For two weeks now, Karel, a small man, not much taller than a child with full, bushy brown hair, a frail build, and high cheekbones, had been secretly observing the two foreign mages. He followed them whenever they went out, he camped on the rooftops across from their lodging, whether it rained, stormed, or the sun beat down on him, he never left his post. He had clear orders: do not lose sight of them for even a second, find out as much as possible, and report back.
That was exactly what he did, yet he had to admit with a grim expression that he had found out almost nothing of value.
Their daily routine was always the same. During the day, they went out, strolled through the city like two normal visitors, entered shops, taverns, inns, tried various foods and drinks, visited the local churches, and went to the libraries. Occasionally, they struck up conversations with residents or other travelers passing through, yet these conversations were always trivial, revolving around the weather, the local rulers, or simple gossip; nothing of it stood out. They did not behave like mages of their status at all, but like ordinary mortals.
If Karel had not known better, he would have thought he was watching the wrong people. The only truly noteworthy thing was that the black-haired one possessed a considerable amount of money, while his companion seemingly did not carry even a single twilight coin. On top of that, the longer Karel observed them, the clearer it became that the black-haired one was the leader of the two. His companion, on the other hand, appeared weaker, as he had to rest constantly, almost every three nights.
There was also nothing unusual about their visits to the libraries. They did not seem to be searching for any specific topic. They read books ranging from brewing beer to ruling a kingdom, to theological and historical works considered general knowledge. It was as if they were small children learning all of this for the first time.
And it remained like this for the entire two weeks without the slightest deviation. No strange meetings, no suspicious curiosity about state secrets, no hidden deals with shady figures, just two travelers resting here and enjoying the culture and society of Tissling.
He told all of this to Julius when he summoned him to the Order's branch for a report. The branch stood slightly outside the city, unprotected by the city walls. Yet of course, no human army would ever dare to attack a building of the Order.
Tissling had only ever experienced one war, with a neighboring kingdom, over an important trade route along the river Tissa that ran along the edge of the province. Until now, Tissling had full control over it, allowing the province to earn a great amount of income. This fueled the envy of the neighboring king, who tried to justify his claim over the trade route through an ancient blood relation to a former king of Tissling.
The same thing happened that always happens when two powerful men fall out: countless innocent people died in an unnecessary war. In that war, one army managed to advance up to the walls of Tissling, yet not even the greediest men dared to approach the building in which Karel now stood.
The Order of Purity never interfered in disputes between kings, because their task lay elsewhere. However, if anyone acted against a member of the Order or one of their branches, it meant the Order would hunt every person involved to the ends of Huma and execute them brutally. This was an extremely effective deterrent, considering that some of the strongest mages in the world belonged to the Order and that the Regent of all Huma presided over it.
Simply put, to stand against the Order meant to stand against all of humanity.
The Order's building was a small house, not much larger than a farmer's home. The main complex lay underground, where a vast network of corridors and rooms stretched out, accessible only to a few selected members. Karel and Julius, who were among them, are currently in a stale room at the beginning of the network. The room was lit by three torches on the walls, and the door was tightly shut. On its surface shimmered three runes, whose main purpose was to prevent noisy listeners from hearing anything spoken inside.
"…unfortunately, sir, I did not find out much. Either they are incredibly cautious, or they are truly just innocent people," Karel ended his report to Julius, who sat across from him, deep in thought.
Julius leaned back, his eyes half closed. "What a shame…" he murmured, "but nothing that can be changed now. I am sure you did your best, Karel."
Karel looked down nervously, a proud warmth spreading within him. He was new to the Order and still trying to prove himself. Praise from such a high-ranking member like Julius meant a lot to him.
"What will you do now?" he asked cautiously, then immediately regretted his childish curiosity. It was not his place to ask such a thing. Still, Julius answered with a friendly smile, "We will visit them again, of course. Let's see if they are more willing to talk to us this time."
…
"He is finally gone," Eleanor said, glancing outside discreetly.
Nero looked up from the map spread out before him. "Are you sure?" he asked.
The two were walking along the marketplace, which they had passed through when they first entered the city.
"Yes," Eleanor said, "an hour ago, he was still following us, but now I cannot see his aura anywhere around us. And it is not exactly subtle."
"Good," Nero replied, "do you see anything else suspicious?"
Eleanor looked around. "I see a few mages, but none of them are particularly strong. Do you think they sent someone weaker to follow us?"
Nero shrugged. "It is possible. Maybe they decided we are no longer a priority and sent a lower member after us, maybe even a mortal. Or maybe our loyal stalker is simply reporting to his superiors right now and will return afterward. Either way, we cannot lower our guard. Keep watching for suspicious people and auras. If you get the feeling someone is following us, tell me immediately."
Eleanor nodded. "Of course."
In the past two weeks, he had more or less gotten used to magic. It was not as if he had full control over it now, but he was learning quickly. What surprised him more was that he had grown accustomed to Nero's presence. Of course, he was still suppressed by his overwhelming aura, and he still had little idea what Nero was thinking, yet most of his initial fear had faded. Occasionally, Eleanor had to remind himself that the man in front of him was not a normal human, but a mass murderer, a destroyer of worlds, a monster.
Not long after Eleanor had woken up on the day of their conversation with Julius, he had noticed a strange new aura outside, moving around their lodging. After testing the unknown person several times, any doubt that he was following them had vanished. Wherever they went, he stayed close behind them.
This greatly restricted their freedom of movement, so they wandered through the city. Only three times had they managed to enter a library, specifically the second one on their list, located near the city center. As Nero had assumed, it was significantly larger than the first one they had visited and offered far more selection.
But of course, their hidden observer followed them inside, forcing them to take dozens of unnecessary detours to hide their true intentions. Unfortunately, they found nothing new about the world that would be of real use. Nero learned some details about the geography and structure of Krisalis, but he did not yet know if that would ever prove useful.
So they continued their routine, which Eleanor had actually grown used to and even enjoyed. He liked strolling through the city, talking to strangers, admiring old buildings, walking through the market, and buying all sorts of trinkets. It was refreshing, carefree, a feeling he had not experienced in years.
Nero, on the other hand, grew more impatient with each passing day. It would not be long before they had to return to the portal, yet they had made little progress. The appearance of Julius and his sister Zyta had been extremely inconvenient. He was only waiting for them to show up again, growing more concerned with each passing day. As it turned out, he would not have to wait long, because that very evening, not even half an hour after Nero and Eleanor had returned to their quarters, there was a heavy knock on their door.
Eleanor, who had been on the verge of falling asleep, was instantly wide awake again. Nero, who had been marking small crosses on the map, looked up.
"It is Julius and Zyta," Eleanor murmured, able to see their auras through the door.
Nero sighed heavily. "They've finally lost their patience, huh? I was really starting to worry that they'd forgotten about us. Would you please let them in, Eleanor? After all, we can't keep such distinguished guests waiting for long."