“The Conqueror!? You’re kidding,” Kiva shouted, practically pushing him off of Blithe’s saddle with how close she was pressed against him.
Immediately after the Conqueror’s leaving, Walibeld had shown up, bloodied and wounded, but alive. Apparently, both him and Falifar had done a significant amount of damage to the demon, neither side really edging out the other, before it simply sunk back into the ground once it started to shake, Falfiar continuing on his journey further east. It seemed that the Conqueror’s presence that day had saved both their group and Walibeld’s, truly what a marvel he was.
It had been a week since that day, and thanks to Kiva’s aid, most of them were in decent shape, not enough to fight, but enough to move around without coughing up blood. Millie had particularly worried Trenton, the wounds something he wasn’t sure if she could even recover from, but she was not only managing, she was thriving. After she came to later that night, she spilled everything to Trenton, what they’d done to her at the temple, how terrified she was, how alone she felt, and Trenton comforted her, reminding her that he was always there for her. It was small, but it seemed to do the trick, and just in time, too. They were nearing Avar, so they’d need everyone to be on their guard. Cities had proved to be especially dangerous thus far, even though Avar was supposed to be akin to an impenetrable fortress from outside forces, it was best to be cautious going in.
“No, I’m not. Like I said, he’s the only reason any of us are still alive…well, except for maybe Walibeld,” Trenton said, glancing back at Walibeld, who was standing looking off into the distance behind them.
“What was he like?” Millie said, pressing Trenton from the other side, her eyes full of wonder.
“A monster,” Garrote said, plopping down behind them, forming a makeshift circle with Kiva and Millie. “He killed the three demons while walking in a straight line. Hell, he barely even broke pace. I know the kings are supposed to be strong, but…it’s still unbelievable to think people like them really exist,” Garrote looked up at Trenton, a glimmer in his eyes. “It’s inspiring! If they did it, then why can’t we? We’re supposed to have a lot of potential, right? What’s stopping us?”
“You and Leo are fives, he never said anything about Millie or me,” Kiva said, crossing her arms and turning her head away.
“Yeah well, Leo and I are fives, you’re probably a four, and Trenton’s all of the above,” Garrote said, beaming at Kiva and Trenton, “so really, we have a great crew assembled here.”
“Thanks, that really boosts my confidence,” Kiva said, rolling her eyes.
“It’s what I do, no need to thank me,” Garrote replied, holding his hands up.
“You two are fives?” Karfice asked, sitting up and yawning, looking back and forth between Leo and Garrote.
“That’s what Yusadel said,” Garrote shrugged.
“Then he had a good eye. Leo and Garrote, you're both fives, Kiva’s a four, and Trenton is…confusing. Although, that’s just based on assumption. Without the actual tests, it’s impossible to be certain,” Walibeld spoke up, not bothering to turn around.
“What about me?” Karfice said, laying back down and staring up at the sky. “Never had anyone test me before.”
“Hard to say. I can say with certainty you’re at least a four, but I can’t really tell beyond that. The only reason I can be so confident with Leo and Garrote is because they stand out quite a bit. There are few men whose flames are strong enough to burn their own skin, and even fewer that make it to the point of managing a zenith cast. But there’s none in the world, in all my life, that have been able to summon that much magic with so little experience, let alone live to tell the tale. Most pyromancers wouldn’t have even had a body left behind if they held inferno for half as long,” Walibeld said, walking over to them and sitting down, seemingly satisfied with his watch shift.
“Inferno?” Kiva asked, scratching her head.
“That’s right,” Raligoth butt in, taking over for Walibeld. “Most spells are unimportant, but the big ones, zenith casts, get names. Inferno is the most basic zenith pyromancer cast in existence, the first one ever discovered. It’s just summoning a condensed well of flame as hot as you possibly can, nothing fancy.”
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“But fanciness doesn’t really matter when it comes to fighting. The only thing that matters is results. And…and…” Karfice said, nodding off into the dream world.
“And as far as results are concerned,” Walibeld picked up, finishing Karfice’s thoughts, “Leo managed exactly what he sought out to do, whether he realizes it or not,” Walibeld stared down Trenton, his eye contact not wavering for even a moment.
“I’m gonna be honest,” Garrote said, looking down at Leo’s charred body, “I really don’t think he’s really been realizing much of anything lately.”
“Stop! Don’t say that!” Millie shouted, running over to Garrote and hitting him over the head.
“Okay, okay. I’m sorry.”
“You could-” Kiva started, the rest of the group resuming their banter. But Trenton wasn’t focused on whatever it was they were discussing, his mind drawn to something a little more present. They had just crested a hill in their path, jumping over a gap to continue forward, and in front of them, barely visible through the dense covering of snow, looked to be a massive set of steel double doors built into a mountainside, a gate bigger than Trenton had ever seen before.
“What’s that?” Trenton called back to Walibeld, pointing forward at the doors.
“Ah, it looks like we’ve arrived. That is what we’ve been looking for this entire time, the entrance to Avar,” Walibeld said plainly, looking rather pleased with how everything played out.
“That’s Avar!? The city in the mountains?” Kiva said, clearly taken aback.
“Close, but not quite. ‘The city in the mountain’ not mountains. The entire city is built within that mountain over there, mount Rosvisch. Was that not common knowledge?” Walibeld asked, genuinely curious.
“I remember the saying going “city in the mountains” as well, but I’m not surprised. We’re so far away from the city, words were probably minced along the way. A lot easier to keep your head straight when you’ve actually visited it before,” Trenton said, steering them up to the front of the doors. It was an intricate piece of work, lacking the grated slots one would expect of a city gate. Although, there also wasn’t a wall or soldiers anywhere in sight, the natural mountain walls taking care of all defense needs, so it really wasn’t conventional by any means.
“Yes, well, I’ve visited many places in my time. You can hardly blame me for not keeping all the facts straight,” Walibeld sighed, hopping off of Blithe and approaching the doors.
“What massive doors,” Garrote said, shifting back and forth in place. “This is going to be marvelous.”
“No wandering off on your own, and that applies to everyone. We need to stick together, especially since you’re all still wounded. I can’t protect you if you go running off,” Trenton scolded, dampening Garrote’s spirit before it could roam wild.
“Stick close to you? I could live with that,” Kiva said, rubbing shoulders with Trenton. “For safety, of course.”
“For safety. What else would we be doing?” Trenton replied. He hadn’t fully consolidated his feelings, but he could use the company. And really, what was the harm in it, anyway? He just had to keep moving forward, let go of the past, his anguish, his pain. It was hard, but he would manage. He’d been doing it all this time, already, so what was a little more?
“Get a room you two,” Karfice said, rising to a standing position, his eye focused on the doors.
“Huh?” Garrote said, glancing back and forth between Karfice, Kiva, and Trenton. “Oh. Ooooooooooh. That makes a lot more sense…” Garrote said, suddenly realizing why Kiva had been acting so weird lately. His head locked onto Karfice, his eyes sparkling with something new, “Do you think there’s dwarves in there?” He asked, completely brushing past Trenton and Kiva.
“Yes,” Karfice said.
“Hell yeah.”
In front of them, the doors suddenly glowed with a massive blue runic symbol, whatever Walibeld had been doing this whole time taking effect. Trenton hadn’t been paying too much attention, but as long as they could get into the city, it didn’t really matter. Slowly, pushing snow out of its path, the doors opened outwards, Trenton backing them up to ensure they wouldn’t get hit. When the doors had opened to their fullest, they clicked into place, holding open for them to enter, the black cavernous abyss in front of them daunting.
“Follow me,” Walibeld said, waving them forward into the darkness.