Eliza's party could finally see the walls that defended Lumostib. Large camps settled right outside the city, makeshift watchtowers were present and the path to the main entrance was filled with refugees.

A man-made wooden fence was created near the watchtowers. A secondary wall that was only there to provide a new layer of protection for those that were stuck outside of the city. Only soldiers, spellcasters and nobles were allowed into the main city.

The wagons that they brought with them brought attention to their small group.

"Halt!" A guard stopped them. "Identify yourself and state your business!"

"I am Natalie, A Mage formerly serving under the Capital." Out of all of them her badge was the highest, showing Eliza's would blow their cover.

Eliza wore a hood, she was riding one of the wagons. One that was being pulled by the large Retang.

"We are here to do business and to send a messenger bird to report our findings." She then motioned for the guard to look at her party. "We have suffered greatly, the original squads fell to only this number."

The guard upon confirming the identity of the mage needed nothing else. Impeding a mage from the capital was not part of his job description. "You may proceed, Madam Mage!"

Natalie gave the man a glance before motioning for the rest to follow. The guards could sense the level of aura that the members of her squad were drawing out. 'An elite squadron reduced to this… The world really has gone to shit.'

They were easily provided access to the city, upon which they all had different businesses to attend to. Splitting into two groups when they finally chose an inn to settle into.

Harak and Retang were with Natalie, they pulled the wagons and were noe headed for the marketplace. Selling loot is something that Retang was used to while Natalie was someone that was well acquainted with mathematics. Harak simply followed wherever Natalie headed and they needed the extra muscle for the second wagon.

Eliza joined Varmoot and Tarik as they headed for the healing centre. It was much easier to get aid at such a place due to their backgrounds as soldiers. Getting a priest to heal them would take a long time due to all of the civilians heading there for a free session.

Varmoot, who lost an eye, held no hope in his mind that he would still gain sight from it. He joined Tarik on the trip to aid in his sprained left leg instead. The constant movement in his technique paired with his impaired vision made his depth perception drop slightly. Old moves became a bit harder to do and he slipped up a few times during combat.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Tarik who has been fighting with only one arm for the past two weeks has been waiting for this moment. They both flashed their captain's badges at the entrance of the establishment before heading in. While the two of them rushed inside Eliza observed the city.

Lumostib was known for one more thing aside from the nobles that ruled it. Architecture, the structure of even the simplest of houses was food for the eye. Instead of the regular wood or random stone, brick houses were common even for buildings in the poorer parts. Sculptures of prominent figures littered the streets, one in almost every intersection.

Eliza's eyes lit up in excitement for a second but she managed to calm herself down right after. 'I'll see better things in the future, I'll be able to observe them freely too… for now we just need to get past this city and head for the ports.'

She headed for a nearby food stall, one that served skewered mutton. She spent about half an hour on waiting for the two to finish their visit. 'The sooner we get out of here, the better. I need everything to go smoothly.'

"It's nice to see that you can use both of your arms again." Eliza commented, happy to see that her party member was back to full strength. She handed each of them a skewer.

"Hahaha, with the use of both of them I can go all out again." Tarik laughed before grabbing a bite. "This city seems like a good place to stay."

"Indeed, if only we didn't have other plans." Varmoot replied before saying the next sentence in a whisper. "They've been following us since we left the tavern."

"If they wanted a fight, they should have done so before we finished our visit to a healer." Tarik licked his lips before biting down on another piece of meat.

"How many of them are there?" Eliza asked, her mana and aura sense are good but the most sensitive among them is the archer, Varmoot.

"At least five." Varmoot replied.

"Dang you're good, I could only count the first three." Tarik commended him.

"We can lead them to an area with less eyes, I'm sure that we can take out a few rats." Varmoot's eyes darted around trying to check for more.

One of the figures that observed them began to walk directly towards their group. Tarik moved forward ready for a confrontation, while Eliza and Varmoot eyed the man. With sleek black hair, a long mustache and a suit this man would look unassuming for most civilians. To combatants on the other hand the aura he released alone was enough to make them quake in their boots.

"It appears that you have noticed our little welcoming party, I must apologize." The man gave them a bow.

"What business do you have with our party?" Tarik asked, his smile was already gone now. Only a serious expression was plastered on his face.

"We mean you no harm, I am only here as a representative of Young Master Blake." The man in a black suit took out a handkerchief from his pocket, a white one that showed the insignia of a black lizard. "Third son of House Vlagoslov, He expects us to greet guests that come from the capital. We would like to give you a formal invitation to his manor, two nights from now."

"I see." Tarik replied. 'Natalie's our supposed leader, this man should have given this to her if he's that well-informed.'

"Our leader is off at the marketplace you see. We will have to deliberate on this invitation with her, due to the orders that we are currently under." Varmoot spoke up, he was staring at the insignia on the handkerchief.

"But of course, your mission should take priority after all." The representative responded. "But do take the letter of invitation, I will be ready to inform the young master of your reply by tomorrow."

'That throws being lowkey out of the window. They've had eyes on us from the start.' Eliza's right eye twitched. The party headed for the inn soon after.