Magna: “Yeah, that's it, damn shit. Come on, we have to move on, you know where we are again. I mean, damn it, how did you survive up here for so long. ”

Bard didn't seem to answer, which essentially didn't matter, because escape was the number one priority. In fact, he doubted that very many of those who went up from the camp survived. Only at night did it seem really safe. Finally he reached forward with his magic as far as he could so he could sculpt a space under the floor. Neither of them had her eye on her at the moment. He should have done this much earlier. Hell, maybe, looking back, he should have followed the damn river to the waterfall and just jumped, but you didn't always make the best options.

On the other hand, you quickly forget your skills. He still wasn't completely used to all this magic stuff. Bard was about to continue walking after stopping without paying attention to him. Instead of allowing him, he grabbed his neck collar just as he shot past him.

Whereupon he was practically withdrawn and fell: Damn it, why are we stopping at Magna. Have you lost your mind

Magna was silent and simply pointed to the floor. A moment later it parted, revealing a prepared staircase into an underground room.

Magna: “In there. We won't make this race. That had been bloody close before. We'll wait for the night. "

Bard looked at the floor in disbelief. Shook his head briefly, only to disappear into the room shortly afterwards. Leica and Magna jumped right after him as the earth closed behind them. In the room he lit his lumen, whereupon he used the time to further shape the room, to create a side room. His damn mana wasn't endless, it tended to regenerate very quickly, but still. It could also be used up faster than how to refill it. Besides, he wasn't going to share a room with another man.

Bard: Why two rooms?

Magna: Because I don't sleep in the same room with you?

Bard: Do you want to sleep?

Magna: Do you have a damn better idea what we're doing in the meantime? No, don't even think about it. Not in a thousand years.

Bard: What, don't you? I don't have that. How come you damn it. How can you sleep after we've been running for so long?

Magna: What else should I do? I've been up so damn long now. I need a few hours of sleep and every situation is a sleep situation.

Finally, after hearing Leica growl, Bard moved into his area. What had he gotten into again? Why was he helping this guy? Well, information was probably a reason for him. He was able to gather some important information about the place through him.

He asked Leica to keep watch, they would take turns, but after he switched off he was overwhelmed by the bloody fatigue. It didn't take much more for him to just lean against the wall until sleep just overwhelmed him.

After a few alternating awake, like sleep phases, night should already have fallen outside. After a look outside, which confirmed this to him, he started to slip out of the hole. Behind him came a tired nobleman, and finally a Leica. From there they could move relatively safely to the point where he stepped onto the plateau, from here he could either bring him down, but decided to pass on and bring him to the climbing hooks of his people.

A few hours later, as expected, he could make out some tents in the distance. Bard asked him a couple of times how he could see so well in the dark, but he just dismissed it with coincidences or that he could generally see better at night because he had gotten used to it over the years. In fact, a bright night has always been much more pleasant.

The moment he told him about the tents nearby, the nobleman's face lit up, although he had never told him what he was looking for in a place like this in the middle of nowhere, but it was enough for him to know what he was looking for.

There was indeed something like activity in the camp. Ironically, people seemed to be still alive there. Hadn't they explored the place further? Did they send out scouts? Haven't the creatures noticed you yet?

Stumbling into a camp full of armed strangers at night didn't seem like the best idea, but waiting for sunrise wasn't an option either. Anyway, basically he could leave Bard to do it himself.

Magna: “I think we part ways here. Bard, it was nice to meet you. Hopefully you will get home safely. "

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Before he could move, however, he felt something cold metallic on his neck.

Unknown: “You're not going anywhere.”

Not even Leica had seen, heard or even felt this stranger. Out of nowhere he found himself with a blade at his neck. Well, no good deed went unpunished.

Unknown: “Are you all right, Bard? Your father will be glad to see you safe again. "

Bard: " Let them go. Unlike you, she really saved my ass. ”

Unknown: “ Are you sure young lord? ”

Bard:“Young lord? Has something happened to my brother? ”

Unknown: “ Your brother has been missing since the battle with the lizardmen migration. You are now the incumbent Earl of House Astoria! "

Bard: " That is terrible! "

The stranger took his blade from Magna's neck, whereupon the latter exhaled sharply: " WoW, thank you, I must probably regard this as the favor owed. I thank you most humbly, for my life, young lord. ” His whole voice was oozing with blatant sarcasm. Whereupon Bard actually started laughing. A bitter, but still a laugh.

Unknown: "How dare you ..."

