Sera awoke from a fitful sleep with a gasp. She had carried her stress with her into her dreams. They were filled with flames, pain, and swirling, multi-colored eyes. Taking deep breaths she steadied herself.

Even my dreams are unhappy, Sera thought. Maybe they are more honest than I am.

Sullenly, she rose and began to gather her equipment. Anjelica had informed her that he was to dress battle-ready just in case and so she began the process of belting and clipping the heavy metal to herself. The only element which she felt pleased about was the newly acquired sword which Pierro had gifted her which she displayed proudly at the top of her armament clips.

It will just be for a while and then they will come and get me again, she reassured herself. Then we will be able to hunt, investigate, and spar like we always had. I should not miss it because it is not gone forever. I have to act like an adult about this.

The words rang hollow in her mind. She felt her face begin to clench into a painful expression but she splashed her face with cold water from the basin to simultaneously wake herself up and steady her.

This is just as difficult for them as it is for me I am sure. If there was another way then Anjelica would have already found it. Or maybe this was the other way and Anjelica just preferred to get rid of me?

That thought led down even darker paths and so Sera shook her head and dismissed the thought.

They want to keep me safe which means that they care about me and my safety. I just have to remember that.

Feeling somewhat better about the day's affairs, she marched over to the door and threw it open with as much conviction as she could muster.

The cold morning air immediately swept away the warmth of the stove. The flames were much less capable of dissuading the chill after they could no longer bring themselves to use the chunks of bloodstone they had previously fueled it with. Powering the carriage was a compromise as they had to keep moving but they could all endure a chill for a lightened conscience.

As she descended down the steps she heard a whinny as Hound pulled Buck along the side of the carriage. Hound's eyes did not meet hers as he hitched Buck up to one of the hooks on the side of the vehicle.

"I thought you would like some time," Hound grumbled. "I know how important Buck is to you. I know leaving him is not ideal but the boat is so small and...Well rest assured that I will personally look after him."

Hound ran a long stroke along Buck's neck before turning and beginning to collect his own things. Sera noticed in particular that he was pulling on his spiked gloves that she had only seen once before.

Turning towards Buck almost crushed Sera's soul. It seemed that he knew more than any horse should and his gaze cut right through to Sera's heart. Buck tentatively nudged Sera's shoulder with his snout.

Sera wrapped her arms around his face as she had so many times before and squeezed him as hard as she dared.

"There is nothing to worry about, friend. Hound will take the best care of you and we will see each other very soon. You have to be a good horse and follow their words so that you can stay out of harm's way," Sera cooed as she stroked his snout.

At the implication of good behavior Buck immediately shook his head out of her grasp and gave a pointed snort of air.

"Of course you are right. Make their lives hell Buck. You will have to do enough mischief for the both of us," Sera said in reply.

Worried that her composure might slip, Sera gave Buck one last scratch along his neck and turned to look for Anjelica. Seeing a dark form leaning against a tree a fair distance away, Sera began to walk towards her.

Anjelica stood against the tree in the early dawn. Every few seconds a bit of orange light would emanate from the cigarette in her mouth causing her pale skin to seem lit by a grand fire for just a moment. Smoke trailed out from above her in a steady stream as she gazed out with a placid face staring at the new dawn. With every few inhales there came a click as she pulled back the hammer of her pistol and another as she dry fired it towards the ground. Over and over, this was all that was in Anjelica's world until Sera approached close enough to break her reverie.

Upon noticing Sera she put on a forced smile. Dropping the cigarette beneath her boot she stamped it into the damp earth with a wet hiss. She holstered her gun with the fluidity and calm of one who had done so hundreds of times.

"You are finally awake!" Anjelica said with a false excitement, "That means that we can get underway! The sooner you are on the boat then the sooner you will be safe."

Anjelica, like Hound, seemed unable to meet Sera's gaze. In a sad way the fact that they felt guilty made Sera feel better.

Pushing herself off of the tree, she gave a brief glance towards Sera's inquisitive raised eyebrow before averting her gaze once more.

