Part 1

The pain from my wounds was none other than a simple annoyance. As the night came, so did the state in which my body was able to gather mana the fastest, second only to the meditative one. With that mana being directed, mostly unconsciously, towards my wounded bits, I soon found myself with a capable body yet empty of mana. A sensation that, as a mage, I had always hated. Lucas seemed to do the exact opposite. With the little mana his body used, he always had a surplus of it, probably the reason for that absurd energy he always showed, yet his body fared far worse than mine. Alas, our state, and that of the other two temple guests, prevented both groups from going forth with our respective goals. Hence, a camp was set at the end of the temple's stairs.

Nothing much to it other than a fairly big campfire, which stayed lit almost constantly, bits of broken columns used as benches, and bedrolls on a corner. Simple yet welcoming in a strange sort of way. The campfire seemed to be the center of all life down there, since we gathered there almost constantly.

It was all going well and fine and peacefully. I gathered mana as I busied myself in the act of fishing from a river thicker than the rest while Lucas preserved his energies and concentrated his mana on healing. Dino and Dominik did similarly. One rested while the other fished and vice-versa. The only conversations between us being the circumstantial ones when sharing a meal. That is until the third night after the defeat against the Horned bone-snake, as we decided to call it, when the wall of silence finally broke off.

"You know...-" Said Lucas as he stared unfocused at the cracking fire. He suddenly darted his eyes towards me, Dino and Dominik, pointing the fish impaled on his stick at each of us "- We've been here three whole days and we barely know each other. Are you all shy or something? Come on! We have a campfire and food, we are just missing some good ale and it'd be the perfect camp-in-the-woods kind of experience, no? Let's get to know each other!"

For a couple of breaths, Lucas' words seemed to have been heard only by the wind as we ignored the man darting at us with the steaming fish in his hand. That is until Dino grabbed the fish away from Lucas' grasp and chuckled through his words.

"Fine by me if that helps to lighten this damp mood. I thought I'd die of boredom!"

As it should be, Dominik followed his lord's decision and left me to be the only one who enjoyed the silence. With a little pushing on my brother's part, I relented and our two groups merged into a single one. That night was long and sleepless. Questions over questions and stories over stories followed one another in a succession of gasps and laughs as anecdotes of my and Lucas' life at the academy succeeded Dino and Dominik's tales of their snowy lands.

Each of us was careful not to spill too much about ourselves while still exposing much of our identities. Thus we found out much about Dino and Dominik's stories. Dino was the second son of an accomplished lord in the Three Crown's Kingdom, a viscount. His life was boring and full of strict lessons about conduct, mannerisms, and swords with Dominik always keeping an eye out for him. Until a man he called "his Lord" took Dino under his wing and assigned him odd jobs to carry all around the kingdom in his stead. To the young Dino, with a heart filled with the boring lifestyle of a noble and the pressing need for adventures, those jobs seemed a true blessing. He was currently in the middle of one.

The conversation, then, dwelled more on Dominik's past as an adventurer and his subsequent knighting under Dino's father. Though that made for an interesting story, I couldn't help but ask myself what entailed this job, this task, Dino kept talking about.

"Since we are on topic-" Said Dino right after Dominik finished telling of his encounter with a wyvern "- This has been a question that has bugged me for quite a while now so I must ask. What was your relationship with the deceased Delvin Gallher?"

"Mhh. I'm starting to see what this task of yours is. It smells of investigation, Dino" I said, trying to sound as less accusing as possible while keeping in check my facial muscles in order not to reveal the wave of memories coming afloat.

"Do tell-" Replied the Blonde "- Does that bother you?"

