With wide eyes, Fengari watched the passing landscape and spotted the capital in the distance, which they had been aiming at for days. After reaching the trading city and taking the ferry to Sylve the next morning, they were met on the west coast by more soldiers along with their ride. For the dragon in cat form, it was the first time she was allowed to travel like a human. Granted, like a wealthy noble, but still she found it fascinating. In her lifetime, she had often seen people get around with the help of horses and carriages, but it was something else to ride them herself.

Her enthusiasm wasn't noticed by William and Ben. Neither of them had really thought that the King of Sylve would pick them up in a carriage, but since it had been the King, they were forced to accept it. Even if they didn't want it. With this vehicle and 9 soldiers, they attracted a lot of attention, which neither of the two nobles really appreciated.

The woods and fields passed by them and the cat kept discovering settlements with dozens of people, who stopped at the edge and watched the travelers from a distance. Sir Venlan, who rode outside her window on a large, light brown horse with a black mane, spotted Fengari and watched her curiously for a moment. But when the cat returned his gaze, he quickly avoided it, almost as if he were uncomfortable being discovered by an animal.

The meow of Fengari woke both Ben and William from their thoughts.

"What's wrong, Fengari?", William asked, following the cat's head movement. She had spotted something ahead of them that even the prince himself had trouble spotting. For this reason, he opened the window to better see ahead, which Fengari did the same. "Are you interested in the towers there?"

With a meow, Fengari replied, watching the bright tower which she could make out in the far distance. Flying over the landscape of Sylve, she had seen them before, but only now did she realize how large they actually were. The cold buildings were presumably even taller than she was, which made her wonder what purpose they served.

"These are watchtowers. The soldiers use it as a starting point for their patrols and people also use it during the rainy season when they need help. When it's... Fengari!", William quickly broke off his explanation when the cat suddenly jumped out of the window and landed elegantly on the croup of Sir Venlan's horse. The advisor himself cast a surprised glance backwards, but Fengari at that moment already jumped onto his shoulder and used it to come forward onto the horse's neck.

"Little miss, this is not a playground", Sir Venlan remarked in annoyance, extending his hand towards the little cat in front of him, but Fengari turned backwards and returned the statement with a soft meow. Instinctively, Julius Venlan stopped and stared wordlessly at the cat in front of him, which held onto the horse's mane with its paws and turned its attention forward.

"If Fengari bothers you or causes you any trouble, let me know, Sir Venlan", William quietly spoke up, discovering the swordmaster lower his hand and stare at the cat for a moment before taking both reins again.

"May I ask where High-Magician Leuen found such a cat?"

"Fengari went after him when he was out on the plains, as far as I know."

"Are you sure the cat is not a creature? I dare to doubt that such a delicate thing survived alone in the creature plains", Sir Venlan interjected skeptically, expecting to get a reaction from the black cat. But Fengari deliberately ignored the statement and gave her attention to the city, which stretched before them.

"If she were a creature, High-Magician Leuen would have let me know. He knows a lot about creatures, some time ago he even held classes on a grand scale."

"This has come to my attention. I hear it was a very interesting endeavor."

"It certainly was, especially after he introduced us to the rare creatures from the 5th book", William stated calmly, propping his head up with one hand as he leaned out the window a bit, enjoying the fresh air on his face.

"Sounds like he'd be a good teacher."

"Indeed", William replied nostalgically, remembering the many things he had learned from Cale over the past few months. In addition to the knowledge of creatures and swordsmanship, he had received much information that even his father would withhold from him. In a way, William saw the young High-Magician as a role model. He wished that one day he could be like Cale. The fact that his personality had undergone a transformation during this time, and that he was doing things he had usually avoided, was a nice perk. William's gaze fell on the light-haired soldier in front of him before he realized a few seconds later what he had just said. "Please don't misunderstand me."

"I don't. I have been able to talk to High-Magician Leuen personally, and I am aware that he is an incredible magician. Many people have respect and trust for him, even King Leonhardt."

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"Father trusts High-Magician Leuen? I was not aware that they knew each other. I assumed that the banquet at the Magistrat was their first meeting."

"I'm afraid you're misinformed about that. We've been in contact with the Magistrat, and specifically High-Magician Leuen, for three years now."

"Really? Why?"

"Because of what happened in Kutam."

"Kutam?"

"Had your father or High-Magician Leuen never informed you of this? I assumed you knew what happened then, considering where you had met High-Magician Leuen."

Visibly irritated, William looked at his escort and Fengari also turned her attention to the conversation behind them.

"We first met at an inn north of town."

"Reibonlake."

"You know it?"

"To our knowledge, High-Magician Leuen lived in that tavern for nearly two years", Sir Venlan explained calmly, looking down at the cat, who stared at him expectantly with her bright eyes.

