2 weeks later

  Stormwins Peak, the tallest mountain in all of Agnius, stood tall and proud. Unlike the rest of the country, the mountain had plenty of vegetation, the air was cold all day and night, and bits of snow stuck to the ground.

  With the leadership of Darius, the crew of three managed to arrive to the mountain in one piece. Unfortunately, Galvin had taken the rest of the igians, so they had to rely on other means to scale the mountain.

  Morwin never knew the top of these mountains doubled as a hideout for Justicar. He wondered if Lord De’Shai or King Rai’Shal knew.

  Since Guenevir isn’t a Dragikiri, Morwin and Darius had to assist her. They used a mixture of wind from emeralds, strength from amethyst, and ground from topaz to make their way to the top.

  That’d all been a week ago, and now Morwin sat on top of the mountain, waiting. The area that Justicar made their base had straw huts strewn about, some missing roofs. Other members of Justicar came and went as they pleased. Morwin wondered how they managed to get to the top without the help of Dragikiri, as the mountain was tall enough to poke through the clouds.

  None of the members stayed. They all moved about with purpose, and Morwin wondered what they were doing. Did Galvin give them other instructions to follow? Did they follow some other leader? All of these questions rushed through his mind, but he didn’t want to pry Guenevir or Darius. After what he’d did, he’d be surprised if they told him anything.

  Throughout the last two weeks, he occasionally caught them shooting him dirty looks, as if Galvin not returning had been all his fault.

  Feet on stone rang out, a louder sound than usual. Morwin dropped what he was doing and rushed out to look. There, Galvin stood, holding the bag of diamonds. He dropped it to the ground and let out a long sigh.

  Guenevir and Darius both rushed out of their chosen huts as well to meet Galvin.

  “What took you so long?” Guenevir demanded.

  “Had to wait for the diamonds to recharge,” Galvin said. “I used too much getting back into the city, so I had to wait the recharging time.”

  “It takes two weeks for essence to return to them?” Morwin asked.

  Galvin nodded. “They’re arguably the most powerful and useful gemstone. As such, they take the longest amount of time.”

  Galvin reached into his pocket and pulled out another sack of igians and tossed one over to Darius. “Here’s the one you gave me. The diamonds are still full,” he spoke.

  Darius caught it and examined the sack. He untied the string and opened the bag, pulling out one of the diamonds to inspect it.

  “Thanks,” he said.

  “Do I get one?” Morwin asked.

  Darius shook his head. “There were guards. I couldn’t steal all of their igians,” Darius responded. “And no offense, but I’d rather Galvin and I have it than you.”

  Morwin folded his arms and pouted, but reluctantly agreed. He’d rather the diamonds fall in skillful hands as well.

  “What’s the plan, Galv?” Guenevir asked. “They know about you, about Morwin, probably about me.”

  “We have to get Kaden out,” Galvin said. “I’ve seen the wanted posters while hiding in Rathalin. None of you, thankfully. They’re more focused on me and Morwin. So if you could sneak back into Rathalin, find Kaden in the palace before the Screener makes his way to him, then we can still save him.”

  “Screener?” Morwin asked.

  “Yes, someone who has an affinity for sapphires, who can harness their powers better than you or I. That person, after having three betrayals in his workforce, is surely to go around to everyone and investigate them thoroughly. That puts Kaden in danger.”

  “And you couldn’t have done that in the two weeks while you were in Rathalin?” Morwin said.

  Galvin shook his head. “I couldn’t take any chances. The entire city is on alert. But if Guenevir, who’s still technically employed by Lord De’Shai, who didn’t even see your face, could make up a story about being captured by Justicar, then she’d be able to get back in. In and out with our comrade, that’s your mission.”

  Guenevir nodded. “You’re right, none of them saw my face.”

  “What about us?” Darius said, motioning to himself and Morwin. “What do you have for us to do?”

  “That’s what I was going to talk about,” Galvin said. “Any team leads on Stormwins Peak right now?”

  “Last I checked, only Melwin, Gopti, and Kell are here.”

  “Good,” Galvin said. “Gather them up. I’m going to lay out a game plan.”

  In the middle of Stormwins Peak, a single grand building stood, built of straws and sticks like the other huts. In that building, Galvin, Morwin, Guenevir, Darius, and three people Morwin had never met gathered. He assumed those three to be the team leaders Darius mentioned.

  With Galvin there, Morwin felt lest hostility from Guenevir and Darius, which he was thankful for.

  “What’re we gathered here for?” one of the team leaders spoke. Gopti, a woman in her twenties, did not appear to be a woman at all. She had muscles lining her arms and even more muscular thighs that Morwin didn’t know was possible on a woman. She had her arms crossed, a concerned look on her face. “After posters of you circulated around Agnius, I was worried that you’d been compromised, so I came back here personally to see if you were still alive.”

  “And your team?” Galvin asked.

  “Still stationed in Jovin City, per your instructions.”