"Not the topic but the roundabout way you asked it-" I replied wittily with a hint of scornfulness in my tone "- Makes it sound like you're suspecting us for the deed"

"Forgive me if my question hasn't delivered my intent. What I wanted to ask was, how can a mage as potent as you finish his five years of academy without being noticed? Especially from sources of power inside the academy, much like the Gallher family, famous for recruiting mages from early ages"

"The answer to that is rather simple-" I scoffed "- I just never liked attention. Not from students, not from teachers and certainly not from nobles. I learned your kind doesn't mix well with mine"

"Trued words you speak, Raphael-" Spoke Dominik with a smile under his beard showing something akin to satisfaction "-You are wise for your age, it is something rare, even among full-fledged adults and most lords. I believe it would be outright stupid to try and swindle an answer out of you so I'll be asking my lord's question directly. Who killed the Gallhers?"

I paused.

[They are suspecting me. Was it wrong to show my magic against the snake?-] I thought while unconsciously moving mana towards my arms but stopping before going any further [- No. Their mission must be to find who was behind Gallher's death. Of course they'd suspect a powerful mage to know something even if he's not related to the act directly...There's no need for rash decisions. Stay calm]

"It would help us greatly in our search for the truth if you could give us even the slightest hint. It is a matter of lives lost. In this very moment even. If we were to find the culprit, the real one, we would be able to put a stop to this nonsensical war!"

"I may sound stupid-" Interveened Lucas "- but how does Gallher's death relate to the war?"

"Did you not know?-" Asked Dominik in return, his expression pure surprise "- It was because the kingdom of Belza blamed us for the assassination of the duke while our kingdom kept claiming innocence. Without being able to reach any sort of understanding, our borders suffered attacks from Belza hence our mission. Uncovering the truth about the assassination and bring an end to the war...So, if you have any information, even the smallest and insignificant, please do tell"

Lucas' gaze settled on me, trying to pry for the course of action. I never told him I was actually the one to deliver the death blow, and neither did Danthe, but it didn't take a genius to figure it out. Especially for one as close to me as Lucas was. I sighed and shooed him away with a tiny gesture. An expression of confusion came over his face for just an instant.

"I do know something, but I'm not sure how useful it could be" I said, now raising my face from the fire and settling my gaze into Dino's.

"Everything's welcomed!" He merrily replied.

"Well then, my relationship with Delvin Gallher wasn't the happiest but it never came to the point where one would wish for the other's death. My reason for being at the academy was to simply study so I didn't meddle much with groups and the such, hence my name not being one much spoken. But I do know that, in the month before the tragic death, a lot of hooded travelers came into town and rumors said that they would ask a lot of...uncomfortable questions. I don't know much more, we students were prohibited from going out of academy grounds at night. Sorry"

"Well...-" Replied Dino after a long pause of silence. His expression was somewhat dissatisfied yet he did his best not to show it. Dominik, on the other hand, seemed deadpan. For a moment I feared he had doubts about me "- It's not much, as you said...at least it's still something. Thanks"

[They'll find out soon enough that me and Delvin were something akin to enemies and he tried to kill me multiple times. I hate to do this but it'll at least buy me some time once we are out of here... I really don't like the idea of having two kingdoms going around looking for me!]

Part 2

The next two days passed rather quickly. The conversation we had and the stories she shared on the third night seemed to have lit up a spark between us, figuratively destroying the barriers that previously existed. Now, the mood was much lighter, to the extent that some conversations would last hours long. Especially those about swordsmanship. Lucas, Dino and Dominik being swordsmen was a great advantage to that. They would often spar with each other and give pointers on their form. All three of them were of the same school: the North sword style. Of course, I was of the same school too but, with magic being my forte and developing my whole fighting style around it, the conversation never really stuck with me. Not that I cared about it. It meant I had more time to read the red-leathered book of spells I wrote and meditate. Something I seemed to enjoy doing as of frequently.

The morning of the sixth day was the turning point. There was nothing left for us on the glade. Our bodies were healed, our energies restored, our minds calm and relaxed, and our stocks of food and water full. It had come the time to move on.

"So?-" Asked Lucas as he donned what little was left of his armor "- First or second floor?"

"Well, the... Horned bone-snake appeared when we were all on the second floor but the first floor is blocked by magic-" Replied in a very lecturer-like tone Dino "-However, neither of us was a mage, so now that we have one would be a good time to try again. Would you be able to do it?"

