Chapter 11 - Spy Game

Vicky arrives and helps Egios to get up, Kathrinna remains standing while Eldwin appears from the floor. Egios looks back at the man who is backwards with his hands crossed on his back as he looks at Eldwin's library.

- Ah ... another guest ... - says Eldwin after seeing the man.

- Excuse the intrusion - says the man with a soft voice and then turns a little his gaze, Egios recognizes Xelos. - I had to catch your partner because he apparently confused me with someone else and tried to attack me.

- I'm sorry ... it's that you look a lot like them - says Charlie. - You can... let me go now.

- I'll do it in a moment - says Xelos however ignores the man completely and speaks to the others - I must confess that when I saw you for the first time you caught my attention, I knew something interesting would happen, so I used a spell to spy on you.

- Typical of a dark elf - says Kathrinna.

- You probably already knew.

- What are you doing here? - Egios asks directly.

- Does my presence Egios bother you?

- It bothers me because I don’t know why you're here.

- You are after something that interests me... a lot, I saw that you have had contact with the Cult of Q and I know that these people have powerful artifacts and knowledge, which I can be honest... I love them.

- Hey... I'm still chained - says Charlie

- Oh... - Xelos points his hand at the chains and Charlie finally frees himself, sitting with Vicky's help.

- You expect that in exchange for your help - says Kathrinna - will we give you all the objects that we find?

- Is it a good deal don’t you think? ... Besides, I have knowledge of the cult that could interest you and that I will obviously share if you accept. You take your persecutors out of the way and I receive a small payment.

- If you will help us destroy those fellows- says Charlie - I say we ally with the elf.

- Hey elf, I'm willing for you to help us, but... - says Eldwin - I also want knowledge, I don’t care about magic but the story, the truth about the cult, that's what excites me.

- It's okay - says Kathrinna - It's not like we're interested in these artifacts, we just want them to stop from chasing us.

- Then it's a deal.

Egios looks a little hesitant while the elf and Kathrinna reach an agreement, if he had been spying on them, he sure knew about the box, what indicates him that he would not try to steal it for himself, and even more, in what way did he spy on them? Was he still doing it?

- You said you had knowledge about the cult - says Egios - what can you tell us?

- Recently a group of bandits took the road north from the refuge. They attacked the travelers without mercy, I didn’t care at first, it is normal and as it’s normal, soon the guard appeared and killed the poor men, the guard burns the bodies to prevent the witches revive them as servants, the curious was when I crossed the site to take samples, I could clearly feel traces of magic, I searched among the remains and I realized that the bandits had been under a spell of magical control, a huge hidden magic seal was on the place, it isn’t visible unless the proper magic is used, then I knew there was something else there, I went to see the covens nearby and in one of them I saw some witches playing with some strange objects, clearly someone had given them so they would not bother... well, I asked them, they told me that some men in dark tunics were hanging around the place and that they bore the mark of one of the hidden lords. All this happened after you were kidnapped Egios,... it was when I was interested to see who had entered the territory, clearly they weren’t from there. I went to the shelter where they held you captive and tracked the residual magic of the place, I could see among the objects that they left that were common things in Dwaralav, so they should have left from here.

- Well, but ... in a way, all that only leaves us with what we already know - says Egios.

- You're right,... I used residual magic and discovered that it belonged to an ancient spell attributed to cultists, few people know it, since among cultists usually only its highest ranks are sorcerers. Fortunately, not many sorcerers are born as ordinary people, and since Dwaralav is a place guarded by Manketh due to the Rohak Towers, a record is kept of each magician that is born, whether he is trained, what he is engaged in or if he lives. One of them is Bruhon Fodheil, a man with magical abilities of which the last reports say that tried to make hidden spells before disappearing.

- What about Jeon Burdo and Gerbun Oshaum? - Kathrinna says

- Well, the first one is a sorcerer just like his brother was, neither of them is particularly powerful, but both disappeared from the reports recently. One of our spies reported the presence of Jeon in a village in Dwaralav, Volnov, about a month ago and we realized that in a certain way they are taking people in an unusual amount, this usually means that they are preparing for a great ritual.

