Viderin whipped around just in time to deflect what might have been the quickest lunge of all time. The aggressor launched right over Viderin's head, landing a super hero pose, about twenty feet away. They stood, facing Viderin. It was the king's vessel hunter. Ironically, the vessel hunter was a vessel.

The two just looked at each other for a moment. Both were calculating, watching the other's movements, ready to anticipate any attack. They started pacing around the fountain Viderin had hid in. The kingsmoulds had been taken care of. No more would come. It was just Viderin, and the hunter.

Meanwhile, the soul master was trying to decide what to do with his recent acquisition. Not that said acquisition was being very helpful. Perhaps he could experiment with the different soul properties that vessels might possess. But if he was wrong, it would be a wasted opportunity. There had to be some sort of use for a vessel.

He glanced over at the vessel, who was currently trying to use their pin to pick the lock on the cage. They still had their weapon apparently. More problems for him to fix. "You might as well give up. Our locks are incredibly intricate."

Eventually they gave up. The soul master called one of his warriors into the room. "You summoned me?" The soul master said nothing. He simply made a small jerking motion with his head. The soul warrior understood, and went to work. He very carefully reached into the cage, grabbed the pin, and took it away as fast as possible.

Mala thought they felt something on their back, but didn't want to take their eyes off of the soul master. Suddenly their pin was ripped from it's spot on their back. Turning quickly, Mala reached out in an attempt to retrieve their only protection. A bright white ball of energy left their hand, hitting the soul warrior and sending him flying. The soul master stood up from his seat, dumbfounded. It appeared that vessels could manipulate soul in the same way that he and his disciples could. "Now I know what to do with you."

Meanwhile in the pleasure house, Callous had just realized that every single bug in the pleasure house had noticed them. All around, the murmurs and whispering could be heard. "What is it?" "What a strange creature." "Why is this thing here?" Try as they might, Callous couldn't seem to escape their attention.

One particularly interested bug, had stopped singing when she first noticed Callous. She was fascinated by the little being. Marissa floated towards the new arrival, tentatively. She looked down at it, as it looked back up at her. "It's kind of cute."

The rest of the pleasure house seemed to reach a similar conclusion. As they closed in, the weary Callous realized their situation. Mostly female bugs, all of which seemed to be fashion oriented. This could not end well for them.

Meanwhile, the fight had finally started. Inge quickly lunged, but was deflected by Viderin. They countered with their signature uppercut, barely dodged by Inge. The two launched simultaneous flurries of attacks, swinging and blocking in seemingly the same motion. Inge picked up the pace, striking faster and adding more movement.

It was all Viderin could do to keep up with Inge. Then Inge implemented a deadly technique. As their blade left the location of a deflection, they swung at top speed in the same spot. Ducking saved Viderin from being decapitated, but it cost them some minor horn damage. Viderin was done messing around. It was time to get serious.

Back at the soul sanctum, Mala was currently trying to get used to the massive robes of the soul scholars. The soul master had decided to help them realize their full potential in the use of soul. He seemed to believe that Mala may even be the key to curing the infection.

The first matter of business, was to establish communication. It seemed that the vessel understood Hallese, (Better name for the language than Hallownestese or nestese) they couldn't speak back to the other scholars. As such, writing was optimal. And so, every time the soul master spoke, he also wrote it down, to teach Mala to write.

They seemed to pick it up quickly, but often struggled with grammar. In fact, one of his favorite repeating messages was "When am learn the magic?" Their hand writing was surprisingly neat however. It seemed that they were finally ready to learn.

Right outside, the epic clash between Viderin and Inge continued. Both Viderin and Inge were now attacking at top speed, looking like a blur to anyone that might have passed by. It might not have been clear at first, but the sound of clanging metal was a dead giveaway.

Neither ever truly harmed the other, with the most grievous injuries of yet, being Viderin's scraped horns and tattered cloak, and Inge's small cut on their arm. The two continued their deadly game of keep up, until Inge kicked out one of Viderin's legs, forcing them to fall to their knees.

Inge took the opportunity to finish the job. They hefted their blade above Viderin's head, and they looked up at their executioner. Inge returned the look. They seemed to hesitate, as if questioning why they should kill this vessel. After all, they did look similar, and both were phenomenal swordsmen. Inge lowered their blade.

Mala's lessons were going... somewhere. The little vessel had learned how to channel soul to take full advantage of the white orb known as the vengeful spirit. The soul master was also working on teaching them the desolate dive, and howling wraiths spells. Not that Mala was very good at either.

There came a knock at the door, and the soul master floated over. It was Ogrim, of the five great knights. "My, my!" Said the soul master. "To what, do I owe this pleasure?" Ogrim clearly seemed troubled by what he had to say.

"I'm supposed to check the area for any... fugitives of the king." Clearly Ogrim knew that the "fugitives" in question, were simply vessels that hadn't been killed yet. The soul master seemed to recognize this, and called Ogrim over to his meeting room. Mala also joined, but was currently out of sight.

"Let's be honest with each other Ogrim." He started. "These fugitives you speak of, have committed no crimes, but have simply survived their birth. Am I correct in this assumption, most honorable knight?" Ogrim seemed caught off guard by the soul master's knowledge.

"I- um. Well, the ki-" Ogrim was cut off. "I can tell by your demeanor, Ogrim, that you do not believe in this cause. Fear not, for neither do I. And so, I have an offer for you." He beckoned Mala forward, who rushed over, almost tripping a few times in the long robe they were wearing.

"This "fugitive", known as a vessel, has become one of my pupils. It possesses no ill will, so what harm would come from them remaining free?" Ogrim hesitated, but did respond. "None, I suppose..." Mala was eagerly listening to the conversation, moving their head back and forth to pay attention.

"Ogrim, most honorable knight of the king, my offer is this. You, simply have to return to the king, at the end of your "search", empty handed, and tell him you found nothing. You, get to keep a clean conscience, and I, get to keep my pupil. We both benefit." At long last, Ogrim agreed, and turned to leave.

At that exact moment, Viderin walked in, with their new friend. Mala walked up to them, waving. Ogrim was dumbfounded by the vessels that were seemingly popping out of the walls. "Just say you saw nothing." The soul master reminded him.

Ogrim left, and the two vessels also seemed ready to leave. Mala turned to the soul master. "I am now go have to leave. I will do return." The soul master was confused by his pupil's strange request. He had just risked everything for their freedom, and now they wanted to leave?

"Very well. As long as you keep your word, and do return to this place. In the meanwhile, take this, to continue your studies. And feel free to take a spell twister from the chest upstairs." He said, handing Mala a book titled "The Art of Killing Things for the Use of Their Souls". Little did he know, Mala had already grabbed about twenty soul twisters.

And so, the three vessels left the sanctum. But one of them was missing. Where was Callous? They roamed the city in search of their lost friend, and finally, found them outside the pleasure house.

Callous emerged from the pleasure house, while the many patrons, and songstress Marissa, waved them goodbye. Poor Callous. The vessel had been given a new outfit. Their signature headband was gone, and their brown cloak had been replaced with a fluffy pink onesie. On top of their head, sat a pink bow. Despite Callous no longer having half of their eyes covered, Callous seemed more miserable than ever. They would have to change back at the first opportunity.

Aaaand that's it for this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it, because I had a lot of fun writing this one. The next thing you can expect from me is a vessel chapter, but before you go, I'd like to remind you all that you have a freebie for ask the vessels. I'm answering every question that gets asked, and so far I've only had one of you guys actually respond. It closes on November 1st, so hurry over there and ask your questions. See you in the next chapter!