...After some time, the village finally came into view. Down the road, the small dwarven houses started to reappear. The town was rather quiet. Many of the caravans that had come earlier had already left for the site where the Dragon Festival was about to take place. Only a few dwarves were outside, carrying water from the forest to their homes, cutting wood, or tending their snow-covered gardens, planting special ice-resistant herbs. The sky was a clear blue, and the sun hovered high above, covered by thin clouds.
Before long, they found themselves walking down the small, stone-paved path to Kulhun's house, where Old Kal sat at his usual spot on the bench, gazing at the sky.
Kulhun moved ahead of the other two, reaching the house first. He greeted the old man before entering.
"Hello, Old Man Kal!" Ili said with a warm smile as she and Zephyr passed him on their way to the door.
The old man turned his head toward them but remained silent, merely nodding slightly in greeting, his eyes half-closed. He looked tired, so after Zephyr politely greeted him as well, they left him alone and entered the house.
It was empty inside. Kaeldor's axe was back on the wall, and Kulhun was just hanging his own back in place.
"It seems he left already..." Kulhun said with a frown.
"Hey, listen... I'm sorry for…" Zephyr said, staring at the ground.
"No, don't worry!" Kulhun replied calmly. "It's not your fault. Kaeldor will get over it, sooner or later. He just needs some time..."
Zephyr nodded slowly, glancing around the room.
"So... what do we do now?" Ili asked quietly, before the silence could fully set in.
"I guess we could leave and head to the festival..." Kulhun said thoughtfully. "But it's still a bit too early. I also want to let Kal rest a bit more on the bench before we go, since I'll be taking him with us."
"Oh, okay," Ili spoke, looking down. "Well then, I guess we could rest a little before we head out. We've been walking since this morning, and I think we could use the break."
"Alright then," Kulhun agreed. "We'll stay here a bit longer."
Ili stretched her arms and yawned, moving toward her bed. She set down her satchel beside it and placed her sword right next to it.
"I think I'll go up to the hill for a while..." she said, gazing aimlessly at the ceiling, her mind foggy and tired. "Wanna come?"
"I think I'll pass," Kulhun replied. "I'll stay here and chop some wood for the fire."
"Where is that?" Zephyr asked, curious about the hill.
"Oh, not too far from here," Ili answered calmly. "Just down the road. It's a small place where you can look over the land below the mountains."
"Yeah, sure then," Zephyr said, stretching his back. "I don't have anything better to do, so I guess I'll tag along."
"Oh, sure!" Ili said with a smile, happy that he wanted to join her.
The two of them got ready to leave the house.
"Hey, Ili!" Kulhun called out before they left. "Here!"
He tossed her a large cape made of wool.
"It's not much, but it should keep you warm. At least warmer than you are now," Kulhun said, closing the chest from which he had taken it.
"O-Oh... Thanks a lot!" Ili smiled warmly, draping the cape over her shoulders to cover both her arms and the front of her body.
Ili waved back as they left the house. Outside, Old Man Kal had already fallen asleep on the bench. Smiling gently, Ili took the cape off her back and placed it over the old dwarf, patting him gently on the shoulder. Zephyr watched but said nothing against it. Once she was ready, the two of them set off toward the gazing hill where Kaeldor had taken her a few nights ago.
They passed through the city, moving past the dwarven houses, the smithery, and then took a left turn off the road, climbing towards their destination. Ili's previous tracks had been covered by a fresh layer of snow. With an innocent smile, she told Zephyr to "Go ahead," and began following in his footsteps so he would tread the snow first with his feet. The unsuspecting Zephyr walked in front, guided by her instructions.
Not long after, the two of them reached the top of the valley. Zephyr stopped, taking a deep breath and filling his lungs with the freezing air of the mountains. At the top, a lone pine tree stood tall, gazing over the vast landscape. Ili arrived shortly after him.
The breathtaking scenery left her as awestruck as it had the first time. The massive expanse of land, mountains, hills, cities, forests, and more spread out before them. Zephyr wasn't as visibly moved as she was, but despite his lack of reaction, it was clear that he was at least a little mesmerized by the view.
"You know," Zephyr began before trailing off. "It's..."
