Idsilla came to say goodbye to Maxi.
“I thought you would at least stay for the feast,” she murmured sadly.
Maxi stopped packing her bags on Rem's saddle to give her friend a resigned smile.
Most of the basilica's pilgrims seemed to believe that the magi had come to keep the Orthodox faction in check.
Expecting a dramatic conflict, they were clearly disappointed when the mages made preparations to leave so soon after arriving.
Meanwhile, the Orthodox clergy watched them with a mixture of suspicion and relief.
The reason Calto gave for his visit to Osiriya was that the mages were there to help the church investigate the recent proliferation of monsters.
Of course, no one believed that.
Even Maxi didn't consider it a credible explanation for traveling north in the middle of winter.
"Why not wait until Aquarias?
Don't you know the cold is going to start in a few weeks?"
“It’s safer to travel now, when the monsters are less active.”
Idsilla cast a skeptical glance at the wizards shivering from the cold.
Although Sidina and others from the north seemed unaffected by the cold, those born and raised on warm southern islands were already struggling.
“I think you should worry more about the cold than the monsters,” Idsilla whispered in Maxi's ear.
Pushing her apprehension aside, Maxi did her best to give a straight answer.
"We're braving the current conditions to conserve our firestones.
We'll start using them when the cold weather arrives, so that should make it more bearable."
Even as she spoke, she silently wondered why the group was in such a hurry to move forward.
Calto had insisted on a quick departure, claiming that they were more likely to become involved in the church's political conflict the longer they stayed.
Maxi questioned if that was the real reason.
Perhaps the ruins on the Pamela Plateau weren't the only sign of dark wizards.
Maxi shrugged as the wind grew stronger and stronger.
It was scary to think that a terrible secret could be hidden somewhere in the north.
“Anyway, I’m grateful for your concern.”
She hid her fear behind a brave smile and mounted her horse.
Idsilla rummaged through her bag in search of something.
“Please take this with you,” she said, handing the item to Maxi.
"It's a bag of heated sand.
I use it to keep warm during morning prayers, but I'd like you to keep it.
It's quite heavy, so discard it when it gets cold."
"Thanks."
Maxi graciously accepted the gift and placed it in her clothing, where she felt its warmth quickly warm her side.
She sighed with contentment.
“Please be careful,” Idsilla said, her voice full of concern.
“Sometimes you can be quite reckless.”
“Idsilla… you’re the last person I want to hear that from.”
Idsilla laughed at the irony.
“We’ll meet again, right?”
“Of course,” Maxi replied, smiling warmly.
"Come visit Anatol… if you get the chance.
You'll always be welcome there."
After asking to greet the female clerics, Maxi led Rem towards the expedition team.
Earth mages had been assigned to ride alongside the carts.
In the event of an attack, it was their duty to throw a barrier to protect the supplies.
As she led Rem to the last cart in line, she studied the dark, black-clad knights in her periphery.
With their gray armor draped in dark robes and their cold, hooded faces, they looked almost demonic.
If war broke out between the Mages Tower and the church, these men would not hesitate to ruthlessly eradicate the heretics.
Maxi quickly pushed the terrible thought out of her mind.
Even if that was true, they were currently working towards the same goal.
Kuahel Leon soon finished his inspection and signaled their departure.
As the knights began to leave through the city gates, Maxi looked for Ulyseon.
He was usually by her side, refusing to let her out of his sight, and yet she hadn't seen him all day.
She began to worry that something might have happened to him when she saw the young knight leading his horse out of the stables.
Maxi trotted over to him and gave him a questioning look.
“Where did you go so early in the morning?”“I went to see our informant, my lady,” he replied, mounting his steed.
“I thought it best to update Anatol on our route so they can contact us if necessary.”
Narrowing her eyes at him suspiciously, Maxi said slowly, "They… aren't going to try to make up an excuse to follow us, are they?"
“No, my lady,” Ulyseon said, looking troubled.
He avoided her gaze as if something was poking at his conscience before professing with a sigh, "Working with the merchants, Anatol has managed to create a vast intelligence network.
As long as there is a market in place, you can expect to find one or two of our informants there.
In the event of an emergency, we can use this network to call upon our allies for assistance.
Our affiliates can make the necessary preparations to deal with anything that arises if they are aware of our route."
"But we have the Temple Knights.
Even without help“"
“I do not fully trust the Temple Knights, my lady,” Ulyseon replied stiffly.
He tilted his chin toward the head of the procession, where Kuahel and Calto were in deep discussion.
"Look at them.
They've been whispering to each other the entire journey.
It's definitely suspicious."
Although Maxi rolled his eyes, he didn't argue.
Ulyseon's worries were bordering on paranoia, but she couldn't deny that her suspicions were growing as well.
“Well,” he said, turning his horse.
“We must hurry, otherwise we will be left behind.”
