The next morning had arrived and the weather had increasingly deteriorated. While the sky had been clear during the night, William was greeted with rough winds and a cloudy sky.
The four searchers had gathered for breakfast that morning, where Aaron also thanked the others for not leaving him behind. William was almost a little shocked that Aaron thought so poorly of them, but kept the comment to himself. Ben, however, reproached the High-Magician for not trusting them a little more, which Aaron promised to do so from now on.
After eating, the four of them had spread out a bit to get an overview of the area. Their lodging was quite close to the highest point of the plain, which rose vertically into the sky like a cliff. To William, it almost seemed as if someone had cut out a piece of the ground and placed it above. The whole area did not seem natural.
Philippa had explained to them that her tribe used the land as a training ground for young hunters. Unlike Altona, animals did live on the grasslands, but the creatures mostly hid in the huge crevices in the ground or much farther north. With curious eyes, Ben and William looked down one of the countless cracks in the ground, careful not to fall. The scary thing was that the creatures here were supposedly underground. Not much could be detected in the darkness, but as William focused on the crack, he sensed the presence of countless creatures below.
After their little exploration, the group headed north. The archer explained to them that she had never gone further than here, as it was forbidden for them to do so. While Aaron looked around searchingly, the young men listened to the story of Philippa's tribe. Even her people could not explain the strange area; to all appearances, the strict demarcation between forest areas and steppe had been that way for several decades. Therefore, no one could say what Winstest used to look like and what had happened here. Many believed that the gods were responsible for the landscape, but to William the flat areas seemed man-made.
"From here on, please keep your eyes open. According to Caleb, the man is supposed to be somewhere in this region", Aaron finally spoke up. His words prompted the archer to finish her story and look around searchingly as well. Of all of them, she had the best eyes, so she slowly scanned the rocks for signs of life. William and Ben did likewise and deliberately led the group up the path. The vertical, smooth rock was now within reach. Again and again, William had to gaze at the mountains in amazement. From a distance, the construct looked nowhere near as spectacular as it did at the base of the rock. Frighteningly, the wall towered into the sky, almost seeming to disappear into the clouds.
For most of the time, the four remained silent as they left their landmark behind and walked for several hours simply straight ahead. Every now and then the group spotted a wild animal, but it was quiet - almost too quiet. An oppressive feeling spread through William as he wondered how realistic it was to find a specific person on this patch of land. His greatest concern, however, was that this man was watching them from a hiding place and would not reveal himself at all. Aaron seemed to fear something similar, as he began to spread out his mana and watch the find more closely for any small resistance. After a full day of walking, William felt they would never find him, but he could not give up.
When the four of them made camp near a precipice that evening, William dropped to the ground, exhausted, while Philippa gazed intently across the open space.
"Shall we stay here for the night?", Ben asked after a time, as he glanced searchingly at the sky.
"We'd rather not. We should keep looking while the sun is still out and find a real place to stay for the evening", Aaron threw back monotonously as he stretched a bit and approached Philippa. They probably still had a good few hours before it got really dark, but the little break William gratefully accepted. The four of them paused for about 20 minutes, drinking and eating a bit, before the black-haired swordsman stood up and began to stretch. He was used to walking for long periods of time, but the cool, damp wind was getting to him. Inevitably, he had to remember the storm back then, thanks to which he had caught a fever. For this reason, he put on his hood and closed his jacket up to his head, so that no wind or rain could gain access. He did not want to be a burden to the people again.
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
"There's someone here", Aaron snapped the young swordsman out of his thoughts, and surprised, all three of them looked at him before following his gaze. "I don't see him, but the mana is definitely that of a human. He seems to be watching us, but he's probably not the man we're looking for."
Nervously, William stepped closer to the group and Ben did likewise. Examining, the four looked to the west, where the mountains spread out. The person could be anywhere and making anything out at a distance was impossible, seemingly.
"I see him", Philippa stated clearly, steadying her gaze on the man, who was looking down on them, hidden, for several hundred yards.
"At that", Aaron replied, slightly impressed. "Can you make out what he looks like?"
"Unfortunately not, his clothes camouflage him well", Philippa admitted. She wasn't sure if the stranger could recognize her that well, either. However, he didn't seem to realize that Philippa had spotted him.
"Should we try and talk to him?", Ben hesitantly spoke up, giving the High-Magician a questioning look. Aaron nodded in agreement.
"I would like to try... but, if he sees us coming, he'll probably just run away. He seems afraid of us", Philippa explained, causing everyone's hopes to fade to nothing. Almost disappointed, Ben and William exchanged glances before the archer spoke up again without averting her gaze. "Do either of you have a pen and paper with you?"
"Yes. I've got some with me. What are you going to do with it?", Aaron chimed in as he set his bag down on the ground and pulled out the needed utensils. The stranger had hidden in a hollow behind a rock and continued to watch the group at a safe distance.
"I will send him an arrow with a message", Philippa explained calmly. Aaron was about to hand her the objects, but stopped suddenly.
"Won't he run away if you point your bow at him?", Ben voiced what all the men in the group were thinking, but when Philippa remained silent. She reached for her pen and composed a short message.
"I don't think he can see us that clearly. I've been staring at him for quite a while now, but he won't look me in the eye", she explained, dropping her gaze to the stranger again and again.
'We mean no harm. We are looking for a man named Basil who is supposed to live here. Do you know him?'
Carefully, she separated the message from the rest of the paper, while Ben and Aaron's interested glances lingered on him. She then reached for one of her arrows before tying the note to it and releasing her bow from her back. Nervously, Philippa took a deep breath as she cocked her ground and pointed the tip at the wall behind the man. For a moment, she remained in position, letting the wind slide against her weapon. Carefully correcting her starting position, she cocked her ground a bit more and exhaled.
With a low whistle, the arrow took its leave of the group and shot toward the mountains. Philippa could see exactly how the arrow got stuck in the wall a good two meters next to the stranger, while he cowered behind the stone in surprise.
"What happened? Did he run away?", Ben immediately asked.
"No", Philippa quietly admitted, staring intently at the rock. For almost a minute nothing stirred until the stranger noticed the news and peered cautiously from behind the rock. He seemed skeptical and cowered again the next moment, until he gathered his courage and shot the arrow with lightning speed, grabbed it from the wall, and moved to safety behind the nearest rock.
"He has the message", Philippa explained, which made William breathe a sigh of relief. Tensely, she watched the place behind which the stranger had disappeared. After what felt like hours, the man reappeared, holding his spear hanging down in one hand, while with the other he signaled Philippa to come to him. "He has a spear with him. He can't send us a reply, but judging from his gestures, he's willing to talk to us."
"Having an archer on your team can be quite useful", Ben countered with amusement.
"Somebody's got to have your backs, you maniacs", Philippa threw back and started moving. Aaron, Ben and William followed her without hesitation.
"Are there actually many people out here?"
"In the Death Region? Actually, no. This is where the outcasts hide, but there shouldn't be too many. Nobody knows the exact numbers, but around a hundred... maybe."
"Not more?"
"Not more, no. You can't just leave the faith community whenever you want", Philippa replied with a depressed look on her face. "Personally, I was lucky to be able to escape. My siblings, unfortunately, were not."
"You had siblings?", William inquired in surprise.
"Dozens, yes. Not necessarily from the same mother, but we were related. Whenever I see Aletta I have to think of one of the younger sisters I couldn't save. If she were alive, they would be quite close in age now."
"I know that feeling", Ben murmured softly, rubbing his finger over the scar on his chin. Irritated, William turned backwards, absolutely not understanding what his childhood friend was talking about. After all, Ben never had a younger sister.