The Death Mage Who Doesn’t Want a Fourth Time Chapter 253

Death Mage 253 – Recruiting new members!

With the false ident.i.ty of an Elf Bard named Rudolf, Randolf 'the True' succeeded in entering the city.

Being a bard was a profession that did not require being in any particular Guild, so bards were even more like wanderers than adventurers. Thus, it wasn't uncommon for those with bounties on their heads and spies for intelligence organizations to disguise themselves as bards.

However, an Elf bard with blue hair and eyes was very conspicuous, so the city guards at the gate a.s.sumed that Randolf couldn't be someone with a bounty on his head and quickly let him enter.

Morksi was a city of commerce that had many people coming and leaving, and it had worked in Randolf's favor that there were plenty of bards among them.

“But things aren't going very well,” he said to himself in the high-pitched voice of 'Rudolf,' his lips curling in a bitter smile. “To think that we'd pa.s.s by each other. My timing is rather poor, if I do say so myself.”

His objective in disguising himself and coming to the city of Morksi had been to meet Vandalieu. He wanted to meet him and see what kind of person he was.

But the city guards had informed him that Vandalieu had already departed for Alcrem.

Perhaps it was because I flew here, so I didn't pick up the information from the villages and cities on the way that I normally would have… To think that things would come to this. But coming here on foot would have taken me nearly a month. I wouldn't have been able to run at full speed along the highway in plain view of other travelers, so it can't be helped, Randolf told himself.

He rented a room in a cheap inn as the bard he was disguising himself would do, then began gathering information.

He was currently a bard who had come to this city to write songs about the rumored Dhampir boy, so it wouldn't be unnatural for him to go around the town and ask people questions. By paying for the lunches of adventurers and mercenaries on their break and asking other bards, he could hear plenty of gossip.

The information Randolf learned as a result was surprising to him. Several of the main rumors he had heard were true, and on top of that, the Dhampir boy was the true ruler of the red-light district, the hero who had protected the city, the inventor of Magic Items that Randolf had never heard of, a figure recognized as a saint by the Church, and the recipient of a decoration awarded by the lord of the realm.

He had learned all of this diverse information just from talking to the townspeople a little. It was difficult to believe that a single person had achieved so many things.

And the achievements of one other individual in particular were impressive as well.

One adventurer that Randolf had started up a conversation with, a man named Rock who led a party known as the 'Iron Boulder Brigade,' had nothing but praise for the actions of an individual named Darcia.

“Speaking of what Darcisan and the others did back then! You could really tell that Rodriguez is a B-cla.s.s adventurer, and Simon and Natania were amazing as well, but Darcisan was really the best!” he said fervently.

His pa.s.sionate tone was likely to be partially due to the fact that he was having a drink after an early morning's hunt, but he truly admired Darcia.

“Using 'Familiar Spirit Descent' and Magic Items that change form, casting a huge number of enchantment spells, then fighting at the front to take down one of the bandits herself… Truly amazing. I wish I were there to see it!” Randolf responded enthusiastically, his mind working furiously in the meantime.

It is good that Natania is back on her feet, but I would never have imagined that she'd have become Vandalieu's disciple. So, it really was him who was approaching that time when I left her in the care of the one-armed man. With that being the case, it really was him who influenced the Demon King's fragment? But the people around him are no ordinary people, either. Her in particular.

Randolf considered the stories he was hearing about Darcia, whom Rock was praising so highly, as well as those about the two Ghouls Vandalieu had brought into the city from somewhere, the 'Starving Wolf' Michael, Kanako and the others… and Natania.

This is true for the one-armed man as well, but she did not look particularly strong. At best, she should have been well within the realm of D-cla.s.s. And yet, they achieved all of these things. Even if their Magic Item artificial limbs were of extraordinary quality, it is still too strange. Her growth is simply too rapid.

The other members of Rock's party chimed in as well, each mentioning a different companion of Vandalieu.

“Rock, what are you saying? Rudolf-san, the 'Giant Slayer' Basdisan, is even more amazing! As an axe-user myself, I can't help but be in total admiration of her! I'm no knight, but I was really moved by her morale speech!”

“No, no, you have to think about Zadiris-chan. I mean, Basdisan is awe-inspiring and all, but n.o.body beats Zadiris-chan in being adorable! I really feel like she's doing her best, even in practicing for the stage. Isn't that awesome?!”