- So, we cannot delay much - says Vicky - we have to stop these fellows!

- Wait a moment - says Egios - when you talk about "us" to who do you mean? I thought you were a renegade elf from Manketh.

- Renegade elf?... that doesn’t exist Egios, not even among the elves of Daosmoon. Our loyalty is with the Great King Idavoriu and our guardian Katgoro. But well, as you know, - continues Xelos - these people have a great knowledge of hidden magic that they use to avoid being found, as happened with Yconav's refuge.

- That's why we didn’t find you Egios - says Kathrinna.

- However, hidden magic leaves traces of corruption, feeds on life and is impossible to avoid, for little that it’s used... I have studied it for years, and I know many of its tricks, even if it is very hidden I can find its traces.

- Cool! - Charlie adds - when did we start?

- We have something that may interest you - says Kathrinna as she shows him the parchment she managed to get out of the house.

- Hmm... I've never seen this, let me review it.

- I can help you - says Eldwin - I have many books that will help us.

- That will be very useful.

Eldwin, Charlie and Xelos retire to see some books while Vicky goes up to see Fiona, who along with Nom have been listening from the room. Egios stays with Kathrinna for a moment without saying anything.

- It's a good opportunity - she finally says - he can be very helpful.

- He’s somebody dangerous,... the dark elves only have loyalty for themselves, if he see it necessary, he will take the box away from us.

- If he wanted the box, he would have taken it from us in the shelter.

- Even so, to keep him close...

- Look, I've never said that I fully trust him, but now what we need the most are allies, what happened in the house, there were only 3 cultists and to tell the truth, we had some luck... then what will happen when we want to attack them directly?

- Don’t lose your sight from him for a single moment,... I will not either.

Egios leaves the tower, the sun is just beginning to fall on the horizon and its rays are still creeping through the branches of the trees. He takes off his red ring and watches it for a moment, he had never detailed that jewel well, its finely carved marks form magical runes incomprehensible to him, who had sent the ring? Ardulan or that Zeri, would it be his partner? It would be best to ask him directly, although he still didn’t answer his last letter, who were the messengers? Would they really support him or were they sent by Zeri to claim the box?

- Are you hungry? - Victoria asks, offering her some rolls and tea.

- Oh yes, thank you!

Egios takes the food while Vicky sits next to him to admire the landscape a bit.

- You fought very well, you have improved a lot - Egios says.

- Thank you! ... it's all thanks to your support.

- What about Fiona?

- Well, She's also improved a lot ... Kathrinna says I should take her to Ozzowan to train with the wizards.

- And what do you want to do?

- I would like to take her away from all that... but I know that it’s not possible, as long as she has her powers, if she doesn’t manage to control them, they will only be a danger to her and those around her so, yes... I will take her.

- You are very brave, after so many things that have happened to you and here you are still fighting.

- The moment comes when you realize that failure is no longer an option, and that in order to survive you must take the risks... without failing. By the way, I'm almost done with your book!

- Oh yes?... What do you think about it?

- I liked it a lot, it's a great reflection about the war and the guardians.

- Everything would be much better if we didn’t worry about them.

- My mother worshiped Zanedra, she said that by doing so her lands became more fertile. And he also worshiped Deleviat, so that the rains would never fail or the rivers dry up.

- You see, none of them could save your mother.

- I heard... that the shadows were created by Dhasfalgor to hunt those who flee from death.

- They were a weapon against Lord Razor's rebellion, they had the power to stop the vampire army... however, the shadows are much older than the vampires, have you heard of the Wars of the Shadows?

- Yes... they were a long time ago.

- 8000 years ago, it was the first time the world knew about them, there are many stories and legends of heroes who fought against the armies of the shadows,... was, perhaps the first time that all the races of the world united against a common enemy and they were victorious, it’s what showed that there really can be cooperation between all them and achieve great victories.

- The guardians also fought them, you cannot deny that.

- But it’s said that they created them.

