"Aletta!"

Philippa's voice hold through the forest as she ran toward the tall man with the blonde-haired girl on her back. The healer had tears in her eyes as she had woken up, which made Ben cry out in fright. He didn't know what was going on at all and couldn't handle a crying girl.

"Put her down, Ben", Cale ordered calmly, turning his gaze on the healer. "Are you all right? Are you in pain?"

With tears in her eyes, Aletta shook her head before feeling the ground beneath her feet. Concerned, Cale knelt beside her while Liam and Philippa came running. The girl, however, didn't stay on the ground for ten seconds before she lunged at Cale and hugged his neck tightly. She started crying loudly, but not from pain, but because of what she had overheard.

Dumbfounded, Cale looked down at the girl who clung to him. Almost as powerless as Ben, he let the youngest member do whatever she was doing.

"What happened?"

Liam's question reached the two men, who returned irritated looks. Philippa had knelt down next to the two, anxiously trying to understand the situation.

"Aletta? What's the matter? What happened? Are you in pain? Did you get a fright? Did you have a bad dream?"

Somewhat hesitantly, Philippa held her hands in the air, not quite knowing what to do with them. Cale, however, understood what was going on because of her questions.

A gentle smile marked his face, which Ben could clearly make out, before the mage wrapped his hands around the healer and stood up with a start. Surprised, Ben, Liam and Philippa watched as the slender mage held the girl with ease, even though she was well the same weight as himself.

"It's all right, Aletta. You don't have to cry. You're almost an adult, what would your parents say if they saw you like this?"

Lovingly, he held the girl like a child in front of her stomach with both hands, while she tightened her hands around his neck to keep from slipping. The group was silent for a moment, just staring at Aletta in disbelief. They all knew that Aletta was the youngest of them at 16, but no one would have expected such a reaction. Usually she was the one playing tough and setting the tone, but suddenly she was acting completely different.

"We should call it a day", Cale finally declared, taking a step to the side to make it easier for Philippa to stand up while he took turns looking into the eyes of the three Anuxers. "Lets find a place to stay for the night. A longer rest with some good food will do us all good. Besides, we have some things to do."

At his last words, Cale turned his gaze to Liam. Immediately, everyone knew what Cale was about to say. Aletta really needed to check Liam today to make sure everything was okay with him. None of them had used mana today, but the only one who could judge the danger as complete was the healer herself. With Aletta in his arms and her face against his, Cale strode ahead, leaving them group behind.

"Come on."

With an amused exclamation, he motioned the three to follow him. Aletta hesitantly looked out from under Cale's shoulder and watched the three walking about ten feet behind them. It takes her a moment before she realized what had happened before she had fallen asleep and was relieved to see that they were all okay.

"You heard, didn't you? What I said to Ben."

Aletta nodded hesitantly, the others couldn't hear his words but clearly saw Aletta reaction.

, Liam wondered. He glanced at Ben, knowing he was as perplexed as he was, but his expression spoke otherwise. He knew what Aletta and Cale were discussing.

"Haaa, I wasn't actually planning on telling anyone this at all. Ben was already an exception, but now you know it too", Cale spoke up as he tried to figure out how much she had overheard. Aletta buried her mouth behind Cale's shoulder and gave Ben a skeptical look, but his smile irritated her. Moreover, she realized how Liam was following the eye contact between them. She slowly lifted her head back up and straightened before continuing to speak softly.

"Cale, I have a confession to make. I know your Igrikum."

Cale stopped, for a moment, expecting Aletta to be yelled at in a moment. But the exact opposite occurred.

"I know", Cale replied. Surprised, Aletta pushed away from him, so she could look him in the eye. The three behind them could tell from the healers startled face what Philippa assumed they were talking about last nights fight. "I knew you were eavesdropping on Liam and me."

Aletta turned pale while staring at Cale and then glanced at Liam. The latter instantly noticed her warning expression and swallowed nervously. Ben thought they were having a conversation about Cale's statement about his deceased friends. Philippa suspected Cale was talking about last nights events. But only Liam got goosebumps when she met Aletta's gaze. It was the same warning look she had introduced him to when Aletta told him about Igrikum. Aletta's eyes dropped from Liam and turned to Cale, who continued to look at the path in front of him throughout the conversation.

"Then why did you let it happen? Did you want me to hear?", she interjected, horrified.

"Partially, yes."

"Why? What's the point? You sound like you're trying to sacrifice yourself for Liam", she uttered tearfully. In response to her question, Aletta received only a sad, exhausted smile. With horror, she began to gulp. She had already had this fear when she had first met Cale and Lukas had told them about the mage. The facts had changed a little, but the basic idea remained. "No. I don't want this. Don't give me that nonsense. What are you doing?"

