"You took your time", his superior said when Cedrik arrived back at the palace and after a bit of searching found him at the training ground. Sir Freigoud was watching some soldiers training and only after a second glance he realized that his son and the two princes were among these men. It was a strange image to watch the crown prince wielding a sword. Only a few seconds were enough to realize how bad Crown Prince Edward was compared to his younger brother. But what puzzled Cedrik even more was why the princes were participating in the evening training at all.
"Please accept my apologies, it was not my intention to keep you waiting, Sir Freigoud", Cedrik quickly admitted, bowing his head.
"That's all right, after all, it was me who ordered you to do it in the first place", Sir Freigoud explained as Cedrik unsheathed the sword and handed it to his superior. Gratefully, Duke of Freigoud took it back and allowed Cedrik to stand up. "So, did you find out anything?"
With a skeptical look, he stared at the great mass of people wielding swords together in unison, remembering how he was among them back when he was a young man. That may have been almost 20 years ago, probably a little less. Compared to his colleagues, he had joined much later and that only because Sir Freigoud had personally discovered and encouraged his abilities. He had loved his time as a budding solder, but whenever he thought back to the past, he became sad. He always had to think of his colleague and friend Jarle of Mornet, who he had shared a room with and attended school for years. Until today, Cedrik felt guilty about his sudden death... his suicide.
"The sword originally belonged to a certain Yosie Cuvelier, who had lived in Tsuke. She was an acquaintance of Linus Kama, who had forged it for her and given it to her as a gift. After she passed away, Leana Ford had found the sword in Tsuke and brought it with her to Sylve before selling it to Caleb Leuen a few years ago. She only knew at the time that he was a swordmaster and not that he was the same man who later became known as the 12th High-Magician. Sir Leuen subsequently bequeathed it to Prince William and this is where the story ends", Cedrik explained calmly, but when he mentioned the prince's name, he could see Prince William turn in his direction in surprise.
"You sure found out a lot, I didn't ask for such a detailed description."
"I was just lucky that it was Madam Ford herself who sold the sword to him. What I found interesting was that she had described him completely differently than he looks."
"He can change its appearance at will, after all, that's how Sir Leuen broke into the palace", Sir Freigoud merely commented.
"Cale had his reasons", Prince William suddenly spoke up. Surprised, both men looked down at an angle, in the direction from which the youngest prince had just come.
"Did you hear us?", Sir Freigoud quietly announced, but just like Cedrik, he was astonished that they had been heard. After all, they had been over 20 meters away and the soldiers on the training ground were not exactly quiet. His ears must have become very sensitive in recent years, that much was certain. Or he hadn't heard them, but merely read the words from their lips, the two men weren't so sure.
"Sort of. Have you been able to resolve your questions about the sword?", the prince evaded the question and raised his hand, which is why Sir Freigoud returned the Kama sword to him.
"Yes, thank you very much for lending it to us", Duke of Freigoud simply replied. William tied the sword to his hip and cast a skeptical glance at Cedrik. Since he belonged to the special unit, William hardly knew his face and had to wonder who he was accordingly.
"May I ask you something, your Royal Majesty Prince William of Sylve?", Cedrik raised nervously, because at the same moment his superior gave him an irritated look.
"Go ahead", William returned politely, which almost astonished Cedrik a little. He knew Prince William only as a disinterested, rude and restless child who seemed annoyed by everything and everyone. His two years outside the palace seemed to have changed him quite a bit. He seemed much calmer and more open, even apologizing to Sir Venlan for his behavior.
"Does the name Basil Kama mean anything to you?"
"Indeed, yes. I met him some time ago. Do you know him?", Prince William calmly explained himself.
"He is here in Bellator, I happened to run into him today."
"Sir Kama is in Bellator?", the Prince interjected in surprise. "That was unexpected. He pretty much hates human contact and only talked to us because my stomach was growling pretty badly at the time and he took pity on me. Do you know where he is and what he's doing here?"
"He's been staying with an acquaintance on the south side of town. From what I understand, he's looking for the three legendary swords."
"With an acquaintance?", William repeated in a visibly confused tone, completely ignoring the second part of the statement, which left Sir Freigoud literally open-mouthed. "Did he say this to you?"
"Less said and more seen for myself. He knew a blacksmith from the past."
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
"From... the past?", William repeated. Now Cedrik was pretty sure he also knew the man was a prehistoric man and 150 years old. "Strange things don't stop happening."
"How do you know this man, if you don't mind me asking?", Sir Freigoud now joined in as well.
"Ah, I did a job for Caleb Leuen a few months ago. Together with Benjamin, High-Magician Aaron Thopas, and a friend named Philippa, we traveled to Winstest in search of Basil Kama."
"Why were you looking for him, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Because of the...", the prince began, stopping abruptly before casting a dismissive glance at Cedrik, which gave him goosebumps. "... those guys of yesterday, Sir Freigoud."
The man seemed to immediately understand why the young prince was making such a strange comment, so he quickly placed a hand on Cedrik's shoulder and smiled.
"It's all right, the man here is Cedrik Tanneur. He belongs to the shadows."
