Alexander went through the motions of fleeing from Eel's End though his mind was elsewhere. He knew that they were on their way to Falenas' clinic so that they could talk in private and that he carried a chest of treasure from the ship along with Verik. Griffin was behind the two along with Duke, and although he was injured, he carried the bird cage that imprisoned the house drake. Falenas led the way back to his home, taking a route to ensure that they didn't run into anyone even though it was late. Although the elf kept mentioning that his extract of Fox's Cunning was no longer in effect and that he wasn't as smart as he was, it was clear that he was still the smartest of the group despite his own worries.

Even though Eel's End was behind them, Alexander still thought of how close they came to defeat. If it weren't for Falenas surviving the trap, Devargo would have killed every last one of them. Even if Alexander fought on and killed the King of Spiders himself instead of surrendering, Griffin would have been executed, and he wasn't willing to live with that. Ultimately, the warrior realized that he needed to stop fighting while he was still alive. If he had died, there would be no one to raise Silana properly, and he wouldn't accept that.

The trio arrived at Falenas' clinic and stepped inside with Duke standing guard by the door. The main part of Falenas' business was a storefront where he sold alchemical ingredients and extracts to customers, but at times, he needed to treat a patient himself. The group pushed through the storefront and into the back room, where a wooden table was placed at the center. There were cabinets with various treatments and supplies available for the alchemist when working with a patient. Falenas gestured towards an empty corner in the room.

"Set the loot down there," Falenas told his companions. "Griffin, I'll need to treat you before you leave."

"Do you not have another extract to heal me?" Griffin asked and set the bird cage down as Verik and Alexander lowered the chest to the ground.

"I had to use my last healing extract to get you conscious," Falenas explained and walked over to a cabinet. "This isn't the first time I've had to treat you with practical means. You know what to do."

"This isn't the first time," Alexander repeated out loud. "How long have you two been doing this?"

Griffin hesitated to answer and only did so after sitting down on the wooden table. "Two weeks."

"Two weeks," Alexander gasped. "You've been risking your lives like this for two weeks!"

"For what it's worth, Devargo was the toughest criminal we've faced so far," Griffin admitted and stripped out of his leather armor, revealing the cuts across his lean body. "Falenas and I made a deal after our group broke apart. We both have an interest in dealing with some of the gangs around Korvosa. Falenas is especially eager to put the shiver trade to an end."

"Why shiver in particular?" Verik asked, looking over Falenas' medical equipment.

"I lost someone close to me because of shiver," Falenas muttered with a frown and doused a cloth with a clear liquid from a flask. "Should we really be talking about this in front of him?"

"If it weren't for the two of us, we wouldn't be talking," Alexander said in defense of Verik. "So, the deal you two made is that you two work together to fight crime? Is that it?"

Griffin nodded, grimacing when Falenas started to dab at his injuries with the cloth. "More or less, yes. I help Falenas take down the shiver trade, and in exchange, he heals me of injuries sustained elsewhere for free."

Alexander sighed and shook his head in disappointment. Although he knew that Griffin and Falenas wanted to do the right thing, he couldn't approve that they were working around the law to do so. The one time Alexander did so, it was to save Silana from Gaedren. He knew that Korvosa was going through a rough period of time, especially with a new ruler taking the throne but that didn't excuse his friends from taking the law into their own hands.

However, Alexander knew better to argue against them. He knew that they wouldn't be swayed away from their plan by his words alone. Even their near defeat against Devargo might not be enough. Alexander fought with both Falenas and Griffin for some time and knew that both of them wouldn't change their stance on righting the injustices in the city. For a time, the warrior remained silent with his arms crossed. During his silence, Falenas finished cleaning Griffin's injuries and started to patch them up.

"I'll try to slip you an extract to finish healing your wounds tomorrow," Falenas told Griffin. "That way, no one will ask about how you got those scars."

"Not like anyone would have seen them anyways," Griffin said with a weak chuckle.

"Why just the two of you?" Alexander asked. "I understand why you didn't turn to me for help but Takota and Viera would have helped had you asked."

Falenas shook his head. "Unfortunately, Takota's time in the Sable Marine Company has turned him into a law-abiding citizen. I've met with him a few times since his enrollment and he's an entirely different man. He's no longer the same man who killed Gaedren or saved Trinia from being executed."

"I'll admit that he might look different now but that doesn't mean he's still the same man who helped us through it all," Alexander said. "What of Viera?"

Griffin glanced towards the ground. "That's on me. I didn't think it was a good idea to let Viera help us."

Alexander could tell that Griffin was hiding more than he let on and turned to Verik. "Do you mind giving us a moment alone?"

"I guess I can get a breath of fresh air," Verik said with a shrug. "I still can't believe you were the ones that freed Trinia."

"It wasn't us, really," Griffin admitted and glanced towards Falenas. "Falenas can tell you what really happened as long as you can keep it a secret."

"I wasn't even at the execution," Falenas objected and noticed the silent looks Alexander and Griffin gave him. "Ah. I see now. Very well then. Clean up after yourself, Griffin. Come along, Verik."

Once Falenas had left with Verik, Alexander posed his next question. "Viera told you about her nightmares, didn't she?"

"She wrote to me about them, yes," Griffin answered with a sigh. "She's been dreaming about Gaedren and how she used to… well, you know why she wanted him dead."