Bard: "Enough, Lark, that's enough. She's my guest. ”

Magna: “ Then I can't just leave when I've received such a charming invitation. ”

Bard: “ Huh? ”

Magna: “ Your choice of words. I am your guest. In earnest. I've only been eating dried meat for weeks. I'd die for some fruit or vegetable! ”

He hated politics and whatever it was, but it stank a hundred miles against the wind. On the other hand, he hadn't eaten anything but meat in weeks. Well, he liked to think of himself as carnivores, but eating meat without spices had become enough meat for him for a long time. He was also able to get some information out of this situation and with these over-cautious servants at his side he couldn't get very far anyway. Somehow he doubted that this servant was following orders so closely or not following him to his home.

Bard: "Well, then I can at least catch up on the etiquette."

Lark: “I would advise against it, young lord. Our job is to bring them back as soon as possible. Your house is currently in an unstable political situation. "

Bard: “Are you contradicting me Lark?”

Lark answered unwillingly through clenched teeth: “Of course not, young lord. As you command. ”

Together they walked into the camp, Leica simply trudging along beside them. Lark took the young lord aside. His furtive glances on him indicated that he seemed to be questioning the young lord about him. In retrospect, he couldn't blame him for his mistrust, would he have acted differently in such a situation?

Bard just seemed relieved to find himself in relative safety again. Their arrival at the camp was greeted by a larger group of people who could hardly have been more different. A few clearly looked like servants, personal strengths or even knights, while the others exuded the same flair as the people in the camp that he spied on beforehand.

Part of him just wanted to go back to his comfortable home. Well, at least in his new home. Far away from social politics. Especially one of the servants? Maybe knights too? Different feelings were evident from the whole group. The mercenaries seemed happy to leave this place soon, some servants and their own forces were happy about the arrival of the young Highborn Earl. On the other hand, another faction seemed to be bothered by it. As much as they tried to hide it, the simple signs of lying were very easy to spot, the looking away, the nervous postures.

Especially this one knight who almost had to squeeze his luck between his clenched teeth at finding it. If Magna didn't know better, there was also an interest in not finding the young lord. Inwardly he wanted to sigh. Presumably it had been a mistake to enter this camp after all.

He himself only got suspicious eyes, both from the servants and the mercenaries. At least he didn't have to hide the fact that he was a foreign body in this illustrious group. Visibly unaffected by this, he said a friendly hello to the group in his most innocent female voice. At least he could use his new appearance to soften her caution towards him, if not exactly an about-face.

For his personal safety, he stayed by Bard's side for the time being, keeping a proper distance. Leica, on the other hand, was walking right next to him. There was no doubt in his mind that this group could overwhelm him in no time.

Bard took him to the largest tent around, where he was soon arguing with the man named Lark, a fairly sturdy woman and a couple of men who looked like knights over a table. Leica lay down at his feet. He could only understand scraps of their discussion, but was also much more preoccupied with the bowl of fruit that was handed to him.

Magna was not impressed by the atmosphere, instead he was busy assessing the different fruits. Eventually he was forced to remove his mask in order to consume the food. The taste of one of these fruits reminded him of an apple, but that was what this fruit had in common with it.

Everything else seemed extremely strange, the fruit itself was blue in color and reminded him a lot more of pears.

The sturdier woman pointed in his direction a few times while he happily nibbled on a fruit. He tried to look as innocent as possible, although the black coat, like the other items of his equipment, did not necessarily contribute to it. Even the massive wolf at his feet did not seem to match this picture.

Bard seemed to be explaining something to the woman again, while he looked in Lark's direction again whereupon his face grimaced in annoyance. Inwardly he had to wonder whether they were planning their retreat or whether something else was up in the bush - because the moment he walked past the table he could only see an empty mirror. There were no drawings on it, it just seemed to be empty, not even the people around it were reflected in it.

Satisfied, he stroked Leica, preferring to scratch her behind the ears. She even made a happy noise, if he hadn't known better, then he would have thought Leica would have started purring.

There were some awed voices from the discussion after Bard apparently finished his report. A couple of the knights seemed to fall silent. The somewhat more robust woman seemed, from what he could hear, to lead the group of mercenaries. She seemed dissatisfied with something Bard was bringing up. Did Bard want to do this all over again? Has anything changed? The woman's expression reminded him of workers being told to take an extra shift. He had seen this look in some people his whole life. One of the knights had a joyful expression and seemed to want to encourage the young lord in his plan.

The more robust woman seemed to want to speak again, only to fall silent again at the same moment. In the next moment it seemed that everyone began to stare intently at the paper in front of them. Something had suddenly changed in the surrounding air and Magna was also affected, because at the same moment he choked on his next bite, which made him cough after a quiet "shit" crept between his teeth.

Magna: "Not again ..."