"Third: respect my underlings. They are risking their lives for you, those who do not appreciate their sacrifice can as well as die for what I care. If any of you needs help, whatever the reason, you can go to any of the magical beasts surrounding the city or my seconds in command."
Another monster descended from the skies on Scarlett's left side.
It was a giant wolf with two curved horns coming out of its forehead, right in front of the ears. Eagle-like feathered wings came out from his back and the tail seemed to be made out of dancing flames.
- "Ryman?"– Lith was shocked by his friend's arrival.
"He is Protector the Skoll. He will lead my troops in battle since I am forced to mantain all the protective arrays by myself." It was actually a lie. Many had contributed to securing the zone. Scarlett said that because she knew humans needed to be impressed to obtain their respect.
Also, it would make it easier to find out traitors since she had just made herself a target, pretending that her energies were all directed at the arrays.
A second creature appeared, this time slowly emerging from the ground.
It was a huge mass of shadows as big as a small house, which kept shapeshifting until it resembled a bear. Its only distinctive features were the glowing red eyes and its massive skeleton that glimpses could be caught of from time to time underneath the ever-changing darkness composing its body.
"This is Kalla the Wraith, our resident expert in the field of undead. She'll secure the perimeter in case things go south. Goodbye."
- "Kalla?" Her new appearance had shocked Lith, who was now fearing the worst.
"Is that an evolution or has she turned into an undead?"
"An evolution." Solus replied. "She now has a blue mana core, not a blood core. Yet judging from the red eyes and the black smoke exuding from her body, I'd say she's somehow related to them."–
The three Monsters disappeared as fast as they had arrived, leaving the center of the scene to Linjos again. With a clap of his hands, several boards materialized from thin air. Each one of them was a huge list of names in alphabetical order.
Beside each name, there was a number associated with one of the houses indicated on the map. Much to his surprise, Lith discovered that his housing was marked as one of an old noble family.
The Ernas couple had threatened the poor Headmaster, each one their own way, leaving him still pondering if to find Orion's yells or Jirni's subtle insinuations more menacing.
Having faced and lost against both in the past, he had made no objection to their request to keep together the five youths despite their different social status. When Archmage Deirus had also pressed Linjos towards such accommodation, there was very little he could do.
Putting together three members of an old noble family, albeit one in name only, one of a young noble family, and a commoner was something that he would never allow if not for their excellent relationship.
The hours passed until evening arrived. Lith worked in the mines, preferring to avoid both nobles and kids. Quylla and Yurial chose to help the Professors to teach the basics of magic.
Quylla was considering to pursuing an academic career. All the dangers she was going through were making her understand how much she loved her peaceful life inside the academy, away from bloodsheds and fights. Those things made her feel out of place.
Yurial's situation was different though. After having dined with his fiancé, his mind was a mess.
- "Libea has grown even more arrogant and stuck up than I remembered her. Thank the gods I didn't introduce her to Lith or Quylla, or we would have quarreled until her departure. I wish there was a way out of this engagement."– He thought.
The idea of spending his life with a girl he could barely stand, forced to search for his happiness in the arms of a mistress that he would be forced to keep hidden from the rest of the world, made him feel miserable.
Yurial had always known how caged his existence would be, but now that he could see its bars up close, he couldn't avoid searching for a loophole. Between spending his day alone in a dark mine and nurturing youths, he chose the second option.
- "I need to enjoy the sun as much as I can. Also, it will be a good practice for when I'll have children of my own."– He sighed.
Friya too went to the mines. Refining crystals required focus and isolation, allowing her to have a respite from the constant struggles with her inner demons. She was a noble, but didn't feel like one. She had a family, but it wasn't her own.
Her life was changing too fast and for the first time in her life, her future was a blur. Abandoning house Ernas would be a despicable act after all the attentions Orion had poured into her, treating Friya like she was his own.
It would also mean abandoning Quylla, the closest thing to a family she had left. Now, with the threat of the god of death, she didn't know if to be more afraid of her future or of her present.
Phloria followed Lith into the mines, spending most of her time watching him. Unlike the others, he didn't seem scared. Not even Balkor's shadow seemed capable of snuffing out the greed in his eyes whenever he met a high quality crystal.
She found it shallow and insensitive of him, yet incredibly soothing for her heart.
- "This is so stupid of me, but I don't know what else to do. My hands tremble too much at the idea of what is going to happen two nights from now to handle a crystal. Teaching is also useless.
I don't want to grow fond of people that could die anytime soon. I just wanted to quietly spend the rest of my time at the academy trying not to think about death. Yet it comes looking for me instead." –
Phloria felt on the verge of tears, so she sat right next to Lith, putting her head on his shoulder. His steady heartbeat was like a lullaby to her ears, her hands stopped shaking, the fear faded away.
"Do you mind if I remain like this?"
"No, be my guest." Lith managed to kiss the top of her head without needing to stop the cutting process, making her giggle.
"At this point, you should put the crystal down and hold me, you jerk."
Lith was about to joke about how he would have never expected her to be a high-maintenance girlfriend when his ears perceived something.
"Do you hear that?" He asked, suddenly tensing up.
Phloria tried to listen. They weren't very deep in the mine but there were still a lot of echoes.
"No, what?"
"Screams."