  “Why Jovin City anyways?” another of the team leaders spoke up. Kell was a soft spoken man. Morwin could tell he never spoke up in conversations such as this unless he had a burning question. He usually stays quiet and rolls with any plan given.

  “I’m getting to that,” was Galvin’s reply.

  “Better get to it quick, because my team thinks you don’t have a plan and just stationing them in Jovin City because,” the last of the team leaders spoke up. Melwin, a young boy, who appeared to young to lead a group of rebels, stood anxiously. In his right hand, he carried a spear. In the two weeks Morwin had been on Stormwins Peak, he didn’t see the boy without his weapon once. He spoke ferociously and had a snappy tone.

  “Because Jovin City is pivotal to our plans,” Galvin explained. “I’ll save the details for later, but since it’s an important city, and far away from Rathalin where most troops are stationed, a rebellion there would be the most successful course of action.”

  “That is, until someone decided to bargain with the lord of that town into opening up the borders for the troops,” Melwin said, folding his arms and eyeing Morwin with a look of intense hatred.

  “Sorry,” Morwin said, looking down.

  “Don’t apologize,” Galvin said to Morwin in a harsh tone. “You were just doing what you thought was right. But no worries, I’ve accounted for the soldiers arriving in Jovin City and ‘quieting’ the rebellion there.”

  “Yes, some of my men died,” Gopti snapped, an angry look on her face. “You better have a good reason for shorting my team some men.”

  “I told you guys to keep your troops there, and maintain covertness,” Galvin said to Kell and Melwin. “Gopti, your team is known to be the most wild of the teams, so I had you guys burn down some farms after clearing out civilians, and causing general harm to the city’s infrastructure without hurting the people. Did you keep this up until the soldiers arrived?”

  “Yes,” was all she said.

  “Excellent. And you ceased after Lord De’Shai’s soldiers arrived?”

  “Almost,” Gopti said. “I underestimated their time of arrival, so there was a big fight. I lost about half my men.”

  Galvin pursed his lips and nodded. “I’m sorry about that, I should have told you sooner.”

  “And I’m not going to put more of my men’s lives on the line for your miscalculations or misinformations,” Gopti spat. “So either lay out the entirety of your plan on the table right now, telling us everything, or we won’t listen.”

  Morwin noticed Galvin getting substantially more nervous. His eyes darted between the three of the people who stood there with impatience and wariness.

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  “I’ll tell you some but not all.”

  “And why not?”

  “To tell you everything would be to put the entire operation at risk,” Galvin said. “There are skilled Dragikiri inside of Rathalin that I can’t beat. Including a Screener. If one of you were to get captured, then our plans would leak.”

  “And what if you got captured?” someone else spoke. This time, it was Guenevir. Morwin could tell she was starting to agree with the other team leads.

  “I have a sapphire hidden somewhere. I’ve told only one person about it. In the event I get captured, then you will find that sapphire, and designate another Dragikiri as the new leader of Justicar. I’ve Infused inside the sapphire all the plans. A message will play in the Dragikiri’s mind, and they’ll know exactly what to do. And in the event I get captured, forget about me.”

  “Very bold of you,” Gopti said. “Some of my men were captured and tortured, did you know that?”

  Galvin nodded solemnly. “I know, and I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for any of our men to perish before our battle.”

  Despite not meeting the other three before, Morwin felt a strong tension coming from them. In this meeting, he understood a little more about how Justicar worked. No one knew anything. They just did as told. All bounded by the hatred for the king and the throne. They placed trust in their leaders, who in turn, placed their trust in the overall leader, Galvin. But that trust was starting to waver.

  “Okay, I’m going to lay out the plans now. After being revealed and escaping from Rathalin, I’ve come to the conclusion there are several Dragikiri among their ranks who are very powerful, and that should prove deadly in a battle. Plus, with all the teams together, we are only about two hundred strong. They are tens of thousands strong, so an all out battle will not work as it had in the past.

  “Because of that, I’ve had to revise our plans a little bit. There is a country across the seas that someone’s told me about, a place known as the Aylin Islands. The plan is to send a representative there to make a case with whoever is in charge and have aid sent our way.”

  “I’ll do it,” Kell volunteered quickly. “Me and my team can handle that.”

  Galvin shook his head. “I’ve already made up my mind about who I’m going to send. And this will be a non-negotiable agreement. It won’t be a team at all, it’ll be one person. The less the better. We don’t want to intimidate citizens of the Aylin Islands.”

  The Aylin Islands? Morwin had never heard of that place before. A country existed beyond that of Agnius? How come he was never taught this?

  “Who told you about it?” Morwin asked.

  “Not important,” Galvin replied.

  “Who’s the person you’re sending?” Guenevir asked.

  Galvin raised a hand and pointed a finger straight at Morwin.

  At once, protests rang out. Morwin understood why they didn’t trust him with such an integral part of their plan, but Galvin did not budge.

