Ten minutes later, I walked out of my room with Dorrian by my side while Luna went with Analise. We left the castle and checked the alleys we passed by to see if Nova was there.

"So," Dorrian began while twirling one of his knives. "What traits should we be looking for again?"

"From what Stan told me, she's about a year younger than we are-Fifteen, maybe sixteen years old. Purple eyes, black hair with hints of purple in it. The obvious giveaway is the fact that she's a lupan."

"Wolf ears?" Dorrian inquired.

"And a tail."

All of a sudden, we saw a figure book it into an alleyway near us followed by a small group of people.

"Found her," I sent telepathically, "Head over to my position as soon as you can."

"Kay," Analise sent back.

When we entered the alley, we heard commotion: "Hey, hey! Leave me alone, you wankers!"

One of the men in the group laughed, "Ah, so the lass has a mouth, eh?"

"Come on! Cut me some slack! I am sick and tired of your bullshit!"

"Ready your weapons," I warned Dorrian in a hushed tone. He nodded and drew his knives.

As we made our way over to the entrance of the alleyway, I couldn't help but laugh to myself. Whomever these people were, they weren't very smart. They just trapped themselves in a dead end. How priceless.

When we were finally noticed, some people in the group shuffled their feet while others were visibly sweating. There were eight of them, and two of us. However, these blokes probably realized who Dorrian and I were, hence the reason they were so nervous.

I was in a simple black tunic with matching pants, and I had on my trusty pair of black boots. Sure, I wasn't in my totally epic suit of armor, but these people knew who I was primarily because of the mark on my face. I had my new favorite shield slung on my back, and I wore the longsword my father gave me a day ago on my belt. Dorrian was a little more on point: he had his ranger's garb on, and he looked way more serious than I did. (I mean, his face was bathed in shadow for Pete's sake.)

"W-We want no trouble," One of the people stammered.

I grinned, drawing my sword. "Leave the lass alone, and we'll be good."

"But-."

"Have you ever had a spear inserted in your ass?" I inquired in a calm voice.

"What?" Someone exclaimed in disbelief.

"As far as I understand, it's extremely painful. Run along now, or I will put a white hot spear head up your buttholes."

"Oh please," one of the balliser vagrants retorted, "There's eight of us and two of you."

I flashed the fool a bright, toothy grin. "Yes, but I doubt you've squared off with a Templar before, have you? So, here's how this'll work: either you all fuck off, or my friend and I will mop the floor with your sorry asses."

That scared them off.

Dorrian chuckled as we allowed the group of men and women to run past us, "Wow, that actually worked. Who knew?"

The person before us breathed a sigh of relief. "Th-Thanks, for helping me out." Her voice was lightly accented and had a slight lilt to it that gave it a graceful intonation.

"Are you Nova Sternenlicht?" I inquired.

She was silent for a moment before replying. "What if I am?"

"I'm looking for her. I was going to ask her if she wanted to join my group of merrymen," I replied.

"Oh really?" she breathed. "And why's that? Why are you interested in recruiting someone you don't even know?"

"I've read up on some of her accomplishments-granted, I was only able to skim over what my boss gave me," I explained, "She seemed like an impressive person, so I at least wanted to meet her."

"Ah...what does this group of...merrymen do exactly?" she inquired.

"We kick ass,"

"And look awesome," Dorrian chimed in.

"Really Dorrian? Really?" I hissed.

"What?" He demanded.

"We kick ass and look awesome? That sounds fucking stupid," I retorted.

"Well, you try coming up with the motto then?"

"Done: We are tough fuckers to kill. That is our motto." I concluded.

"Well...fuck you," he grumbled, "Stop being such a salty bitch and allow me to add my commentary."

"Um, excuse me?" Came a small voice.

"Huh?" I replied.

"I'm the one you're looking for," Nova began, "I suppose I'll hear you out."

She definitely stood out in a crowd: her black hair had faded purple highlights in it, and her purple eyes glimmered like priceless amethysts. She wore beaten up, form-fitting pants and a dark gray tunic with a belt holding multiple pouches around her waist. Surprisingly, she was lacking the ears and tail that would make an individual a lupan. She wore her hair down, and it went down about a fourth of her back.

A sphere hovered out of her shirt. Suddenly, small pieces of it seemed to detach from the main sphere.

"What the-?" Dorrian and I began as Luna and Ana caught up with us.

