They didn’t run into any major difficulties on the way back. Thor had run ahead and made sure that the group wouldn’t run into anything. He was the only one who had maintained his composure after the battle, and Cedric was glad for this fact. There was little chance that he could organize his thoughts enough to travel properly. Thor had experience with this though, both the killing and the running. Led by an expert, they had no problems making it back. Thor even managed to hunt an animal for a quick meal at some point.

The trip had been interesting, and not all bad, as far as Cedric was concerned. He had learned what it meant to be a soldier, and at least some of what he had resigned himself to. Although, he had also grown closer to others, a friendship that he had not experienced before. He wouldn’t go so far as to say they were close, but at the very least, they had something that connected them. An experience like this was not going to leave their minds, whether they wanted it to or not.

Cedric wasn’t sure what to expect on his return, but he had hoped that their reception would be more heroic. There was no one waiting for them at the border, nor was a grand reception waiting for them at the checkpoint. It was where they had left most of their stuff. It was mostly filled with spares and other equipment that could be useful. The trip there had taken two days, and the trip back was only a little faster. This checkpoint was within the Kingdom of Larkin and was a halfway point for their journey. It was tucked into a forest, hidden behind trees on all sides. The only way to see it would be to look from above.

None of them felt like sleeping, so they just kept running. There was no reason to stop if they weren’t feeling like resting. The mission had been a success, but that didn’t mean it was time to take it easy. In fact, this would probably trigger a bigger conflict and start another war. As he ran the final stretch, his thoughts were strangely firming.

His wandering mind had latched onto the child, but now it was surrounded with anger. That encounter proved to him why chanters were so evil. That child’s mother had killed the both of them for no reason. Without accomplishing anything, she had used something so dangerous that it burned them alive. He shouldn’t be blaming himself entirely. Feeling bad for causing their deaths was reasonable, but it also reminded him why this fight was so important. Chanters shouldn’t be left to rule, and the world would be better without them. That would be his goal and purpose. Not all people on the other side deserved his ire, but the chanters did. Anyone that could kill their own family, was not something he could abide by.

Vaguely, he remembered how his family had fought for him. The village had wanted to execute him when he was little, too small to even understand what that meant. He knew now though and understood the importance of family. Chanters could not be trusted with the power they had stolen, that was much was evident after a single encounter. Now he had the power to make a difference. His motivation wasn’t perfect, but it helped him firm his resolve.

The rest of the journey was smooth, though they didn’t go all the way to the mountain. Instead, Thor led them back to a smaller base that was closer to the border than the capital. It was hidden behind a small hill and was built to look like a poor village. There was a stone wall that surrounded the village. The walls weren’t big like at the capital, these only stood a hand taller than he did. The buildings almost seemed too ordinary. Back home the villagers would usually have something to set their houses apart from one another, but the buildings here were identical.

They quickly rushed into the village, and Thor led them to one of the buildings near the opposite wall. The grass here was well kept, but the village made Cedric uncomfortable. He knew it was safe, but the odd emptiness and blandness of the place bothered him. He kept his mouth shut and stepped on the unnatural grass as he followed them. The grass was a lot drier here than in the other kingdom, and it felt like it was crunching beneath his feet. His boots had burned and had melted uncomfortably to his skin. After tossing them away, he walked the rest of the distance on his bare feet. Honestly, it was easier to walk on his feet than with shoes. It wasn’t like common stones would be able to hurt him anymore.

When they approached the building, all five of them entered. It was small, but the whole building seemed like it was hollowed out. There was plenty of room for all of them to stand and face general Benton and a small squadron of knights. Benton was standing in the empty room, arms tucked behind his back. His stern expression didn’t falter in the slightest upon their return, if anything it seemed to grow colder as he took them in.

“Report.”

The obviously angry tone of the general startled Cedric, but Thor managed to stay calm as he explained the events. He spoke quickly and efficiently going over each event he bore witness to but paused once he mentioned dodging when he had heard the start of a chant. Slowly, everyone turned their heads towards Cedric, and it was clear that he needed to explain what happened inside the caravan.

“The chanter summoned some fire and threw it at me. Other than burning my clothes and skin, it didn’t do much. I approached her, and she tried again with more fire and that time it exploded against my hand. Everything started burning after that, and the others pulled me out of the burning carriage.”

