Arthur and Tess walked hand in hand towards the town hall building. Today was the day, they were leaving for Alacrya. They arrived at the town hall, the remaining Lances, the council, Elijah, Sylvie, and Arthur's mother and sister were right outside waiting.

"Hard to believe you're going on a mission dressed like that," Mica teased.

"Looks more like they're going out on a date night to me," Jasmine added with a small smirk.

"I wish they were going on a date night," Sylvie said sadly.

Since part of the mission was to be undercover, they were not wearing armor or uniforms, and their clothes were nicer than usual. Arthur was wearing a black pants with a brown belt, a black sweater over a white button up shirt, and dark blue sports coat and black boots. Tess was wearing a black sweater like dress with a thick brown belt around her waist, with black leggings and black boots. Elijah was standing by the other lances wearing brown pants and a white button down shirt.

Even though it was nearly the beginning of summer in Dicathen, it was fall in Alacrya, so dressing warmly like this was appropriate.

"We need to blend in. Unlike most cities in Dicathen, walking the streets in armor will attract way too much attention," Arthur replied.

"And this is how they dress over there?" Alduin asked.

"Close enough. We'll look like we have money, but won't attract too much attention. I don't want to risk being assumed to be a named or high blood. In the previous timeline I tried to dress more casually but ended up drawing more attention than when I dressed like this," Arthur replied.

"How does that make sense?" Bairon asked.

"Apparently I'm too handsome to not look like I come from money," Arthur said as he shrugged.

Bairon gave him a deadpan expression, but didn't bother questioning further. The others just seemed to be amused by Arthur's response.

Virion sighed as he looked at Tess. "Tessia, are you sure you want to do this? I'm sure Arthur can handle it on his own."

"Auntie Rhina said Arthur will need me. I don't know what I'll have to do, but I'll do whatever it takes to help," she said as she tightened her hold on Arthur's hand.

Merial and Alduin came up and hugged Tess tightly.

"Please be careful," Merial said, her worry obvious.

Alduin looked to Arthur, to which he nodded in response. Words weren't needed, his eyes said everything Arthur needed to hear.

"Alice," Virion said.

"Are you kidding me?!" Tess groaned with annoyance. "Couldn't you have done this in mine and Arthur's room? Not in front of everyone?"

"Sorry," Alice apologized as she stepped up. "Elder Virion asked me here while we were waiting for you two."

She placed a hand on Tess abdomen and her hand glowed green. As the glow subsided she shook her head then gave Tess a hug.

"Damn it brat, you two have been married a month now. Do you even know what you're doing?" Virion complained, causing a mixture of stifled laughter and embarrassment from those around.

Arthur gave him a deadpan look. "I know what I'm doing a lot better than you. Trust me, I'm just as surprised as you are." He then gave his mother and sister a hug.

He then knelt down in front of Sylvie.

"Please just let me come," she pleaded.

"No," he said sternly then sighed. "If this mission fails Dicathen will need someone who can reach higher than the lances to protect them." He then tapped the gold ring on her horn. "Also, we don't know how well this will work."

"It's been fine so far."

"Yeah, but who knows how well it'll work at close proximity. And even if it does work, all it takes is for it to get damaged or Agrona to remove it and he'll take over again."

She looked down depressed. In truth Arthur didn't want to fight beside her in such a dangerous battle ever again. The thought of which reminded him of when they fought Cadell and Nico in the previous timeline, and how she sacrificed herself to save him.

Arthur sighed and pulled a black crystal from his storage rune. He took her right hand and gave her the crystal.

"Here. Just channel aether into it and you can see whoever you think about."

Sylvie had made great strides in her understanding of aether, abandoning what she learned in Epheotus and focusing on Arthur's teachings. She now could make simple aether blades, and gained Rhealmheart, as well as improved upon her vivum healing arts. She wanted to try and gain a god rune in Aevum, but temporal mechanics just left her confused. In the end she's been focusing on creating portals and gaining the other vivum runes.

"Can we just go now?" Elijah asked.

"Alright," Arthur replied before tossling Sylvie's hair and standing up.

Tess then knelt down and also gave Sylvie a hug as runes on Arthur's back began glowing. In a few seconds the portal was opened, and connected to the Alacryan gate.

"Good luck, and come back safe," Virion said as strongly as he could, as to hide how worried he was for them.

The remaining lances then saluted. The three nodded and walked up to the portal.

"See you all after we end this war," Arthur added before stepping through.

——————————————————————-

Despite traveling across the ocean to another continent, the trip through the portal only took a matter of seconds. When the three heroes of Dicathen exited, Tess immediately took a knee as she covered her mouth.

"I'm going to throw up."

"You're not alone," Elijah concurred as he was hunched over.

Only Arthur maintained his composure and was still standing, but even he felt like he could throw up at any second.

"What the hell Arthur," Elijah said as he tried taking deep breaths while focusing on the grass covered ground, as well as his breath which he could see due to the cooler temperatures. "I've never been through a gate that felt like that. You need to practice more."

