Despite her prejudice, Hazelmere did end up requesting the knight commander for escort. To her surprise, he was one step ahead and, instead of escorting her himself, he sent his adjutant along with the detachment of soldiers.

The adjutant turned out to be the real, proper knight. He introduced himself as Vukasin, and he did it in the proper, noble manner. His looks weren’t anything special, but Hazelmere found his form to be pleasing to her eye. She soon learned that, unfortunately, he was the only proper knight in the entire legion.

“Don’t you feel … disrespected when you are expected to take orders from some … peasant?” Hazelmere asked, disgust palpable in her voice, “he isn’t even a proper commoner!”

The knight sighed: “I get that question often, most often from my own family. They see it as an insult to our entire house. But, the truth is, I demanded to be transferred to his legion.”

Hazelmere recoiled slightly: “Why would you do that?”

“I owe a debt to him.”

“Can’t you repay it with coin? I bet the peasants love the coin, much more than we do.”

“My debt can’t be repaid in such a way. Besides, Heartwell doesn’t like the coin. There isn’t much he can do with it anyway.”

“That makes no sense since peasants have so little of it. Even if he has enough for himself, because I bet a peasant like him doesn’t need much, I would expect him to send some of his coin back home. His family could certainly use it.”

“Well … that’s the thing. He doesn’t have a family anymore.”

“How so? Since you said ‘anymore’ I bet he wasn’t born an orphan.”

“He lost his family in the war, three offensives ago. That’s also when he joined the army.”

“Oh.”

“He has no one to send his coin to. It’s pretty much useless to him.”

“Even if that is the case, he can still buy a lot with it. For example, aren’t the soldiers famous for spending copious amounts of coin in the brothels?”

The knight blushed at that, his tail going wild.

“Well … yes, but … Heartwell is visiting them much less frequently than one would assume.”

“What, he has no desire?”

The knight started fidgeting: “Umm … I don’t know. I wouldn’t say he doesn’t have it, it’s just that … I guess he feels tired and hollow. He isn’t interested in much else besides the war.”

“Is any of this connected to your debt?”

That made the knight straighten up: “Forgive me, but I prefer to keep my debt personal. Truth be told, I don’t think any other noble would understand it.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Because no noble can understand anything about Heartwell or his legion.”

“And why do you think so?”

“He isn’t your regular legion commander. Unlike the other commanders, he takes this war personally. He isn’t in it for the glory, he only cares about killing as many hosagians as possible. And the same goes for each and every one of his soldiers. All of them lost their homes and families. That’s why they rally around him and carry out his orders unquestionably. They recognize his rage, his zeal.”

“Does the same apply to you?”

Vukasin hunched forward a bit: “Yes I … I lost my brother. If I’d get transferred to any other legion, I would probably stay safe until the end of the war. After all, I’m a noble knight. But only the Heartwell’s legion will give me the chance to avenge him properly.”

He faced Hazelmere with a sad smile on his face: “That’s what my fellow nobles don’t understand. A lot of them tell me that’s not how a proper knight is supposed to act. And they’re right, I can’t argue with that. But, there are some emotions, some feelings, that just can’t be explained logically.”

“I see,” Hazelmere didn’t even try to hide her expression of disapproval and boredom.

---

Hazelmere found the rest of their conversation to be much more enjoyable. Once the topic moved away from the peasant-commander, the knight started showing proper conversational skills, ones fitting for a noble.

It took them a few weeks to reach the castle. Hazelmere saw these days as a pleasant change of pace, all those scrolls were slowly getting on her nerves. She also realized that the knight proved himself to be the best company she could ask for. Yes, he wasn’t as good looking as a distinguished damsel like herself would hope, but she realized it was for the best. His looks were pleasing enough to make him nice to look at, he was also good at carrying the conversation and making it interesting, and yet, luckily, he wasn’t stunning enough to awake her desire. Which was great, considering she had to conserve the energy for the ritual.

Once they’ve reached the palace, the guards sent them to see the royal advisor immediately.

“This is unusual,” Hazelmere protested, “did something happen? Why are you rushing us?”

“Nothing that I’m aware of. It’s just that we’ve received the orders to lead you to the advisor as soon as you show up. She said that you wouldn’t come as long as everything is ok. If you do arrive, that means something is wrong so, we’re to lead you to her immediately,” the royal guard responded. It was the same well-rounded guy who has escorted her before.

