An awkward silence followed Virrion’s declaration, and Edwin was about to refute the man when he pulled out a small item from his pocket and flashed it to the leader of the Frontaliers before quickly hiding it back.

Mahon only caught a glance of it, but it was more than enough to recognize the starred symbol Edwin had shown him previously, indicating his rank as a four-star warrior. Except this badge had not four stars but seven.

A murmur of awe erupted immediately from the few who had seen the insignia whereas the other looked curiously to what happened, trying to understand what the commotion was for. Virrion’s smile grew wider as he watched the people’s reaction before looking back at Edwin. The Frontalier gulped audibly.

“There is no problem with you staying one night, of course.” He said with a wavering smile.

“Perfect!” Virrion clapped his hands as if nothing had happened. “It’s getting late, and I don’t want to keep you any longer so we’re gonna sleep.”

He snapped his fingers, and his teammates rose from their seats and joined him while he moved in an empty area to set up their tents. Edwin quickly reacted and ordered his men to keep watch and for people to get back to their tasks as the camp was getting ready for the night.

After a silent exchange, Mahon and Jorik left shortly after. They wished a goodnight to Siraye before moving back to their respective tents. A minute later, the two men reunited in the empty Nightmare.

“Some interesting fellows at least.” Jorik commented as he arrived.

“Hard to read, though. What do you think?” Mahon answered as he led them through their usual short walk.

“Undeniably experienced warriors. The three of them. Maybe killers even. There is definitely something suspicious about their actions too. I’m ready to bet we’re not gonna wake up naturally tonight.”

Mahon chuckled. “Agreed. I think trouble is looking for us. And not just any. They acted leisurely, but they were always on guard, checking everything and everyone. They’re used to working together, and they’re not afraid of us in the slightest. They gauged the entire caravan strength and deemed it unworthy. That’s the feeling I got.”

Jorik nodded. “They knew about the goblin’s deaths before coming here. They’re looking for who did it, and they found us.”

“I guess we just have to wait and see what they want from us, then.” Mahon smiled.

A few minutes later, Jorik sat down, legs crossed in a meditative posture, and Mahon sat in front of him in the same position. They closed their eyes and started the wait.

Hours later, Mahon suddenly opened his eyes. “They’re here.”

“I’m coming.” Jorik immediately acquiesced.

Mahon watched him disappear before coming back to Ratho, or rather Finem now, as the edge of his tent opened. The silhouette of the woman appeared in the frame, but she suddenly stopped as she realized Mahon was looking straight at her, perfectly awake.

“Hello. How may I help you?” He grinned.

“Funny.” She answered before moving inside the tent and sitting in front of Mahon.

The tent closed behind her, cutting the few lights coming from outside and letting them in the dark. Through his Flow, Mahon could clearly see the woman however, and she didn’t seem bothered at all. She raised her hand slightly, palm open facing upwards, and Mahon felt a slight disturbance in his Flow a short instant before a small flame appeared in her hand, brightening the tent.

It wasn’t strong enough that Mahon was ejected from the Flow, but the whole arm of the woman was appearing blurred in his mind. The flame flickered an instant and almost extinguished as Mahon focused on the fire. The woman frowned slightly and focused back on her hand to stabilize her flame.

She then glanced at him with a curious look, as if she had detected he was responsible for the slight fluctuation that just happened. Mahon stopped looking too deeply with his Flow at the strange magic and focused back on the woman. Her rhythm was still perfectly calm.

“I usually don’t mind a woman coming to my tent at this time of the night, but you’re really not my taste.”

“Too hot?” She answered with a teasing smile.

“Too cold.” He retorted.

Her smile faltered, and she dropped her expression to what Mahon guessed was her usual demeanor. Her eyes were frigid and threatening. Her looks hardened, and her smile suddenly felt cruel.

“You’re daring for someone who could die in an instant.”

Mahon chuckled. “Are you referring to your two friends waiting outside? Because I’m afraid even you three are not enough.”

He saw a flash of surprise behind her cold eyes that she hid so quickly he would have doubted what he saw if not for his Flow showing her rhythm slightly changing.

“Come on in, boys. Our guest wants to greet you.” She said a bit louder.

The next instant, the tent opened again to let in her two partners, the short and thin man hidden under dark clothes, and the large and tall Virrion. They had both their hands on their daggers and were fully equipped with leather armor.

As the two men moved in and the edge of the tent was flapping down, a hand stopped it and Jorik appeared in the frame.

“Sorry for the delay.” He said while casually entering inside.

The trio was caught by surprise, but they all managed to hide it relatively well. Unfortunately for them, nothing could escape Mahon’s Flow in such close vicinity.

“It’s a bit crowded down there.” Jorik commented again as he moved to Mahon’s side and sat down nonchalantly.

“I see…” The woman said again with a smile. “Let’s get straight to business then. Are you the ones who killed the two-headed goblins?”

“Why do you care?” Mahon asked his own question instead.

The flame in the woman’s hand suddenly grew three times larger as an ugly expression barred her face. Two daggers immediately appeared in the cloaked man’s hands, but before he got to do anything, Jorik had unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Virrion’s throat. Only him and Mahon hadn’t moved at all.

“Vivian. Varek. Calm down.” Virrion said while looking at Mahon straight in the eyes, unperturbed by the sword a millimeter away from his jugular.