"Beautiful?" Ili asked with a smile, stepping beside him.
"Well, not really how I would describe it, but yeah, I suppose... beautiful..."
They stood there for a while in silence, taking in the scenery. The sun peeked out from behind the clouds, casting its light over the lands. A cold wind swept gently over the snow, but neither of them seemed bothered by it.
"So..." Zephyr finally broke the silence. "Where are you from?"
"Oh? I'm... well, not from around here, at least."
"That much is obvious," Zephyr said with a chuckle. "I mean, you must have a home somewhere, right? And by the way you're dressed, you don't seem to be used to traveling. No offense, but those clothes clearly aren't meant for traveling through the snow."
Ili laughed nervously, unable to deny his observation.
"Well," she started. "It's not really a home. It's more of a really big fortress called the Secluded Castle. It's a fortress my master took from the dark legions during the last war to push them out of the continent. But I don't stay there too often. I usually stay by my master's side to train, and we rarely settle in one place. One day we're in a forest, another in a village... but it's usually deep in forests, where it's quiet and I can train without distractions."
"Oh, I see..." Zephyr muttered. "And your master was able to just... take a fortress and turn it into his personal castle?"
Ili chuckled, clearly understanding his confusion.
"Pretty much…" She smiled, thinking of a better way to explain. "Well, the castle doesn't belong to any kingdom. It's an ancient fortress of a kingdom that no longer exists. It served as a stronghold for the dark legions when they invaded the continent. It was a difficult area to conquer since it's right at the edge of the continent, surrounded by mountains on one side and a massive cliff leading directly to the ocean on the other. So, the Alliance told my master that if he destroyed the dark legions there and took the fortress, they would let him keep it!" Ili smiled. "So, he did!" she chuckled.
Zephyr chuckled too, though he couldn't hide that the thought of capturing a fortress alone sent shivers down his spine. 'He is THE Dark Angel, after all... Of course he could do it…' he told himself, brushing the thought aside.
Ili came right next to him, smiling as she took his hand and pointed toward some distant mountains.
"If I'm not wrong, the Secluded Castle should be somewhere in that direction, far beyond those mountains! Far East…" She let go of his hand, her face turning into a playful expression. "Just... wanted to say that, heh…"
She chuckled, her smile warm, then turned the other way and sat down in the snow. Zephyr turned to face her, noticing something was missing.
"Hey, Ili... you didn't bring your sword?" he asked, puzzled.
"Oh? No, I left it at the house next to the bed. Didn't see much point in bringing it here."
Zephyr raised an eyebrow. "Why? Aren't you afraid that I would…"
"No, of course not!" Ili replied, looking at him with a soft expression. "I trust you, you know?"
Zephyr stood silently for a few seconds, confused. "Why, though?"
"I don't know... I just have a gut feeling, I suppose..."
"That's... stupid. Are you really willing to bet your life on a gut feeling? Sorry, but that's very naive. You can't just trust someone because they're nice, you know? And I'm not even that nice! For all you know, I could just play along, trying to gain your trust and stab you later in the back."
Ili chuckled, though a hint of discomfort was present. She sighed and looked up at him, her expression turning more serious.
"I understand what you're saying, I do," she began. "I know I must seem like some young girl who has no idea what she's doing and is only alive because others constantly take care of her…"
"Hey, it's not like that!" Zephyr protested. "It's just—"
"No, I understand..." she interrupted. "I might have exaggerated a bit, but I know you get what I'm saying. Yes, I may not be experienced... Yes, I may have been lucky to find really nice people to help me. And you might think I'm naive, standing here with my back turned to a kalzraak, unarmed. I am young, but I'm not stupid. And I would be lying if I said that I've let my guard down completely around you. I might not look it, but I'm strong... really strong. And I'm always ready for you to try and kill me. No, I'm not saying that I believe you ever would, don't get me wrong... I said I trust you, and I mean it. You are my friend, Zephyr, and that's the truth. But if you think you could take me down, even when I'm unarmed and turned away, you're gravely mistaken..."
Zephyr relaxed a little as he listened to her. He wasn't offended, but rather relieved that she wasn't as naive and helpless as he had initially thought. It was a sign that she would be able to protect herself, even if she was ever alone in the future. He smiled, which slowly turned into a teasing smirk.
