Under the Oak Tree

267 Chapter Riftan glared menacingly and whirled around. Gripping his saddle, he grew stone-still as if taking a moment to keep his emotions from exploding.

He leaped onto his horse and announced, “The monsters that attacked this village may return. We must set out for Sevron Castle before nightfall. Go and make preparations to depart.”

Maxi looked confused. “Are you… going with us?”

“Was it not your expedition that requested reinforcements?” he replied with a sardonic smile. “The Remdragon Knights are the reinforcements.”

“But—”

She cut herself off when she saw a dangerous look flash across his face. He looked down at her grimly, then steered his horse around and descended the hill to join the Remdragon Knights. Devastated, she watched him trot away. Perhaps she would not have felt so miserable had he flown into a rage instead.

She hugged herself beneath her cloak as the bitter wind seeped into her bones.

***

The plan to head to Sevron Castle was met with unexpected opposition from Calto Serbel. He insisted they had to remain in the village for a few more days to investigate the evidence of dark mages.

“There are runes on the outskirts of the village, ones that supply magic to human remains. That means this was a deliberate attempt by someone to create undead monsters.”

Frowning, Kuahel Leon stroked his chin with a gloved hand. “And you think this someone could be a dark mage?”

“Who else would do such a thing?”

Calto raised his sharp chin as if to warn the knight against accusing one of his mages.

“The Mage Tower has never created such runes. Any magic involving manipulation of the dead is strictly forbidden.”

“I certainly have never seen a rune like that before,” Armin commented as his ghoul bite was being tended to. “It was nothing like the magic we use.”

He turned to Maxi.

“What do you think? Did you notice anything unusual?”

Maxi had been sitting in a daze until then. She snapped her head up to look at the mages around the brazier, then at Kuahel Leon and the Temple Knights. They all looked back at her expectantly.

“I-I’m sorry,” she said, her face flushing, “what were we discussing?”

“We wanted to know if you found anything strange about the rune,” Anette said, clicking her tongue.

Weakly mumbling an apology, Maxi rifled through her memory.

“It was too complicated… I could not grasp how it worked. However… i-its two pathways… reminded me of ancient magic.”

“Ancient magic?” Kuahel asked, his brow furrowing.

Worried that she might have said something she should not have, Maxi nervously looked to Calto. The elder was staring at Kuahel with a chilly expression while fiddling with the magic stone embedded in the head of his cane.

“The Mage Tower has been studying some aspects of long-buried ancient magic,” Calto told him. “As I recall, it is an endeavor the Tower has already informed the church about.”

“Could you explain what kind of magic it was in more detail?” Kuahel asked, his eyes fixed on Maxi.

She began sweating profusely. It was certainly not an option to tell him she had spent countless days studying the intricacies of ancient magic to create a golem rune. She anxiously shifted her eyes, her face troubled.

Leaning on a wall off to the side, Miriam chimed in with a change of subject.

“Thinking back on it now… those three giant ogres were all after Maximilian.”

Maxi grew wide-eyed. She had been so terrified during the chaos that she had not noticed.

Shrugging, Miriam added, “They were probably after the person who touched the rune.”

“But nothing happened to us,” Anette remarked skeptically, wrinkling her nose.

Miriam sneered at her. “You were safe because you were terribly slow. The Dragon Slayer had already dealt with the ogres by the time you and Armin destroyed your runes.”

“Excuse me?”

“Stop it, both of you!” Calto yelled, striking his cane on the ground.

Both women pressed their lips together at the same time. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Kuahel, who had been silently listening to their exchange, addressed Calto.

“As far as monsters of the Ayin race go, ogres are the least intelligent. It is highly unlikely they made a conscious decision to protect something. Do you suppose this is linked to the dark mages as well?”

“It is very likely,” Calto replied after a pause. “I heard ogres made up the majority of the allied monster army. We can only assume they know magic that allows them to control monsters.”

A chill ran down Maxi’s spine. Turning a large number of the dead into ghouls for an attack was a tactic used by the monster army during its siege of Eth Lene Castle. It was not a stretch to assume that monsters were covertly rebuilding their army for a second invasion.

She was brooding over this possibility when Kuahel’s cold voice cut through her thoughts.

“I understand your reasons, but we cannot remain here.”

“The purpose of our expedition is to investigate traces of the dark mages!” Calto protested. “Now you want us to leave when we’ve finally found a possible—”

“We do not know where the attackers have gone. Should we fail to eliminate them as soon as possible, other villages could meet the same fate.”

Kuahel’s tone turned grim.

“The situation is far more serious than we expected. If it’s true that these monsters are deliberately creating ghouls… that is all the more reason for us to take action.”

“And by take action, you mean…?”

“That we can no longer keep the existence of the dark mages secret. We must alert the Seven Kingdoms at once and prepare for war.”

