There weren’t too many soldiers. Duncan poked his head out of the corner one more time and did a headcount as quickly as he could. He then slumped back into his hiding spot behind the column. 

“How many?” asked Victor.

Duncan glimpsed at his friend and then answered. “About fifteen. They’re in formation, though, so we can slip right behind them if we time it right.”

Victor squinted as he thought about it. “Maybe… but it’s risky. Why are they in formation? I thought the vanguard left three days ago?”

“I don’t know,” Duncan replied with a shrug. “Maybe my father thinks it’s time we send more forces. We could be winning. We could be losing.”

“Right, so now’s the perfect time to go visit the Founding Princess, eh?” Victor rolled his eyes with disbelief. 

Duncan raised an eyebrow. “What — and you don’t want to go?”

Victor lightly hit his friend on the shoulder. “Of course, I want to go. I’m just saying… with a major battle just a few miles away, don’t you think your father will suddenly call on you? We’ll be hanged if he finds us in a tavern flirting with girls when he needs you for a war meeting or something.”

“He won’t,” Duncan shot back with a sudden rise in his voice. He quickly regretted the action, sighed, and then brushed it all off. “I’m under house arrest.”

“You’re kidding me,” Victor was in shock. “You’re a prince.”

“Yeah,” Duncan said. “But that also means I’m the last hope if my brother falls in battle. They’ve been keeping me holed up here for two years now.”

Victor smacked his forehead with his hand. “Wait, so that time you visited us at my mother’s fort…”

“That was the last time I got to go about my business freely,” Duncan finished.

“Right… your other brother, Johanne, he died just a week after,” Victor recalled. “I’m sorry it took me this long to visit you. I didn’t know you’ve been imprisoned in your own home for this long.”

Duncan peaked out again. The soldiers were moving. He then turned back to Victor. “Now’s our chance. Do you want to make it up to me for lost time? The first drink’s on you.”

“W-wait!” Victor protested but it was too late. Duncan was already on the move. The prince moved as silently as he could while running to the next column, and then the next. Victor took a look around and sighed when he realized there wasn’t anyone else in the castle’s general foyer. The soldiers were on the way to the bailey but Duncan was heading to the hallway leading to the kitchens.

“Why are we going this way, by the way?”

Duncan waited for Victor to catch up before pointing to a set of heavy double doors. “See those doors close to the kitchen entrance? That leads to the staff’s entrance. Our kitchen supplies go through there.”

“No guards?” Victor asked.

“It’s usually heavily guarded but not today. Father sent out some of the guards to aid the local militia in town.”

“Ah,” was all Victor answered.

The duo took one more look around and then hastily ran to the doors. Victor took the lead and opened them first. He poked his head through and saw that there were a few farmers, cooks, and maids out there going about their business. He then looked back at Duncan.

“There are some folks out there,” Victor told him. “Put on your hood.”

“You don’t need to tell me twice,” Duncan replied. He opened a small sling bag and pulled out a cloak and hood. It was jet black, with silver tassels and white fur ends, similar to the cloaks of Harvesters. He donned it quickly and handed a similar cloak to Victor. “How do I look?”

Victor took a moment to study his friend. Duncan was tall for his age, approximately five-feet-eleven, and had a slim but athletic build. He was a good-looking lad too, with dark brown short hair, a thick beard, and deep emerald eyes. Duncan didn’t look as “princely” as his brothers; there was a certain lack of refinement that Victor couldn’t put a finger on. Despite that, his friend had a physical charm to him. It was probably the smile. Girls always fell for that smile.

With the cloak and hood, however, no one would give Duncan and Victor a second look. Harvesters were well-respected, sure, but also feared. One would need a much closer look to identify Duncan with this outfit on.

“You look imposing,” Victor answered as he patted Duncan’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s go before someone spots us and starts asking questions.”

“I’m already through the door,” Duncan replied with a smirk. He walked outside, as casually as he could, and beckoned for Victor to follow. The two sped past a couple of washerwomen and a young boy tending to the castle’s horses. None of them even gave Duncan and Victor a look as soon as they spotted the cloaks. 

Duncan couldn’t help but smile. His plan was working like a charm. 