"Can't say for sure-" I scoffed with a shoulder raise as I ran through one last check of my belongings "- But I don't see many other options so I'd say we should give it a try"

With a confirming nod, our course of action was decided. In meditating silence, we abandoned the place we had called "camp" for five days and walked in a row towards one of the arched entrances to the first floor of the temple. Precisely the closest to the long stairs, to their left.

The pearly white stone, dulled by the ruthless flow of time, greeted us coldly as we crossed the threshold and delved into darkness. It took a handful of seconds before our eyes could get used to the darkness. A dim flame lit on my palm helped with the process.

We walked through a long corridor, empty of all and any sort of decoration, not even moss or webs; it's only resident being dust. With Dominik at the front, Lucas in the back, and me and Dino in the middle, minutes of boring strolling through a single hallway twisting and turning like a snake succeeded each other until finally, a dim white light greeted our eyes warmly. Unconsciously, our pace accelerated but it soon slowed as disappointment settled. We had exited the hallway in the same place we had entered it. The glade was in front of us, exactly the same as we left it.

"Are you sure this is the same passage you took the first time?" I ask suspicious, not of them but rather of the temple itself.

"This is most certainly it!-" Barked Dino "- The closest to the stairs on their left. I'm sure it was this though when we first came we got blocked right after entering by a solid barrier. Can you explain what happened, mage?"

"First of all-" I began, ignoring Dino's stares and inspecting the white arch "- I don't like your tone. I'm a mage, yes, but that doesn't mean that I understand everything related to magic. Do I have to remember you that I studied for five years only? And second...did you feel it too, Dominik? That faint presence"

"I told you how I feel mana in a different way than you so no, I didn't feel a "presence", as you call it. But, around five minutes in, the smell of the air changed for a second. It's scent was...ehm, confusing, but I'm sure it had something to do with mana" Dominik replied, curiously looking at my every movement from a respectful distance.

"That confirms it-" I continued matter-of-factly, ignoring the cries for explanations from Dino "- The first floor is magical in nature. It doesn't feel like a rouse to try and kill us but neither one to trap us. I'd say it's more of an illusion but I'll need more information to say that for certain"

"Oh no...-" Muttered Lucas as he caught a glimpse of the smirk curling up my lips "- You are finding this amusing, aren't you?"

"Wait, what does it mean?" Asked Dino, worry creeping up in his tone.

"It means this asshole found this whole illusion-trap thing interesting and will now parade us around the tunnels to find how the whole thing works!" Lucas hiss with exasperation behind his hand covering his face and tips of his fingers massaging his temples.

"To the hallways then!" I retorted before anyone could utter a word of disagreement.

With sighs and hushed curses directed at me- mostly at my ability to copulate-, our ever-so-marry group followed me through passage after passage. Each time we exited a passage from the same exit we would mark the ground in front of it, creating a sort of Hansel and Gretel kind of trail for us to follow. By the time we had explored all of the entrances, a day had already passed and we all dragged our tired bodies to the camp.

"I don't want to be the one to sound skeptic-" Said Dominik in front of the fire, right before chewing on the tasty roasted fish he had skewed in front of him "- but did today's efforts prove useful, or are we still walking blindly?"

All eyes turned towards me, expectantly, as if they were village kids waiting for the elder to sing them a legend. I looked at them, then back at the fish's white, tender meat in front of me, then back at them and at the fish. I finally sighed as I stuck the skewer with the fish on the ground, disappointed for not being able to enjoy my well-deserved meal.

"This couldn't wait after dinner, uh?-" I moaned as I rummaged through my sack until I found a folded piece of paper "-This here is a map, though not one you would think. As I suspected the place really is under an illusion while barriers form randomly inside the hallways"

"That much was clear, brother, but how can we escape that?"

"Hehe-" I grinned triumphantly "- There is but one way and we've already walked it without even knowing it... If I'm correct, this bastard of a temple is hiding something very important if those who built it went as far as to create this absurd illusion!"