“I prefer Kanako-chan. It's true that she didn't really stand out during that battle, but I don't think anyone's more adorable than her. I mean, she's the diligent girl leading the others on stage and supporting them during performances.”

“Adorable… Isn't she a little too cunning to be called that? You have to give that one to Julianchan. Looking at her reminds me of my niece and really calms me down.”

“Umm, what do you mean by 'stage?' And could you please tell me who this 'Juliana'-san you are referring to is?” asked Randolf, not knowing the meaning of several words in this conversation and realizing that there was one name that he had not even thought of asking about.

“Huh? You don't know, Rudolf-san? You said you came to this city because you're interested in Vandalieu, so I was sure you knew,” said Rock.

“Yes. Actually, I wanted to get to this city as quickly as possible, so I didn't even stop at the villages and cities on the way here,” said Randolf.

“I see. In that case, I'll show you once I've finished eating this. We were actually thinking of going to watch after we finished lunch.”

Randolf learned that the 'stage' was one where several of Vandalieu's companions performed song and dance for some reason, and there were apparently two Ghouls among them. The idea that Vandalieu was simply showing off his Ghouls and Dark Elves that were rare around these parts… was difficult to believe. Was his objective perhaps to deepen the people's understanding of Ghouls?

If Randolf went there, he would likely be able to see Vandalieu's companions going about their normal routines.

“And it is the first time I am hearing of this person named Juliana,” said Randolf.

“Oh yeah, she's one of Vandalieu's familiars. She's apparently some kind of mutant born between a Minotaur and a human, but I don't know too much about it.”

“She's adorable; she looks just like a human girl but with a cow's horns. She's still little, so she didn't join the battle at the front gate, but she's sometimes helping at Vandalieu's food carts, which is where we met her.”

It seemed to Randolf that Juliana had not recovered in the same way that Natania had.

But what does this mean? She looks just like a human girl? There has to be a limit to how outrageous a mutant can be! he couldn't help but shout to himself internally, despite his wealth of experience as an adventurer.

Mutants were individuals that possessed characteristics and abilities that others of its race did not normally possess. Randolf had slain numerous mutants in his career, such as Goblins that breathed fire, Kobolds with venomous fangs and Huge Boars with horns.

To begin with, Minotaurs and Ogres were considered to be races that produced more mutants over time. There was nothing strange about a mutant Minotaur hatching from an egg implanted by a Minotaur King using the power of the Demon King's oviduct. In fact, it could even be expected.

However, that mutant being a perfect resemblance of a human girl… something like a cow-type Beast-kin, which didn't exist, was impossible.

But it would be strange for the bard named Rudolf to be so knowledgeable about monster biology.

“I would certainly like to meet her,” Randolf said with a nod.

However, his mind was completely filled with his own thought processes.

Well, there are some monsters that disguise themselves as humans. And at the very least, it is a true fact that these people have met a young monster that goes by the name of 'Juliana.' I suppose I can't deny anything without having seen her for myself. But… even if she does resemble the human Juliana, why would she be named after her mother? Although it is questionable as to whether one can consider her to be the mother.

Randolf decided not to deny what he was being told just because they did not match the knowledge from his own experiences, and began trying to deduce why Vandalieu had named the young monster 'Juliana.'

“Sorry to tell you this, but Julianchan has headed to Alcrem with Vandalieu and the others, so she's not in the city right now,” said Rock.

“I see, she's gone to Alcrem…” Randolf muttered.

Juliana was apparently headed for the capital of Alcrem. The thought of immediately going after her and Vandalieu briefly crossed Randolf's mind, but he decided against it.

Leaving on the same day he arrived would simply draw too much attention. And since some of Vandalieu's companions still remained in Morksi, Vandalieu would likely return to the city at some point.

With that being the case, it would be best for Randolf to stay and keep gathering information in this city… though this would mean having to actually make several performances at bars for the drunken patrons, even though he had only chosen this occupation as a disguise.

It would be suspicious for a bard to have money even though he isn't working, after all, Randolf told himself.

Fortunately, Randolf had previously learned how to play the lyre and the drums, and was confident in his singing. Back when he was still inexperienced as an adventurer, he had earned his living by imitating what bards did.

Randolf's thoughts wandered for a moment to those times… over two hundred years ago.