A heavy silence fell over the church atrium. Kuahel slowly swept his gaze over everyone before continuing in a heavy voice.

“We must go to the Viscounty of Sevron to officially request aid and send word to all the cities to muster their defenses. We cannot waste time investigating runes.”

Calto’s face stiffened ever so slightly as if offended by the easy dismissal of his opinion. Regardless, he was forced to concede that Kuahel was right.

“Very well. We will follow your plan.”

“Everyone, prepare to set out.”

The mages promptly gathered their belongings, loaded them on the wagons, and saddled their horses. Maxi walked out of the church to retrieve Rem from the storehouse. The mare seemed irritable from fatigue, and Maxi soothed her before securing the saddle and her bag. All the while, her eyes kept drifting to the foot of the hill.

Riftan and his knights were already waiting in formation. She anxiously stared at the head of the group where he was stationed, his visor drawn over his face. He cut such an imposing figure that he almost felt like a stranger.

Maxi bit her lip. The distance between them pained her heart. She was debating whether to approach him again when Anette abruptly spoke.

...

“Max, did he not come too?”

Maxi knitted her brows and looked over her shoulder. “Who?”

Anette stood on her toes so she could whisper into Maxi’s ear. “The traitor.”

Only realizing then that she had not seen Ruth, Maxi swept her eyes over the knights.

“I-It appears not.”

“Maybe he hid the moment he saw Master Calto,” Anette suggested. She pointed to the elder with her thumb. “He seemed set on seeking him out as soon as he learned the Remdragon Knights were coming. The traitor might have found out and fled. I’m told Ruth Serbel is as slippery as an eel.”

Maxi could not help but feel awkward. Though she was well aware of Ruth’s infamy among the mages, she was slowly growing worried. She studied Calto’s stern face. In the eyes of the Tower, Ruth was an outlaw who had broken its rules by leaving the island without permission. Calto could very well be bent on using this opportunity to drag the sorcerer back to Nornui.

Worry pricked her at the thought of her old friend getting into trouble. The thought was soon followed by the realization she was in no position to be concerned about anyone else. After a three-year separation, her husband was giving her the cold shoulder. If she should be worried about anyone, it was herself.

As she trudged down the hill, she mulled over how she could assuage his anger.

Anette watched Maxi in silence for a moment before asking, “Did you quarrel with your husband?”

Maxi froze, then shook her head. If only they had. She would not be feeling half as dejected then.

...

Seeing her morose face, Anette smiled bitterly as if to say she understood. “Well, I heard we’ll be in Sevron by evening. Try to sort things out with him at the castle.”

Maxi looked down at her woefully. “H-How?”

“You’ll have to do something about your appearance, first of all. You look like a vagrant.”

Anette shook her head as she scanned Maxi from head to toe.

Maxi frowned and pulled her hood even lower. “Th-The same could be said of you!”

“I don’t have a man I wish to please, unlike you,” Anette replied with another shake of her head. “Request a bath as soon as we get to the castle. Scrub yourself clean, and get yourself in the Dragon Slayer’s bed. That usually solves most marital problems.”

“A-Anette! You’re being obscene!”

Maxi frantically glanced around to see if anyone had heard. Anette snorted as if she found Maxi’s reaction preposterous.

“What’s a married woman acting so chaste for? Getting into his sheets is better than doing nothing, don’t you think?”

Maxi’s face flushed crimson. “B-But… how could I… do such a thing… in the middle of an expedition?”

“We don’t know when this expedition is going to be over, and I’ll wager you won’t get another chance if you don’t do it tonight.” Pointing to the sky, Anette added, “Do it while we’ve got a roof over our heads. If anyone’s petty enough to take exception to a man and his wife having a private moment together after three years apart, I’ll give them a good knock about the ears.”

Mortified, the only response Maxi was capable of was opening and closing her mouth like a carp. As she stood frozen, Anette smacked a hearty pat on her back before heading down the hill. Maxi snapped awake and hurried after her.

The expeditionary party was already waiting in orderly ranks at the bottom of the slope. Maxi slipped past to take up position right behind the Remdragon Knights. Some spoke to her, but her mind was too much of a mess to register what they were saying. Growing increasingly anxious, she surreptitiously peered past the knights toward Riftan.

The sight of his formidable silhouette mounted on Talon made her entire body feverish. Her heart began to race as she recalled how his large, calloused hands had once caressed her so passionately. The heat of his lips and the fervor with which he had filled her — it was all coming back to her in vivid waves. She gulped, wondering if seduction was even possible when he had turned so cold.

Startled by her thoughts, Maxi furiously shook her head. What sordid fancies was she entertaining while in the presence of sixty clergymen? Of course, nobody was capable of reading her mind, but she still blushed as shame washed over her.

It was all Anette’s fault. She was shooting her friend resentful looks for filling her head with such nonsense when the Temple Knights gave the orders to depart.