Gerhard stood before the door to the Gray Fox’s study. The familiar blinking of the overhead detection apparatus flashed four times; each dot of light was reflected in both his eyes. The heavy doors rolled away, revealing the old crime lord attending to a thinning pile of paperwork. He had seen this sight several times, yet he could not recall a time when the master was not busy reading documents.

  “Ah, Mister Guildenstern.” The Gray Fox set aside his pen and a thin wad of documents. “Just in time. I see you have recovered.”

  “The doctor assured me I’m cleared,” Gerhard responded; his face remained devoid of a smile. “Not a single pellet remains in my body.”

  “I could not begin to imagine being struck by a baleful cloud coming from those cursed cartridges.” It was the five-fingered artificial hand. Another product of Doctor Hollegrehenn’s furnaces. “How are you? Fit to fight again?”

  “I am told I am physically fit. On the other hand, it would take time before my magical energy channels are completely reconnected, Master.”

  “Concerning indeed.” The Gray Fox stared at a desk calendar. “Do you think you can regain your magical affinity at… rather, in two weeks?”

  “I may be able to channel most of the energy in my arms and from the right side of my body.”

  “Is that so…” the crime lord cupped his chin. “Somewhat concerning, but we might find a way around that. I will have to ask you to do something for me.”

  “My ears are ready.”

  “I know that this place may not bring out your best memories, but I’ll need you to… be acquainted with Luminberg, once again.”

  “I heard from Master Winston that a major task can take place there.”

  “Good. I don’t have to explain everything.” The Gray Fox put down the calendar on his desk. “You’ve not been there for quite some time, so I’d like you to walk around the Academy’s district. That’s all. See the changes around the city. I need you to be aware of the crucial areas, in case any of our staging points run into trouble.”

  “Is that all you need from me? A walk?”

  “Exactly. Do you prefer company? I can send for two of my men, or perhaps, Miss Sauvant, to accompany you. Do you know if she has been to Luminberg before?”

  “I never had the chance to ask her that. Apologies.”

  “Well, take her with you then.” The Gray Fox raised his arm in an arc. “See the sights. Take her to the best places. You can use the time to get to know her better. I prefer that you are aware of each other’s behavior.”

  “I… of course, Master.” Gerhard couldn’t find the words to answer with.

  “That will be all. You may leave.”

  · · ─ ·?· ─ · ·

  Gerhard buttoned the lowest part of his shirt. He turned to his sides, looking for lint and creases that could have escaped the steam press when he first had his attire sent to the laundry. He combed up his hair in front of the mirror; a slight receding curve formed right above his forehead. Gerhard scooped up a small wad of wax and spread it all over the top of his head; the curve looked stiffer than before. He flashed something more of a scowl than a smile before he left the mirror; angled cheeks glinted against the light.

  He opened the door to see a woman in a peach lampshade dress. Her shortened sleeves revealed slim yet sinewy arms, with each hand capped by a thin glove. That strange reddish-blonde hair she usually kept in a bun now flowed freely on her shoulders. The dress, in its somewhat loose state, could not completely conceal the strength her body exuded. Gerhard knew that all too well; that mischievous curve on her lips that suggested a smile no other woman he knew possessed.

  "Surprised that I'll be seeing Cornelia Sauvant in a dress." Gerhard took in her appearance from head to toe.

  "I still want to be more of a woman and less of a sellsword, and I'd like to look good for a change. Besides, don't look so bad yourself." The woman extended her hand to Gerhard. "Lead the way, Master Guildenstern."

  "I'll... never get used to you calling me that."

  "There's no escaping the truth." Cornelia looked at the magician, whose sigh escaped as a short burst of air. "So, amaze me with the beauty of Luminberg. You and me, on a date."

  "A date?"

  "You look quite the man when you take off the weird cloak and coat." Cornelia looked at the top of Gerhard's head and said, "Nice touch on the hair, even if it looks a little funny."

  "You... are the one to talk. You look like an... um... some singer on the way to a bar."

  "Needs a little more practice on the comeback." Cornelia locked her arm in Gerhard's and tugged him. "Now, be a darling and take me around the city."

  The two walked towards the Gray Fox's transportation facility. Technicians monitored the hum of the phasing tubes, their gazes lingering on the odd couple. Cornelia let him go and entered one of the cylinders. Gerhard stopped and spoke with one of the operators; an image of a city’s outer wall was shown on a screen. A nod later, he went inside one of the vessels and was reduced to specks of light shortly.

  ????

  Two dark discs flew into a shaded grove not far from what seemed to be the western section of a walled city. An orange sun stretched what remained of its fingers to the world; treetop leaves formed odd shapes of light on a floor of rotting leaves and damp soil. A low thrum of the floating machines mixed with the rustling of trees by a passing wind. The machines seemed to choose a location away from each other and began a series of fast spins that formed blue light underneath the machines. The light turned into a pillar that began to form solid shapes inside it. Soon, the objects took their complete form, revealing a couple of people before the light from the discs dissipated.

