There was a line of people entering Carhan. Arturo was behind a couple of wagons, along with Jen, Achillion, Tarmon, and Eurisha. The rest of his army, the Shields of Aidris, was camping ten miles outside Carhan. The journey from Elysian Fields to the capital of Azzellia had been uneventful, something he was glad about.

  Arturo thought about the battle at Elysian Fields a lot, more than he had expected to. Two battles showcasing power users. He never understood why the mages of Mortham Tower were against others using the power, but he understood now. The destruction the power could bring was insane. A few mages were worth more than an army. He wondered what battles were like before Mortham Tower was founded. He imagined it came down to who had the stronger power users unless there was an artifact to disrupt the power.

  Verian armor—Arturo always wore his, which prevented the power from affecting him. Not many artifacts existed, at least to his knowledge. Not that it mattered. He could only protect himself from the power. A group of power users could wipe out his entire army, and there wouldn’t be much he could do—a thought he didn’t welcome, especially since he imagined the invaders would have their own power users.

  A matter for another time. Arturo moved forward and stopped as a couple of guards at the gate held up their hands.

  “State your business,” a guard said, his brown eyes staring at Arturo intently.

  “State our business? Since when does Carhan ask this?” Jen asked. Her red hair was flowing freely down her back, where her two swords were hanging.

  “Recent events have made us cautious of who enters the capital,” the guard said. He was being respectful, most likely because of Jen’s armor, which bore the insignia with wavy silver lines and a faded figure behind—the sign of the Whispering Mists.

  “Ah,” Jen said. She looked at Arturo and motioned with her hand that it was his turn to speak.

  You already did most of the work, why not tell him yourself? Arturo wanted to ask. “We’re here to recruit for my army, the Shields of Aidris. I am seeking an audience with the king to see if he’ll offer us recruits like the other kingdoms.”

  The guard looked Arturo up and down and looked twice at the giant sword hooked to Arturo’s back. The guard barely went up to his chest. “You look like a warrior. Very well, you may enter,” the guard said and stepped aside.

  Arturo walked past the guard and into the city. The giant walls, many guards, and the number of people shocked him. He had visited other nations, yet this was his first time in the capital of Azzellia. For some reason, it affected him more than any other place he had visited. Despite being far from his home, Arindall, his thoughts drifted to the invaders, which led him to the final days his father, mother, and brothers were alive.

  “That’s new,” Tarmon said. His black hair had grown a bit longer than usual, completely covering his ears, though his sharp green eyes looked all around.

  “What?” Arturo asked.

  Tarmon pointed at the new flags. There were two flags perched on a building, showcasing a red eagle with green, red, and blue stripes, the symbol of Azzellia. Next to it was another flag, one with a sword on fire, the symbol of the Ashtari.

  “Seems the people like the Ashtari,” Achillion said. His blonde hair suited his handsome face. He smiled at a woman passing by. “I do love the capital.”

  “This is no surprise,” Eurisha said. For once, she had entered the capital without a hood, showing her short brown hair and blue eyes. She wasn’t hiding herself as part of the Forest Dwellers, which was unusual. “Anyone who loves their people will support an army of power users. That means more protection against potential enemies.”

  “Most people tend to fear power users, in my experience,” Arturo said.

  Eurisha shook her head, “No, they fear the mages, and for good reason. There is nothing to check their power. The Ashtari will help keep the mages in check, at least for now.”

  Arturo saw Jen shake her head. He wasn’t surprised; out of everyone he knew, she was the most displeased with the Ashtari. War was going to change as the other nations might try to catch up. But could they? How long had Talon been hiding his power users? The mages had to be as shocked as the rest of the nations. The real question was, who would win in the coming power struggle? The mages or the Ashtari?

  They continued walking. The streets were crowded. Arturo wished he wasn’t here. He hated how being in Azzellia reminded him of everything he had lost. There was nothing left for him here. It would be best to talk to Talon, get the recruits, and get out of here. He didn’t know if he could ever come to Azzellia and not think of his losses.

  It was time to find an inn. Surprisingly, Achillion took the lead. He led the way towards the center of Carhan when he stopped in front of a specific inn.

  “This is Kape Drama,” Achillion said proudly. “There’s no better inn than this one.”

  The inn itself didn’t look to be anything special. The outside looked clean. Shrugging, Arturo entered the inn. He didn’t see what was so special about this place. It wasn’t beaten down and looked to be well cared for. Otherwise, it was a normal inn.

  “Is that you, Achillion?” A loud voice boomed. A tall, thin balding man came rushing up and gripped Achillion in a hug. “By Tarmella’s grace, when was the last time you visited?”

  “It’s good to see you, Badole,” Achillion said, returning the hug. “Been at least two years, I would say.”

