Chapter 111

“Iflehil. From what we can gather, it was an outpost, on the edge of the Elven Empire over two thousand years ago. We suspect it served the same function as Ur, a safeguard from the Wilds.” Talah explained, her interest in discussing the ruins overpowering her unease of the young man.

The man listened intently to what she was saying, while still running his hands along the elvish words carved into the stone plinth.

“I hadn’t realized the Elves had expanded this far from Elvenhome. I wonder what drove them back?” Wil asked, more to himself than Talah. She answered the question anyway, despite their agreement of one question each.

“The same thing that happens to any empire over time, internal corruption and external threats.” Talah said, and Wil nodded his head at her words.

“I believe it’s your turn now.” Wil answered.

Looking down at a worn bag that he had slung across his chest, Talah saw him root around in it for a moment, before bringing out multiple red vials, healing potions. Popping the cork from one with his teeth, he downed the potion, grimacing at the foul taste.

Taking another, he splashed it liberally on his injured arm, the cuts, and wounds healing, although it did nothing for the shattered bone beneath.

‘Hopefully they have a cleric here.’ Wil thought, adding that to the list of questions he needed to ask the woman standing in front of him. The ‘Dragon’s Tooth’ was a powerful weapon, one that damaged him immensely to use, but it was the only way he had to get through the barrier.

“Why are you here?” Talah repeated her earlier question. If the young man was part of an adventuring party, where were the others? And how long had they been out here? Ur had restricted travel to the Wilds for over a month, had he been out here before that had happened?

“I’m looking for someone.” Wil said simply, relaxing slightly as the powerful healing potions went to work on his battered body. The exhaustion he felt worsened, the healing taking its toll on his energy, making it difficult to keep his focus.

“I’m going to need more than that.” Talah said, crossing her arms over her chest, and all but tapping her foot in impatience.

Wil was instantly reminded of Quentin, although the two looked nothing alike. The woman in front of him was dressed in rough clothing, suitable for an archeologist on a dig site. Her skin was deeply tanned, and she had wrinkles around her eyes and mouth.

Her appearance may be different, but she was doing a spot-on imitation of Quentin when she was impatient for answers.

“I’m looking for a man, someone who betrayed a friend of mine and needs to be brought back to the Guild to answer for his crimes.”

“So, I took a job to come to the Wilds and travel to a place called ‘Blood Tree.’ I was separated from the others after we were attacked, but my friend, the big guy you just met, led me here, because that’s where the man I’m looking for is hiding.” Wil explained.

“Who is this ‘man’ that you’re looking for? He must have done something awful for you to travel all the way here to bring him back.” Talah said, asking another question despite their agreement. Wil let it slide, deciding to answer.

“He’s a murderer.” Wil said simply, giving the only reason that mattered. “I don’t know what he looks like, but my friend can find him once we’re close.”

“Now, my turn. Do you have a Cleric here? I need to have my arm looked at.” Wil asked, gesturing to his broken limb.

“We do. I can bring you to her, but I want your oath that you won’t attack anyone, or look for this man, without my approval. If he’s as bad as you say, the others here will want to know.”

“Fair enough. I swear.”

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The ‘village’ was a collection of log cabins, built over a cleared piece of land on the outskirts of the main ruins. The barrier covered the entire space, and Wil spotted several of the ‘anchor’ points that connected the advanced piece of magic to the land around them.

From the limited amount of knowledge he had of wards, it seemed to be drawing mana directly from the Wilds themselves, the chaotic nature of the mana woven into the barrier, using it to constantly change the properties of the magic.

It was fascinating, but unfortunately, he knew too little about warding to study it further.

In the center of the small village, a large wooden structure had been erected, and Wil could hear shouting and singing coming from it. Reaching out with his senses, he could ‘see’ that there were over a dozen people within, with mana ranging from Rank 4 to Rank 6.

‘The guards, useless bunch.’ Wil thought, knowing now that the young woman was bluffing when she said help was coming. She’d be lucky if they could even stand, let alone rescue her from danger. He hadn’t been quiet when he broke through the barrier, they should have heard him, or at least felt the mana he was using.

