A couple of days passed by without much of note happening. Syn decided that he actually should just rest, as it would only help, so he ended up spending most of his time playing around with Mitre and walking around town. The only trouble he encountered was when he met with Master again.

She was quite livid that even though she gave him a white onyx crystal, he still hadn’t become a Weaver and had to rely on some quote, unquote, outdated and inferior method to become one instead. He said that he would pay her back in the future, but she didn’t seem to care about its cost and instead felt pain at the waste of such a rare item. He promised her that it wasn’t actually a waste and that its benefits would appear at a later date.

She ominously said, “We’ll see.”

“Why exactly are you clearing out the woods,” Aleister asked upon meeting Captain Cyrne after several days. He asked the other soldiers, and they all told him that they were clearing a path to Caerphy. Which although made sense, he felt there was something more. Because from what he knew, some events destroyed Caerphy and left it and abandoned for several decades now. The Empress employed workers to construct New Caerphy as a replacement.

They all directed him to lieutenant Arie. But he still had yet to find, yet alone see her, and instead went straight to Cyrne as soon as he came back from what the locals called the Thesdus Grove.

Cyrne looked at him and used him over to his office. “The reason most of the soldiers have been told is that its to clear the path towards Caerphy. Which is true to some extent.”

Aleister’s ears perked up as he realized there appeared a hidden reason.

“The primary purpose has to do with druids,” he said.

“Oh no. Not, druids,” Aleister said in a dry voice, folding his hands open.

“Not just any kind of druids, but, evil druids!”

“Yeah, that was already part of the assumption.”

Captain Cyrne sighed in frustration. “Ok, but they aren’t just any kind of evil druids, but super evil ones that are a part of a cult!”

“Uh-huh.”

“And they’re also cannibals, eating not only the flesh of animals but also of humans!”

“I don’t think druids eat meat in the first place.”

“Maybe regular druids don’t, but these do!”

“Fair, although,” Aleister paused as he walked closer to the captain’s desk, “Seriously? Or are you just making this up?”

In a hushed voice, Cyrne said, “I’m serious. If I didn't associate them with some possible heinous actions, then I wouldn’t be keeping this a secret now, would I?”

“I suppose not, but with the way you were going, I honestly thought that you were just making a joke.”

Cyrne shook his head. “Unfortunately not.”

“How did you even find out about them in the first place?” Aleister asked.

“We learned about it from some famous researcher,” Cyrne said, moving his head side to side, clearly trying to think of something. After a couple of seconds of silence he said, “Judel.”

“Um, sorry, what?”

“Judel. That was her name. I forgot it for a second, but now I remember,” Cyrne said. “She’s actually writing a book about cults and her research or whatever led her to discover that fact.”

“Ah, ok,” Aleister said. “Not going to lie. Writing a book about cults sounds extremely dangerous.”

“Sure, but it’s only really about cults that are now eradicated."”

Aleister opened his mouth to say something, but couldn't.

“Stop. Don’t ask me any more questions, because no, I will not answer them,” Captain Cyrne said. “Mainly because, I can’t actually answer them, if I don’t know the actual answers. But remember, I’m trusting you to not tell everyone about it.”

“Don’t worry, I understand,” Aleister said. “I assume the reasoning behind that is that you don’t trust your soldiers to keep their mouths shut?”

“Obviously,” Captain Cyrne confirmed. “Get any of them drunk and they will start blabbering anything, including important military secrets like the were everyday common discussion topics.”

“Huh. And I didn’t even need to get you drunk.”

“Different circumstances,” Cyrne said as he tilted his chair back in frustration. “Plus, I would rather not scare any of the villagers with possibly inaccurate information in the first place.”

“Makes sense.”

“That’s enough about that,” Cyrne said, changing the subject. “I heard that you need to use some different method to become a Weaver?”

Aleister nodded. “Yup, to put it simply, I basically just need to study—a lot.”

“Sounds absolutely dreadful, but how does studying help you become a Weaver?”

“It has something to do with understanding how everything to the world around you is connected,” Aleister said.

“I still don’t see how that’s supposed to let you become a Weaver,” Cyrne said, shaking his head.

“Well, for now that’s all I can really tell you because, I haven’t exactly managed to become one yet.”

“Then,” Captain Cyrne asked, “how does being a Contractor without being a Weaver work?”

“It doesn’t,” Aleister said. “I literally cannot do anything related to my contract without first becoming a Weaver.”

“That’s not quite as exciting—” Cyrne stopped talking as he frowned all of the sudden. Aleister looked at him, curious, but didn’t say anything while Cyrne let out an exasperated sigh.

“Is something wrong,” Aleister asked a few moments later.

“Yes,” Cyrne said with pressed lips. “The list of the amount of useless papers I need to sign, and mundane tasks I need to complete only grows ever longer.”

Aleister let out a nervous chuckle. “Well, then I guess I will head out for now and let you shorten that list.”

“Don’t worry about my list,” Captain Cyrne said with a nod. “I don’t think I’ll be seeing you after today, but just remember to focus on yourself, alright?”

“Thanks,” Aleister said with a warm smile, leaving the office.