For several days now, the group of five had been on the road to Exarion, always accompanied by hundreds of strangers. One could clearly feel that they were getting closer to the capital, because the streets were becoming much more crowded and you had to constantly watch out not to lose the connection. William and Ben had become quite good friends with Sir Nolan and his students in that time, during the day they helped them monitor the surroundings and in the evening they took turns dueling for various hours.

The highlight of every traveler's day was being able to watch the young soldiers fight, so day after day more and more people gathered to watch them. People from different groups met and with time the fire camps became bigger and bigger at night. On the penultimate day they had broken the record and at one camp there were more than 60 people - laughing, singing or simply talking quietly. For the first few days, William had always kept his distance from people, but when Cale explained that his aloof behavior only drew more attention, he let it go. Much like Cale, however, he was careful not to stand out much in the crowd.

"I see them", Philippa exclaimed loudly, and abruptly dozens of heads turned in the direction she pointed. Beyond the vast fields, forests, and villages, a tall tower rose into the sky, accompanied by a massive building. Its white facade and dark blue roof almost shone at you as it stood out dominantly against the flat mountains behind them. With every further step, one could see the capital better. Huge, meter-high white walls protect the interior, which was difficult to see in detail at this distance. But the large buildings with blue domes, the wide marketplace and the hundreds of people in front of the gate could be clearly seen. "That's madness. This city is huge."

Philippa, much like the rest of the group, saw this mage city for the very first time. It spread out across a huge area, hard to estimate how long it would take to get from one side to the other. On the lower part, hundreds of houses crept up, close to each other, so the paths must have been comparatively narrow. On the other side, the Magistrat's building could be clearly seen, led by the tall tower. It literally stood out above the whole city, so large was the main building. All the political meetings of the country were held there - it was a state building and a school in one. Hundreds of people went in and out every day, but access was not unlimited in the secured areas.

"Did you expect anything else?", threw back Cale, amused, staring north as well. It seemed like an eternity to him when he had left Exarion under cover of darkness back then to move to Bellator. Accordingly, he was happy to finally return, even if a crisis awaited him there.

"I knew it was big, but that's exaggerating beyond measure. It's even bigger than Bellator", Philippa defended herself, hoping a step to the side to get a better view of the capital. It was true, of all the cities in Altona and Sylve, Exarion was probably the biggest, even if Cale wouldn't call it 'the biggest city'. In his opinion, that title belonged to the three cities in Frignez, which were growing more and more into a single monstrosity. Of all the places, this place was the largest collection of people Cale had ever seen.

"Please be careful so that we don't lose each other", Aletta meekly spoke up, the only one for whom Exarion must seem small. Instantly, Ben grinned from ear to ear and rubbed amused through the healer's blond hair.

"Just stay close to my side", he returned. Sullenly, Aletta slapped Ben's hand to her side, fixed her hair, and pulled her hood over herself without making a sound. Ben started to laugh before completing his sentence. "We'll take care of it, don't worry."

William, on the other hand, was the only one not particularly happy to see the city. Once they crossed the gate, Cale's and their paths would inevitably part, for the High-Mage had to do his work as well, after all. He regarded Exarion from a distance with mixed feelings, not knowing what to say. She did indeed exude a very special feeling, completely different from Bellator. With its rounded roofs and white walls, it truly seemed like a city from the girls, precisely a city in which the mages lived. The closer they got, the more clearly they could see the decorations on the houses, even the ivy on the white walls was climbing to match the spire, and William could see above the walls many soldiers doing their rounds. At this time of year, Exarion was still a good deal greener than Bellator, which may have been due to their warm climate - though the nights were absurdly cold.

"I wonder if we'll even find a place to stay", Ben mentioned casually as he let his gaze wander over the crowd. Aletta was standing very close to him, so she could grab his arm at any moment if the people took her sight.

"Yes, that will indeed be quite difficult with all those people. I don't want to know how expensive it will be", she interjected quietly.

"In Altona, it's forbidden to profit from emergency situations, so they're not allowed to arbitrarily raise prices either", Cale mentioned before pulling out his bag and bringing out a long, black robe with silver trim. He passed the bag itself to Ben before handing the robe to Aletta and then began to remove his shirt. Carefully, so that his chest would not be seen, he removed his dark shirt and reached for the robe. Quickly he slipped into it and adjusted the high collar as well as the sleeves before stowing the old shirt in his pocket and thanking the two for their help.

"Is this your uniform?" inquired Aletta curiously.

