Orym froze. His companions Malia and Asselin also went slackjawed. Only Ellie behaved as usual, a question mark floating on her confused face.
" Is this some kind of joke? " The Magus let out in a raspy voice after a short while. "If it is, then it's not funny."
Asselin and Malia also turned to the teenager.
"Psst! Ikaris, you don't need to make up a number to impress him. As far as I know you haven't been tested." The female Kitsune whispered anxiously.
"And if you test me, the result will be the same." He replied calmly. "How else could I resist my Thrall nature?"
Asselin and Malia were stumped by his answer. Indeed. How could he? Why had everyone else failed and not him?
If it was Orym, a First Class Magus, no one would have been surprised at him resisting the venom of a Crawling. But not because he could withstand the insane effects of the transformation, but because his body wouldn't let him get infected in the first place.
The prevalence of Crawling-Thralls who could keep their sanity was so low that none of them had ever heard of one. If there were any, it was a closely guarded secret.
Meeting the quiet, waveless sea-like gaze of the boy, Orym began to take the situation seriously.
"Follow me." He motioned them as he walked toward the ramparts.
His six bodyguards got the hint and one of them waved his hand toward the wall. The smooth wall began to creak, forming bricks on its surface, and suddenly it magically rearranged itself into a doorway wide enough to accommodate two carriages side by side.
The Sorcerer who created the soundproof barrier turned it off and Zaos trotted toward them with obvious puzzlement on his face.
"Did I miss something important?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. He could sense that something was amiss.
"We'll explain later." Asselin grunted, not at all in the mood to enlighten him.
Ikaris' Soul Strength had affected him more than he wanted to admit. His Soul Spark had a value of 1.5 and he had been judged talented for it. It would take time for him to recover from such a crushing blow to his ego.
If Asselin was depressed, Malia was quivering with excitement but also trepidation. With such a powerful soul she no longer had to worry about him being manipulated or mentally broken by an enemy. Because she had run away from her clan at a young age, her education was lacking, but she knew what a Soul Strength of 101 meant.
Except for extraordinarily gifted Psychists and a few elite races, it was the prerogative of the best Grandmaster Sorcerers and Magus.
This meant that Ikaris' mind already rivaled that of some Magus. It was as preposterous as it was absurd. No wonder Orym took the news so seriously.
The wall closed behind them as they passed, and the rustling and growling from the jungle ceased. Instead, an army of armored soldiers in formation stretched as far as the eye could see.
Their faces were steely, resolute. Some looked nervous, but all were bent on fighting for their homeland. By the look on their faces, many knew they would not be going home.
The group silently followed the Magus through a sea of tents and pavilions spanning several kilometers before stopping at a two-story wooden house. It was the first proper building Ikaris and Ellie had encountered since their arrival in this world.
A decrepit wooden sign held up by old ropes hung from a beam sticking out of the wall. It read "The Worthy Traveller".
"The only inn within five leagues of here. The old Magus growled grumpily. "Except for the tax collectors in charge of the Barren Bush tribes and our armies fighting at the Great Wall, no one comes here but runaways, outcasts and a few foolish adventurers. But for a pleasant chat, this is the perfect place."
The group nosily entered the inn and the termite-ridden floor squeaked under their feet. Apart from a few round tables and chairs there was indeed nothing of interest. Only a few customers in armor. All officers or Sorcerers.
"Not the bison." The innkeeper grunted as she saw the huge bovine cracking the floorboards with its heavy hooves.
"Mooooo!"
The Demonic Beast protested as best he could but was forced to stay outside. As he was about to charge the inn, the buffalo spotted a pen and stable behind the inn.
His disgruntled eyes were caught by the bewitching wiggle of the most beautiful mottled cow he had ever met. The bison puffed his chest, cocked his head and strutted forward with a suave look.
"Moooo mo!"
Finally it wasn't so bad to stay outside.
Orym waved to the innkeeper, a matron with an opulent chest and thick forearms, and she gestured up to the ceiling to tell them to go upstairs. Accustomed to the place, the Magus climbed the stairs and led them directly to a secluded room with a few worn-out sofas.
"Sit down."
They obeyed, but before they sat down Zaos relayed his master's message. Orym turned gloomy as he learned of the Baronet's sacrifice. A Lord Sorcerer was not as valuable as a Magus, but it was still a grievous loss to Hadrakin.
Still, he found the circumstances of his sacrifice a bit puzzling. Why would a Lord Sorcerer sacrifice himself to defend an untenable position with no strategic value? He brushed these thoughts from his mind and focused on the motley crew of youngsters before him.
Pensive, he tapped his fingers on his chair's armrest for a while and then made his decision. He aimed his finger at Toby, who was lying comatose on his stretcher. His lesions closed up for all to see and his corpse-like face regained a healthy glow.
"That should be enough for now. He'll wake up in a few moments, but he'd better not overexert himself." Orym warned them placidly.
"And now. Tell me what's happened to you since the beginning and where you're going. I want to know everything."
Malia remained silent, but under the old man's insistent gaze she began to recount the events of the past few days, from Ikaris' arrival to Grallu's death, from the Great Wall's collapse to their arrival at this inn. However, she did not reveal anything important about her past, let alone that Ikaris had her Elsisn Stele. Officially, it had been lost.
Asselin also reported on the twists and turns of his last week. Amusingly, his week was similar to Malia's, but his village management was better.
For one thing, his tribe was much newer and he had managed to form a small militia force before he overestimated his abilities and witnessed his proto-army being crushed by a herd of stampeding Demonic Bisons.
Unlike Malia, who knew nothing about governance, Asselin had intentionally slowed down the development of his village so as not to attract Hadrakin's attention. With his parents' experience, it would have been a piece of cake. Unfortunately, the Great Wall's destruction had decided otherwise.
Then it was Ikaris and Ellie's turn to explain their origins. They stayed vague when talking about Earth, but they were surprised by Orym's unimpressed response,
"A science world. Some people in the Confederation would like to kill you, but I couldn't care less." He snickered complacently. "Now let's play it straight.
"I know that Asselin and the Thrall each carry an Elsisn Stele on them. What do you plan to do with it?"
Ikaris and Asselin immediately became cagey and reflexively squeezed the hilt of their swords.
"Relax." Orym chuckled as he saw them flare up. "I am not your enemy. So let me suggest a solution.
"If I'm not mistaken, you want to flee as far from the Great Wall as possible to establish your own lands. To do this, you need a place that is not already under the yoke of a too powerful kingdom and with enough space and resources to satisfy your ambitions. I deeply regret to inform you that such a haven does not exist. New nations generally tend to settle near the Great Wall like the tribes of your Barren Bush, but I assume I don't need to explain to you why I strongly advise against this option...
"However, many territories have recently fallen into anarchy due to the assassination of their leaders. Insurgencies and revolts are rampant, so you might be able to make a go of all this chaos. I can recommend one of them to you, but at your own risk."
'Bad idea.' Magnus firmly dissuaded Ikaris. "Their lords are dead, but they will be replaced very quickly. Wars for territory and expansion will soon break out and your paltry village will at once be subjugated or destroyed.'
"I refuse." The teenager replied flatly.
Malia panicked when she heard him refuse and immediately tried to persuade him. Yet a sharp look from the boy made her retreat. Unexpectedly, Asselin also refused.
"In this case, there is only one option left. The Warring Lands." Orym declared grimly. "Fertile and prosperous lands that no nation in the Forsaken Lands has been willing to claim, but the danger will be equal to the risk.
"So what do you choose?"
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