“If we leave now, the stage performance should just be starting when we arrive. What'll you do? Are you going to come with us?” asked Rock, bringing Randolf out of his short trance.

“Ah, yes. Let me accompany you,” Randolf replied.

They left the dining hall and headed for the stage set up in the city's plaza. Vandalieu's companions apparently sang and danced here once every two days.

When they weren't using the stage, it was used for the songs and performances of other bards and entertainers, as well as plays performed by theater groups. However, it was said that the 'concerts' performed by Vandalieu's companions were the liveliest events.

“I see. I can see why this is so popular,” said Randolf, seeing the concert for himself and understanding why Rock and his companions had spoken so highly of it.

“Everyone, we are so very terribly grateful that you have all gathered here to see us again!” Zadiris said to the crowd.

“Today's performance will be a trio with me, Zadiris and Basdia! We'll be singing our hearts out, so we hope you enjoy it!” said Kanako.

“Alright, let's go. Transform!” shouted Basdia.

The three of them held up their transformation equipment and transformed, then began singing to the high-tempo music.

The audience was dazzled by the unusualness of the transformation equipment and the sound and light performance that was created using magic. On top of that, the performers clapped in time to the music, encouraging the audience to join in to create a sense of unity.

It was very showy. Those who believed that music ought to be a more refined art would certainly not be fond of it.

But at the very least, Randolf preferred the showy concert taking place before him over the refined kind of music.

Leaving that aside, those three… They are quite the fighters. The female Ghoul warrior named Basdia is particularly capable. She is on par with the Five Knights of Alcrem… No, she is even stronger than them. And it would be best to a.s.sume that these items called 'transformation equipment' have even greater functions than the rumors say, Randolf thought to himself.

He let out a sigh as he realized how powerful Darcia was if she had fought alongside Basdia and played an even bigger role than her in battle, and how capable Vandalieu must be to have tamed Basdia.

If Duke Alcrem was thinking of doing anything careless, it was possible that there would be one less duchy in the Orbaume Kingdom this year.

By the time these thoughts finished running through Randolf's mind, several songs had finished and a short break had begun. Basdia and the others left the stage, and Arman and several other priests from the Communal Church began singing some hymns.

Fortunately, the priests were dressed normally and did not dance.

Rock and his companions had been fixated upon the stage, but once the priests' hymns began, their attention returned to Randolf. Their singing voices were quite loud, but… it was considerably less entertaining than the concert.

“What do you think, Rudolf-san?” asked Rock. “Quite amazing, isn't it? There were three performers today, but sometimes there are more and sometimes there are less. On some days, there's even an opening performance from the familiars of the children of the orphanage.”

“There are all kinds of things during the short breaks, too. We have hymns from the priests at the Communal Church and a sermon from Priest Arman who worships Alda, but there are even open-stage musical performance compet.i.tions sometimes,” said one of Rock's party members. “Why don't you join in when you get the chance?”

“Yes, it was very interesting. I don't think I'll get bored while waiting for Vandalieu-san and the others to return,” said Randolf, deciding to stay in the city of Morksi as the bard named Rudolf.

Vandalieu and his companions took no notice of Randolf, who had entered the city of Morksi under a disguise.

Vandalieu had seen a blue-haired Elf enter the city through the Golems and Demon King Familiars positioned on the city's walls, but he had not made the connection that he was the S-cla.s.s adventurer known as Randolf 'the True.'

If Randolf had hostile intentions towards Vandalieu or his companions, there might have been a response from 'Danger Sense: Death' detecting the smallest amount of killing intent. Indeed, several a.s.sa.s.sins who had been hired to murder Vandalieu's allies had already been buried in this way.

However, Randolf's current objective was to gather information; he currently had no intention to fight. Thus, he did not direct any kind of killing intent towards Vandalieu's allies.

In addition, Vandalieu and his companions were famous as heroes who had protected the city. There were plenty of adventurers, traveling merchants and bards asking about them.

Vandalieu's surveilling eyes took no particular notice of the addition of one blue-haired Elf.

And the three stage performers were currently resting in a tent set up at the back of the stage. Naturally, they hadn't taken notice of Randolf, either.

“I've talked about this with Van, but I'm thinking that I'd like to have more people on the stage,” said Kanako.

Basdia nodded calmly. “I see. It is finally time to call for Vigaro.”

