Lizabeth raced out of the orphanage just in time to greet Perdilius as he stepped out from his carriage. She hung her head and bowed, keeping modest in her dark nun clothes until Perdilius smiled back. "Oh, come now, Lady Lizabeth. We haven't been strangers in half a decade, no need for formalities."

  "Forgive me, Father." She grinned back, taking his hand and gesturing for him to follow. "Hurry, the orphans have settled down."

  "Oof!" Perdilius stumbled forward, stepping on his robe and losing his bance, barely able to keep himself from falling. Lizabeth turned back and giggled, taking the cue to move slower for him to keep up. The Orphanage where she resides presented itself in a modest setting, appearing as a two-story home made of aged woodwork. The paint was peeling off in a few corners and one of the windows was missing its gss, covered rather clumsily with an old stitched up bnket and a few nails. It was a bit distant from the main city as evident by the tower peeking through a few miles in the distance, surrounded by the city beneath its size.

  Perdilius crouched down, cautious not to bump his head against the door frame or to crash into one of the fragile support beams inside. The interior leaved a bit to be desired, but Lizabeth and her friends made the best they could with the few materials avaible. Any scraps of wood decorated with mold was torn off and repced, and the hard flooring was covered with rugs and carpets sewn together. The furniture looked new, with a pair of toddlers sat facing each other using building blocks to make a castle. He stepped aside as a girl brushed past him, chasing her friend in a game of tag. Another small boy opened up a closet to find his friend huddled in the corner.

  "Found you!" He cried out, pointing with a smile and hopping around full of energy.

  "Nu fair, I wanna go next!" His friend whined with a pout.

  Lizabeth escorted Perdilius through, greeting a sister of the faith there.

  "Heavens, forgive me Father," The nun bowed her head, her blonde locks poking from under her veil. "Lady Lizabeth did not inform me of your visit earlier."

  "No need." Perdilius chuckled, waving his hand. "Be at peace, Sister Grace."

  "Sister, where are the other children?" Lizabeth asked, counting the number of children around.

  "We have them in the back while we get lunch ready for them." She replied, looking to Perdilius with a glimmer of hope in her blue eyes. "Father, did the rations arrive?"

  "Not yet, but soon." He said in a polite manner, csping his hands together to bow in respect.

  "Come." Lizabeth dragged him through the back door. "This you need to see."

  Perdilius made his way out to the yard, finding a pair of Sisters standing together, watching after the remaining kids. Unlike the other group, these weren't running around pying or screaming, climbing trees or joining in group activities. He frowned, observing the new group of orphans as they huddled in a small circle. "What are they doing?" He asked.

  "Come." Lizabeth urged him to follow, beaming from ear to ear.

  They inched closer until some of the kids took notice and broke away, allowing them to see the center of attention. They found three toddlers inside, a brown-haired girl with a few scratches on her shoulders and dirt clinging to her face. Her face and shoulders were all he could see of her as she clung to a bnket to hide herself in. She looked up at him with baggy tired eyes, eyes that haven't slept in days. She hung her head, breaking away from his gaze as he turned to the next child. It was a boy, timid and quiet, sitting on his knees watching the third child perform for the group.

  This third girl had straw-like hair and bright blue eyes, her dress torn in a few edges and the skirt stained with soot and grime. She didn't acknowledge his presence, bent over as she drew a symbol into the mud. She giggled and scooted back, dragging her knees into the mud as she looked around at the crowd.

  "Ready?" She asked with a toothy grin, cpping her hands together and pnting them over the symbol. The symbol glowed with light, then a patch of mud swelled upward like a tumor, shriveling and clinging together as it took shape. The girl grunted and trembled, baring her teeth as the strain began to take pce. Drops of sweat rained from her forehead as she pushed on, using the spell to mold the muddy tumor. First it lost its curve and formed a slope, then it angled itself inward, and as bits of dirt and brown water dripped from the mass, it split apart. Perdilius stared with fascination, watching as the little girl turned the mud into a teddy bear. It was devoid of texture, cking fur and face but the limbs and ears made it apparent as to what the intention was.

  "Isn't it great?" Lizabeth pressed against his arm, watching his expression with glee. "We have ourselves a pair of spell casters."

