Chapter 63 ASHES OF THE FESTIVAL
The next morning came around, and everyone was still cleaning up the mess that had once been the festival grounds. There were still ogre corpses lying everywhere, and some of the houses were still in shambles. It was going to take a long time to pick everything up, but they would manage. The attack hadn't been that bad. No one had been killed from their side.
On the outskirts of the village stood Xyra and Magnus. Xerxes and Astrid were standing with them as well. The two travelers were about to leave and continue on with their journey. They had a lot of ground to cover with all the time they had wasted. Magnus still had five talismans left to find.
"So you're leaving?" asked Astrid sadly.
"Afraid so," answered Magnus. "Got a lot of ground to cover."
"If you head north from here," began Xerxes, "you will reach Tago. Their governor is supposed to have a Lazufeer talisman, but I've heard he's a horrible man. Be careful."
"Alright. Thanks." Magnus and Xyra both turned, getting ready to leave. "We will come back and visit sometime, okay?"
"I'm looking forward to it," the dragon king told them with a smile. "Take care."
"Bye!" the sorcerer and the thief called as they went on their way, over the hill and off to the north.
"Bye!" Astrid called back, watching them with sad eyes. She looked to be on the verge of tears. It was a hard thing to have to watch two friends go. They had all had to see Darren off earlier. Xerxes had sent him on a different mission, another errand, so to speak. This one was going to take a long time, so the hunter had told his friends to keep going without him. He'd catch up eventually.
Xyra and Magnus walked quietly across the Andagon Valley, the village now out of sight. They were both staying quiet as they went along, neither one having anything to really say. Conversations were sometimes hard to start, and this just happened to be one of those times. They only knew the things they did not want to talk about, like the battle that had taken place. Magnus had collapsed after sealing the ogres, and before that he had nearly died. It was one thing that neither of them wanted to remember right now.
"How long will it take?" Xyra suddenly asked, drawing his attention.
"Two days," he responded. "If we do not run into any trouble, it might be less."
Xyra just nodded in understanding, a small sigh escaping her lips. Why was it that when the two of them were alone, this was the best kind of conversation they could have? When Darren was there, it seemed like no one was ever quiet. They all always had something to say, and it was usually interesting. Now there was nothing. Maybe it was because they were both nervous, but Magnus did not seem to be that type of person. Xyra knew she was.
For some reason, being alone with the sorcerer always made her a bit uneasy. She wasn't sure why either. It didn't make sense. She knew he wasn't going to hurt her. In fact, he was the one keeping her safe. He had come to her rescue more than enough times since they had started this trip. He was always quick when it came to protecting people. He was always so prompt about it.
Still, he made her nervous. She couldn't deny that. He was too cute for his own good, and he used that to his advantage. In order to get her to cooperate sometimes, he would stare at her intently, giving her that impish grin of his. He would speak lowly, act seductively, all because he knew it bothered her. He had asked her twice now if he made her nervous, and the answer was yes. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction though. She'd never tell him. You can be a real jerk sometimes, Magnus, and yet… I still like you.
After two days of easy traveling, Magnus and Xyra arrived in the town of Tago, which was in no way a small town. Again, they had stumbled upon a place like Drester, the streets bustling with activity. There were people everywhere, going from shop to shop, buying, bartering, trading…everything. This place was busier than any town they had ever set eyes on.
They walked through the entrance gate a bit uneasily. This was also the first town that had a huge gate to keep attackers out and tourists in. It didn't make a lot of sense. This place had hunters and bounty hunters galore. No one in their right mind would harm a place like this. They'd have to have a death wish.
Magnus looked around a bit, feeling uneasy with all the bounty hunters around. He really wasn't fond of them. If he did anything even remotely suspicious, he would be in big trouble. Any sorcerer could be mistaken as a wanted one. The last thing he needed was to be sent back to the Sorcerer's League. Their members were already most likely searching for him. He already knew they were persistent, so he would have to watch his back from now on whenever he was in a town like this.
"Look at all these people," whispered Xyra. She had never seen this many crammed into one place before. "Wonder what drew them here?"
"That," stated Magnus as he pointed to a wall of one of the nearby stone buildings. There was a piece of paper hanging there. In huge letters, it said, "Albus has been sighted." Apparently, the renowned sorcerer was in the area.
"That explains the bounty hunters," Xyra mumbled bitterly. She wasn't a fan of them either. She had been caught doing a job once by a bounty hunter. She hadn't gotten turned in though. The man had been too slow to catch her again after she gave him the slip. The fact that she was a woman really helped with that.
"We'll talk to the governor and then leave," stated Magnus. "I don't want to stay here any longer than I have to."
"Agreed."
The two of them began walking off again, looking for a house that the governor would live in. They weren't looking forward to the encounter though. If what Xerxes had said was true, then the man wasn't very pleasant. This wasn't going to be like their encounter with Christian. The mayor had been more than willing to help them out, even allowing them to stay in his house with him. He was a very sweet man, probably the opposite of what this one was about to be.
They walked down the crowded streets, pushing through people and muttering apologies when pushing too hard. However, they needed to get through. They were getting closer to their destination. In the distance, they could see a huge mansion. It was a beautiful house, white with a blue roof. It wasn't nearly as big as Christian's castle though. No house was that big, probably.
Eventually, they made it into a small space without any people. They breathed a sigh of relief, happy to finally be free of that claustrophobic deathtrap. Slowly, they went up to the mansion, hesitating just a bit before knocking on the huge brown doors. Magnus only knocked three times, and then they waited, praying that someone would come and yet wishing they wouldn't. Knowing that this governor wasn't a nice person wasn't making them want to visit him.