- Nobody can prove it - she says with a slight smile - I understand your point of view against the guardians and the war, especially the war. But I think that in spite of everything, the guardians protect us, it is difficult for them to be with each one of us giving us everything, why would we fight then? Why would we strive? We need to be able to excel by ourselves.

- You see, that's what I say, we don’t need the Guardians, they only limit us because as we know that someone will be there to defend us, we calm down and even then, they are not even there, so...

- Vicky laughs a little - ... and hey, do all your books talk about the same thing?

- Oh no, of course not, I have stories and tales, not all are reflections, that, although I like to write them I also enjoy telling stories. Poetry, well, i’m very bad at that, I tried to write but I feel that I can’t convey what I want.

- I love poetry, as a child I wrote my father loved it, but I have not written anything for a long time.

- You can always retake.

- Yes... maybe I will, but now... first things first.

- Hey... can I ask you something, about Kathrinna?

- Yeah sure!

- You know if she... well ... does she come out at night?

- Ah... are you worried about she doing something behind your back?

- Egios laughs uncomfortably - no... I'm just curious, is that... well Yovun the last time I spoke with him he said something to me, but hey... it's not that I believe him.

- Well, I couldn’t answer you, I've never seen her doing something like that, but well, I think I'm very sleepy - Vicky laughs - I don’t think you should worry about her... since Yovun left, well... she really hoped that we unite more, but it is strange you and Kathrinna seem to have moved away.

- Maybe it's just me - he says - it's strange... but sometimes I feel like I haven’t come back yet.

- Well, then it's time to do it, let’s go to help the others!

- Yes!... by the way, I have a manuscript of a new book that I am writing, I don’t carry much because I try to cover all the adventure of this trip.

- Oh! That looks great.

- I think I have it here... maybe you can take a look and give me your opinion.

- Sure!

Egios searches through his clothes and finally pulls out some small scrolls, but as he does so his notebook drops and opens on the floor. Vicky tries to take it but stops before touching it, she looks with some concern the notes that rest there, Egios quickly moves, takes the booklet and saves it again.

- I'm sorry ... it's a ... total disorder.

- Yes, nothing happens…

- These ... are the ... the notes I wanted to show you. - He says as he gives them to her, She takes them and looks a little.

- Thanks... I sure check them.

- Ehm... let's go back to the others.

- Yes.

Early the next day, Egios gets up early and finds Xelos studying the parchment next to some books in Eldwin's library, everyone else seems to still sleep. Egios approaches with caution but soon notices that the elf already knows of his presence.

- I wanted to ask you something ... - Egios says.

- Go on.

- Since you've been spying on us... well... you should know about the box.

- So is.

- Well,... I want you to know that it is a very important mission and that we must fulfill it, so...

- Don’t worry - says Xelos interrupting him - I'm not interested in the box.

- How can I trust you?... you look for power and hidden magic objects, but you say you are not interested in the box?

- I don’t know what you have there, I only know that I'm not interested, in my opinion it's just a very heavy box.

Egios looks strangely at this man, didn’t he really care about the box? How could he know without even knowing the content of it?

- I'm not saying It can’t have something valuable - continues Xelos - I don’t know, but I've always had this intuition of mine that few times, if not never, failed me and it's the one that tells me, that in that box there is nothing of Interest for me, so Mr. Egios, you don’t have to worry, although if you want to tell me what you have there I don’t see any problem.

- No... I don’t know.

- And for who it is?

- It's not like I'm going to give you all the details...

- As you like.

- By the way, did you discover anything of the parchment?

- Yes, it seems to be a communication spell, apparently it is the last test of the aspirants, discover how to put the spell and execute it, in this way the cult recognizes and collects them.

- And what do you need to make it work?

- A sacrifice... although this parchment no longer works, an ink made of special herbs is used which, once used, lose their properties.

- What if we make one of these and attract them to a trap?

- It's what I thought,... well, sacrifice is a problem, I have almost all the ingredients with me but we would also need a rare herb that grows in Orgdum... so for now I propose that we continue with the search strategy.

Xelos gets up and takes a bag that he ties to his belt, then his cloak.

- By the way, Mr. Egios, I am much more interested in your rings and in Kathrinna's dagger, they are certainly rare objects.

