The fire crackled in the oppressive silence. Cale prepared dinner while the boys set up camp for the night and the girls sat silently by the campfire. They had exchanged almost no words since the conversation at noon. By now it was late afternoon, the sun still shining and illuminating the creature region with its red light. Now and then, William cast a searching glance at Cale, who was crouching a few meters away from the inside. He almost feared that the mage would run away because they were asking him uncomfortable questions, but Cale remained calm.

The two swordsmen had stretched the tarp and covered the open area with wood, making their camp look like a small hut. Inside, the girls had provided sleeping quarters before joining Cale at the camp. When the men had also finished their work, they too squatted by the fire with the others, while Cale gleefully prepared the well-straightened stew in the pot. Now that he was no longer hiding his magic, he used his zero magic in plain sight, which surprised Ben.

Cale took a sample of his creation with a spoon before pausing in his movement and pointing it at Aletta.

"Aletta, please check William's wounds. The Calyfaren bit him and I had to cauterise one wound."

Surprised at Cale's statement, Ben and Philippa gave William a horrified look, while Aletta stood up with a blunt nod and joined William in moving a little further away. She too, like Cale, began to examine the bite wounds one by one.

"Well, where should I even start?", raised Cale cautiously as his gaze continued to linger on William. Tension was building, it felt like the king was giving a speech, so intently were the four Anuxers listening to the mage. "My full name is Caleb Leuen. I have been a member of the Magistrat for 17 years and I am an officia High-Mage for 6 years now."

William gasped and looked at the mage in disbelief. His gaze automatically wandered to Philippa, who also looked horrified, but what astonished him most was Ben's reaction. A dull smile. William immediately realised that his friend knew about Cale's identity.

"That makes me one of the 12 High-Mages of Altona, but by ranks I am the last", Cale added, putting the spoon back into the pot and getting out some plates, as well as large spoons. He then began to serve the food to the others while Aletta reached the burn, looked somewhat sympathetically into William's eyes and began to heal. This was the sign for him that there was no danger from the parasites and she was only closing the burn. "I work on behalf of the Magistrat. The mages who contacted me today were Grischa Vonstetten and the Elder himself. They're calling in all the High-Magicians and other notables because creature activity has been on the rise lately."

Cale handed the first bowl to Philippa, who stared at him in disbelief and silently took the food. They didn't usually eat this early, but Cale still had a few seats with them without the four of them knowing.

"Two days ago, creatures attacked the capital in Altona."

Ben straightened in surprise so that his metal sword jingled and caught everyones attention.

"Some people have been injured and some have died as well, but the Mages of the Magistrat were able to prevent any major damage. Nonetheless, the situation gives cause for concern", Cale continued to speak as he refilled the next plate and turned his gaze to William. "What I am about to tell you is highly classified."

William shuddered at Cale's statement. His warning look scared him, but at the same time he wondered what Cale was about to tell. William was the third prince of Sylve, so even if he had no claim to the throne, he was still a high-ranking noble. It was not the first time he had been briefed on things that an ordinary citizen should not know. But receiving secret information from the Magistrat made him tense.

"There really are dragons in Sylve."

William's face turned white. Aletta instantly let go of him and Ben also felt an icy chill run down his spine. Almost reflexively, everyone present turned their eyes to the mountains they had crisscrossed, as if fearing one of the mighty creatures would show itself in the sky.

"According to the count from the day before yesterday, there should be five in total, but there could very well be more than five. We can only speculate about the number of the creatures themselves that are in the lower plains. Their numbers can no longer be counted."

He passed the filled plate to Ben, who lost all appetite. Dragons had indeed taken up residence in the mountains of his homeland, and the Magistrat knew about it. For a long time it was only a rumour that dragons spread their mountains to Sylve and the other regions, but that they officially lived here was anything but good. It meant that the kingdom was about to go to war with the dragons, and from William's reaction, the swordsman knew that the royal house did not know about it.

"The Magistrat has called a meeting in two weeks. By the fact that the elder personally addressed the mages and nobles, it looks like he wants to inform everyone about the current state of the crisis in order to plan the next steps. I also suspect that they will set up restrictions for the Anuxers, such as: each group must consist of five people, each group needs an experienced Anuxer or, with any luck, at least one healer."

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At the words, he gave Aletta an all-seeing look. She knew immediately what he was trying to signal to her. Her home... they will definitely ask her family for help too.

"Are we... are we safe here?"

Philippa's question lightened her voice. Aletta eased away from William and straightened up, while the unknown prince tidied up his clothes. Last nights attack was only a harbinger of what would soon befall them. This became abruptly clear to William and the rest of the group.