  Perdilius licked his lips and kneeled down as the girl looked up and gasped. "Child, how did you learn this?"

  She stood up on her feet, wearing mismatched shoes and rocking back and forth with her hands behind her. "Poppa taught me."

  He nodded, a smile beginning to form on his face. "This is Magic, what you just did. It takes real talent, not many of us can do that here."

  She smiled, pressing her chin to her colr as she looked down. "Thanks, mistah."

  "What is your name?"

  "My mummy calls me Mesa." She answered sheepishly.

  "Mesa, lovely name." He gnced over, looking down at the timid boy still on the ground. "And you, what is your talent?"

  He pointed at the wet grass and stood still. Perdilius waited, wondering what to prepare for when a drop of water rose from the grass and levitated, hovering toward the boy. It stood still just an inch from his fingertip, the dispy leaving the priest aghast. "You did that without use of a symbol!"

  Lizabeth squeezed his hand, her head bobbing up and down in agreement, sharing his excitement. "We think he may be a Sorcerer!"

  "I can only do stuff with water." The boy mumbled, unable to look up at the two.

  "Only water?" Perdilius inquired, his brows scrunched together in thought. "Have you tried maniputing the other elements, earth, fire and air?"

  In response, he pointed at the muddy teddy bear Mesa made. The bear fell to one side, losing shape as it began to lose its dark brown color. It shriveled up and fell apart into a clump of dry dirt, leaving a few droplets of water moving toward him.

  "Hey!" Mesa pouted, stomping her foot down.

  Lizabeth held her, patting her arms to comfort her while they watched the boy collect more water from the mud. They formed droplets and circled around his hand, and unlike with Mesa, this child did so with ease.

  "An Elemental." Perdilius gasped, reaching out with his index feeling the droplets of water hovered above the boy's hand. "What is your name again?"

  "R-Razz." He stuttered, finally looking up to meet his gaze. "What's Elem-mental?"

  "It means we're going to do great things together, Raz." Perdilius beamed, holding the boy's shoulders. "What Mesa has is a talent, but you? You have a gift that people like her could only dream of. Magic users need tools to help cast their spells, but you do not."

  "Oh." Raz didn't seem as impressed, hanging his head down again.

  Perdilius turned to meet the brown-haired girl with the bnket around her. "And you, what's your gift?"

  She shuffled back, nervous as Lizabeth leaned into Perdilius' side. "Father, I think this one is better to show inside where it's private?"

  "Private, why?" He frowned, looking to her. "Does she have a gift?"

  "She does, just a different kind." She urged by tugging his arm. "Please. She's shy."

  "What- " He looked at the girl, puzzled and reluctant. But the pleading look Lizabeth had got to him. "Fine then, as you say."

  "Come." He reached out to hold the girl's hand when she jumped back, falling over and rapidly scooting away. The kids spread further off, but Perdilius paused as he looked at her feet, or rather the absence of them. "What in the name of..."

  His voice trailed off as he looked to Lizabeth for her input. "What is this?"

  She paused, brushing Mesa aside and reaching out to help the girl up. "Perdilius. This is Luna."

  Luna shuffled up, keeping the bnket on when Lizabeth kneeled down and gave her a nod of assurance. Keeping her head down, Luna wiggled her shoulders, letting the bnket fall off to reveal her wings and talons.

  Perdilius recoiled, his eyes grew twice their size as some of the kids gasped in response to who their friend was. All except Raz.

  "She's a Harpy." Lizabeth expined, smiling nervously.

  Perdilius stormed through the front door, taking his leave when Lizabeth caught up with him. "Father please, give her a chance. She's just as much a victim as the others."

  "She's a Monster, Lizabeth." He answered coldly when she stepped over to stop him. "Hand her over to her own kind."

  "She's an orphan, Father. A child of war just like the others. So what if she has different features?"

  "She may be helpless now, but she'll grow." He reminded her, "And when she does, what then? What if the others see this, have you informed the church? What of the Bishop? The Cardinal? The Pope?"

  "We can show them that she can be just like us." Lizabeth held his hands, "Father, please. I hoped you would share my reasoning, given your origin."

  He gave it some thought, reluctant as he sighed heavily. "You expect her to conform?"

