After about fifteen minutes, there was suddenly a knock on the door. Eleanor was currently enjoying another glass of the expensive wine, while Nero looked out onto the street behind the inn's courtyard, where people were swarming along. It was already evening, and the sun was setting in a red glow on the horizon.
When it knocked, Nero straightened up, while Eleanor simply remained seated. "In my entire life, I have never drunk such a good beverage," he murmured. "Not even the wines in the king's palace were this good; in this world, there must be masterful winemakers…"
Nero ignored Eleanor's rambling and simply opened the door. Three people stood in front of it. It was a man and two women in servant clothing. The two women pushed a beautiful silver cart in front of them, while the man carried a large bucket of boiling water.
"We are here with your meals, my lord," the man spoke in a submissive tone, "and with hot water for your bath."
Nero stepped aside without a word and motioned with a hand gesture that the servants should go about their work.
The man immediately went into the bathroom, where he poured the large bucket into the tub, then hurried out to heat more water.
The two women, on the other hand, pushed the silver cart into the room.
Eleanor watched with widened eyes as the two spread a variety of warm and extremely delicious-looking dishes across the table. When the women were finished, they bowed briefly and then left again.
"What kind of magical place is this? We are being treated like kings!"
Nero also sat down at the table. Although thanks to the magic in their blood, they needed to consume far less food, they still required nutrients from time to time. Nero had not eaten for about two weeks now and was already feeling a slight hunger in his stomach.
He also enjoyed a good meal, even though he did not place much importance on it.
While the two were eating, the male servant came in several more times with buckets of warm water until the tub was finally filled to the brim. When he was finished, he brought fresh towels and two sets of clean clothes, which appeared simple but were completely sufficient for Nero. Before he left, he bowed. "If you need anything else, my sirs, then…"
Nero raised his hand. "Actually, I do have one more request. I would like to go out into the city later. Do you perhaps have a map for me?"
"But of course. It will be here immediately!"
With that, the man disappeared again, but not long after, he returned with a neatly folded map in his hand. He placed it on a small table next to the door. "Anything else?"
Nero shook his head. "That's all for now."
The man bowed politely and left the room, pulling the door closed behind him. Nero immediately went to the door and locked it so that no one could enter unprepared. Of course, that would not stop any mage for long, since the door was not protected by any symbols or anything like that.
After the two had finished eating, Nero went into the bathroom first to wash himself. He needed about ten minutes before he came back out again. He wore the fresh clothes, which hung loosely on his thin frame, but now there was no dirt left on his pale skin.
Eleanor had already looked at the map in the meantime. "There are three libraries in Tissling," he said. "The closest one is not even five minutes on foot from here, while the farthest is at the other end of the city. Which one is the largest or most extensive cannot be determined from the map."
Nero now also looked at the map. It was an extremely detailed map that had shops, restaurants, taverns, inns, bathhouses, libraries, and much more marked. Nero examined the map thoughtfully. "We will check the nearest library today," he said. "When we are done with that, we go to this one," he pointed to the second library, which was roughly in the city center. "Due to its location, I strongly assume that this is the largest one. After that, we go to the last one, if there is still time."
Eleanor nodded at this plan. "Is there anywhere else you want to go?"
Nero shook his head. "There is no time for more."
Eleanor looked at the map once more, but otherwise said nothing more. Then he also went into the bathroom to wash himself. Nero played with a small thread of darkness while looking at the map, which coiled around his fingers like a snake. He clicked his tongue when he noticed a small symbol at the very edge of the map, outside the city wall. The symbol looked like a dragon eating its own tail.
Nero went through the extensive legend of the map, but could not find the symbol. He turned the map over, but again he saw nothing. "Strange," he murmured and ran his finger over the symbol. The ink with which the symbol had been drawn was different from the rest; it was thicker, more solid. If he did not know better, then someone must have drawn this symbol onto the map long after it had already been finished.
Nero straightened up and interrupted his thoughts, because a commotion could suddenly be heard from outside. There were screams and shouting. Nero frowned and looked out the window as, in the distance, a gigantic inferno spread.
Eleanor rushed out of the bathroom. He had hastily thrown on the clothes, but had not dried himself properly, so they were now soaked. He had felt enormous amounts of magical power pouring over him like a wave. He saw that Nero was already standing at the window. The sun had already fully set, yet the sky burned in a red inferno. Shouting could be heard as people fled wildly from the area. Nero nodded to Eleanor.
"Come," he commanded emotionlessly. Eleanor frowned, but then a gigantic shockwave shattered the windows. Nero had protected them from the shards with darkness. The darkness spread, two gigantic wings extended from Nero's back as he put on the cloak. Darkness grabbed Eleanor, and the two shot out of the window. Nero held his aura back, but it was hardly noticeable anyway, because from a distance, strong auras flooded the city.
They flew directly toward the source of the inferno, which was about one kilometer away from them. As they got closer, Eleanor could already make out the auras of the two mages, Morch and Kia, but in addition, he saw a new aura that was even stronger. The aura was less seen and more heard. It was like the melody of an orchestra, the song of a siren, the ringing of church bells, and the roar of a dragon all at the same time. To describe the aura, it was simply sound waves that pulsed outward.
Eleanor had to use his magic to avoid going deaf. Nero moved aside as a gigantic pillar of fire flew toward them. It burned with enormous heat, which singed Eleanor's eyebrows. Nero looked sharply downward, but this had not been a planned attack. Down there, Morch and Kia were currently fighting what Eleanor assumed was a Lizzian.
Morch literally breathed flames, while a beautiful crystal storm had formed around Kia. The two attacked the Lizzian again and again. The Lizzian was large, just as large as Morch, but nowhere near as muscular. He was covered in beautiful silver scales, and his jaw resembled that of a crocodile. His eyes flashed as Morch fired a wave of flames at him. The Lizzian clapped his hands. The sound of the clap was amplified a thousandfold, and the sound wave simply swept Morch's attack away.
Then the Lizzian opened his mouth and let out a breathtaking song that did not seem to match his form. Eleanor immediately spat blood and nearly lost consciousness when the sound hit his ears. Nero cursed angrily. Darkness spread around him, but it only blocked part of the attack. Blood also flowed from Nero's ears.
The song did not seem to attack physically, but instead penetrated directly into the mind. The mortal humans who were still within range were hit even worse. Those who did not die immediately lost their sanity and began to tear each other apart.
Kia staggered briefly, but held herself upright; the blizzard around her seemed to protect her well. She raised both hands as thousands of ice spears formed and flew toward the Lizzian, who was forced to interrupt his song. He ran to the side while beginning a new song, which started to heat the air around him until the temperature became so hot that Kia's ice spikes began to melt. Nevertheless, some of them hit the Lizzian, who snapped his fingers. Sound waves shattered the bolts, but Kia was far from finished. She shot toward the Lizzian. The blizzard around her grew stronger as she drew a long sword of crystal clear blue ice. She brought it down on the Lizzian, who changed his song again.
Suddenly, he became much faster, far faster than Kia, who cursed as she struck into empty air, her ice blade so sharp that it seemed capable of cutting space itself. The Lizzian clapped his hands again and made a clicking sound with his jaw. A sound wave shot forward in the shape of a spear. The attack came down on Kia, but it was strongly deflected by the blizzard swirling around her, yet a fragment still hit her. But Kia's skin had completely turned into blue ice, against which the attack bounced off.
With great curiosity, Nero observed the fight below. Should he interfere?