"I don't think it's me," he replied as he looked around. "I've never connected to another gate like this before. Everything felt fine until the end, so that's got to be it."

If not for Arthur knowing where they were going when he created the portal, one would have thought they just exited to a new gate in the beast glades. Around them was forest, mostly made up of pine trees. A few birds could be heard chirping, a small animal similar to a squirrel jumped from one tree to another. The forest thankfully wasn't very dense, it looked like nature had kept it thin, at least in that area.

"Then why didn't you just create a portal here without connecting to a gate?" Tess asked as she forced herself to stand again.

"That would breed questions if we were seen, questions I don't want to answer."

A branch broke. Everyone spun around as they covered their bodies in mana and prepared to attack.

"Woah there. If I'm right, we're supposed to be on the same side."

Before them stood a young man with curly moss green hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a brown leather jacket, blue pants, and a thin sword on his hip.

"Names Haedrig," he said, introducing himself with his hands up defensively. "My master told me to meet you here. The supposed forces of change for this continent," he said skeptically while also eyeing Elijah nervously.

"Aww fuck yeah!" Regis said in excitement. "My horned goddess has arrived!"

"Are you building a harem or something? First Aya, then Angela, now Caera?"

Arthur could suddenly feel Regis' depression.

"I showed Aya my creation and tried to make a move. She said the idea of letting me fuck her felt cursed."

"Cursed? Hmm, I wouldn't have used that word, but I can see what she meant."

Arthur refocused on Caera. It only took him a second to realize why she was disguised as Haedrig. They was planning a coup, if she were to be discovered, she needed to be able to hide easily.

"So that's how Seris described us? I guess I can see why. A lot will happen after we take Agrona's head. And since you were so kind as to introduce yourself, I suppose..."

Haedrig smirked. "Introductions won't be necessary." He then began pointing. "Arthur and Tessia Leywin, and Nico Vritra."

Arthur and Tess were a little surprised that she knew they were married, and a little annoyed. The plan was to try and hide that fact, as to not allow anyone any information about them that could be used against them. That said, since it was known, they weren't going to deny it.

"Close but wrong," Elijah stated. "My name isn't Nico Vritra anymore, it's Elijah Knight."

Haedrig raised a confused eyebrow.

"It's a long story," Arthur stated as he saw her confusion.

Haedrig gave an accepting nodd. "I'm sure it is. Now come on, I'd like to make it to the city before nightfall."

"So how did you know who we all were? When Arthur informed Seris he wasn't coming alone, he didn't give our names," Tess asked as they walked.

"Lady Seris simply guessed. Though I'm not sure how she was so certain."

The four of them made their way through the forest until they came to an unadorned carriage with two reptilian mana beasts that resembled horses, and a coachman that appeared to be sleeping in his seat.

"Damned old man," Haedrig grumbled as he started to storm over to the carriage.

It looked like he was about to give the old man a piece of his mind when the coachman started to stand up.

"Did you honestly think I was sleeping?" He asked, in a voice both Arthur and Regis found familiar.

"No way!" Regis said with a little excitement.

"How much did the timeline get screwed up for this to happen?!" Arthur questioned in disbelief.

"Asleep? No. I thought you were passed out drunk," Haedrig snapped.

"Pfft. I may be an old drunk, but even I know when not to drink. I just acted asleep to draw in anyone if we were being watched. Then I would guilt you into buying me some good stuff for leaving this poor old man in danger."

"And was there anyone?"

"Sadly no. Looks like things are actually going smoothly," the old man said, sounding disappointed.

Haedrig sighed as he waved the others over. "This old man is Alaric. For some reason lady Seris recruited him to her cause and assigned him to work with me for tasks."

"I'm guessing my charm and good looks," Alaric said with a grin.

"Despite how he looks, he was once a great ascender that lead a renowned team through the relic tombs, and trained even more ascenders that eventually rivaled his reputation," Haedrig said as he gestured to him and shook his head with an eye roll.

"Nice to meet you Alaric," Tess greeted with a warm smile.

Alaric raised his eyebrows as he smiled from Tess' greeting, then his expression changed to curious as he noticed her ears.

"Wait a second...are you an elf?" He asked as he looked at her closely.

"I am," she replied as she brushed a lock of hair away to show her ears more clearly. "I guess this is your first time meeting one?"

"Aye, and now I'm having some pleasant memories from my ascender days," he said with a nostalgic smile. "If you were to enter the relic tombs, I can imagine both of these young men trying to hook up with you."

Elijah immediately looked awkward as he turned away, Arthur and Tess looked a little awkward as well.

Haedrig elbowed the old drunk in the stomach. "Please have some decency you old drunk!"

"Ooof, sorry," he apologized as he rubbed his stomach.

"It's fine, but I never have, nor would I ever hook up with anyone," Tess replied sternly.

"Really?" Haedrig tilted his head slightly with a questioning look. "I thought you too were married?" He asked as his finger moved back and forth between her and Arthur.