"Big words from the girl who almost got killed by a pack of wolves..." he said, chuckling.
"You...!" Ili almost jumped up at him, but stopped when she saw him laughing in a friendly manner. She let him off with a light flick on his forehead.
"Kidding!" Zephyr said, slowly calming his laughter. "I'm only teasing you, don't worry... I know you're strong. I can sense it, even though you haven't shown it yet. The fact that I can barely sense your mana, even when I try to, tells me you're much stronger than you let on."
"Oh?" Ili asked, intrigued. "You can sense my mana? Most people never notice. They just think I'm not using it at all."
"We Kalzraaks have a much higher affinity for mana than most other races. I can sense you using it, but only just. You've done a great job keeping it so transparent. Without a good sensing spell (1), I doubt any human would notice it. But that's how you've been keeping yourself warm, right? A constant body-warming spell or something along those lines."
Ili was a bit surprised, not expecting Zephyr to be so perceptive.
"Heh, yeah..." she admitted, smiling sheepishly. "I must say, I was starting to feel a little chilly..."
"And not just now!" Zephyr continued. "Even before you untied me, you were using this spell. You kept it up until you entered the house, and then used it again as soon as we stepped back into the cold. That's why you gave the old man the cape. Because you didn't really need it, did you?"
Ili chuckled. "Yeah, you caught me..." she smiled. "I didn't expect you to be so perceptive. I guess I also underestimated you, didn't I?"
"Underestimating your enemy, huh? Right after saying you weren't naive?" Zephyr chuckled. "Well, no harm done... But on a more serious note, I'm curious. How did you struggle so much with those wolves? You clearly had the ability to handle them much quicker and easier."
Ili looked down at the ground, contemplating for a moment.
"Well, you see... My master always taught me to use only the bare minimum amount of power needed to win a fight. I may not have mastered that perfectly, and I might have underestimated the wolves, as well as my own ability to fight in those conditions without using mana... but that's not all. If it had just been the wolves, I would've taken care of them quickly and saved you without going through the trouble of 'only using the bare minimum', as I'm not as absurd as to prioritize that over someone else's life. But I'm certain I felt something else in that forest, something besides the wolves... something I didn't want to alert by using my mana. I don't know if it was human, dwarf, demon, or something else entirely... but my instincts screamed at me that it wouldn't have ended well for either of us if the creature managed to feel my presence. That's why..."
Zephyr looked at her, concern and understanding reflected in his eyes, before turning his gaze back to the ground.
"I see..." he muttered, pausing for a moment. "Well, I'll trust your judgment then."
The two fell silent, gazing into the horizon. Time passed as the sun shifted enough to cast the tree's shadow in the opposite direction. The sky started to grow slightly darker. After a while, a familiar voice echoed from behind. Down the hill, in the valley, Kulhun was shouting their names. Zephyr helped Ili up from the snow, and they started down the slope.
"Come on, lovebirds!" Kulhun called out with a wide grin. "Time to go!"
Ili's face turned bright red with embarrassment, while Zephyr lunged at the dwarf, grabbing him by the collar.
"We're nothing like that!" Zephyr snapped, his fury rising as Kulhun's teasing grin only annoyed him further. "You'd do well to remember that, you damn senile dwarf!"
Ili chuckled, still blushing, as she gently pulled Zephyr's hand away from Kulhun. She sighed.
"He's just joking! Calm down, Zephyr," she said, separating the two. "But really, don't say that again!" she finished, turning to Kulhun with a stern look.
"Heh, yeah yeah, alright..." Kulhun replied, finally stifling his laughter. "Let's go, it's getting late!"
Footnotes:
1 - When using a spell, a certain amount of mana is consumed by the user. Some races, like Kalzraaks, can naturally see mana, but others, like dwarves and humans, need a special detection spell. As a person's senses sharpen, they can perceive mana more accurately, allowing even a human mage to see it without a spell. Casting a spell releases mana into the air, disrupting its natural flow. However, as someone perfects their use of mana, the disruption lessens, making their mana more translucent and harder to detect.