Chapter 107: Dwarven reunion (Second Part)

“Get a room, you two!”

We all respected this emotional meeting happening in front of our eyes until the stern dwarf covered in scars next to me suddenly broke this moment with a cavernous voice though not devoid of amusement.

Jazor immediately sent him an annoyed glance, but as if suddenly recalling where they were, Zena hurriedly separated from Jazor. My Dwarven friend was certainly not as embarrassed as his partner but conceded that this wasn’t the right place for this kind of thing. We all awkwardly looked at each other and scrambled in silence to each grab a seat to cram around the table that was now too small for our group.

I found myself stuck between the scarred Dwarf — whose name I didn’t know — and Kakuz: the most elegant among our mismatched group.

I waited in silence for the man responsible for this gathering to speak, but Jazor as usual betrayed my expectations as he was busy murmuring something into Zena’s ear. Whatever he had to say to her, it made the female dwarf blush and laugh in equal measure.

“So… I’m glad to see you in good health my dear Jazor, but you didn’t call all of us here just for our merry group to be reunited once again?” finally intervened Kakuz to my relief.

Being the only one who wasn’t a Dwarf made it difficult for me to say anything to this group of strangers, half of whom were still looking at me out of the corner of their eyes with interest.

“And maybe you can properly introduce this child while we’re at it,” added Zena who had regained her seriousness.

“You can call him sis…”

“Sillath,” I interrupted forcefully, knowing perfectly well what Jazor’s next words were going to be. “My name is Sillath, and Jazor indeed saved me while inside the wilderness. We traveled together with a small group after the fall of our Advanced town and finally managed to reach this city yesterday,” I explained succinctly, sparring Jazor from this task that could take a non-negligible amount of time with him as the narrator.

“Don’t say it like that, you’re ruining our adventures and my heroism!” complained Jazor, and giving me the confirmation I needed that he initially intended to make his tale unnecessarily long and incredibly partial toward his own accomplishment.

“I want to hear this story,” added Taz, who somehow ended up the farthest from the table where his half-finished meal still awaited him.

“Another time, Taz. We don’t have all day, our shift starts soon.”

Zena's words immediately dampened Taz's enthusiasm and caused the scarred dwarf to lower his hand — which he had raised to call a waiter — with regret.

“Alright, alright…” finally conceded Jazor before clearing his throat. “I called all of you because I can’t stay long in this city, and will need your help to leave,” he finally declared concisely.

“Why? You’ve just arrived somewhere safe,” immediately blurted out Kakuz on my left as he suddenly leaned closer to Jazor who was sitting just in front of him on the other side of the squared table. Something he regretted instantly as his long beard, carefully trimmed and braided, generously dipped into Taz’s mug of beer as a result. With a look of clear disgust, Kakuz backed away but maintained his eyes fixed on Jazor, waiting for his answer.

“Safe?” mocked Jazor with a small derisive laugh. “There is no such thing as ‘safe’ inside the wilderness. Not before and certainly not now,” he sneered in a somber tone uncharacteristic of him.

“I don’t know how bad it’s out there, but the situation is under control here,” persisted Kakuz while trying to dry his beard soaked with beer.

“Really? Then what about all these greenhorns patrolling the streets? Where are the real soldiers? Where are the true mages?” insisted Jazor.

“True, the initial rush surprised everyone and cost the lives of many good soldiers and powerful mages,” conceded Kakuz. “Many innocents died as well, but we are now well prepared and as long as the wall stands strong, the first Advanced town will not fall,” he declared assertively.

“I thought so too before coming back, but with so few proper mages, I’m starting to have doubts.”

Kakuz opened his mouth once again, but before he had the time to answer, Zena signaled him to let her do the talking. With a gracious sign of the head, Kakuz accepted. Zena looked around the table for a brief instant to see if anyone else objected, but the scarred dwarf was too busy devouring Taz’s leftover meal in front of his reproachful gaze to care.

“Nearly three months ago, the wrath of the wilderness happened without any prior sign, so everyone was caught unprepared, us included. We somehow managed to stand our ground thanks to the magical wall of the city, but the other camps and Advanced towns weren’t as lucky as us. We have lost contact so a few may still be standing, but I doubt that. Without all these relays across the wilderness, we are now mostly blind. As a result, the risk of an invasion of the Dorell Kingdom, our home the Red mountain, or of the Great forest of the North by creatures from the wilderness is a real possibility requiring the mobilization of as many competent mages and soldiers as possible.”

