“They’re women, let them be,” D’rmas admonished. “They take time putting on clothes and sitting before mirrors.”
“Trust me,” Hermon told D’rmas. “Those women are not the kind for that, at least not with the task at hand.”
“The task at hand...” D’rmas parroted, his voice low and his face thoughtful. “So, what’s the plan?”
“What?” Hermon questioned.
“I mean the plan after here. When we get out of Kleas, what next?”
“Erm, you want the truth?” Hermon asked.
“Why else are we here?” Mikko questioned.
“The truth is we do not know where to go next. But we do know where the end is. What we need is a route to the end, so we will keep going until we find it.”
“Wow,” Mikko laughed. “I had no idea you three went into this without coming up with a solid plan!”
“There was no time for any,” Hermon replied.
“So we’ll be walking out in the open, while the world is gradually descending into chaos, very good,” Mikko said.
“If I did not know better,” D’rmas said, “I would say you were scared.”
“You know, maybe, I should give you the fight you’re asking for,” Mikko said, his voice tainted with fury. “Don’t think your ability to channel two classes of magic makes you impervious. You have no idea who I am.”
D’rmas chuckled. And the three fell silent once more. It was not long before they heard the sound of sizzling in the air. Hermon was the first to see the line of light slicing through the air, forming a door frame.
“They are here,” he said. They had come here, some moments ago, through the same portal. The men stood as Eldana and Siem walked out of the portal with rucksacks on their backs.
“Ah, they got theirs too,” Mikko said, patting his own rucksack.
Techle stepped out into the open as Eldana and Siem walked out. He watched them join the group, and then they turned towards him. D’rmas was the first to speak. He cleared his throat. “Thank you, friend,” he told Techle. “For your immense hospitality, I say thank you. We cannot thank you enough. I hope our paths cross again.”
Techle smiled and nodded, before Mikko said his thanks, and so did Hermon, and the women.
“As some of you may have guessed, the house decided to save you the hurdle of crossing the gates successfully,” Techle said. “You are a few miles away from the city’s southern gate. Your journey, wherever it may lead, will not be an easy one.” He hoped his kindness and his willingness to discard tradition would not throw the world into endless chaos.
D’rmas smiled.
Finally got your challenge, Hermon thought.
“I do not know what fate holds for you all,” Techle continued. “But all of you have destinies, paths set out for you that you must follow. Be safe, my friends. The world is going into a state of disarray. Evil has already entered the hearts of men and clans are rising against clans. Do not get trapped in it. Most importantly, be successful.”
“We will keep that in mind,” Siem replied.
Techle gave them a word of blessing, one with roots in the ancient magic of those who had walked the land several millennia ago.
“Mo sa el,” Techle said.
“Mo sa el,” they all replied.
He gave them one last farewell smile before he stepped back into the portal.
“That there is a fine gentleman,” Mikko said.
“Indeed,” D’rmas replied, his eyes still fixed to the spot Techle was standing in moments ago. “And a nice house too.”
The comment roused a measure of small laughter among the men. Hermon could not help letting out a mild chuckle.
As Eldana approached the horses, she whispered magic words of illumination. “Merai,”
Immediately, the air around the horses softened into a mild silver glow, revealing the creatures. Eldana felt a stab of sadness and nostalgia at the use of the spell. It was a trick Sinto had taught her back then when things were all good between them. Now Sinto was leading a group of warrior magicians to kill her. Eldana tried to swipe thoughts of him away. Now that Sinto’s intentions were clear, if she ever faced him again in battle, it would be with cold, rigid emotions and the self-sustaining desire to see his head fell off his neck rather than hers.
The horses were impressive, beasts of thick, refined musculature and noble carriage. They stomped their feet and snorted as the group drew closer.
“Easy,” Eldana cooed. “Easy.” She stretched forth her hands in a calming gesture while she stepped closer.
“Wow, she’s good.” Mikko commended.
“Yeah, she should be,” Hermon said. “She practically grew up around horses.”
“If it were me, I would not take the time to bring them into submission. A simple control spell should do the trick,” Mikko said.
“Not Eldana,” Hermon replied. “She is averse to binding animals without their will.”
“A good story,” D’rmas chipped in. “But horses are horses.”
“Not to Eldana,” Hermon said. “She prefers them when they are companions. The assurance of their loyalty is certain that way.”
D’rmas grunted.
Eldana placed her hand on the head of the first horse to her right, a maroon mare with patches of white and a luxurious mane. She looked up at it and smiled. “Hello,” she said. “I’m Eldana. I’m going to call you Betsy.”
Betsy pushed her head closer to Eldana’s palm.
“I’ve found mine already.” She called out to the company.
For the rest of the group, picking a horse was a thing of little circumstance now that they had all been calmed. Siem picked a black steed that she named Harold. Hermon and the rest of the men did not bother assigning names to theirs. As soon as they were all settled, they spurred the horses into a trot, and soon they moved into the woods.
The woods of Ciroc, as the people in the city center called it, was a massive expanse of thick, giant trees. The ground was always carpeted with dead leaves – even when the trees were not deciduous – and shrubs – which burst with life, even when
