In the blink of an eye, another month had passed by, and the brothers were standing in the centre of the blood stained chamber.
Just as instructed, they cleaned themselves and equipped common clothes with cloaks that stretched down to their knees.
The weapons gifted to them many years ago were hidden just below their coats, just as they were taught.
Shortly after they had finished preparing themselves, Andrew descended down into the chamber with a young girl draped over his shoulder.
The girl could not be mistaken as a commoner. Zadius could tell just from the quality of her clothes and her thick well-kept red hair.
She was unconscious whilst Andrew swiftly tied her to a chair in one of the chamber's corners.
Taking a closer look, Xaryus noticed that the girl appeared to be around the same age as them and was obviously of royalty.
"Her hair is crimson… She can't be?" Xaryus thought briefly.
"This is Rosaly Lionheart, daughter of Lambert Lionheart." Andrew stated whilst removing his coat and a small satchel to his side.
"Lambert Lionheart, the Rune Hand!?" Xaryus replied in disbelief.
"Yes." Andrew clarified in a dull tone.
"Why have you brought her here? She's the king's niece." Zadius inquired, his tone filled with worry.
Andrew flashed a bright smile at Zadius' question. He took a moment to put on two black gloves before he finally spoke.
"I'm going to use her as a form of payment."
A swirl of thoughts clouded Zadius' mind as he tried to grasp what Andrew intended to achieve.
"Here." Andrew continued, throwing two small bags towards the brothers.
Inside each bag were a pair of similar black gloves and a porcelain mask with simple holes made for the eyes and nose.
Andrew threw on his coat before adorning himself with a similar cloak to the two brothers. He picked his satchel up from the ground and turned towards Xaryus and Zadius.
"It's time to put yourselves to use… We're going to the Concord." Andrew's words hang in the air as if he just spoke of a great calamity.
The concord was one of the most feared and dangerous organizations in the world, often called Death Dealers. They had gained their nickname from sowing death and destruction wherever they were contracted.
An assassination guild built on the basis of killing awakened. Over time they developed a reputation of slaying awakened of any rank. Three ascended rank awakened had been confirmed to have fallen at the hands of the concord since their inception.
The organization's true nature and structure are obscured with many dead ends and mystery.
***
"Hmm."
The young red-haired girl trapped beneath the city of Rosa slowly stirred awake. It did not take her long to understand the danger she was in after her eyes opened.
None of her guards were around her and she was roughly bound by a length of rope.
In front of her were three cloaked individuals, one much larger than the others. Each of them wore black gloves and featureless porcelain masks.
A deep fear sprouted beneath Rosaly's heart; she wanted to scream but her mouth was also bound by rope.
"Let's go."
The larger of the three figures spoke, roughly grabbing her off the chair and throwing her over his shoulder.
Andrew led Xaryus and Zadius towards the main entrance of the underground chamber, opening the heavy door and ascending the staircase behind it.
Xaryus and Zadius paused for a moment.
They never thought the day would come where they would be leaving the dark stone chamber - Alive at least.
"Don't fall behind."
Andrew's plain speech sent shivers down their spine, pulling them away from unnecessary feelings.
They had ascended for a few minutes before the steps came to a halt just in front of a simple wooden door.
Andrew opened the door and stepped into the room behind it.
To Xaryus and Zadius' surprise, the underground chamber seemed to be some sort of basement attached to a home. The interior was well kept and simple, yet Zadius could still see faint signs of a struggle here and there.
There were faded blood stains on certain parts of the floor and slash marks on some parts of the wall.
"What happened here?" Zadius thought for a moment.
"Keep moving." Andrew commanded the brothers as he approached a set of stairs that led up into the second level of the home.
There, the brothers passed through a long hallway with various doors, some of them left ajar.
Whilst they passed, Xaryus caught a glimpse into one of the rooms.
It was the room of a young child; he could faintly see a small bed with disheveled sheets covered in blood.
The furniture in the room was broken and cut into pieces but there were no bodies in sight.
The thought of what Andrew must have done to the original owners of the home plagued Xaryus for a moment but then wondered why they would have such a chamber below their home in the first place.
"The family that lived here were serial killers… That the oh so powerful Lion's guard couldn't find after so many years." Andrew scoffed.
"So, I decided to take things into my own hands, who knew they would have such a chamber below their home. A bonus for me really… But if you two had seen the state of the place before I killed them. Ha, if you thought I was bad."
Andrew continued, pushing open the door at the end of the hallway.
As the door opened, a strong breeze pushed itself into the quiet home. Xaryus' eyes went wide beneath his mask at the beautiful lights that spanned hundreds of kilometres across the city.
Stepping out onto the balcony, he could see the large outer walls of the city as well as the two inner walls that sectioned it off.
"Beautiful isn't it?" Andrew commented, observing the starstruck body language the brothers expressed.
"But now's not the time to stargaze, we have an important person to meet. Let's get a move on…"
Nodding in unison, Xaryus and Zadius began to use basic enhancement. It was obvious that Andrew wanted them to move across the rooftops until they reached the city's outer wall.
The house they were currently in was a bit taller than the others surrounding them so they would have no trouble getting to other rooftops.
In a swift motion, Andrew dashed forward and leapt off the balcony and down towards a roof below.
Rosaly's eyes were wide, but she wasn't screaming. She was surprisingly calm.
"Since she's a Lionheart, she was probably trained to handle situations like this." Andrew thought.
Feeling a strong pressure build up in their stomachs from the mark of bondage, Xaryus and Zadius quickly followed suit.
"It seems the anchor for the mark of bondage is now on Andrew's person." Zadius thought, feeling the pressure dwindle as he fell through the air.
Although, as he descended, he couldn't help but appreciate the beauty of the city below.
The nightly bustle in Rosa was just as it would be during the day.
Various denizens of the outer sector proceeded out of their homes to enjoy the nightlife. Many were also retreating into their homes after a long day.
The rest consisted of freelance awakened adventurers and the Lion's guard, protectors of Rosa.
Various awakened knights patrolled through the city's streets; some even moved across the rooftops.
However, Andrew seemed to have a good gist of their patterns and easily led the brothers through the city.
Sometimes they quickly leapt off the rooftops and down into an alley to avoid unwanted gazes, even retreating into the sewers for a few moments.
These were Xaryus and Zadius' first steps in the city of Rosa, or any city for that matter.