Rustling and footsteps woke Liam the next morning. For a moment he forgot where he was, but when he saw his sleeping comrades next to him, he remembered. They had arrived at this tavern last night and, thanks to the kind family, had found a place to sleep for the night.

Slowly, the swordsman straightened up and let his feet slide to the floor. He remained seated for a moment, remembering the conversation yesterday that had kept him awake for quite a while at night.

Lukas, the son of the family, had asked them if they would accept his friend Cale into the group. Cale himself had not shown up that night. According to the waiter, he must have been pretty tired, since he hadn't slept since yesterday morning.

The whole situation was awkward for Liam. It might be that Cale was a good soul in the eyes of the family, but the statement that Cale should be strong made him feel queasy. Even he, as a swordsman, could not imagine traveling alone through the creature plain. If his group had not happened to show up, the skinny man with the pale, almost sickly figure would surely die alone. But what was it about Cale that made him so doubtful? His unassuming aura? His compassionate gaze? His weak-looking body? He didn't know.

Quietly, so as not to wake his friends, he straightened up. He pulled on his shirt and pants before grabbing the white towel on the table and walking toward the door. The moment he opened the door, he heard two familiar voices and paused.

"They said they'd think about it", explained the first voice, which Liam instantly recognized and therefore left the door open just a small crack. It was Lukas. His voice sounded much more tearful than last night. Which was a likely reason why the others were in favor of Cale joining them. They all seemed to have a hint of sympathy, only Liam bristled. It wasn't as if he didn't want to help strangers, but something about Cale rubbed him the wrong way.

"Lukas. You know that I don't want to be a burden to anyone. I can manage to go on my own if they decide not to."

His hand clenched. He had been used a lot in the past, so he didn't trust people very easily. But they had a good reason. Such a kind-hearted person would be an asset to the group, whether he wanted to admit it to himself or not.

"I know, but..."

"Not but. Now go on your way. When you get back we'll say goodbye, I can wait that long."

Liam could hear Lukas about to say something back, but paused. For a moment the boy walked past his door down the stairs and shortly after let the front door fall into the lock. At the same time, Cale walked toward the large bathroom, which they had used last night.

Doubting, he opened the door, nervously let his gaze glide through the large room and followed the black-haired man into the bathroom. The door was wide open and Cale was washing his face when Liam entered. Visibly surprised, two pairs of black eyes looked at him before he sat up and dried his face in one swift motion.

"Good morning", Cale politely interjected.

There it was again, the strange feeling Cale gave off. Something in his statement made him seem eerily confident and superior, no, almost powerful.

"Good morning. I think I missed the moment to introduce myself yesterday. My name is Liam and I've been Anuxer of Sylve for two years", he therefore lied, extending his hand politely to him. Cale smiled unintentionally as he accepted the gesture. Since his opposite was just lying, Cale had long been aware of it without even having to read his body language. Usually, Cale always called his old acquaintance William or Will, which is why the alias Liam seemed strangely alien to him, even though it didn't have to be.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Cale and I've been an Anuxer for about 12 years, with a little break in between", he explained politely. The two shook hands, but Liam couldn't hide his surprise. Twelve years? The young man in front of him had already been an Anuxer for 12? What in the name of the gods led to this and how old was he anyway? "Ah... Please. You can go to the sink. I'm done."

Demonstratively, Cale took a step aside to make room for Liam, but he remained rooted to the spot. He had figured out what was so alienating about Cale. His calm posture, the clear expression on his face and his almost determined expression... no doubt Cale was more experienced than one might think at first glance.

"Liam?", Cale spoke up again, causing Liam to be jerked out of his thoughts in surprise. "Are you okay?"

Liam's heart spasmed abruptly. Ben had been right about what he'd said yesterday. Cale didn't exactly seem like someone who would mean any harm. Why would he, he'd lived here for almost two years and now all of a sudden he's supposed to travel with four complete strangers to perdition? Liam really had to get out of the habit of looking at every stranger as an enemy. No one knew who he was. So what was going to happen to him?

