“Finally,” Adion said as the port of Ellia appeared in the distance. He and his teammates were all up on deck, not wanting to stay on the ship for a second more than necessary.

“You’ve had it rough,” Rufus said as he put a hand on Adion’s shoulder.

“But I did it,” Adion nodded in satisfaction.

“Did what?” Sahra asked.

“I got through the journey without killing Astor,” Adion said.

“That was an option?” Sahra asked.

“Mm,” Adion nodded, “But I held it in. Now, there won’t be any mess to clean up because of a missing Noble.”

“You really shouldn’t kill people arbitrarily like that, Adion,” Sahra said, “I know he was a bother toward Sell. But he’s still just a kid that hasn’t done anything unforgivable.”

“I know, I know,” Adion waved her off, “I wasn’t actually going to.”

Until I had to spend two weeks in a cabin with him. I’m sure you would feel the same, Sahra.

“Now we just need to find another ship to take us out of Ellia before Astor calls his parents on you out of spite,” Benji said.

“Mm,” Adion nodded, “Hopefully, things are calm here, and we can get on a ship quickly.”

If that Astor really goes on to cause trouble for me, I won’t let him off easily next time. I even held myself back from punching him in the face. 

Should I get myself something as a reward? What do I want, though? Maybe just a nice meal.

The ship eventually docked, and the team lined up to get off the ship. Adion’s eyes were on the grand and beautiful city. Half of the city was placed at a higher altitude, giving Adion a clear view of the marvelous structures behind the city wall. 

“Line up orderly for questioning!” A yell resounded as Adion and his team stepped off the ship.

“What’s going on?” Sahra murmured.

“I don’t know,” Benji said.

There were almost twenty guards in uniform waiting on the dock, almost all of them Silver, with a Gold mage at the front, seemingly in charge.

“You!” One of the guards pointed at Benji, “Over there.”

Benji obeyed and went to one of the guards waiting for him with pen and paper in hand. Adion and the rest of the team followed close behind him. They were part of the same group, after all. And none of the guards said anything about it.

“Names?” The guard asked as the group arrived. 

“Er, I’m Benji Merond,” Benji answered, “This is Sahra, Rufus, Lomin, and Adion.”

The guard looked up to scrutinize the group, “The kid doesn’t have a last name?” 

“Oh, of course. He’s a Merond like me, a cousin. We’re from Rellen and have been doing some Outskirting at the Silver Wall. We decided to leave when the Tyllen family was attacked, though…is that what this is about?”

The guard looked at Adion for a few more seconds before turning to Benji again.

Should you really lie about that, Benji? I’m sure that these guards have trained their aura sense to detect lies. Hopefully, he’s not very talented. And Benji has had two Merrillian Soul Peaches, it might be enough.

“You said you are coming from Dorbarta?” The guard asked, “Tell me everything that happened and what you saw.”

Benji began explaining everything from the moment he woke up. However, he was stopped as soon as he mentioned Astor.

“Astor Tyllen is onboard?” The guard asked, “The son of Lenn and Huga Tyllen?”

“I’m not sure whose son he is, but yes, that should be the one,” Benji confirmed.

“Point him out to me,” The guard said.

Benji turned around and saw Astor just coming down from the ship.

“That should be him,” Benji said as he pointed him out.

“Wait here,” The guard said. He then walked over to the Gold mage and pointed out Astor to him. 

The Gold immediately headed over to Astor with a few of his subordinates. Adion sharpened his ears to overhear their conversation.

“Are you Astor Tyllen?” The Gold asked.

“I am,” Astor nodded.

“Good, good,” The Gold nodded with a smile, “Please come with me, young master. I’ll take you to your mother and father myself.”

“Thank you, Gold…” Astor said with a question hanging.

“Gold Herrman, young master Astor,” The Gold filled in.

“Thank you, Gold Herrman,” Astor nodded with a smile, “Let’s go, shall we?”

“Of course,” The Gold nodded, and they turned around to leave. 

Astor made sure to make eye contact with Adion as he was escorted away, throwing him a smug smile.

Will he be so petty as to cause trouble for me? I’m sure he is. I hope his parents are wiser and don’t have time for anything so silly. Either way, we’ll be leaving as soon as we can.

The Silver guard came back to continue the group's questioning.

At least there are only Silvers around now.

“Right, where were we?” The guard said, “Right, the story of what happened in Dorbarta. We should have a clear image now with young master Astor here.”

“Excuse me, but what exactly is going on? Are we suspected of anything?” Benji asked.

