"What is the plan?" Eleanor asked.
Nero was just sorting the last book back into its original place. He did not answer; instead, he was lost deep in thought. They had spent about four hours in the library, but now they were ready to return to their lodging.
They had gathered much important information from their studies, but apart from the one book, nothing had really been useful for Nero's plans. He had hoped for more detailed information, though he had not really expected to discover anything truly useful in such a small library in a rather insignificant city. Still, it had not been completely pointless.
"Krisalis…" Nero murmured to himself.
"Did you say something?" Eleanor asked curiously. Nero looked at him. "Krisalis," he repeated louder.
"What about it?" Eleanor asked with a frown.
"No matter what the plan will look like in the end, it will develop around Krisalis. That is the heart of the conflict, that is the weak point of this world."
Eleanor thought about the words. He nodded. "If something happens in Krisalis, then it can only be the fault of one of the three races. But how do you want to move an army unnoticed across half the continent?"
Nero clicked his tongue. "That I will still have to figure out. Come on, enough talk, let us go now."
With that, Nero ended the discussion. Together, they stepped out of the library. The librarian was still sitting at the counter, absorbed in his book. He did not even pay attention to them as they passed him and stepped outside into the cold morning air. It was still dark, but the first rays of sunlight could already be seen on the horizon.
Outside, it had meanwhile become quiet as well, only a few drunkards still staggered through the empty streets, searching for one last open tavern that would let them in, or a few homeless people, curled up in dark corners and sleeping with loud snores.
Eleanor and Nero walked side by side in complete silence, both lost in thought. At last, they reached their lodging. When they entered, it was completely different from the first time they had come in. The inn was almost entirely empty. Only a single table was occupied, where three people were sitting. The innkeeper was just bringing them a large mug of beer and two bottles of wine. When Nero and Eleanor saw the people, they froze at once.
"Fuck!" Eleanor cursed and stepped one pace back toward the exit, but it was already too late. The people had already noticed them. Nero also stepped back as they slowly moved toward the door.
"Stop!" Kia said at once and stood up, followed by Morch and a third unknown person. The stranger was a tall, black-haired man with beautiful brown eyes and dark skin. He was relatively thin, but not underfed like Nero, simply lean. He was handsome, had flawless skin, a symmetrical face, and his smile was friendly and inviting. But of course, Nero was not influenced by that; he knew far too well how easy it could be to pretend.
"Please don't leave!" the strange man said kindly. "We only want to talk."
Nero looked at him. "We have nothing to say!" he said and pushed Eleanor with him out through the door. Eleanor carefully observed, making sure to release no aura, the aura surrounding the newcomer. He was powerful, definitely as powerful as Kia and Morch, but he was not on the same level as the Lizzian, much less Nero.
His aura was like a gigantic transparent tree stretching high upward. It radiated a certain feeling of life and energy, so that merely being near it made Eleanor feel more vital. Yet he could also see dangerous vines, growing out of the treetop like snakes, swaying back and forth as they searched for an enemy.
Nero and Eleanor stepped out the door. "We are leaving," Nero murmured as two gigantic black wings spread out, but before he could lift off, the mages had already followed them out the door. "We only want to thank you, friend!" Morch said as he saw that Nero was just about to take off.
Nero looked around, his black eyes glittering thoughtfully. But before he could make a final decision, the sky suddenly lit up brightly. A fourth person came flying down, surrounded by golden light.
Her long black hair blew in the wind, her brown eyes shone with a golden glow. One could immediately tell that she was related to the strange man because they had a very similar facial structure, only hers was rounder and more feminine. She hovered above Nero and Eleanor.
Eleanor frowned. Her aura was the same as Xersies', a burning golden sun that completely enveloped her. Eleanor's prismar star was like a grain of sand against a mountain by comparison. "She is powerful!" he whispered to Nero. "Just as powerful as the Lizzian, if not stronger!"
Nero clicked his tongue, and slowly he withdrew his magic in defeat. His black wings dissolved. He turned around. "Alright," he said with resignation, "let's talk."
