#2 Leaving Kesla

After flying for a while, the bird finally stopped, faced the wall in front of him and then flew towards it, disappearing.

The others stared at the spot on the wall in astonishment.

– It's here, let's go – Elaxi approached and disappeared like the little bird, crossing the wall.

Aysel shrugged her shoulders and brought her hand up to touch the wall where Elaxi had disappeared, she watched as her hand crossed the wall – Cool… Ah!! – Her body was pulled across.

On the other side of the wall, Elaxi smiled as she stared at Aysel on the ground. Aysel lifted her head to look at her friend with narrowed eyes, the others slowly passed by as she got to her feet and brushed the dirt off her clothes.

– How can there be a passage here? – Leila asked after passing the wall.

– It's a small crack, a hole in the wall, just an illusion spell was placed so that it was hidden – Elaxi explained – Neither the Principal nor the teachers know about this passage.

Felipe frowned as he watched the passage again – But how can there be this hole here?

– Well... – Elaxi looked away, everyone stared at her, and sighing she said – It was an accident while we were in the first period.

– We? – Matheu asked.

– Yes yes – Elaxi nodded wearily – Me, Thamy, and Ikuto, that was a little while before we met Aysel, and as I said, it was an accident.

– Heh? You mean that day? You didn't even look guilty or nervous, you left the forest so quietly… ah… right… thinking now, Ikuto looked a little suspicious that day – Aysel completed with a thoughtful expression.

– Okay, we don't have time to talk right now – Asterin spoke as she entered the forest in front of her.

Celine watched the surroundings, staring at the dark forest in front of her, for a moment she felt that she was actually close to an abyss, not feeling her legs, as if approaching a few more steps she would fall into that dark immensity in front of her.

Before her consciousness traveled far, a dim light flashed beside her, Celine was drawn to the glow – That…

Leila smiled – Light spell, it's a pretty easy spell, even wizards of other abilities can learn it, here, hold it – She handed the talisman to Celine who, when touching it, found it to be just a thin paper, Leila before holding it between two fingers, passing to Celine the light dimmed a little, but it still lit up well.

Celine looked at the others and saw that Felipe, Matheu and Nevra were also holding one of these, Leila made another for herself and pulled Harumi close, taking the lead to catch up with Asterin and Elaxi, who had already gone a little further.

A slightly brighter light shone in Asterin's hands, on her wand, which was apparently one of the best wands and probably made of very rare material.

The group headed straight for the town of Gyahala, hurrying to arrive before the last ferry left the port.

– Do you think they'll come after us? – Felipe looked back from time to time, staring only at the darkness they left behind.

– Maybe… but by then, we'll be far away – Elaxi replied as she led the group through the forest – The last ferry should be leaving, go faster.

Everyone hurried, and finally, passing through the forest they arrived at the spot near the docks.

A single ferry remained on the dock, the workers, a little sleepy, still carried goods and stocked them on it.

Elaxi walked over to one of them – Excuse me sir, could we board this ferry?

The man looked at her tiredly – At this hour… right, that man over there can take care of it, talk to him.

– Thank you.

Elaxi walked towards the well-dressed man the sir had pointed out, while discussing the trip and payment, the waiting group was strangely stared at by the ferry workers.

Celine faced the great river ahead of them, once they reach the center of the river, they need to cast the aura disappearing spell with the amulet passing spell. At this point, they need to be together, and they will have to do it without the workers noticing. Just the fact that they were here in the middle of the night asking for passage across the river was already a reason to be regarded as suspects.

Elaxi walked back to them and waved – Let's go.

Workers continued to load goods, and a few minutes later, the ferry began its crossing, gliding slowly over the water towards the center.

Felipe walked over to whisper next to Asterin – Should we do this now?

Elaxi, who was beside him, shook her head, pointing with her chin towards the cabin of the ferry – They have a flare, as they pass the barrier, both sides know the ferry has crossed Kesla's boundaries, we will use it the spell the moment the bell rings.

Asterin nodded, turning to face her – Wouldn't we draw attention? Even though we are a group, being all huddled together would expose us in a way.

Raphael – My amulet can be worn under my sleeve.

Asterin glared at him – Yes, but it would still reveal magic, which could be easily detected by Thamy.

Raphael lowered his eyes thoughtfully, everyone trying to imagine a possible performance that would be less flashy than possible.

– What is a group of children doing crossing the river at this time of night? – A male voice came from behind the group, everyone turned to face, finding a man in cyan blue clothes, adorned in silver, a captain's hat beside where he was sitting.

– The captain of the ferry? – Harumi spoke automatically, blushing after realizing what she had said.

The man chuckled lightly, smiling at them:

– I'm a passenger just like you guys – Seeing that the teenagers were still staring at him, the man continued – My name is Gefeld, but you can call me Mr. Gef, I already have a certain age...

Elaxi smiled, replying – Nice to meet you Senior.