Cedric told the story, but he didn’t really know how to make it efficient. He tried cutting the things he thought were unimportant. Judging from their expressions, he knew that he had made a mistake somewhere.

“Was the damage so bad that you needed to flee?”

The general’s words made Cedric realize what he was concerned about. He thought that they had run from the chanter. Realizing his mistake, he immediately answered the man.

“No, the fire killed the chanter and the others in the wagon. It didn’t do much to me, I just froze because I was…surprised.”

Cedric realized that he almost said sad but had the sense to stop himself. Any sympathy for the enemy would likely cause serious problems, and he did want to fight against the chanters. That seemed to mollify the man, and he turned back to Thor.

“How strong were the flames?”

The general asking Thor seemed strange, but Cedric was glad he didn’t need to say anything more. He didn’t even remember the flames and certainly couldn’t do what the general wanted. All he really remembered was that it was hot.

“It was strong sir. I saw one other body in there, and it looked more like a piece of charcoal than a human.”

Those words got someone else in the room to let out a pleasant cheer. It was high-pitched and came from behind one of the knights. From where he was standing Cedric couldn’t see them. However, he recognized her once she started prodding him.

“You’re the one that has started taking double the amount. The fire didn’t even manage to burn your hair. Just how tough have you gotten? We will need to run some tests once we get back.”

It was the pale doctor he had seen when he first got the elixir, and he couldn’t help but stick his chest out at the praise. He had hoped for some kind of celebration and was glad to receive it even if it was for such a reason. However, he didn’t want to lie to the doctor and cut her off before she could continue.

“No, my hair burned, and my eyes boiled. When I healed, everything just fixed itself.”

That got a reaction out of the woman, and even the others in the room stared at him with disbelief. The doctor’s smile grew so wide, he wondered if she would tear her cheeks in the process.

“What about the pain?”

It was Steven who spoke, and Cedric almost jumped at the man’s muttered words. He had been so distracted by the excited doctor and the stern faces of the knights that he had forgotten about the others. Seeing the faces of the other, it was clear that everyone wanted to hear the answer. He only managed to shrug slightly before speaking.

“I don’t know, but it just wasn’t that bad and I could handle it.”

He didn’t really know how to describe the situation to them. Thinking of the situation, made him think that he was too distracted to feel the pain. However, that answer didn’t make sense, nor would they like it.

“Get ready to move out, we will be returning now.”

The general’s tone got them to start moving immediately, though the doctor looked like she wanted to say more. Cedric vaguely heard their conversation as he rushed out of the room. Hearing the general’s final words to the doctor.

“Run your tests tomorrow, we need to make sure they…”

He couldn’t hear the end of it as he left the building. There wasn’t really anything to get ready, but Cedric knew what those words really meant. Whenever someone told you to get ready, it meant that it would take a few minutes for the knights to get ready. The general knew about their capabilities and would know that there weren’t any belongings that would need to be packed.

After a short while, the five of them were running behind a retinue of carrix. All the knights had one of the mounts, and the doctor rode with one of the knights. The mounts were big and would easily be able to carry the five of them, but it was unneeded. All five of them were even faster than the mounts and were actually slowed down by needing to follow them. The sight amused Cedric as the creatures were well-muscled and had four long legs built for running, and yet he could easily beat them in a race. The feeling of superiority was so rare for Cedric that he cherished every moment he had of it. He could even remember stories where the creatures had wings and could fly, though that was just a children’s story. There was sadly no such creature.

Once they got back into the groove of the run, Cedric found his mind wandering again. The surroundings were plain, a passage between dry grasslands and small forests went by in a blur. After a few hours, they had returned to the mountain. Cedric paused at the familiar sight and was stunned by the army that was resting outside of it. So, much had changed in those three days. There were thousands of soldiers he had never seen before, though none seemed like his group. Many sat upon the grass outside the mountain, and he saw them bleeding into the distant surroundings like blades of grass. Never before had he seen so many people.

Entering the mountain, he heard even more noises from inside. Even without seeing it, he understood what had happened. The king had granted more people the elixir and judging from the numbers it had been a lot more. He had never really known anything about war, but at this moment he understood one thing. Wars were not small. It was a simple thought, but one that banged loudly against his mind. This was what he signed up for. He was curious to find out how many there would be that were actually like him.