Ulsper narrowed his eyes as he surveyed the street below his rooftop perch. For all the trip wires, bells, locks, and metal casings this part of the city employed as anti-theft measures, the inhabitants were woefully ignorant to the presence of the suspicious man above them. Not a single person passing by had bothered to look up, and while that boded well, it also slightly irked him that the inhabitants were so oblivious. After all, this was Forgeborough—notorious for its intellect and inventions. Evidently, that knowledge did not carry over to street smarts.

Satisfied that no one had followed him, Ulsper withdrew from the edge of the roof and crossed to the other side. Suthe was waiting in the alleyway behind the building, looking up. When she saw Ulsper's signal, she walked around to the front of the building and opened the door with the key he had given her.

Ulsper, meanwhile, slipped through one of the windows of Calatar's apartment.

"Don't move!"

There was an ominous click of an automated something-or-other, and Ulsper tensed, senses alert. A moment passed, and then the voice gave a loud sigh.

"By all the guilds and their patrons, Ulsper!" the voice hissed. The unseen weapon clicked off, and Calatar poked his head out from behind a bookshelf. "I almost stunned you! You do realize that it takes hours for snorpvine spores to wear off?"

"I brought Suthe with me," Ulsper said, stepping further into the study and shedding his cloak. "She'll be at the door in a moment."

"The Montese girl?"

Ulsper nodded and set his cloak on the back of the desk chair. "The Imperial Guard is after her. If she's caught, she'll be deported, or they'll use her to carry out their own plans."

"Speaking of guards," Calatar began, "the ones that came earlier are gone—"

"I noticed."

"—but, um, there's someone else who wants to see you."

Ulsper, who was just about to undo the throwing knife strapped to his ankle, straightened up and turned back to Calatar.

"And just who would that be?" he asked, sudden tension lining his words with a sharp edge. He should have noticed it before. Calatar's gaze kept drifting in the direction of the living room, and his feet shifted uneasily. There was someone else in the apartment.

Without waiting for the inventor to reply, Ulsper pushed past him to the hallway. He could see the intruder's shadow in the corner of the living room, hazy at the edges from the dim light of the gas lamps. The figure itself was rigid and unmoving—both alert but at ease as Ulsper rounded the corner.

It was a woman, he noted, standing with her back to him and her gaze fixed on the front door, as if she knew that someone else was coming. Her long black hair was tied up in a ponytail, and the leather of her black corset and bracers gleamed like oil in the flickering light. A sword hung at her side, and there were undoubtedly several more blades hidden on her person. Ulsper tensed.

"What are you doing here, Marrene?" he demanded.

The young woman turned, and Ulsper's jaw twitched in irritation when he saw the smirk of satisfaction on her face.

"I've come to find you, of course," Marrene replied. She tilted her head to the side as she looked him over. "Being a fugitive has aged you."

Ulsper resisted the urge to look towards the door. Suthe could not arrive in the middle of this.

"What are you doing here?" he repeated.

Marrene leaned back against the wall. "I was ordered to find the rogue spy who has disgraced the honor and integrity of the Imperial Guard. Don't worry," she added when Ulsper shifted his stance. "I'm not going to bring you back. They didn't specify what I was supposed to do after I found you, so I'll make my own decisions about that. And I have no interest in your friend over there, so don't worry about him." She raised her chin in the direction of the hallway, where Calatar was poking his head around the corner, staring at the two spies in his living room.

"Go back to your unit, Marrene," Ulsper said. "You shouldn't be involved in this."

"Why, because I'm too young?" Marrene shot back. "You've forgotten—it's been three years since we last saw each other. I'm eighteen. I can handle myself now."

"So you're willing to involve yourself with me and ruin your career before it's even started?" Ulsper growled.

Marrene shook her head. "The Imperial Guard lost my respect when they unjustly made their most talented spy a wanted criminal. Besides, they won't catch on for a while. The others think you're hiding somewhere abroad, and won't expect me to return for a few months at least. Little do they realize that you've been hiding right under their noses." She flashed a grin and tapped the side of her nose. "It's always safest to hide in the most dangerous place."

Ulsper frowned. "I taught you too well."

Marrene raised a brow. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

"Um, Ulsper?" Calatar called from the hallway. "Who is—"

A knock at the door cut him off, and Ulsper sighed. If he wanted to earn Suthe's trust, Marrene's presence would not help the matter.

"I got it!" Marrene announced, and was promptly shushed by both Ulsper and Calatar.

"Keep it down!" the inventor hissed, still lingering in the hallway. "People will hear us!"

Marrene opened the door, and Suthe hesitantly stepped inside.

"Hello!" Marrene said. "I suppose Ulsper invited you up?" She turned to Ulsper with a sly grin. "I didn't know you got a girlfriend."

"She doesn't speak Noth, and she's not my girlfriend," Ulsper growled. "She's a druith from Montmyth who needs our help."

Marrene smiled. "Oh! A refugee and a fugitive. What a nice pair you make." Turning to Suthe, she said in Montese, "What's your name?"

Suthe's eyes widened. "You speak Montese?"

"Of course!" Marrene exclaimed. "I'd be a rotten spy if I couldn't! How useless would I be if I went to eavesdrop on a conversation and couldn't understand it?"

"You're a spy too?" Suthe tried to back up, but the door had already closed behind her. She looked at Ulsper. "You lied to me! You said you would let me leave!"

"Woah, woah!" Marrene said, holding up her hands. "I came here without being asked, so it's not his fault. And anyway, I'm not a wanted criminal."

Ulsper sighed and passed a hand over his face. "Suthe, meet Marrene Runinskye. Marrene, this is Suthe Montikwe."