"Your friend, Lukas...", Liam began carefully as he sorted through his chaotic thoughts to formulate a reasonable sentence. "...yesterday, he had asked us if we would let you join us for the trip to Altona."

Liam looked Cale straight in the eye. There was complete silence for a moment, but then he could see his counterpart become embarrassed and avoid his gaze.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Lukas really wanted to avoid me traversing the creature plain alone. He means well, please don't be mad at him for that. It's best if you'd just forget that he asked. I've never been the kind of person who likes to force myself on strangers."

Cale rubbed his hair as he walked toward Liam, intending to exit the bathroom. This only led to Liam not really having time to think about what he said next.

"It would be fine", he blurted out.

"What?", threw back Cale, visibly puzzled. It takes Liam himself a moment to realize what he had just said. But now he was just as unable to take back his statement.

"It would be all right. We're all traveling in the same direction, so we might as well help each other and go together."

Liams hands clenched into fists until his knuckles turned white, as if he were afraid to drop his towel. But inside he was fighting with himself, because this statement went against every principle of his life so far. What was it that made him say yes? Had it been Ben's statement yesterday?

"Are you sure?", his counterpart asked calmly. Strangely, Cale seemed much more relaxed than he had a few moments ago, which made Liam calm down as well. He didn't know why, but Cale's manner was frightening and intriguing in equal measure. Even though he definitely seemed like a smart man, he hadn't been disrespectful or condescending at all so far.

"Lukas said you could cook well and you're not bad when it comes to fighting either", Liam raised calmly. The statement also seemed logical to him, considering the fact that he had been an Anuxer for 12 years.

"Ah, yes. I've worked in the kitchens here many times and I've undoubtedly mastered a good bit of self-defense. I've also killed magical creatures quite a few times along the way, so you don't have to take me into consideration either."

Liam winced in surprise. That he could talk so matter-of-factly about killing creatures only showed that he was quite capable of taking care of himself. You really shouldn't judge people by appearances. But Cale certainly seemed too relaxed for someone who planned to travel through the creature plain alone.

Almost as if he had planned to kill himself there.

"So if it's all right, I'd like to come with you", Cale finally spoke up. Liam was visibly overwhelmed by the situation, even though he had caused it himself. For a few moments, Liam regarded the strange Anuxer skeptically.

"Nice, finally some fresh air in the group."

To Liams astonishment, his childhood friend Ben was standing behind him. According to the statement, he must have overheard some parts of their discussion. Amused, Ben patted him on the shoulder before walking past Liam and introducing himself to Cale.

"I'm Benjamin, though most people call me Ben. You're Cale right?"

Politely, the black-haired stranger repeated his reasoning and resolved the supposedly tense situation before allowing the two to enter the bathroom. With his body almost a head taller, he stopped next to Liam, who was almost grateful for his unexpected presence.

"The two girls are named Philippa and Aletta, but I'm sure they will introduce themselves later. We would like to leave as soon as possible, how about you?"

"I'd like to eat some more and say goodbye, if that's all right", Cale explained with a cheerful expression on his face as Ben and he shook hands in formal greeting.

"I'm just going to go along with that. A good meal to start the day doesn't hurt", Ben said with amusement and the two of them let go of each other.

Cale nodded in agreement before stepping aside to finally let the two of them approach the sink. For a moment, he watched the two and felt a compulsive urge to take the two men in front of him in his arms, so he quickly retreated to his room. Quietly, he closed the door behind him before glancing at his prepared bed and then reaching for his large travel bag, which he would carry for appearances. He could hear that the women in the next room had also gotten up and couldn't help but grin.

A moment later, a surprised yelp was heard as someone opened the door and instantly excused himself.

"Cale is going to come with us", Liam announced to the two women, which Cale could quite clearly overhear. He stood silently in his small room, where he had spent the last two years, while his gaze was fixed on the mana sources behind the wall. As usual, he almost completely suppressed the leakage of his own mana, which is why he appeared like a normal person to the outside world.

With his current appearance, hardly anyone should be able to know who he really was.