Alexander nodded and closed his eyes in thought. Viera was one of Gaedren's Little Lamms and had a terrible childhood under the awful man. The warrior couldn't even begin to imagine what life was like for her as a child. She was fortunate enough to escape and eventually became a priestess of Iomedae. However, Viera wouldn't let Gaedren live when she was given a chance to kill him along with the others.

Shaking his head, Alexander opened his eyes to see Griffin put his armor back on. "And you think that her nightmares are enough reason to not have her help you?"

"I do," Griffin said and stood up from the table. "I haven't told her this but I think the reason why she's having those nightmares is because killing Gaedren went against her beliefs."

"Could it not be because of the torment she suffered at Gaedren's hands?" Alexander suggested. "That kind of justice went against my beliefs too, even after what he did, and I sleep well enough at night."

"Be that as it may, the two of you have one key difference that may explain what's going on. You can't deny that out of all of us, Viera is the most religious, and she worships a goddess of justice."

"Are you implying that what we did that night wasn't justice?"

Griffin shrugged and approached the bird cage. "For me, it was, and I imagine it could be so for others. It wouldn't surprise me if Viera is struggling with killing Gaedren because while he was a vile man who had it coming, it was personal for her. But again, these are just my theories, and I don't want to bother her with them when it wouldn't help."

"So you keep her away from your vigilante actions because it may go against what she believes to be justice," Alexander said with a nod. "I can respect that decision even if I wish that you had more help. You almost died tonight."

"And yet I still live thanks to you," Griffin chuckled and knelt down by the cage with the house drake continuing to thrash about. "I imagine that Falenas and I will be taking a break from our nightly outings now that Devargo is dead."

Alexander sighed in relief. He blinked in confusion when Griffin started to speak strange words unfamiliar to him that sometimes sounded like hissing. When he had finished speaking, the house drake calmed down and looked at the noble expectantly. Griffin reached into his pockets to pull out a lockpick and worked on unlocking the bird cage.

"You speak Draconic?" Alexander asked which was confirmed by Griffin's nod. "When were you able to learn a new language?"

"I learned Draconic years ago," Griffin said with a small grin. "I was adopted into a noble family that already had an heir. Due to my 'limp' I cannot pursue a career in the military and my prospects for an arranged marriage practically don't exist. I have nothing but free time."

"Perhaps you would benefit from studying more," Alexander said in a joking manner. "Maybe that will keep you out of danger."

"This is me we're talking about," Griffin opened the bird cage and the house drake flew out triumphantly. "Not to mention that a safe life is a boring life. Come. Falenas wouldn't want us to stay around for long. He doesn't like it when others see how he looks when under the effects of the mutagen."

"He doesn't seem that different to me. Are we sure that the mutagen changes how smart he is?"

Griffin stood up. "If it does, only Falenas realizes the difference because he's still smarter than the both of us."

The two shared a laugh and made their way out of the building with the house drake following along behind them. When they stepped outside, the small dragon stretched its wings before flying away into the night sky. Falenas and Verik put their conversation on hold to look up at the group. With Griffin patched up enough for the alchemist, he wished his friends a good night and locked up his store. The noble disappeared through a dark alleyway, leaving Alexander, Verik, and Duke to make their way home. The warrior was confident that he would see Griffin again tomorrow since he planned to watch Tiran's competition.

Verik was silent on the way back, tired and processing what Falenas had told him. Alexander was thankful to have time for himself during the short trip back to his house and wasn't too worried about the archer learning of the group's more discreet activities. Although Alexander had his doubts, Verik proved himself by fighting against Devargo when he could have ran and left the group to their fates. At the end of the day, that was enough for him.

They arrived at Alexander's home with Duke finding a place to sleep and Verik taking off his equipment in the living room so that he could sleep. Before he entered his bedroom, Alexander silently opened the door to his daughter's room. Seeing Silana asleep was enough to satisfy his worries over the chance that something may have happened. He closed the door and made his way to his own bedroom to take off his equipment and change into his nightclothes.

Alexander pulled an old trunk out of his closet and turned to look back at his armor and weapon one last time. Although she didn't appear before him, Zellara's voice spoke silently in the room.

"I saw what you went through tonight, Alexander. Are you sure that this is a wise course of action?"

Alexander nodded. "I keep trying to find a balance between doing what's right and looking out for my family when I have to make a choice."

"And are you sure that the others will get by without you?" Zellara asked, not hiding her worry. "There are still threats to Korvosa that only your group can face."

"Zellara, I'm just a man who fights with a weapon and a shield, no special powers or anything like that. There are plenty of other fighters in this city who can do just that."

"You're more than just a fighter," Zellara told Alexander, her voice growing quiet. "You're their leader."

Alexander shook his head at the thought. He never felt as though he was the leader of the group. If anything, Griffin was the leader. All Alexander did was charge into any fights and keep the enemies focused on him in the frontlines. Griffin was the one who came up with the plans and did so much work behind the scenes. The warrior was confident enough that his group would be able to work without him despite Zellara's claims.

Quietly, Alexander stored his gear in the truck and pushed it back into the closet, ready to start the next chapter of his life.

A/N: I've been planning the story for my adaptation of Curse of the Crimson Throne for a while, and honestly, Seven Days to the Grave is what I'm most excited for. Although we haven't gotten to the main plot, I feel as though this is the part of the story where character's individual storylines have a chance to shine for things turn to the worse. I look forward to sharing more of these stories as we continue. Next chapter will continue to expand on the indviidual storylines.

As of now, I'm up to 16,000 words overall. I still haven't made up for the time lost during my short break but I'm starting to get closer to making it up.

Until next time.