What exactly are they keeping me safe from? These people or their own willingness to run into danger? Sera wondered. Such thoughts could not help had they been expressed but her idle mind had many anxieties to ponder over.

Anjelica brushed past her and moved towards Hound packing up the supplies that Sera knew were for her journey. She felt another pang of loss that shot through her before she turned and followed Anjelica.

The trio began to walk with a sullen silence. The only sound were the clangs of the metal cookware in the large pack Hound had brought for her. They walked through the streets with a bit of a weave to connect with Mnemina and Bert who were outside of the inn from the night before. Once the group had joined together again, they began to march east towards the river bank.

As they walked the sounds of the city became more distant until they were nothing but a vague drone in the distance. The houses near the river stood abandoned just like their streets.

"Why did all the people leave?" Sera asked with morbid curiosity.

"They did not leave. They died," Anjelica responded bluntly.

An angry grunt sounded out from her side.

"Many people died of the sickness and there was not much of a way to help them without the Church's salve. The people here put their sick near the river and then never came near them in the hopes they would quell the spread," Hound said. With an angry growl he added, "The worst part is that it worked. Just at the expense of all these people's lives."

Suddenly the immensity of what he said hit Sera. She gazed around and saw nothing but empty streets, darkened windows, and abandoned homes. It felt like the ghost of all that loss lived in those hidden places and stared out from the darkness. She saw a cream white hint of bone through one of the windows and shot her eyes forward.

For the rest of the walk she examined the multicolored cobblestones instead.

Eventually they came upon a small inlet stream that took some of the flow from the River Brave into the city. A wide bridge sat in an arc across it which the party traversed. Directly on the other side was the house that must have been Martus' by the way the Gavels all stopped in front of it.

"Sera, would you be kind enough to go and inform Martus of our arrival?" Anjelica asked.

Sera nodded and proceeded towards the doorway. Pushing it open she found the inside to be meager and stark even to her standards. A single large room held a woodfire stove, a small eating table, and two chairs set around it. No decorations hung about the room and Sera found it difficult to believe that anyone had lived here at all. A single door led to the only other room in this place and so Sera approached it.

When she knocked there was no answer. Feeling a bit awkward she glanced back to see Anjelica furrowing her brow in worry. Sera knocked again to no answer but the force pushed the door open slightly.

"Hello? Martus? We are here to use your boat..." Sera paused as she opened the door and looked inside.

The room was similarly empty except for a very spartan bed placed into its center.

Lying on the bed, in a bloody mess with its neck broken, was some kind of large, long-necked bird. It looked like it had been placed there purposefully.

"Uhhh...there is some kind of dead bird in here?" She yelled out to the group, "No sign of Martus though!"

By the time that Sera had turned to see their response, the entirety of the party had piled into the house. Slamming the door shut and dropping the wooden plank that it used as a rudimentary lock, Anjelica looked back at Sera with a fearful face.

"Was it a crane, Sera?" She asked.

"What is a crane?" Sera retorted as Hound pushed past her and peered into the room. He looked back at Anjelica and nodded.

"Well that does it then. Weapons up everyone!" Anjelica called and everyone followed suit except for Sera.

"What do you mean weapons up? What does the bird mean?" Sera questioned.

"It means that we walked right into a trap," Anjelica muttered as she chambered a round.

As if in response, a deep and glacial voice echoed from outside.

"All occupants of the house! You are hereby detained for interrogation by the Internal Bureau on the charge of conspiracy with a known dissenter to the King's godly rule," Crownley's voice called out, "Surrender now and I will grant you every mercy at my disposal!"

Silence fell over the group. Anjelica began to pace back and forth at a fast rate muttering "fuck, fuck, fuck" under her breath.

"Anjelica, what is the plan?" Hound asked with a readiness in his voice.

Anjelica just looked at him with scared and blank eyes.

"Angel!" Crownley's voice sounded once more, "I know that you are in there! You and Hound both. As well as that girl and your patrons. I wish no harm to come to them but you need to explain yourself!"

Anjelica grit her teeth together before her face clenched into anger and determination. She strode towards the door before placing her back against the wall for cover and cracking the door open slightly.

