After reaching Lezeben, Julius and Cale searched the city and its surroundings for clues, but as before, they found nothing. So, in the late afternoon, they took a short break, during which the advisor finally got several hours of sleep and Cale used the time to circle around in bird form. The fact that he was unable to discover anything despite this advantage led Cale to suspect that the children were not heading towards the coast. They therefore decided to go together in the opposite direction, towards the villages of Palien and Ideran.
"Any suggestions as to what we should do now?", Cale whispered to his colleague, who was staring at the workers with his arms crossed.
"If the men are really heading towards the mines, then they will inevitably pass the other two villages. I don't think it makes sense to continue following them."
"What if we split up? That way we could cover a larger area. I can't shake the feeling that we're in the right place."
"I couldn't agree more. But the closer we get to the capital, the bigger the cities become and the less likely it is that kidnapped children will be found there."
"I agree", replied Cale, dropping from the tree. With an elegant movement, he cushioned his landing and landed right next to Julius, who also stood up and looked at him. "I'll follow the group and take a closer look at the area between the three villages. Will you take the north?"
"I can do that. When shall we meet again?"
"Let's meet in Lezeben an hour before we meet up with the group. But I'll most likely set off earlier and follow you. The area is relatively small, so I should be able to search it fairly quickly."
"Will you be able to find me?"
"I think so, and if not, it's no big deal. Then we'll gather with the others as usual and exchange our information."
"Sounds like a good plan", replied Julius, pulling his cloak over his head at the same moment. "Take care."
"You too, Julius."
With a mutual nod, the two abruptly parted ways. Julius disappeared behind the nearest thicket, while Cale followed the men. Once Cale was sure he was alone, he used his shape-shifting ability again and transformed into a massive bird. With powerful strokes, he pushed through the treetops and flew close above them, deliberately releasing his mana. A map formed in his mind's eye and he discovered dozens of mana sources coming from workers. Curious, he headed toward them, only to find after a minute that a large group of workers had gathered. Some of them carried heavy equipment, while others had no provisions at all. Cale circled the people several times before turning away from them and heading for Ideran.
Cale spent the next hour meticulously surveying the area. He deliberately took his time so that nothing would escape his notice. Numerous times he followed people or listened to their conversations, but his investigation came to nothing. There were no people hiding in his search area, so he decided to pay a quick visit to Palien. He moved inconspicuously across the dense forests of the highlands, discovering a few scattered inhabitants along the way, but even here, it remained relatively unspectacular.
When he could see the village in the distance and noticed one of the soldiers who was also in the woods, he decided to drop his disguise. Without a word, he put on his cloak and walked toward the soldier, who was traveling with his horse. When he stepped out from behind the tree, the soldier was already waiting for him, but seemed surprised when he recognized Cale.
"Sir Adenia?"
"Looks like you've been just as unsuccessful", Cale said dismissively, approaching the soldier.
"Did you come all the way from Lezeben?"
"Lezeben turned out to be a failure, which is why we expanded our area. Sir Venlan is likely to be somewhere northwest of us."
"I see", Sir Borsch replied quietly, watching as Cale stopped in front of him and looked toward civilization. "Palien also seems to be a dead end. At least, we haven't been able to find anything there yet."
"Where is your colleague?"
"Sir Dastre has headed toward the mountains and is taking over the western area. It's quite possible that he'll show up here in the next hour."
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Cale responded with a nod, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and sighed. If they didn't find anything between Ideran and Palien, then they had no more options. He would send the four soldiers into the mountains to search the area and devote himself to the flat coastal region. If they didn't find anything soon, Cale would be forced to go searching on his own. Cale was already imagining the worst.
What if he didn't find anything after searching for several days?
Should he ask the dragons for help? Perhaps he had overlooked an important detail that others would be more likely to notice. Were the children really not held near the mines? How likely was it that Mornet had been wrongly blamed for the kidnappings?
Cale sighed loudly and rubbed his neck before turning his attention back to the soldier.
"I'm going to set out and look for Sir Venlan."
"I would accompany you for a while, if that's all right", Sir Borsch replied, reaching out his hand. For a moment, Cale didn't move, weighing the pros and cons in his mind. But as he slowly began to feel as if he were blind, he decided to do so.