  “Yeah, and you said you’d visit more often,” Badole said with a huge grin.

  “How are the wife and kids?” Achillion asked.

  “They’re doing great. My son would love to see you if you have time.”

  “I’ll make time.”

  “Excellent,” Badole noticed the other four people then. “These your friends?”

  “Oh yeah,” Achillion laughed and began to introduce them. “There’s a lot to catch up on. In short, this is Arturo, his sister Jen, my friend Tarmon, and Eurisha.”

  “Pleasure to meet you all,” Badole said.

  Arturo and the others returned the greeting and let Achillion take the lead. If he knew the innkeeper, why not?

  “What rooms do you have available?” Achillion asked.

  “Only the best for you and your friends,” Badole said.

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  “Wait, we don’t want to pay a fortune here,” Arturo said.

  Badole looked at Arturo as if he were a fool. “You think you’re paying to stay here? You’ll be here free of charge, and I won’t take no for an answer!”

  “W—”

  “I’ll explain later,” Achillion said before Jen could get her question out. “I appreciate it.”

  “Of course, now, would you like something to eat or drink?” Badole asked.

  “We’ve had a long journey; some food would be nice,” Achillion said.

  “I’ll cook up something fresh. Pick your table and I’ll bring you some drinks soon.”

  Achillion walked to one of the corner tables and took a seat. “What? Waiting for an invitation?” he asked when the others remained standing.

  “Nothing like that,” Jen said and rolled her eyes. “How about you explain why the innkeeper is giving us free lodging?”

  “I suppose it’s a fair question,” Achillion said and leaned back, tilting the chair far enough back that it was standing on its back legs. “It’s not a crazy story. I grew up with the man for starters. But that’s not why he lets me stay here for free.”

  “Okay, why does he then?” Jen pushed when Achillion paused.

  Achillion’s face darkened for a brief second before returning to normal. “His son got kidnapped by a bunch of slave traders. That’s a whole other story, but Badole needed help in finding them. I hunted and killed every last one of the slave traders, rescuing not only his son but a bunch of other kids.”

  “What, the guards weren’t available?” Tarmon joked.

  There was no laugh from Achillion. “No, they were paid to ignore them. See, these slave traders were owned by a lord with a lot of power. I took his life as well.”

  “And that bothers you?” Arturo said. He didn’t understand why Achillion was being serious about killing a lord. If he was a slave trader, then he deserved to die, in his opinion.

  “Yes. Until that moment, I had thought lords were arrogant but good people. This one had been like a father to our town. Always gifting extra rations and taking time out of his day to help. Turns out he did that so he could lure children into a trap. It led me onto the path I went on, and I never expected it to lead me where I am now,” Achillion said.

  Seems he has the same experience with lords that I do. Arturo thought. He used to think lords were good people until the attack on Arindall and his time with the Crystal Syndicate. Now he knew better.

  “I’m sorry you went through that,” Jen said, her eyes staring at the table before looking up at Achillion. “Know that all lords aren’t like that, just like all common folk aren’t thieves or murderers.”

  “I know,” Achillion said with a sly smile. His earlier serious expression had returned to his usual playful self. “It was a learning experience and one I needed. Anyway, that is why Badole gives me free rooms and food.”

  As if being summoned, Badole appeared with cups filled with wine and plates with bread and some meat. “Let me know if you need anything else,” Badole said and scurried off to help someone else.

  None of them needed to say anything as they began chowing down on the food. Arturo tried to enjoy these moments as much as possible due to how rare they were, at least lately. The food was delicious, and the wine tasted heavenly.

  His thoughts turned towards Kyrad Durmaddon, something that always happened when Arturo ate. While nobody was talking, his mind wandered, and it was hard not to think of the foe he had sworn to kill. There had been no raids since Talin Grad nor sight of Kyrad or anyone resembling his people. Why did the raids stop? Where was he? Was he going to come back?

  Arturo took another bite of his meat and washed it down with a gulp of wine. He wiped his lips and took another bite. The invaders had to attack eventually. All he could do was wait, which he hated, as he wanted this war to get going. Despite his initial reaction to seeing the Ashtari wiping out Eshil Domain’s army, he decided he still wanted the invaders to arrive soon.

  “What are we going to do once you are finished recruiting?” Eurisha asked, breaking Arturo out of his thoughts.

  This was a question he didn’t know how to answer. Arturo wasn’t sure what he would do. He could search for towns that needed help, but he wasn’t sure if that’s what he wanted to do. Sitting back and waiting wasn’t an option either, his men would leave if he did nothing at all.

  “I’m sure our fearless leader will tell us when the time is right,” Achillion said before Arturo could say anything. He shot Arturo a wink and drained the last of his wine.