  Cornelia was far from getting used to this mode of transport. It was always better for her to see where she was going, rather than stand inside a funny-looking cylinder only to see the scenery change in a matter of seconds. It felt more like being inserted into a place, rather than taking time to travel to wherever she was needed. She was now inside a clearing where a ring of tall foliage surrounded them; two old but strong-looking oak trees left a gap through which she could pass without causing problems for her dress. Gerhard blocked the largest passage that light could find in the place; his brown jacket and pants almost blended in the background.

  "Thanks to you, I have to watch out for any twigs that might stick to the dress." Cornelia carefully tugged on the skirt, raising it to a level where the highest point of the foot socks could be seen. "You could have directed those flying things to bring us to a good, stony floor."

  "We can't risk having the Master's technology seen."

  "Oh, right." Cornelia had to make larger steps to get out of the mat of rotting leaves faster. "So, how far is Luminberg from here?"

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  "You can see the walls right now." Gerhard pointed to a portion where an old tower overlooked the outside.

  "Quite an old tower you have here." Cornelia stopped at the center of the road and looked at the imposing structure; sunlight coming from behind it hid much of the lines it had earned through the ages, leaving only a blackened image for her to see.

  "There are eight of these built around the city." Gerhard's eyes seemed more directed at the setting sun rather than the old tower. "Scribes from the Age of Monsters recorded that they protected the city, and also the fledgling First Empire, from the creatures that wanted to erase humanity."

  "What can a bunch of old towers do against a mass of monsters out to eat you anyway?"

  "There used to be crystal arrays hidden inside the top cones." Gerhard pointed out what looked like lines of black glass on the roof. Cornelia's eyes followed his index finger with little effort. "They gave off a kind of light that formed a barrier so powerful that none of the monsters could break through. Magicians at the battlements then destroyed the creatures with whatever spell they could throw at them."

  "Luminberg was the only place that got in the way of humans becoming monster food."

  "I see you've been reading your history, Miss Sau-, Cornelia."

  "Thank you, Guildenstern." Cornelia stared closer at the man before saying. "I can proudly say my brain is far from empty."

  Gerhard could only let out a weak laugh before he responded with:

  "Let's go inside the city, shall we?"

  "We'll be entering through the city's business sector," Gerhard said, "We can find a good place for a little talk and maybe some dinner."

  It was then that Cornelia witnessed how Luminberg kept its reputation as "the city of endless afternoons"; lamp posts started a chain of faint glows that grew brighter as she and Gerhard went past the city gates. It was only the start of a long string of lights that emerged from hiding; glowing spheres, bulbs, and what looked like an overhead ribbon of light illuminated most of the city's residences and roads. Going to a place where there was hardly untouched by these crystal lamps was almost impossible.

  A city guard passed by them; a faint trail of what smelled like coffee mixed with herbs was caught by the sword woman's nose. Cornelia turned around and looked at the source of the scent before resuming her trail behind Gerhard. She felt like a kid, spending her time wondering why the lights could be so bright yet soft to the eyes. Her partner only looked for a few seconds and then went on his way.

  Lights of various colors, patterns, and brightness were seen in shops, along sidewalks, and at restaurants. The sword woman's mind was on something else, scanning the sides until she stopped at a section of the left sidewalk. Cornelia rushed to the source of the guard's brew: a coffee booth that seemed to be flocked by Luminbergers that just ended their shifts for the day. Many of the patrons gave way to a rather excited woman who rushed to the counter. She was handed a small paper cup after dealing with a few coins.

  "This is so wonderful!" Cornelia closed her eyes while smelling the aroma coming out of the cup.

  "You are aware that what you are holding is cheap coffee."

  "Doesn't matter to me. Smells real." Cornelia took a small gulp from the cup; she closed her eyes and shook her head a little. "Tastes real too."

  They spent almost an hour watching people come in and out of the various bakeries and restaurants. Cornelia wanted to try some of the cafes, but Gerhard seemed to be too focused on walking past everything. She did not mind the walk; the magician could be too focused on thinking about something else. Her stomach was beginning to want to indulge at the scent of meat, of spices, and of brews teased her further. Cornelia fought off those feelings for now; she had to bring this rather stoic man to his senses.

  "So, you lived here? Must be very wonderful being a kid with all these lights around you, very different from the boring things I see in Wulfstadt every day."

  "I can show you my home, if it still stands today." Gerhard kept his tone neutral in an attempt not to be completely taken by Cornelia's almost childlike fascination. "I haven't paid Mother and Father a visit for a while."

  "You look like you're not that happy to see them again, are you?"

