Izick pulled out a notepad and a pen. He began scribbling down lines, drawing the attention of Mill, Giselle, and Scotts. He finished writing and ripped out the sheet of paper for Scotts to see.

  "One of my many roles over the last 3 years as an 'auxiliary' member of Alister's party was to balance his books. I've written down 7 locations where Alister regularly ordered me to send money and request money."

  Scotts' eyes locked onto the sheet of paper in Izick's hands like a hungry man finding his next meal.

  "Are you joking? You mean to tell me that you know the location of the current Death Emperor's coins?"

  "To my knowledge, yes. Most of these locations are in lower Arekia, close to the Dark Country."

  "Alright, hand it over. My team will personally investigate this for the crown," Scotts said, walking over to Izick and extending his hand. Izick pulled the paper back.

  "Not yet."

  "Ah, Hobbs did warn me of your ability to negotiate. You do know I'm considering adding treason to your file, right? Are you sure you want to do this?"

  "I have to. You're an Investigator, but you're also a mercenary, so you should already know that this information isn't free. I have my own interests to look out for here."

  Scotts frowned as he crossed his arms.

  "Fine, give me the addresses and I won't tag you for treason."

  "Not good enough. I also want you to remove Mill and me from future investigations and grant me what Hobbs couldn't promise: freedom from the Hossa Mercenary Band. We want out of this party. Now."

  Giselle watched Scotts mull over Izick's demands. He would glance at the paper in Izick's hands from time to time, but mostly gazed at the ground.

  "Scotts, it's time we let these two go. There's no reason to keep them here."

  "No, there is still reason for them to stay. We're still not at our final destination, and I still don't trust this kid. Here's what I'll do," Scotts said, pointing to Izick's paper.

  "Give me that slip, and my team will investigate these locations. I will know if they're legitimate in a few days, but the two of you will be staying with Hossa until then. If these locations check out, I'll accept this as you betraying Alister Black and tell Barson that we're cutting the two of you loose. We still need a Healer for the last leg of our journey, and having an expendable Scout is always a plus."

  "They're not expendable, Scotts. They already did so much for us."

  "Then let them do some more. This is my offer. Take it and wait for my team's report, or try running off again, which will leave me with no choice but to report to Frinch and Janson Yard that I've ID'd two traitors to the crown. Your answer?"

  "Why are you being like this? " Giselle said, getting in front of Scotts.

  "Because I still have a job to do. I let you talk because of your guilt, but I'm not letting suspects go just to make you feel better about your past."

  Mill watched the two arguing mercenaries as she leaned over to Izick.

  "We might not have much choice here. He's essentially agreeing to our terms, but things will get bad for us if your leads come up empty," Mill whispered into Izick's ear.

  What choice did he really have? Scotts definitely had some sort of endgame to all of this, but he had high hopes for the locations he recorded during his days working under Alister.

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  Izick extended the paper towards Scotts.

  "I'm certain you will find something of interest with these locations. Alister sees me as insignificant and has likely already forgotten that I used to manage his books. All you have to do is investigate and keep your word."

  Scotts took the paper and read through it.

  "We'll look into this right away. The two of you will function as normal members of the Hossa Mercenary Band until I hear back from my people," Scotts said, slipping the paper into his inner coat pocket.

  "You're free to leave, just don't go too far. I still hold the cards."

  "I'm sorry, it wasn't supposed to turn out this way when I approached the two of you today. I can only resist Scotts to a certain level since he is the one who has been protecting me over the last 3 years."

  "Protecting you?"

  Mill said, taking interest in the last portion of her statement. Giselle waved her hand dismissively.

  "That story is not worth your time. I can't do much, but I'll do my best to make sure that the two of you get out of Hossa and be on your way to Tallbern. Stay off Scotts' radar and keep that 'staff' within 15 feet at all times, even closer than that if possible."

  "We'll keep that in mind, but we must prepare for the last leg of our journey. Hossa will be resuming the caravan soon, and we want to be ready. We must be on our way."

  Mill said, making eye contact with Izick. He wanted to probe Giselle for more information about the Malevolence she created, but he also understood Mill had a reason for wanting to leave.

  They began walking away from Giselle.

  "Ah, but there's more I need to tell you…"

  "Tell us later. Because of Scotts, this likely won't be our last meeting," Izick said, continuing to walk away with Mill.

  They kept the silence between themselves until they made it back to the inn, which was now empty due to the other mercenaries preparing to resume the caravan.

  "Why were you in such a hurry to leave? I could have squeezed more information about the Malevolence she claims to be responsible for or even her connection to Alister, if we talked more."

  "We had to regroup, and I was worried for your life. I'm not completely sure, but her mentioning the need for protection over the last 3 years reminded me of someone dangerous that the world forgot. It doesn't matter if her Mana Base is broken, I don't trust her if shes who I think she is. Negotiating with Scotts was one thing, but being isolated with Giselle, the one who created the Malevolence, made me realize that we had to leave."

  Izick stroked his chin and thought over the sequence of events.

  "I see where you're coming from. Getting greedy back there could have been dangerous since we don't know how much of the truth Giselle actually told us. We don't know if she can even control the Malevolence inside of me."

  "Exactly. We don't fully understand Giselle or this 'Death Penalty' imposed on you. There's no such thing as being too cautious in this situation. We have to be on guard until we can escape and continue our journey to Tallbern."

  Izick leaned against the wall and sighed, staring up at the wooden ceiling above him.

  "I'm sick of these mercenaries and their mind games. My patience is running thin, and violence may be the only answer if Scotts goes back on his word and they deem us traitors."

  Izick smirked bitterly as he looked down at the Honor Rod.

  "Do you remember when I warned you to quit the Staff Hero's party when we first met?"

  "I do."

  "Do you regret not taking my advice? You were only with the party for a few weeks, but now you're going down with me if everything goes south."

  Mill leaned against the wall next to Izick.

  "I regret nothing. I'm at peace with my decision. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing that I abandoned you in those circumstances. And as I said before, this is Alister's fault, not mine or yours."

  Izick bit his lip as he shook his head.

  "I won't ever take for granted what you've done for me."

  "There's no need. It's not like you haven’t done anything for me. We've been helping each other this whole time. Besides, our journey is not yet over. We're still a long way from Tallbern."

  "And even further from Alain…"

  Izick and Mill talked over their next moves and how to deal with the Hossa Mercenary Band over this last stretch for the caravan.