"Why did you lie to them?", Aletta's voice echoed through the open bathroom. The group, Ben to be precise, had after some time been able to locate a hostel on the outskirts of the trading town that was not completely full. After they had spread out in the room, Philippa had discovered - to her own surprise - that the hostel had a public bath, separated into genders. It was almost midnight when the group spontaneously decided to relax for the evening.

Cale, like the others, had also separated into the hot pool after a short shower, dressed only in a towel, and made himself comfortable against the wall that separated the two oases. As there were no other visitors at that time of day, the group had taken the bath to themselves.

"So they don't get any stupid ideas", Cale replied calmly. He had leaned back in the water and closed his eyes as he enjoyed the warmth of the spring to the fullest. An arm's length away from him, Ben and William did likewise without making a sound. "The group and the little boy who was standing next to them are sure to spread rumors about us."

"Rumors?", spoke up Philippa, irritated. Cale could tell exactly, despite the low voice, that she was sitting only a few feet away from him. Generally he had the whole house in his view so noone would overhear their conversation... or worse.

"Yes. They will twist my statement for sure, but once rumors start circulating about the chaos on the plains, people will abide by the curfew. At least I hope so, otherwise the comment from me was quite redundant."

With a casual "I see", Philippa returned the statement and fell silent. For a few minutes, there was complete silence. Cale was completely lost in thought as he recalled the events of the day. He had a little heart attack when the soldier mentioned the curfew. In his past lifes, this had only been imposed after the second wave attack, so Cale thought the attack had come a lot earlier than he had expected. He immediately wanted to ask the soldier if his fear had come true, but for sure, besides his identity, he would have caused massive panic among the residents. That really didn't have to be. Therefore, he had learned in a roundabout way that his friend Grischa Vonstetten had been responsible. Whether it was because of the creatures or had a personal reason, Cale could not say. He suspected, however, that the safety of his family had played a major role. Otherwise, he could not explain why Grischa would take such a risk. After all, the blockade also affected trade between the countries tremendously.

On the other hand, the current situation was half as bad. They would join a larger group of travelers and make their way to the capital with them over the next few days. Due to the large migrations, there should already be controls at the gates so that the city could keep track of how many people were behind its gates. Of particular interest to them, of course, were the people who could also fight.

"Cale?", William spoke up in a whisper, bringing the High Mage back to this world.

"Hm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"You'r already doing so", Cale replied with amusement, rubbing his face with some water without opening his eyes. When no reply came after a moment of silence, Cale spoke up again. "You can ask me anything you want, Will."

He could hear the swordsman moving next to him, but remained quiet himself. They had barely exchanged a word since the awkward conversation that night.

"What's going to happen?"

Cale swallowed before letting the Igrikum take effect, locking the entire group in it, unnoticed. How was he supposed to respond to something like that? If he told them all he knew, they would probably be paralysed with fear. On the other hand, he could not and would not lie to them. He always got a guilty conscience when he lied to them, which is why he tried to avoid it.

"I'm not so sure about that myself...", he began cautiously. "There will be a second attack wave, I'm sure of that. It's incredibly important that we keep Exarion alive, because without her, normal humans, as well as Mages and Anuxers, will have a real problem."

William was silent for a moment before asking the next questions.

"Do you know what the Council is planning?"

"A little, yes. Since I'm not on the Council myself, I therefore only know second-hand. They will definitely request the cooperation of the countries at the meeting and also hire mages as well as Anuxers to protect Altona. Whether and how exactly they will it is yet to be seen."

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"Do you think they'll get healers from Frignez?", Aletta nervously spoke up.

"I'm pretty sure they will, yes. At least one of the chiefs will also be present at the meeting, that much is certain. Even Frignez should be aware of what they will face if Altona fails."

Cale could clearly hear the young girl gasp in surprise, but pause. Frignez didn't have enough fighting power of their own and by their general behavior towards strangers they were putting themselves at a disadvantage.

"Kingdom Sylve too?", added Ben.

"Yes, Sylve too. They will certainly help too, but they are not quite as helpless as Frignez."

Everyone fell silent.

William seemed to lean back in as well and just sighed longingly. When he had set out to be an Anuxer, he had not planned to find himself in such a situation. Who would also think that the creatures would specifically attack the capital of Altona? Even if the dragons in the background were responsible, what purpose did the attack serve? To spread fear? To drive the people away?

