I opened my mouth, wanting to ask what she meant. I closed it just as quickly though as I realized that this hadn’t been a really elaborate dream.

“Sweetheart, maybe we should first tell him our version. He seems pretty confused.” Teacher reprimanded her.

“Before we do that, can you tell me if there are any legends of a divine tree?” I stammered. “It may help me understand just what is going on right now.”

She raised her eyebrows, but fell into silence as she searched her memory.

“No, not really. But if it’s very important we can just ask some historians when we get back.” She said offhandedly. “Anyway, you just…vanished. Or at least this is what your Teacher told me. One second you were in his arms and in the next you were gone.”

She made a popping gesture with her hands. “Like a bubble that popped out of existence. Fortunately, he managed to detect your mana signature again after a few minutes passed. Now tell us your version of your story.”

I actually vanished from his arms? How did that fucking tree…wait, let’s just not think about it John. This is surely one of these questions that are going to torture you for years to come. I already have far too many of those, so for now I should focus on trying to explain what I saw.

I briefly narrated my encounter with the oversized tree, gleefully watching the eyes of every single person present becoming wider and wider with every word I spoke.

When I was done, Teacher and his wife had begun to intertwine their hands. Owen was dazedly looking off into the distance whilst Frank was staring at me like a worried mother. Greta was scratching her head, seeming as if she didn’t know what to think of this.

All in all, this was quite different from what I had expected. Instead of completely dumbstruck and awed they seem rather confused.

Teacher came to my side and picked me up as if nothing had happened. “Well, let’s get going again. We have a lot of things to do, so I suggest shoving this matter to the back of your heads. I’ll try asking Frumentum later, maybe he knows more about this.”

His wife gave him a long stare. “Yeah, we have to meet with him anyway.”

He silently nodded.

---------------------------------------------------

“We’ve arrived.” Teacher stated, ripping me out of my contemplation.

The sun was burning as brightly as ever in the azure sky, bringing an uncountable number of rays that caused us to be bathed in a sweltering heat.

The droning that was produced by hundreds of people talking at the same time invaded my ears as I looked around curiously.

I had almost forgotten how noisy a big crowd could be. A few years of isolation and an upbringing in the countryside didn’t help with that either.

Strangely enough, the sight of an elderly couple carrying four children seemed to barely attract any attention from the surrounding people. They merely glanced at us before looking away.

A man pushing a wagon filled with golden corn pushed past us, drawing my eyes to the front.

We were standing in front of the towering mud yellow walls of Frumentum that, now that I was in front of them instead of looking at them from above, seemed far less massive in comparison to that oversized tree.

The bricks that it was made of were as big as an average sized man and at least thrice as wide. Moss, vines and hundreds of other plants I didn’t bother to identify were growing in the sparse cracks in between, causing me to wonder just how old it truly was.

If the hearsay is true, then they were erected at the same time as the first buildings in Frumentum, but considering the amount of time that must have passed between then and now and the numerous beast hordes that probably crashed against it times this seems quite unlikely.

Even after I inspected it as closely as possible I wasn’t able to find any significant damage. Not even a single scratch. They looked as if they had been erected just hours ago.

Teacher and his wife didn’t show any indications to let us down even after we arrived and I wasn’t about to step onto dirty and dusty ground, so I was always able to get a good view at everything around me.

We slowly moved forward with the endless stream of people around us, finally arriving at a small gate that was barely big enough to fit seven people standing side by side.

This might sound surprisingly big but in reality it was far from enough for the massive amount of people that wanted to get in.

I wonder what would happen in the event of a beast horde? Wouldn’t the entrance be hopelessly clogged then? How are the farmers supposed to get in then?

Don’t tell me that they are left to die?

I shook my head, soliciting a strange look from Teacher. If this were the case, then who would willingly become a farmer?

We passed the pitiful guards in golden armour who had to carefully perform the usual procedures in the blazing heat without any problems and entered the passage.

The temperature dropped to an acceptable grade, staying that way even after we stepped out into the open again.

I heaved a relieved sigh. Any longer and I would have died from the stench that was permeating my surroundings.

