Edmund's eyes grew wide as Neil eventually went on to explain the bizarre-looking lock. Although most of the ship was dull; the steel sheet seemed to shine just a little under the candlelight of the hallway. As Edmund further elaborated, the lock was actually an enchantment.

An offshoot the practice, so to speak. Enchantments were powerful forms of magic channeling an ancient system very few were still familiar with.

The enchantment on Neil's bag had been placed there by Onagi.

"Was this it?" Edmund asked after quickly drawing a very realistic sketch of the tangled metal. Neil marveled at the art style. Gramore was famous for its artwork and the many different forms. From their paintings to their sculptures to their architecture. Mirroring their Godlike ability to control magic, Gramore was always the most impressive and innovative. Neil had read about the technique before during his culture studies. Awe-inspired, he couldn't pry his eyes from it. "Is it?" Edmund repeated, growing irritable.

"Yes."

"How is that even possible?" The man scoffed, audibly skeptical.

Neil looked up. "How do you mean?"

"You're not supposed to be able to find these rooms," Edmund explained. He used the blunt end of the coalpen to outline the tangled metal of the lock he’d drawn. "These enchantments constantly change the location of the rooms they’re attached to. It will only reveal itself to you if you have the key." His eyes narrowed. "Do you have the General's key?"

"No," Neil replied, turning to Val. "She doesn't have anything, either. Honestly, I just found it."

"Impossible."

"But I saw this." Neil leaned forward and pressed his fingertip into the rough parchment. The coal smeared by his touch. "This was exactly it. Just follow me, I'll show you where it-"

"Haven’t you heard anything I’ve been saying?" Edmund snapped. Though, he paused to take a breath. He closed his eyes and he started again. This time, quietly. "You don't just happen upon these doors. That's not possible."

"Okay, fine." Neil tipped his bag. Its contents emptied onto the floor. It was mostly leather-bound books, an additional compass, about five spare, unsharpened coalpen's, and a half-eaten biscuit he'd gotten from the canteen. "This is all I have. No key."

Edmund looked through each of his things carefully. His eyes were automatically drawn to the old, battered up book. It looked about several years older than the others. "That’s it?"

"Yep."

He frowned at that answer. "Then how did you..?" He trailed off at a complete loss.

His eyes shifted to Neil's attire. The long trenchcoat he wore despite the heat, his boots that seemed much too heavy, and, curiously, the snake pendant around his neck. Its green eye, a fragment of an emerald, seemed to glow. Though, he was far more curious about the design. It looked strangely familiar, but he couldn't quite place where. He would have thought he'd remember such an odd design. Perhaps he’d seen a similar one in the market place; where he often shopped with his mother when he was younger.

"I don't have a key, see?" Neil spoke. The sudden conversation took Edmund out of thought. Neil collected his things back into the bag.

"That doesn't make any sense." Edmund was dumbfounded. One arm wrapped around his torso with his other hand stroking his chin, utterly confused. "You shouldn't have been able to find it." He muttered mostly to himself. How the hell is this possible?

"I told you, I just came across it." Neil corrected. And got to his feet. "I'll show you."

"But it moves." He stressed. But Neil was confident that he really could locate it again. Despite what Edmund was trying to say. With a very long sigh, Edmund finally said, "Fine." He didn’t think it would work, but he was tired of arguing about it. Neil was strange in many ways. Surely, this wouldn't tip the boat. In a matter of speaking; it was the same sort of weird that befitted the man.

They walked passed Val and Serra; who watched as the two disappeared through the door entering the ship. Careful descending stairs, Neil took them through the twisted labyrinth of the halls. Neither spoke as they walked through archways and around corners dawned in candlelight. They'd walked aimlessly for an unmeasurable about of time before Edmund stopped. 

"I told you." He grunted and crossed his arms. Leaning against the wall, he continued, "The door is not going to be in the same place as last."

"I understood that," Neil assured him. "I just sort of figured I’d find it again by walking around. Like last time."

Edmund snickered. "The fact that you found the first time at all had to be a one in a million chance. You won't find-"

Neil waited for him to continue, but frowned as the Gramorian’s eyes grew wide. "What? Why did you suddenly stop?" He followed the perplexed gaze of red eyes to a shiny door with a tangled, metal lock.

His arms loosened around his torso as he pointed shakily at the door. "That's not possible." Edmund gaped, absolutely confounded. It shouldn't be possible without a key, so how? He stared at Neil who was trying to pry the lock off again and wondered. The man wasn't Gramorian, so he claimed, and yet, somehow he was capable of using magic. Accompanying him was a demon so isolated from humans; the most information gathered on them was a warning to avoid them entirely. Not to mention the still as ice, ocean water. And now, he was seemingly attracted to an enchanted door without the key. There was a good chance that Neil was the most extraordinary person Edmund had ever met.

"Impossible." He muttered, getting closer to it.

"How do we break this?" He heard Neil say. He was looking at the metal from all possible angles.

"You can't."

Neil chuckled. "No offense, but you said the same thing about finding it again and yet here we are."

With a huff, Edmund stared at the lock. This was the first time in his entire life he’d seen one in person. "It's the general’s personal quarters." Was his best guess. Then he straightened up. "My effects."

"Your what?"

"When I got arrested they took everything I was carrying."

"Then your...effects, was it? Are in there?"

"Well, it's nowhere else on the ship." Putting his things in the general’s quarters would ensure Edmund couldn’t reach it. Or so they thought. He, too, began to examine the lock. "Without the key, we won't be able to get in."

Neil hummed. He pulled on one of the metal coils. When they didn't loosen, he hummed again and looked down at the floor. As a plan formulated in his head he touched the walls again. He knocked, pressing his ear to it, and listened. Then he pulled away. "I have an idea."

