AN: Hope you enjoy reading~!

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Chapter 3:

Bryce could only stare at the guy he had saved from drowning moments ago. He may have pulled him from the waters, but the guy was clearly still in danger. The gaping, bloody wounds on his chest was a clear indication of that.

Those injuries: they looked like stab wounds. Someone went to town on the guy, in a frenzy. But why? Was he an innocent victim? Or a preparator of an attack, only to choose the wrong victim? The city was filled with weapon-toting explorers and locals, after all.

They needed to revive the guy to find out.

"I only have medica," Falkner mumbled as he reached around behind himself to pull a small blue bottle from the pouch tied around his waist. "It'll probably won't be enough."

"It's better than nothing," Bryce replied quickly.

Falkner nodded his head, his expression grim. He bit the cork of the battle with his teeth, it releasing sharply with a quite 'pop'. Bryce slipped an around the guy's shoulders and lifted him up to allow for Falkner to pour the golden coloured liquid pass the man's parched and cracked lips.

The guy swallowed the liquid harshly, only to begin to cough and splatter a moment later.

Good. He was still alive. Somehow.

"Whoa, easy," Bryce immediately tried to calm the guy down. "It's just medica. Let it do its magic."

That did little to calm him down, however. He seemed intent on getting back on his feet, to get away. Probably for good reason, those injuries looked fresh, and that startled cry Bryce and Falkner had heard was not that long ago.

So, whoever was responsible could still be close by.

The man suddenly stilled in his movements and thrusted a close hand against Bryce's chest. He did not exactly punch him, but there was force and urgency behind the gesture. "T-take it. G-get...get rid of it."

Bryce had not the faintest idea what he was on about. Not until the guy unfurled his fist ever so slightly, allowing for a silver chain to slip through his fingers. And when Bryce instinctively reached out to grab at the chain did the guy unfurl his fingers completely and allowed for a silver pendent in the form of a traditional shield to be revealed.

Only, when the pendent dangled from Bryce's grasp, the blue gemstone situated in the middle of the shield flickered with a quick and sharp burst of light.

Wait, what the hell? Was it enchanted?

The guy, even in his pain-filled haze, had noticed the light and his eyes widen. Only to become dazed and hazy a second later as a mirthless laugh passed his lips. "Haha, shit. Accidentally found the right guy..."

What?

Bryce did not have the chance to ask him what the hell he meant as the guy's eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he fell limp. Bonelessly sinking into the ground, lifeless.

Falkner immediately reacted, reaching for the guy's throat to check for a pulse. "He's still alive, but barely," he stated, grimly. "He needs a medic. Now."

No kidding. Back to the clinic or the hospital? Which was quicker?

Any further contemplation halted when a shadow suddenly fell over them. Bryce snapped his head up, momentarily blinded by the sunlight. But even with the bright light, he instantly made out a tall figure standing rather menacingly just a foot or so away. Dressed in loose camouflage pants, a hooded black vest with the hood up over their head, but with the front open to reveal a bare, muscular chest and six pack. To top it all off, he wore a red and black mask over his face, preventing facial identification.

However, what really held his attention were the two glistening blades in his hands.

A nightseeker?

Was that how he managed to sneak up on them so easily?

"Give me that necklace," a gruff voice ordered.

Bryce scowled and unconsciously tightened his fingers around the necklace. It was safe to assume the guy with the swords was the one responsible for the other's injuries.

Shit.

...Well, if the guy wanted the necklace so badly...

"Bryce," Falkner murmured to him, and threw something.

Not keeping his eyes off the guy looming over them, like a damn poser, Bryce caught whatever Falkner had thrown. And it took him a second to realise it was a knife.

A knife was not his usual weapon, but it was better than nothing!

Flicking the knife into a defensive grip, Bryce sprung to his feet and moved backwards. Just as the masked asshole lurched forward. Bryce had to keep moving backwards, twisting away, and dodging rapid slash attacks.

Thankfully, the bare-chested guy seemed more focused on him, and the necklace.

Bryce leaned his head back just in time to miss the tip of the blade by the skin of his teeth. It was so close; he felt the rush of air brush against his cheek.

Yeah, the guy was a nightseeker. A vicious one at that. And the one who attacked the other guy.

Thankfully, Bryce had some knowledge how to deal with nightseekers. Varuna insisted that he did, for the "just in case" scenario. In case Varuna went truly out of control during his Silent Assassin Mode. Bryce only learnt such skills to appease Varuna.

He did not imagine he would actually use those skills. Certainly not against Varuna. And certainly not against some other nightseeker.

Either way, he had better use them.

The aggressive nightseeker lifted his blade over his head and slashed at him sharply, in a long arch. Bryce used his knife to divert the blade's path just a fraction, causing it to miss him by an inch or so. But it was enough for him to plant his boot atop of the blade, forcing it into the ground. He used the slight leverage he had to stand atop of the blade, hindering it further as he lifted his other leg. And kicked his attacker right in the middle of his chest, gaining a rather satisfying grunt that accompanied someone getting the wind knocked out of them.

Dumbass. Served him right for not wearing a proper shirt and armour.

Yet, as Bryce drew back, he felt a sudden stinging sensation on his left hand. His gaze darted down to his hand; his gaze only brief as he did not want to take his attention off his attacker. But he did a double take when he realised that a light gash marred the side of his hand. And twisted around his fingers was a silver chain.

An empty, broken silver chain.

The pendent...

Bryce snapped his head up, his attention back to the nightseeker. And found him standing perfectly still a few steps away. Sword by his side. And perched between his thumb and forefinger was a silver pendent.

Wait, what? How did that fucker get a hold of that?!