“What does this have to do with your father?!” Kanako asked incredulously, surprised by the idea of having the two-meter-tall, muscular, four-armed, lion-headed Ghoul named Vigaro joining them as a new member.

“I mean, the people are starting to see Ghouls as 'people' rather than 'highly intelligent humanoid monsters,' so I was thinking that it was about time to show them a Ghoul man,” said Basdia.

“There are large differences in appearance between men and women for us Ghouls, after all. Even if the people get used to me and Basdia, their overall impression of Ghouls as a race will not improve, will it?” said Zadiris.

“Your reasoning is surprisingly serious, but… I don't know about having him make a debut on the stage. I don't think it's a good idea to have such a wild show all of a sudden,” said Kanako.

She understood their point, but at the same time, she found herself forcibly erasing the image of Vigaro as a magical girl from her mind. If they were going to introduce a new culture, it was best to start with more ordinary things… although the members that had been introduced to the public so far were certainly far from ordinary by Earth and Origin's standards.

“Well, since Kachia is planning to go to Alcrem with Van, how about asking Bilde? We can rule Tarea out, since she's busy helping Van build Artifacts… maybe Van's grandmother or one of the former chiefs, since they've become Chaos Elves?” suggested Basdia.

“Either way, they would have to enter the city through the gate. I think it will be difficult until the boy 'returns,'” said Zadiris.

Kanako shook her head. “No, I was planning to recruit people in the city. We won't give them transformation equipment or tell them the truth about our circ.u.mstances. But we'll teach them our songs, dancing and ch.o.r.eography, and have them singing with us on stage. That's all.”

Kanako and the others were showing off their singing and dancing on stage, so others would likely imitate them and the concert format as it spread. Thus, Kanako thought that it wouldn't matter if they simply taught others how to perform the way they did.

If those wishing to learn were already bards or dancers, it wouldn't take too much effort to teach them.

“I see. By interacting with us, the people's understanding of Vida's races will deepen, and as we are claiming that the concerts are sermons for Vida, we will also be propagating her faith. I am sure you brought up these points when you persuaded the boy to agree to this?” said Zadiris.

“Yes! He gave his permission right away! … Although I'm a little scared, since I feel like he's trusting me too much these days,” said Kanako.

“I'm sure Van already thinks of you and Melissa as family. You've transformed into members of the race that Darcia is the founder of, too. But there might be a.s.sa.s.sins or radical believers of Alda among the people who apply, so you can't let your guard down,” Basdia reminded her.

“Yes, of course. I'll have everyone from Starving Wolf Security help out as well… and I plan to ask the Demon King Familiars, too. There are apparently bards who are actually spies or wanted people in disguise, after all,” said Kanako.

She remembered seeing a blue-haired Elf in the crowd during the performance she had just given. She thought he was a bard because he had been holding a drum, but she wondered whether that was his real profession or whether he was someone else who had disguised himself as a bard… but she quickly stopped this train of thought.

I can't tell just by looking at him. But I'm interested in the performing techniques of Elves, so I'll be happy if he's not a fake and he applies, she thought.

She had the impression that Elves had a long history in performance arts.

“Now then, it's about time for the second half of the performance. Let's do our best,” she said to the other two. “The first half is important for gathering an audience, but it's the second half that determines the sales of our goods!”

With that, she and the two Ghouls headed for their battlefield (the stage).

Alcrem, the capital of the Alcrem Duchy, was a large city with a population of approximately a million people.

The Alcrem Duchy was far larger than the Sauron Duchy, which was located at the front line of the war against the Amid Empire that had been an enemy nation ever since the nations were founded, and the Hartner Duchy, which had few mineral resources. As one would expect, its capital was larger and had more people.

Even the thriving population of Morksi, with its population of three hundred thousand, paled in comparison.

Thus, there was a very long line of people trying to enter through Alcrem's gates every day.

“What a long line. Can we even get into the city today?” a young man at the back wondered out loud as he looked towards the front of the queue.

A woman, a guard of the carriage that was one place ahead of him in line, turned around. “Hey, Mister.”

“Ah, umm, what is it, Miss?” said the young man, his voice suddenly sounding high-pitched as his eyes were drawn to the crimson lipstick on the woman's lips.

The woman gave a pleased smile. “I'm not young enough to be called 'Miss,' but thank you. Mister, is this your first time to Alcrem? Judging from your appearance, you seem to be an adventurer.”