"Which is?"

"That fire spell you used before. If we can generate enough heat, we could melt the metal enough to get through." Neil smiled wide. "Without ever even touching the lock!"

Edmund was about to call the idea absurd and impossible, then stopped himself. Everything about this man was impossible. With a sigh, he reluctantly placed his palm on the wall.

A warm feeling calmed his insides and resonated through his very veins. Very slowly, the symbol of fire etched into the backside of his hand. Every line converged into the center. The eye. When the symbol finished, the glow illuminated brighter and the warm feeling spread throughout his entire body.

Gradually, the wall began to heat. The once dull gray became a florescent amber. From amber to a scarlet. Its heat radiated from the metal and scorched the hall. Edmund did his best to concentrate the energy on one spot, but the temperature increased. Unbearably so.

Along with the heat, which soaked their clothing and stuck to their skin, Edmund was growing faint. It was as if all of his energy was being sucked into the spell. If he thought about it, he hadn't kindled his flames that hot before. And the spell was already straining.

Fire magic, like most magic, but more common among elemental, required a lot of stamina. Similar to exercise, one could train their body to take on more exertion. Edmund had trained several years when learning his duo elements fire and water back in the academy. However, the hotter his flames, the more stamina they required. Stamina he was quickly running out of. And soon, he was drained entirely.

Wheezing, he hit the floor. "This...isn't working." He gasped, realizing it would take a lot more heat to fully melt the metal. They’d never be able to generate the required heat. This was a futile effort.

"It's working," Neil assured him. He leaned forward and poked his finger through a very, very small hole.

Wide-eyed, Edmund slowly leaned forward. Amazed, he whispered, "Holy shit." 

"This is great! I mean, it might take forever since you seem to get tired so quickly, but it will work!" Neil peeked in, but it was pitch black inside.

Without a moment to spare, they continued. Even though Edmund drew the symbol for Neil to use while he caught his breath, Neil also lacked the stamina for it. Although, they did progress a lot faster than if Edmund had attempted it alone.

It took forever, but finally, they got in.

The hole was just large enough to stick their heads and arms through, but their shoulders were much too broad. However, they were free to grab anything against the wall and within arms reach. The room was full of expensive-looking jewelry locked in glass cases, several large, hardcover books on wooden cases, several rolled-up scrolls, a large untidy bed with dark red sheets, and the famous realism in extravagant artworks. Hung proudly above the bed was the Gramore Empire's emblem. On the far wall on a hook was a small, black bag with a dark red crest that caught Edmund's eye. "That's mine."

"Happen to know any levitation spells?" Neil asked, only half-joking.

"No."

Neil sat down on the other side of the hall and stared into the darkness of the hole. They could make it wider, but Edmund was already on the verge of collapse, which wasn't exactly ideal seeing as they were on the run in a stolen enemy ship.

"Serra could fit through," Neil suggested. "She's small enough."

"If we leave we might never find the door again."

"Ah, but I have found it twice now. Really, what's one more time?"

Edmund did his best not to roll his eyes. "You can't possibly get lucky a third time."

"Would you like to bet?"

Tired from the spell, Edmund reluctantly shooed him off. He lacked all energy to further argue with the man’s absurd logic. "I'll stay." There wasn't a chance he would make it there and back without falling asleep anyway.

"Aye." Neil got to his feet.

Meanwhile, Edmund did his best to get through the hole or remember any spells that could be useful. But it was no use. Just as he was about to fall asleep, Neil reappeared with Val and Serra at his side. Three times! He thought, floored by the man's luck, but much too tired to express it. He simply closed his eyes.

"I can't believe you found it." He heard his sister exclaimed. "Incredible."

“Great,” Val grumbled. Her tail flickered. “This is a brilliant idea. None of your other plans have almost gotten us killed. I can’t even think of one. OH WAIT!”

He ignored Val’s point and addressed Serra. "Now if you would," He gestured into the hole.

Very carefully, and much to Val’s protest, Serra crawled in. The metal felt warm against her skin, but not enough to burn. She quickly grabbed the bag with her family's crest embroidered on the flap and turned back towards the hall. She stopped. Laid out on the desk beside her was a detailed map and a directional compass. She grabbed that, too.

"This might be useful." She said, setting the bag down carefully outside before she handed the map over to Neil. "Can you read maps?"

"I can." Neil looked it over. It was already marked with the Gramore trading and navel routes. "This'll be a great way to avoid any unwanted Gramore." He winked, getting a mild blush out of the girl.

He looked at the map in greater detail once Serra was safely out of the room. They weren't too far from Rimswell, he hoped. It was roughly a two-week remaining journey from their boat, but on the ship, they could make it there in half that time.

"We'll be landing in Rimswell soon," Neil explained to the Azbien siblings. "Any special requests once we land?"

"Enimahri." Edmund managed, feeling considerably more tired now that his eyes were shut. He could feel his conscious slipping. How in the world was Neil still standing? He thought, annoyed.

"It's on the other side of Rimswell and we have to be careful going through it." Now that he was looking at a Gramore map, he realized King Silas had conquered more of the country than he previously thought. "Arbendalis is still free?" It was the country's largest city and home to Rimswell’s emperor.

"Yes," Edmund breathed. "But they're working...to...get it." He passed out.

"They really are trying for world domination." He noted, noticing they already had most of Northern Rimswell. His eyes wandered over to a gray-colored group of islands off the coast of Gramore.

Serra nodded. "They say we claimed Rimswell, but it won't be completely under the King’s' rule until he dethrones the emperor."

"Sounds like a fight," Neil growled into a smirk, thirsty for Gramore blood. His eyes seemed to glow emerald under the pale candlelight. The hallway grew warm. "That's where I want to go. To the capital."