His assailant unexpectedly laughed lowly; his head tilted to the side. Almost mockingly. "Interesting..."

He snatched up the pendent suddenly, turned on his heel, and sprinted away. Away from where Falkner was still crouched with the injured stranger, thankfully.

Bryce slowly released his tense body. The threat had passed. For now. But what the ever-loving fuck was all that about?

"You ok?" Falkner called out to him.

Bryce lifted his hand to inspect his injury further, satisfied that it was nothing more than a graze. More like a scratch than a gash, thankful. A simple bandage would do. He still uttered a curse under his breath, though.

"Yeah, fine," he answered as he made his way back to Falkner and their unknown, newfound injured friend. "How's he going?"

Maybe the guy would enlighten them what the hell that necklace was, and who that asshole could be.

Falkner lowered his gaze down to the guy and his frown grew tighter. "Not good. What about the necklace, though?

"I don't care about that thing," Bryce replied immediately. "If someone thinks it's worth killing for, they can have it."

Though, he would admit to himself that he was curious as to why that blue stone on the pendent decided to light up with he touched the necklace.

That could be something to work out later. He had more important things to contend with.

... ... ... ... ...

Bryce was sat on a wooden bench by the canal, a towel draped around his shoulders and over his head. He used it the best he could to dry his sodden hair, but his clothes were a lost cause. He was completely drenched. What he really wanted and needed was a change of clothes.

But he needed to hang around for a little bit longer. The guards were scouring the area after being alerted to the situation. The man that Bryce had pulled from the water had been transported to the hospital.

He was not entirely sure what the guards were hoping to achieve by roaming about the area. The aggressive nightseeker was gone, so was the pendent he was so desperate to take. The attack on the still unnamed victim occurred elsewhere. There was nothing left to be found in the area.

Then again, maybe they just wanted to feel busy and constructive. He could kinda understand.

Falkner was speaking with one of the guards, likely explaining the assailant's appearance for the umpteenth time.

That nightseeker, though. He was one hell of a thief. Bryce had not seen how he managed to get a hold of that pendent. He must have sacrificed himself, receiving a kick to the chest in order to snatch it.

"Bryce!"

The sound of Varuna's voice pulled Bryce from his musings. He reached up to pull the towel from over his head and turned to his right. Where he was greeted by the sight of not only Varuna quickly making his way toward him, but Roxbury as well.

"Are you all right?" Roxbury asked him the very second he reached him. "What happened?"

"You're injured?" That was presented as a question, but it was honestly more of a displeased statement from Varuna.

Bryce resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Of course, the minor graze on his hand, hidden in the towel, would be the first thing Varuna laid his eyes on. "It's just a graze."

Varuna ignored him, however, and immediately reached into the right pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small vial of medica and a bandage. It did not surprise Bryce in the least that Varuna had a couple of medical supplies on him. He either grabbed them on the way out as a precaution, or he had them on his person all the time out of caution.

As Varuna sat himself down next to him on the bench and began to care for his rather insignificant wound, Bryce began to explain what had occurred. As frank and blunt as possible.

During his explanation, Falkner wandered over to add a few details he had noted himself. All the while, the expressions of confusion on Varuna's and Roxbury's face morphed into concern.

"Isiah was called to the hospital," Varuna revealed. "It must be because of that guy. He must be in a pretty bad state for Isiah to be called in."

Yeah, the guy certainly did not look good at all, and Bryce was no medic.

"How's Blayden?" Bryce asked, swiftly changing the subject.

Varuna finished tying off his bandage. "Still resting, thankfully. Baldur has been keeping an eye on him, though he denies it."

The corner of Bryce's mouth twitched into a half smirk. "Thought as much." He suddenly pressed his hands against the top of his knees and hefted himself to his feet. "That's right, I need to get his things from the inn since he'll be staying awhile."

Not to mention that he needed a shower and a change of clothes.

"Want me to walk with you?" Varuna asked, no doubt feeling intensely protective after everything that had happened.

But Bryce shook his head, regardless. If something else was to happen, he wanted it to happen to him, and him alone. Besides, Varuna was needed back at the clinic. "Don't worry about it. Head back to the clinic. Durriken is still in a bad state, right? I can tell how worried you lot are."

The look on Varuna's face indicated that he could not deny that. "Yeah," he sighed. "He needs to eat, but because of...psychological reasons, eating brings him great distress."

Bryce honestly did not know much about Durriken, so he could only wonder what he had been through that would make something simple and vital as eating greatly difficult and stressful for him. Some serious shady shit had been, and probably still was, going on in the Cloudy Stronghold.

"I think the guards will go straight to Highland Count with any information," Roxbury mused aloud, idly folding his arms across his chest. "I might visit him again, to see if he has learnt anything." He shook his head slightly and turned his gaze toward Falkner. "What about that carriage, though?"

"Empty. Possible that the horse got spooked without a driver."

Bryce tossed his towel onto the bench and tugged at the collar of his shirt in a truly irritated manner. "I'll leave the rest to you, then. I can't wait to have a shower."

"Go straight to the clinic when you're done," Varuna immediately ordered, his protectiveness not diminishing in anyway. "I want to recheck that hand of yours."

"Got it."

"I'll catch up with you guys later," Falkner suddenly announced. "There's something I need to do, too."

Roxbury turned and gave the redheaded sniper a look that show that he was worried, but also curious. "Falkner?"

"Just want to check something," Falkner immediately reassured, giving their trusted guild leader a friendly smile. "Won't be long, promise."

With that, Falkner walked in one direction and Bryce moved in another. Bryce had a destination in mind. But he could not help but wonder where Falkner could be heading...