“Yeah, it's my first time. I got promoted to D-cla.s.s the other day, but the party I was with disbanded. I thought it was a good opportunity to come out to the capital,” said the young man. “I've heard rumors of initially unsuccessful adventurers suddenly rising to the top in Alcrem, so I wanted to try my luck in joining them.”

The young man was unusually talkative and gave more details about himself than was asked, perhaps because he was not accustomed to speaking to women. The rumors he was speaking of referred to the people chosen and granted divine protections by the G.o.ds of Alda's forces in order to fight Vandalieu.

The truth was that this was occurring not only in Alcrem, but in other duchies and the Amid Empire as well. However, information didn't travel very accurately, so the rumors only mentioned that there were a lot of adventurers suddenly rising to success in large cities with large populations.

The young man had continued talking in an attempt to draw more attention from the woman, but this seemed to have had the opposite effect.

“I see… If you were more knowledgeable about Alcrem, there was something that I wanted to ask about…” she said.

It seemed that she had started up a conversation with the young man in order to gather information.

d.a.m.n it, the young man cursed in his mind, hastily trying to think of something to say so that the conversation would continue.

But because he really was unaccustomed to speaking to women, nothing came to mind right away.

Just then, one of the people standing in line shouted –

“M-monsters?!”

The young man immediately cleared his mind, raised his spear and shield, and began looking for the monsters.

Several hundred meters behind him, he spotted a carriage being chased by a number of monsters – or so he thought for a moment.

“… Huh? There are monsters there, but they're not chasing it?”

Even from this distance, he could see that the carriage wasn't running at speed, and there were monsters not only behind it, but directly to its sides as well. He realized that the carriage was not under attack.

“That black carriage and large, gray, dog-shaped monster. Could it be…” the woman murmured.

The young man took no notice of her, staring at the black carriage as it entered the highway and drew closer. “Are they a tamer's familiars? But are there even any tamers with monsters that are big enough to be seen from this far away?” he wondered out loud.

The people in the line began muttering amongst themselves.

“They're just familiars. Man, they scared me.”

“Wait, they could be smart monsters that are pretending to be familiars…”

“You fool, there's no way a monster would be able to drive a carriage on its own.”

“B-but wouldn't it be best to call the city guards just in case? I've never seen a familiar that big, and not all tamers are good people, right?!”

Perhaps realizing that they could not simply leave this situation alone, several knights on horses rode out from the gate.

Meanwhile, the carriage and its company approached the back of the line where the young man was.

A female warrior with grey-brown skin was walking in front of the carriage that was being pulled by two st.u.r.dy horses. To the right was an enormous, grey-furred wolf – no, a dog monster. On the left, there were three large rat monsters – one red, one white and one steel-colored. Behind the carriage was an enormous arachnid monster. Only a part of it was visible, but its eight legs were visible on either side of the carriage –

“I-it's not a tamer after all!” the young man shouted.

The person at the front of the carriage was a Ghoul! And the creature behind the carriage was an arachnid monster, which was supposed to be impossible to tame. Realizing this, the young man raised his weapon once more.

“Calm down, mister. These people are alright,” said the woman.

“Yeah, you're gonna make a fool of yourself if you make a fuss,” said the man who was with her.

As the confused young man was trying to figure out what made them so sure, he heard voices coming from the black carriage.

“Wow, I've never seen a line of just a ton of people,” said the Ghoul.

“Bocchan, there is quite the queue. Perhaps it would be best to wait a day and come back first thing tomorrow morning?” said the middle-aged coachman. “Bocchan? h.e.l.lo? Bocchan?”

“Vandalieu is riding on Gizanisan's back right now, so he might not be able to hear you. But I don't think we can just turn around and go back into the forest,” said a Dark Elf woman sitting next to the coachman.

Seeing these people and hearing their voices, the young man lowered his weapon again. There were few monsters who could speak human language like Ghouls, and the coachman and Dark Elf didn't appear to be such monsters.

Undead did understand human language, but… the most they could do was repeatedly express their feelings of resentment; they were considered to be incapable of conversation. The young man believed this common theory.

“And we've managed to meet our acquaintances,” the woman next to the coachman said.

As the carriage came closer, the young man saw that she was quite the beauty; he couldn't help but be enchanted by the sight of her.

“h.e.l.lo,” she said to him with a smile.

