The wind chilled his bones on this dark damp morning. Jack was thankful the sun hadn't risen yet. Even looking at the flickering light from torches lining the street made his head pound. He knew he should have stopped drinking last night, but Stella kept going and he couldn't say no. Especially after she talked about her past. Ugh. His body was sore, but Billy seemed to understand. They took their time walking from the inn to the vending area. Billy wasn't wearing anything that would give him away as military, and they both decided to leave any weapons behind. Stella, Ace and Tenny were watching from a distance somewhere. Jack wondered if either of them were feeling like he was. He hopes things work out today.

They arrive to see the large table that spanned the width of at least three of the houses on the opposite side of the square. That was just one side, the table continued at a 90-degree angle for the same length. The workers were just starting to lay out goods. Produce, herbs, spices, fruits all being placed in different sectors along the table. There were people already collecting crates and walking away. Were they late? Jack pointed to the interactions.

"These are still the locals that run food places or cooks for the military force. It can't be them Monica was talking about. I still haven't seen any of the civilians out yet," Billy said with a reassurance in his voice that made Jack very glad he came along. They still decided on talking to the vendors to ensure that no one came before the usuals.

"I think I know the guys you are talking about. Everyone usually keeps coming in a certain order," the gaunt older worker said while continuing to pack a crate of fruit. "They usually come after Mr. Quinn and Mr. Lundred."

"Mr. Quinn runs a bakery and Mr. Lundred runs the tavern," Billy informed Jack.

"They should be here any minute now," a young lean guy said while chopping a chicken in quarters. "Speak of the devils."

Jack thought it was slightly ironic as Mr. Quinn slightly resembled a large, kneaded ball of dough. The large man wore clothes that fit a little too tight but had a jolly smile as he chatted with Mr. Lundred. Jack had seen Mr. Lundred around the tavern last night and was sure that he was singing along with Ace from behind the bar yesterday. He was an older man, body looked thin, and face looked experienced. He had a joyous smile in the conversation as well, it's just that he showcased far fewer teeth.

"Good Morning. I got your goods all ready. Is the bakery already running again?" The young vendor passed a couple large crates to the man before being disappointed with a head shake.

"Billy, it is strange to see you here this morning. Did Julius make you pick up goods for the kitchen instead?" Mr. Quinn asked.

"Nah Sir, I am just helping a friend here," Billy said signalling to Jack.

"Oh, is this a recruit? It never hurts to have more protection in this town with those so-called adventurers passing through."

"WAIT! I know you! Ya was with that Ace fellow. The jolly lad. Tell him pass by later again. I had a blast." Mr. Lundred shook Jack's hand. "Make sure and tell him. You pass by later."

"Sure, I will," Jack said awkwardly. He was hoping not to see a drop of alcohol today.

"Jack, look." Billy signalled. All 6 of them turned. A group of 5 guys walked up to the table around 30 feet away. They were laughing and collecting goods. The group of onlookers could see the annoyance on the face of the worker signing their ledgers. One reached out and grabbed her hand. She quickly blasted a water spell on him. He stumbled and fell. All his friends laughed, but helped him up and loaded a small cart before leaving.

"Who are—" Mr. Quinn started, but Jack and Billy were already on the move. They stayed a few steps behind and started a conversation about the food at the inn, talking loud enough in an attempt to blend in. The 5 guys glanced back to take notice and carried on with their day. Jack and Billy's conversation seemed to quiet down a bit too much since the group fell silent as well. The guys were walking for quite some time and now they took a narrow path to head back towards the inn. Billy couldn't figure out a logical destination. Were they on to them? The group turned.

"Where you guys going?" a broad-shouldered individual questioned in a gravelly voice.

"We were just heading to the town hall over there." Billy rushed to answer in case Jack didn't know the layout of the town.

"That's fine. Took a roundabout way to get to it huh. We just realised that we forgot something at the square. Good thing we noticed before we got home," the guy pulling the cart with goods chimed in. The entire group began to walk past the pair.