Letting out a snort of disgust, he retracted his senses from the building, ignoring it for now as he followed the Archaeologist to a small church, the symbol of the Twins carved into the front door.

The Cleric was a short, older man, one who probably should have retired to a quieter life long before, although this posting was probably the next best thing. He looked up in surprise when Talah led Wil through the front door of the church, the book he was reading lying forgotten on his lap.

“Hello…You’re not one of ours, are you?” he said, peering up at Wil through thick glasses.

“Father, this is Wil. Could you look at his arm while I go and fetch Sorla?” she asked, dragging Wil closer to the cleric. Wil frowned at the mention of ‘Sorla’, not wanting to alert the Betrayer that he was here until he had been healed.

“Of course, Talah. Well? Come closer then, let me have a look at you.” The cleric said, waving Wil forward.

“I’ll be back shortly with Sorla. She’s our expedition leader, you can explain to her why you’re here.” Talah said, pushing Wil forward and seeing that he sat across the Cleric. In moments, the Priest of Primaris was channeling divine mana into Wil, the bones setting themselves and his few remaining cuts closing.

Her last look at Wil before she left the church was of the young man’s patient expression as he listened to the Cleric drone on, barely keeping awake.

Talah made her way across the village, not running into a single person. The guards were all in the barracks, drinking the day away, while her Archaeologist colleagues were most likely still gathered in the center of the ruins, excavating the tomb.

Rushing, she walked quickly towards the large open pit that they had been digging for over a year now. Most of the archaeologists were mundane and rankless, lacking in mana. This would normally be a detriment to other dig sites, but in the Wilds, it made them the perfect people to lead this expedition.

The tomb had only been discovered last year, a number of clues had led them to the general location. Using only hand tools for fear of damaging the structure, it was incredibly slow going, although the end was now in sight.

Coming to the open pit, Talah quickly climbed down using a ladder secured to the side, reaching the others. There was half a dozen of them, all using various tools and instruments to uncover the structure. Some were still digging out several statues that they suspected were connected to famous figures, although they had little reference points to identify them.

Their leader, Sorla, was standing in front of the wide, stone doors of the tomb, slowly clearing away the stubborn soil from the writing on a wall, using a small brush for fear of ruining what little remained of the script. Time had not been kind to the structure, and even the smallest error could ruin their work.

Panting, Talah halted in front of the expedition leader, careful not to disturb her, lest her hand slip. Waiting for a moment until she finished what she was doing, Sorla looked up after finally cleaning the elvish symbol she had been working on.

“What is it? Did you finish with that plinth?” Sorla asked, curious as to why Talah had come up running, out of breath from the exertion. Stepping forward, Talah lowered her voice, making sure that no one else could hear her.

“Someone’s here. He said he comes from the Guild, but he’s bloody and alone. He’s at the church now, getting looked at, but you need to come right away.” She whispered.

“How did he get here? Is the teleportation array working again?” Sorla asked, excitement in her voice. She climbed to her feet, brushing off her dusty work clothes as she followed Talah.

“He came through the barrier! He stabbed through with a sword!” Talah said, still in disbelief at what the young man had done.

“That’s impossible.” Sorla said, scoffing. Her tanned face, still covered in dust from the dig site, scowled at the obvious lie.

“I saw it myself, Sorla.” She responded. Talah was one of the most reliable people in their group, if she said it was true…

“Why’s he here? Aside from the ruins, there isn’t anything valuable. And if he wants to rob them, he should have waited until we’re finished.”

“He said he’s looking for someone, a criminal from the Guild.” Talah informed Sorla as they climbed out of the pit, leaving the tomb behind and swiftly traveling across the village to the church.

“A Guild criminal, here? I’ll admit, the guards aren’t the best, but…” Sorla trailed off, frowning.

“Let’s hear what he has to say.” Sorla said, as they stood in front of the closed doors of the church.