The carriage took her south for almost three days. During this time Astrid spoke to Cadem and rested as much as possible. She was glad of the time she was given to rest and recuperate but at the same time nervous by the upcoming test. Cadem knew little of the next phases and not knowing kept her in constant stress. He had taken her sword but she had managed to hide the knife she had received from Zorlo

“You worry too much chica; normally I would not tell, but you are especial. The first one was to test how resourceful you are. This is crucial to our job and I think you did genial even with your injuries. There is one to test your resolve another is a physical test and I think there is an intellectual test, but that one is basico. When I did mine, I barely knew how to read and I was able to pass.”

His enthusiasm was not contagious, she needed some support and felt his responses mocking.

“How about you tell me some stories about that time my friend?” She asked hoping to get some information so she could know what to expect.

His laugh felt disturbing somehow.

“It is not so simple querida. Each time it changes drastically, even if I told you, it would not help. Con el tiempo the selection of candidates changed; the boss found it entertaining and now it became somewhat of an event. All diez fingers present their champion and bet on each round. The one that brought the winner in this case two gets premios, big ones. Because of this it becomes more elaborate each time. When I did it all the test were done in one location and did not involve more than simple tests” His tone told her he wanted to speak more but he stopped and answered no more of her questions.

He tried to change the conversation towards more personal areas. Romance and family mostly, but she deterred him from that area because of her non-existent romantic live and the issues with her family. From there the conversation became a few familiar questions divided by long silences.

Just before twilight of the third day they passed a narrow rocky path that opened up to reveal a valley. It was a simple grassy area with few trees and no animals on sight. Before they entered the valley proper, Cadem ordered the two waggoneers to stop and make camp. He wanted to get there well rested instead of crossing during the night.

The two men that accompany them were guards of some sort, Cadem called them waggoneers but they used thick leather armour reinforced with iron and a silver crest over their heart. It was different to any she had seen so far so it could be a disguise or a local lords crest.

The older one of the two, a man in his fifties had an elaborate pummel in the shape of a fox while the other had a plain looking longsword. This gave Astrid an idea of the hierarchy, but she still didn’t know where Cadem stood.

The camp was made in a few minutes, even in the moonless night; they used an indent on the side of the road to place a fire pit and the tents used a simple mechanism that let two men rise them in seconds. That must have been made in the university, she could recall someone telling her of something of the sort but she could not remember much of it.

During the journey they had used a large amount of wood each night leaving them with nothing for tonight. Cadem had told her the large fire was to ensure no wild animals would approach the camp but she was not so sure.

The night shift was also suspicious; it was done by the three men that accompany her to let her rest. Astrid suspected the fire was used to signal their position and the shifts were to maintain an eye on her.

Tonight, the two waggoneers were talking while making the camp; normally they did this quietly and far away from her but today they were much more relaxed. Maybe she would learn something from them, Cadem never gave them any orders so they at least knew the location. Both men had a deep accent that made eavesdropping difficult but she could manage to understand much of their momonian.

“I hate it here man” it was the younger of the two. “We are at least five days from the closest town in the god dam middle of nowhere with these freaks” He almost spat the last word.

“Calm down boy, we do the work the lord Payton gave us, nothin more, nothin less; even when we find ourselves so far from home. I hear the freaks earn the lords quite a pretty large amount of gold, otherwise they would take care of them.” The older man sighted and continued in a lower voice; the words lost to the wind.

“I hope this doesn’t take long; I want to go back to Irima as soon as possible. Do you think I like being so long away from the missis?” It was the old man again after a couple of minutes.

“You say that but you never complain when there are ladies fo the night.” The young man responded with laughter in his voice.

He received a sucker punch from his superior that left him gasping for air.

“I am not a part of your Brimish church; I can and will share my bed; but mi wife’s company will never be replaced. So never joke of this again boy” His tone changed from paternal to menacing in an instant.

“Fine old man. I don’t really care just be careful where you lay, I heard Thomson got a nasty thing from one of the whores that passed through the castle this spring”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

These last words made Astrid feel somewhat ashamed to pry in the conversation but she was saved of hearing the rest by a thunderous sound that made her turn north.

The two men stood up silently hands to their swords. It was Cadem, he had used his ability to cut down a tree close to camp, he continued moving five distinct spheres to break down the trunk into manageable pieces to build a campfire.

After the saw him the men relaxed. Glad to have an excuse to walk away from the waggoneers she stood from her spot and walked towards the trunk.

“Cadem, amigo; are those other fires we can see around the valley the other participants? Don’t get me wrong;” She protested as he rose his eyebrow. “I do like our private wagon but would it not be easier to take us all in a single trip?”

“We do it so you don’t try to kill each other while you sleep. Now grab that some pieces and take them to the pit.” He said it in a matter-of-fact way that kept her quiet until she saw the wood up close.