“Hurry up,” Duncan whispered to his friend as they descended the flight of cobblestone stairs leading to the castle’s side gate. It was a small gate and precariously placed atop a small hill protected by a series of archer stations. As they passed through, Duncan noticed the several marks on the sides that hinted the archway had been filled with concrete and broken down multiple times over the decades. Such was the way when sieges were a common occurrence in war.

As soon as they were a good stone’s throw out of the castle grounds, Duncan burst out in laughter. He then turned to Victor. “See? That was easy.”

“Too easy,” Victor commented. “I don’t like it. What if Holn’neart attacks? If we escaped the castle that easily, what’s stopping them from coming in?”

Duncan shook his head as they continued down the main trade road. They passed a couple of carts carrying food and clothing. Some were merchant carriages loaded with all sorts of goods coming in from other cities in the kingdom. He even spotted one from the Empire of Holn’neart. 

“That’s unlikely,” Duncan answered as they passed by a handful of young women. He waved and the group giggled in response. He didn’t pursue them further, however, and continued to lead Victor down the city’s streets. “My brother’s in the vanguard. He’s never fallen in battle.”

“Well… okay, fine, you’re right,” Victor relented. “No one has ever stopped Prince Theros. He’s everything you’re not.”

Duncan paused and prodded Victor in the chest. “Excuse me, I do happen to keep up with my studies and training.”

“Training’s one thing,” Victor pointed out. “Fighting in the field is another.”

Duncan couldn’t argue with that. “True. Let’s just hope I never have to put the theory to the test, eh?”

Victor nodded and they walked down the streets. The streets of the capital city, Wistlegarn, had always been busy. This was the city of military magic, after all. Everywhere he looked, there were people using crystals to light up street lights, empower carriages, operate rotating doors, and automated food processing. The smell of steam, oil, and the smoke of magic in the air was comforting to his senses. These were the sights and scents of home.

“Here, this one,” Duncan pulled Victor by the cloak and led him into a small tavern. The building had clearly seen better days. It was leaning on one side, almost crashing into the tailor shop beside it.

Victor opened the door and was blasted with the glorious tidal wave of scents. He paused as he was overwhelmed with the smell of drinks, roasted meat, and multiple perfumes mixed in the air. This was not like a tavern from his home. Here, it was a full house with patrons standing, dancing, and drinking. There were barmaids singing as they walked around to pass meat and mead. 

“This place… is amazing!” Victor exclaimed as he strode down the stairs and walked up to the bar. He was greeted by a young female with short blonde hair and dazzling blue eyes. “Hi there, I’d like your best seller please.”

The girl chuckled and nodded. “Sure thing. How about your friend?”

Duncan approached and gave her a nod. “Give me the same thing. I’m Wolfe, by the way.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen you around every now and then,” the girl replied as she began preparing two mugs. “Haven’t seen your friend, though. He new ‘round here?”

Duncan pointed to Victor. “Oh, him? This is… Vincent. He’s from Utharon.”

The girl shot a look of surprise. “Utharon? That’s a long way from here. I see you’re both Harvesters, though. You guys going with the group heading down tomorrow?”

Victor nudged Duncan with his elbow. The latter played along as he grabbed the drinks from the bartender. It was too late to stop talking now. “Definitely. It depends. The hauls haven’t yielded as much lately.”

The girl squinted, almost as if in doubt, but she shrugged the thought off. “Well, good luck to you. The last group of Harvesters that went down didn’t make it back up. I kind of feel bad too, one of them just had a baby and all.”

Duncan sighed. “That’s the life of a Harvester. You never know what you’ll encounter down in the Abyss.”

The girl feigned a smile and then walked away. She started attending to a group of local militia soldiers. As soon as she was out of earshot, Victor turned to Duncan and asked, “I didn’t understand a thing.”

Duncan pointed outwards. “Oh yeah, that’s right, since it’s your first time here, it’s also your first time learning more about the Abyss.”

“I know what it is, I’m not an idiot,” Victor retaliated before he gulped down half of his drink in frustration. He took a step back as he felt the immediate impact of the drink. “Woah… but, uh, yeah, I know what the Abyss is. That’s where our kingdom gets all the crystals that power magic and our inventions.”

“It’s more than that,” Duncan stated. “It’s a whole world down there… and the crystals aren’t just mined. There are beasts down there, legions of them.”

