The whole caravan was collected together. All of the workers, the performers, the mercenaries, and almost all of the merchants stood side by side. Around them were the wagons that they had parked in a big circle, coiled around them like a giant snake. It was caravan tradition.

One of the performers played a slow and sad tune on his violin. It wove through them and threw a blanket of melancholy above them. Not even the birds disturbed that.

People said a few words. Some even held longer speeches, telling anecdotes and sharing stories.

It was Blue's eulogy that was the most intense one though. The one during which Liam had only been able to stare silently on the floor.

He knew what happened hadn't been his fault. He knew that most of the stories were wildly exaggerated. And he knew that Trake had been anything but a saint.

The image of the woman's head smeared across the pavement was a testament to that.

Still, he couldn't help but feel like shit. Especially because he had to pretend. It was Jerem that cheered him somewhat though.

“I've never heard better things said about a worse man,” he said under his breath at one point.

Barney leaned over his shoulder to answer. “You should know better.”

“Why?”

“Something about him always rubbed me wrong as well,” he said. “But you should know that losing one of our cultivators is not a joking matter. Even if it's just Trake.”

At that point, a few eyes had been turned to them. One of those was Marten. His eyes scanned over them. Jerem and Barney looked down, scolded. When his eyes came to Liam though, there was something strange in them. He cocked his head and looked at Liam until he looked away.

The rest of the eulogy went normally, and at lunchtime, they were on their way again

During their training the next morning, Marten confronted Liam.

“What happened?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why did I feel your mana signature on the same night that Trake died?”

For a second Liam thought about lying. Then he saw Martens look and thought better of that. So instead he told him the whole story. Or at least most of it.

“Fuck,” Marten said when he had finished. “What did you think?!”

Liam frowned. “Me? I just tried to protect myself!!”

“You should’ve known better.”

“How is it my fault that that psycho comes after me? Or that the addict stabbed him?”

“Well, it's you who didn't listen and couldn't stop practicing. It’s your going out that night that has led to this whole situation. I told you your mana veiling is not ready yet.”

“Please even you didn’t notice me from a distance anymore most of the time,” Liam frowned. “Besides I couldn’t just sit still, I need to get stronger!”

"Yes, I saw that you couldn't sit still," Marten said, ignoring the rest of Liam's remark. "Apparently you also have no sense of when to walk away.”

Liam's gaze got icy. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that you stupidly risked your life. Not just by going up against a cultivator with some real experience, but also by possibly exposing yourself to Bilby and his lackeys. Why the hell didn’t you just walk away when you had the chance?”

There was a time when Liam would have agreed. He had been reckless and foolhardy. He had gotten involved where he maybe shouldn’t have. Yet, at the same time, he couldn’t say he regretted it. Even after all, it still felt like it had been the right thing to do.

“I couldn’t.”

Marten raised an eyebrow. “You couldn’t?”

“Yes. You’re right. It was reckless of me, and I should’ve walked away to protect my identity.” Liam said. “But at the same time, I tried to save a woman’s life, and that’s something I should never regret doing.”

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Marten stared at him. “You don’t get it, do you? This time you might’ve been lucky, but next time you might not. You need to learn how to sit back.”

“Maybe there would be no next time if you would do a little less of sitting back.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“No Liam. What did you say?”

“Bilby is running his stuff like this only because you’re taking a back seat. Because you don’t have the balls to confront him or challenge him about all the things he does.”

“Not every battle has to be fought.”

“That’s coward’s talk”.

They both looked at each other for a few moments. Then Marten spoke up. “Practice is over. I think we had enough for today.”

“Fine. I can practice better myself anyways.” Liam was pissed now. “Not like I need those stupid movement practices.”

“I get that you feel a little enraged,” Marten said. “But I need you to show me a little respect if you want me to continue being your teacher.”

“Who says I want you to continue being my teacher?” Liam said. “I don't need a teacher who has no sense of proper training even.”

Then Liam stormed off the clearing.

He regretted his words before he even left the clearing. He felt ashamed about what he said, and how he said it before he had even reached the encampment.