Hazelmere nodded: “That’s very forward-thinking of her.”

“Indeed.”

They walked in silence for some time.

“You won’t ask what has happened?” She asked the guard.

“I don’t need to know.”

“Who knows what might have happened ...”

“Lady, the royal guards don’t need to know what doesn’t concern us. All you need to do is point us at someone to protect or something to destroy. We leave the thinking to the smarter people … people like you.”

“That’s very commendable.”

“Thank you.”

“But what if …”

“If something happens that requires our attention, we’ll be notified of it. Spreading rumors is not what the royal guards are for.”

“Oh … I didn’t think about it that way. That makes sense! I bet the court is a very intriguing place.”

“And there’s no need for us to add any more intrigue to it by spreading unverified information. Besides, some people have a bad habit of toying with others. We can only know if something is true if the news comes from the trusted source.”

“Am I not the trusted source? I am the royal archmage, after all.”

“Not until you prove yourself worthy of our trust.”

---

There was no comfy study this time. Hazelmere was received in the regular office. Every item in the room oozed bureaucracy. The room was dominated by shelves filled with stacks of rolled papyrus. There were a few fancy decorations around, which only served to accentuate the lifelessness of the room.

There was a single, large desk in the room, at the center of which set Rowena. One side of the desk was stacked with differently covered ink bottles, some of them half empty and some of them full. The other side was filled with all kinds of quills, many of them varying in shapes and sizes.

“Ahoy, Hazelmere!” Rowena greeted her without lifting her eyes away from the table.

“Ahoy. I have something very important to report to his Majesty.”

“Yes, I bet you do. However, his Majesty is very busy so you’ll have to report it to me instead. I’ll make sure his Majesty hears your message.”

Hazelmere hesitated as her face turned both confused and worried: “I would like to speak with his Majesty. There is something very important, and I think he should hear it directly from me.”

“And I’ve told you his Majesty is very busy. I’ll carry your message to him as soon as he’s available.”

Rowena finally lifted her head.

“Do you not trust me?”

“I do, but this may turn out to be very serious. Which is why I want to be sure his Majesty gets the proper information!”

“What’s the problem? What is so serious?”

“The scrolls, they are too easy to decipher.”

“And that’s a problem because …”

“Because that is a clear indication we are meddling with something we know nothing about!”

That made Rowena burst out laughing, but she restrained her emotions quickly.

“Hazelmere, if we knew what we’re doing we wouldn’t make it such a priority. We all know nobody has managed to summon a portal connecting two worlds in several thousand years. That’s why you have all the best mages with you to help you understand the task better.”

“No, that’s not what I’ve meant! I have talked with the other archmages, and we all agree that something worrying is going on! The scrolls you gave us, they were made by someone whose understanding of magic is greater than even what the ancient Sun elves had!”

“And that’s a bad thing because …”

“Because we have no idea who or what made them!”

Rowena leaned into her chair, exhaling deeply: “Whoever created them has died out a long time ago. The scrolls were found in the ruins which are teeming with all kinds of underworld filth! Whatever civilization it is that you’re talking about, they don’t exist anymore!”

“The thing is, we aren’t sure if it was the mortals who have created those scrolls.”

“What? Are you serious?”

Hazelmere averted her eyes shyly: “We have to keep all possibilities open when dealing with so many unknowns.”

“What are you mages taking out there? Did you manage to smuggle an entire crate of funny mushrooms somehow?”

“I’m serious!”

“Well, I can’t take you seriously! You’re telling me, with a straight face, that there’s a possibility that some immortals have created those scrolls!”

“That is just one possibility out of the many!”

“That makes no sense because, if they were truly immortal, the underworld filth wouldn’t overrun them!”

Hazelmere’s eyes darted around the room for a few moments: “I am not saying some immortals lived in those ruins. Those scrolls may have been taken from somewhere else and brought there. But, regardless of our speculation, it is a fact that we have never seen scrolls like these before! That is why I would like to ask his Majesty to send some adventurers to those ruins. Maybe they will find something which will give us a better understanding of the scrolls.”

“That’s out of the question! The adventuring party has already explored those ruins, that’s how we got the scrolls in the first place! Besides, the adventurers can’t explore the runs without the mages supporting them, and you’re to focus all the mages on summoning the portal. That’s the top priority!”