- My dagger? - says Kathrinna coming down the stairs - what do you want to know?

- In Manketh's records there has never been a dagger like yours, you say it belonged to your father who clearly was not a sorcerer.

Kathrinna approaches and puts her dagger in front of Xelos who immediately takes it, the eye of the hilt opens and quickly lands on Egios.

- Impressive - says Xelos - What does the eye mean?

- The eye looks for people who are destined to do great things. - she says.

- If that is true, I am disappointed that it doesn’t look at me.

- There is nothing that can be done. - She says smiling slightly.

Xelos raises his dagger to see his inscriptions more closely and in a moment begins to smile then looks at Kathrinna fixedly.

- This object ... is much more interesting than I thought.

- What did you see? - Egios asks.

Xelos quickly returns the dagger to Kathrinna.

- It's... its inscriptions... this object was forged in Valzagath, in the Mechanical Tower... by Ankatsu himself, I recognize his runes anywhere.

- Valzagath? ... are the lands of Ezgadion - says Egios. - Does that eye really do what she says it does? - he asks with a lot of curiosity.

Xelos turns to look at Kathrinna again, smiles a little and then turns to Egios.

- Yes ... it clearly does.

- Hey! Hey! It is not fair that you start without me - says Eldwin who goes down the stairs with Charlie - you will have to give me a recap of everything you talked about.

- I'll tell you on the way - says Xelos - we need to leave now so we don’t waste time.

- Yes, you're right, I'll go for my luggage ... ah! ... your friend Vicky ... apparently did not get up very well, it seems that she caught some pest on the road.

- I'll go see her - says Kathrinna who climbs quickly.

- Is she well? - Egios asks Eldwin.

- Yes, it seems like a common relapse I gave her a medicinal herb tea and I taught her sister how to do it so she can take care of her.

- Will not you go to see her? - Charlie asks him.

- Yes, I'll go up a moment.

Egios slowly climbs up the stairs, as if something bothers him, arrives at the room and stays at the door, he can listen to Vicky talking to Kathrinna saying that she is fine and she will improve, then she says goodbye and when leaving she finds Egios at the door.

- It's just a flu, Nom and Fiona will take care of her.

- Do you think ... could someone have caused it?

- It's just a flu, it's not all conspiracies, Egios... are you going to come in and say goodbye?

- Yes

- Ok, ... I'll wait for you below.

Kathrinna goes down to the entrance but Egios remains at the door, doesn’t dare to enter, this time it's Fiona who goes out looking for some water for her sister.

- Oh, Mr. Egios! ... you’re here.

- Hey... take good care of your sister, okay?

- Yes, of course! ... If you're going to go in to see her, well she's already asleep ... said she wanted to rest.

- Oh I see.

- But I'll tell her you came to see her.

- Yes, that's fine ... I'll visit her when we return, take care of yourself a lot.

Egios quickly descends and meets with the group, Eldwin already has the transport spell ready and they proceed to enter. They go to Cultists’ house but find a guard sitting in the entrance, check the surroundings and there seems to be nobody else, then Xelos launches an enchantment and the guard falls asleep, they take advantage to enter the place.

Once inside, they see that the bodies of the cultists have been taken away, as well as most of the furniture that was destroyed. Xelos places some scrolls at certain points and then makes an invocation, arcane butterflies emerge from the ground and begin to flutter around the house, Xelos takes out a new blank scroll and places it in front of him then the butterflies begin to join the parchment forming each one, a runic letter, when the last butterfly has joined the parchment Xelos reviews it.

- This will serve us ... there is still a good amount of arcane waste.

- When the guy escaped, he just vanished in the air - says Charlie.

- Mmmm ... they must be using a teleportation spell.

- Then they must be close - adds Egios.

- Not necessarily - says Xelos - teleportation spells are usually done with dimensional steps, you can travel through the Fosgarrer currents or the spiritual worlds of Dhasfalgor, although the latter are much more dangerous. It takes a complex spell, but for an experienced magician it is possible to cross enormous distances as Eldwin does with his scrolls.

