Aspen stopped so suddenly Sekafi almost bowled him over.

'Watch it!' she yelped and steadied him before he fell. They stared at each other for a second, then they both chuckled.

'Sorry.'

'What are you doing, Aspen? Stopping like that?'

He straightened his tunic and sighed, looked back the way they came from. 'I totally forgot to ask for a new assignment.'

She stared at him. He blushed and looked away. 'After all the trouble we had to even get in the first time. You're such a cloud-head.'

'I could remind you that you were also there, fluffy.'

She flicked an ear. 'I don't seem to recall that. What're you talking about?'

'Sure. Let's go.'

She grinned and followed. 'I got us double pay though. Wasn't that neat?'

'I thought you weren't even there,' he retorted. She heard the smile, even though he didn't look back.

The walk back to the High Council went much faster than previously as the streets lay almost empty. It was that time of day when most had finished their work and busied themselves with food. Funny how quickly the streets could either fill, or empty of people. Like magic. Briefly, she recalled her life in the tribe. Hunting for food, moving every day across the plains. Only them. A harsh life. She'd wanted something more. Here, she'd found adventure, and the best friend she'd never been able to get in the tribe. Hunters of like coat stick together, the saying went. But she'd found her tribe with those who were different. A half-elf of all things. A minotaur or even a khelrind would have been more like her. But she'd never felt more at home than when with him.

'What're you thinking about?' Aspen looked back over his shoulder. 'You're never this quiet.'

'Just thinking about you, dear.'

He snorted.

They arrived at the high Council and the guards. They gave the friends the same bored but wary stares they had just an hour earlier.

'So sorry to bother you,' Aspen excused, 'but we forgot to ask Lady Ilaana about something. Could we go back inside and –'

'No,' the closest guard snapped.

'Please, listen, we need to –'

'The Council is closed.'

'Closed? Since when is it closed? We were just here, and...' he hesitated.

The guard had moved his halberd to block the doors. Sekafi suppressed a growl and gripped her golok.

'The Council is closed. There is no more need for your service right now,' the guard said. 'Leave before I have to use force.'

Aspen and Sekafi stared at him. What was going on?

'I'd rather not, so please,' the guard added.

'Can you at least tell Lady Ilaana we were here? Tell her to send for us when there's a new job.'

The guard sighed. 'I can do that. Now leave.'

They walked back down the stairs. As soon as they were out of earshot, Aspen tugged her arm, and stopped.

'What is it?' she whispered, realizing he was up to something.

'Something is not right. I'm going to see if I can have a look inside.'

'Aspen.' She didn't need to say more, he knew what she meant.

He flashed a grin. 'I just want to see. I might get lucky.'

'Or you'll get yourself in trouble.' She glanced towards the guards. They paid them no heed. 'As usual,' she added.

'There's no monster here. It'll be fine. Besides, if they catch us, what's the worst they can do?'

'Whip you?' Sekafi raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. 'You know it's stupid.'

'Maybe.' He gave her a coy look. 'But you know me.'

She laughed. 'Yeah, unfortunately. Let's go.'

Aspen looked around, then beckoned for her to follow. 'I know a way.'

'Mhm, I'm sure you do.' She shook her head. He always got them into trouble, and he never learned. Maybe that was what she liked about him?

They walked around the building standing next to the Council, then looped back, and into the alley between the houses. A low stonewall surrounded The Council, topped with a high iron fence. Not impossible to climb, if you were careful. Aspen may have been a weakling, she thought, but he was an excellent climber. She had trouble following him and almost fell on her way down on the other side. He hushed her while holding back laughter. She smiled, glad he seemed back to his old self, if only for a moment. They sneaked up to the house.

'Sekafi,' he hissed, 'give me a lift.' He stretched towards a tall window above his head.

She listened and looked around before putting her hands together to allow him to step up, making sure nobody saw them. All seemed quiet. Still, her heart hammered from the excitement. This was most likely illegal, and they'd be in trouble if seen.

Aaspaelwin stepped up on Sekafi's hand, grabbed the windowsill and slowly pulled himself up. Only peeking in over the rim with his eyes, he saw an empty room. Nothing of interest. He sighed and hopped down.

'Let's check the next one,' he whispered and tiptoed over to another window. Sekafi sighed behind him, but he knew she enjoyed this as much as he did. Well, at least almost as much. But despite the excitement of adventure, he had a bad feeling about... something. He had to know what was going on. The guards had acted strangely, and Lady Ileena had been terribly distracted. Something was going on here.

They repeated the procedure of looking into the tall windows a few times. When he peeked into the fourth window, he froze. Two men stood in the room, talking about something. He couldn't hear, but watched them carefully. The closest man had his back turned to the window. The other looked at something on the floor, or he might have seen Aaspaelwin's head sticking up. He swallowed. What were they doing? The man closest to him wore a dark blue robe, the raised hood hiding his face. Rings gleamed on his fingers as he pointed to the floor, then towards the back of the building. The other man nodded and stepped towards the thing on the floor. Aspen dared to rise higher up, to see what it was.

He gasped and covered his mouth, blood suddenly rushing in his ears, making him dizzy.

'What is it?' Sekafi hissed below.

