In just a moment, they were in the fortress.

Vell's appearance caused quite an uproar among the people who recognized him.

The unaware kept silence or were confused about why a single mage could have such commotion.

But Vell ignored them.

This is why he'd rather be undercover or just wholly alone. He didn't like being judged by his reputation instead of the content of his character.

But Sonder seemed to enjoy it. She felt like royalty. People moved their eyes toward her and asked themselves who the young lady was and why she was accompanying the Dread Mage, the famed loner.

As other famous mages were, Vell was given a special escort to where he and Sonder would sit.

They were guided into the fortress, and there were large round tables, enough for hundreds of visitors, set up in a giant hall.

Small blue orbs hovered in the air above them to give them light, and the ceiling was enchated to show an image of a false sky, drenched in the twilight of a dying sunset.

The two of them were some of the last guests to arrive, so the proceedings were quick in their eyes.

They were seated close to the front, where a stage had been set up, if anyone wanted to hold a speech or any other small presentation.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Vell asked Hiraeth if he wanted to come out of the bag because he was also a guest, and the sprite did, taking a small chair with him, which he set up in between Vel and Sonder's side of the table.

Some mage went to the stage, most likely a representative of the Lodge, and held a small speech, just the generic, 'Thank you for coming' and 'Enjoy your stay'. Vell didn't really listen; instead, he scanned the room, searching for any Irathy, and he spotted a few of them.

Far in the back, three were sitting, closly huddled together.

A good sign. That meant that they weren't wasting their time coming here, as Irath was watching, maybe even scouting.

A light tip on his shoulder snapped Vell out of his obversing, right as food and drink were delivered to every table.

There were many different methods, from food just being conjured up in the plates and bowls to many different types of food flying to the tables, stopping if someone called for them.

One thicker mage raised his hand and voice and called, "I want a giant beef steak!"

And a big piece of meat flew to his table and landed with a heavy thud on his plate, which wasn't nearly big enough to hold it all, spilling over the sides.

The person who tapped Vell on the shoulder was the guest that was seated next to him on his right side.

Just like Vell, the mage looked regal, but he had an embroided coat of arms proudly displayed on the right-hand side of his robe. He looked human.

And a bad feeling washed over Vell as he recognized from which country he was from.

"What brings the Dread Mage here?" He asked, and his voice was clearly aggitated.

"This is an event for all magekind, is it not? Do I not qualify?" Vell said.

The mage clearly didn't like Vell, and he called to one of the people who were serving as servants.

"I demand this man be removed from this table, or better yet, this whole function!"

"Now, now. I'm sure we can behave like gentlemen." Vell said, trying to calm him down.