A New Dawn 115 The Tower Of The Archmage

Unlike a certain place that was heavily guarded and watched, but rarely visited, another one was suffering the same treatment, with the addition of the numerous groups trying to enter it. If at first, it had shocked the usual bypa.s.sers and the merchants that repeatedly walked by, it was had now turned into a routine. Each morning, at dawn, at least five different groups repeatedly arrived at the entrance, only leaving when it was dark in the night.

The flourishing City-State that was Durtang was like a neutral ground for the surrounding nations, preventing any bloodshed to happen. Normally, it should have only interested merchants and traders, enabling them to sell their own products or buy goods that were prevented to enter their countries. And with the protection of the last remaining Hero that used this city as his residence, no one was foolish enough to cause too much ruckus.

But, this time, it was the presence of the Archmage that caused so many problems. Or, one could say, his absence. "No, the Archmage is not allowing any visitors on this day. Like yesterday, and the day before. Also, can you please stop bothering the common people, you are nearly blocking the entire street."

A relatively old man was impatiently trying to get rid of the problem, even if he knew they wouldn't stop coming until they had answers. Even if most commoners worshiped the Archmage and nearly everyone respected him, his actions in the last decades were very scarce. To the point where some suspected that he had already died and the news was concealed. After all, to have lived nearly a thousand years was not natural for a human.

"Magus Redjoy, can you at least allow us to see him, even if it is from afar? You know very well who we are all representing or at least have an idea. Stranges incidents are appearing in every country, we need to know what we are facing. We deserve answers!" The man with a slightly tan skin was the most virulent in his approach. His allegiance to the Synnada Empire bore no doubt, and since the city was still located inside the frontiers of the Empire, he acted without a lot of restraints.

"You deserve nothing at all, especially asking it like that. This city is not your empire, so don't act like you are in charge." The old magus sneered at him and a lot of gazes turned the tanned man. They were not very friendly, especially after hearing what they were discussing. Realizing the situation, the envoy of the Synnada Empire could only shut his mouth angrily.

"Master Magus, we are not asking you to give us the two moons. Even if only one of us could see him, it will already lift a lot of our worries." The young voice attracted those in the vicinity, to see who was talking. Even if she was wearing a cloak, it was still visible that she was a woman. They were only three, all carrying swords of the highest quality. Strangely, even if the others had all gathered more than five people, the small group was still the most feared. They all preferred to be closer to anyone else than the three swordsmen.

"Young Miss, my orders are absolute. Unless the Archmage changes his mind, he will not see any of you today or even tomorrow. But he is not dead, I can confirm that. Other disciples will also answer the same."

In reality, he was the only one available of the entire building. The Tower of the Archmage had currently 8 disciples, with him being the oldest. Most were sent away the last month, searching for something that even him didn't know about. As for the only other magus still staying here, she was constantly helping the Archmage with something. It was her that told him they were far too busy to even see the numerous delegations.

"We still would like to stay here."

"As you want."

He still couldn't prevent them from figuratively planting their tents in front of him. Even if the Tower was the most imposant building around, even bigger than the City Hall of Durtang, the pa.s.sage in front of it was quite small. Two carts could walk side by side and that was it. Some inner streetswere double that size, especially the ones from the port to the giant market.

Durtang was located not too far from the Ma.s.salia Kingdom and was a coastal metropolis. This close proximity still played a good part in the fact that the Synnada Empire is reluctant at attacking the flourishing town. Coupled with the fact that it is still making money out of it, the very existence of such a small state inside another one was made possible.

Every group sent one of their members to relay the fact that the Archmage was still not found. But besides the national hatred between each group, they were not fighting. This made the local guards around sighing in relief. Every single one of those cloaked silhouettes could probably kill them without getting injured. The pressure on them was extremely intense, and many tried to avoid this area as much as possible.

Funnily enough, the streets that were not often targeted by beggars and thieves were now completely void of them, in a much larger area. If before, they feared a bit the Archmage, they were now completely scared of even putting a foot near so many powerful humans. Only one couple was extremely happy by this situation, the owners of the restaurant right in front of the Tower. Because all those experts stayed the entire day doing nothing, they often bought from their store food and drinks.