The creatures were multiplying and spreading.

Cale handed Aletta a plate, which she accepted with a thank you, and sat down in the empty seat next to Philippa, while William sat down by the fire next to Cale. A moment later, he too received a deliciously judging plate, but his queasy feeling prompted him not to eat.

William was relieved that his bite wounds were okay, but the one fear slipped seamlessly into the others.

"Honestly? No. The sooner we get out of here, the better."

Philippa got goosebumps at the mages statement. She was scared, but equally relieved that he wasn't sugarcoating the truth. The archer knew full well that Cale's words were true, no matter how bizarre they sounded.

"The city. Sylve. Are they going to be safe?"

Ben's question made William realise something instantly. Cale was one of the High-Magicians who protected his homeland. Until a few minutes ago, he had assumed that Cale just happened to live and work in the tavern, but suddenly it seemed very different. The tavern, which was located at the northern entrance of the city and thus in proximity to the border, was the perfect starting point to prevent a possible attack. When he had told them that he had come to Sylve for a mission, it had to be related to that. William would wonder if his father had not been informed of the presence of a High-Mage in Bellator. But the way Cale had been so familiar with the people in the city, and the way the soldiers had behaved toward him.... it seemed like everyone knew who Cale was except William himself.

"Yes. I'm convinced of that. I left Bellator in capable hands," Cale replied, remembering An's signal during their brief encounter. It was like a game the two were playing. Their move meant that their men were capable of successfully protecting the city when necessary. And those men were An's students, the soldiers of the city, which she had been training intensively for several years. One of the reasons Cale had befriended An upon his arrival in Sylve: he needed her strength. On the other part, the King of Sylve himself was also aware of the fact, but decided to stay neutral for the time being.

While everyone remained silent, Cale also filled his own bowl with food before dining on it with relish afterwards. The others, however, paused and sank into thought, which did not escape the mages notice.

"Don't let my food get cold. You should eat it, we still have plans for today."

Astonished, all four looked up at the mage at the same time. They had already set up their camp, and their daily supper was already close at hand. What else was Cale up to at this hour, when they usually took a break and went to sleep afterwards?

"What are you up to?", William hesitantly admitted as he sceptically watched Cale devour his supper without much hesitation.

"Don't take my joy away, you'll see soon enough", Cale replied with amusement, which irritated the four of them even more.

"Aren't you afraid at all?", Aletta volunteered.

"Afraid? Of what?"

"Of the creatures that attacked your homeland?"

Cale paused jerkily in his movement, as if pondering Aletta's statement for a moment, before lowering the bowl and ladle. It was a bit surprising that Aletta would ask him such a direct question that he had to think for a moment about how exactly to answer.

"I am not afraid of the creatures themselves. Out of us High-Mages I am the one who is probably the most familiar with them and I dare say that in this aspect, I am not inferior to any other human. Only the mass and the way they made the attack concerns me a little. These are not creatures blessed with much intelligence, but they must have someone whose orders they follow", Cale finally explained, knowing full well that the four Anuxers would draw the correct conclusion without him having to spell it out.

The Dragons.

"You think... that...", Aletta stammered, frightened, which made Cale look at her with sympathetic eyes.

"I have no proof, and I'm probably alone in thinking that, but yes. I don't want to scare you, but the future of humanity doesn't look very good. Now eat, or the food will get cold."

Hesitantly, William was the first to follow Cale's instruction and began to eat the warm stew. Tears hung in his eyes, which he fought against. All the knowledge and experience of the last few weeks were fighting inside against his life in the palace. He had never witnessed much, his father simply had nothing to tell the third son, since the Crown Prince was the one who inherited all his knowledge and power. His eldest brother, Edward. From birth, their lives were predestined, which is why he hated the palace so much. But now, while he was toying with the idea that dragons might attack Sylve, his hatred had completely disappeared and only worry remained. Concern for Sylve, concern for the inhabitants, concern for his brothers and indeed concern for his father. What was the use of all the knowledge, power and influence in view of the fact that dragons could claim the land for themselves? There was no one who could resist, not even the High-Magicians of Altona, let alone ordinary people. How could they just ignore the warning? First Groka, now Exarion? What would come next?

"Just thinking about it makes me sick", Ben suddenly blurted out, as if he had read William's mind. He had a similarly pale expression on his face as he forced himself not to let Cale's work go to waste.

The High-Mage himself had already finished his portion and was leaning against the tree stump, listening to the crackling of the fire and gazing up at the starry sky. He felt the same as the rest of the group, but the four of them had not the faintest idea of what Cale actually knew. That humanity was powerlessly facing its demise was not just a guess he had made.

It was a fact.