Mr. Gef smiled – Senior? I see... are you students?

– Exactly – Elaxi walked over to sit beside the man, but was held by the wrist by Asterin, who stared at her doubtfully. Elaxi looked at her, trying to send signals from her plan, which Asterin quickly picked up on.

Asterin looked at the man with a curious expression – Mr. Gef, you really look like a captain.

The man laughed again – Do I? Yes yes... I am.

Harumi, moved by curiosity approached as well, not realizing that she was cooperating in Elaxi's little plan, if everyone gathered there, they would have an excuse to be so close:

– What does a captain do away from his ship?

The man smiled, moving his hat to his knees so that Elaxi would sit beside him, the group watching the action of the girls, they seemed to understand the plan, and they moved closer as well – I came to visit a relative, now I'm heading back to meet my crew in the capital of Friegenia.

– Are you from Friegenia? – Celine approached, looking at the style of the outfit, even if it was the typical look of a captain, it was still possible to differentiate the style and material of the outfit.

– I'm not, but I've lived most of my life there, I'm from Kelet.

Nevra approached as well – Did you live most of your life in Friegenia? Kelet is considered one of the best places to live, a law-abiding realm and a hospitable people, no matter what, no one moves from Kelet to a realm a little lower-

Nevra was interrupted by a small elbow, turning, he found Raphael, who remained with his head down beside him, a light laugh was heard, drawing everyone's attention back to Mr. Gef – Not everything is what it seems, child, of course they are a hospitable people, as long as those who are going to live there follow exactly whatever they think or adore, a different opinion is not easily accepted.

Sighing he continued – The people there are controlled by the state, blindly follow what they are told, why do they do it? Why wouldn't they? As long as they strictly follow what is ordered, they earn food, health and education, a perfect society... And those who notice all this manipulation are silenced... if they cannot escape before..."

Mr. Gef seemed to be remembering his past, sighing he continued – You don't need to believe me, but I say from experience that, that realm is like a rotten egg, outside it looks normal, simple and harmless, but inside it's rotten and stinky – The last part said with a smile, but it didn't reach the eyes. The young people looked at him with doubt, leaving the man with an ever-increasing desire to explain things. Explaining politics to the younger generation seemed to be fun.

Felipe – Did you leave because you realized you were being manipulated?

– Oh? No no, I realized that later, when I tried to investigate something… – Watching the increasingly curious expressions, he sighed:

– They like to be in control, the unknown scares them… apparently they found out that my father wasn't mine biological father, that is, he was a complete stranger. My mom was already pregnant with me before she married my dad, and when they found out, they asked my dad about it, but he couldn't explain, so they took him, and then they secretly spread that my mom was with another man before marriage, it wasn't right for them, the citizens, so they made her life difficult whenever possible, they did it so that she would leave the kingdom on her own, they knew she wouldn't say anything for fear of being persecuted. So when I was 4 years old, I was taken to Friegenia by my mother, we moved to the coastal town of Duken, and to help my mother, I started working very early on the docks randomly helping anyone I found, luckily there were many rich merchants who they liked my job, so when I was 16 I started working formally as an aide in one of the fleets, becoming the captain's student and then the next fleet captain… – Mr. Gef said lowering his head as he ran his fingers lightly over the hat – Friegenia was still very close to Kelet, my mother and I knew we were being watched, so I decided to bring her to Kesla, I doubt any of those spies would dare to cross informally the barrier of the First Mage of the Night, a great mage I would say, if I had the chance to meet him, I would definitely not know how to thank. Even indirectly, he's been protecting my mother for many years...

As soon as he heard the last part, Raphael squeezed the amulet in his hand, remembering briefly the time he'd met his family's guardian.

Leila stared at him in astonishment – ...what about your father?

Mr. Gef smiled – I never saw him again... To be honest, I don't even remember what he looked like, but I think he must have been a very good man as he accepted me as his son even though he knew I wasn't.

Elaxi glanced out of the corner of her eye to the main cabin, realizing they were about to ring the bell she glanced at Raphael, who was also staring at her.

They waited for a signal to put the spell into effect. Asterin surreptitiously looked around, noticing that many were looking at them surreptitiously, she lightly held Elaxi's arm, who had also noticed the looks, even if they disguised, a single thread of magic that was detected would be enough.

In just a few seconds the bell would ring, Raphael held the amulet, which emitted a faint purple light, firmly in his left hand. Felipe was also ready to cast his spell. The fact that they were very close had already been resolved, as they got together to hear the story of a gentleman who was curious about the new generation, but now, it seemed they needed a distraction.

"Splash"

A sound startled everyone, who turned in the direction of origin. The boys cast the spell just as everyone turned to see where the sound had come from as the bell rang.

– Man overboard!!

– He fell!

– How did he fell??

– I don't know! Must be a novice!

– Man overboard!!

– Idiot!