William and Philippa led the group as they had a discussion about the machinations of the dragons. The five adventurers had been on the move since dawn, making their way through the creature plain. Occasionally a shady character would drop by, but otherwise it was very quiet. Except for Ben and Cale.

The tall swordsman carried Aletta on his back, while the High-Mage walked beside him, carefully keeping an eye on the surrounding woods. They had left the rugged mountain range behind and were following the path through a small forest, in the distance they could hear the river, which served as a guide for all Anuxers.

But the peaceful scenery was deceptive. Ben and Cale were both on edge, but kept it under wraps. This was largely due to the conversation this morning. But a small part of what triggered this silence happened a few weeks back. It was back during the night when the five of them first met in the tavern.

"Weren't you sceptical? Why didn't you say anything to me?"

Cale's words were directed at Ben, but neither looked each other in the eye. All this time, Cale thought he knew everything and had it under control, but since day one that had not been the case.

"What would you have done in my situation? It's not like I could challenge you to a duel. And by the way, I didn't trust you just like that either, I always had my eye on you."

"That's creepy."

Ben started laughing out loud. He felt Aletta slide down his back slightly, so he did a little hop to push her back into place.

"Don't get me wrong. Lukas telling me that was a good thing, at least partly. I probably would have dismissed you as one of those wannabe Anuxers instead of respecting you."

Cale sighed audibly. His thoughts circled back to this morning's situation. Ben had asked him why Cale wanted to go to Altona and to him, he mentioned only that he had some work to do for the Magistrat. But instead of dismissing the question as done, Ben only asked why he had claimed to Lukas for two years that he had to go that very day. Therefore, Ben knew full well that Cale was not speaking the whole truth. From the beginning, Ben had the inkling that Cale was no ordinary man, even though he tried so meticulously to keep it a secret.

"Still. I didn't expect to be deceived like this by my own friend", Cale replied, visibly annoyed.

"What do you mean, deceived? You knew exactly who we were, didn't you?"

Cale felt a chill run down his spine. Of course, he knew, but Ben's statement referred only to Aletta. The man next to him had no idea that Cale knew both his and William's identities.

"Pff, yeah. But if I ever see Lukas again, I'll give him a sermon he will never forget."

Ben just had to keep digging and Cale found it anything but funny. His friend Lukas had had a private conversation with Ben that night. He had told him that Cale knew exactly how strong his group was, and that he also thought that Cale was stronger than all of them. Also, Lukas had mentioned to him that they knew Aletta was a healer from Frignez. For a moment, Ben had taken the statement as a threat, but Lukas explained himself shortly after. He had told him who Cale was and what he meant to him. And he had also told him that he had been planning his departure since day one. Lukas had therefore asked Ben one thing: he didn't care how strong Cale might be, they should not leave him alone.

"You know... at first I was really confused. If Lukas hadn't told me you were strong, I probably wouldn't have been aware of it until today. I mean, even yesterday I was really surprised. I thought at first you were just a normal swordsman or something like that and Lukas was just exaggerating, but all of a sudden you're a mage and then suddenly you're a High-Mage. I was at the end of my wits."

Cale sighed again, then had to laugh too. His gaze lingered on William, who was walking in front of them. Though he tried to hide the fact that his leg still hurt, both Ben and Cale realized that he wasn't putting the full weight on his injured leg.

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"Now I understand why you didn't argue with me when I ordered you to walk through the storm with the girls."

"Yes, exactly. That's the perfect example. What idiot would believe a complete stranger? But your aura at that moment was so serious and full of confidence that I dropped my guard and simply trusted you", Ben replied with full enthusiasm, which made Cale roll his eyes in disgust. In the distance, he spotted a creature attracted by their presence and made liberal use of his mana. Short yelps were heard, so all the eyes turned in the direction of the sound, but the creature was already dead. A few steps later, Cale burned the corpse without even having interrupted his walk for a moment.

"And then I screwed up."

"You mean the one about his fever? No, you didn't. I felt really guilty halfway through, but somehow I knew you two would get through it. I don't know why, it was a strange feeling, but Lukas words got stuck in my head and I just left Wi- William with you", Ben slipped for a moment, but covered it up with a clearing of his throat while casting a nervous glance at Cale. The latter didn't seem to have noticed the situation, which relieved him. But Cale had caught him, of course.

