The four swordsmen walked their horses in single file down a narrow dirt lane in the midst of the vibrant Kemarian marketplace. The place not only offered astonishingly vivid sights to their eyes, but it practically smelled colorful too. Passing a vendor of cinnamon incense one moment and a man searing savory meats the next, the travelers' noses blessed them for the indulgence. 

Tom followed Trevor's lead, with Jay trailing behind him and James taking up the rear. He gazed with wonder at the tents shielding the various vendors from the intensifying sun. It would have been an easy matter to take regular cloth and make a tent out of that, but most of the traders had opted instead to use brilliantly ornamented rug fabric for the task. 

Gracefully swirling calligraphy adorned several tents, accented by the lively colors surrounding them. The sheer beauty drew Tom in, which he realized was exactly the effect the vendors hoped to achieve. 

A soft scent of floral sweetness drew Tom's attention to the tent Trevor had just stopped at. His breath caught in his throat for a moment at the array of colorful flowers spread out in artistic vases. Every color of the rainbow could be found here, and many more. Some of the flowers even shimmered when viewed in different lighting. 

Trevor stepped away from his horse to give the botanical beauties a closer look, and Tom followed suit. Sniffing in the collective aroma was the olfactory equivalent of stroking silk with a hand. He reached out to touch one particular specimen's broad petals, and he found the sensation almost identical in the tactile realm. 

Tom looked up from the flowers when a petite Kemarian woman emerged from an inner section of the tent with a welcoming smile on her dainty face. The arched shape of her eyelids added a certain charm to her aesthetic unique to her people. She gave Tom a moment's attention, but then it quickly shifted to Trevor. 

The young lady gave some words of greeting in her native tongue, a slight nasal quality accompanying the words. Tom found himself scratching his head as to their meaning, but Trevor offered her a grin and spoke right back with fluent ease, to which she wrinkled her little nose and giggled. 

Trevor reached down and picked up a crimson flower with so many tiny petals it carried a fluffy quality about it. After giving it a sniff, he nodded in approval and dropped some coins into the young woman's hand. He unsheathed a small knife and sliced off the majority of the stem next, and then, to Tom's surprise, he reached over and slipped the flower into the lady's straight black hair. Her light laugh floated into his ears, and she appeared to thank Trevor. 

After offering some words of farewell, Trevor walked back over to his horse and continued their march through the marketplace. Tom shook his head at the interaction and glanced back at Jay. 

Jay gave an exaggerated roll of his eyes. "He's a thief of hearts everywhere we go, isn't he?" 

Tom chuckled. "I suppose you're right. And they love it so." 

"He'd do well to settle on one and acquaint himself with her more intimately than a passing smile and a girlish giggle." Jay said, his fingers jumping to the ring on his finger, "But that's his decision to make." 

"Indeed. Until then, entertain us he will." Tom remarked with another laugh. 

They continued through the marketplace for a ways, feasting eyes, ears, and noses on the multitude of sensations as they went. One kind old man handed each swordsman a sample cup of an herbal tea as they passed, and upon tasting it, they all smiled. It tingled on the tongue pleasantly, and upon swallowing, it filled one's throat and chest cavity alike with warmth. The taste was like a black tea, but lighter, with floral notes accenting the dominant flavor. 

Trevor bought a bag of the medicinal tea leaves before moving on, and by the look on the old vendor's face, it seemed the coins dropped in his hand had proven more numerous than requested. He placed the palms of his wrinkled hands together and touched the tips of his fingers to his lips. Trevor returned the gesture with a slight bow, and then he moved the procession along. 

As they continued along, they passed several produce stands, and Trevor slowly filled a large sack with vegetables, herbs, and even a cut of juicy chicken. Tom, Jay, and James exchanged grins, realizing he was stocking up for one of their "good eat" days, where he would cook up a large stew of fresh produce and meat, and they'd feast heartily on that. A welcome respite from the dried travel food, to be sure. 

When Trevor paused at one well-stocked vendor particularly long, the three other swordsmen wandered off separate ways. James ambled over to the tent of a kind-faced woman who had a litter of seven puppies laying on a mat atop her table. With a smile, he greeted her, but the language barrier intervened. The puppies, however, leapt to attention with wagging tails, and he pet them all in turn with a big grin on his face, laughing when they vigorously licked his face. 