To Maxi's surprise, the knights had already left the city, and now it was the carts' turn to pass through the gates.
She glanced over her shoulder one last time before following them outside.
Idsilla was among the clerics who came to see them off, waving enthusiastically.
Maxi returned the gesture with equal vigor before spurring his horse.
The expedition team left Balbourne and headed north to Osiriya.
Having been the heart of the ancient empire, Osiriya's developed cities were connected by well-paved roads.
This made the journey relatively pleasant.
They spent entire days riding at a fast pace, stopping only at night to rest at an inn, and leaving at dawn.
As they approached the border, settlements became scarce.
Once again, they were forced to start camping at night.
"We'll start distributing the firestones tonight.
Come, get your share."
Celric began distributing rocks the size of quail eggs to the wizards busy setting up camp.
The magic stones seemed to be of poor quality as they only contained a meager amount of mana.
They were just powerful enough to lessen the cold.
When Maxi infused his stone with some mana, heat seeped into his body.
She sighed in relief as she felt life return to her stiff hands.
The cold had frozen the ground in a matter of days, and the wizards were dreading the prospect of camping in these conditions.
From that moment on, they received low-quality fire stones every three or four days.
Maxi offered one to Ulyseon, but the young man grimaced as if she had hurt his pride.
Just like Ulyseon, the Temple Knights also endured the biting cold with just blankets, coats and the fire.
Maxi was impressed with her resilience.
Noticing her staring at the knights in fear and awe, Armin said in a low voice, "They are warriors who push their bodies to the limit.
Their mana paths expand rapidly once they reach a certain level.
We mages artificially develop our paths by repeatedly infusing mana.
On the other hand, knights train their bodies to absorb mana not as magic, but in its unadulterated form.
Once they accumulate enough, it allows them to use the blade aura, which It can even cut through monsters with powerful magic resistance.”
Armin pointed a stick at the knights, who were tending to their horses and patrolling the area with no signs of exhaustion.
"Simply put, experienced knights are beings that possess greater life force than an average human.
There is no need to worry about them."Maxi tried to remember some of his lessons with Ruth.
If mana was the energy that maintained order in the natural world, magic was the pure elemental energy resulting from the extraction of a specific element.
In short, mana was the divine will itself, while magic was the power derived from its willful distortion.
Magic was no match for forces that used mana in its purest form“divine magic and blade aura.
“But… experienced knights also die from illnesses or injuries, don’t they?”
“And that's why we're here,” Anette replied bluntly, throwing some sticks she had collected into the fire.
"It is our job as support mages to heal the knights when they become injured and make it possible for them to continue fighting.
We must conserve our mana and energy until then.
If you have time to worry about them, I suggest you spend it monitoring your own condition."
“I-I'm already doing it,” Maxi replied sullenly.
She turned her attention to the pan swaying over the fire, stirring its contents with a wooden paddle.
The wizards finished their supper before dark and rested inside their tents while the knights took turns standing guard.
The next day, the expedition team finally crossed the border into Balto.
Maxi's breath came in a steady stream as she rode through a grove of frozen birch trees.
After a snowy night, icicles dotted the shadowy branches like diamonds, and frost clung to the ground.
“It's strangely quiet,” Ulyseon murmured, studying his surroundings.
Maxi had also noticed it before.
The usual sounds of the forest, like birdsong or the whispering wind, were absent.
A shiver ran down his spine.
“Do you think… there are monsters around?”
“I detect no movement, but please be prepared to cast a barrier just in case,” Ulyseon replied, resting his hand on the hilt of his sword.
Maxi swallowed and nodded.
Tense in her saddle, she was making her way through the gloomy forest when something cold landed on her forehead.
She looked up and saw snow falling from the hazy sky.
“Shouldn’t we set up camp before the snow gets heavier?” one of the wizards shouted.
At the head of the group, Kuahel Leon stopped his horse and looked up.
"We still have time before sunset.
There is a village on the other side of this forest.
Let's hurry."
The Temple Knights followed their commander as he spurred his horse forward.
The rest of the mages were forced to follow along.
A mist began to form around them as they rode, and Maxi looked nervously at the dark trees.
Her lungs felt like they were about to explode every time she took a heavy breath, and her ears throbbed as if she had been hit in the head.
Still, she had no desire to sleep in such a sinister place.
She used restorative magic on an exhausted Rem and tried to encourage the mare to keep up with the knights' warhorses.
After galloping for hours, they finally arrived at the edge of Armund Forest.
Maxi's face lit up with a wide smile at the thought of sleeping under a roof again.
Just at this moment, those at the front abruptly stopped their horses.
A shocked silence fell over the group, and some even let out screams of horror.
Confused, Maxi pushed past the knights blocking her view.
At the foot of a gentle hill, dark smoke rose from the charred remains of a village.