  "She can read and speak our nguage, though writing may be its own struggle given the ck of... hands." She admitted. "But she could be the next step to proving that we can unite together in these hard times."

  He kept silent, pressing his lips together and lifting his hands. "A Harpy in our flock?"

  "Yes, but we found two gifted children as well." She reminded him as he paced around, "Does that not lift your spirits?"

  He groaned, gring at her. "You see to it personally that she adheres to our ways."

  "Of course."

  "And keep her presence a secret. Let the Nuns know to remain silent."

  "Yes, Father."

  He meant to walk off but paused, shaking his head in disbelief. "You really intend to do this, Lizabeth?"

  She smiled and held his hand. "Have trust in me Father, you have my word. No harm will come from this."

  He slowly pulled away just as his carriage arrived. "If you are certain, then you need to find a bedroom for her when Lord Territh arrives."

  "He's on his way?" Her eyes lit up.

  "It seems so. He wants to see the tower himself, and who knows? Perhaps he brings news of the war coming to an end."

  Lizabeth smiled wide, escorting him to his carriage. "You fill us with such hope, Father."

  "Keep it a secret." He reminded her, keeping his hand on the passenger door. "And keep an eye on things."

  She bowed and waved as he climbed inside, his carriage moving away in a hurry.

  "Where to, Father?" Asked the front man behind the reins.

  "To the council." Perdilius leaned back. "I've a meeting to attend with the locals."

  In the present time, Felix and Janette felt the carriage come to an abrupt stop. Vardare stumbled, fpping his wings to keep his bance while Janette poked her head through the passenger view. "Why did we stop?"

  "Yer gunna wanna see dis!" Her dwarven friend hollered back, leaving Felix and Janette exchanging looks before stepping outside.

  They had stopped at the entrance of a familiar structure, the ruins of a fort post. Nyitzcha led the carriage through the opened gate, stopping around to see what remained. Nyitzcha crouched down, finding a small trail sunken into the dry mud ahead. "Ey looks like we're hot on their tails."

  "What in the hells happened?" Janette shook, keeping close to the carriage. She gnced around, spotting an armored corpse ying on its side. That is until Reta gave the chest pte a nudge with her foot, just for the armor to topple apart revealing sticky green residue dripping from inside.

  "No bones." She muttered, crouching down and scooping up the helmet. "Same helmets as his followers, but... hmm."

  "That's too much for me." Janette stormed off, shutting herself inside the carriage. "I'm staying in here with Vardare! You guys do what you want but please make haste, I don't want to spend a moment longer here!"

  Felix approached the shattered bar cage, raising one of the cuff links and sniffing it. Nyitzcha eyed him squeamishly. "Dat takes a bit gettin' use to."

  "What?" He turned to her. "Just want to see if it's them."

  "Why?" She threw her hands up, spinning around. "Whole pce is a mess. Looks dat way for some time."

  "Because he smells their scent." Reta added, walking past them and looking into the dog pen. "I smell them too, but it's faint."

  "This pce reeks." Felix winced, looking away and pointing at a door. "Something putrid coming from there."

  Reta waved them to stay back, taking initiative as she slipped inside. The room was empty, but the hidden dder was left open and a corpse dragged out from the celr and pced against the wall. Inspecting the celr, she found a few grapes, but the pce was ransacked before their arrival.

  "The stench is a rotting body," She expined, calmly leaving the room to join them. "Poison arrow did him in. Found a room upstairs, looks like where they stored rations."

  "So dey slipped in, took de food and stormed off?" Nyitzcha scoffed, letting her hands fall on her waist. "Lovely. Reckon dey took the drinks too."

  Felix gnced around, his eyes falling back on the carriage where Janette shuffled nervously in waiting. "We know they were here before, which means we're not far behind."

  "Pce looks like a skirmish happened." Nyitzcha remarked, eyeing the numerous empty corpses around. "Dis Perdilius guy has a few enemies."

  Felix looked at Reta. "Could be reted to them?"

  Reta smiled. "Enemy of the enemy could be a friend."

  "Let's go." The pair retreated back to the carriage, leaving the dwarf a bit lost as she reluctantly followed them inside. Shortly after, the carriage ran off, leaving the fort ruins behind.