"I never knew that High-Magician Leuen's presence in Bellator was not unknown. What exactly does this have to do with Kutam? If I recall correctly, it is a small village near your hometown."

"The village was attacked by creatures during a summer night two years ago, and High-Magician Leuen was the one who protected the residents at that time."

"Kutam was attacked? Like Groka back then?", Ben now joined the conversation. He had jumped onto the bench next to William and was also looking out the open window.

"According to the stories, it should have been similar, yes. I saw the place only one day later and the destruction was visible, but kept within limits. We knew only roughly what had happened at that point. High-Magician Leuen had protected the whole village with his barrier, allowing the inhabitants to escape. Whereby I must admit that his appearance there had caused the royal house to commission investigations into High-Magician Caleb Leuen."

"Cale never told me that", William murmured thoughtfully, and a quick glance at Ben confirmed to him that Ben had never heard of it either.

"Why were you making inquiries about Caleb Leuen, Sir Venlan?", Ben asked, taking a seat next to the prince. William, on the other hand, slid a little closer to the window so that Ben could speak more easily.

"They had not demanded anything from us. Neither the Magistrat nor High-Magician Leuen himself. On the outside, it was a little strange that the Eldest had dispensed with one of his 12th High-Magicians for Sylve and desired nothing from us in return."

"You were suspicious?"

"Quite, yes. Sylve has been on friendly terms with Altona for several dozen years, but that does not mean we were careless. To this day, we don't know what the reason for High-Magician Leuen's behavior was, although King Leonhardt has a hunch that it is in light of the current situation."

"That would not surprise me. High-Magician Leuen has many problems that he has kept secret from us. From what I have come to know of him, he is merely cautious of creatures and very thoughtful about the safety of people. I doubt he wishes Sylve any harm."

"We are aware of that, please do not misunderstand my statement", Sir Venlan replied anxiously to the prince's statement.

"Not at all."

"Sir Venlan, how well do you know Sir Leuen?", Ben added in the same breath.

"Hardly at all. We had a few, fleeting encounters after the events at Kutam and at the banquet, but I didn't have my first, real conversation with him until the night of our arrival in Exarion. Sir Freigoud had a lot of contact with High-Magician Leuen, as did Madam Penedran", Julius Venlan explained, gesturing in the red-haired woman's direction with a nod of his head.

"I see. That's how Cale knew us from the first time we met. He literally worked with our parents and simply kept it a secret", Ben interjected thoughtfully, leaning against the wall. "I was really careless."

"Has Father instructed Caleb Leuen to accompany us to Altona?", William then spoke up, causing Ben to turn to him in surprise. The Prince was basically asking if their relationship with the High-Magicians was deliberately caused.

"Not that I'm aware of. We only found out one the day after the banquet that you traveled to Altona together with High-Magician Leuen and the daughter of the second Chief Merensen. If I remember correctly, it was you who informed Crown Prince Edward about it, Prince William."

For a moment, William felt a spark of relief. Even if Cale had known their identity from the beginning, he had joined them of his own free will. If the High-Magician had merely been following orders, then the Prince would now not know how to think about his friend. In fact, it was the very fact that Cale had recognized them that had been the catalyst for their journey together. Without the help of the innkeeper's son Luke, Cale would probably have simply flown to Exarion, rather than embarking on a journey of several weeks on foot with nobles.

Fengari was the only one present who knew that this statement was probably not quite true. Although she had never spoken specifically about this with the Apostle, she knew the truth behind his life and guessed that their encounter was purely intentional.

Fengari dropped her gaze back to the swordmaster, who was staring ahead with a dull expression on his face. He had been acting very distant towards his patrons since his arrival in Altona, although his own soldiers had long since spoken amiably to the nobles. Therefore, Fengari suspected that he was still resentful or that it was simply part of his personality not to form closer relationships with people he worked for. Secretly, she was already looking forward to the palace. She would definitely stalk Sir Venlan, much like she had already done with Miguel Heriog and High-Magician Aaron Thopas.

"Are father and my brothers actually home?", William spoke up afterwards. Fengari, on the other hand, climbed a little closer to the man and hid in his shadow. She literally melted into the horse's black mane, as they had almost reached the capital and did not want to get back into the carriage.

"Your Majesty King Leonhardt and Crown Prince Edward are in the palace, yes. Prince Marion is currently traveling in the south, but should arrive back in Bellator in two days", the man reported matter-of-factly.

Fengari got all nervous when she could see the big gates. It was the first time she would be going into a human city without supervision, and since she didn't know the place, it made her even more excited. She would definitely check out the palace and the city itself tonight to get a good overview. And while she was doing that, she would ask Caleb to give her the human form.