With that, he walked past the three mages back into the tavern, where he sat down at a large table, closely followed by Eleanor, who sat directly beside him. At once, the innkeeper hurried over to them, his face pale with panic. He probably did not know much about magic or mages, but he had naturally also noticed what had happened earlier that night when they had fought the Lizzian, and had put two and two together.
"W…what can I b…bring you?" he asked Nero, stammering with a deep bow.
"Please bring two glasses of your finest wine," Nero said without taking his icy black eyes off the four mages, who came into the tavern after them and sat down at the table.
"First, I want to thank you on behalf of all of us for your aid in the fight against that wretched Lizzian; without you, it surely would have ended terribly," the strange man began politely. "My name is Julius, this is my sister Zyta, and these two whose lives they owe to you are Morch and Kia."
Nero did not answer; he simply nodded so they would know he had heard them. The man waited, but when he realized that Nero made no move to introduce himself, he took it into his own hands. "And what is your name, noble lord?"
"That is not for you to know!" Nero replied. "Is there anything else?"
Morch grunted, while the man frowned in confusion. "Honored sir, we are members of the Order of Purity, are you not aware of that?"
Nero showed no emotion. "Of course, I am aware of that; after all, your badge did not escape me."
The badge was a small triangle embroidered with golden threads on the man's chest, in the middle of which was a simplified image of a human stretching his arms toward the sky, as if calling out to the gods. Above it, one could see a star with five points.
The Order of Purity, or also Order of Humanity, or Golden Order, or many other designations, was something like the guard of this world. Tark and his unit had also been members of this order, and so were most mages. They were responsible for finding and eliminating all dangers to humanity, while remaining completely neutral in all disputes between human kings. Their leader was none other than the ruler himself, and they had branch offices almost everywhere on the continent of Huma. Of course, Nero knew this order, because Fril had managed to learn quite a lot about it.
The badge on Julius' chest, for example, indicated that he was already a high-ranking member of the order. The same was true of his sister, who had six points instead of only five, showing that she was one rank above her brother. Morch and Kia had no star, but instead an octagon, which indicated a much lower status.
Julius' frown deepened even more. He was clearly not used to people showing him no respect. Still, he forced a smile. "My lords," he addressed them both, "we need to talk about what happened. You will have to come with us to our branch office, because some important people need to speak with you about the matter."
Nero merely snorted. "She was there too and saw everything. There is no reason why I should have to come with you!"
"But I did not see everything!" Kia said in a disarming fashion. "And my partner was unfortunately unconscious!"
"See?" said Julius kindly, "So you'll have to come with us; after all, you owe us an explanation for what's happened."
Nero's eyes flashed coldly. "I did a good deed when I helped you. I could have left at any time and let you die, but I fought for you. I owe you nothing, none of you."
"We didn't mean it that way," the woman, Zyta, now spoke for the first time, "this is only a matter of formalities, honored sir. Forgive us if it sounded rude."
Slowly, Nero rose from the table. "Well then, it is good that we understand each other. If you will excuse us now, it has been a long day and an even longer night. We need to rest." With that, he walked toward the stairs. Eleanor stood up awkwardly and followed him.
None of the four tried to stop him, but as soon as Nero was out of sight, Zyta's expression fell. "How dare he…" she muttered angrily. "Does he not know who stands before him?" she asked with a growl.
"He does," Julius murmured thoughtfully, "I think he is very well aware of it; he simply does not care."
Zyta snorted. "Who does he think he is, speaking to me so rudely!"
Julius, who sensed his sister's eagerness for battle, laid his hand gently on her shoulder. "We do not want to start an unnecessary fight, sister. At least not before we have found out more about him."
"Why don't we just leave him alone?" Morch then asked in confusion, shrinking into himself as Zyta looked at him angrily. "Are you stupid, or are you pretending? An unknown mage who appears out of nowhere, with a kind of magic never heard of before? We have to find out who he is and where he comes from! Who knows, maybe he is a spy of the Reils!"