He glanced down and shook his head. Looked back again to make sure. On the floor lay a body. A young man with sun-bleached brown hair. Aspen recognized him. He'd been seated beside Lady Hennaja in their meetings. He often annoyed her, he recalled. Now he lay stiff and pale on the floor. What had happened? Had he gone sick too? Biting his lower lip, Aspen tried to see if he'd been injured, but couldn't make anything out. One of the men left the room, and the robed man turned towards the window. Aspen ducked down so fast he almost fell.

'What did you see?' Sekafi whispered as he stood on the ground again.

He took a deep breath to steady himself. 'A dead man on the floor. I don't know why though.' He quickly described who it was.

She glanced up, her eyes narrowed. 'We should get out of here, before it's too late.'

'Probably.'

They sneaked along the house, to get away from the man in the room. It wasn't until they attempted climbing up the fence again, they realized the top curved inwards, making it near impossible to get out over it. Sekafi cursed under her breath and Aspen found it hard to breathe. What if they were stuck here? At least the setting sun cast the yard in deep shadows, even as the roofs glowed fiery orange.

'We have to try and sneak out the back door,' Sekafi said.

He nodded. It might be the only way out. But the doors were most likely guarded. How would they get away with this? Fear clutching at his insides, Aaspaelwin sneaked towards the back of the house when footsteps caught his attention. He froze, and Sekafi did the same. She grabbed the handle of her golok, reminding Aspen to be prepared for battle too. He gripped the magical knife, hoping he wouldn't need to use it.

A guard stepped around the corner and halted upon spotting them.

'Who goes there!'

The sharp voice made Aspen flinch and he almost pulled out the knife.

'Sir Hapow,' Sekafi said, and motioned for silence.

The three stared at each other for several seconds before the man relaxed his ready stance and approached them.

'By the Dark Ones, what are you doing here?' he snapped, dark eyes boring into Aspen like cutting knives.

'Ssh! We need to get out. Something terrible happened,' he said. 'You can help us.'

Sir Hapow glared at them, put his hands on his hips, and huffed like a bellows. 'I should arrest you, not let you out anywhere,' he growled. 'You realize it's forbidden to sneak around here, right?'

'Yes, but we suspect something's amiss. Have you seen Lady Hennaja?' Aspen whispered.

Sir Hapow frowned. 'Not in a few days. What are you doing here?'

'We tried to speak to her, but were denied, and Lady Ilaana acted very strange. I think something's wrong. We looked in through a window, and there was a dead man there!' Aspen hissed. 'Surely you have noticed something's off?'

Sir Hapow glanced about, then stepped closer to them. 'Listen, you can't hang around here. The only reason I'm not calling the others is that you helped me... back then.' He pursed his lips. 'Look, I'll let you out. But you gotta leave, and not talk about this to anyone. That clear?'

'Sir Hapow.' Sekafi pointed to the windows further down the side of the house. In the fourth window, there's a dead man. We know him. Why's he dead? Can you find out for us?'

'Are you crazy?' he snarled. 'Do you know the trouble I'll get into if I try to do such a thing, and they find out?'

'I think this could be really important. Please.'

A muscle in his jaw ticked, and he fiddled with the pommel of his sword. After a tense moment of indecision, Sir Hapow sighed in resignation. 'Fine. I'll have a look and see what I can find. But I consider my debt to you repaid with that. Is that clear?' He pointed at Aspen.

Aaspaelwin nodded. 'Thank you.'

Sir Hapow snorted. 'Come with me, but stay a few paces behind. I'll signal if it's clear.' He walked back the way he'd come.

Aspen and Sekafi glanced at each other, sharing a quick smile. Then they followed.

Sir Hapow headed to a locked iron gate in the back. When they rounded a corner, he signalled for them to wait and went ahead. They heard him greet another guard, and talk a few words. Then silence settled again, broken only by receding footsteps.

Aspen peered around the corner and spotted Sir Hapow by the gate. He beckoned for them to approach. Quickly running across the open space, they stopped beside the guard. He pulled out a keyring and unlocked the gate, wincing at the loud clanking of the handle. He pushed it open and motioned for them to get out. As soon as they had passed through, he closed and locked it behind them.

Sir Hapow glanced back to the shadowy garden. ''I told my companion to take a round about the house while I kept an eye here. You have little time before he's back.'

'Thank you,' Aaspaelwin whispered. He couldn't believe their luck. The man wasn't so bad, after all. He just had a tough front.

Sir Hapow huffed. 'I'll see if I can find out what's going on. But don't count on it.'

'We won't,' Sekafi said in a sharp tone.

'Where do we meet up to talk?' Aspen asked.

'There's a bar, the Red Gryphon. Meet me there in two nights. After sunset.'

Aaspaelwin and Sekafi nodded, then hurried off before the other guard returned. They couldn't afford to put Sir Hapow at risk. And they were certain, if they were caught, he'd deny helping them.

A few blocks down the street, they met a team of black horses pulling a covered wagon. The coachman was fully dressed in black, like the canvas over the wagon. A death wagon. It headed towards the High Council. Probably to collect the dead man, Aaspaelwin thought. What had happened? The robed man, could it be? Now that he thought about it, it could only be the Council mage, Master Owadro. If he was involved, surely it was something serious? Not just a sickness. A murder then? Where was Lady Hennaja? Had something happened to her? Maybe Sir Hapow would find out. With a restless spirit, they returned home to their lodging atop the potter's store.