"You should be more careful", Cale began seriously. Instantly, Ben got goose bumps. "Humans are cruel, they lie and cheat you for their own good and only leave a trail of corpses. What do you think would have happened if I was a psychopath and not a normal mage? You would have handed me William on a silver platter."

"Guess that was just a gut feeling, then", Ben replied, visibly more tense than he had been a few seconds ago. The whole atmosphere of their conversation had done a 180° turn.

"Are you crazy?", Cale exclaimed, completely beside himself. At the same moment, however, he covered his mouth and looked ahead. Philippa and William hadn't heard him. Annoyed, he stopped and grabbed Ben by the arm. "Benjamin of Freigoud, son of the Duke of Freigoud."

With a chalk-pale face, Ben looked down at the mage, who was barely a head shorter.

"What the..."

"You have no idea. Don't just trust me like that. Don't trust a stranger simply because some runaway kid tells you he's a good person. Are you retarded?"

Ben's jaw dropped. His throat was still, and his entire body was screaming in alarm. He silently stared at the mage in horror.

"That's what I mean. You really don't have a plan. How do you think I knew I was stronger than you guys? Do you seriously think that a citizen of Sylve doesn't know the face of the prince and his closest friend?"

"What... what are you talking about?"

Nervous, Ben barely eked the sentence out as Cale's deadly serious gaze lingered on him.

"I was really wondering why you guys set up shop at the tavern. It didn't make any sense to me. I mean, you guys didn't have many public appearances, but you showed yourselves at some events. People can remember your faces, you know?"

Ben stood stunned before the mage. The conversation had taken an unexpected turn. Actually, he had only confessed to Cale that he knew exactly who Cale was, but suddenly he was called out in turn. Cale also knew exactly who they were.

"Why... I... what the... what are you?"

"I'm might be a High-Magician of Altona, but I was still born and raised in Sylve. I knew what I was getting myself into from the start."

Ben's blood froze. He held onto Aletta with one hand while touching the hilt of his sword with the other. Only now did he understand why Cale had not sought out other Anuxers to travel with them to Altona. He had never needed to.

"What do you want from us?"

"Don't you think it's a little late to ask that question?", replied Cale indifferently. Both of them had stopped and were looking at the other two only in the corner of their eyes. Ben unsheathed his sword, a soft metallic sound audible. Cale sighed, demonstratively slapped his hand against his head and continued walking. Somewhat irritated, Ben followed the mage with his gaze. "Sometimes you're like your father. Don't be such a baby."

Ben's adrenaline shot from a hundred back to zero. He lowered his sword and followed Cale sceptically.

"I mean you no harm, you were right about that. And I don't want anyone to know about me, either. I just... actually, I don't know what I want. When I saw you, I couldn't stand by and do nothing. You are totally green behind your ears, although you would think that especially the nobility is careful while travelling. When I realized who you were, it was like a win-win situation for me. I was able to please Lukas and protect you at the same time. After all, you're the ones who are supposed to protect the land from the dragons and creatures, so a lesson or two wouldn't hurt."

Cale walked slowly on purpose and let Ben catch up to him. They could clearly see the archers and the prince again.

"You know, William didn't even notice how far away we were. And despite Lukas narrative, you still didn't realize the danger I posed. You have no sense of the real world, no experience as far as real life is concerned. It's all well and good that you've mastered palace swordsmanship, but in a real fight you're always at a disadvantage."

He had received too much information in the last few minutes and couldn't make head nor trail with it. He often trusted his gut more than his head, and now it had been right again. Cale was on their side.

"Why are you telling me this?"

Inevitably, Ben had spoken his thoughts aloud. The three of them had almost caught up with the others. Somewhat hesitantly, Cale replied.

"You know, I may not have told you everything, but I always tried not to lie to you guys. So I'm telling you the truth", Cale began slowly. Clearly, Ben could sense the significance of Cale's next words. "You remind me of friends who died trying to protect me."