"You better be scared. You were a nobody in Kaesang and less than that here." The city guard hissed as he leaned into Trainee Im Song-hee.

"Just tell us what those Slack-harbor scum wanted. We saw you with them on the bridge so don't pretend you don't know what we are talking about." The other guard gave the wiry young man a sharp poke in the stomach with a metal capped staff. Song-hee doubled over struggling to plan his next move. He was sure he could easily best this pair but fighting with the city guards could be like fighting with hornets -- you never knew when an angry swam might come after you in the capital.

"Is there some sort of problem here gentlemen?" Trainee Go San Jin's slow drawl revealed both his high status and his low opinion of the city's supposed protectors. "I am sure our Knight-Master will be interested to hear why you are detaining one of his trainees. Shall I send one of my men to fetch him from the palace?" This offer had the intended effect. The city guards backed away from their target without delay.

"Thanks, Bro," Song-hee whispered with a quick glance up at his taller teammate.

"Is there anything we need to worry about?" San Jin asked watching the burly pair retreat.

"No. Not really. I can handle it." Song-hee's quick response tumbled together in his hometown accent.

"Alright. But don't take too long. We don't want extra attention from either the guards or the gangs right now." Song-hee swallowed hard and nodded his understanding. "Good," San Jin said clapping a hand onto Song-hee's shoulder. "Now that is settled let's get you to school in time for your afternoon lab."

"I don't need an escort," Song-hee objected.

"No trouble. It's on our training route. Come on. That's it, let's just pick up the pace." San Jin signaled his bodyguards to form up.

Song-hee had not planned to attend the lab. He was on his way to look for inspiration in the market district when the guards caught him, but now he could not escape his teammate's good intentions. He was used to having an older brother trying to boss him around just not one who took quite so much interest in school attendance. He tried not to squirm as San Jin went with him right to the door of his class.

"Do I need to send an escort to get you back to the forge or will you meet up with Chenhui and In-Yeon?" San Jin asked knowing full well that Song-hee might still try to sneak away from school.

"No, I will come back with the guys. Maybe we can come up with some product ideas if we swing by the market on the way back." Song-hee thought it better to explain his plan than have San Jin come looking.

"It can't hurt but don't worry too much. I am sure Knight-Master Lei will get things sorted." San Jin said with complete confidence as he ushered Song-hee into the classroom.

Song-hee arrived ahead of the instructor and the usual band of boys who lounged in the back row. He found a seat near a window and slumped down behind a fence of textbooks. He doodled some design ideas in the back of his notebook while he watched the demonstration. The experiment instructions seemed clear enough and the expected outcome obvious to anyone who understood the basic principles so he thought he could trust his lab partner not to mess things up too badly. He was mistaken. The materials and apparatus they were supposed to use were soon in a complete shamble.

"Oh, come on!" Song-hee complained as he tried to make sense of where his partner had gone astray, "It is pretty straight forward. Here," he pointed emphatically to stand for the glassware, then to the small scale they were supposed to use for the ingredients. He then repeated the step-by-step instructions posted at the front of the room. Part way he had to grab the other boy's hand to stop him from putting the ingredients together in the wrong order.

"Ow. Stop that," the boy complained loudly enough to attract the instructor's attention.

"Then do it right," Song-hee hissed then nodded toward another pair of students facing a jar bubbling over with a smelly mess. "I don't have time for the kind of clean-up those bozos will have on their hands in a minute." He had barely finished speaking when there was a bright flash followed by the sound of breaking glass. The instructor hurried over to assess the damage.

"How did you know that was going to happen?" his lab partner whispered.

Song-hee just shrugged. He was tempted to say something rude about the boy not paying attention to the instructor but knew it would be hypocritical. If Park Junseo hadn't reviewed the class materials with him, and told him about making a messy mistake, Song-hee may not have been as cautious. His teammate's help made school a lot more bearable and he had gotten further than he ever expected. Far further than a street vendor's son should ever aspire and he knew it did not come cheaply. This took him back to the need to raise money for the team without getting further entangled with the local gang, hence the plan to scope out the market. He scanned the lab notes before passing them to his partner to double check key values while he straightened up their workstation so he could be on his way with the bell.

