The guards returned to the post except for Sergeant Talos who watched the Shield Maiden return to her friends. He sighed as he walked in the party's direction, "A disturber of the peace is your new title, girlie. I do hope you enjoy you're new found status in Asylum."

"I think I will," Serna chirped, "Thank you for bestowing it on me, Sergeant Talos, I will add that title to a long list of titles I hope to acquire in our travels."

Talos didn't say a word to her. She would find out that having that title would only make her test much harder.

Serna turned to Neven, "So did you get it?"

"Yes I did," The Thief concluded, "Now I think we need to speak with The Fox Man. Or I should say that I need to speak with him. I don't think he would be too keen on you joining the conversation, Serna."

"Calish will only talk to you, kid. You're the one who spoke to him before the 'disturber of the peace' caused a ruckus." Talos said quietly.

The Shield Maiden hunched her shoulders, "I can't imagine why."

Both Irzen and Willow laughed.

"You may think this little stunt is funny now but it could potentially cause more problems down the road." The sergeant gave Irzen and Willow a look of disapproval.

"Serna did only what I asked her to do, Sergeant Talos," Neven came to her defense, "We needed a distraction and she provided a relatively harmless though loud one."

"There are more subtle ways to make a distraction, kid. Asylum doesn't play by the rest of the Realm's rules. In fact, Asylum sits between the Realm and what ever world is currently aligned with it. I get it, kid. You had a hard life living on the streets but she does not. Hers is a sheltered life and acting out in a shrewd manner in the streets gets the wrong kind of attention. Screaming is best used if someone is truly threatening your life."

"She took one for the team, Talos," Irzen added, "And she did so without a second thought, caring only for the fact that her friends needed her help. You can call her a Disturber of the Peace if you want but I call her selfless."

"She has a lot to learn about selfless acts." Talos grumbled.

"And self-sacrificing," Willow concluded, "What more could you want from a teammate than that?"

The sergeant gave the ranger a hard stare, "If this was a battle or sneaking into an enemy's castle, yeah that might work if it doesn't get you killed."

Serna walked up to Talos and simply asked, "What do you have against me, Sergeant Talos? You have been on my back since you met me. What is it about me that vexes you so?"

"Met you? You are the REASON you got YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS INTO THIS! You just can't MIND your own business, can you? It's always one OVER achiever who thinks he or she is entitled to the right thing. NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED! You and your friends are visitors here. Try LISTENING TO the locals for a change, you MIGHT actually learn something!" Sergeant Talos snarled with disgust.

"Then let me ask you another question," Serna asked calmly, "Do I remind you of someone you used to know? Someone who might have acted just like me? Someone that you care about or cared about?"

Sergeant Talos fumed silently to himself. He'd rather be hunting down those thieves than babysitting this lot. "Yes and no. There was someone just like you, a boy, who took everything for granted, caused plenty of mischief and mayhem to the point where it got him almost dead. He was one of those who simply didn't understand what abiding by the law meant. He was asked to leave and when he refused, he was sent to do HARD labor up in the High Spire mines under the watch of a dwarven kinght, Sir Drogan. So, let me ask you this, how much do you want to find the relic? Are you true of heart? Because at the rate you're going, you're headed down a downward spiral."

"I want to find the relic very badly," Serna confessed, "Because I want to clear my name and return what was stolen. Am I true of heart? I honestly don't know. I try to be by protecting people but Dungeon Master only knows if helping people and protecting them makes one true of heart."

"And if Serna is headed to a downward spiral, Talos," Irzen stepped up and put a comforting hand on The Shield Maiden's shoulder, "We will be there to catch her."

***********

He calmed himself down enough to tell Neven, "Well go and talk to Calish. I believe you're still on the clock on this one."

"Yeah, right," Neven walked back over to Calish, "Hello, again! How do you feel? Are you ready to talk?"

The Fox Man eyed the thief suspiciously, "I'm fine. Well, spit it out kiddo. Did you or did you not acquire some item worth fifty gold?"

"I have," Neven admitted as he looked around, "Can we go somewhere private so I can show you?"

***********

Above the city of Asylum everyone in the merchant district for a moment looked up to see the guardian flying over head. Even the party saw the gargantuan bronze dragon gliding over them towards the ocean beyond the sea port.

"Impressive," Willow remarked.

"WOW!" Serna gasped, "Not as big as that ancient Black Dragon we encountered when we had the Eleventh Talisman but still big nonetheless."

Irzen nodded in agreement.