“That’s why more than half of our surviving troops were redeployed elsewhere along with most of the strongest mages of the city,” supplemented the scarred dwarf with his mouth half-full.

“What about this city?” I interrupted. “Things may be calm for now, but the mana continues to rise and rampage across the land making a near end of this wrath of the wilderness a pipe dream. With so few people to defend it, things could turn ugly pretty quickly.”

“For starters, we know that things are not that calm as we underwent a massive attack a few days ago. Many good people died that day. Second, we are also aware that things are not going to calm down anytime soon, but Kakuz is right. With the wall of this city, we don’t need that many soldiers to defend the town. Our defenses are now solid, probably much more than anywhere else on the continent. That’s why a large number of our soldiers and mages were redeployed including the true Saint mages. In fact, right now Jazor is probably the strongest mage inside the city or at least among the very best,” Zena concluded with a wry smile.

“I know I’m the best,” Jazor immediately replied with a laugh more nervous than he probably initially intended after the end of Zena’s explanation. “What about the three fortresses? They don’t have many soldiers, but the strongest mages are there and that’s without even talking about the council of Master mages gathered in them. Don’t tell me those old monsters are sitting on their arses?”

“Don’t talk like that, Jazor,” suddenly intervened the scarred Dwarf who had already finished eating. “Master mages should be respected. You of all people should know it,” he admonished with a severe face making his scars look even more profound.

“You’re talking about my future balls-breaker teacher?”

“Jazor!” Zena reproached. “You know what happened the last time you called her that!”

As if remembering a particularly unpleasant memory, Jazor shuddered, something he rarely did even in a life or death situation, which was enough to make me wonder who this Master mage was they were talking about. If I understood what I heard correctly, then she was Zena’s mother and Jazor’s master.

Apparently, Kakuz had noticed my confused look as he added in a whisper for me alone to hear.

“She’s the head of our tribe inside the Red mountain. One of the five Master mages of the Dwarven race and probably the most powerful among them all. Even the Ryunno clan owe her respect.”

I didn’t have the time to properly digest this information and try to guess what such a woman could look like or start to imagine what kind of demon possessed her to accept Jazor as her apprentice, because after a few more bickering, Zena finally answered Jazor’s rude but certainly justified question.

“And no, Jazor, they’re not doing nothing. I’m not aware of the details, but rumor has it that one or perhaps two Master mages have remained behind, inside one of the three fortresses, to protect this entrance to the Kingdom. The others have gone to reinforce the more exposed borders that the various sentient races have with the wilderness, including the King’s Valley, to prevent the multitude of crazed, mana-driven animals and deviants from devastating our civilized part of the continent.”

Less than a year ago, this kind of conversation would have gone right over my head. Fortunately, I wasn’t as hopelessly uneducated as before and knew that the wilderness was delimited by the land itself and its different natural obstacles. The different races settled on the rest of the Eastern continent according to these natural barriers. As a result, creatures from the wilderness could only pass through a few zones to enter their territory. For example, the Dorell kingdom ruled by the Human race of this continent only had two such significant entry points.

The King’s Valley, further north, was also the starting point for the Blueway: the magical road connecting the Dorell Kingdom and the Great forest of the West.

The three fortresses behind the first Advanced town on the southern part of the continent, where we currently were, was the second entry point.

“Even the war hero took action,” supplemented Kakuz, putting an end to my thinking.

“If even he's gone, then the situation is even shittier than I expected,” acknowledged Jazor helplessly, apparently shaken by this revelation and making me wonder who this man was to immediately inspire such respectful faces from even someone like Jazor.

“Even him was taken by surprise by the first attack. Without the wall and his intervention, we would all be dead without the shadow of a doubt,” supplemented Taz while finally noticing the rest of food he had on his modest blond beard.

“About this wall, is it not supposed to be indestructible? If that’s the case, can’t you let the waves of animals and deviants just crash helplessly into it while everyone else is safe inside? Why were there so many victims?” I couldn’t help but ask after hearing Taz mention once again this renowned wall.

“If only…” laughed Zena.

