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Last of the Shadow Foxes: 3 Reminiscent

The pale amber eyes stared back at him. Emerson looked away from his field dagger’s blade. He marvelled the craftsmanship of the weapon. Hand forged from the fires of Renothis, his guild’s base. He felt the intricate carving of the hilt, the smoothness of the blade. The fine enchantment woven within the dagger. The rune etched at the bottom of the hilt. This was not just any field dagger; this was his sister’s field dagger.

Sapphira, daughter of Aurelia and Conan. Emerson’s older sister by two years, she was the one who recommended to Remus that Emerson should be recruited into the Shadow Foxes. Former second in command, Sapphira was a chief bandit and fiercely protective of her brother. She was last seen entering El Nath with her retinue of bandits, intent on recovering one of the guild’s missing artefacts. After no word from her in several months, Remus declared her missing in action, presumed dead. Remus himself led a rescue party into El Nath, where they failed to find the doomed retinue. The only evidence of the bandits was Sapphira’s field dagger and two nimble wristguards.

Emerson sighed and laid back on his bed. The room was small but reasonably furnished. He closed his eyes and spun the dagger in his right hand. Everyone he had was gone. His mother Aurelia died during the Wild Kargo Stampede on Theracite. His father killed when his ship to Orbis disintegrated mid-flight. Emerson raised the field dagger to his throat.
“Taking the easy way out.” He murmured to himself as he felt the cold steel against his burning skin. Then he remembered Gavrilla’s words.
“…You were given a second chance. Don’t you dare waste that chance…”
Emerson opened his eyes and slid the dagger back into its sheath on his Red Goni Shoes.

Mali knocked on the doorway and Emerson stood up.
“Guild master Gavrilla wants to see you in the study Emerson.”
“Thank you for telling me Mali, and thank you for healing me.”
Mali blushed slightly and left. Emerson navigated through the dim lighted corridors until he reached the study. Gavrilla, Mali and two other bandits were already there, waiting patiently for him. The hermit looked up from the desk and motioned for Emerson to sit down.
“Emerson, what I said yesterday. That wasn’t a lie. While you were resting, I ordered trackers, Gates and Raynard, to search around for any information.”
The aforementioned bandits both carried red whips and seclusion wristguards. Emerson raised an eyebrow.
“And what I found, may be of some use to you.” The hermit finished, handing him a scroll. Emerson glanced at Gavrilla, hoping to find any emotion in her eyes, which could betray the contents of the scroll. But her eyes were blank. Emerson unfurled the scroll and read it.
His eyes went wide. His throat became dry. He swallowed and his face contorted with his contained rage.
“The…Dark…Apostles.”
“Correct, the bandits tracked the creator of the Murder. While the name is unknown, it is certain that the creator is from the Dark Apostles.”
As Emerson looked up, Gavrilla’s heart skipped a beat. The assassin’s eyes were deep red instead of the pale amber. She could only match his gaze for a second before being forced to look away. The ambient temperature of the room dropped several degrees and Mali shivered involuntarily. The trackers gripped their red whips tightly, their figures shaking silently.

Emerson forced himself to calm down. The temperature returned to normal and his eyes faded back to amber.
“The Dark Apostles, this is their revenge attack for being pushed out of Construction Site 2A?”
“With their loss of pride and territory, they bided their time to train someone, most likely a magician of some sort, to create a controlled Discloak beast. Since your hunt is annual, they knew when and where to release it.” Mali answered elaborately.
“The Dark Apostles.” Emerson repeated, unable to believe it. “The Dark Apostles.”
“Well, hopefully there will be some good new soon. Remember what you told me about your family last night? I sent another dispatch to look in El Nath after they checked out the Dark Apostles. They should be back any moment now.” Gavrilla told Emerson, standing up from her chair.

Sawyer burst into the room, breathing heavily.
“Dispatch two has returned.” He gasped, leaning onto the doorway. “Fortune and Zeliq are back and both are wounded, Zeliq fatally.”
The guild leader stiffened as Sawyer turned to Emerson and continued.
“And they brought Murder with them.”

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Last of the Shadow Foxes: 5 Revelation