"Is it safe to come out?" A strange voice began nervously.

"Yep, it's safe to come out now, Pip."

"Pip?" I inquired.

"Yeah," Nova replied as if I should know this.

The being called Pip looked at me and my team as they stood beside me, "Who are these people?"

"I'm still figuring that out, but at least they seem like decent people," Nova informed him with a grin.

"Ah, okay," Pip remarked, "I guess I'll accept that answer for now."

The little guy seemed to be about the size of an orange: There were two spheres that served as hands and two half-spheres that served as feet. Looking closer, it seemed as if everything was connected by a faint line of...ethridium? The front of the sphere had a black screen on it where a pair of purple eyes gazed at us curiously. The body of the sphere also seemed to be made out of a dark metal.

"I'm sure I look really funny," the little guy continued in a high-ish voice, "But if I was your size, I could totally kick your butt!"

"Calm down Pip, you crazy automaton you." Nova began, grinning.

I looked at her, "Automaton?"

"Yeah, Pip's an automaton," She replied. "I made him myself."

"Huh," I began. "Interesting. How exactly did you create him?"

"Well, that's the thing: When I was younger, I found this strange ball of...I dunno, energy, I think? Anyway, this ball of energy was following me around, and it decided to inhabit a spherical device I was intending to use for a grenade. My guess would've been that it was a spirit, but I'm not entirely sure."

Summoning Bob, my derpy will-o-wisp, I pointed out that Pip was probably just that: A wisp.

"But," I continued, "How exactly did you create the vessel for the wisp to enter and inhabit?"

Nova shrugged and offered me a grin. "It'd take too long to explain it to you right now. If you don't mind, can we leave this alley? I...Really don't want to risk running into that gang again..."

"Oh, right," I mumbled , "Let's go."

We left the alleyway and hurried back to the Fred's castle. Back at my place, Nova introduced herself to the rest of the group. Ben had joined us, and he frowned thoughtfully. Stanford was also still with us, and he seemed irritated.

"Could've sworn the report said she was a lupan..." He mumbled to himself.

Nova looked at him in concern, "Are you okay?"

"Eh?" Stanford began, "Oh, I'm just fine."

Nova turned her gaze my way: "Is he okay?"

I chuckled, "Stan's Stan," I replied, shrugging.

"You want a spear up your ass?" Stanford asked me, a dangerous gleam in his eye.

"...You really can't get your mind off defiling people with a spear, can't you?" I asked him.

"You know it. Now, stop calling me Stan you little shit."

Luna nodded hurriedly, "Please stop while you still can."

I laughed, "I'll be fine. He won't kill me: I'm his second in command."

"Are you a gambling man?" Stanford asked me suddenly.

"Why do you ask?" I answered with a question of my own.

"Because you're screwing around with fire right now, boy," Stanford retorted.

"Okay, okay, I'll stop," I conceded, holding my hands up in surrender.

"Like hell you will," Stanford snapped.

Nova seemed irritated, "So what is this about a team? That..." she paused, "Kicks ass and looks awesome?"

I sighed as I shot a glare at Dorrian, who in turn glared back at me, "My team, which still needs a fucking name, is a group that serves the king directly. If something's gone awry, we go fix it. Whether it be by diplomacy or by bashing in skulls, we make sure all is well in the country."

"Alright, but why me? I'm no fighter." Nova asked me.

I grinned, "I don't need fighters. I need thinkers: people who do more than bash in peoples' skulls," I jerked a thumb in Ana's direction, "That's her job."

She smiled like a lioness, "Heya."

"Moving on," I continued, "My boss Stanford told me that you were getting pestered by a group of people, and I wanted to know why."

Nova sighed, "I'm...a member of the Sternenlicht family. We're not royalty or anything, but my great-great-great grandparents are credited for establishing the mountain city of Volhime and discovering ethridium."

"This?" I asked, holding up the small bag Stanford gave me.

Her eyes twinkled in surprise and jubilation: "You actually have a sample? And a pure one too? Holy shit-how much did you pay for this???"

"I-uh-Stanford gave it to me," I replied, hurriedly pointing a finger at my boss, whose face paled.

"Hey, the vendor only asked for two platinum royals, so I thought it was a good deal-."

Nova nodded in agreement as I handed her the pouch: "It was a good deal indeed."

She poured the contents of the small bag into the palm of her hand, and I watched Nova as she intently stared at a small blue chunk of ethridium that she held. Almost instantly, the tiny chunk turned a rich shade of purple-the same color as her eyes.