“We can’t do that for several reasons,” asserted Kakuz. “The magic of the wall prevents it from being broken in any way. It also prevents anything from going above it, be it attacks from the sky or flying animals. Like a dome of protection repelling anything harmful. However, this kind of absolute shelter has a cost. Like all Lost magic, it needs a regular supply of Elemental stones to work.”

“Aren't you supposed to extract these stones here in the mines?” I remarked confusedly.

“True. We also have more than enough reserves, but these stones are, before anything else, a property of the Ryunno clan. Once they lose the mana they accumulated over the years inside them, these stones lose all value. Considering the situation, the Ryunno clan will probably show more leniency than usual with their use to defend the city, but we still can’t just squander them to hide safely inside, especially without knowing how long such a situation could last. Extracting new Elemental stones from the mine isn’t that easy or that fast after all.”

“And these walls use an absurd amount of Elemental stones,” added the scarred dwarf. “Too much to resist a prolonged assault against this number of opponents. It can probably resist any attack from even a Master mage, but waves after waves of enemies can drain the reserves of Elemental stones too quickly for us to replenish. A Lost magic with enough energy, meaning Elemental stones, can function indefinitely, but as soon as it lacks the required basic quantity of energy, the Lost magic will immediately shut down. It will not decrease in power as many people think, but simply cease to function and stop providing the wall with its magical protection. To repair this protection, we will then need to cast the Lost magic once again.

“And?” I asked, confused. “Is it not possible?”

“Of course, it’s possible. However, the thing most difficult with a Lost magic isn’t the cost to maintain it, but its conditions of activation. It cannot be done in an instant with a thought or a flick of the finger but needs very specific conditions for the Lost magic to properly activate. An error with these conditions given by the Ryunno clan can even in some rare occasions trigger another completely different magic even if the magic circle drawn is the same.”

“You’re forgetting an important reason,” remarked Zena, not as baffled as me after his long explanation.

“I was going to explain it next, Zena. The other reason why we can’t just hide inside and let all the animals freely attack and roam the region is that this Advanced town must also serve as the first defensive barrier for the Dorell Kingdom.”

“I thought the three fortresses were beyond this town, encircling the only valley of the region from where it’s possible to enter the Dorell Kingdom,” I asked puzzledly.

“Yes, it’s true. However, unlike us, these fortresses don’t have a Lost magic to defend their walls, which in a normal situation isn’t serious as they are not inside the wilderness strictly speaking. However, now we’re confronted with gigantic unending waves of animals and deviants of all origins working together to tear us apart with a few particularly powerful mixed into them. With the majority of the Master mages and their soldiers deployed elsewhere, we can’t just expect them to be able to fend off all the attacks on their own. We have an overwhelming tactical advantage with this wall and can’t afford to sit on it in such troubled times.”

A heavy silence settled at our table after Zena’s last words. The other near tables may have heard her as well because they also stayed silent.

“One more reason to get the fuck out of here as soon as possible,” confirmed Jazor.

“One more reason to stay and fight with us,” countered Kakuz reproachfully.

“As if I would make any difference. Call the other less exposed Dwarven tribes or the Elves if you need help that badly,” crudely replied my friend.

“In fact, we already did.”

“Seriously?” asked Jazor, taken aback by Kakuz’s confirmation.

“The Great forest of the North refused to help defend anything other than their direct territory despite having strength to spare,” confirmed Zena.

“Not surprising with this old prune that they call their leader.”

This time Jazor’s insults toward a probable Master mage gathered a few laughs around the table. Even the scarred dwarf next to me, previously so reluctant to insult a Master mage, sketched a discreet smile this time that he immediately wiped clean from his face as soon as he noticed my eyes on him.

“Well, their matriarch indeed refused in a categoric way which wasn’t really a surprise, but even the leader of the Great forest of the West refused.”

My ears sharpened at the mention of this forest where I was lucky enough to enter after my grandfather’s and Amanda’s death. Without their leader Hirillë to give me the artifact on my thumb — that I now intended to sell to buy Himara’s and Seth’s freedom — and the precious regenerative potions, it was certain that my journey would have had a totally different end.

I never explicitly told my comrades where I had gotten my Elven potions, but if the look Jazor was giving me now was any indication, then he had already guessed where all this came from and by extension my connection to this place.