"Everyone, please, the Tower will be closed. Step away." The usual sentences they heard from the last few days resonated in the quiet night. Soon after, they could see many magic shields and inscriptions being activated. In a few minutes, even if they all attacked together, they wouldn't be able to enter the residence of the Archmage.

"Another wasted day."

"Yes, but at least we are visiting a new city. If it could bring you some color, it would be great, sis."

The two golden-haired humans still maintained their hood for the moment. If it was known that the two children of the Sword Saint were present, the entire situation could become explosive. The presence of Muirnë was confirmed, but her brother had never spoken or showed his face. Shortly after the calamity that occurred at the Academy of Magic, they had spare no efforts at finding a clue. However, out of the blue, they were tasked to escort the prince Ferrod Minalcar Teldil in Durtang.

"I don't like that place, Amdir, I really don't. Too close to our enemies, too many dangers. If I wanted to visit something, I would rather go in some of the Thermes of Genablum, what was that place called once more?"

"The Sun Lake? Apparently, their reputation is entirely deserved. Even father praised that place, it's just a shame that since your return from Pankow, so many things turned wrong. But maybe you could go with Istuienn, it will maybe change her mind."

"Yes, maybe." The careless and joyful little girl had lost a lot in the attack. Even if they could all see her trying to smile as often as she could, sometimes, she hesitated twice at doing something like casting a spell. She also distrusted a lot of her previous friends, still shocked by the revelation of the nature of Leilade.

Even if the damage was terrible on the strength of the Academy, the actual teachers were nearly all unharmed. It was just that the seniors in charge of various activities were gone, causing a few issues on many difficult projects. The fact that Arthar was still alive was a blessing. If he was dead, more than two-thirds of the projects would have been in a dire state. And if the younger students were only slightly perturbed because they weren't informed, that was not the case for everyone.

The son of Magus Alexander was such a case. If before he was praised as a rare genius, he had managed to even surpa.s.s Istuienn at this moment. But the toll on his mind was huge, and he became colder and colder, never smiling or laughing. Like their dear little sister, they could only lament that their childhoods were ruined by such an event.

Finally reaching the inn they had chosen, they immediately headed toward their room. In it, they found the second prince, Ferrod, that was guarded by four more men. They had switched place over the entire day to scout the surroundings and prepare for tonight. Because if the main topic was still the Archmage, something else had come up to force even a member of the royal family to personally move.

"My prince, I am still convinced it is not a good idea. Even if we are supposedly on neutral ground, it is extremely dangerous. The protection of the Archmage is not a.s.sured anymore." Amdir could only say once more his worries over this. What was the need for something like that to occur here? Why did they not use any other method?

"I know what you are thinking. It is obviously the White Hand behind this, but instead of just threatening us or asking for a hefty sum of gold, they organized this. But another information arrived, that put capital importance to what will happen tonight. No matter what, I have to partic.i.p.ate in it."

"What happened?" Even if she was facing the second prince, Muirnë was not afraid at all. But she was particularly concerned when she heard him saying that something else caused him to travel, meaning that she and her brother had to know. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to guarantee his safety.

"Something that doesn't need to be known by you."

"We are ..." "Apologizes for my sister. We will come back when it is time." Grabbing the fuming woman, Amdir left the room with a bow and headed toward their room. Closing the door behind them, he extended his ears to see if anyone was approaching. After a few seconds, he faced Muirnë with a grin.

"How many times did I told you, the prince has something against you. I don't know why, but it is useless to be angry for so little. Also, if it was truly important, he would have told us. So let's get some food, alright?" Patting his head, he saw her weakly nod her head. Smiling at that sight, the two managed to get something coming from Genablum and ate in silence. The first day, Amdir had tried something too spicy and had been sick the entire day, of hearing his sister mocking him for his reaction.

Resting for some short hours, the two found the prince is the same outfit as them. Letting behind the bodyguards for them to be hidden in the crowd nearby, the three exited the inn by the backdoor. In the middle of the night, the rays of light coming from the two moons were making them particularly suspicious. The patrol of guards that walked right next to them all acted like they were not seeing anything. As long as they were not doing anything reprehensible, the guards were used to secret meetings and reunions.