"Nice to meet you!" Marrene said cheerily.

At the moment, Suthe looked unsure of which spy she should be warier of. If they weren't careful, Ulsper thought, they might frighten her into using her magic again.

"Ulsper, what in the name of the five tribes is going on?" Calatar demanded. "What are you three talking about?"

Ulsper switched back to Noth. "Calatar, could you and Marrene go wait in the study for a moment? I need to talk with Suthe."

Marrene snickered. "Sure, we'll leave you two alone for a while. Come on, Calatar."

The young spy sashayed past them and down the hall, and with a final glance back at Ulsper, Calatar followed her.

Ulsper turned back to Suthe. "I'm sorry about all this," he said.

Suthe straightened her spine and fixed him with a glare. "Why did you bring me here?" she asked. "And what happened to Alaera? Is she all right? We have to go get her!"

Alaera was her friend from the apartment, Ulsper figured. "She's been arrested, but she should be released in a few days," he said. "There's nothing we can do about her situation for now. It would be foolish to risk your own freedom to rescue her, especially when your presence would only make the situation worse. And as for why I've brought you here, it's because it's the safest place for you right now. Since Sylterra has joined in the race to find the Twin Blades, it would be unfortunate if you were caught at this point."

Suthe narrowed her eyes. "Why are you trying to help me? What are you planning?"

"I'm trying to stop a war, Suthe," Ulsper said. "If anyone gets their hands on those swords, there's bound to be fighting."

Suthe slowly stepped away from the wall. "And how exactly do you plan to stop a war?" she asked.

"By foiling those in charge in every way I can," Ulsper said. "That involves keeping you out of their grasp."

"There's got to be more to it, though."

Ulsper was silent a moment, wondering if he should tell her. "Yes," he finally admitted. "There is. But it does not involve you." He turned and started towards the study to find Calatar and Marrene. Suthe did not need to know any more than that.

"Why does Sylterra have a warrant for your arrest?" she called out.

Ulsper slowly turned back to her.

"I spent two years abroad searching for information about the Twin Blades," Ulsper began, debating how much to tell her. "There has always been legend of them, but no definitive proof of their existence until recently, upon the discovery of a Noth monk's journal in Isendorn. When I brought back what I had learned, the government officials were concerned I might be keeping information to myself and would want to use the swords' power for my own personal gain. When I declined to help the government in their search to locate the Twin Blades, the officials took my refusal as a confirmation of their fears. They blackened my name, and I've been in hiding ever since."

Suthe hesitantly took a step forward. "Do you want the power of the blades for yourself?" she asked.

Ulsper fixed her with a glare. "No single person should have that much power," he said. "And no country can be invincible without severe repercussions. I initially refused the government's order because I believed the swords should remain lost. Now, I only wish to find them so that I may put an end to the hostility that is growing between the different nations."

"So you want to find them...to hide them," Suthe clarified.

Ulsper shook his head. "No. Once they are found, they will not be lost again so easily. But if I can unbind the power connected to the Twin Blades, before anyone else gets their hands on them, they will become no more harmful than any other sword."

The light of the gas lamps reflected the confusion in Suthe's eyes. "Unbind their power?" she echoed. "How?"

Ulsper shook his head. "I need to go to Andilir, where they were forged. The secret must be hidden there somewhere."

Suthe was silent for a moment, pondering his words. "Earlier today, you told me the swords were made with druith magic."

"Yes."

"So to get rid of their power, wouldn't druith magic also be needed?" she asked hesitantly.

"It's a possibility," he answered. "But there's no way for me to know for certain until I go to Andilir."

Suthe's hands fisted at her sides, bunching up the fabric of her skirt.

"I'll go with you."

Ulsper blinked, careful to mask his surprise. "I thought you wanted to leave?"

Suthe shook her head. "What I really want is to go home," she said. "And it looks like I can only do that once the Twin Blades have lost their allure and countries aren't fighting over them anymore. If druith magic can put an end to this, I want to help."

Ulsper frowned. "There's a reason I haven't gone to Andilir yet," he said. "No one expects me to be hiding here in Choraport, but there are soldiers and spies looking for me everywhere outside the capital, and the country. Are you sure you want to take such a big risk?"

A muscle tightened in Suthe's jaw, and she nodded. "I'll do whatever it takes. I want things to go back to normal as soon as possible."

Ulsper narrowed his eyes. The druith's breathing was steady, and she wasn't fidgeting as much as she normally did, so it was unlikely she was lying. She really did want to help.

"It won't be easy," he warned.

Suthe's brows came together, and she took a deep breath. "I know."    

~*~

Thank you everyone so much for your comments on the last chapter.  They really mean a lot to me ^_^

One thing I belatedly realized is I never explained how to pronounce Choraport.  The "ch" sound is actually more of a "kh" sound, like in "l'chaim" instead of "chess".  But I didn't like how Khoraport looked when I spelled it, so I changed the K to a C.  I guess some of the Sylterran/Noth words I've made up can sound a bit Hebrew or Arabic at times, which I guess makes sense because I once took a theater class where we had to do a presentation in a made-up language as an improv exercise one day, and my made-up language ended up sounding like I spoke a bit of Arabic/Hebrew and Parseltongue (and I don't know either of those languages at all).  It's actually really interesting to see what kind of sounds people default to when they have to pretend like they're speaking a language all of a sudden.  We had some "German" accented people and a few Asian-sounding made up languages too XD.

Okay, then, enough rambling.  Hope you enjoyed, let me know your thoughts please, and don't forget to vote!  :D