- Judging by the sorcerers they may have... what would be your opinion? - Egios asks.

- It's problematic, because I have no idea what kind of sorcerers they have.

- Well, this... mmm... - Eldwin says as he rubs his chin, looking at the ground - if they use the same method we could expect them in the dimensional world and catch them there.

- In fact, it's not a bad idea - says Xelos - the problem is that we don’t really know by which place they will appear or even if they will be there. It is dangerous to stay a long time in the world of Fosgarrer. But I can use my magic to create arcane spies, they will help us track and we will be safe.

- Cool! Do I open the way then? - Eldwin asks.

- Yes please.

Eldwin opens the portal again and Xelos invokes several of his butterflies that he throws into the other dimension, then they close it. Xelos then places a spell on his forearm where several runes appear in the form of tattoos.

- This will keep me informed of the findings. - says Xelos - well, now I think the best thing is for us to separate and review the whole town in search of clues, for this we will separate into two groups.

- Seem right! - says Eldwin.

- Well, I'll go with Kathrinna and Charlie. - adds Xelos.

- Oh, none of that. - says Egios.

- Take Charlie then.

- No, no ... no ... I'm going with you.

- I go with Eldwin then - adds Kathrinna.

- No problem - says Xelos.

Xelos creates a parchment with the residual magic of the place and gives it to Kathrinna, then she and Eldwin leave to the west while Egios, Xelos and Charlie leave to the east.

- How long have you been traveling with the vampiress? - Charlie asks Egios.

- Well, more than a month ago... are you worried?

- Nah... I'm just curious, it's all... it's that I've never slept under the same roof as a vampire, and you don’t know what might happen ...

- So if you're worried, ... Kathrinna is a good person, you don’t have to worry.

- Has she bit you?

- Of course not, she is my friend.

- And to what she comes out in the night?

- In the night?... she... doesn’t go out, she stays in the room with everyone, how was she going to leave? Eldwin always passes the key to the door.

- Charlie laughs as he runs his hand over his head - ... I'll have imagined it then, lately I don’t sleep very well.

- Did you see her Xelos? - Egios asks

- I don’t know ... why would I care?

- Well ... you're spying on us all ...

- I spy what interests me ... come, there's something around here.

Xelos guides them through alleys and in a moment they reach a dead end, Charlie enters and starts sniffing among several boxes that are there but Egios stays at the entrance of the alley next to Xelos.

- Will you stay here or will you enter?

- I will stay here.

- As you like.

Egios watches cautiously as Xelos enters the alley and approaches Charlie, looks around but the place seems quite lonely for someone to notice anything that happens there. It's as if his heart told him something is not right, he brings his hand close to the handle of his sword and continues to follow Xelos, the elf comes to Charlie and gives him some directions, the man gets up and walks until the opposite side of the alley leaning his back against the wall, Xelos begins to trace the stone wall with his hand but without touching it, after a moment he stops, looks at Egios and says.

- Don’t let it go.

Then a reddish energy begins to enter in his hand as if it sucked the atmosphere and little by little a strange creature is torn from a ditch between the wall, the size of a human hand, the creature is like a worm with long thin legs that serve him to cling tightly to the crack, his head without eyes has a rather strange mouth for an insect and shrieks while the magic of Xelos pulls him hard from his hiding place, however his efforts are futile and soon ends up in the hands of the sorcerer who quickly paralyzes it with a spell and encloses it in an arcane bubble. Egios quickly approaches Xelos and Charlie who observe the creature.

- What is that? - Egios asks.

- Yes, what is that thing?! - Charlie insists.

- It’s a Bagamur - says the elf - They are arcane spies, very rare and difficult to get. They are implanted between the cracks in the rocks and they whisper everything they hear and see to their masters, and they can see and hear through the walls.

- And... do you think those who put it on are the cultists? - adds Egios.

- We'll know that in an instant.

Xelos takes the parchment that filled with the magic of the house and creates a magical link between it and the creature, soon both are synchronized and the magic flow is illuminated.

- Yes,... it's theirs. - says Xelos - so we can assume that they are spying around the town, possibly looking for easy prey or adepts.