Jay, meanwhile, strode over to a blacksmith's sales front, and Tom followed. Off to one side sprawled out a variety of common tools like hammers, rakes, and sickles, but the main part of his display comprised of a spread of swords. Most were specimens of a distinctive Kemarian sword known for its great length compared to other one-handed weapons, and its unique blade. Narrow and slender, with an acute cutting edge, but yet not excessively flexible, it was an excellent sword for cutting. 

Jay raised an eyebrow and picked up another unique weapon, a single-edged sword with a handle as long as the blade. The vendor stood up quickly and took it from his hands, chattering in Kemarian. He quickly perceived Jay and Tom didn't understand his words, but he still demonstrated how the sword's blade folded down into the lengthy handle like some of the novel Forbachean pocketknives called switchblades. 

"That's an intriguing concept." Jay remarked to Tom as he examined the gleaming cutting edge of an arming sword not dissimilar to his own, "I wonder when it would come in handy." 

"Not often, I wouldn't think." Tom said, "It's still far too long to conceal. Unless you were to wrap it up, perhaps?" 

Jay shrugged. Then he turned to the vendor and made the same palms-together gesture Trevor had made earlier. But the man's eyebrows drew together at the sight, and his eyes narrowed. After exchanging a confused glance, Tom and Jay moved along. 

They immediately ran into a figure standing half a head shorter than them. The person donned a dark gray cloak and stood in the swordsmen's path with crossed arms. Tom frowned, but still took a sideways step, assuming the person was just unusually unobservant. But when he or she moved back into his path, he narrowed his eyes and stared into the shadowy hood. 

Jay took a quick step forward, hand outstretched to uncover the face, but Tom held up his own hand haltingly. He stared down and crossed his arms. "Who are you?" 

"That's irrelevant." the figure replied, "You need to come with me." 

Tom and Jay exchanged suspicious glances. "Why should we do that?" 

"I know something you don't. You have something I need." the person replied again. It was definitely a woman, and based on the guttural quality of her voice and stress on hard consonants, she was an Innutukian. 

Not reassuring, Tom thought. 

"Why can't we talk about it right here, right now?" Jay questioned, clearly already bothered by the interaction. 

"Too many people around. Can't trust everybody." 

"Just like I can't trust you. Move along, you troublemaking rascal." 

The cloaked person let out a long sigh. "You have swords. I don't. I'm the only one risking anything here." 

Tom shrugged and met Jay's gaze. "That's true. Let's go, Jay. Perhaps it really is something." 

"Yes, a trap, more than likely." 

"Well, it wouldn't be our first, and likely not our last, either." Tom said as he turned to follow the cloaked figure. 

As they passed Trevor buying a bag of oats, Jay whispered something in his ear. With a nod, Trevor eyed the hooded woman and took note of their direction. 

She took them a few paces back down the path they'd already travelled until she reached a dark green tent. Pulling the flap aside, she ushered them in. Jay entered first, sword preceding him inside. After finding nothing, he shrugged and allowed Tom to go through. The cloaked woman let herself in last, and she closed the tent flap behind herself. 

Tom frowned at the darkness she'd plunged them into. He kept his ears trained for any sort of surprise. But all he heard was the scraping of metal on rock, and then with sparks, a glow erupted in the cloaked figure's hands. Before long, a candle had been lit, and the darkened tent became illuminated with its warm glow. 

"Alright, let's get this over with." Jay said, "Who are you?" 

"Not so fast." she replied, "I'll get to that, but suffice it to say, you know me." 

Tom frowned. Is her accent slipping? "Why the pretense then, ma'am? I promise you we'll be able to pay more attention if you get that out of the way first." 

She sighed deeply. "If you insist." 

The woman pulled back her hood and let it fall away, revealing a lovely round face completed by a button nose and rose-pink lips. Golden blonde hair settled around her shoulders as she laid her brown eyes on Tom. 

Tom took a second to believe what he was seeing and catch his breath. "Alice?" 

She smirked and stepped closer to hug him. "It's me, Tom." 

Tom let out a contented sigh as he pulled Alice into his arms and laid his chin atop her head. "It's been some time." 

"You're difficult men to find." she remarked, breaking away to give Jay a hug, which he awkwardly accepted. 