"It is. I didn't wear it to remain inconspicuous", Cale explained calmly, swinging the bag onto his back before brushing his long hair back with his hand. "By the way, if you want, you can stay at my place."

"Is that all right with you?" asked William in surprise, causing Cale to turn to him.

"Of course, otherwise I wouldn't offer it. I have an apartment in the Magistrat and I don't use one of the rooms anyway. It shouldn't be hard to repurpose it as a guest room. The only thing is, the apartment may need a little cleaning first, after all, I haven't been there in years."

Cale's attention turned to the single strand that hung in his face and wouldn't stop bothering him. Several times he stroked his hair back before he finally got the result he wanted and snorted in satisfaction. Therefore, he did not even realize William's look at first, which was increasingly due to the fact that the rest rejoiced loudly.

"William?", Cale softly admitted in wonder, slowing down. "What's wrong?"

Quickly shaking his head, William wiped tears from his eyes before smiling.

"I'm just happy", he replied before tears ran down his face again, and he had to force himself not to draw all the attention to himself. Cale had to smile as well, and watched as William pulled his hood up afterwards, as if he was uncomfortable with the situation. "I'm sorry. I've kind of thought that... once we reached Exarion we wouldn't see each other again."

"Well, why didn't you tell me that? Did I ever give them the impression that the four of you were unwanted?" gave Cale relaxed words, to which William quickly shook his head. "Just ask me that in the future, please. You guys have grown on me, too, after all."

"I was originally going to ask you to accompany us all the way to Frignez, but... because of the curfew and all the chaos, it kind of took care of itself", William confessed as the two caught up with the rest of the group.

"I would actually like to go, but I need to speak with the council first regarding the current situation. To be honest, I would also advise you to stay in the capital for a while until the whole issue calms down. Besides, I have a strong suspicion that chief Merensen himself is coming to the city, knowing him", Cale explained, much to Aletta's surprise.

"Do you know my father?"

"I met him once in person, yes. A few years ago, when he was visiting us in Exarion."

"Ah, for the decade celebration?" inquired Aletta, to which Cale only nodded.

"In the end I leave the decision up to you guys - whether you would like to stay or not."

"It's not far-fetched", Aletta agreed, before asking the rest of the group to give her some time to think. They should wait until after the meeting. If Aletta's father - 2nd head of Frignez - was really traveling to Exarion, then escorting Aletta would be an unnecessary undertaking. Whereas at that moment, William was thinking much more about spending more time with the group.

After an hour, they had almost reached the wall, but the control at the gate let the newcomers enter only doggedly. Countless numbers of people were trying to enter the city, which must have led the Magistrat to impose tight controls. The number of people outside the gates was almost frightening.

"Cale. Can you see the city from your apartment?", inquired Philippa curiously.

"Yes, you can. My apartment is to the southeast, and you can see down on the city beautifully from there", Cale explained, which tickled a soft croak out of Aletta before Ben put his hand on her head and made her bow. Philippa immediately realized Ben's intention and stepped up beside him before bowing as well.

"Thank you for letting us stay with you", the tall swordsman gave politely.

"You're welcome", Cale threw back with a grin. He had planned from the beginning to let the four of them stay with him, but he never thought they would be so grateful. Perhaps it was because no one had brought up the subject before; after all, the plan was for Cale to accompany them only as far as Exarion. This now gave Cale enough time to get a proper view of the situation and adjust his plan, depending on the situation. In his opinion, it would be better if they all stayed in the city and spent the 2nd wave attack there. After all, Cale wanted to prevent his valued fellow mages from falling to their fate and dying. They were too valuable for that, and with his barriers, he was pretty sure he could keep the city alive.

A few minutes later, the three of them were already talking about the things they would do in the capital, while William silently listened to them and followed the crowd. He was extremely relieved that they could stay with Cale. In fact, he had never once given his thoughts to how the High-Mage felt about the whole thing. His gaze inevitably landed on the dark-haired man, who looked like a real authority figure in his uniform, and caught the glances of the other travelers as well. They likewise must wonder who Cale was, even if they didn't recognize the uniform.

However, when William sensed a large source of mana abruptly approaching, he instinctively reached for his weapon. Ben, Aletta, and Philippa could sense it as well, and they all looked up at the wall that was rising directly in front of them. Some travelers started screaming and dodged to the side, only Cale didn't move.

Cale just grinned before dropping his bag on the ground and catching the man who had jumped off the wall like a madman.

"Caleb!", Yusuf yelled so loudly that he could be heard miles away.