“Everyone is a suspect,” The guard answered, “We are at war.”

“We are?” Benji asked.

“Right…you wouldn’t know,” The guard said, looking at the group, “The Emperor’s brother has betrayed the Empire. We are still receiving information, but many Nobles seem to have sided with the traitor. It’s safe to say that we are in a civil war. That’s why no one can enter the city without a thorough background check.”

“Something like that happened? Then what would you need?” Benji asked, “We have our cards from the Outskirt Guild. Would that be enough?”

The guard shook his head, “Not in these times. Not for Silver mages, at least.” The guard then turned to look at Adion, “And especially not 16-year-old Bronze mages.”

“So, what do we do?” Benji asked.

“Unless you are part of a family clan allied to the Empire, you will have to stay here until someone is ready to interview you. A person I advise you not to lie to,” The guard said, “That will take a few days, though.”

That’s not good.

“We’re actually heading straight for Cyalis,” Sahra put in, “Is there any way we can just leave?”

“Unfortunately not. You are potential enemies at the heart of the Empire. And you will be treated as such.” The guard responded. “I’m sorry, but it’s the Emperor’s orders.”

“Benji…” Adion said.

“Hm? What?” Benji turned to ask.

This might be a risk, but I doubt they’ll be part of this. And I can’t get my secrets revealed.

“Maybe Termon Delhelm can vouch for us? Would that be enough?” Adion asked both Benji and the guard.

“The Delhelm family,” The guard pondered, “I believe so. They have been loyal and helpful during this time. I’ll get a message sent then.”

Adion breathed a sigh of relief. Hopefully, they will vouch for us. They don’t really know us that well, so this is a shot in the dark. But I don’t know what else to do.

“You can wait over there until someone brings word,” The guard said, pointing out a spot down the dock.

“Alright, thank you,” Benji nodded in thanks.

The group went to their designated area, and Adion took a seat on an abandoned crate.

“Do you think Termon will actually vouch for us?” Benji asked, “He doesn’t know if we are part of this or not. And he doesn’t know us well enough to take a risk like that for our sake. We only talked for a few hours during the auction, after all.”

“I’m not sure, but we can’t wait for someone skilled in aura to come here and question us,” Adion said, “And I bet Termon would vouch for us. We didn’t meet for long, but he should have gotten a feeling that we aren’t bad people.”

“Maybe,” Benji said, “Oh well, all we can do now is wait.”

“What if we actually are called for questioning?” Sahra asked, “What should we do?”

Everyone turned silent and began pondering the problem.

“I have a good chance even against someone with experience at detecting lies,” Adion finally said, “The problem is you guys. You have gotten quite good, but we can’t underestimate someone who has perhaps done this for a living for decades.”

“Should we leave it to you to answer then?” Sahra asked.

“I doubt they’d be so kind,” Adion said, “You don’t have as many secrets as me, at least. And we should be pretty clear just honestly answering that we have no ill will against the Empire. Even our distaste for the Derolm family and their allies wouldn’t be a lie. And if they ask you something about me, try to think if you can be 100 percent sure that is actually the case. If you’re able to find some doubt, you could get away with a ‘I’m not sure’”

“Hm,” Benji nodded, “That could work. I guess we might not be as screwed as I thought. But won’t you be called out for hiding your aura?”

“If I’m leagues above the one doing the questioning, which I suspect I am, they won’t be able to tell the difference between me hiding a lie and me telling the truth,” Adion said.

“That’s good,” Benji said, “Let’s hope they won’t have someone too important waste their time on us then.”

“That or that the Delhelm family comes to our aide,” Adion said.

Adion and his team could do nothing but wait in the cold, hoping for some good news. Some of the passengers joined them, while others were let through into the city. It was about two hours later that Adion spotted a familiar man approaching from the distance, next to the same guard who had questioned them.

“It’s Termon!” Adion yelled out as he stood up, “He actually came.”

His teammates all looked over. Benji immediately got on his feet and went to meet Termon. Adion and the others followed.

“Termon,” Benji said as they met, “I’m so sorry to trouble you like this. We all owe you greatly.”

“Hehe,” Termon chuckled, “Think nothing of it. I needed to stretch my legs. Been cooped up inside for too long during these cold days.”

“So, Gold Termon, you can vouch for these people?” The guard asked.

“I can,” Termon nodded.

“Then please sign here,” The guard said, handing over a piece of paper for Termon to sign.

“Sure, sure,” Termon nodded and signed his name.

“Then you are free to leave,” The guard smiled, “Welcome to Ellia. I hope the poor reception won’t ruin your stay here.”

