181 Durthang, the Free City

"So scary. To think that someone was so stingy that he didn't even properly maintain the cage designed to contain the monsters."

"Say that for yourself. I still remember tasting your Green Coast vine. I still don't know what you gave me, but I at least know it was not something from Genablum." The one answering had a far tanner skin than the other, making quite a contrast compared to the white skin of the other trader. With a look, it was easy to see that one came from this part of the world while the other was definitely from the South.

The two merchants were happily discussing as they could see nearby the lifeless body of the monster that ran havoc in the city in the last minutes. Behind the corpse, one could see the bloodied street, filled with human body parts. Now that the danger had been dealt with, numerous families or friends came back to search for the missing people they knew.

"That's still a bit of a shame for such a thing to happen here. At the same time, it is almost funny to notice where the accident happened." Hearing the words of his friend, it was only then that the second merchant raised his head to see the extremely tall building nearby. And as much as he tried to see through the windows on it, he knew that it was useless.

"Well, there is a reason why no stores are located near it. I would bet that it was not the first time such a thing happened."

"How much the bet?"

"1 gold coin."

"Bah. Stingy."

Laughing at that number, the two seemed strangely unaffected by the desolation that happened in front of them. But one look at the surroundings would make it obvious that they were not alone in that case. Besides a small glance at the brutal carnage, most of the humans passing by didn't even try to help or do something. Even the owner of the restaurant where the two merchants were having a meal barely lifted an eyebrow while grumbling about losing some clients because of this.

"So, concerning our deal. Is the price low enough for Synnada?" Grabbing the glass that was not empty, he didn't have the time to put it on his lips before a violent shock made the wine taint his white skin. From afar, the red color almost made him look like he was part of the previous massacre. However, neither he, the other merchant or anyone in the street, in fact, cared about that. All began to search why this earthquake was happening.

"WHAT THE …" All the stares turned to see the guard still covered with the blood of the monster pointing a finger at the Tower of the Archmage. And if at first none notice anything strange, the illusion that kept the secrecy of the mages was beginning to be dispelled. In an instant, they all saw the tall tower crumbling on itself, sending countless rocks flying in all directions. Even from where the two stood, which was quite a few streets away, they still had to hastily enter the restaurant by fear of those deadly projectiles.

The eeriest thing about it was the complete lack of sound, as they couldn't hear the building being destroyed before their eyes. In fact, if they were not seeing it, almost no one would have believed what was happening. And if the entire thing barely lasted more than a few seconds, for the bystanders, it looked like an eternity.

Cough cough

Using their hands or their clothes to prevent the stone dust from entering their mouths, all the humans looked with stupor at where the Tower once stood. They could see the illusion still present in someplace, making it weird to see some part of the roof floating dozens of meters away from the ground. But the rest had definitely been destroyed, even if the dust was making it a bit harder to see.

"What is happening?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know? I deal with food, not with the Archmage!" Both still shocked by what they just saw, they didn't keep arguing, preferring to just stare at the blank space in the sky. Now, nothing of the magic that lasted for probably thousand of years remained. Before they could even do something else, they heard the rumble of a heavily armored troop approaching with great speed.

THUMP THUMP THUMP

The golden armors of the guards of Durthang were not as shining as before, but it was the first time the two saw so many of them in the same place. Approaching the group that was frozen near the corpse of the monster, they quickly began to interrogate them. And if the two traders tried to hear what they were seeing, their behaviors quickly caught the eyes of an officer. Even if the mind of the later was in a panic, he still knew very well what to do now.

"CHECK THE IDENTITY OF EVERYONE! FOR THE STRANGERS, IMPRISON THEM!" As soon as it was said, most of the curious inside the crowd began to quickly flee in panic. However, they met another group of guards that was waiting for them behind. Staring at some of their acquaintances being beaten to the ground, the merchant from Synnada grabbed the bottle he paid for and began to drank everything.

"Is it really the time to do that?" A bit perplexed, his partner was looking at him oddly. After all, already half of the bottle was gone.

"Yes. If what I suspect is true and the Archmage is dead, what do you think will happen to the spies around it?" It took the other man a moment to figure out the meaning of the word spy. But when he realized it, his already white face turned even paler.