Shortly after, and barely before entering the building that supposedly was the rendezvous, they saw another group of shadows. Both surprised by that encounter, they looked at each other, warily. "So, you are going to enter or not?"

The tall giant that opened the door looked at the two groups, without any fear. He was heavily armored, and both of his arms were hidden by his armor. It was then that everyone realized they weren't the only one invited. From a hiding spot a few meters away, a third group appeared. Seeing this, Amdir could only think that maybe they were the most reckless of them all since they just barged in. Blaming their father for that, him, Muirnë and Ferrod followed the giant inside.

After turning in circles, or that was what they felt, they reached a vast room illuminated by many torches. It could easily gather 50 humans without any pressing issue. Seeing that they were not the first, rare were the ones that removed their cloak or their hood. The most recognizable, for both his ident.i.ty and his looks, left them shocked. The First Prince of the Synnada Empire was actually part of this meeting.

Seeing this, both Amdir and Muirnë looked at each other and did the same. The reaction from their surroundings was even bigger than previously, especially after seeing who they were protecting. Even those with the evilest intentions realized that offending anyone in this room could spell their deaths. And all attempts of a.s.sa.s.sination will probably be found out, under the eyes of so many experts.

Seeing his guests revealed their ident.i.ty one after another, the giant began to laugh loudly. "Great, great. It will be easier that way. I appreciate the interest all of you have for this meeting. Truth to be told, I was not expecting any royalty to come here, but even I can be wrong at some times."

Acting as the owner of this place, one could only look at him, to see who he was. For the rest, their ident.i.ties had already be known by the entire room. n.o.bles and merchants from Avenio, the prince and his retainers of the Synnada Empire, the same for Ma.s.salia and even the general of the Eternal Guard, the bodyguards of the king of the elves. The only one missing was someone from Genablum, but they seldom had any problem besides their usual barbarians.

Even if he was called a giant, he was only taller than most humans. Nearing the 2,2 meters, his outfit couldn't let the public see if he had anything on his body, especially when even his hands were concealed. But by looking closely at his face, one could see his forehead bearing a burn mark, a subtle one. Like something had been erased in that location, but what was a complete mystery. Nonetheless, someone from the Synnada Empire still managed to found the answer, only with this detail.

"The Black Gauntlet!" Hearing this, the giant could only laugh even more, while showing his right hand, bearing something unholy. Even from that distance, many had a repulsing feeling about that dark weapon, especially when seeing it for real. Black tendrils were expanding from the gauntlet and directly fusing with the flesh of that man. It was like the weapon was consuming the body, making many shuddered.

"Congratulations! You win a prize for that, the answer that you wanted. It was something from the Ma.s.salia Kingdom that killed them. Happy now?" Even before he finished speaking, two swords were unsheathed. The children of the Sword Saint were in front of their prince, their weapons aiming at the group from the Synnada Empire. They had no clues about what they were talking about, but if someone had to make the first move it will be them. Seeing the situation escalating after more and more were grabbing their weapons, the giant could only calm everyone.

"Hold on, I did not bring you here for you to kill yourselves. Otherwise, you will enter in a war that will condemn humanity!" His words immediately cool down everyone. After all, it was some very grave words to be employed. "What do you mean by humanity?" Muirnë was still the youngest of everyone present and the less p.r.o.ne to respect protocol. But no one was bothered by the fact she was the one that spoke because everyone wanted to know the answer.

"You know that very well, daughter of Idhrenil Gwendhir, for you already met who I am talking about. The same that you saw killing your subordinates and annihilate the Church of Torment. Previously, we would have sold you this information, but recently, an unforseen event happened. So, let me tell you two things. First, another group of Dark G.o.ds has arrived in this world."

Some were shocked, mainly the elf that had absolutely no clue, while some were completely unperturbed. They had heard of something terrible that happened in Ma.s.salia, but not the exact details and especially not something like that. And the army located in the southern frontier of the nearby empire was making a lot of movements lately. But what they heard next made everyone crazy.

"Also, we know exactly where they are."