“Vendrick approached us right away, we hadn’t even heard the growls before he started issuing evacuation orders. We were out there for a long time.”

"So what? You make it sound like we wanted to be separated from you guys while that thing appeared."

“No, not at all! That’s not what I’m saying. It’s just… I find it hard to believe that it is all there is to it.” Tristan said. “The three of you haven’t necessarily been the most talkative the last few days, so me and Viktoria can only speculate.”

"There's not much more to tell," said Jin.

“You can’t be serious! Try telling me that again but with a straight face this time around. The main square was in an entirely different state since we left… Half the houses turned into rubble and ashes.”

“We could only tell we had reached Ferris because the north gate had remained open. It wasn’t easy to find our way back to you.,”said Viktoria. "so by the time we got close the noise had suddenly ceased and we just had to follow the smoke in our path."

“So stop pretending that you were unconscious for this instance once again, how did it feel when you were locked in combat? You have never encountered a Feral Behemoth before in your life, given that you were a purist since birth.” said Tristan.

"A Devourer no less, how did it look like?" said Viktoria.

"It's hard to describe, and to be frank I don't want to talk about it."

“Oh come on. If you could describe you encountered in one word, what would it be?”

Jin slowly glanced at Tristan with a scowl carving his face, "Look I understand that you guys are curious about how it went down, but it's already hard enough to sleep at night without reminiscing how we pulled through."

Grimacing and still not satisfied with what he had heard from Jin, Tristan turned to Eliza.

A faint voice almost like a murmur from the rear answered the curious couple, offering Jin the chance he needed to move forward in silence. Recounting those events from memory would make him boil from the inside out, mental pictures still fresh in memory.

“As the name implies, it didn't have a humanoid form. Well, not entirely. The torso was human, but it didn’t exactly move as one. It seemed like every one of our attacks caused more annoyance than pain. The body was massive, and although it bled... It didn’t slow down until Vendrick arrived." said Eliza.

Tristan knew from the start that he would get more answers from Eliza given her chatty behavior. However, from her appearance, she had been by far the most affected by the combat with the Devourer. Since last week, she had always been the first to go to sleep and the last to wake up before they continued on their journey back to Sanctum. At first, he had thought it was just a coincidence, but her skin had taken on a pale contrast and her movements as she walked were much stiffer since the battle. Almost as if she was consciously having to correct her posture with every step to keep up the appearances.

It had been twelve days since the battle and yet Eliza's voice still faltered when she spoke for a long time. That's why every time he attempted to have her talk, Viktoria would interject by elbowing some sense into Tristan.

“Oh really? How did you guys beat that massive thing then if it— Ouch, never mind no need to answer!”

Tristan concluded as he hopped uncomfortably in one foot to compose himself.

“Thank you, that was very insightful Liza!” She gracefully thanked the girl, as Viktoria pushed Tristan the farthest she could.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

***

As the group made its way across the southern province of Fornas, more warriors draped in different colored cloaks crossed past them in the opposite direction. And the frequency of these encounters grew tenfold in the last days as they approached Sanctum. To Jin those faces were just blurred, none of which had names attached to them in his memories.

Yet his brother who walked beside him greeted each of them amiably as if they had been known for years. And by the reaction of the other groups, the feeling was mutual and for Jin it was almost comical.

The mere thought that his older brother would be battling demons twice his size and risking his life for the good of humanity just to go home and ask his younger brother if anything interesting had happened in Kaban while he was away was uncomfortable, if not revolting.

"Hey brother, are the missions from Sanctum always this dangerous?"

Vendrick's gaze gleamed gold with the question.

“It’s up to the Council of High Elders to gather the requests from all over the kingdom and judge how dangerous they may become. Most of the time I'm able to cherry-pick the types of missions that I go on, as well as who to take with me. However, this mission was different in several ways, and I'm certainly going to voice my complaints to the Council.”

"How so?"

“Firstly I was personally approached to become the squad leader, which makes me believe the High Elders were under the impression that this was not a request they could sit on. The scroll given to me reported that there were animal disappearances in the surrounding area but they failed to mention the human ones.”

“We only heard that people were missing once we started talking to the villagers.”

“Correct, but by then it was too late. We were already there and sunset would soon follow setting the stage for the battle. Had I known beforehand about the people that went missing, I would not have taken you, or your group with me.”

"Maybe the Devourer scaled in aggression." Suggested Jin. “Started feasting on animals in the wilderness, absorbing animals and taking them in their former appearance and abilities. The villagers started getting wary, and asked Sanctum for help.”

"That is certainly an optimistic theory on the matter, and I envy your naiveness for treasuring it, brother."

“All of you please stay behind me. We are not done with our mission just yet.” Ordered Vendrick to his group.

Jin carried with him the strangeness in his eyes, not remembering having entered Sanctum by the same path he was taking now. And with good reason, since he was arriving on his father's carriage, at the time having direct access from the East Gate, however, now they were approaching from the north.

On his first visit here he hadn't had the right time to explore everything as calmly as he wanted, having to move on to the ritual almost immediately. Sprinkling anxiety all over his body, he barely had time to mentally map the location, and what each area represented, a mistake he wouldn't make again.

“This is the Northern Gate, one of the three entrances to Sanctum. You may find it odd that there aren’t any guards watching over the gate, but that’s because of the physical nature of the defenses surrounding it.”

"I don’t get it. If there’s no one watching the gate, how can invasions through here be stopped?"

"This is the greatest defense out of them all, regardless of how many men garrison it. Such defense does not distinguish between friend and foe, the perfect challenge for the lot of you that were complaining from the lack of action seen." Said Vendrick as his voice echoed further and further until it was no longer his.

Tristan could not believe his ears. The first corridor from the main gate was a narrow, dark path. A claustrophobic feeling that extended for twenty steps. The icy, ancient walls had illegible writings and symbols on both sides inscribed in stone. Running his finger over those slits as he walked with a carefree face made his fingertips tingle. And the more his tips roamed those cracks in the wall marked in history, the more restless and uncomfortable he felt. It seemed to him that at any moment those walls might intrude upon them, and if he stayed silent long enough he was pretty sure he could hear disembodied voices, whispers that his ears could not yet just filter into words. On the twenty-first step, he felt a great weight lift off his back.

A wide area opened up with hundreds of figures carrying various types of weapons, their bodies covered in colorful cloaks. Clothes that were adorned in various jewels, crystals, and insignias varying from person to person. While comparing what they were wearing to Vendrick and all those people, they realized they were the only ones wearing heavy armor. They looked like barbarians as if they didn’t fit in.

“Do they have a place to change clothes around here?” asked Tristan.

“Oh, they have everything and much more.” said Vendrick.

Taking his eyes to the highest point, he could count six levels or floors to the very top. Seven if he considers the area where the Hall of Trial is, below ground.

“I want to explore this place more, there’s much for me to see around here. I have barely seen anything above the second floor,” argued Tristan.

"Can we roam around?" Impatiently asked Jin.

"Not yet, The Council of Sages await us."