"Wait-," I began, only to notice the look on her face.

"It's okay" She assured me, as if she's handled potentially deadly minerals that could easily blow her face off on a daily basis, "Hmm...a pure sample-the purest I've ever had the luxury of handling," She looked at Stanford, "You said you got this from a vendor. You bought it here in Helios, yeah?"

He nodded, "Yeah, I bought it in the marketplace. A merchant from Volhime sold it to me."

She nodded to herself, "I thought as much...This is a rare isotope of ethridium-No flaws whatsoever. I can't believe you got this fine specimen for only two platinum royals."

"Why? Did the guy rip me off?" Stanford asked nervously.

Nova shook her head, "Not at all. Quite to the contrary, you got one hell of a deal. This one piece of ethridium could supply power to all of Volhime for an entire week, or half the city for three months."

I looked at her in bewilderment, "You're kidding."

"I'm not," She replied. Remembering the previous thought she was talking about, Nova continued talking: "Anyway, Those assholes were trying to get money out of me. Somehow, they knew I was the daughter of the people who run Volhime, and they thought they'd struck gold."

I rose my eyebrows, "Who exactly are your parents??"

"Their names are Giana and Richard Sternenlicht. They continued their parents' work, rebuilding the parts of Volhime that were damaged during the Dread Decades and further expanding the mountain city while mining up a crapton of ethridium in the process. I was born after they were done with their larger projects and they could actually spare the time to raise a child. Ironically, they haven't stopped working on their parents' dream even as they tried to raise me, so...yeah."

The room went silent.

"So...Will you consider allowing me to join up with you lot?" Nova asked, a note of nervousness creeping into her voice: "It's cool if you don't..."

"If you'd like to join, then by all means please do," I told her.

She smiled, "I guess that's a yes from me then."

"Welcome!" Dorrian exclaimed.

Analise shook her head, "You're either really brave or really stupid-er, naïve. I meant to say naïve."

Luna huffed out a sigh "Greetings Nova. I hope you won't mind my crimson-headed friend. She means well even if she tries her best to degrade your psyche."

"Greetings," Ben said as he bowed, "I'm just as confused as you are, but just roll with it. That's what I've been doing."

Nova looked mildly overwhelmed, "Oooh boy...This'll take some getting used to. I hope I can keep up with you lot. I'm not used to being accepted by people, so this'll be interesting..."

"Welcome to the club," Analise grumbled, "We've all been in the same boat you're in, so don't sweat it. It'll take some time to get used to us all, but we'll try our best to make you feel welcome. If you decide this isn't the life for you, you can leave. We won't think any differently of you, so do what you must."

Stanford looked at me in confusion. "Am I a member?"

"I suppose," I replied. "I mean, you are my boss."

"Good, you just bought yourself some extra time," Stanford said happily as my face fell, "Well, I gotta go. Cheerio!"

"Did he seriously-?" Nova began, only for me to cut her off.

"Don't ask. You'll hurt your brain," I cautioned.

She shrugged, "Fair enough..."

After my boss left, I told Nova about the mission my team was going to take care of, and her eyes widened in shock.

"What?" She demanded, "I could've sworn I heard you say that demons are going to try to attack Volhime."

"We're shocked too," Ben chimed in, "From my knowledge, the mountain city is a tough nut to crack. Not only is it located within a bloody mountain, it also has sophisticated defenses that ensures nobody breaks into the city in one piece."

Nova chuckled, "That much is true."

"What is our plan exactly?" Luna asked me curiously.

"For now, we train. We'll leave for Volhime in three days' time, so make sure you're all ready to go," I replied.

Everyone nodded in confirmation.

I looked at Nova, "While you're in Helios, feel free to pick a room in this hallway to crash in."

"O-Oh, really?" she stammered, "Thanks, I guess."

I nodded, "No problem," I replied, looking at Luna, "In thirty minutes, Virrius would like to see us."

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Oh, nothing. He wants to further our training. We both have room for improvement," I explained.

"That makes sense." She replied.

I smiled, then realized that everyone was staring at me.

I laughed nervously, "Right...I'll get started on breakfast."

"Breakfast?" Nova echoed.

"Aye, breakfast," Dorrian confirmed, "You haven't lived until you try Hel's cooking. It's amazing."

She cracked a grin, "Awesome."