Verlan, Jolara and their two friends, Kalsir and Raana, sat at a table in Gunter's Grill, finishing their meals. They still have not told anyone else about their discovery, for fear of being betrayed to the Search Team.

"Where do you think the weapon could have gone? Maybe a rebel stole it?" Kalsir said. "Not so loud. We don't know. When Alkor and the others took us to their office, we were having breakfast. They caught us by surprise", Jolara replied.

"It couldn't have just disappeared. Any Knights that survived are in hiding. The rebels are the ones causing all the disruptions. It had to have been a rebel. There is no other explanation", Raana said.

Their quiet discussion continued for a few more minutes, when they finished their meals, and paid for the orders. Then, they exited the building into a cool evening air.

"Mother wants us to be back before dark. Sorry", Verlan said. "Alright. See you tomorrow?" Kalsir said. "Hopefully. Good night", Jolara replied. They split, leaving the two siblings alone. 

Verlan stopped, and looked around. Jolara stopped, too, but saw nothing.

"What is it?" she asked. "I feel like we are being watched", Verlan replied. "Come on. We are both tired. And this is a peaceful village", Jolara said, but Verlan remained still, listening for any sounds. After another minute, however, everything was still. 'You are probably right", he said, and they kept walking, albeit at a faster pace.

Then, two figures appeared in the remains of the evening light. They turned to the sides, and saw two more on their left and right, and behind them.

"What do you want?" Verlan dared ask. "Come with us, children. We know you have it", one of the figures in front said. "What?" Jolara said. "The weapon. We need it. Give it to us, and we shall leave you alone", the figure replied. "We have no idea what you are talking about. So please let us go", Verlan said. "You have no business stalking two innocent teenagers about something like that", Jolara added.

"Stubborn fools, just like their father. Oh well. If you don't talk, we have other methods", the figure sighed, and they began closing in.

Verlan kicked the first in the gut, but the stronger man pushed him back, and sent him to the ground. Jolara tried to attack, but another man pushed her to the ground as well.

Verlan felt a spark of anger, and some of the men stopped, and backed off. Their leader, however, remained in place, seemingly undeterred.

"Oh. It appears we have a fire wielder on our hands. How interesting", he observed. Verlan felt his hands heating up, and looked down. To his astonishment, a light blue glow radiated from his hands. He came back up to his feet, and pushed the leader away.

"You little bastard. I guess we will really have to escalate now", he said, drawing a curved sword.

"Leave the children alone now. I shall not ask again", said a familiar voice. Verlan pulled Jolara to her feet, and they looked in the direction of the voice. Kor walked out of the shadows, his stick held high.

"Go back to your hut, old man. This does not concern you", the leader said. "Oh, I think it very much does. Step away from the children, and go home. Last warning", Kor said. Verlan and Jolara stood still, too stunned and bound by fear to move. There was no way Kor was going to get away with that. All 8 thugs approached him in a semicircle, swords drawn. Yet, he calmly kept walking forward, seemingly unconcerned.

"Last chance, old man. Get- Kor's stick slammed into the man's chin, pushing him away with a force great enough to send him to his back. The other thugs froze, and looked at their leader, who managed to get into a sitting position, and was massaging his chin, which was already bruising. "What are you idiots waiting for? Kill him!" he ordered, and began getting up.

Verlan and Jolara could hardly believe what was happening, as Kor effortlessly blocked their first few strikes, and swept another man off his feet, and knocked him out with a kick to the temple. The rest attacked him again. He ducked under a strike and batted the thug on the temple with his stick. The other 5 struck from all sides, but he blocked each attack and swung his stick like a sword, taking two down to the ground simultaneously. The leader came at him again, armed with two swords this time, but Kor easily disarmed him of both with strikes to his knuckles and brought him down with a haymaker.

The last two turned tail, but were knocked to the ground, as the Search Team arrived to investigate the noise. Alkor approached them.

"What happened here?" he asked. "These 8 thugs cornered Verlan and Jolara. I just happened to be close by, in a fortunate turn of events", Kor replied. "And you took all 6 of them down by yourself?" Alkor asked, impressed, looking over the fallen thugs. "No, of course not. I am very old. They did well for themselves. It was a team effort", Kor said dismissively. "So you two got some spunk in ya. Interesting. Thank you for your contribution. Alright boys, let's go. Tie these up and hit the road", Alkor said.

"The boy is a fire wielder! And they have the- Taerun kicked the man, provoking a grunt of pain. "Quiet, filth. You got beaten by two teenagers and an old man. You have no right to talk", he said sharply. "Easy, Taerun, easy. They got their beating already. Although, fire wielder? Don't be ridiculous. If he really was one, we would have known long ago", Alkor said. The Search Team put the thugs in their trucks, and drove away.

"Let's go. Jenna is probably worried sick", Kor said, leading them to their home. Indeed, their mother soon appeared, and ran up to them.

"Thank you, Kor. Where were you? And what happened to your face?" Jenna said, turning Verlan's head to the side.

"We had a run in with some thugs. But Kor came to our aid. And the Search Team took them away", Jolara replied. "It was nothing. They put up a good fight, too. I just happened to be passing by", Kor said.

"Thank you, nonetheless. I will take them from here", Jenna said, hugging the two siblings close to her.

"Alright. Good night", Kor said. They waved him goodbye, and turned for home.

After a calming shower, Verlan and Jolara went to their rooms, and talked about the fire and its implications late into the night, until finally drifting off to sleep.