"Walter, be straight with me, can I steal a book from the library?" Isaac questioned his guide as Walter took the duo to see the library and then where he was staying. They had enough time before it was the city's bedtime to do those things but nothing else.

Walter shook his head. "No." He stated without any hesitation. "The alarm is set to go off if a book vanishes. It isn't about getting caught, but simply the act of taking one will set off the alarm. If you can escape after that… I don't know."

"How good is the security?" Isaac wondered. "Reality Shields and the normal anti-fun suite?"

Walter chuckled. "I like that." He told Isaac in relation to his nickname for the standard array of wards against escape and misdetection. "But yes, in addition to a scent tracker." He added the last part with a very unamused look on his face. "The scent tracker that I designed for Gypsy."

"They got a hold of your work somehow?" Lenna wondered.

Walter nodded in confirmation. "Nothing is sacred in this place."

Isaac winced. "I don't really want to stay here any longer than I have to." He told his mate. "This place makes my skin crawl."

Lenna nodded in agreement. "The fact that only the concierge who dropped the pen on the floor was the one missing didn't help."

Isaac stopped in his tracks and stared at Lenna with wide eyes. "I hadn't noticed. They were just nameless background characters to me."

Walter just stared, utterly dumbfounded, at Isaac for a moment before he burst out laughing. "Is that actually how you see the world?" Walter couldn't help but question Isaac.

"Yes." Lenna replied flatly.

"So, what, am I just some side character in the 'Great Lord of Darkness's' internal play?" Walter asked with a very amused look on his face and an eyebrow raised.

Lenna nodded but it was Isaac who answered: "Well, I mean, kinda." He answered the artificer honestly who just started laughing even harder.

After a moment, Walter finally had himself back together and they arrived at the closed doors to the library. "I definitely have the best side character energy. It's the mystery for sure. The old 'what has he done in the past to make him this way' and 'I wonder what that thing that he has alluded to actually does'." He nodded very self-confidently.

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Lenna just shook her head at the boys' antics. "And you are sure that the Fatebreaker won't send someone while we are gone?" Lenna asked Walter for the third time.

Walter swayed slightly. "Sorry, that change of topic gave me mental whiplash." He joked. "But yeah, I'm sure." He reaffirmed and turned around to leave. "Oh, and Isaac, the air pressure change from you entering will probably set off some kind of alarm." He halted Isaac's idea of slipping in after hours cold.

"Damn." Isaac commented. The group headed back down, through the bank lobby, and then out into the street while they continued talking and joking around. As they exited the building, a warrior in quietly extravagant armor met them.

The warrior wore an orange sash with a sunlight yellow corded belt and was missing his helmet. His armor was tight and very formfitting platemail that looked impossible to move in until he did. As he took a step towards them, the warrior's armor twisted and bent with his every movement. As it did so, it caught the nearby light and rippled with blues and purples as only higher spectrum light was reflected away from it. His features were just as ageless as every other elf but his bearing was one of a man who had seen eras of war and knew that peace was not the default state of the world but a gentle reprieve of the norm.

The warrior's eyes were sky blue and his hair was a soft brown like fallen leaves in autumn. His skin was a gentle tan like ash wood and the wrinkles around his eyes spoke of countless hours of scrutinizing people and places. "Ashborne heir." His voice solidly resounded with military formality before he turned to face Isaac and Lenna. "Foreigners. Join me for a walk and tea?" He asked.

Something about the warrior's question made Isaac think that he was fine with taking no for an answer and whatever he was doing was not something that he had been ordered to do. Isaac nodded once in affirmation. "Alright, we have nothing better to do." He told the warrior. "But first, your name?"

The old warrior smiled warmly in gratitude and greeting before he bowed at the waist with his dominant arm across his chest. As he straightened, he introduced himself: "I am Xlen Dra'Als, protector of Cainen Su'Sol. The man that you may know better as the Fatebreaker."

At the mention of who he was, Isaac and Lenna were suddenly very aware of the lack of threat reading either of them had of the man. He was practically as docile as a housecat yet there was no way that he was anything but the singularly most powerful warrior in the city.

Isaac nodded deeply in greeting and Lenna bowed slightly. "It is a pleasure, Sir Dra'Als." Isaac greeted him in return. "Knowing who you are, I assume that you know who I am. Please, lead the way."

Xlen nodded in thanks. "Thank you for humoring this old swordsman." He told the trio and started heading towards the less opulent part of the city. The trio followed him in silence, that he was more than happy to let hang, for seven city blocks until they came across a restaurant-cafe-fine dining-pastry lounge. The building was split by level in order with the pastry lounge open to the air on the top floor.

A man met them just inside the door and bowed in greeting. "Master Xlen, it is nearly closing time." He greeted him with respect but with very informal speech.

Xlen gave him the same warm smile that he so casually gave the trio. "The second floor is fine. Let Wirra know that we are only here for tea and will be gone before it gets too late." He informed the host. "We can seat ourselves."

Xlen led the trio through the restaurant as it was clearing out. The stark white chairs and tables were less obnoxiously bright due to the liberal use of green and gold fabric, floor, and ceiling decorations. They quickly reached a set of stairs that took them up to the second floor where the decor was lighter in color but still softer in shade than most of the city. The second floor was almost entirely empty of patrons so Xlen didn't even have to look for a table for them and was able to simply lead them to one by a window.

"Please, sit." Xlen told them. He looked like he was about to pull a chair out for someone when Isaac gestured to the side and two of the chairs slid themselves out.

The countless shadows made bridging the small distance with his focus and power a breeze, and the chairs were made of a light but sturdy wood and slid easily, so it hardly required any power. He was very grateful for that fact because he was far from able to enact his full will directly. He had noticed that his ability to simply speak and order the shadows to do what he wanted had recovered far faster than his direct mana control had, which almost seemed backwards with how much direct intent pained him at the beginning. Xlen halted for a moment and then just chuckled to himself and took the chair that he was originally going to pull out for someone. Isaac and Lenna took the seats that Isaac had pulled out for them and Walter took the last one. Gypsy, who had somehow slipped past the host and everyone else, slipped under the tablecloth and under Walter's chair to fit almost perfectly under the artificer.

"I bet you are wondering why I asked you to come with me the entire way out here." Xlen began and then placed a large coin on the table. One side of the coin was solid platinum and the other was pure onyx crystal.

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