  “He’s a diplomat,” Galvin argued Morwin’s case. “He was the one who agreed to get Lord Seldam to open the borders of Jovin City, and he’s going to be the one to convince whatever system of government over there, to send aid over.”

  “I…,” Morwin began.

  Galvin raised an eyebrow. “You can do it, can you not?” Galvin said. “This is my mission for you, the most important one I can give to anyone.”

  “I’ll do it,” Morwin agreed hesitantly.

  A smile crept up on Galvin’s lips. “Good.”

  “And what about us? What will we be doing?” Gopti said.

  “Well, Morwin is going to sail out to sea by way of Jovin City. The Aylin Islands lays far east of Agnius. You guys, I want you to recruit as many people as possible. Do it discretely to not draw attention to yourselves.”

  “The pirates,” Morwin said. “What about the pirates when I set sail?”

  Galvin simply stared and burst out laughing. “Morwin, there are no pirates off the coast of Jovin City. That’s a rumor started to dissuade people from leaving, but now that soldiers are occupying Jovin City, setting sail will be more difficult.”

  “Why do you want us to recruit? We’re ready for a fight! Let us bring chaos to Jovin City!” Gopti said, pounding her knuckles together.

  Before Morwin knew Galvin was a part of Justicar, he assumed most of the rebels acted like Gopti. Brash, irrational, wanting to cause destruction. But Galvin shut her down.

  “We will create a rebellion in Jovin City, don’t you worry. Because your team was the only one causing mayhem, they thought less of Justicar to be there, but when you add Kell’s and Melwin’s team into the mix, we have a formidable force. For now, just recruit. Gopti, I want your recruitments to stay with you guys in Jovin City. Kell and Melwin, I want your recruits to come to the base of Stormwins Peak. I’ll give details about that.”

  “Why?” Kell asked.

  As if on cue, the door opened, and someone stepped on through, wearing a black cloak and the familiar face mask of Justicar. He held a bow in his hand. It didn’t take a genius for Morwin or anyone else to figure out who that man is.

  “Jules!” Guenevir exclaimed. She sprang up and ran to him, jumping into his arms. Jules returned the warm embrace. “You came back!”

  Jules took off the face mask and set his bow down. “I did. I leave for a couple days and suddenly all of Rathalin and most of Agnius are looking for your heads.” He shook his head. “Never should have given me the boot.”

  “Because we have Jules who will train the recruits on how to use a bow. The people you recruit, they don’t have to be skilled soldiers or good marksman. They just need to be people who share our beliefs.”

  Gopti nodded. “We’ll do whatever as long as we get to watch Jovin City burn.”

  “Right, we will. After we send Morwin to the Aylin Islands from the port of that city. The other people you guys recruit will be sent here to be trained by Jules on how to handle a bow.”

  Jules scoffed. “Is that what you wanted to do with me?” Jules said, a little disappointment in his voice.

  Galvin nodded. “Yes,” he said.

  “That’ll be easy. But when I’m done with it, I’m going to set out on my own again. I don’t need you guys with me for what I’m going to do.”

  “Jules,” Guenevir began. “Lord Demarian is dangerous. Let’s just stick to the plan please.”

  “He can go,” Galvin said. “His usefulness does not go beyond sharing his knowledge. I… trust him. I know him to do the right thing.”

  Jules let out a smile. “Thanks, Galv,” he said. “Now, if there’s nothing more to discuss in this meeting, I’m going to take my leave.”

  “You’ll stay here, no?” Galvin said.

  Jules laughed. “Relax, I’m not leaving the mountain. After spending the past five hours to climb it, I’m exhausted and hungry.”

  With that, Jules turned and walked out the doors.

  “Darius,” Galvin said, returning his attention to the people at the table. “I want you to overlook the recruitment that Kell and Melwin carries out. I want you to use your Gemming abilities to act as a Screener. I know you don’t have an affinity for sapphires, so just do your best to try and not recruit spies.”

  “What if one of the recruited turn out to be spies?” Darius asked.

  “Kill them,” Galvin said. “I’d rather not, but the country is on high alert. We can’t let information outside of our circle slip out. Do what you have to do, I trust you.”

  Darius nodded.

  “Guenevir, I’ve already told you what you’ll be doing, correct? In Rathalin and get out. Simple as that.”

  Guenevir nodded.

  Galvin looked to the three team leads. “Will you guys carry out my plan for now?” he asked. “I understand you’re growing impatient and want the king to atone for his crimes, but we can’t rush in brashly.”

  Melwin, Gopti, and Kell all nodded in unison.

  “Morwin, you know your role?”

  Morwin nodded as well.

  “And what will you be doing this whole time?” Gopti asked.

  “I will be personally escorting Morwin to the dock and seeing him off,” Galvin said. “He is the most important part of our plan, so I want to take part in it just a little bit, give him what he needs to succeed.”

  After moment of silence and surprisingly no objections, Galvin nodded. “Okay, you all know your roles. Let’s put this plan into action.”