When the caravan finally arrived in Canta, William’s group departed. Though, many of those traveling with the caravan had already departed along the way. Having spent so long together, William had developed a fondness for some of them. Zhan Cheng in particular displayed the same kind of ability in trade that his ancestor had. William knew that people were more than just a collection of their useful skills… but he found that knowing people skilled in various capacities was very helpful. William left a letter with him, to be delivered to his grandfather, Grand Elder Yu Jian. Although Zhan Cheng could have delivered the message that William had arrived safely at the destination, having a letter was more reassuring.

After visiting several inns, the group finally decided to stay at one located near the edge of Canta. It was cheaper and had decent accommodations, but it was not particularly conveniently located. However, considering the group had limited though not insubstantial funds, it was a good choice. It wasn’t sure how long they would be staying in the city. Even if they completed their initial goal quickly, that could quickly lead to other goals. In fact, it hopefully would.

William’s primary goal in coming to Canta was to meet with the Archmage. Preferably, Cecil Lockridge would be nothing like his family. William was hoping but not expecting that to be true. However, even if he was a horrible person, William would still remind him, or warn him, about the impending return of the Demon King. Then he could just hope he died in that eventual fight. William would really rather not have his negative feelings justified, but he did have to make plans.

As for actually getting a meeting, William wasn’t necessarily sure whether that would happen. Completely ignoring a foreign noble, or the equivalent, who also represented a new group of mages wouldn’t be the best idea. Not that Dong Xin was a noble, or even looked like one normally. However, William was surprised at how well he could act like one if he wanted to. William himself was effectively a noble, at least as far as Liaoyang went, though not a major one. At the very least, the meeting should be delegated to someone, even if they couldn’t meet the Archmage himself.

On the matter of meeting people, there were other powers that couldn’t be ignored. The knights were still a significant and important group. William would certainly like to get in contact with them, but with their status as a group representing wizards, they wouldn’t necessarily be able to meet with anyone important. That said, it wouldn’t hurt to try. William wanted to see if they still lived up to the good image he had of them.

As for the actual leader of the country… William supposed there was a king, or possibly a queen. However, they previously held very little power, and left most military control to the knights and wizards. William thought it was the same now, considering how little he heard about them. That said, no matter how little or how much power they held, William’s group had no basis to meet with them. They weren’t representing the country of Liaoyang, nor an established organization. At least, not one that anyone knew about.

The group took a day to settle at the inn, and rest from the journey. The next day, they went about attempting to arrange the meetings they desired. They started at the wizard’s guild. At first they met with one person, then another. There was also a lot of waiting involved. In the end, about a day of bureaucracy later, they had managed to secure an appointment with the Archmage. Though, it was for a month in the future. William also wasn’t sure whether they would actually be able to meet with him then, or would be pawned off on someone else. That’s what William had done with some of those he didn’t want to meet, and he would suddenly become “busy”. Thus, people would have to meet with someone else or wait for a new appointment. William wasn’t sure if that would happen, but he still considered the option.

During that time, he had plenty of opportunity to observe the area around him. Perhaps it was an off day, but William felt the guild was rather empty, and yet rather full of bureaucrats. He didn’t see many students scurrying through the halls to go talk to professors, nor did he see many people out the window. William didn’t feel like it was a good time to inquire about it, but he kept what he saw in mind. At the end of the day, he was exhausted. He would have taken Dong Xin and Yu Li to get some of his favorite food, but William no longer knew where to find any of it. Much of the city was different, as would be expected after so many years.

The next day, they went to the knight’s headquarters. The results were somewhat disappointing, but also mercifully quick. They quickly found themselves talking to a captain, who informed them that the Knight Commander was away, and would likely not return for some weeks. The captain was not privy to the Knight Commander’s schedule, and could not make appointments. However, he did promise to mention them, and also wrote down what inn they were staying at so they could be informed when the Knight Commander returned. William could have been wrong, but he felt that everything was straightforward, and they really would be contacted. The captain seemed like the type that would bluntly told them if there was no possibility of the meeting. That said, all they could do was wait to find out.

Though they would be waiting, William didn’t plan to be idle. The city had changed, and he planned to explore it to find out exactly how. William also planned to learn as much as he could about the noble houses, and see if he could find the descendants of those he knew, nobles or not. That was partially for curiosities sake, but William felt like the best places to start were with those that at least had a chance to already be sympathetic to his cause. Not that William felt anyone should be against fighting the Demon King, but not everyone would have already considered it and be for it.