“What about this forest?” I asked, trying to appear only mildly curious.

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“Well, their leaders usually have a good relationship with the Dorell Kingdom. That's why the Blueway was created in the first place. Almost all the Dwarven tribes also have a good relationship with them, so it came as a real surprise when the answer of their matriarch was the same as the one from the Great forest of the North. Can’t really blame them as much though as apparently all this mess has triggered an early wild wave.”

Kakuz’s words sadly confirmed what I was afraid of.

Hirillë wasn’t able to spare any elf to accompany me beyond their forest and help me cross the wilderness precisely because the wild wave was almost upon them.

This wave of powerful deviants, coming from the desert in the most southern part of the continent, crossed the only access through the Red mountain to reach the rest of the continent once their strength and number reached a certain threshold that the desert couldn’t sustain anymore. In search of more fertile lands and more prey, these bloodthirsty deviants, strangely unable to regain their sanity, have to go through the Great forest of the West to enter the rest of the continent.

That’s why each time this wild wave happens, the Elves of the Great forest of the West are the first to directly confront it, which may be why Hirillë as their leader chose to stay open to diplomacy with the other races.

I couldn’t help but worry for the Elves of this forest after this news, as this wave was already predicted to be particularly important, and because it started sooner than expected risking to have caught them off guard. However, there was nothing I could do to help them.

They were on their own.

Just like us apparently.

“To resume all this merry talk, we’re all more or less fucked,” concluded Jazor.

“Well, I wouldn’t say it like that, but yeah we are,” concurred Kakuz. “That’s why we need men as strong as you to help us make this city survive and do our duty to channel these creatures to prevent the three fortresses from being overrun. Even if this city has few chances of falling because of its walls, it would still spare many lives.”

“If I decided to stay here, even for a short while longer, I would take the risk of being completely surrounded by a sea of animals, cut off from anything else, and unable to rejoin the Red mountain until the wrath of the wilderness receded. Something totally unthinkable,” declared Jazor stubbornly.

“Why the sudden urge to go back, anyway? You’re always reluctant to go back to the Red Mountain,” suddenly asked Kakuz.

“Well, for once, this is not exactly what we could call a normal time, and second, this is my business,” firmly answered Jazor.

Jazor may have sounded rude to his friend with his reply, but I knew exactly why he couldn’t give an honest answer. He was afraid that his presence near the dead Ryunno clan member that sparked all this folly would be discovered and wanted to warn his master to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

“Alright, I know how much of a blockhead you can be so let’s stop talking about that,” intervened Zena after seeing that Kakuz was ready to try to convince Jazor to stay once more.

A reasonable choice from the female dwarf because even if I wasn’t aware of his reasons for wanting to go back to his hometown quickly, I knew just how stubborn Jazor could be under any circumstances.

“I understand why Taz is here,” she resumed while sparing a glance toward this strange looking-dwarf who had apparently stopped listening a while ago. “He is the one responsible for the admission to cross the frontier behind the Advanced town. One of the people you need to pass through to rejoin the Dorell kingdom and the Red mountain. However, why us?”

“I don’t understand either, we were all requisitioned to replace guards, but in the end, we’re just responsible for the mine,” added Kakuz. “I first thought that you would want to finally work with us at the mine and even prepared the necessary form for your admission once things start to calm down,” he explained while fanning a paper he took out from his inner pocket.

Working in the mine?

This sudden declaration pushed all the previous discussion — which gave me a lot to think about — to the back of my mind.

All the previous goodwill I had toward this band of dwarves immediately vanished when the possibility of them being related to the slavery in the mine crossed my mind.

“I’d rather die,” immediately answered Jazor to Kakuz’s proposal which was a relief in a way. “And you! Don’t make that kind of face,” suddenly added Jazor in my direction.

Slightly taken aback, I failed to properly answer, but Jazor didn’t need any confirmation about my thoughts as he obviously saw right through me.

“What’s the problem?” asked Zena with her head tilted toward me.

“Slaves,” simply answered Jazor as if it wasn’t an important problem.

“Oh…” immediately acknowledged Zena without showing much more concern.

Seeing my somber face, she still felt obligated to say something more.

“Listen, kid, the mine of this city produces an impressive amount of Elemental stones — that’s the reason for the birth of this town in the first place — but it’s not the only thing it produces. Many rare and precious metals can be found.”

