"Lord Hightide?" The storm guard sergeant, Louisa, asked with some surprise.

"The very same," Fritz agreed arrogantly.

"Why is it always you?" She muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Fritz asked.

"Nothing... Nothing important, Lord," she said, straightening her shoulders and back in an attempt to regain her composure.

"She asked why it was always you," Bert provided. "Lord, have you been dallying outside your betrothal?"

"What!?" Fritz exclaimed exaggeratedly.

"You heard me," Bert said, taking on the mannerisms of a disappointed and dutiful chaperone. "Tell me you haven't been gallivanting with this fine young lady of the guard."

"I would never!" Fritz protested. "Not with a drizzler!"

The sergeant frowned.

"No offence intended, Sergeant," Fritz said hastily. "I'm sure you're a wonderfully compelling companion."

"Are you saying she's... captivating?" Bert asked.

Fritz's face barely twitched. "Perhaps."

Louisa's frown deepened, but even in the dark, he could see a blush creeping over her cheeks.

"Lord Hightide, let's get you home and let the Storm Guard resume their patrol," Bert said.

"Right, you are. There are likely countless criminals lurking about that need to be kept at bay," Fritz allowed. "My apologies to the Guard. We will be on our way."

They turned and strode away from the still speechless drizzler as if they had no worries in the world and they had absolutely nothing to do with any break-ins or burglaries. With their backs to the Sergeant, they smirked as they always did when a ruse went well.

---

Louisa watched Lord Hightide and his minder-bodyguard left. She wanted to call out and stop them, question them about the commotion at Count Greysail's estate. But she stopped herself. Although she found the man deeply suspicious, they were too far from the manor for them to be truly involved. In fact, she supposed she might have been inventing a reason to question them further. Especially that Lord, as she'd seen him on the night of the Spire Break.

The night she nearly died.

Louisa had been as startled to see him as she was at his help. Someone had thrown a dagger with unerring grace and impeccable skill, and that timely strike saved her from a toad-man-alike's maw. When she had looked for her saviour, she'd seen Lord Hightide. He'd been on a rooftop, his face stern, his eyes calm and clever, gleaming with a soft, fey light. His lips had curved into an arrogant smile. One she still thought about when her mind wandered.

Louisa had only seen him for a second before she was forced to fight the beast in front of her, but that second was frozen, clear as crystal, in her memory.

She sighed.

It didn't help that she had been knocked unconscious before she could witness the King's Royal River. And from what she had gathered from the others in the guard, she had been carried to safety by a man whose description greatly matched that of the handsome Lord Hightide.

The whole affair left her feeling deeply indebted and just as deeply curious. Why was he lurking on the roofs? Why did he bother to save her? Why couldn't she bring herself to chase him down and force out the answers she wanted? The last she at least had a reason for, he was a noble. Or he claimed to be. He certainly lacked much of the finery, though he made up for that with his obvious and plentiful Treasures.

"Sergeant?" Constable Hodges asked.

Louisa nearly jumped, the man had snuck up on her. He liked to do that. And no matter how many times she told him, ordered him, to stop, he continued to 'surprise' her. Much to the squad's mirth and her own chagrin. It was a form of payback, she suspected, for the fact that he'd been overlooked for promotion in favour of herself. And the others simply played along.

"Yes?" She asked stiffly.

"See anyone suspicious?" He asked.

"No. You?" She retorted.

"How bout those two?" He said, pointing out the retreating backs of Lord Hightide and his attendant.

"You're welcome to hound them down, but one's a Lord," she said.

"Not like you to let a Lord go, just cause they're noblefolk," he said.

"And it's not like you to want to be embroiled in their affairs," she replied.

The man shrugged, but he let the matter lie.

"Go find the rest of the squad," she ordered. "See what they found and meet me back at our post."

Hodges nodded and obeyed, leaving.

Now that she was alone again, Louisa contemplated her next actions. She felt the Lord warranted more investigation, though not through overt measures.

She was determined to keep an eye on that man. For the safety and security of the Upper Ring.

---

Fritz, opened the front door of his home and trudged into the hall, then dried himself quickly. Then after saying goodnight to Bert, he made his way to his room and slept a couple of hours.

He was woken by the call for breakfast and joined his team in the dining room.

"You're both here? That's a surprise," George asked.

Fritz nodded, but didn't bother to explain, except to say that he'd likely be missing tomorrow.