But it was the Starving Wolf Security employees who responded immediately.

“It has been a while, Holy Lady!”

“I hope you are not too tired from the journey, Holy Mother!”

The young man, slightly embarra.s.sed at having not been able to respond first, tried to step aside… but feeling too scared to stand in front of Fang and the rats, he stepped backwards instead.

“You must be the people Michael-san sent. And I see you've brought Gobu-gobu and dried Kobold meat for us,” said Darcia.

“Yes, I am Vivi of Starving Wolf Security! We have done our utmost to protect the goods that will be presented to the duke!” said Vivi.

Her lips, which were vividly colored with Miles's characteristic lipstick, smiled at Darcia.

Moments, later, the knights were on the scene.

“The Dark Elf lady over there! I suppose those monsters are a tamer's familiars, but still, we will need an explanation!” said one of the knights.

They had realized that the situation wasn't dangerous during their short journey here from the gate, but they still wanted to confirm some things just in case.

“First, who is the tamer who commands these familiars… No, what is that monster at the back?! Some kind of arachnid monster?!” the knight shouted in alarm.

“Could you possibly be referring to me?” said the creature behind the carriage… an Arachne, with a spider's body and the upper body half of a woman where the spider's head would normally be.

Gizania, the large-build Arachne, poked her head out from around the carriage.

“This thing speaks?!” one of the knights shouted, reaching for his weapon.

“Wait, she's an Arachne!” another, more senior knight said, stopping the first. “I've never seen one before either, but… they're one of Vida's races, if I recall correctly?”

“Yes, Gizania is a large-build Arachne, and I've tamed her,” said Vandalieu, who was riding on Gizania's back.

Gizania was wearing a Magic Item that covered her with an illusion that made her appear to be an ordinary large-build Arachne. Someone with a deep knowledge of Arachne would have thought the difference in size between her and an ordinary large-build Arachne to be suspicious, but the knights were seeing an Arachne for the first time, so they couldn't tell.

“Me too! I am also here!” said Myuze, opening the door at the back of the carriage and showing herself.

She was also wearing a Magic Item to make her look like an ordinary Empusa.

“Ah! What is this woman?! I-is she a woman?!” shouted one of the knights.

Empusa, unlike Arachne, were extinct outside the Boundary Mountain Range. Naturally, the city's guards had no knowledge of them; they panicked because they didn't know what this woman with mantis-like features was.

“Am I a woman? Is that not going too far! You could have questioned whether I am a person or not, but this is the first time I am facing the humiliation of having my gender questioned!” Myuze said indignantly.

“Myuze, they're just confused because they've never seen an Empusa before. Let's be more understanding,” said Vandalieu.

“Y-you are right. Forgive me. I am one of Vandalieu-dono's familiars,” Myuze told the knights, moving her wings and the human-shaped arms below them, as if she were trying to convince a group of children that she wasn't scary.

“I-if she's a familiar, that's fine… I've heard the rumors of the 'Genius Tamer,' but I've never heard of anyone taming an Arachne. Your Ghoul's features are different from what I have heard, and you have monsters that the rumors did not mention. What is the meaning of this?” the senior knight asked suspiciously.

“After I left the city, I met and tamed them in the forest,” said Vandalieu plainly. “More importantly, you're quite knowledgeable about my familiars, aren't you?”

The rumors about Vandalieu's familiars didn't have any detailed information other than that of Basdia and Zadiris, who possessed known t.i.tles. It was likely that nothing was known about the rat sisters other than that they were new races of monsters.

The knight turned away, avoiding Vandalieu's eyes, and remained silent for a few seconds. “… My colleagues are fans of yours,” he mumbled. “In any case, welcome to Alcrem. The formal process will be done at the gate, but we welcome all of you to our city.”

The knights gave a short bow and headed back towards the gate, telling the people in line that there was nothing to worry about.

“It seems that you and the others are well-known, Van-dono,” Myuze said quietly as she watched the knights leave.

“It seems that spies were sent over, so I suppose they investigated those kinds of details. Well, I'm sure there won't be as big a fuss over here as when we fought against Fitun and the others,” said Vandalieu.

In any event, Vandalieu and his companions arrived safely at Alcrem.

Incidentally, Simon and Natania were completely exhausted from their training, so they were sleeping together in a pile with Privel inside Sam's carriage.