  "I write letters to them if I can spare the time." Gerhard stopped by one of the benches beside a streetlamp; greenish-white light came out of the crystal head, where some specks of dust could be seen. "I don't want them to see me now. They're worried about me, and I'm not ready to tell them the truth."

  "It's not easy to work for a... shady old guy with a shady business who is using shady machines among all other things shady."

  "That's one way of putting it, Cornelia." Gerhard looked at the sky and exhaled. "Besides, all they know is that I'm pushing pencils at some office in Blaurosen."

  "Right... while blasting your workmates for fun with flying bolts of energy. Even I won't buy that if you were writing to me."

  A small red van stopped a few meters from their bench. Its driver, a somewhat old-looking Luminberger with a gray cap and an apron, disembarked from the vehicle and clicked a few locks on the sides. Cornelia spent a few minutes watching the man reveal a small kitchen and prepare his business for the night. A sausage stall became ready, with two tables and eight chairs in front of the counter. Soon, another trail of smells teased Cornelia's nose; it was then that she thought it would be a good gesture to be that man's first customer.

  She returned to the bench where Gerhard sat, with a serving of curry sausages in each hand.

  "I decided this might be a small 'thank you' for bringing me to this wonderful place." The confidence Cornelia normally exuded shied away from her face; her wide smile was subdued to a softer curve of the lips. "I can't have you doing all the work, you know."

  "It's fine. I'm supposed to be..."

  "Don't spoil my fun and just take it." Cornelia brought the sausage sandwich right near the magician's nose. "It's pretty tasty if you ask me."

  "If you insist." Gerhard took the food from the woman's hand. He noticed her staring at him as if she was anticipating him to have a bite of the offering. He gave in to the unspoken command and sank his teeth into the meat.

  A smoky flavor, with a subtle hint of spice: Cornelia was right about the sausage.

  "So," Cornelia resumed speaking after taking a second bite of her sandwich. "You don't look too eager about all this doing a city tour business. Something to do with you... Wait, you never told me that. I'll make a wild guess: you being kicked out of that Academy?"

  "What an amazing guess you made." Gerhard was interrupted when he bit through the sandwich; his teeth felt the tip of his tongue.

  "My intuition hardly fails, Master Gerhard." Cornelia beamed a toothy grin.

  He spoke with some of the meat still in his mouth, "Someone not from the higher families should be the 'Pride of the Academy'. Academy students and teachers use these, crystal sticks, when doing magical arts. I don't use those for my craft; you've seen it. They were afraid that I was something that would bring fear and suspicion in the Empire."

  "And how does a kid with no need for fancy crystals to shoot fireballs do that exactly?"

  "A reminder of the return of a dark part of our history," Gerhard answered. The air grew colder: a reminder that none of the brilliance around them could give effective warmth. He continued:

  "This power. We, as students of the Academy, were taught that humanity had lost its link to true magic. Supposed to have evolved past using magics. I am an anomaly. It was believed that humans who wielded the power to create magical energy from their bodies tend to become crazy or evil. Nobody wanted a potential menace in their halls. Besides, the Academy would lose face, and its credibility as the authority on magical phenomena, if it could not explain my existence."

  "You don't look crazy to me." Cornelia looked at Gerhard's face, but her focus returned to finishing the sausage seconds later. "Maybe a little out of touch, but not enough that you'd need a mental nurse."

  "Thanks, Cornelia." Gerhard looked away but snapped his focus back to her. "Let me take that back. I don't know if that made me feel better or if you're making fun of me."

  "You tell me. An... what do you call that? Never mind. An elite conduit of magics and magicky things should know better." She said, "And you're here because you want to sit down, talk with your teachers, and tell them they were wrong?"

  "Actually..."

  Gerhard stood up and put the last piece of the sandwich into his mouth. He looked at the great cone that watched all over the city. A whiff of air blew past them; Cornelia had to hold her hair on one side away from the gust.

  "I want to prove them right. I will..." He searched his jacket pocket for a handkerchief and wiped his fingers with it. "I'll destroy this- or maybe, I want nothing to do with them."

  "Don't seem up for it, huh?" Cornelia eased her back and placed the rest of her hair where the wind couldn't reach. "If you ask me, maybe try talking to the snobs, then think whether you'll give them pain or not."

  "I never felt that I belonged to this place anyway, but maybe you're right." Gerhard stared at the moon; its light, even at half-strength, was enough to be seen beyond the city's bright crystals. "Forgetting this city will be easy."

  Shaking his head, he lowered his head and looked at his companion. Cornelia's trembling gaze betrayed the rest of her face. It was far from a frown, but rather an expression of concern. Maybe she was right: was he truly going too far with his intentions? For the first time, her silence spoke more about her than any word she could have offered on the matter. A slight curve of her lips, followed by a slight nod, was all she responded with.