- They already know that we are looking for them. - says Egios.

- That is very likely.

- These creatures usually die as soon as they are taken out of hiding by anyone other than their master. But there are methods to prevent it from happening, just as I just did.

- Does it help us to have the creature?

- I could trace where his magic is headed, in what direction... but for that I need him to transmit... and for it to do so, I must release it.

- For which it will die.

- Exactly, I don’t know if I can do it in time... we can try, anyway they have no other use in this state.

- Yes ... yes ... do it - says Charlie.

- Very well.

Xelos prepares a spell and then releases the creature from the bubble, instantly casting its spell on the creature after the effect pass the worm is just a pile of dust.

- It worked? - Egios asks.

- I'm afraid not, ... the Bagamur are very fragile.

- We continue without clues then.

- But we can start hitting them.

Xelos directs his hand to the floor and a kind of portal opens, from there begin to emerge a cloud of magical purple wasps that at his command are dispersed to all directions of the town.

- I will destroy all the bagamur of the town, so... they can not spy on us, and instead, I will put my own spies.

- That will drive them away, and we need to find them.

- That will show us as a threat and they will want to come and stop us.

They take a lunch gifted by a nearby farm and the rest of the afternoon they continue with their search but without major results. At dusk, they meet with Kathrinna and Eldwin at the agreed place to return to the tower.

- Did you find something? - Kathrinna asks

- Yes ... a lot of spy worms - says Egios.

- What about you? Did you find something? - Question Xelos.

- A man, was invoked by the cultists - Eldwin starts - and to join them he had to kill someone close to him, he chose his brother but with such bad luck that he didn’t manage to do it, his brother handed him over to the authorities.

- Do they have it in the cells? - Charlie asks - I know where they are!

- We got the story from the tavern - says Kathrinna - but if we manage to talk to the man we might have something interesting.

- Hey ... I have a friend from the guard, he sure can help us!

- It seems good to me - says Egios.

- Come, follow me ... he's a good guy!

Charlie takes them to a sector of the town full of stone houses of several floors, stacked together as if there was no more space to build, they enter a small alley between houses and knock on a door on the first floor, at the moment an old woman looks out and greets Charlie, then she opens the door for them to enter. Despite the facade, it’s a fairly large and well-kept house, after sitting the lady offers to serve them something to drink what Eldwin offers to help her into making some tea. Charlie's friend enters shortly thereafter, a tall and somewhat stocky man, with a prominent beard and short hair, with thick eyebrows and a broad nose, his gaze is like that of a hawk that does not lose sight of its prey quickly focuses on Charlie.

- Is it because of Kevet, right? - the man says.

- If he's the guy they have locked up for attacking his brother, then that's right, my dear friend. - Charlie replies.

- I already told you not to get involved in those matters anymore, the guard will take care of it.

- Yes... he has been in charge for months.

- It's not as if all the cases are resolved in a couple of days, by the way... are they your friends?

- Yes... they are Egios, Kathrinna, the elf and... Eldwin who is in the kitchen with your mother.

- Eldwin? The one in the tower in the forest?

- That same - says Eldwin bringing a tray with several glasses of tea served that after giving one to Charlie's friend, leave the tray on a small central table for everyone else to drink his glass. - You're Olibar's son, aren’t you?

- Yes, my father died a couple of years ago.

- How terrible to hear that, I loved listening to their stories when he had the farm.

- What brings you here?

- What do you think? - says Charlie - they are hunting the same subjects as me.

- Who are you?

- We come from Yconav - adds Xelos - we tracked down a bloodthirsty cult that kidnapped our partner... and they still try to hurt him.

- A cult? ... Is it the cult of Q that Charlie talks about all the time?

- We have seen them, we have fought against them - adds Kathrinna - they are real believe me.

- A vampire... a dark elf... a sage... a... man,... you really are not the kind of common group that goes around making stories, especially you three. - he says referring to Kathrinna, Xelos and Eldwin making Egios feel less important.

- We destroyed two of their bases in Yconav and we know that they are being directed from here, at some point not very far from this town. - says Kathrinna

- A moment, were you the ones who entered the old house of Genbur Oshaum?