“But we may summon it faster and with fewer resources if we check out those ruins! We may find something those adventurers have missed, something that explains how this unknown magic binding works! That would greatly enhance the capabilities of our mages! It would give our Empire a huge advantage over our enemies!”

“Or, it would get the entire party killed, which is much more likely. Dungeon delving is an extremely dangerous job, the most dangerous job any adventuring party can take. No, we can’t have you endangering the lives of our mages, they’re too valuable! Once the portal is opened, and if it turns out there’s no danger on the other side, then we will send a party to explore those ruins. Now is not the time.”

Hazelmere straightened up, her face becoming dead serious.

“I demand to see his Majesty! I want to hear his opinion!”

“Your request has been denied,” Rowena’s words carried no emotion what so ever.

“As the royal archmage, I have a right to an audience with the Emperor! It’s an emergency!”

“And, as the royal advisor, I have the right to nullify your right to the audience with the Emperor. He’s too busy, you’re too busy, all of us have jobs to do, and none of us have the luxury of chasing wild dreams. It’s my job to manage his highness’s time properly, and this isn’t something worthy of his time.”

“I am not leaving until I see his majesty!” Hazelmere raised her voice.

“If you won’t leave then you’ll be escorted out,” Rowena’s words had an edge to them this time.

“I don’t care.”

Hearing that, Vukasin, the knight escorting Hazelmere, felt the hilt of his sword with his fingers as his eyes started examining the room around them in detail.

Rowena sighed tiredly: “Why are you so unreasonable?”

“You’re the unreasonable one! We know nothing about those scrolls, yet you want us to keep summoning whatever is written in them!”

“Do those scrolls have any demonic taint in them?”

That made Hazelmere falter.

“No, they don’t.”

“You’re worrying about nothing! Stop wasting everyone’s time and go back to your camp!”

“I won’t! Not until I speak with his Majesty!”

“Guards!” Rowena yelled, her voice much louder and much more commanding than what one would expect from an approachable-looking female.

The royal guards rushed through the door, perhaps too soon. Seeing that nobody was in immediate danger, the well-rounded guards-commander started approaching Hazelmere and her knight slowly.

“Easy on those fingers, pretty boy,” he spoke, his voice sounding a bit friendly, “when two swords are unsheathed, one doesn’t go back in.”

“Then how about you remove your hand from the pommel?” Vukasin responded.

The guards- commander obliged, placing both of his hands on his waist,” it’s your turn, boy.

“Oh yeah? What about the rest of you?” Vukasin eyed the guards carefully.

“I did what you asked me to do, you schmuck!” The commander raised his voice, “My hand isn’t on my pommel anymore! Now it’s your turn!”

“Hazelmere, can you please leave without an incident? I don’t want anyone to get hurt,” Rowena said in a reconciliatory voice, “you really shouldn’t be wasting your time like this.”

“Fine! I know when I’m outmatched. Regardless of how good my knight may be, he has no chance against ten of your guards. But, if anything goes wrong with the portal, if it turns out that me and my archmages were right, then I want you to take full responsibility for what happens!”

“You have my word,” Rowena stood up and bowed as she said that.

“And one more thing!” Hazelmere continued, “If we are forbidden from sending an expedition to the ruins, then I want to know the name of the person who appraised the scrolls. Who was the mage, or the mages, you took those scrolls to first? Who told you those scrolls are safe and what they do?”

Rowena smiled creepily. That was the first time Hazelmere saw her do anything like it.

“That’s something I can’t reveal to you. Please understand, if I told you who the archmages are, then I’d be putting them in danger.”

“Is it one archmage or more?” Hazelmere asked.

Rowena shook her head: “I’m not allowed to say, it’s not my decision. It may come as a shock to you, but I also have a lot of commands to follow. We only got their cooperation because we agreed not to reveal their identities.”

Hazelmere nodded her head: “I understand.”

To which Rowena answered with a genuine smile.

“Now, if you’d leave, that would be great,” saying that, Rowena got back into her seat as if everything that has just happened was some menial, bureaucratic nuisance.

But, as everyone was about to leave the room, she spoke again.

“And guards! Please make sure our guests are escorted back to their camp. We don’t want them loitering around the city.”