"Have you also left the Three Gods Faith?" inquired Philippa after a few minutes as they followed the man with the spear.

"Yes, I left, but voluntarily. People are getting crazier and crazier, preferring faith over logic", Theorik gave to word, but did not look behind. "All the decisions they made in the last decades... they justified with the appearance of the apostle. In my opinion, that was just a crazy person claiming to be an apostle."

"I can well understand that. When I left back then, my tribe was on the verge of doing some pretty barbaric deeds", the archer explained matter-of-factly, but William gave her a horrified look. What was she trying to imply? What was her tribe up to?

Theorik had stopped and turned to the group in surprise.

"You are from Winstest?"

"Ah, yes. I originally come from Kratunga, if that means anything to you."

"Kratunga? Where is that?", the stranger asked curiously as he eyed Philippa skeptically.

"Tribe of the passing sun, Kratunga. Pretty much at the southernmost end of Winstest deep in the woods. My tribe doesn't have much to do with other tribes, mostly because their views are very radical. And you? Which tribe did you belong to, if you don't mind me asking?"

Theorik and William's eyes met, causing the stranger to swerve in surprise and continue following the path west.

"Layons", Theorik replied calmly.

"Layons! Seriously? The tribe of the gods?", Philippa gave voice in obvious astonishment. "Wait, the apostle you just spoke of... I've heard about it. The tribal leaders used to tell us about it when I was younger. A man who shines brighter than the sun and has blessed the Layons with wealth and power."

"Pure bullshit, the apostle never did. He didn't show his face for several decades and yet the tribal leaders acted as if he had his eye on us. They always told us children that we would be punished if we didn't behave. My mother did say to me that he was real because she had seen him too, but in my opinion it's all insanity."

"Understandable", Philippa replied in agreement. "I've never heard of anyone leaving the Layon tribe."

"They don't let you resign, either. They kill traitors, even though no one would ever say so", Theorik explained neutrally. The statement gave William goose bumps. He had never been happy being the third prince of Sylve, but compared to Theorik or Philippa, he was clearly better off. While he had always been aware that the tribes in Winstest were very religious, he had never heard such stories. He wondered how the tribes could live so peacefully with each other in the big city when they chased away or killed anyone who asked questions. "It has gotten pretty bad in the last few years."

"Uwaaa", Philippa gave a tremulous, disgusted gasp. William could tell by the look on her face that the statement made him very uncomfortable. "How did you get out of there unscathed?"

"By cunning, a little courage, and with a rope."

"Rope?", Ben interjected in wonder.

"Yes", Theorik replied, reaching for a rope attached to his left hip. Looking closer, Wililam noticed that there was a barb attached to it before Theorik took it in his hand and playfully spun it in a circle. "Must have been the best day of my life. I borrowed this marvel from our neighbor and was able to escape the woods unnoticed during the night."

Silently, the four stared at him. Compared to Sylve, Altona and Frignez, Winstest was a land where only the strong survive. But that it was so difficult to live in society was new to all of them. They all always assumed that the peoples would stick together, but they were much more dictatorial than they had assumed. For the first time, William really realized why Philippa couldn't live there anymore. He had never really found out about her former life, which he now regretted.

"I'll tell you the whole story another time", Theorik added quietly, adjusting his spoils as they slowly slipped away. "You'd better tell me what Altona is like. I've always wanted to see the other side."

When no reply came and William merely exchanged silent glances with his friend, Theorik turned to them.

"Or was that a lie?"

"No, no", William replied abruptly. "Although Ben and I are actually from Sylve. Only Aaron really lives and works in Altona."

"Sylve! Really? All the better! Tell me about both countries!"

All at once William realized that before them walked a man who had been excluded by his own people, as if he were a traitor and an inhuman. Who knows how long he had to endure life and how much he had suffered during that time. He seemed very open-minded to new things, which probably became his own undoing.

"Pretty hard to describe an entire country. You can't really describe the kingdom of Sylve in one sentence. The country itself is really very beautiful. We have a lot of agriculture and nature, large green meadows, and a very famous large lake right by the capital. Most people, especially the people in the countryside, are very cheerful and open-minded. In the capital Bellator it is similar, but thanks to all the Anuxers it is always a little... restless. They quite like to drink, to put it that way. It's always interesting to see all different kinds of people from all over the world enjoying each other's drinks in the capital."

