"So, to clarify, this mission is a secret." Makun spoke.

"Yes" Orel confirmed.

"That means the chief does not know and if she finds out, I would be in trouble." Makun continued.

"Yes" Orel confirmed again.

"Other than that, unexpected things might happen during the assignment, which means I might get in more trouble." Makun paused "The bigger question is what do I gain?"

Orel smiled but said nothing.

"This task was not assigned by MIO, meaning I am doing you a favour with nothing to lose and nothing to gain." Makun continued. "How do you get me to accept this?"

Makun tried pulling his weight, even though deep down he knew that he could not match a scholar in negotiations, but it did not matter.

He could not do it for free.

"What you gain?" Orel smirked, for the first time ever since he had heard that name. "Honestly, I know you will go with no rewards." Orel continued "You are new to all of this, the discovery, the information, goods... Can you resist Makun?" He asked, a hint of daring in his voice.

As if he was saying to Makun, can you pass this opportunity and focus on low grade assignments Yime would give you.

Makun shook his head, he had been putting up a front, he really wanted to go, it was a great opportunity, but now that Orel was testing him, he could just leave.

He did not like being a puppet.

"I will not go!" He said decisively "Drop me down at the office." Orel would not play with him.

"Hey! Hey! Not so fast Mr. Disaster." Orel spoke "I was going to reward you, are you not curious?"

Now you are talking!

"For your rewards, well, first I will give you MIO credits, one favour, to be claimed at your discretion and 2,000 dollars." He paused "That is only if Andres is alive and if you protect him, if not, then you will only get the MIO credits."

Makun nodded, it was not the most extraordinary compensation, like what Yime had promised him, but it was sufficient. The MIO credits gave him access to the MIO library where he could gain more information, the 2,000 dollars could help him with some of the debts he still had to pay, as for the favour from a scholar route Adept, one as good as Orel, there was nothing better.

"Keep in mind to return after three days, and to report directly to me after return. Speak to no one else, not even the chief or Team Seven." Orel finally turned from the window to look at Makun.

"Are you in?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes, I am in." Makun answered.

"Good, now get out!" Orel said.

Skkkkr!

The car slowed to a stop at the old Missouri Pacific depot on Lamar Boulevard.

Red brick darkened by decades, arched windows catching the last light of dusk, a faded "AUSTIN" sign hanging above the entrance like a ghost of busier times.

The platform beyond sat empty, lit only by amber lamps that flickered against the coming night.

Makun had not noticed when they had diverted from their path nor had he noticed the time passed in the car, two hours seemed like thirty minutes.

He opened the door and stepped out.

"Makun" Orel called for him.

Makun turned only to see a pendant being hurled at him, grab! He caught it with his quick warrior reflexes.

"Everything you need is in there." Orel said. "Doc, let us go."

"See you soon kid." Doc glanced in the rearview mirror as Makun analysed the pendant in his hand, not caring one bit about him or Orel.

The SUV departed from Lamar Boulevard, leaving Makun alone.

Makun looked from the pendant to the vehicle, he should start looking for the chapel.

He did not know what Ashenvale was, had no idea about how it worked or what he was going to experience there, but one thing was sure, he would broaden his horizons and get to know more about this world.

Maybe that could give him a clue about the eyed hand, the chains and the reason for his poor luck.

He turned and walked to a bus station, his gaze fixed on the dimming sky.

Ashenvale, he thought, I am coming.

...

Orel sat in the back of the SUV, expression deadpan, gaze fixed on the window. His mind was elsewhere, running calculations, contingencies, probabilities.

He should have figured there is a new piece by now, he thought. But did he get the right one? I am not sure.

Makun was a variable, one with a lot of raw potential, but Malakor was ignorant of certain things he knew, he had no idea Makun could shake things at a scale he was not ready for.

Makun himself does not know he can.

That was something I should take advantage of.

Malakor would be surprised.

Ping! His phone vibrated.

Orel knew it even before he looked at the device, he was in trouble.

He reached into his pocket and pulled the phone out, the screen lit up, it was Yime.

He opened the message.

"Where are you?"

A second text followed before he could respond. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Where is Makun?"

Then a third.

"You were not supposed to go to Old Town Spring. Corpse retrieval and mission report belonged to Mariah. You had no authority to be there."

A fourth.

"Danielle has filed a formal complaint. Your conduct during the operation, your treatment of her in front of subordinates, your disregard for chain of command. All of it."

A fifth.

"If you come back without Makun, we will have a problem. A serious one."

Orel stared at the screen, his reflection ghosting across the glass, expression unchanged. His thumb hovered over the keyboard, wondering whether he should respond or not.

It does not matter. He turned the phone off and slid it back in his pocket.

Doc glanced in the rearview mirror "Trouble? What did you expect, dumb idiot." He pressed on the pedal to hurry back to MIO "Now you are getting me in trouble."

Orel smiled, once the results of every one of his actions came back, they were going to thank him.