"If you keep missing so much training George is going to catch up," Lauren said.

"I hope so," Fritz said. "It will be grand to have someone around my own strength to spar with."

George smiled.

After they finished their meals they prepared to train in the yard as they always did, when Adam, who had just arrived, stopped them.

"We have a training hall to practice in now, and we're going to use it when it's not occupied by one of the Climbing teams Count Tallmast patronises. Which happens to be today," Adam said. "And you're all going to run there."

The team grumbled at the change in routine, but followed his orders and were soon running out in the wet, cobblestone streets. Fritz was somewhat apprehensive, thinking that they would look out of place, but they were far from the only team making their way to the section of the Upper Ring that housed all the training yards and halls.

The run was more difficult than the laps they usually were tasked with, the distance being both longer and one with worse footing. Some slippery patches threatened to trip up some of the less coordinated of his team, like Lauren and George, but only slowed the rest. They were more used to moving swiftly over such treacherous terrain.

Adam drove them to run faster, not at all impressed with their efforts. He barked when they lagged, and derided them when they slipped.

Within fifteen minutes they had arrived, puffing and panting at the doors of a large, domed building. Adam opened the way and, standing beneath the heraldry of House Tallmast emblazoned on the arch above, motioned them to enter the hall.

"Get in."

They did so with great relief, but the hope of a short rest was immediately doused when their tutor ordered them to do their laps.

They grumbled and groused, and ran all the same.

At least it was dry and warm in the hall.

It was a huge room, well-lit, wide and rectangular, with a set of seats for any observers around the outskirts. In Fritz's mind, it resembled the fighting arena in the Sunken Ring, though it had a smooth stone floor rather than a dirt one and the walls around the 'yard' were barely three feet tall.

As he ran, he saw racks of weapons and weights set at the opposite end of the hall. The blades were blunted and the barbells looked to have glyphs carved on their surfaces.

The laps went by easier than usual, even if they were longer due to the hall's greater size. He wondered if it was due to his greater conditioning or just the more comfortable climate.

Fritz assumed it was both, but was soon dissuaded of that notion.

"It feels easier to run in here," Lauren noted upon completing her laps.

"That's right. It should," Adam said, then he pointed to the powerful mana-lantern spilling its bright, but gentle, light all over the hall.

It was at least as tall as a man and looked like a cylindrical cage of steel bars, capped at both ends with elegantly carved ivory and surrounding a soft star. "That's a Treasure, one with a boon, aura Ability that increases Stamina recovery and reduces the severity of any muscle strain."

"That would be useful in a Spire, why is it here?" Fritz asked.

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"You're right, it would be useful, if it weren't so large and heavy. And if its Imbued Ability wasn't indiscriminate and expensive," Adam explained.

"Indiscriminate? What does that mean?" Rosie asked.

"It means it works on everyone, foes as well as allies, giving them all the same benefit," Lauren said.

"Correct," Adam said.

"Oh. And that's bad?" Rosie asked.

"Not necessarily," Adam said. "But, generally, you don't want to be empowering your foes if you can help it."

Rosie looked at the gleam of the Treasure lantern. "Think we can steal it?"

Bert laughed.

Adam looked at her like she was an idiot, which she was.

"What are you talking about, Rosie?" Cal groused. "It's huge and looks heavy as a leviathan."

"And I think people would notice it was missing fairly quickly," Fritz said.

"I meant: borrow it," Rosie corrected herself. "Just for a bit."

"And what? Hang it in the hallway?" Cal asked.

"Stick it in the yard," Rosie said. "Or in the lounge."

"You couldn't afford to Activate it," Adam stated. "If I remember correctly, its Ability requires six gold to cast and only lasts an hour."

"But we got lots of gold," Rosie argued.

"You may have a lot now, but it can be spent quickly if you're not being mindful," Adam lectured. "And the benefits, while useful, are in the end, marginal."

"How marginal?" George asked.

Adam shrugged. "It'll help you push harder and for longer, but there's a limit to a human's body. You'll be quicker to reach that pinnacle, but it won't put you over it. That's what Attributes, Abilities, Awards and Strains are for."

Rosie nodded, rubbing absently at her gills, then she glanced to the hall's entrance.

Fritz followed her gaze, and a few moments later the doors opened and a man stepped through. He strode right in as if he owned the place, which in a sense was his right, seeing as the man was Mathew Tallmast.