Jack felt his heart pound against his chest. They messed up. Could this cost them? He shouldn't let this chance slip away. "Hey guys, can I ask you a que—"

Jack saw a crate of produce getting closer to his face at great speeds. His right hand braced the impact while the left held it up from falling. His back was arched with the weight of the goods. That would have been a waste. He felt the weight of the crate disappear in an instant. The largest man punched through it and sent Jack rolling backwards. Billy had already run ahead grabbing one of the guys.

Stella fell from the sky landing on one unsuspecting individual. The remaining two tried to dart away but Ace was waiting at the end of the corridor. He smiled and pointed behind them. They turned to see Stella was closing the distance in a flash. They raised their palms and casted a flurry of red orbs and green crescents. Stella had already used Wind Walk when she saw their panicked hands fly up. She stopped directly on the side of them, quickly used the closest guy to launch herself in the air and blasted the other one down with a Wind Spell. While falling she swung her knee directly into her springboard. Her initial landing pad had gotten up and rushed at her. She dodged and parried until she found and opening and blasted him back with a red orb. One final red orb at the guy she kneed just for good measure.

In the meantime, Jack was lying there thinking about the food that was just wasted. The large individual hovered over him. Ugh, how did he end up having to fight this one. The big guy stomped his foot where Jack's head was supposed to be, but Jack used wind while lying down to slide backwards. He rolled up to his feet and dove in. Every strike has to have a purpose. Jack sprinted towards him as the tall man stood with his arms ready. A Wind Walk to dash to the left and push off the wall. He drove his left fist through his opponent's chin while landing back on his feet. The large man stood like nothing happened. He straightened his jaw and stepped into a massive right swing. Jack felt like it was an extremely slow punch. He angled his body and watched the it fly through the air.

Jack began to smile. This was it. His heart was pounding, and he felt sweat run down the back of his neck. He was fighting a member of a feared mercenary group. What made it better was he knew he could beat him. Every punch the large man threw, floated through the air. Nothing could connect as Jack kept bouncing on his toes, slipping past every strike. Good now, let's get a rhythm. He continued to bob and weave and launched quick but not very powerful jabs before slipping back at a manageable distance. Again. The same pattern of dodging and steady punches. This was exciting, he had a mercenary in the palm of his hands. Again. He could see the frustration in the eyebrows of his opponent. Jack was sure if the big guy clenched his teeth any harder, they would shatter.

It was time to break his rhythm. Jack went in to throw the same quick jab but jumped back before throwing it. He felt more mana flow into his fist. His left foot drove into the ground, while his right began to pivot with the swing of his hips. Smash! The head of the big guy slammed into the ground face first with Stella's hand guiding it there. Jack's eyes widened, jaw ajar and fist hanging down.

"Why were you playing around?" Stella asked while dusting her clothes.

"I was enjoying the fight," Jack said while pouting, "it was a clash among men. It was the thrill of the sport." Stella thought he sounded a bit like Ace. She hoped he breaks out of that as soon as possible. One Ace was enough.

"You were wasting time. If you want, I will fight you later."

"It's not the same," Jack mumbled while lightly kicking dirt.

"You are so dumb. Let's hurry and find out where Luna is." Stella turned around.

Billy had tied all their hands behind their back with the wraps. He chose the one that was pulling the cart earlier and picked him up by his shirt and pushed him against the wall with surprising force.

"Where is your base?" Billy growled. Jack would have never guessed the soldier could sound like that.

"I can't tell you that. Who are you guys?" the man said after catching his breath.

"I am a soldier for the Sovalan Empire, and I am putting you under arrest for all of your crimes." Billy kept his intensity.

"I haven't seen any proof." The individual snickered.

Stella slammed her hand beside the guy's head. "You don't have time to worry about that. Tell us where the base is, before jail is your smallest worry."

"I ain't telling you nothing. Threaten me all you want."

"He is right, what good is it to threaten a man that is already going down for a long time. Let's offer him something good, after all we are chasing bigger fish." Ace smirked while placing his hand on Billy's shoulder. "Can't we work something out for them if they tell us what they need."