As usual, Park Chenhui was in the middle of a playful group of boys joking around at the edge of the sports field. Song-hee had to call twice to get his attention and waited for a seemingly endless ritual to allow Chenhui to separate himself from the crew. The delay meant they needed to jog to get to the other side of the school in time to meet Pange In-Yeon. The boy's worried look told them he had been waiting longer than usual and Chenhui apologized at once. This did not seem to relieve In-Yeon's tension but he waited until they were away from the other groups leaving the school before turning to Song-hee.

"When are you going to tell us?" he asked abruptly.

"Tell you what?" Song-hee refused to give anything away if he could help it.

"What the gang is asking you to do for them. I caught a flash of an image last night and it has been getting clearer all day," In-Yeon sounded far older than his years.

"You know I can't tell anyone. Not a soul. That is the part of the pact." Song-hee shook his head.

"That is nonsense. You are part of the team and you took that marker for helping me escape those crazy monks from the Sun Temple," In-Yeon insisted.

"If it wasn't you, the Slack-harbor gang would have found another way to get a hold on me. That is just the way it works. With me in their sights they haven't gone after anyone else on our team and I want to keep it that way. Just let me deal with it." Song-hee ground his teeth. Chenhui looked like he wanted to argue the point some more but then just shook his head and changed the subject.

"So, any ideas how on what we might make for some ready cash? I know you have been doing some odd-jobs on the side but that can only add up to pocket money," Chenhui looked at his older teammate with obvious concern.

"Yeah, well if you don't mind stretching your legs, I thought we might loop through the east-side market and see if something catches our eye. Otherwise, I guess we could dress In-Yeon up in some fancy veils and have him tell fortunes." Song-hee's deadpan voice made it hard to tell whether he was joking. Even after he winked at Chenhui, the comment was enough of a spur to get them all jogging.

Across town, Journeyman Yang Wo-shik took advantage of the rare absence of trainees to take better stock in the forge. He brought his list to Manager Doak Zhong-mi who just shook his head. The compact former soldier was still fighting-fit but his hair was starting to thin out near his temples. He sometimes joked it from the number of times he had pulled on it. As he read the list, he unconsciously stroked stray wisps away from his face and pursed his lips.

Scout Jia Ying-so had also just presented the parade master's expectation: three well-trained, dark bay horses in matching black headstalls, saddles, breast collars, and signature team blankets all needed before the next practice. Manager Doak was confident the Go family would help San Jin and Hae-sung. Both boys were skilled riders, ready for more the fiery mounts in their stable. Junseo was a different story. "Any chance we might dye Rufus dark enough?" He asked half joking.

"Even if we did, I don't think we could get the tack done over in time. It's all custom fit," Scout Jia said.

"What's this about my horse and tack?" Knight-Master Lei Wen Hou frowned as he joined the group. Manager Doak handed him the list from the parade master. "Oh bother. Junseo is just too big for the new mare, isn't he? I guess will I have to go begging. Is there anything else we need for our candidates?"

"Well, maybe Junseo can ask his uncle for some of the school equipment. That is, if the boy is sill determined to stick with javelin instead of trying the races." Manage Doak did not sound confident about this strategy.

"Right. I will leave that with you to sort." The Knight-Master turned to Journeyman Yang. "I am guessing we still need to look at the apprenticeship requirements."

"You are right. Having the boys help out in the neighborhood covers off much of the repair work but they still need to do the set builds, along with smithy rotations." Journeyman Yang frowned as he continued, "The army engineers are pretty specific about what needs to be logged by their cadets."

The Knight-Master nodded, "I remember thinking it was a lot of busy work just to drill a few basic principles. Is there any way to get something saleable while covering the requirements?"

"I don't see much but I will put it too the team. Maybe they will see an angle I missed." Journeyman Yang looked expectantly at Manager Doak.

"If you are begging, maybe see if you can find a way to re-stock the forge. We are nearly out of silver and the last of the polishing compound is gone." Manger Doak skimmed down the list an picked out few more essentials.

"Right, well if I can drum up a few more sponsors maybe we can get enough inventory to make a decent item or two. After the championships I am sure we will pick up some security contracts but right now our potential clients seem to be holding back to see if we are in for the long run."

Manager Doak and Scout Jia looked at each other, remembering the time not long ago when Knight-Master Hou had been ready to give up on their project but wisely did not say anything.