He was dressed in well-made training attire, sturdy yet refined shirt and trousers, and had not a drop of rain upon him. There was a sabre with a gold hilt belted to his waist and rings adorned his fingers, some of which had to be Treasures. Behind him, a servant followed at a short distance.

"Lord Tallmast! Glad you could join us," Adam said, greeting the man with a bow.

The team followed his example, curtsying or bowing as propriety demanded.

"How could I miss it," the count's son yawned. "My father requested I at least give your training a chance."

"Your father is wise and won't be disappointed," Adam said.

"We'll see," Mathew said drily.

Adam smiled, and that smile swiftly stretched into a grin. "Unfortunately, your father had orders for me too."

"Oh?" Mathew asked apprehensively, some of his self-satisfaction slipping away.

"Yes, his orders were to train you as I would any other brat I take on," Sir Needle stated, his grin falling away in an instant. "Fifteen laps, start running."

Mathew smiled as if the statement were a joke, but when it was apparent that the tutor was serious, he sighed with exasperation and started removing his rapier from his belt.

"Keep the sword on, you won't be throwing it away in a Spire so you won't be throwing it away here," Adam said.

The noble scion scowled, but heeded the instruction, before taking off in a slow jog.

"Is he to train with us from now on?" Fritz asked in low voice.

"Correct. We didn't speak on it before, but he'll be joining you for the time being. And before you ask why, it's because it's something I agreed to so we could use this place and many of the Count's resources. You'll introduce yourselves to him after he's worn himself out. Try to be polite."

Fritz wanted to argue that he hadn't agreed to all these added stipulations, that he hadn't even been present at any negotiations and therefore had no part in this deal Adam had brokered. But after hearing about the great expense of the Treasure lantern and looking at the racks of high-quality equipment, he couldn't argue that having this noble join them for training was truly such a bad trade.

He looked to his quickly recovering team, it seemed that they weren't pleased either, but could also see all the benefits the deal had allowed them to access. Fritz shrugged internally, it was nowhere near the worst compromise he'd made for an advantage.

Rosie still stared at the lantern, frowning in contemplation.

"Still planning to steal it?" Bert whispered loudly.

"Nah. Just wondering about how you reach it to activate it," she said.

"Oh, that. A good question," Adam said, then he began searching his raincoat's pockets. He pulled out a wand of ash-coloured wood engraved with lines and runes of silver. "This," he said, waving the wand. "Is a Treasure-bonding rod. Its only purpose is to Activate a Treasure from afar."

"How does that work?" Cal asked.

"Well, you just Activate this like you could the Treasure and if you're within its range it uses the Ability. It's not complicated," Adam said.

"What about Treasures that have strikes, or touch-based Abilities?" Fritz asked.

"Well, it wouldn't work then," Adam said, shrugging. "It's not effective for all Treasures."

"Can it be used on all Treasures?" Fritz asked. He was worried someone could Activate his Treasures with such an item, wasting their mana or refresh limit.

"No, just the one it's bonded to. That bond, though, takes hours to form and like most magic, costs gold," Adam said.

"Can you swap what the rod is bonded to?" Fritz asked.

"No," Adam said.

"Can a Treasure be bonded to more than one rod?" Bert asked.

"No, a Treasure can only be bonded to one thing," Adam said.

"Seems a waste," Cal said.

"What?" Lauren asked.

"All that gold, bonding and making the rod," he said. "When you could just touch the lantern to activate it."

"Yeah, but it's up there and we can't reach it," Rosie said.

"Could have it on a rope and pulley, raise and lower it as they please," Cal said.

"Oh. Right," Rosie said, then she turned to Adam. "Why don't they do that?"

"Nobles are wasteful," Fritz answered for him.

Adam smiled and nodded, agreeing to Fritz's statement.

"It also displays a certain amount of wealth and power," he provided. "And it's convenient."

"Speaking of bonding Treasures. I came to possess a couple of message stones that aren't connected to each other," Fritz said.

"You did, did you?" Adam asked knowingly. "And you're likely wondering if you can change which stones they're bonded to?"

Fritz nodded.

"You can, there's a bit of a trick to it. You hold them close together, feed them a triad each and Activate them. You should feel them reaching for their previous links, but with a bit of focus you can force them to accept each other as their new bond."

"Is there a way to follow them back to their other pair?" Fritz asked.