We passed the stalls with shouting merchants and people who were calling out to us to visit their shops, all the while advancing on the main street that seemed to split the whole city in two.

Eventually a disgustingly golden palace came into sight, the hill it was built upon and its colour elevating far above the rest of the city.

I turned my head around so that it faced Teacher. “Don’t tell me we’re going to have a meeting Frumentum?!”

He didn’t turn his head around. “Well guessed. Don’t worry though, you’ll only be required to talk about your experience with the insects. Oh, and did I mention the good news yet?” He said, but upon seeing my confused look he quickly continued. “It seems I didn’t. Force of habit hahah-“

His wife interrupted him by flicking his forehead. “You never learn, do you? Don’t take it to heart kids, he never liked explaining the things that are going on, even when I just met him.” She smiled at us embarrassedly.

…That would actually explain a lot.

Frank’s and my eyes met, both of us seeing that we had the same thought. We nodded at the same time and I noted to always ask his wife first if something occurred.

Judging from his pondering expression, I guess he did the same.

I looked over at Owen and Greta, and we came to a mutual agreement even without words.

Time passed, and we soon arrived at the gates of the massive palace, which we entered without obstruction.

An old man in golden robes noticed us once we were inside the palace itself and hurried over. “I’m sorry Greg, but you’ll have to wait for a bit. His Majesty has an important meeting with Grodak.”

Teacher nodded impatiently. “How long will it take? I have very important news from the forest.” He stopped, looking for any eavesdroppers.

Despite not finding any, he still lowered his voice. “The insects are on the move, Hendel. Do you understand what that means?” He finished with a serious face.

Hendel’s face seemed to have turned into stone as soon as he heard the word ‘insect’.

“Fuck!” His gaze briefly landed on us, but it settled on Teacher again. He sighed, sitting down on a chair that was conjured out of nowhere. “At least it didn’t happen in sixty or seventy years. A beast horde coupled with a war against aggressive insects would be enough to destroy Frumentum.”

What did I just hear? Would these insects really be capable of destroying the whole city? How? Even the warrior ants I fought were just about as strong as I was. Even if they had thousands of them a small group of people comparable to Teacher would be enough to completely annihilate them.

Does this mean that they have far more powerful specimen than the warriors I encountered? Ones capable of threatening even Teacher and his wife, who are some of the most powerful people in Frumentum?

The massive doors suddenly opened, revealing a hulking man in his prime who strode out with a grim look on his face.

His whole body was a mass of muscle and scars, and the way he held himself proved that he was a very confident and aggressive man.

The heavily decorated vest only accentuated the fact that he was a powerful warrior, most likely one that has is almost on par with the likes of Teacher.

He briefly gave an acknowledging nod towards our group that was probably directed at Teacher, proceeding to pace past us with surprising speed.

Hendel stood up from his chair and quickly shooed us inside the still lavishly decorated throne room, where we kneeled in front of a serious looking Frumentum.

“Greg, tell me the reason you have come here for. We don’t have a lot of time, so We would appreciate it if you were to hurry.” Frumentum said in a normal voice that was neither booming nor intimidating.

Was he just acting the last time we met? If he did, what reason would he have to do so?

“Your Majesty, the ants are on the move. These children-“He gestured at us. “Can attest to that. John, if you’d be so kind?”

“Uh, yeah.” I replied, startled by the sudden mention of my name. Hesitantly lifting my head, I looked Frumentum in the eye and told him everything I knew about the ants.

At some point of time he had started to lean forward, a hint of anger invading his gaze.

“That’s enough. I’ve heard more than necessary.” He cut me off, turning his gaze towards Teacher. “Their punishment has been lifted in consideration of their services to humanity as a whole. Bring them back to the Academy and prepare them for what is to come.”

Teacher kneeled so deep that his forehead touched the ground. “Thank you for your generosity, your Majesty.”

He then turned around and led us back into the crowded streets of the capital, but this time I didn’t pay any attention to anything at all, not even that he forgot to ask about my encounter with the tree.

The uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach that wouldn’t go away no matter what I did, just like an ominous omen if I believed in things like that, prevented me from thinking about anything but the ants and the implications of the things I heard today.