It came down to two options, Ulsper decided, as the sun sank lower on the horizon. As he darted down a narrow alleyway, he kept his ears pricked for sound of pursuit behind him. Sure enough, he could hear a faint splash-splash of footsteps behind him, unusual now that the rain had forced most pedestrians to retreat inside. Though Ulsper was certain Kalasha hadn't seen his face, he knew she had a keen eye for things that were out of place, and he was sure that his cloaked figure had raised some suspicion in her mind, enough for her to follow.

He knew what she was doing—it was one of the first basic elements of pursuit everyone in the Imperial Guard was taught. Rather than chase him down, she would follow him at this steady pace, wearing him down until he either slipped up in his fatigue and gave himself away, or let his nerves get the best of him and try to run. In the latter case, she would most likely shoot him with some sort of stunning pistol from a Forgeborough guild she doubtlessly had already prepared beneath her cloak.

Again, Ulsper thought over his two choices: either he could give up now and confront Kalasha head on, or continue at this steady pace until night completely fell and curfew begin. Then things would get a bit trickier with the clockwork soldiers on guard.

Ulsper cast a quick glance at the horizon after ducking under a clothesline. It was difficult to tell with the rain, but it didn't look as though the sun would be up for much longer. Already, the blue stones that charged the soldiers seemed to glow brighter with every clockwork box he passed.

He'd seen what the soldiers were capable of, back when he'd been sent by the Imperial Guard to mediate the fighting between the New Patriots and old Loyalists at the beginning of the Rebel King's reign. The clockwork soldiers weren't a general Forgeborough guild's tinkering creation. These were machines perfected over years of craftsmanship and design, made all the more powerful by the mysterious blue stones taken from the heart of Andilir's abundant mountains. They were quick, intelligent, and impartial, made to follow the will of whoever bore the Andilirish crown. And they were certainly able to identify anyone currently or previously on a wanted poster, like himself.

Ulsper chanced a glance backwards as he rounded the corner of a building. He might have better luck with Kalasha, after all. He just needed the right opportunity.

Time passed in a slow trickle, as Ulsper continued to wander seemingly nonchalantly and aimlessly through the city. The meeting with Seolosu and Saer Lon had been at the outskirts of the city, but he was now reaching the city center, usually just as dirty but more from all the people living on top of one another than from any cows and soil-streaked farming carts.  Now with the rain, however, the grime and grease had been somewhat washed away, and the muddy paths of the outer neighborhoods had changed to slick stones beneath his feet.

Ulsper paused, pretending to admire a shopkeeper's wares. A glance from under his hood told him that Kalasha had given up discretion in favor of confronting him directly. Rather than hold back and wait for him to make his next move, she was still striding towards him.

She wanted confrontation then, did she?

Ulsper set off again, this time at a slightly faster pace. Doubtlessly, Kalasha had studied up on his strategies—knew he preferred high vantage points, was skilled at blending in with crowds, and preferred knives over fancier Forgeborough-made weapons. But he was also skilled at adapting to challenging situations, and that was more difficult to specify what all that entailed in the Imperial logbooks.

An older woman gave a small yelp of surprise as Ulsper nearly bumped into her around a sharp corner. Wordlessly, Ulsper continued down the new street, scanning the shop doorways and parked carts for any potential obstacles or new threats. If he ran into any of Kalasha's lieutenants now, he'd be in trouble for sure.

At the next cross street, Ulsper ducked behind a wagon and around another corner, certain that Kalasha would have caught the motion. He had been a few levels up in the Imperial Guard when she had first joined, and he had seen her in trainings enough to know that her tracking skills were some of the best in the entire guard. But rather than heedless pursuit, she was careful in following and on the alert for any traps. Corners would slow her down as she made sure not to run into any unexpected surprises.

He would have to fix that.

Ulsper used the reflection of a shop window to assess Kalasha's reaction. Sure enough, she had been hesitant at the corner he had just rounded, but sped up after seeing no cause for concern. His maneouver had been enough to convince her that she was on the right track, at least. She was closing the distance between them, fast.

He sidestepped a lantern lighter just as a distant explosion sounded from the outskirts of the city—from the training grounds, it sounded like, and not the mines. Seolosu must have gotten back safely. The mining had stopped an hour earlier and it was too late for training exercises now. The knowledge that the other two had gotten back was a little relief at least, but he couldn't afford to dwell on that much longer.

