Christopher was relieved to see Lumen stand imperviously in the center of the clearing, none of the damage of his last turn was present. They had made it here a few hours earlier compared to the time of his first arrival. The sight was still as wondrous the second time. Their group got a lot of curious looks from the farmers working the fields, but they were soon moving through the gate into the city.

He was surprised when a notification arrived, he thought that he might have gotten the reward again for alerting Lumen. However, when he willed it on his retina and checked the message, it turned out that it was for something completely different.

[You have brought reinforcements for the defense of Lumen; 500 Soul Point have been earned.]

Excellent, that actually made a lot of sense to him. A few more capable people would not be detrimental to their efforts. This also bolstered his current Soul Point total to 2360. He would be sure to spend the points wisely, it was not likely that he would be gaining many more points for the next few weeks.

Christopher was very pleased with this accomplishment, quite a few knew how to fight and they should be able to offer assistance during the attack. He was now also friendly with many people in the caravan, it would be nice to start with some connections on a subsequent turn.

And he was sure that there would be a next time, he did not believe for a second that he would be able to change the outcome of the attack that swiftly. He was still very weak, and he did not have that much knowledge about the Blight and the attack beyond their little segment of Lumen. Once he was a little stronger and more knowledgeable, he might be able to convince others and bring forth a more significant change.

He did not receive the reward for alerting Lumen to the Blight again, confirming the suspicions that he could only earn Soul Points a single time, just as with the Goblin wielding the club. It really seemed as if the interface was monitoring and remembering his previous accomplishments, having no issue with the time loop.

They were beset by multiple guards as soon as they entered the City. The caravan’s arrival had apparently been hard to miss. Christopher listened in on the conversation between Naan and the city guards, they were speaking rather loudly so it was easy to overhear.

The guards turned out to be familiar with the tall and blond leader, although he was not sure how. Naan requested food, water, and healers in order to solve the caravan’s immediate problems, which the guards luckily accepted without grumbling.

Things were already going so differently from the last time that he had been here. Christopher worried that he would not be able to rely that much on any prior information going forward. The changes could snowball quickly if things kept going like this, who was to say that the attack would even commence on the same day. It was a scary thought.

The next moments turned out to be quite hectic. Curious citizens gathered around the people of the caravan, besieging them with a lot of questions. The caravan was holding up some of the traffic in the city, so a few guards led them to a more secluded area about a block from the entrance. The citizens had now already gotten wind of their tribulations though, he fully expected that the news about Stonehill would start making the rounds throughout the city in record time this turn.

They were soon provided with food and water, which brightened the mood. Christopher was very thankful, even though the food was objectively rather stale. Due to his appetite, it still tasted delicious, but strangely it hardly made a dent in his hunger. It hardly seemed normal that he was this hungry, he would need to get some more food soon.

One of the healers that arrived to help them was none other than Latal. It felt like years since he had been treated for his arm. The grey-haired woman soon was treating the different wounds with the same joyful fascination as before. She managed to patch up most of the wounded, while only a few needed to be brought in for further treatment. It looked like all would make it through just fine. Latal seemed impressed with the efforts from Kata, and the two eventually left to take care of the more seriously wounded in her clinic. Maybe he had managed to get the old woman an assistant.

They waited patiently for things to be resolved, there was little else they could do. Soon a heavily plated man with a large battle-ax strapped to his back came striding towards them, two guards followed in his wake. The man radiated authority. His armor was made out of a white metal which mirrored the light brightly, almost making it seem as if the light radiated out from the man himself. The man had his brown hair and beard braided, and his features were rough, his nose crooked. He immediately recognized Guard Captain Merrem from the Arena, one of the most powerful people in the city.

Relaying the events was somewhat of a mess. Guard Captain Merrem had a long private discussion with Naan, and Christopher’s heart sank when he caught the captain looking at him. Clearly, he had been informed of Christopher’s role in the events.