“And what does it change?” I asked, confused.

“Well, in this city slaves are only used by the Dwarven tribe responsible for the extraction of Elemental stones. We wouldn’t be able to find or even accommodate more slaves otherwise. Our tribe isn’t in charge of that. The Ryunno clan chose a different Dwarven tribe to do this job despite our tribe’s expertise in mining, precisely because we rarely used slaves. They pay them quite well apparently, but I wouldn’t trade my place with them. Too much pressure with the Ryunno clan if you want my opinion.”

“Why are they using slaves and not you? I heard Dwarves didn’t really care about using slaves, especially from Beastmen tribes,” I insisted.

“Why does this particular tribe use slaves? They always did and completing the Ryunno clan’s objectives would be impossible to realize without them. Otherwise, it depends on the Dwarven tribe you’re talking about,” shrugged Kakuz helplessly. “Our tribe is known for being extremely proficient with earth magic and incredibly bad with fire magic whereas us Dwarves often can use these two elements. Maybe it’s because of that we’re particularly at ease inside mines without needing anyone else to do it for us, maybe it’s because of something else, I don’t know.”

“I personally think that us Dwarves have always been going into the heart of mountains and never needed slaves to take our place for that,” added Zena. “And the thing about hating the Beastmen because of the war is true, but it’s an old thing now. The dwarves here are too young to truly care about that, but I know many among the older generation that indeed think like that, I can’t deny it.”

I didn’t know what to think about this explanation, but they all seemed trustworthy enough to me, especially considering their close relationship with Jazor. Or maybe I simply didn’t want to associate him or any of his friends with this sordid business.

“Alright, I think we’ve talked enough about that! What I want to know is why did you call us three here if it’s not for working with us, then?” insisted Zena, confused. “Don’t tell me it’s to take care of this kid,” she suddenly shouted as if coming to a sudden understanding. “It’s not a good time for us to take care of orphans.”

“It’s precisely the right time to take care of orphans,” disagreed the scarred dwarf with a gentle smile directed at me, making me wonder if this man was someone willing to use slaves like his brethren.

“Zeniviz,” murmured Zena helplessly, giving me finally this dwarf’s name.

“Even with Jazor as a guard, it’s a miracle that a child was able to survive this calamity. So few adults made it to this city safely, so if you don’t want to take care of him, I will,” he declared with his hoarse voice, implacably, leaving no room for discussion.

So absolute were his words that none of his comrades dared to contradict him. Even Zena stayed silent, visibly ashamed of herself for not immediately showing the same generosity as him.

“Don’t trust his appearance Zeniviz, he can take care of himself, trust me. And he isn’t just an orphan that I saved on my way here. He is someone I would trust with my life.”

“What?”

“This kid?”

“I would have never thought to hear this kind of words from you one day.”

“Yeah, I even entrusted him with my hourglass,” confirmed Jazor with a smile.

“You did what!”

If everyone had been visibly surprised after Jazor's previous declaration, it was nothing compared to their reaction after hearing Jazor mention his hourglass. The most dramatic of them came from Zena who immediately stood up with a cry of outrage making her chair fall against the floor in a thunder-like noise. This had the effect of turning once again the whole dining room — that she had somewhat pacified with her previous display of public affection and emotion — against her.

“Calm down Zena,” hurriedly comforted Jazor while making evident efforts not to mock her. “I said ‘trust with’, not give. I will give it to you next summer for our union as promised.”

Somewhat reassured, Zena still looked at me with a strange gaze as if she was seeing me for the first time. If before she saw me as a harmless child who had been saved by Jazor along the way, now she obviously saw me in a whole new light, although I didn’t know if it was good or bad news.

“Alright, apart from what you do with your birthed hourglass, you still didn’t tell us why Zeniviz, Zena, and I are all reunited here if it’s not to take care of this child.”

“Simple, he needs to go back to the Dorell kingdom,” explained Jazor.

“On his own?”

“Well…” stuttered Jazor, not really sure what the current answer was as I didn’t have the time to keep him updated with Alianelle’s situation.

“I won’t be alone, but the others are mostly children and we all just arrived in this city,” I explained briefly.