“Of course not,” Benji said with a polite smile, “We all understand why it was needed. Thank you for your help.”

“Let’s head to our manor,” Termon said, “We have plenty of rooms for you. You can tell me about your journey when we get there. I’m sure Prago will be excited to hear it, too.”

“Prago is still here?” Adion asked, “I thought he would have left for Cyalis already.”

“Not quite yet,” Termon answered while the group began walking up to the city gates, “We were planning on taking a ship there in a month. Now that seems like it might be difficult, so we’ve been in the process of getting permission to leave the city and travel there in carriage.”

“There are no ships sailing anymore?” Sahra asked, “And even someone like you need permission to leave the city?”

“I’m sure some ships are still sailing, but getting on one is not as easy as it used to be. As for leaving the city, it’s not difficult, but it’s a process nonetheless. Thankfully, it didn’t take long, and we can leave whenever we want.” Termon answered.

“We’re actually heading for Cyalis ourselves,” Benji said, “Well, Adion is. But the rest of us are going the same way. Do you think we would be able to complete this ‘process’ and get permission to leave?”

“Oh? Heading there so soon?” Termon asked.

“We were already planning on heading there early. In spring. But with the attack on the Tyllen fam-” Benji began but was cut off short by Termon.

“Don’t spoil the surprise! I want to hear all about it, of course, but not out on the streets. Let’s wait until we’re all nice and warm.” Termon said.

“That sounds great,” Benji smiled.

“What exactly is it that has happened? Is there actually a civil war going on?” Adion asked.

“Hmm,” Termon mused, “I suppose we will need something to talk about on the way. Yes, there is civil war. The Emporer’s father, the previous emperor, died around two weeks ago. That was when it all started. The Emperor’s brother, Onden Delovan, seemed to have made plans in the dark. 

“Nothing happened in Ellia, at least nothing I know of, but soon, reports started coming in about attacks occurring all over the Empire. From Port Gladia, to Hengma, to the Silver Wall. Nobles and family clans were attacked out of nowhere, by other Nobles and family clans allied with Onden. Even if the situation is still very uncertain, the southwest part of the Empire is basically under Onden’s control. I’m glad I will travel with Prago to Cyalis. I don’t wish to become involved in a war against fellow humans.”

Is this Onden somehow connected to Heavenly Light? Or is this something different? Either way, it’s an entirely different playing field than anything I can handle at the moment.

“I’m glad we managed to get away when we did,” Benji said, “Who knows if we would have ever had a chance at getting away if we had stayed in Lermen.”

“If we can get away even now,” Adion said, “Do you know any way for us to leave the city and travel north?”

“Oh, right. Why don’t you just come with me and Prago? I’m sure the boy would appreciate the company.” Termon said.

“Is that…Is that really alright?” Benji asked.

“Of course,” Termon smiled, “It would only make the journey more enjoyable. Prago and I have traveled so much alone together that we are starting to get sick of each other.”

“Thank you, Termon,” Benji said and stopped walking to bow in gratitude, “I don’t think we can ever repay your kindness.”

Adion also realized just how much trouble Termon had helped them through, even though they did not really know each other. 

“Thank you,” Adion said, bowing next to Benji. The rest of the team quickly joined them.

“None of that, none of that,” Termon said, “People will think I’m bullying you. Just entertain me along the way, and you’ll have more than made up for it.”

“I hope I can tell you some good stories,” Lomin said with a smile.

“I'm sure you can,” Termon nodded.

After walking for a few more minutes, the group reached the Delhelm family manor. Termon took them to the part of the manor that belonged to his branch of the family. It had its own walls surrounding it, making Adion wonder if it was because of the tension in the family he had heard Termon talk about, or just how the manor was made.

Even if it was noticeably less extravagant than the other parts of the manor, it was still nothing to scoff at. Adion and his team were led to a guest house where they would be staying, and it was big enough for at least double the amount of people to stay comfortably.

“I hope this will do,” Termon said as they stepped inside the guest house. 

“This is more than enough,” Benji said.

“Then let me call over some servants to heat up the place some more. I’ll call Prago over, and then I’d love to hear all about your journey,” Termon said.

“Of course,” Benji nodded.

Termon left, and Adion and his teammates all sat down on the several couches placed throughout the living room they were in.

“I can’t believe how lucky we are,” Rufus said.

“Just how much of a mess would this have been without Termon? I don’t want to imagine the trouble we would have to go through,” Sahra said.

Thankfully, it all seems to have worked out. For now, that is.