Soon other people were brought forward for questioning. The Guard Captain seemed to be most curious about the details of the attack on Stonehill. Christopher was surprised to see the captain clasp the arm off the people that he was questioning. Christopher first looked at it with a confused expression. He was pretty sure that shaking hands was not something that people did here.

It seemed as if there was some clear purpose behind the action, and it made Christopher nervous. Was the captain maybe clasping their arm to detect their heartbeat, trying to discern lies? That could become very troubling for him. But then it would make more sense to clasp the wrist.

Or was there something more magical going on. Maybe the captain was getting information with Soul Force? Whatever he was doing, Christopher did not like this new development, and he was already looking for ways to make himself scarce.

However only a minute later, he too was called to the captain, giving him no avenue of retreat. Slinking away was obviously not in the cards after his role in the caravan was discovered.

As he walked up to the captain, he could not help but feel that his every lie would be revealed under that stern gaze. The white reflective armor looked both powerful and magical. Christopher somewhat managed to calm his inner turmoil. At least he was prepared now.

“Let me grasp your arm,” Merrem said roughly. Christopher could hardly refuse so he did as he was told, some perspiration formed on his brow. He tried his best to stay calm. The man’s grasp was like iron, he could not help but feel trapped now that he was stuck firmly in place.

Guard Captain Merrem spoke with a gravelly voice. “Tell me about the events leading up to the attack.”

Christopher managed to keep himself from sweating, he was glad that he had thought up his cover story in some detail. He had managed to craft a believable and simple backstory during his last turn that should keep him from slipping up during this kind of grilling. He had researched his supposed village of birth with some detail as well as the route towards Lumen. He could only hope that the Guard Captain could not detect lies, since those were unavoidable.

Christopher calmly explained the consecutive events that had led him to meet up with the caravan with terms that kept him from lying more than he had to. He was not in the hotseat yet, so he might scathe by. He explained that he was trying to make his way to Lumen due to the high activity of the Blight recently in Venaria. Christopher explained that he wanted to help the Caravan after stumbling upon them and the Goblins by happenstance, also explaining their battle against the Goblins.

Guard Captain Merrem spoke. “You are very collected after everything that happened. Do you have much experience in fighting the Blight?”

‘Oops, had he overdone it?’ The captains arm was still like Iron around his arm.

“This is embarrassing but as many can attest, I already had a bit of a breakdown during the journey to Lumen. I have resolved to be stronger in the future.”

“Why did you decide to brave the roads to come to Lumen?”

“I wanted to seek the safety and opportunities that Lumen provides. I am a decent Soul Mage with mastery over both Soul Heat and Soul Frost. I am also seeking succor from the dangers of the Blight; It seems clear to me that Lumen is the safest place to be right now."

A few more questions followed on what had happened. Merrem asked about the Goblins and whether Christopher had seen any other creatures on his journey. He was lucky that the captain did not seem that interested in his story, merely trying to glean more information about the Blight.

He told captain Merrem that he had managed to avoid any run ins with the Blight, with the Goblins the first he had seen himself. The guard captain was interested in this and seemed to be concerned, which he hoped would spur the man to action.

Guard Captain Merrem proceeded to stare him down for a few more seconds, which felt like minutes.

After a few seconds, his arm was released.

“That’s all, return to the others.”

‘thank fucking god’ he thought, being glad that it was over. After thinking over the questioning for a while, he decided it likely that he had been scanned for his Soul Force, just like had happened during his Soul Heat examination. That should indeed somewhat clear him from being a Turned or an ally of the Blight. It seemed as if he would not be spending his time in a dungeon, which he counted as a win.

He was glad that he had been somewhat prepared for the questions. Things might have ended badly if he had been questioned on the previous loop. He wondered if Tinos had shielded him from that questioning last time.

They were all eventually registered, and provided with entry permits, allowing them to reside in Lumen. Now that they were out of danger many started having other concerns. Their caravan was quite large and many of them did not have a proper place to go. Many had only a few coins to their name, and no family in Lumen to fall back on.