"Give me that!" Snatching the bottle directly from the hand of the other trader, he began to furiously drink it before it was too late. Right as he was finishing the bottom of the bottle, a group of guards began to approach the restaurant. Staring intensely at the only two men that were in front, it didn't take long for them to know about their identities. But no matter how many time the owner of this place tried to learn what was really happening, it was all for naught.

A few hundreds of meters away from there, three wagons were normally leaving the crime scene, with very peculiar goods in it. Right as the guards were encircling the ruins of the Tower, the Organization had managed to escape with the disciples of the Archmage. The mages were looking with regret at the numerous bags they filled in a hurry, knowing very well how much they lost in the destruction of the Tower.

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As for Two, she was the only one that knew exactly what happened to some of the lost goods. In fact, she was even doubting if they were really lost in the first place. Recalling the numerous shadows that rummaged everything that was left behind, she guessed that the Organization had put its hands on most of the spells they were looking for. But true to their words, even knowing that she had with her the most important ones, they didn't even try to steal them.

Knocking on the small plank of wood near her, she didn't wait long before seeing the face of the limping man through small very small holes. "What is it?" Even if the nobles of Archet were present, or the soldiers located near the Wild Mountains could see him, none would be able to guess it was the same man. Nothing of his elegant behavior remained as he looked like any of those crude drivers that were furiously shouting in the streets. In fact, he was doing the same, and with the accent of Durthang to make things even better.

"I accept the proposal of the Bl…"

"Shhhhhhh…" Barely shaking his head, he immediately prevented her from saying those words. In the heated mess that was Durthang, it was almost impossible to hear a conversation clearly. In the open like that, it was even worse and only the finest ears could pick up a few words here and there. But some words were too special to be pronounced loudly.

"I accept his proposition. The one that he gave me. But I have a few conditions that are manda…"

"HEY, YOU! BLOCKHEAD! MOVE YOUR ASS OR YOU WILL EAT MY WHIP!" Threatening one of the bystanders that was cutting him like that, the criminal was not taken seriously as the guilty one kept progressing. Seemingly grumbling in his mouth because of this, he answered the magus.

"Can't you wait until we are outside?" Even if they had dodged the first batch of guards, there was still a lot of things that could go wrong. Especially with the precious goods he had to protect. Unlike most of the people he had to take care of, they were still alive and conscious. Only making his job harder. Compared to the corpses he had to find and carry here in less than a day, it was far more difficult.

And as he was pondering about that, he saw many golden armors beginning to cross through the crowd. In the direction of the gate they had chosen to escape from. "Damn it. Time for plan B." Turning around to look at his two subordinates behind, he signaled them to head to the port. There was a lot of ways to leave this city. And even if all the ships were forced to stay there, the outlaws of the Black Gauntlet still had one last exit to use.

However, because it was extremely costly, they wouldn't do that if they could avoid it. Scouting the way for the other wagons, he did not spot a single additional guard in the harbor. Everyone that was supposed to be here was present, and the only thing out of the ordinary was the many sailors on the ground that were asking what happened. Even with all the efforts of the guards, they couldn't prevent anyone to see the lack of Tower on the horizon.

"None of you have any problem boarding a ship?"

"No, why are you asking this?" Not answering Two, he just wanted to be sure. If a mage was to die under his supervision, he would be in a pickle. And even if it was very rare, it was not uncommon for a few men and women to feel so sick on the sea that they could even die. What he potentially forgot is the fact that those humans were not in crates and could move if they felt sick.

Grabbing the pouch filled with coins that were prepared for this, the fake driver secretly gave it to a man that was part of a group of captains surrounding an officer of the garrison. The latter, feeling that he was curiously heavier than before, noticed the additional weight and began to assemble his crew. In the state of confusion, his actions were not too suspicious and the three wagons were unloaded before someone noticed anything strange.

Looking at the city that was beginning to dwindle in his vision, the limping man was happy that there was nothing unusual happening. Feeling that it was safe now, he gathered his men and helped the magicians to leave their boxes. However, he had overestimated their resilience, and soon, there was a little more than a dozen pale mages hanging near the stern of the ship, disgusting fluid leaking from their mouths.

Looking at that baffling spectacle, he saw the sick Two looking angrily at him. "When I say we are fine on the sea, it didn't mean we are fine locked in those boxes for hours. Do you have any idea how huge the movements in the hold a… BWARGH!"