Again, he turned a corner, this time crossing the street to take a left rather than a right. He was familiar enough with the city layout to know how to avoid Saer Lon's smuggling house and not lead Kalasha right past their hideout, but he still wanted to be close enough to get to it when the time came.

Another left turn, and then a swift right. Kalasha's wariness was finally starting to wear off as he increased the pace and she abandoned caution as it became apparent that he was trying to outrun her.  He noted with some satisfaction that her turns weren't so wide anymore, either.

The streets were emptying as most stores had closed up for the night and Fai residents returned to their homes in one of the many shuttered buildings lining the streets. There was a narrow back alley nearby that would serve his purpose. Ulsper's hand burshed against the knife at his belt, hidden beneath his jacket.

Now.

He turned the corner to the alley, and this time stopped with his back flush against the wall. The knife was out of its sheath in a second, and he held his breath to listen for Kalasha's approaching footsteps.

He crouched low, anticipating her sudden turn around the corner. But the footsteps slowed again. Something must have alerted her that this wasn't just another corner.

Ulsper let out his breath slowly, silently. He could see her shadow approaching on the cobblestones before her, each tap of her boots on the stone another step closer to the mouth of the alleyway. If she wasn't going to round the corner quickly like he had hoped, he would go on the offense, then.

In the next breath, Ulsper sprung up from his crouch, reaching out and confronting Kalasha head-on. Her sharp intake of breath was half-muffled by the fluttering of her cloak as Ulsper dragged her back around the corner, his knife already at the delicate area beneath her chin, ready to cut up and into her tongue at a moment's notice.

"Congratulations, you found me," he said, willing himself to not sound as annoyed as he felt. She'd wasted enough of his time tonight, and he wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.

Kalasha's green eyes flashed with a vengeful intensity. "Fancy that," she said. "It seems I have indeed." Her tone was light, but the words came out strong and confident. Ulsper didn't like it.

He spun Kalasha to face the wall, his free hand moving from the base of her throat to the the back of her neck as her hood fell off at the motion.

"Arms up," he said, moving the knife to the base of her skull. Slowly, she did as instructed, placing each palm against the gray stones in front of her.

With her arms out of the way, Ulsper searched and removed the weapons from her person. Two stunning pistols were thrown to the ground, along with three knives and a suspicious-looking metal flask. Ulsper paused, however, at the strange metal disk with a blinking light that he pulled from the captain's left pocket.

"What is this?" he demanded.

Kalasha dared to move her head against the knife Ulsper held as she glanced down. "Oh, that," she said airily, but didn't elaborate further.

Ulsper applied pressure to the blade. "I asked what it is," he said from between gritted teeth.

"It's from Forgeborough," Kalasha said, even adding a shrug that jostled the long braid snaking down her back. The response was too casual for this situation. Though he should have the advantage, Kalasha had some assurance that she still held the upper hand, for some reason. And true to her character, she was showing off.

"Answer the question, Kalasha, last warning," Ulsper said. "I didn't ask where it was from."

"Fine," she replied, but even that word was drawn out lazily and unconcerned. "It's one of a set that I gave my lieutenants. We've been using it to search for you. We have to split up to cover so much ground, you see, so of course when we eventually find you it'll be one-on-one."

Ulsper tightened his grip on the knife, not liking where her explanation was going. "Continue."

"Well, it's a way to bring everyone together," she said. "When I press that button there, it lets the others know where I am, and that I need them to join me. They should be here any minute now."

Ulsper looked down at the disk, then flipped it over as his fingers brushed some kind of carving on the back. Not a map, which would have been complex but expected. Rather, a compass, with both cardinal and primary intercardinal directions, had been engraved in the metal. A circle surrounded the compass carving, and as Ulsper turned the device, the circle turned so that the arrow with the N at the top always pointed north. And from deep within the device, something emitted a green glow that seeped through the engraving, making the entire compass shine with the eerie light.

Patron of Fire, this is not good.

Before he could react any further, however, Ulsper heard a click echo behind his head.

"Excuse me sir," a male voice said. "But I'd appreciate it if you lowered your weapon and let my captain go."

Kalasha turned to throw a smirk over her shoulder. "Ah, Ethran," she said, "Just on time, as always."