"But see it from the bright side. Altona will be teeming with strong people, I'm sure you can all just learn a thing or two", Cale added blithely, much to Ben's amusement. He had briefly toyed with the idea of just accompanying the girls to Altona and then going back to Sylve, but Cale had virtually just assured them that they would end up back in Altona either way. Currently, at least.

"I think I have a confession to make", Aletta announced herself after a few minutes of silence. Surprised, William straightened up again and looked in her direction as if he could see the young healer behind the wall. "My father is one of the three chiefs from Frignez."

"What?", Phiilppa could be heard saying quietly, but was almost completely covered by William's watery backdrop and cough. He had slipped slightly at the statement and choked on water.

"Does that mean you're something of a noble?", gave Ben the word in wonder, he too had straightened up and was staring at the rock face.

"We don't have nobles or royal blood, but yes, you could compare it well with that", she explained carefully. Cale, who was still floating in the water with his eyes closed, could feel the two sword warriors exchanging glances before William turned to him and spoke up quietly.

"Did you know about this?", William inquired of him, to which Cale only responded silently. He ran his wet hand through his hair, opened his eyes and looked directly at William.

"Yes. You know she has Holy Mana, which is quite rare. It's not hereditary, but both her father and she have it, which makes her family really special. She is Aletta Merensen, daughter of the 2nd chief Ninett Merensen. Since chief Merensen couldn't hide her abilities forever, Aletta was forcibly married off to be safe. To the Heriog family, the 1st chief."

Cale spoke so softly that only Ben and William could hear him. Ben's was about to retort something, but Cale merely raised his finger and placed it on top of his, signalling to the two to keep the information under wraps. It was known to the public that the 2nd chief's daughter was engaged, but who the lucky man was, no one knew.

"How long have you known about this?", inquired Ben.

"Since we first time we have met. There is no one in the Magistrat's office who doesn't know her. Generally speaking, she's a bit of a celebrity in the upper classes. To be honest, I'm surprised you didn't realise that. She used Holy Mana that night with the Calyfaren, you should have noticed the connection back then at the latest."

Ben sighed and started laughing as he slapped a hand against his forehead and sat back in his seat. William, on the other hand, was silent. He seemed to be worried about Aletta confessions and also the fact that Cale knew about them. Of course he knew about Aletta Merensen, but that his Aletta and the head's daughter were one and the same, he had not expected. Sometimes he was so blind to the obvious that he would like to punch himself for it. How could he have missed it?

With a smile on his lips, Cale leaned back again and put a hand over his face as he listened to Philippa's words. She inquired about why Aletta had come to Winstest alone, so Aletta told her about her life in Norgram. For a moment, only the girls' voices could be heard until William spoke up.

"Aletta? Philippa?", he began cautiously, so that everyone present fell silent. Ben only gave his friend a questioning look as he had stood up and clasped his hands together. "I should tell you something, too. My name is Prince William of Sylve. I am the third son of King Leonhardt."

"Will!", shouted Ben outright, and Cale also straightened abruptly. Within seconds Ben was pushing William back into the water and looking nervously around the area, while Cale stood upright and looked at the prince with wide eyes. "Have you gone mad?"

"What?", was Aletta's horrified reply, but received no response. The three remained like that for a moment before Ben turned to Cale.

"Did anyone hear that?"

"No, no one heard him", Cale replied relaxed. Since he had set up his Igrikum from the beginning, it was simply impossible that anyone had heard them. Even if none of the four travelers were aware of it. Ben heaved a sigh out of relief, relaxed his muscles and slapped William lightly against the head.

"Are you insane? What were you thinking?", Ben scolded, easing off William, who managed to sit up again. He held onto his towel with one hand and grumbled to himself in annoyance before his gaze fell on Cale's torso.

"Let's go in", Cale interjected loudly, so the girls could hear him too. Reflexively, he covered his chest with one hand before passing the two nobles and climbing out of the pool. Not because he was uncomfortable standing naked in front of his friends, but because of what was visible on his chest. He had been able to hide it before with the towel and his hand, then with the murky water, but now William and presumably Ben had seen it too.

His perfect, circular scar. His three blockages.