This was where the Earl once again showed to be quite caring to the citizens of its fiefdom. They were offered housing for a few weeks until they were back on their feet. Christopher was included in this offer, which he thought was surprisingly generous. Well, maybe it was not that surprising. He knew from Hozil that immigration was encouraged, people were the most sought-after resource in the Kingdom of Venaria, and he had heard that the competition for citizens could get quite fierce. There was safety and power in numbers after all.

He and most of the others decide to accept the free housing, he certainly did not mind saving the money, and it would allow him to get more familiar with the people here. He would always have the option of moving out if the circumstances were not to his liking. He was surprised to see that Tamas and the family also accepted the offer, but it soon made perfect sense. They had looted all the money on the last turn, but they would not have enough funds to provide for themselves this time.

They were soon moving again to get themselves settled into their temporary home, which turned out to be more than adequate. The housing was in one of the poorer residential areas not far from the southern gate and was located inside of a particularly thick Sternel Tree. Upon entering they found a large communal room filled with tables and a large kitchen. The ceiling was a good ten meters high, and some simple decorative arches adorned the doors and windows. The wooden floor was smoothly polished. There was more than enough space and everything looked clean and neat.

An archway in the communal room led to a long circular hallway that contained probably a hundred little alcoves. Each alcove contained a bed that was just large enough for an adult to lie and sleep in. Christopher picked one of the furthest ones so that he would not have many people walking past him at night.

He found the alcove quite comfortable, all he really needed was a place to sleep. Although it would not do for someone that was claustrophobic. He would also not have a lot of privacy while living here, and the lavatory and washing area was somewhat primitive, but he could manage.

-

Christopher was helping unload the contents of the Horrol wagons into their new lodgings. He wondered if his new housemates might not be able to help him with something that had bothered him for a while now. He decided to be bold and make the request to Naan. This request might bring him trouble, but he considered the risk worth it.

“Naan, do you have a moment? I wanted to ask your help with something.” Willox was also able to hear the conversation but this request would have to make its way to all of them anyway.

Naan turned away from the wagons, giving him his attention. “ask away, is there something troubling you?”

“This might be a little confusing, but I was hoping that you could help me find some people that I have been looking for. I don’t really expect anyone to actively look for these people, but I would appreciate it if you merely kept it in the back of your mind.”

Naan looked somewhat concerned about the request. “Who are these people and why do you need to find them?”

“Like I said this might be strange, but I don’t really know what they look like. They really should not be dangerous though and they might be able to help some people if they were to be found.”

“That’s not much to go on, you will have to tell me more than that if I am to be of any use to you. What would we have to look out for to identify these people?”

“Right, Uhm.” Maybe he should have thought this through better. “They should not have arrived in Lumen any earlier than yesterday… They will also act somewhat strangely as if they come from somewhere far away, not really knowing how things work around here... Their sex, age, and ethnicity are unknown to me but they might deviate from the average Lumenite. I merely ask that you inform me if you encounter any people that seem to fit the bill.”

Naan looked somewhat more confused by his description. He hoped this would not get him in any trouble, he realized that this all sounded rather sketchy.

“At least it sounds like these people would kind of stand out. I admit that I am now rather curious, but fine, I will let some of the guys know about your request.”

“Thank you, please don’t go through too much trouble, just let me know if you happened to meet someone that meets these criteria.”

Naan nodded. They continued unloading the wagons.

The day passed quickly like this and he soon found himself eating a deliciously cooked meal that was made by some of the more skilled cooks in their new lodgings. In total there were now a good fourty of them that had opted to live here. They set some of the ground rules during their stay and shared some of the responsibilities among themselves. Christopher was more than glad to take on his fair share.

He pondered his tasks for tomorrow, there was quite a lot to do. He would need to enroll in a training class, exchange his silver bar for Venarian coins, make some small purchases, and visit the Lucky Goddess to place some bets in the Arena. But that could wait, tonight they shared a nice meal and a drink to forget about their ordeals over the last few days. Things were not turning out that badly.