“That’s what I was talking about with Jazor around a little mug before you all arrived,” intervened Taz, the first dwarf I saw with Jazor who had stayed mostly silent all along our conversation, and who was apparently glad that the time for him to talk had finally come.

“I was about to explain to him that given the current situation, it’s even more difficult than before to cross the border.”

“Why? Refugees can’t be that rare. Don’t tell me they all end up stuck in this city?” I asked, alarmed.

“Sadly, no, there are not that many refugees around here. Many more are near the King’s Valley which is why many mages went there as reinforcement. The cause for the wrath of the wilderness happened in the southern part of the wilderness, meaning closer to us, which would explain why this part was the first and the most severely affected and why so few people were able to arrive here.”

“To my knowledge, we only had a few refugees at the beginning and none came from as far away as you,” added Kakuz.

“That’s why we all came as fast as possible when we received your message. We all thought you were already dead, Jazor,” lamented Zena.

“Sorry about that...”

“You better be, because my mother won’t let you run away again anytime soon after that!”

The few strained laughers that followed weren’t able to disperse the awkward atmosphere at our table. Not after talking about the hundred, possibly thousands of victims who weren’t as lucky as us and who met their end in a very cruel way.

Despite her initial violence, Zena’s relief when she saw Jazor was almost palpable for everyone around, me included. It was almost possible for me to imagine the sleepless nights she spent looking at the horizon, hoping to see a familiar figure finally appear.

Day after day.

Until this hope slowly disappeared, replaced by a much crueler reality.

Was it what my family was currently feeling after receiving news of my presence inside an Advanced town only to discover afterward that the entire wilderness had gone crazy?

Were they already mourning my death, as Zena had done for Jazor?

I didn’t know, but I couldn’t make them wait any longer.

One way or another, I had to cross the border to finally return to the Dorell Kingdom.

“To return to our story,” awkwardly coughed Taznec. “The reason why the rare refugees we had the pleasure of temporary shelter weren’t all able to go back to the Dorell Kingdom despite the situation is because…”

Taznec, who had been more than willing to explain to us the situation suddenly stopped in his tracks, as if suddenly remembering where he was. He hurriedly closed his mouth in the middle of his sentence and nervously looked all around him for long seconds before ending his previous sentence in a whisper barely strong enough for our group around the table to hear.

“... because a Ryunno clan member has been killed,” he finally announced.

Jazor and I were certainly poor actors, but we did our best to mimic the shock this news sent to all the people present around us. Fortunately, they were all too surprised by this revelation to notice our forced expressions.

Contrary to me, when I recklessly decided to confront one to save Alianelle, they were all aware of what the death of this clan’s member represented. They had lived their whole lives fearing this clan and knew perfectly well what such news meant.

“You can’t be serious… Stop joking with this Taz!” admonished Zeniviz with trembling lips far from his normally stoic appearance.

“I wish I was. They’re controlling everyone trying to cross the border for that reason. Of course, keep that to yourself!” he ordered with a harsh tone far from his messy appearance and previously relaxed attitude.

Zena, Kakuz, and Zeniviz all immediately nodded while Jazor and I did the same, but only after exchanging a serious glance with each other.

We had hoped that the news of his death wouldn’t have traveled that far yet.

None of us had any way to know if something magical or not could connect us to the crime scene. Jazor had used his magic to get us there, I saw the suspended body — impaled by a spike of ice to his own carriage — while Alianelle had been traveling with him inside his carriage and had seen the true murderer.

We weren’t guilty, but we were on the crime scene while his murderer dressed from head to toe in purple had completely vanished after that. Everyone knew that it wasn’t in the Ryunno clan’s nature to make distinctions between witnesses and culprits.

Moreover, even if our presence there hadn’t been revealed yet if we had to go through something like a body search to enter the Kingdom, then we were in deep trouble.

My group would have Beastmen children which would certainly attract the covetousness of unscrupulous guards, but most of all Alianelle’s true nature would be revealed.

Her growing wings were already barely hidden with tight bandages around her waist and a loose robe above it all. It was definitely impossible to keep them hidden from a more thorough search.

Jazor wasn’t aware of Alianelle’s true nature, but he knew that I intended to free the children and take them to my hometown. His gaze was proof enough for me to understand that we agreed. Just making the children safely cross the border was going to be difficult.

“That’s why I gathered you all here.”