"All right. But don't leave your region without consulting Sir Dastre", Cale said calmly, taking the man's hand. With a powerful tug, the man pulled him onto the horse. Cale held on to the saddle with one hand while the soldier spurred the horse on and set off northward. "Did you have a chance to talk to the residents?"
"Not yet, but we planned to do so tonight. How about you?"
"We only overheard a few conversations, but the information was pretty sparse. We agreed to just focus on the search tonight and plan our next steps tomorrow."
"It's like looking for a snowflake in a winter storm. Were you told why we are searching for the kidnapped children in Mornet?"
"I was informed, yes. However, the background is classified. If you want to know more, I'm afraid I'll have to refer you to Duke Freigoud."
"I should have expected that", Sir Borsch replied, but he did not seem disappointed.
It is quite possible that he often received such orders without understanding the background. Until now, the information that children had been picked up at the border with Nihmskell had not been made public. The four soldiers did not know how Duke of Mornet was connected to the whole situation or why they were staying in the southernmost province of all.
"What other places do you think are worth visiting?"
"Good question. I can't name a specific village or town, but I wouldn't stray too far from our current position. Sir Venlan was right when he said that there's a strange aura here."
"Then we should probably focus on the mine itself and the highlands if we don't find anything."
"It would be a start. After all, a location far away from civilization would be a good place to hold dozens of children captive. Although I can't really judge how they keep the people hidden and feed them - if they're still alive at all."
"If", Cale repeated. His gaze wandered to the sky, which had turned pitch black and was dotted with clouds. He talked with Sir Borsch for a few more minutes, when he could sense Sir Dastre's mana and pointed in his direction. "Looks like your colleague has actually arrived."
"Roan", Sir Borsch simply said, raising his hand when he spotted his friend. The men greeted each other quietly and rode toward each other before exchanging skeptical glances. "Nothing."
"Me neither. I looked closely into every strange place, but there are no children here. In general, there are hardly any people in the northern area outside the city, except maybe towards the mountains. It's pretty deserted, I have to say."
"I had the same impression, and Sir Adenia said something similar. He came from Lezeben via Ideran to Palien and basically searched the entire area."
"Without success, unfortunately", Cale interjected, causing Sir Borsch to turn to him.
"May I ask why you are traveling without your horse?"
"The horse is relatively conspicuous and would only hinder me when I'm looking at a place more closely. I therefore prefer to...", Cale was explaining when a bright beam of light interrupted him. All three men suddenly turned toward the column of light that was racing from the sky to the ground, causing a loud bang. Cale got goosebumps the moment he realized what he was seeing.
"Great gods, I've never seen such a bright flash of lightning", Roan Dastre interjected, holding his hand over his eyes as he looked westward toward where the lightning had struck.
"There's no thunderstorm, so how can lightning strike?", Sir Kiuarn Borsch commented.
"No thunderstorm?", Roan Dastre repeated, looking up at the sky.
"That wasn't your typical lightning strike", Cale interjected, swinging himself off his horse in the same breath. Both soldiers looked down at him as Cale adjusted his cloak and pulled it over his head. "This is anything but good."
"Do you know what that was?"
"Have you ever heard the term glaring flash. This wasn't natural lightning, but lightning created by the sword Zurakekama."
"The legendary sword?", Sir Borsch and Sir Dastre said at the same time, before Cale raised his hand and instructed them to be quiet.
Cale already knew that Jonat Paseru was in Mornet from his visit to the chiefs. But he had expected Master Paseru to be in the capital city Gueladann. Cale had no idea why he was near the gem mine, but his presence did not bode well. His original plan was to avoid the swordmaster, but now a big problem had arisen.
The lightning struck in the direction where Julius was currently located.
"Yes, the legendary sword Zurakekama", Cale confirmed, reaching for his weapon with one hand. He couldn't ignore Jonat Paseru. If Julius was in the region, then one of two things were bound to happen. Either Julius would be drawn to the light and set out in search of the swordmaster, or - as Cale thought more likely - Julius was already involved in a fight. Knowing his old master, he would not use his weapon without reason, even if he was the type of person who could get angry quickly. "You two, listen carefully. I'm going to look for Sir Venlan, but I expect you to stay away from the swordmaster. This certainly won't be the last lightning strike, and your life is too valuable - just to waste for a brief moment of curiosity."
With these words and without looking back, Cale pushed off from the ground toward the nearest tree and shot into the sky as if he were flying.