"Ah, then you know of the Thormods, do you? Please excuse me, I was told to withhold information about their existence", William quickly replied, bowing to Cedrik, which made him abruptly uncomfortable.
"Please rise. I should have introduced myself... Basil Kama said to me that you had sought him out because of a creature called Kormandent", Cedrik quickly changed the subject and steered it in the right direction. He had sought out the whole conversation just so he could ask a single question.
"Um, yeah. That's true, too. The name Kormandent had been brought into being by Basil Kama at the time, but their real title is Thormod, which we hadn't learned until much later."
"I beg your pardon?", Cedrik interjected in surprise.
"Yes. The Magistrat had no knowledge of the Thormod, and Sir Kama was the only one who had ever had contact with them and survived it. According to Caleb Leuen, at least."
"Please excuse the direct question, but according to Basil Kama, the Kor... Thormods can completely block mana. If I recall correctly, Caleb Leuen had done the exact same thing the other day as well, right?", Cedrik finally spoke up. Nervousness gripped him as he felt the cold-hearted gaze of the prince, whose smile had completely disappeared.
"Do you claim that Caleb Leuen is a Thormod?"
To this statement Cedrik did not reply, and Sir Freigoud also seemed to raise serious doubts. If the High-Magician is a Thormod, why would he betray one of his own race?
But William began to laugh aloud.
"By the gods, no. You misunderstood", he interjected with amusement, causing Cedrik and Sir Freigoud to exchange skeptical glances. "The Thormods do not block mana. They have the ability to connect to their victim and permanently stand their mana. Sir Kama can't use mana because there's still the Thormod abusing his mana. Caleb Leuen, on the other hand, used his Igrikum yesterday, that special ability that every 3rd stage mage gets. His are barriers and he is able to build those even inside human bodies. They are so strong that he can even use them to interrupt the flow of mana, and it was this very principle that he used to prevent the Thormod from being able to use his stolen mana. Funnily enough, it was I who had given him the idea to use his mana that way back then."
With a blank expression, Cedrik stared at the laughing prince standing below them on the training ground. He had completely misinterpreted the story and that only because he was suspicious of the High-Magician. But now his thought turned out to be a total fantasy that he was almost ashamed of. Usually it was his job to gather information, but this time he almost caused a big mess with it.
"Please excuse me, I completely misunderstood the situation."
"It's okay, you're not the first. It's cleared up and that's the important thing", William replied, causing Cedrik to drop a load off his mind. He could lose his post for such a false statement, and it was the prince who had saved him from it. Wordlessly, he watched as the 21-year-old man ran back to his position and began to follow the movements of the group.
For a good minute, Duke Loys of Freigoud and Cedrik stood silently side by side, surveying the crowds, with the prince leading the way.
"Please forget what I said this morning. I think Caleb Leuen is a good man", Cedrik finally blurted out without turning aside. He was almost ashamed to have been so skeptical and not recovered a second opinion before addressing the prince directly.
"I think similarly. I haven't seen Prince William laugh like that in a long time", Sir Freigoud replied, deep in thought. He probably knew what Cedrik had been thinking during this conversation, but he hadn't intervened because he was just as curious. "Even though I still think he's dangerous:"
"Probably more powerful than dangerous. Dangerous, sounds like we should expect to become his enemy", Cedrik explained, remembering what had happened yesterday. Even though it bothered him immensely how easily the High-Magician had gained access to the palace, he understood why he had done it.
High-Magician Caleb Leuen was merely trying to protect Prince William of Sylve.
He had never been disrespectful or rude, and the way he had treated Prince William showed that he cared. Just because he was a powerful mage, Cedrik automatically assumed him to be a danger, even though he hadn't noticed the danger within, Marion of Sylve.
"A powerful ally, can we agree on that?", Sir Freigoud returned, clearing his throat in amusement.
"Very well, sir."
"Perfect. Good work, Cedrik. We'll just keep today's conversation to ourselves. You can call it a day. Tomorrow at 06:00 you'll start back with me."
"Thank you, Sir Freigoud", Cedrik replied politely, bowing to the man before quickly distancing himself from him. With brisk steps, he disappeared from the training area and hurried across the courtyard down the path to the eastern part of the palace. In the more secluded area lived many of the soldiers who had no family or simply did not live in the city itself. Cedrik also had a small apartment here, towards which he hurried. Some familiar soldiers greeted him on the way, but for most of them he was an unknown face. A few minutes later, he ran into his colleague Owen, who had made himself comfortable outside with some other men and was playing a board game. They merely nodded to each other so as not to attract too much attention. Their special unit consisted of only 20 men, who took turns protecting the royal family. Owen was one of the oldest and most experienced members, but Cedrik was the member who had the closest relationship with Sir Freigoud himself.
For Sir Freigoud was the man who had taught him the art of sword fighting as a child before he officially began working as a soldier. His father was a loyal friend of the Duke and after his death Loys of Freigoud had helped his family in many ways. This was one reason why he was so loyal to the Duke of Freigoud and the royal palace, after all, he could not have survived with his physically limited mother. A debt he would pay until his death.