Adam hesitated. "Maybe. With the right Ability, or Attributes. I'm not too clear on the method, but I have heard of it being possible. Now, if there are no more questions, it's almost time to introduce yourself to the young lord."

"One more question," Fritz said.

"Go ahead," Adam allowed.

"It's about my Abilities and how they interact," Fritz said, approaching his tutor and lowering his voice further. "Specifically my Phase and one of my Senses."

Adam nodded and motioned for him to explain further. Fritz did, talking about how he noticed the precedence of Danger Sense over Umbral Phase.

Adam nodded. "You've got it right, the term is precedence. A good guess there. And it's fairly obvious that it works in the order that the Abilities are listed in your Spire Sheet. So your Danger Sense, being in a higher channel, will take precedence over the effects of Passives lower than it."

"Can that be changed?"

"Its place in your channels? No. But there is a way to order those precedences outside of channel manipulation."

"Didn't you just say there wasn't a way to an Ability to change channels? What's this channel manipulation?" Fritz asked suspiciously.

Adam blinked, then cursed under his breath. "Fine, there is a way, but it's for Journeymen. For when your Sanctum is more malleable. I would not suggest a Rookie bother with such methods, as there is little gain to doing so."

Fritz narrowed his eyes. "It's got something to do with shaping one's Sanctum then."

"That's right. And even if you have stumbled into that before, you're still not ready for those lessons," Adam said sternly.

He could see the man wouldn't budge on this, and in his head, he knew why. Fritz had almost burned down his Sanctum the last time he tried.

Fritz sighed. There was so much to learn and no one wanted to teach him.

"Not content to just drag my sword secrets out of me. You have to take to whole lot before you're satisfied. Whether you're ready or not," Adam admonished. "Slow down, Fritz. Train the basics first. Build up that foundation. Temper your power with practice and experience. These Sanctum-shaping skills can come later. It'll be a while before they're of any real use to you."

Fritz smiled sheepishly. His tutor was right, or at least, hadn't led him wrong yet.

Mathew came to a halt before the awaiting team. He panted and sweat, but he wasn't completely unconditioned. Now that Fritz was closer, he noticed the man had an athletic figure, similar to his own, even if the count's son was a few inches shorter.

Another thing that was obvious, but he hadn't truly considered, was that Mathew was human. Seemingly he, like his father, had not been granted the Merfolk Strain, which, now that he thought about it, meant that his house was likely on the decline. Politically.

Of course, all that didn't matter right now. The nobleman met Fritz's purple-green gaze with pale blue eyes.

"Lord Mathew," Fritz entreated, stepping forward and offering a short bow, then a handshake.

"Lord... Hightide, was it?" Mathew asked, returning the bow reflexively and taking the offered hand.

"That's right, though my friends call me Fritz," Fritz said. "And as we're going to be training together for some time I'd like for us to be friends."

While Fritz was confident in his charms, he added a note of Dusksong to these words, just in case.

"Quite," the man said, still catching his breath. "That would be wonderful," he added absently as his eyes fell upon Lauren, then gleamed. "And who is this, beautiful, young lady?"

Lauren smiled prettily and politely, though embers of annoyance had already begun sparking in her controlled gaze.

"Ms. Nearshore, Lord," Lauren said with a quick curtsy.

"I haven't heard of a House of Nearshore," he replied.

"No House, Lord. I'm a simple merchant's daughter and now a Climber," she professed.

"That hardly sounds simple," Mathew said with an appropriately charming smile. "Would you tell me about it? Perhaps over dinner?"

"I'm afraid my schedule is rather full, for the time being," Lauren declined.

"You needn't be afraid. I don't bite."

He kept up his smile, and Fritz could admit the man was fairly handsome in a sharp, refined way. Lauren, of course, was unaffected by his appearance and was irritated at the attempted courting. Those rings of fire were starting to glow within her irises.

Lord Mathew offered his hand to her. Thankfully, before there was some fiery outburst, Rosie, interrupted.

"Greetings, Lord," she said eagerly, suddenly stepping between the two and shaking the offered hand. "I'm Rosie. I don't mind being bitten. Unless you're an eel, hate them...uh...beasts."

The Lord was completely taken aback by the strength of her grip and then by the wink she gave him. He was only baffled for a moment or two before he wrested his pale hand from her scaly one.

"And what House do you hail from, Lady?" He asked, assessing if he could afford to offend her.