  “I wasn’t talking to you,” Eurisha snapped. She was glaring at Achillion who acted like nothing was going on. “We have a right to know.”

  “I’ll tell you when I’m finished, I promise,” Arturo said. Eurisha turned her gaze from Achillion to him and nodded.

  “Deal. Know that my people ask me what the plan is all the time,” Eurisha said.

  “Why don’t they ask me themselves?” Arturo said. He realized the Forest Dwellers never asked him questions, not really. He would walk around the camp and talk to them, but it was always casual. Now that he thought about it, not once had the Forest Dwellers asked him anything regarding his goals, instead opting to ask Eurisha instead.

  “I’m the speaker for my people. Much like the other nations in our army have their own speakers,” Eurisha said.

  I should fix that. Arturo thought. He wasn’t sure how he would do that. He didn’t want to cause any problems, yet he didn’t want his army to think their questions had to be given to someone else. He wanted his army to speak with him like any other person. That was a goal of his, even though he hadn’t told anyone that.

  “I’ll have to change that,” Arturo said and turned to his sister. “Can you get me a meeting with Talon?” he asked.

  Jen laughed, which confused Arturo. Why was his request so funny? Maybe she’s losing her mind. Arturo thought. He wouldn’t rise to her bait.

  She didn’t wait for him to ask. “This is the one time you could get yourself a meeting without me,” Jen said between laughs. She wiped her left eye.

  I don’t see why that’s so funny. Arturo wanted to say. Perhaps it was a girl thing or maybe his sister was being silly. He couldn’t tell anymore. Since joining him on his travels, Jen’s fa?ade of showing no emotions had broken down a lot. He knew she didn’t like it and had told him as much. He hoped she wouldn’t go back to the Whispering Mists.

  “You don’t get it, do you?” Jen said. She shook her head and continued. “You’ve done a lot of work for the commander of the Azzellia army. You helped save Talon’s life. You would get a meeting based on that alone.”

  Arturo felt stupid. He had gotten too used to asking his sister to get him meetings with the kings that he had forgotten what he had done for Corvin. Of course, he could ask himself, the commander would make sure he got the meeting.

  “Right, I’ll have to do that soon.”

  “Why delay?” Jen asked.

  “I want to get the timing right,” Arturo said. I’m not sure if I am ready to approach Talon. A normal king is one thing, but Talon can use the power. He didn’t know if Talon would act differently because of this. Every power user he had ever met was arrogant. A king with the power would have to be very arrogant. Approaching him was going to be different, yet there was one thing he was going to do that might cause problems. He would not bow, not for Talon or any other king or lord. It was something he had been thinking about. He would stick with his beliefs, even if it lost him Talon’s support.

  “Take your time,” Achillion said. His chair was leaned back, and he started looking around the inn. “Means I can walk around and enjoy myself.”

  Achillion flashed a smile at a woman walking by. Jen rolled her eyes, “and woman,” she mumbled.

  “Can I tag along?” Tarmon asked and froze as he saw Jen shoot him an angry glance. “N-not to look at women, of course. I want to get a new cloak, this one is all ragged,” he showed the tears in his blue robe.

  Why is he acting like he did anything wrong? Arturo thought. Why did Jen look irritated at Tarmon? He shrugged it off and finished the last of his meal. Once that was done, Tarmon and Achillion left to explore the town. Eurisha wanted to stay back, though she wouldn’t say why.

  Arturo was used to Eurisha refusing to go around. She preferred to stay in the inn if she came into a village with them. There was no point in trying to convince her to leave, she was as stubborn as his sister when her mind was made up.

  “Arturo, you’re coming with me to get supplies,” Jen said.

  “Huh? I don’t—”

  “You have no choice,” Jen interrupted and stood up, almost kicking her chair back. “You want to lead? This is part of being a leader. Now let’s go, there’s no point in twiddling our thumbs.”

  With a sigh, Arturo nodded and got up. He knew better than to argue with her; besides, it would be less of a headache if he just did as she asked.

  They walked around for quite a while and didn’t buy much. Arturo had expected Jen to talk, but she was being silent, and he wasn’t going to try prying. If she wanted to talk, she would talk. After walking around for almost two hours, Jen bought some medical supplies.

  “Perhaps we should have brought a wagon,” Jen said, raising a finger to her chin.

  “Are you serious?” Arturo said.

  “Yeah, no point in getting so many supplies with just the two of us,” Jen said. She stopped and looked up at him. “Arturo, do you think Tarmon—”

  “Arturo? Jen? Is that really you?” A familiar voice said.

  They both turned around. Arturo saw someone he never expected to see again. A man wearing a dark black vest, with a red cloak draped over his shoulders. His boots were a mixture of green and gold, and there were two guards flanking him on each side. It was Lord Maloi.