While he was hitching the donkeys before their departure he almost wanted to walk over to Marten to apologize. But stupid pride kept his tongue in cheek.

The same stupid pride that also held it in check during their evening break when he and Marten ran past each other between the campfires. Liam was about to speak up, but Marten didn’t even look at him.

“Wow, what happened to him?” Jerem asked, pointing at Marten. “He seems in an even more foul mood than usual.”

“Don’t know. Guess the whole Trake thing makes him chew.”

“Huh,” Jerem said. “I didn’t know they were that close.”

Liam simply shrugged.

As they made their way towards one of the fires, shouting rang out. Liam looked and saw Blue and Bilby arguing at one of the fires next to them. Bilby gestured animatedly, whereas Blue remained calm and impassive.

Liam couldn’t hear what the topic was, but it seemed quite serious.

At one point Bilby realized how much attention they were drawing and stopped. He glanced around uncertainty and then stormed off. Blue looked stricken and simply shook his head. Then he plopped down next to the campfire.

“What is going on there rather?” Liam asked.

Now Jerem shrugged. “Don’t know, but I think ever since the Trake thing happened, Bilby is looking for someone to blame.”

It wasn’t just Bilby though. The mood in the whole caravan was rather tense since the incident with Trake. Everybody walked around a little more scared as if Trake’s death had suddenly made them vulnerable to all of the outside.

Of course, for some, it was more suspicion, rather than fear.

“But I heard he was stabbed by some addict?”

“That’s what the Gwendolan said, yes. But I think Bilby is suspecting something else to be going on there. At least with the way he is acting”

It’s not like Liam wasn’t happy that Bilby wasn’t suspecting him, because why should he? But he still found it weird that he was having arguments with Blue about it. So he voiced that question to Jerem.

“Well, he and Blue always had kind of a feud going on,” he said in a lowered voice, his eyes glancing sideways. “It’s not a secret that Bilby is the second strongest party in the caravan, especially with the majority of the cultivators underneath him. He has certainly made some plays to undermine Blue in the past, although nothing as direct as a coup.”

“Why wouldn’t he though? With three of the four cultivators under his control?”

“Because the one cultivator that doesn’t listen to him is a very dear friend of Blue, and I think he’s afraid of how things would end if they were to go up against Marten.”

“But he’s only one.”

Jerem raised an eyebrow. “That should give you a hint as to how strong they consider him. I don’t think you have seen him go all out in fights yet.”

Liam felt that that part was true. He had seen Marten fighting against some of the monsters attacking them and had seen him being way more dangerous than the other cultivators. But he had never truly seen him go all out.

The only instance where he really amped up his power was toward the end of the Beast King fight when the giant Malhuhn attacked. For a brief moment towards the end, Liam had felt a terrifying surge of energy from the man.

Looking back to it, that had been the moment when Liam had started imagining what it would be like to train with him. He had hoped to be shown some secret cultivation techniques that would make him just as strong. But in the end, all that he had been shown had been simple fighting training.

The man had said that he wouldn’t share all his secrets with Liam from the beginning, but still, he had expected a little more.

“What is it?” Jerem asked him, after seeing Liam stare suspiciously long into his bowl of soup. “Are you not hungry?”

They both snorted.

“Before that happens the nobility will pave a proper highway through Hollows End.” Liam shot back. “But no, I was just thinking. I’m not really surprised Bilby has a feud with Blue. He is the kind of man for that. Although it just seems a little unreasonable for me. Why would he try to take anything from him?”

Jerem sighed. “Liam. I know you hold a high opinion of Blue, but I have been traveling with him for a long time, he really isn’t the person you think he is. At least not totally.”

The last sentence he had said in an even more lowered voice. Not even Barney, who was merrily drinking next to them, had heard it.

Liam almost wanted to ask Jerem more about it, but he could see on the other man’s face that he wasn’t intending to elaborate on this. And Liam knew it would do him no good to ask.

It was an unfamiliar expression on his friend's usually cheerful face. So surprising in fact, that Liam really was lost for words for a moment. At that moment, Barney turned toward them, asking something of Jerem, and then, the moment slipped.

And Liam was left wondering.