thrived in the summer moreso than any other time of year. People from across the kingdom, and some from beyond, came to visit the cities waterways. There was a reason it was called the jewel of the kingdom, after all. The added level of quietness was perfect for Alexei, he didn’t want anyone else getting caught up in the fight that was inevitably going to unfold. The boatyards sat on the opposite side of the lake that the Mage Temple was located, closer to the mouths of the rivers that fed it. It allowed the workers of the boatyard to both store boats at their pontoons and build new ones at their work yards. The work yards were what Alexei was most interested in. There were stacks

Alexei staggered to his feet and winced as his left leg sent arcs of pain up through his body. He glanced down and shuddered as he saw the massive splinter that was sticking out from the limb. An unexpected consequence of how things had turned out. It had been almost 30 seconds and the Assassin hadn’t emerged from the flames, which were now rapidly spreading across the boatyard. That was another unexpected consequence, one which Alexei really should have thought about beforehand. He needed to get out of there and fast. The City Guard would soon be converging on the area, and with them teams of mages to help douse the flames. While someone without Magery would have to pour water on a flame to get rid of it, mages trained in the arts of emergency rescue could literally suck the flames right out of an area, so he didn’t need to worry about any other explosions being triggered. Alexei limped away from the explosion site, intending to use one of the other entrances to the area on the

Alexei didn’t know how to feel when he awoke. His leg was fixed up, he knew that much. The pain was gone and his thoughts weren’t all strange and foggy anymore. He looked down at the hole in his trousers where the wood had impacted and it was as if nothing had happened, except for a very faint wispy darkness that was only visible if you looked really hard. But to achieve all of that he’d had to make a deal with someone that he didn’t even want to talk to, let alone work with on anything. Alexei sighed. It was worth it in the long run, that was what he was telling himself, even if he didn’t necessarily believe it. The problem with the Demon Lord’s power was that it was addictive. Ever since his Power Divine had first absorbed the Darkonium back in the depths of the Demon Lord’s tomb he had sort of felt its effects on him, bubbling below the surface. Sure, his Power Divine had told him that it was something that had been purged from his system, but if that were the case he was su

Alexei paced back and forth across his room at the Trout’s Gills. He couldn’t figure out how to find the second of the two assassins that were after him. He didn’t even know what they looked like. Without that information, there was no way he could set up a tricksy plan as he had done for the first of the two assassins. The fact he’d even survived that encounter was mostly down to luck, and he didn’t really want to rely on sheer luck once again, even if he had gotten stronger thanks to the interference of the Demon Lord. But it was quickly looking like luck was all he had, and if that was the case, the only thing he could really do was stack the deck in his favour. First and foremost, he didn’t want anyone to get hurt, but considering he’d already used the best out-of-the-way location… and had blown it up… he wasn’t entirely sure how to go about things. Then it clicked. The Black Market. In the underground black market, there had been a fighting arena where two fighters could

“I’m still not happy with you bringing him here,” Grand Mage Kryte said. He and Alexei were both standing outside the closed door of the cell that held the assassin he had managed to capture. The poison tooth had been removed from the man’s mouth, it had been child's play for the mages of the Mage Temple to locate which tooth it had been before taking it out. He was bound by two links of heavy metal chain, which had been reinforced by the strongest mages at the Academy. There was no way the man was going to escape, whether by breaking free of his bonds or breaking free of his life. That meant, finally, Alexei could talk to one of the assassins and not have to worry about getting a blade through the skull while those talks were going on. “Yeah, I know,” Alexei said, “But what you have had me done? I need answers, Grand Mage, and I couldn’t exactly hold the bastard myself.” The grand mage sighed, “I know, just make sure that none of this ends up blowing back on us. A war between