“Wait; is this? It cannot be. IT IS” Astrid sounded delighted. “You are going to use imperial blackwood for a campfire?!”

She was outraged by the suggestion. This was one if not the most expensive wood in existence. With this amount she could live for a year in the university without working a day. Cadem didn’t seem to understand, he just stood there looking confused.

“This is IMPERIAL BLACKWOOD” Astrid emphasized the name to get his attention. “Back in the university only full fledge artificers were taught to work it. The throne of the Brimish kingdom is made with this material”

It was not only expensive, it was a wood whose hardness and resistant to impact was legendary, so much so that it rivalled the best steel after some treatment.

He took a piece of wood, looked it thoughtfully for a second before he threw it backwards. She felt her face grow hot in anger but did not act on it.

“It is wood. We need a fire, so we take it down and burn it, besides this is common in this valley; I think”

She felt angry but knew better than to argue with him when he was serious.

Astrid helped her teacher to move the wood and volunteered her power to light the fire. It was hard for her but she used it as an excuse for her to grab on to the wood and take some of it for herself into a pocket.

It was not easy to start the fire, she was forced to concentrate, most wood started to burn around seven to eight hundred Celsius, she calculated this was around double that before it actually ignited. The wood burned brighter and with no smoke. It was a wonderful material and provided them with a warm area to sleep through the night.

To get them though the valley the wagon used an old dirt road that made her feel dizzy due to its constant curvature to avoid trees and cross small rivers. While they transverse the road she noticed what Cadem told her the night before was true, almost all the trees in the area were imperial blackwood. The lord that ruled these lands must be filthy rich.

At the end of this area, she could see a castle against the mountain, it looked ancient and abandoned, but still, the structure was impressive. This is where they were going to test them further. She felt troubled that it would fall apart while they were inside.

Up close she noticed this was a real fortress, it just looked abandoned at a distance. There was an extra outer wall in several stages of decay and destruction, and the higher towers displayed a similar condition. The inner walls were slightly smaller and heavily fortified with guards patrolling with bows and muskets.

The main entrance consisted of a six-meter-tall by five-meter-wide gate; she was astonished by its size. To maximise the strength, they had made layers of blackwood and iron creating a titanic meter and a half-thick gate fitted with long iron spikes in the front to deter attackers. By her calculations it should weight more than two tons. An absurd weight to move; there must be a special mechanism to open and close this beast.

The area inside the wall was not what she expected. By what she could tell at least a thousand people called this fortress their home. Maintaining this year long would be extremely expensive. There were no fields to harvest of even a single domesticated animal of any kind living on the valley; all food needed to be transported from somewhere else. The same goes for almost any other resource.

A large open area greeted her, stables were placed to her left while at her right there was a large structure full with movement, she suspected this to be the barracks. Heavily armoured guards trained at the walls shadow; sword fight and bow were their main focus.

Approaching the stables Astrid noticed the presence of seven wagons similar to hers and one much larger. She was one of the last participants to arrive. When the wagon stopped, she stepped down to see a dozen guards in chainmail armour and plate helmets holding halberds.

They saluted Cadem and fell into ranks when he advanced flanking Astrid. She felt proud that the men of the organization considered this necessary but at the same time she was terrified that any of these men would attack her. Taking a deep breath, she walked with her head held high towards the mountain.

Beside from the two structures by the entrance there was no other construction close to the wall. Fifty meters from the gate some twenty sturdy stone buildings stood in two different rows creating a main street in its centre.

Each was a two-story warehouse with distinct symbols at the entrance to clarify their use. She only understood a few of them; a chain in the one closest to the barracks meant it was a storage house for slaves while a lady in a dancing position denoted what could only be a brothel.

Behind these buildings was the main state, it took her almost half an hour to cross the gardens that precede the structure and arrive at the guarded gate.

More than a castle it could be described as an enormous three-story mansion with a large fountain in front of the main entrance. the building was at least a hundred meters long across the front, eighty meters deep including the front fountain and twenty-five meters high.

A cliff coincided with the back of the building to its south, a guard station on the top worked as a sentry.

Astrid passed through the gate to find herself in the most luxurious mansion she had ever seen. She was no stranger to lord states as her father had taken her to some of his greatest friends and clients; this however was another thing entirely.

The walls were covered in a deep blue colour with white granite finishes and floors. The decorations surrounding the entrance consisted of golden embroilments and statues in both sides that guided the view towards the stairs. The double marble staircase circled an inner fountain that resembled the larger one on the outside and a massive gold and crystal candelabrum hanged over it.

Astrid felt her jaw drop and started to walk in amazement. She felt like in a fantasy novel. At least she did, until she looked through a side door.