A tense second passed before Varek hid his daggers, and Vivian made her fire shrunk back to its initial size. Jorik put away his sword and smiled teasingly at the cloaked man and the woman.

“You’ve got a fetish for V-names or something?” He asked.

“That’s not our real name, dumbass.” Vivian retorted as the flame fluctuated again.

“Vivian!” Virrion’s voice offered no leeway this time, and the woman shut up. “A question for a question then.” The man continued while turning to Mahon.

“You answer first.” Mahon stated.

“As you wish.” The man shrugged. “We were tasked with killing the two-headed goblin because it was causing too much damage. Only it was already dead when we arrived. So we investigated. And here we are.”

Through his Flow, Mahon perceived the man had lied. They weren’t going after the goblin because he was causing too much damage. What are you hiding?

“You’re here, but you’re still doubting what you found?” Mahon finally said. “I killed the two-headed goblin and its bodyguards myself.”

A heavy silence followed his declaration during which Virrion threw a quick glance at Vivian, and the woman shook her head ever so slightly.

“It seems you’re telling the truth. And yet you’re no mage. What a waste.”

Virrion then turned back and moved to exit the tent, but Vivian intercepted him. “Wait! You’re leaving just like that?”

“He doesn’t have anything, Vivian. He’s no mage, you saw it yourself. Let’s move.”

“But there is something fishy with them!”

Virrion chuckled. “Of course there is. They killed a fire wielding goblin without any magic. They can’t be without secrets either. But it’s not our purpose. Let’s leave. Now.”

The woman grimaced, but she obeyed and followed behind her leader. The cloaked man threw them one last look before following silently in their footsteps, leaving only Mahon and Jorik in the tent. The two men stayed still for a few seconds before Jorik went back to his tent and they met again in Nightmare.

“It went better than expected.” Jorik commented.

“We didn’t fight, if that’s what you mean. On the other hand, it seems there are still many mysteries we don’t know about Finem, and that there are people even we shouldn’t provoke thoughtlessly. I don’t keep a nice memory of my fight against fire magic, and that woman seemed way more intelligent and trained than a two-headed goblin.”

“You’re right.” Jorik acquiesced. “There are still many things we don’t know. I admit I’m getting more and more curious about the capital now that we saw these people. That Vivian seemed really at ease with fire in her hand, and that’s something I very much want to learn. I wonder if we will find more people like her in the capital. More friendly ones, though.”

Mahon nodded pensively, but he didn’t add anything. Shortly after, the two men went to their respective occupations where Jorik meditated while Mahon trained a bit before meditating for the remainder of the night.

When he woke up, the sun had barely risen above the horizon, but the camp was already in effervescence. Edwin wanted them to travel for the whole day so they could reach Stonewell before nightfall. Stonewell was the third biggest city of Finem after Lakefield, the capital, and Drulens, the trade city near Ripa Kingdom up north.

Mahon approached the cooks and grabbed a quick breakfast before settling down near Siraye who was sitting alone, waiting for them.

“Something wrong?” He asked her.

“No. Why?”

Mahon gestured to the plate in front of her, left untouched. “You’re not hungry?”

“No.” She shook her head. “I’m gonna eat a fruit or something else later on. It was the three people from yesterday that cooked breakfast early in the morning before leaving. I don’t trust them, and I’m not gonna eat that breakfast either.”

Mahon raised an eyebrow. He was not surprised the trio had left early since they had found what they had been looking for. In fact, he had thought they would have left in the middle of the night given their behavior. What surprised him was Siraye’s strong reaction.

“What could they do to you? They’re already gone.”

She threw him a weird look as if he had just asked a stupid question. “Sometimes I wonder if Jorik and you were raised in a cave or something. Three warriors mounted on acrosaurus arrive just like that, one of them being a seven-star warrior. They ask strange questions. They act oddly and carry bizarre materials. And then, in the morning, they got a sudden urge to prepare breakfast for the whole camp before leaving. Don’t tell me you don’t find this suspicious.”

“Well, said like that…” Mahon admitted, but that didn’t prevent him from eating his breakfast.

“You’ve seen the cloaked man and his acrosaurus with all kinds of strange vials and herbs, right? I’m pretty sure he is dabbling with poisons, and I’m telling you, there is no way I’m eating something he prepared. I’m not suicidal.”

Mahon threw a look around as other people devoured their breakfast without care. “But everybody seems to be fine. Why would they poison the whole camp?”

“There is no need for reason with such people. Everybody seems fine for now, but I’m not taking any risk. For what we know, they could have been Ill Immortals tasked with dirty jobs.”

“What? Really? Why do you think so?” Mahon bored a puzzled look.

Siraye sighed loudly. “Come on! I’m not hanging with you because you’re stupid. Think by yourself.”

“Hmm… They are too strong and too inconspicuous?” Mahon tried.

“Who is too strong and too inconspicuous?” Jorik asked as he joined them and sat near Siraye with a full plate of breakfast. “Not hungry?” He then asked her while pointing to her plate.

Siraye sighed loudly again, but Mahon spoke before her. “Long story short, she believes the cloaked warrior from yesterday poisoned the breakfast. And that the trio are Ill Immortals.”

“What??!” Jorik spat out the spoon he was putting his in mouth.