Victor shrugged. “Yeah, I heard about the monsters and all that… but Utharon is right by the border between our kingdom and the Empire of Holn’neart. No monster is as vicious as Imperial legionnaires storming down the streets with their battle mages and siege machines. I’ll gladly jump down the Abyss and fight monsters than deal with Imperials burning our homes.”

Duncan took a sip of his drink. He pondered over Victor’s sentiment. The swirl of his drink reminded him of the cascading chaos that ensued ever since he and his brothers were old enough to join the war.

“There had been countless deaths on both sides,” Duncan whispered.

“For a hundred years,” Victor noted. “You’d think both nations would be tired of it by now.”

Duncan sighed. “Enough of the doom and gloom, eh chum? We’re here to celebrate. You’re here to marry my sister. Come on, drink up and say hello to all the ladies you will never get to flirt with again.”

Victor shot a playful smack on Duncan’s shoulder. “I hate you.”

“I love you too,” Duncan responded with a smile. “You know, my sister is excited to see you again. It’s been two years.”

“How is Valerie?” Victor asked.

Duncan drank before answering. “Honestly? She’s doing good but I’ve seen less of her over the past few months. She’s spent most of her time studying the crystals. She’s less of a princess now and more of an engineer.”

“Interesting… but at least she’s into something,” Victor told the prince. He then finished his drink, pushed his mug aside, and then wagged a finger at Duncan. “What have you been doing since you’ve been stuck in that castle? I mean, other than flirting with the maids and pretending to practice swordsmanship.”

Duncan laughed but shook his head. “I’ve been quite busy, mind you. Of course, I keep my father happy by studying military tactics and staying fit but… I’ve also been studying the work of the Harvesters too. How else do you think I got these cloaks?”

“I don’t know,” Victor realized that Duncan did pose a valid question. “I guess I just figured you stole these or something.”

Duncan’s eyes flatlined with disappointment. “You’re an idiot. No, no, I spent time talking to some of them. I managed to ask for these cloaks from a group of them. They were happy to give a gift to a prince. I was happy to earn something of my own.”

“Did you learn anything from these conversations?”

Duncan finished his drink and waved his hand for the bartender to refill his mug. He then turned to Victor and nodded. “Yeah, I did. Did you know that the Abyss even has a blue sky and different layers to it? Like the further down you go, it’s like going into different worlds. The Harvesters call them regions. The top region, the one closest to us on the surface, it’s a grassy field with low hills, kind of paradise-like, you know? But there’s a region further below that’s permanently like the insides of a volcano. There’s another region where it constantly thunderstorms.”

Victor’s eyes grew wide with amazement. “Wait, seriously? I thought it was just a deep black hole with monsters crawling out of it, like cockroaches emerging from the ground.”

“This is why being a Harvester is such a big deal,” Duncan continued to explain. “You need to know all this if you’re going to marry my sister. A lot of her work involves the Abyss. That’s why she’s at the Eastside barracks right now; they have a library of books all about the Abyss.”

Victor hung his head in defeat. “Ah, well, I’ll learn and deal with it as we go along. It can’t be too complicated, right?”

Duncan let out a chuckle and he patted his friend on the back. “The first region alone has well over twelve thousand documented different species of animals and beasts. Don’t forget about all the different crystal beasts too.”

“I hate you,” Victor replied with a flat, sarcastic tone. He too took another drink but this time he finished it in one go. The hit was enough to make him cough. Victor slammed his chest with his fist a couple of times as he tried to regain his strength.

“You okay there?”

Victor nodded back at Duncan. “Yep, don’t worry. I’m just celebrating.”

Duncan raised his hand to call one of the roaming waitresses. As one approached, he told Victor, “Well, welcome to the capital. Do you have any idea where you want to go next? We still have time before they start looking for us in the castle.”

“Maybe,” Victor pondered with a scratch on his chin. “Do you think we can take a tour around the Harvester headquarters? You got me thinking about it now. Maybe I should take a closer look at my future. You never know when —”

“Uh, when what?” Duncan asked when Victor suddenly cut himself off. 

Victor raised his hand and cocked his head. “Listen… do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Duncan tried to pay closer attention but all he could hear was the usual noise of the tavern. “I don’t know what you’re on about. It’s just the usual commotion here and — no, wait, yeah! Those are screams!”