- Yes - says Kathrinna directly - and guess who we found.

- That house remained closed for years, nobody could open it ... how did you do it?

- We are good at what we do - says Egios with a slight smile - look, we have very good information and talented people, we know that there have been disappearances in the region and we fear that this is linked to the fact that the cult is preparing some dangerous spell.

- A moment ... I know the right person, Captain Safin, but it can be difficult that she pays attention to me, she is in charge of persecuting this cult, in reality it’s something secret for the public, that’s why there is a lot of caution in the information that is managed, I don’t belong to that division so it can be complicated.

- I will make it easier for you - says Xelos, as he pulls out a parchment - I am Master Researcher of the Manketh Academy, under the service of the Grand Archmage Ruzion adjudge to the Yconav area.

- Hey! - Egios says - You never mentioned that to us!

- Why was I going to tell you?

Egios makes a slight grimace and looks away.

- Come with me, bring this ... no, come all ... surely with this I can help you enter.

- Thank you! - Say Kathrinna and Eldwin.

- I didn’t even introduce myself, I'm Norhaim, and she's my mother Helva.

- It's a pleasure - Egios says.

- The barracks are not far away, and the captain usually works until very late so I'm sure we'll find her.

- The group says goodbye to the lady and they go out into the alley, Norhaim beckons them to follow him.

- Egios - Kathrinna calls him.

- Yes?

- We have to go for the others, those who are in the tower of Eldwin.

- Do you think they are in danger?

- If you tell me you saw spies, how do you know they don’t know Eldwin and can attack his house? What are they going to do? One injured, one sick and one little girl.

- Yes... you're right, we should go for them and as soon as possible.

Egios comes forward a little and tells his intentions to Eldwin, who accepts.

- Very well, then I will be doing the introductions with the captain - says Xelos.

- And I will accompany you, you go for the boys and we will tell you how everything goes around here - Charlie replies.

Kathrinna, Egios and Eldwin say goodbye to the group and enter an inconspicuous alley, there Eldwin opens the portal and everyone enters it. The passage to the tower is without complications although Egios cannot avoid looking everywhere, hoping to avoid that some cultist take them by surprise.

Upon reaching the tower, Eldwin starts to pack several books from his library, Egios and Kathrinna go up to the room where Vicky rests accompanied by Fiona and inform them of their plans. Vicky is still in bed and just nods her head.

- I know something that will help you get better fast - says Egios - by the way, where is Nom?

- He is outside - says Fiona - He found a spiritual meditation book and he went crazy with it, he must be there with that book.

Egios looks out the window and in effect sees Nom sitting in a lotus position with a book.

- Well, I'll go prepare something for your sister, It’ll be just a moment.

- I'll wait with them - says Kathrinna.

Egios goes down the stairs and again sees Eldwin searching through his books, he makes a slight signal to him and goes to the kitchen, heats some water and prepares a soup that he then takes to Vicky.

- This soup smells weird - says Kathrinna approaching the food.

- I think it smells good - says Fiona

- Well in fact all the food tastes bad to me - she adds as she receives the dish from Egios and approaches Vicky to give her the soup.

- Disadvantages of being a vampire. - Says Egios. - It must be terrible not being able to taste anything.

- Did you find the cult? - Victoria asks.

- We are after them - replies Kathrinna - we will find them soon.

- How are we going to face them? ... we are very few.

- Well, we have the magician - adds Egios - and it is possible that the guard also.

- The guard?

- Xelos is in town negotiating with the guard - says Kathrinna - that's why we need to leave here to stay in town.

- So ... there's no time to lose - says Vicky getting out of bed.

- You are weak sister, don’t try so hard. - Fiona says, but she makes a gesture and continues on her way.

Fiona goes out behind Vicky and they meet Eldwin in the entrance of the room that helps them go down the stairs, Egios turns to look at Kathrinna who looks a little at the soup dish now empty almost in its entirety, swipes her finger and savors a little of what is left.

- It really tastes terrible - she says as she looks with some seriousness at Egios.