"Is that so Crownley? If you were so concerned about no harm coming to us then why are you arresting us? Not that this conversation is not lovely but it could hardly be called friendly!" Anjelica yelled back at him.

"Friendliness is the thing in question, Angel," Crownley responded, "It is not a crime to be friends with a former Gavel. It is a crime to continue to align yourself with him after he commits crimes against Church and state however."

"What offense could you possibly lay at the feet of a disabled old man?" Anjelica said.

"He made some rather...unsavory accusations towards a high ranking member of the clergy. We offered him many ways to clear his name and renounce his statements but instead he decided to run in cover of night. It is very suspicious, would you not agree?" Crownley asked.

"Not if he knew that most of your 'ways' would include a hot poker and a knife," Anjelica jabbed.

"That is not the kind of bureau I am running," Crownley called out with a sadness in his voice, "I do not think that cruelty is implicit in our charge. So you can believe me when I say that no harm will come to you all if you just submit yourselves for questioning and explain your business with Martus. My patience is much less developed than my mercy though. While this chat is certainly a nice change, I have work to do. Organize your friends for their surrender, Angel. You have two minutes."

With that, the voice from outside quieted and Anjelica quickly closed and relocked the door.

"Anjelica?" Hound asked with a bit of impatience.

"I am thinking," Anjelica said as she pinched the bridge of her nose. Her glasses pushed up onto her nose as it scrunched.

"Well think quickly, dear," Mnemina said as she made her way to the front window. Peering out from behind the shade, she began to call out.

"They brought Lucian with Battle Master, Hans with his Spectral Grasp, Abadda with her Sand Armor, and Crownley himself with his Blinkstep. They were really expecting a struggle. Crownley was very lucky that he found such a big catch for all that bluster," Mnemina mused.

"Okay," Anjelica started, "That means that we cannot fight them in a group or Lucian will overwhelm us with their mental connection and coordination."

Anjelica began to pace once more.

"Abadda is here as the strong arm with her sand constructs, Hans is here for support in the arrest, and Crownley came here...," Anjelica paused for a moment, "Why is Crownley here? He would not just show up which means that this job is important, probably whoever was accused personally sent him. If Martus was chasing the same leads that we are..."

"Then Crownley was sent here by Gabriel," Bertrand finished for her.

"Exactly," Anjelica continued, "Which means that they are most definitely here for Martus and not Sera."

"Me?" Sera asked, "Why would they be after me?"

"There are many who would like to take your clot and use it for their own reasons," Hound responded.

"Someone really wants to have the power to summon purple fire? Why would anybody want that?" Sera asked concernedly.

A hush came over the room. All of the Gavels began to exchange worried glances. Eventually Anjelica spoke once more and broke the tension.

"They likely have the house surrounded but only with enforcers. They may have suspected that there were clot users but the Bureau would not throw lives away gleefully. Hound?" Anjelica asked and glanced to make sure she had his attention, "You will take Sera and get her out of here. No matter what happens the Everburn must escape. Understood?"

Hound nodded emphatically and began to stretch.

Anjelica walked to Sera and grabbed her shoulders.

"They would not dare to confront us on our exit but they most certainly will be chasing us," Anjelica said, "Under no circumstances are you to surrender, Sera. No matter what you have to do you must always escape. Even if that means leaving us behind and jumping into the river. That is an order. Do you understand?"

"Anjelica I am not understanding a single thing you have said! What does the dead bird mean? Why will you not just go talk with them?" Sera began before getting shushed by Anjelica.

"We do not have time now. I promise that I will explain everything after we are safe," Anjelica responded with a warm smile. Her hardened and serious expression came back after just a moment.

"You old timers," Anjelica said with a turn, "Are going to come with me. There is a bridge two miles south that we can cross at. There is no way that they would have split their lines so thin."

Anjelica unsheathed her sword and drew her pistol.

"We exit through the back all at once and then we split. Stay with your group and stay safe everyone! Regroup at the bridge!" Anjelica yelled, "May you fly on crane's wings."

With that, Hound turned towards the back door and shattered it with a mighty kick.