Ben glanced briefly at his friend during his narration.

"If you ever come to Sylve, you must definitely visit the great lake and the capital. The 21 islands of Sylve anyway, that's where most people travel when they go on vacation, but in some places it smells very strongly of fish."

The tall swordsman had to laugh at the statement, while William just grinned in agreement. They had a residence on one of the islands as well, and William still remembered the first time he stood at the harbor and had to endure that fishy smell without showing his disgust.

"Are they not cautious towards strangers?" asked Theorik slowly, which made William look up at him. His blue eyes met the dark brown eyes of the spearman before he gave him a smile.

"We are always cautious, but by no means deviant. The people are surprisingly trusting and open, so friendly that it surprises even me sometimes, even though I've spent my whole life there", William explained. Ben and Philippa nodded in agreement, while recalling that William had never lived in the city as a citizen.

"Must be beautiful. The islands, the lake and the capital, I can remember that. And what's it like in Altona?"

At the question, his eyes turn to Aaron. The mage had remained largely silent so far, as he did most of the time when Ben, William and Philippa were talking. He was not one for words when it came to trivial matters.

"I love Altona", was the first thing Aaron uttered. Surprised, William looked at the High-Magician, who to his amazement actually smiled. "Altona and Sylve are comparatively similar, which is probably due to the pronounced trade and strong cooperation between the countries. Many people in Altona are scholars and mages, so it's no wonder that the capital of Exarion is also called the Mage City. People are very inquisitive, but rarely vain. Only in terms of strength, we are a little know-it-all. Due to the fact that we have the mage school, many strong and well-known personalities travel in and out of our town. It's almost commonplace for people to duel here. In fact, for the past few years there has been an arena just for this purpose, but mostly for the younger generation. The elders, like myself, are somewhat inconspicuous there. Most of the time, at least."

Inevitably, William had to think of Rangar Castero, the 2nd seat of the Magistrat. William was pretty sure Aaron had to be thinking of him when he made that statement.

"There are also some very nice smaller towns and beloved regions, but currently I would not recommend you to come to Altona."

"Why not?", Theorik replied in wonder as he led the group along the edge of a precipice. They had been walking for almost half an hour and slowly the sky above them was getting darker.

The High-Magician remained silent. His expression was dry again, which made William suspect he was thinking about the attack the other day. Recalling the second wave, William immediately glanced at Theorik, and the others stared at him with similar horror.

.

William wanted to explain it to him, but swallowed nervously. A lump stuck in his throat. How could one explain to someone who had no idea about the outside world that their world was in danger? According to Cale, Winstest had also reported problems with creatures, but nowhere near the scale of Altona. Theorik still lived in the belief that he could travel the world at any time, unaware of how life-threatening the situation was. Hesitantly, he looked at Aaron, who, to his surprise, returned his gaze. Both seemed to be thinking of the same thing.

Aaron turned away and raised his voice.

"That's..."

Jerkily, he paused and stared into the distance. Following his serious gaze were the three adventurers, who could faintly make out the silhouette of a human in the distance. William got goose bumps. The man was a good 20 meters away from them and they hadn't noticed him until now. Even Aaron didn't seem to approve of the situation, because he had stopped. It wasn't until all four of them came to a stop that Theorik turned to face the front and a few seconds later raised his hand in the air as the stranger approached them.

"Good evening", he called out, waving his arm. The unknown person approached the small group before the last rays of the day's sun illuminated his face.

"Get out of here", the man gave, glaring viciously at Theorik. Abruptly, the man paused in his movement and turned to face the group.

"I told you so", he announced. The four, however, were so perplexed by the situation that none moved, and this despite the fact that they had reason to rejoice. In front of them stood the man they had been looking for for weeks. Basil. A real giant. The man could be a good three meters tall and weigh several hundred kilograms. He had a very long reddish beard and a long scar on his face, which only enhanced his menacing appearance. Under his dark clothes, a broad sword was clearly visible, which he hid under his cloak at the sight of the strangers. What frightened them so much, however, was not the fact of how he looked or how he spoke.

It was the fact that he had no mana.