The tearful shouting reached the others as well, causing all their assumptions about the conversation to vanish into thin air.

"What are they talking about?"

Philippa glanced briefly at the gentlemen to her right, but they had no answer either. It almost sounded like Aletta had to do something that didn't make her any friends.

Liam felt guilty. Generally, in the last few days, his group had always felt disappointing. Actually, he considered himself quite intelligent and strong, but towards Cale he felt helpless and weak. Whereas, maybe it wasn't because of Cale himself. It was more the fact that made him realize how little idea he had of the world he lived in.

The three of them silently watched the healer's emotional reactions, sometimes horrified, sometimes crying, sometimes silent, sometimes threatening. Whatever they were talking about, none could put their finger on it.

"Is it actually just me, or have you also completely misjudged Cale? He seems pretty experienced, thinking about what he says and does. Somehow he scares me sometimes, but somehow I'm also very grateful that he joined us. He's a great help and it would be wonderful if he would join us all the way to Frignez, wouldn't it?"

Philippa's words echoed through Liam's head. He had totally forgotten that Cale would only be traveling with you for a few more weeks. After they reached the capital, they would inevitably part ways. But Cale didn't know anything about that, and Liam couldn't estimate how he would deal with the information that they wouldn't stay in Altona at all.

Liam clutched the Igrikum in his left arm. The invisible band, which had tied itself around his hand like a bracelet, did not respond, but he knew it was there.

"I agree with you, Phil. Quite apart from his talent, I must confess I quite like him. Sometimes he scares the hell out of me, but sometimes he nearly kills me with laughter. But basically he's a loving and honest person who's also so good to talk to. I feel like I'm only now getting to know his true personality."

Ben supported Philippa's statement, but none of the three looked at each other. They all felt the same somehow. Somehow they say Cale as a strong member of the group, but equally an unsellable friend.

Liam's heart clenched. He remembered the feeling when Ben said goodbye to him to follow his father at work. He felt similarly then; his heart was empty and he had felt he was alone. Ben was back by his side every day a few years later, but the sense of loss remained.

"I think we can just ask him", Ben finally cheerfully admitted, causing Liam and Philippa to turn to him.

"What do you mean?", replied Liam. Ben had to grin. Basically, he also had little hope that Cale would accompany them, knowing his true identity, but the man was always good for a surprise. Maybe he could be persuaded, if he was allowed to officially support Ben, to protect William. For a fee, of course.

"I mean, we can just ask him if he'd like to join us once he's done his job in Altona."

"Well... it costs nothing to ask, but Cale is still an Anuxer. I don't really know if he'd sacrifice his time even if he likes us. Besides, the decision is kind of up to Aletta, don't you think?", Philippa raised hesitantly, which is why the others' expressions darkened abruptly.

But at that moment, the three of them saw Cale pull out something glowing from his hand, which made Philippa and Liam stop in horror, only Ben wasn't too surprised by the situation.

In his hand, Cale held one of the Communication-Crystals, which only specially selected people had. The stones had been influenced by the Magistrat in such a way that they could be replenished with mana, thus enabling them to talk to people all over the world. These crystals were custom-made, each one of incredible value. Liam recognized it immediately because his father owned just such a crystal and it was forbidden for him, as well as his brothers, to use it. Only on special occasions had the King of Sylve allowed his sons to partake while using it, usually when it came to political talks with the other provinces. The stones were so valuable that the royal palace was currently one of few families in all of Sylve to possess such a marvel. They were the latest invention of the 1st seat of the Magistrat, Grischa Vonstetten.

"Is that... who's reporting to you right now?", Aletta, who by now was also standing on the floor, hesitantly spoke up and also looked at the bright blue glowing crystal in Cale's hand, from which a low humming sound emanated.

"Excuse me for a moment, would you?", replied Cale politely, and with a lightning-quick movement he was about 15 meters away from Aletta, who looked irritatedly at the mage and stopped. Aletta also knew exactly what kind of crystal Cale was holding. What puzzled her, however, was how he made it appear. The sudden release of strange mana followed by Cale's shorthand gesture and the next moment he was holding an extremely expensive crystal in his hands, which she had very rarely seen.

"Was that a Communication-Crystals?", interjected Philippa as the group caught up to the healer. She herself had never seen such a crystal up close, but she knew the images and stories behind it. Even Philippa, as the last member, realized that Cale was no ordinary citizen.

"Yes, I think so."