“What do you mean by that? It’s the first time in nearly fifty years that the Racial law has been broken,” asked Zena with a raised eyebrow.

“Of course, I didn’t know that, but I guessed that given the circumstances the passage would be impossible for someone without any backup like Sillath,” hurriedly explained Jazor. “In normal time, my hourglass would have done the trick to allow him to cross the border, but I can’t let him keep it and it’s probably not enough anymore anyway. Not to mention that I don’t trust the men charged with this kind of task especially since free Beastmen children will be among Sillath’s group. I need Taz to do the paperwork and I need you three to accompany this group safely on the other side of the border beyond the three fortresses.”

“Oh…” mumbled Kakuz unenthusiastically after understanding what Jazor wanted from them.

“Yeah, as you said. Piece of cake! You’re all among the top brass of our tribe inside the city. Unlike me, you all spent several years here so don’t try to make me believe that you don’t have a way to avoid all that!”

“It’s true, but…” started Kakuz in a hesitant voice.

“Jazor, it’s not that we don’t want to help, but we can’t leave like that. We’ve been requisitioned and you know it,” gently intervened Zena with a hand on his forearm to pacify him.

Not taken aback by her initial refusal, Jazor simply smiled at her before speaking again.

“Don’t worry, in return, I will take your place and assure the protection of the city while you’re gone,” he assured with a confident smile. “I’m more than enough to replace the three of you.”

“Really, Jazor?” asked Zena, visibly surprised. “I thought you wanted to return as fast as possible to our hometown.”

“Yeah, but that’s the only way for this little troublemaker to cross the border safely,” laughed Jazor. “And as a bonus, I will convince someone else to help with the town’s defense after I’m gone. Someone just a little bit weaker than me. So, how about that?”

The other four dwarves looked at each other for long seconds before finally nodding one after the other, sealing at the same time this deal and solving my problem without me needing to do anything.

“Alright, Jazor. We will do it,” confirmed Zena with a smile. “We will take care of that kid for you!”

These few words were enough to assure our safe passage inside the Dorell Kingdom. Something that had been weighing on my mind for weeks was so easily solved that it became somewhat difficult to immediately rejoice.

A few minutes later, when all the dwarves beside Jazor left to return to their busy schedule, it still felt somewhat surreal. With this obstacle gone, the possibility of returning to my hometown never felt as certain as in this instant. More real even than when our dilapidated carriage had finally reached this Advanced town.

All thanks once again to Jazor who chose to delay his own return to help me.

“Jazor…” I mumbled.

“Lost your tongue,” he mocked. “Don’t make that face, it’s not a big deal for me to stay here for a few more days and Zena is someone trustworthy.”

“Yeah,” I simply replied with my head lowered.”

“In addition, it means that I will soon be rid of you which is a massive bonus. No offense sissy, but you didn’t exactly bring me luck.”

“Yeah,” was once more the only word that could leave my mouth.

Jazor finally put his relaxed attitude to the side, cleared his throat, and offered me a small comforting smile.

“Don’t worry too much about it, we will see each other again. I’m sure of it.”

“I know, but…”

“No ‘but’, we will!” he interrupted with a firm voice. “You don’t have to try to find a way to thank or repay me either, there’s no need for that between us now.”

After all this time living together and fighting side by side, it was as if we had grown together. Just like me, Jazor didn’t need much effort to know what was on my mind. He knew how much I felt indebted to him and understood just as much as I did that there was no way for me to repay him for everything he did.

Especially after this last favor.

Thanks to him, the question of how my group would enter the Dorell kingdom was solved. All that was left was to buy Seth and Himara and take them with me.

Then, we will finally part ways.

“Don’t make that face,” he lamented with a helpless smile. “You should be smiling! That’s the end of the road for us. An end that none of us dared to imagine or even hope for a long time,” he exclaimed.

Of course, he was right.

We had succeeded.

However, I wanted to do anything but smile at this moment.

“So smile, Sillath!” he insisted.

The movement almost felt foreign after all this time, but I still forced a wide smile on my face not dissimilar to the one on Jazor’s face.

We fought side by side for so long now and overcame more danger than any of us could possibly remember.

However, in just a few days the time for goodbyes will come.

Not farewell.

Goodbyes.

Because we both knew and hoped that sooner or later our roads would cross again one way or another.