The hireling stared at the spot previously occupied by the youth, still incredulous at her sudden disappearance. In the end, they didn’t receive information about the downfall. I guess I need to find that out by myself, as usual. As the bubble surrounding them started taking their shape, it reminded them of the little time they had to successfully get back their belongings and leave the second district. With no time to stand idly, the mercenary leaped and began climbing through the hole the mage created. Once gotten back on the street, they retraced the path back to the collapsed watchtower at a moderate pace until they decided to walk down an alley they failed to see during their escape from the tortoise. Although the main street was the best shortcut to their destination, travelling along the small roads was a better choice for various reasons. First of all, their small width ensured that the reptile couldn’t follow them because of its massive size. And secondly, thanks to the high residential buildings surrounding them, the narrow streets were perfect for hiding from the colossal creature’s eyes. The sellsword kept walking for another three minutes before reaching the starting point of their ‘little’ misadventure. They proceeded to the collapsed watchtower while taking a look around. It was hard to believe that this square was once filled with life when now there was only a deafening silence interrupted by the quick footsteps of the soldier. Once arrived in front of their ‘grave’, the loner bent down and started clearing the rubble in search of their trusted companion.

It didn’t take long for them to unbury the weapon still enclosed in its scabbard. They unsheathed the sword and grimaced at its condition: the blade was slightly bent upwards. Displeased that the gift from their late father was damaged, the private contractor hoped that the glyph carved on the blade was still working. They had to give it a try. At the word Ignis, the flame-shaped glyph glowed red and in a second the sword was engulfed in swirling flames. The sword fighter admired the flaming blade for a few seconds until the fire died out. It could have lasted longer if more mana had been supplied to the glyph, but it was pointless to do so just for show, especially when their mana needed to be restored. They didn’t have any potion, thus they could only let it replenish with time. Test concluded, the mercenary put the sword back in its sheath, somewhat warped in the middle, and attached it to their belt.

With the blade now on their left hip, they realized that something else was missing. Rummaging through the rubble, they soon found the missing items: their pouch and diary. From the sack’s weight, it seemed that their money was safe, but that wasn’t what the unhired sword cared about. They dug into the bag and grabbed the object buried under the coins. It was a small dagger that fortunately didn’t suffer the same fate as the sword. The reason behind this subterfuge was to evade part of the tax for possession of weapons at the entrance of the capital. They couldn’t conceal their sword, but hiding the dagger was relatively simple. During the inspection at the gates of Soldra, the merc did everything they could to look cooperative, all the while praising the guards for their impeccable conduct late at night. Their honey-coated words were effective. When asked to show their pouch, the innocent foreigner complied and the guards just took a look at the bag without checking thoroughly its content. The rascal had to thank their father for their eloquence. Back to the present, the bag seemed the right place to put the charcoal stick they received from the young mage. I still can’t believe that she can teleport herself.

Pouch tied to the right side of their belt, the sellsword paid attention to the next item, which was still on the ground. However, before picking it up, they noticed a strange mark on the street floor. After removing the rubble that was covering the sign, they could make out a circle from which several lines extended, all of them headed in different directions. It looked like a simplistic drawing of the sun. Letters were engraved on the circumference of the circle and putting them together, a sentence was formed: ‘Ad Vitam Reverto’. They repeated the phrase mentally and then verbally to recall if they had heard it before, but nothing came to mind. Not being able to understand its meaning, the soldier wondered if the symbol had always been there and they had failed to see it in the first place. After all, the capital of a kingdom that venerated the Sun was surely full of sun icons scattered here and there. For a moment, they swore to have seen the circle shine faintly, but they dismissed it as a trick of the eye after a second look.

The unhired blade eventually took the diary and began flipping through its pages till the last entry. It was dated five days ago, the night of their arrival at Soldra. They should update it in light of the recent events, but with no time at hand, this had to wait. With the notebook now hooked to the belt right next to the pouch, the mercenary had finally retrieved all their belongings, except for one thing. Unfortunately, they couldn’t take it back right now: they were running out of time.

They pondered which district was closer to their current location and, if memory served them right, it was the first district. With a new goal in mind, the hireling hurried to leave the tortoise’s territory before the protective spell ended. Even though they didn’t know this city like the back of their hand, they knew which route to take to reach the main entrance to the capital, which was located right at the beginning of the first district. Needless to say, they immediately found the stairs for the lower floor. While going down the stairs, the soldier saw the bubble around them start deforming. It was definitely a sign of the imminent deactivation of the spell. Fortunately, they had almost arrived at the first ward. The barrier dissolved as soon as their feet touched the ground.

The mercenary breathed a sigh of relief. Now that they didn’t need to worry about a giant reptile coming to kill them, they could rest a bit. They leaned against the wall of a house still standing after the earthquake and began collecting their thoughts. There was a lot to unpack here, so much that the merc didn’t know where to start. Maybe writing down what happened in the last hour could help them sort things out. They took out their diary but soon realized that they didn’t have anything to write with. Oh, there is that thing. The unhired blade put their hand in the pouch and grasped the charcoal stick the magic user gave them. With the square-shaped pencil in hand, they started putting in writing what had transpired since their rough awakening after the earthquake. The draft was successively embellished with tiny sketches of the hooded girl and the great tortoise. After noting their recent vicissitudes, they understood that the root of the problem lay in one thing: a severe lack of information. They had to find someone and inquire them about the current state of the city to confirm the veracity of the mage’s words and learn what was going on.