Billy relaxed his grip and turned to Ace. "Ya right, even though I would never forgive scumbags like these. I can work something out if they cooperate."

"Then they should speak quickly, this offer will end with my patience," Stella chimed in.

"Ah, it's the good ole' good soldier, two bad soldiers," Tenny, who had found a place on Jack's shoulder, whispered. Jack nodded in amazement. He had much to learn.

"I just want to make sure they are taken care of. Let me help you guys, cause clearly my friends here would rather do things their way. Give us some information so we can calm things down. Where is your base? Who is running Eclipse?" Ace switched his gaze amongst all of them.

"We have a hide out just outside of town, but I have no idea about Eclipse."

"What do you mean you don't know about Eclipse! Who do you work for?" Stella snapped back and grabbed an empty section of his collar, pushing against him.

"We work for ourselves. We wanted to start our own hunter's guild and we have been working towards that."

"Why did you try to run then?" Billy questioned.

"We haven't been able to acquire paperwork for it, but we are still operating with fur and meat trading. We thought you guys either caught us or were going to rob us."

"Show me!" Billy strengthening back his grip.

***

The crew is in the tavern again. This time, downtrodden looks plagued all their faces. The stew on the table was getting cold and the silence was a force itself. The longer it stayed in the air, the tighter squeeze it had on their throats. It was understood that the first person to say something would have to present some sort of a solution. Jack saw Mr. Lundred from behind the bar also looking down. I guess his hopes of a happy Ace was crushed. It was when Jack noticed the single tear fall from Stella's eye, his stomach turned. He felt guilty. He got her hopes up and now they are back where they started. He should have tried to learn more. He couldn't believe he was so excited to tell them yesterday.

"I'm sorry," Jack softly said.

"It isn't your fault. The entire thing is just a bit frustrating." Stella slammed both of her palms onto her cheeks. Everyone jumped back. The three responders all give a gentle smile. She will be okay. "It isn't over yet, and we stopped some criminals, even though it was small scale."

"Yea, they were all placed under arrest. I even got to seize some of the goods. They had a surprising amount of protein for such a small band," Billy said walking up to the table. "I asked at the base again when dropping the criminals off, but it is still nothing. I'm sorry guys. What about the guys ya was talking to Ace?"

"It seems that Eclipse would contact them when they had to go again. As new members, I guess they didn't know the inner workings, they just made assumptions from other members. They didn't reveal exactly what would tell them it was time to go. I'll keep an eye on them though."

"Why don't we just capture them and force them to tell us what they do know." Billy trying his best.

"I didn't really think of it, but I try and avoid violence. I gave up fighting a while ago so I stay away when I can, plus I have a feeling Eclipse would drop them at the sign of anything being off. I am sure they have their way of monitoring things. I rather not risk it."

"So, we are at a dead end." Billy sensed the tension form in the air with his statement. "But it's only a matter of time."

"I really believe so. I'll go back out and take a look. If we keep searching, something has to come up." Jack's voice was straining to sound confident.

"Nope. You are going to take a rest. Both of you." Ace's eyes were sharp. "We didn't get much sleep last night, and we have to be a bit more careful. I am not sure how Eclipse operates but we made some noise already. I want you guys to pace it a bit. Hopefully, some word spreads and they decide to take some kind of action, but I don't want either of you in the crossfire. For now, I am going to check on those guys and if you don't mind, can I cook you guys a meal using those ingredients you took?"

"Oh sure, I'll head out with ya then. Get some rest guys," Billy said as Tenny joins both of them.

Jack felt nervous sitting there with Stella alone. Was she upset with him? He already knew she was frustrated. The silence was beginning to stain the air again.

"Jack, I know I am not making any of this easier. It's just the frustration and it's hard to be patient. However, I just want you to know that you have been such a huge help. All of you have been. Thank you." She gave a faint smile. Her eyes were closed. Jack wondered if that was the only thing keeping back the tears.

"Stella, we will find her. Everything will work out."

"I know it will. I'm probably just tired. Ace is right, we should get some rest."