"Ha!" Rosie laughed. Her shark-like grin widened. "I'm not a noble. Just got lucky at the Precipice."

Immediately he frowned, and staring around, he seemed to come to the quick conclusion that the rest of the team were also commoners.

"Fortunate indeed," he sneered, turning away. "Sir Needle, there's treating me as any other student, but don't you think this is too far? How will being made to train with this rabble improve any of my skills?"

These words swept over the team, deepening their instinctive dislike. Rosie frowned, Cal scowled, Bert grinned and George's face fell. Fritz and Lauren kept hold of their compliant, polite smiles.

"Hmph," Adam huffed. "This 'rabble' have already got their silver Awards from the Mer Spire. And did so without a Guide or other escort."

"Oh?"

"Yes, I'll leave it to them to tell their tale or not. But this team isn't a group of layabouts and lackeys," Adam said. "You'll definitely gain something from training with them."

Then the tutor produced a slip of paper and handed it to the Lordling.

"What's this?" Mathew asked.

"Your regimen. Now that you're mostly introduced, it's time to train," Adam declared. "We've wasted enough time already."

Frowning, the lordling read through his regimen, his brow furrowing further with every line.

"This is preposterous," he argued.

"No, it's just the beginning," Adam grinned.

"It would leave me sore for days," he complained.

"You get used to it," Rosie said, which earned her withering glance from the noble.

"Right! Get to training!" Adam shouted, causing Mathew to jump and the rest to leap into action.

Soon they were doing their allotted exercises and stretches, all under the watchful eye of their tutor. Adam had to spend more of his time correcting their new member than the rest, but still took the chance to berate them for their own mistakes where he could.

He also explained what the glyphs on the weights were for, though Fritz had already deduced the vague intent of the enchantments were from his study of wards. When those roughly carved runes were activated they would increase how heavy the weight was. Adam bade them not to use them, saying they didn't need to until their Strength Attribute was well over thirty.

"Sparring in fifteen minutes! Finish faster!" He called.

Fritz redoubled his efforts, he was lagging behind. Even under the soothing light of the Treasure lantern his bone deep tiredness dragged him down. However, he wasn't doing nearly as poorly as Mathew, who was struggling through every added exercise. That buoyed his spirits and let him continue at the gruelling pace Adam set.

Then, once they had each finished their sets, they had a short rest of six minutes. Soon enough they were back on their feet and sparring, batons and shields again. There wasn't too much banter as they traded blows and blocked each other's strikes, but the short exchanges were enough to get each of them more acquainted with Mathew and his strengths and weaknesses.

The lordling fought surprisingly well, though maybe that was to be expected, he was a noble and likely had more than a few fighting tutors. He bested most of the team and did it in a proper manner. He was skilled rather than strong, and likely had favoured Agility over Strength. Fritz didn't notice him having any Grace or Speed, so he guessed the man might have been a mage.

Aggravatingly, over the sparring sessions, the lordling didn't deign to strike the ladies with more than a tap, but left bruises on all the men. Save for Fritz, who he couldn't catch with his club, much to his apparent annoyance.

Bert could have likely dodged the blows as well if he were fighting in his preferred fashion, but saddled as he was with a shield and stick he couldn't make full use of his skill.

Fritz could tell the man had more martial training than the rest of them combined, so they shouldn't feel shame for their losses. But still, he could see the team's desire and determination to grow more powerful increase with every minute.

After the sparring, they rested again, and Adam dismissed all but Fritz, George and Mathew for the day. Rosie waved goodbye to the Count's son eagerly, but he seemed not to notice or even care. He could barely keep on his feet, looking much as Fritz felt, beaten, weary and sore.

Adam looked the three of them over, and noting Mathew's condition dismissed him too, saying "Normally this is where we'd do some sword drills and sparring, but since it's your first week you can rest. Next week though, you'll be expected to be able to do all those exercises and more."

"Yes, Sir," was all the lordling could get out before he wandered over to a bench and sat on it.

Adam gave the pair still standing a conspiratorial grin, but they were too tired to return it.

"Now, you two, draw your blades."

Fritz groaned.

"Don't say I didn't warn you. You both asked for my personal training, and I told you it would be hard."

Fritz nodded, gripping the hilt of Quicksilver, straightening his back and settling his resolve.

Adam nodded in approval.

"Right, let's work on those shoddy stances."

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