"Hooking up feels like no strings attached, having a fling without commitment." She then hooked her arm with Arthur's. "Clearly there is a commitment between us."

"Lucky you," Alaric commented to Arthur with a grin.

"Alright, enough. Let's get going now," Haedrig urged.

"Fine."

Alaric turned around and then opened the door, to which everyone else started climbing in. Once everyone was in Alaric climbed back to his seat, and with a crack of the reins they were moving.

Everyone sat quietly inside. Tess and Elijah felt a bit uncomfortable and nervous around Haedrig, something felt off about him. Arthur on the other hand was completely relaxed, well, as relaxed as one could be in the situation.

Tess just stared at Haedrig as he sat there with his eyes closed as the wagon bumped along the dirt road to the nearest town. Something was very familiar about him, most likely something Arthur said when he was telling her about his time in Alacrya, or perhaps he was someone she saw when Regis shared some of his memories. Either way, with Arthur not seeming bothered by their escort, she assumed he must not have been a bad guy.

"Am I really that handsome princess?" Haedrig asked with his eyes closed.

"What?"

Slowly he opened his eyes and looked at her.

"You've been staring at me for a while now. Do elves have open relationships or something?"

"Don't flatter yourself!" Tess spat angrily. "There's just something off about you, that's all."

Haedrig smiled. "Close the curtains please. Let's get a bit more comfortable."

Tess gasped. "I'm comfortable enough thank you."

"I'm not talking about disrobing, if that's what you think. I just don't want to risk outside eyes," Haedrig replied.

Arthur and Elijah closed the curtains on their side, as Haedrig took care of his. With the windows covered a light emitting artifact on the roof activated so it wasn't dark. He then pulled a necklace out from his coat and touched the charm. Almost immediately Haedrig disappeared, and had been replaced with a young women with red eyes and navy hair. She was wearing a very cream colored top with dark green edging and a matching skirt.

"Sorry about that, I can't risk being identified. My real name is Lady Caera of Highblood Denoir," she explained.

"Nice artifact," Arthur commented without giving any reaction.

"Thank you, I actually have one for each of you. Just in case you need them," she replied while looking at him curiously.

Tess on the other hand remained silent as she clung to Arthur's arms a little tighter. She now remembered, she had seen Caera in a memory Regis had shared while absorbing mana from Cadell's horn. The look in her eyes in that memory, Caera had fallen for Arthur, she was confident in that.

All of her old insecurities started to flare up again. Tess knew Arthur liked a more mature look, and Caera looked just that. From her well endowed womanly figure to the way she carried herself. In the memories Arthur treated her like a friend, despite knowing she was an enemy, leaving her to wonder if he had fallen for her too.

They rode silently for over an hour, despite how plain the outside or the carriage looked, the inside extremely comfortable, making the bumpy ride at least tolerable.

Knock knock.

Alaric knocked on the carriage. Caera got up and turned around to slide open a slat that was over her head.

"What is it?"

"It looks like a line to get into Cardigan," Alaric replied in a serious tone.

"But there was nothing when we left," Caera mused as she started to think about the situation.

"Are there normally lines to get into cities?" Arthur asked.

"No. Most just use a tempest warp or a teleportation gate. For there to be a line," she paused as she realized. "They must be inspecting every wagon and carriage coming in."

"They know we're here," Arthur stated.

"You said you're a high blood, doesn't that come with some authority to just zip through the inspection?" Tess asked.

"Normally with a bribe I'm sure they would just let us through, but if they really suspect you're here, I'm confident they would want to see everyone's identification," Caera replied.

"Seris thought of disguise artifacts, but not identification?!" Elijah asked rhetorically.

"We tried. Alaric knew someone who could make fakes, and Seris had gotten some intelligence images of you three. But he was arrested a few days ago just for that. We didn't think it was related, but maybe..."

"It doesn't matter what could have been, what matters is the here and now. Give us the disguise artifact's," Arthur said sternly as he took control of the situation.

Caera took three necklaces out of her dimensional ring one by one as she handed them out.

"Just touch the pendent and imagine the appearance you want while you channel mana into it," she instructed as the three put them on.

Elijah activated his, giving him brown hair and brown eyes, with a thin beard. Next came Tess, with brown hair and blue eyes, almost a female version of Arthur. Lastly came Arthur, his features were much sharper with wheat color hair and golden eyes.

"Are you sure about that?" Elijah asked as he looked at Arthur's disguise.

"I agree, all you're missing is a set of horns and you'll have everyone's attention," Caera added.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing," Arthur replied dismissively. "Just have Alaric keep going as normal through the checkpoint, we'll meet back up with you inside the city. Find a cafe or something where we can make it look natural that we found you and got into the carriage with you."

"Alright, I hope you know what you're doing," Caera said as she turned around to speak to Alaric. "Keep going and act natural. Remember, we haven't done anything wrong," she said to him. As she started to turn around there was a bright purple flash. "What was..." she started, but saw nothing but an empty carriage.