Alex winked at Eugene, and the man slid him a large flagon of beer. Alex took a large gulp and nodded to the man as he walked back over to Melodi, carrying his drink in hand. He had also gotten one for Melodi, though she had yet to drink anything stronger than water, and he doubted that she would indulge now.
It was quite odd that the Mages Guild was closed, and he was eager to let Melodi know what he had discovered. Something about this whole situation seemed a bit off to Alex, but he hadn't pieced together enough clues to figure out what that might be.
"So, we have a bit of a problem, Mels," said Alex.
"Maybe we should take this to a more private location," she replied, and he nodded. The two then headed upstairs and entered her room. She spent a few moments casting a spell that would prevent anyone outside from hearing them, and when she was finished, she turned to Alex.
"Okay, so we should be able to talk in private here. What's the issue?" she asked.
"Well," began Alex. "It seems that the Mages Guild here in town is done for. I'm not sure why, but it's closed down, and most all of the Conductors in this city are gone. Eugene mentioned that a few were still hanging out at the inn across town, but I doubt that we'll be able to get much out of them."
"Why is that?" asked Melodi.
"Well, it seems to me that something strange is going on. Conductors aren't usually ones to simply close down an entire Mages Guild for no reason," answered Alex. "We could certainly go and ask the Conductors in that inn what happened, but given how not a single sign of them could be found everywhere we looked, I think it's safe to assume that they wanted to keep their departure quiet."
"In fact, I'd be willing to go so far as to say that they're running away from something. I've had a weird feeling ever since we first got here as well. Didn't that guide seem a bit...I dunno, off to you?" finish Alex.
"You might be on to something," replied Melodi. "That guide definitely seemed more than a little strange. Also, Slingates aren't prone to malfunction and prevent people from passing through them. Something really odd is happening in this city, and it seems to have a lot to do with Conductors. All of the townsfolk seem pretty normal, but there isn't a sign of any Magickal activity anywhere."
Melodi began to pace slowly around the room. "I think, for now, we should keep our nature as Conductors a secret. Who knows what might happen if people find out what we are. I want to play it safe for the time being. We are strangers in Farnor, and we don't have any allies here who we can depend upon. It would be different if we were in Dellorim, but..."
"No, I completely agree with you on that," answered Alex. "We should lay low and act like we're just regular adventurers. We're pretty heavily outnumbered here. Most of the guards I've seen are pretty weak, but a few of them had bodies in the fourth rank. It might not be the most challenging fight given that we have our spells, but we could still wind up in trouble if we aren't careful."
Melodi nodded, "I think it best to stay for a few more days and see what we can learn without giving away our secret. That said, I think that man earlier was a Conductor. Actually," she continued. "I'm all but certain of it. Normal people don't hide their power. Or rather, normal people can't hide their power. Only Conductors practice that technique, and to make matters worse; he could probably tell we were Conductors as well."
"Oof, I really blew it, didn't I?" asked Alex.
Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
"No, not necessarily," answered Melodi. "But in the future, you have got to be more careful. We don't know who we can trust or who might be an enemy in disguise. The very act of hiding our power gives us away to other Conductors, but not hiding it achieves the same result. It's a double-edged sword no matter how you look at it. The only good thing is that normal people can't tell what we are, and with most of the guards being physically more powerful than us, that is probably a good thing."
"So what do we do now?" asked Alex.
Melodi sighed, "I'm not sure, to be honest. If we can't find a way to get the Slingate to work, we'll have to head home on foot. As far as I know, it's quite a long journey from Farnor to Dellorim. We also don't know a whole lot about Farnor. It could be that Conductors have become outlaws or something."
"That reminds me," interrupted Alex, "Eugene called Conductors, 'Wizards.' Any idea what that is about? Sounds dumb as fuck if you ask me."
"It's probably a regional thing," she replied. "Conductor is the proper term, but Dellorim is the foremost producer of powerful Conductors in the world. Other countries would have abandoned the practice by now if not for the threat of Zightbeasts and political struggles."
"Adventurers and Alchemists have become more common than in Dellorim. I don't know much about what goes out outside our borders, but I always found that bit of information to be quite interesting. In any event, it doesn't really matter. All we can do is try and find our way back home. Until then, we need to lay low and try not to stir up any trouble," she finished.
"I suppose so," Alex said, falling into thought. "That might be easier said than done. If we travel out of the city and encounter any Zightbeasts, we'll have to only resort to physical combat. If we use our spells, it'll be a dead giveaway, and if anyone sees us, it could mean trouble."
"Maybe we should just stay inside the city for now," suggested Melodi.
"Aye, we could, but eventually, we're going to run out of money. If the Mages Guild were still open, that wouldn't be a problem since we could just sell some of our goods there. But with the Guild shut down, that route is closed to us. We might reach a point where we have no choice but to take up mercenary work. Buuuut we can't even go after larger targets if we want to keep our powers a secret."
"If it's money you need, then maybe you can help me out," said a voice from the bed behind them. Alex and Melodi suddenly pulled forth their weapons and aimed them at the man sitting on the bed who had suddenly appeared. Melodi strung an arrow and Alex pointed the blade of his Scal'tar right at the throat of the man.
The three remained motionless and only stared at each other. The man was Ulric, and somehow he had been able to hide his presence the entire time without even alerting Alex and Melodi. He had obviously heard their entire conversation and if he had been able to hide so thoroughly then it meant that he was vastly stronger than the two of them.
Alex stared him down with a sharp expression, but even with the blade almost pressing into his neck, Ulric didn't seem to be bothered in the slightest.
"You should lower your weapons. If I meant to harm you I would have done so already. Your defenses are quite lacking for Conductors of Dellorim. But I suppose it can hardly be helped given the circumstances," said Ulric.
Melodi let the string of her bow relax and she lowered her weapon, but Alex remained in place, unwilling to simply comply.
"You really need to explain yourself, and quickly too. We might not be able to beat you, but we won't just let you do whatever you want. If we have to go down, you can be sure that your own cover will be compromised as well," said Alex, his tone threatening as he squeezed the shaft of his Scal'tar tightly.
"I'm more than willing to answer your questions, but I really don't appreciate having a weapon pointed at me," Ulric said in a bored, but firm tone. "Still, I suppose that reaction is normal. I do apologize for not revealing myself sooner. But I had to know that you weren't Order spies. You two are currently being hunted by them, and I don't think it's a good idea to be using your real names given that. You should know better than to be so careless I would think."
Alex lowered his Scal'tar but remained ready to attack at a moment's notice. "Fine. But you should really start talking before things get out of hand," he warned.
"Well then, I suppose I should start with the fact that I am an agent of—” he hesitated for just an instant and then continued, “—the Academy," said Ulric, leaning back on the bed and resting on his palms. "After your disappearance from Dellorim, I was sent out along with many others to find you. Lucky for you two I managed to find you before the Order did. But I do have another reason for coming to Ardua, and if you're willing, I could use your help."