Enorwin had always been a light sleeper, so when he heard the noise downstairs, he immediately sat up in bed. He listened.

He heard two voices, which got louder and louder with every sentence. Two people were fighting over something, but he couldn't hear about what.

Carefully, he climbed out of his bed and put on his boots. He picked up his sword and tried to leave the room without anyone else waking up.

Maréin's eyes flew open, his bright blue irises piercing through the darkness. "What are you doing?" he whispered as quietly as he could.

"There's something going on at the bar," Enorwin replied, trying to keep his voice just as low as Maréin's. "I'm going to take a look."

Maréin also sat up straight. "Wait. I'm coming with you," he whispered. He pulled a linen shirt over his head and was just putting on his boots, as he and Enorwin heard a growl coming from Arwund's direction. They immediately turned their head towards him.

The draconic human turned over in his sleep and pulled the sheets over his head. He grunted, but appeared to be asleep.

Maréin looked relieved. Then, he followed Enorwin out of the room.

They carefully descended the wooden stairs. Well, Enorwin was not sure if they could really be called stairs: the creaking construction more closely resembled a ladder. The wood felt strangely moist and it yielded slightly when he gripped it. Sooner or later, he realised, the entire ladder would collapse. He just hoped it would not happen while he was climbing it.

He leaned against the wall next to the door that led into the bar. With his hand, he signalled Maréin to a halt. He laid his ear against the wall and listened.

"I'm tellin' you, I can't possibly...!" A male voice.

"Well, too bad!" Another voice, a female one. "You should've thought about it when you signed up!"

"But it's... it's just plain wrong!" The first voice again.

"How dare you defy his command?!"

"You bet I dare!" the man suddenly yelled. "Guess what? I'm gonna tell this whole tavern who we are! Then everyone will know we're the Servants of...!" His voice suddenly turned into a muffled sound.

"Don't you dare say that name out loud!" the woman hissed. "One more objection, one more threat, and I'll make sure you'll pay for it. Dearly."

Enorwin looked at Maréin. "The Servants of... Darfith?" he asked quietly.

Maréin shrugged. "Could be."

"So, do you know what to do?" the woman asked.

"Yes," the man said. Enorwin could hear the terror in his voice. "Tomorrow morning. Before everyone else gets up."

"Exactly," the woman said.

Enorwin felt a surge of anger. "That man is being forced to do things that go against his conscience," he whispered. "I have to do something."

"Go ahead," Maréin said. "I'm not going to stop you."

Enorwin gave him a quick nod. Then, his head high, he pushed open the door and rushed into the room.

"In the name of the earl, leave that man alone!" he commanded. He saw a young man, who was being pushed against a wall by a blonde woman who looked the same age. She had been holding a knife at his throat, but when Enorwin came in, she let him go. The man let out a giant sigh of relief and touched his throat.

"This is none of your business," the woman said.

"Do you know who I am?" Enorwin demanded.

"Don't know, don't care," she said simply.

How dare she? Enorwin thought. Such disrespect! Then he said: "I am Enorwin, knight and crown prince of the Flaming Lands. And you had better care."

She gave him a scornful smile. "My king is far greater than yours."

"Is he?" Enorwin challenged, pointing his sword at her. "I do not know him; who is he?"

"You think I fall for such cheap tricks? 'Cause I'm not telling you who he is," she said. She looked at his sword. "Oh, and don't think for one minute that you could actually do me any harm with that toy of yours."

Enorwin slowly lowered his sword. "And might I ask why not?"

"Wanna find out?" the woman asked mockingly.

Then it struck him. "You're... you're a draconic human, aren't you?"

The woman smiled. "Very good, young prince! You're better than I expected!"

"And I presume you two belong to the group that calls itself the Servants of Darfith?" Enorwin asked. He immediately knew he had said the right thing.

For a moment, the woman actually looked shocked. Then she regained her composure. "You are good. I gotta give you that." She began walking backwards. "I suppose this is where Bedreigh and I get going." She threw the man a quick look.

"Not so fast," Enorwin suddenly heard a voice say. He looked around and saw Arwund, leaning against the doorpost. "Did my young friend mention that he, too, has a breather by his side?"

Enorwin couldn't hide his surprise at Arwund's sudden appearance. Then, he felt an urge to protest: he was not, in any way whatsoever, Arwund's friend. However, he decided to remain silent.

The woman looked surprised as well. "You?" she asked. "A breather? Working together with a knight?"

Arwund simply shrugged. "He promised me my freedom," he said.

"Enough to betray your very kind?"

"My kind?" Arwund asked. "When did any of you other breathers ever help me?"

"You're a traitor."

"And a thief, too. Oh, and a burglar," Arwund said. "Really, after a while, those words kind of lose their meaning."

Suddenly, Enorwin heard a chuckle coming from behind him. Maréin stepped out of the shadows and came to a halt by his side.

"So, are you quite finished with the threats?" he asked. "Congratulations, you've arrived at a deadlock. No-one is getting anything out of this. I presume that's what you all wanted?"

Enorwin looked at him in shock. Where did he get the audacity to interfere like that?

"Ah, it's not quite a deadlock, sir," the woman said. She smiled wickedly. "Bedreigh!"

On cue, Bedreigh pulled a small flask out of nothing and threw it on the ground. A thick smoke started to spread, obscuring the two. Enorwin could just make out their silhouettes leaving the tavern, before they vanished behind the smoky curtain.

"Great!" Enorwin yelled. He turned to face Maréin. "Why did you distract me?!"

"Well, to be perfectly honest, I don't think he did," Arwund said. "They just outwitted us this time."

"It may not be my place, but I agree with Arwund," Maréin said. "Let's not start to blame one another for things no one is responsible for."

Somehow, Enorwin found that Maréin's calmness annoyed him. He breathed in deeply, trying to suppress his unreasonable emotions, and found that he was slowly regaining his focus.

"What do we do?" he asked.

"Well," Arwund said, "if you don't mind, I would like to go after them. You know, instead of wasting our time like this as they manage to flee farther and farther with each passing second."

Enorwin had to admit he had a point this time.

"Go ahead," he said. "I'll follow after you."

"Me too," Maréin said.

Arwund grinned almost ferociously. "I hope you can keep up," he said. "I tend to be pretty fast."