"And purposefully so." Jay said, "So, what is it you called us for, Lady Delquez?" 

"Well, I have a matter I must look into." she said, her accent returning to the lilting Alcontean enunciation natural to her, "But I must keep anything I find known only to myself and a trusted few. I trust you and your comrades, Tom." 

Tom nodded. "Alright, and what is this matter?" 

"Tell me, what do you know of Alconte's religious world?" 

"A large portion of your people adhere to Christianity, but there are some who follow pagan rituals instead, right?" 

Alice squinted. "Not exactly, though you're on the right track. The numbers are split approximately in half. Half believe in the old gods, and at the moment at least, their people dominate in the Senate." 

Jay let out a noisy breath through his nostrils. "What's this have to do with your secret?" 

Tom held up a hand at his friend. "Let her present her case how she will." 

"So, the relevance comes in here." Alice said, "Word has got out that a mining town in Rostacia has uncovered a strange stone, an exact circle in shape, with a pair of feather imprints on one face, meeting at the very tips of the shafts." 

Tom took a second to visualize the stone she described before giving a nod. "Alright, and what does that mean?" 

"It is an artifact, an ancient object containing the power of the old gods, and comprising the last of their influence in this world. Each of the twenty-six gods has one of their own." 

"Which god does this one belong to?" 

Alice cleared her throat. "Swift, god of nimbleness." 

Jay stepped forward. "So, you brought up the Alcontean Senate earlier, and the dominance of the heathen there. Are you saying...what are you getting at?" 

"They intend to buy the artifact from the town's treasury. For what purpose, I have never got a straight answer, but the fact is, the one true God doesn't hide his power in magical objects, so we all know this is no godly power, but rather, sorcery. I should not like these people to pollute our land in seeking demonic powers." 

Tom's head bobbed up and down. "So I'm assuming that's why you're doing this whole cloaked act?" he asked with a smirk, "You intend to retrieve it and do otherwise?" 

"Exactly. But my predicament is that Rostacia and Alconte are not the only concerned parties here. Innutuk has a pantheon of her own, but has never been closed off to the idea of adding new deities. They also have attempted buying the artifact from Rostacia, as they heard of it before us. They were rejected." 

Jay's eyes widened. "You don't mean to tell me they'll now take it by force, do you?" 

"That's exactly my point. I've heard word they are moving to take troops off the battlefields in the east and siege that town until they give it up. I don't want this artifact to fall into Alconte's hands, sure, but even less do I want Innutuk to have it." 

"So that's where we come in?" Tom asked, and when he got an acknowledgement from Alice, he continued. "You're requesting our services as bodyguards there and back?" 

"No." Alice said, "I must head back to Alconte to attend to some other business, and then I'll be on my way. I only wish you to make your way there to be available if anything does happen. I estimate Innutuk can get enough men together for a siege to Rostacia in four weeks, given how thinly they've stretched their forces already." 

"So we'll both aim to be there before then separately?" 

Alice nodded. "That was what I hoped. I don't wish to arouse suspicions by traveling together, but your presence in the area could very well save my life if it comes to that." 

Tom and Jay exchanged a long, weighty look. Then Jay nodded, and Tom returned his eye to Alice. 

"It will be done." he said with a grin, "The venerable rogues will be at your service." 

Alice returned the smile, flashing white teeth at him. "Thank you. I can't express my gratitude well enough." 

"Well, thankfully for you, we're no petty men." 

Jay stepped toward the tent flap and pulled it open a tad once Alice had put the hood back over her face. "We'll see you in Rostacia four weeks from now at the latest."

**** 

A/N: And with that, our quest is set! Get to Rostacia before Innutuk or Alconte can so nobody gets demon powers! Sounds like a piece of cake if you ask me, but then again, this is a work of fiction. So maybe not. 😝

At any rate, if you enjoyed this chapter, don't forget to vote and comment, please and thank you! 

So, I've got a couple questions. First, what're your thoughts on the group's interpersonal dynamics so far? 

And second, if you've followed the series up to this point, any thoughts on Alice? Where does she stand in your eyes? 

That will be it for me this morning! Now to enjoy whatever today has in store. Have a great week, and I hope to see you in next Friday's double update!