12 Archmage Aldren

In the carriage headed that was headed towards Westland, an old man and young girl were sitting.

"Master Aldren, why did you suddenly decide the trip to Westland?" Elicia asked.

Aldren stroked his beard. "My dear apprentice, according to the letter some of my subordinates sent from Westland, there were two young men who somehow got into a small battle in Mercenary's Guild and injured one of the soldiers."

"However, what is interesting about those two is that apparently, they wore gear that no one had seen before. Including a black item that looked like a long wand but was not staff. One of the captains who witnessed the battle reported that one of the youths was able to take down a soldier by just pointing his wand at him."

"Not to mention that according to the same captain, other youth who were talking with them walked up and used a strange item on the soldier, healing his wound almost immediately." Aldren replied.

"Are you suspecting that they are rogue mages, master?" said Elicia.

"The letter mentions that those two said they were members of a mercenary group called Sentinel that was recently formed. However, they do appear to be rogue mages. But what interests me the most is how were they able to take down a soldier in an instant without an incantation." Aldren said, his face wore a confused look.

"I would like to hear their stories and see their skills myself."

Elicia nodded at Aldren and looked outside the window of the carriage, the grand city was on the horizon.

….

Connor woke up after a good sleep. There were sounds of people talking, birds chirping and soldiers training outside. A flash of light was beaming through the window of the cell. He looked at the bed above him, Miles was still sleeping. He put on a smile.

'So you listened to me then.' Connor talked to himself.

It was the second day of their arrest. No one had come yesterday and they had no idea how long they were going to keep them here.

'With the items I could get from Equipment Store, we can just run off… but… is that the right choice? Maybe someone will come and talk about letting us out.' Connor thought.

About an hour later, a guard walked in with two plates that had some bread and something resembling a soup on it. Miles was already awake at this point.

The guard who was standing in front of the cell opened the door, the guard who was carrying the plates walked in and put them on the bench.

At this time, Miles was looking out of the window while Connor was sitting on the bed.

Connor raised an eyebrow and thought. 'Isn't this way of treatment way too good for prisoners who injured a soldier? The guard himself even put the food on the bench.'

"Friend, do you know what will happen to us? When can we get out?" Connor asked.

The guard was someone that looked like in his early thirties or late twenties. He turned towards Connor and replied. "I don't know, we were just told to treat you as guests by higher-ups. Although I don't know how guests should be treated in a prison… Not my problem."

Connor was confused. The guard was right. 'Treat us as guests? In a prison? Woah, they must have a very twisted sense of hospitality.'

"Alright, thanks." this was the only thing Connor could reply considering the absurdity of this whole situation, the guard quickly nodded and left the cell. Miles walked over to Connor and asked what they were going to do.

"We wait, for some reason they are treating us fairly well. I would like to see where this is going to go. Although I can't say the same thing about the food." Connor said pointing at the plates sitting on the bench. He thought about using an MRE but later discarded the thought as it would probably gain the attention of the guard outside.

Half an hour later, the room of the cell area opened again and two figures came in and walked towards the cell Connor and Miles was staying. Connor quickly noticed the situation as the guard who was sitting in front of their cell saluted facing something.

'So the higher-ups they were mentioning came at last.' Connor thought.

A few moments later, two figures came in front of the cell. One was an old man with white hair and beard while the other one was a beautiful girl that looked to be around 20 and was wearing a blue robe. Her blonde hair reaching her waist was blending so well with the blue of her robes.

'Are these guys the higher-ups for real? This more looks like a father taking his daughter on a zoo trip. Wait, are we the animals here? I have to admit she is very beautiful though.' Connor thought. Although he wasn't a type of man who would drool over any beauty Elicia had captivated him.

Miles was sitting on the bench munching on some leftover bread, he looked at Connor who was eyeing the people in front of their cell.

"Welcome to our humble establishment, how may I entertain our most esteemed guests?" Connor said. Ending the staring contest.

Elicia frowned while looking at Connor, her master, Astragon's most prestigious mage was standing in front of him, yet he was making senseless jokes.

Aldren suddenly started laughing. Hitting his right knee with his right hand. "That is a really nice sense of humour. I apologize for putting you in this situation." Aldren said.

Elicia quickly turned to Aldren, she had a shocked face. 'Master Aldren really found this funny? Everything about these men looks normal, I can't even feel an ounce of magic from them. They didn't even bow before him!' Elicia was flustered.

Connor waved his hand. "It is all in the past now, so what is the reason for this luxurious hospitality, old man?" Connor said.

"HOW DARE YOU CALL MY MASTER OLD MAN! YOU MUST ADDRESS HIM AS LORD ALDREN AND BOW BEFORE HIM!" Elicia suddenly yelled. Her eyes glowing blue. A blue sphere of ice forming on her right hand.

'What the fuck! Why is everyone in this kingdom acting like this! First kneel, then bow, what next? Wipe their ass?!' Connor was frustrated. 'Hold on a second, her eyes are glowing blue.' he thought as he stared at her hand. 'Holy shit! She's a mage!' Connor was unsure on how to act, he finally witnessed a mage. After reading about them in novels and only watching some movies he was finally seeing one. Connor shook his head to regain from his stupor. The situation could go really bad at any moment.

"Elicia, calm down." Aldren ordered with a silent tone. A few moments later, Elicia's eyes stopped glowing and turned back into a normal blue pupil.

"I apologize, master. I couldn't take when you were being disrespected." Elicia said.

Connor was ready to open his equipment store to get a pistol or a rifle, basically anything that could damage if things were to go wrong.

Seeing Connor was acting very tense Aldren waved his hands to ease the situation. "Mister Connor, don't worry. My name is Aldren. I am one of the Archmages serving the kingdom. I came here because I heard that you were able to use items and spells no one have seen before. But before that, which kingdom did you learn your spells at?" Aldren asked with a polite tone. He already knew who they were from the report of the captain he had read.

Connor relaxed, but he kept on glancing at Elicia from time to time.

"Nowhere. We do not belong to any kingdom. Also, we are not mages." Connor replied.

"We? So you and Mister Miles are together?" Aldren asked as he pointed at Miles.

"Although that sounds a bit weird, yes. You could say something similar to that. I am his commanding officer." Connor replied while Miles nodded.

"I see, where did you learn your spells? I didn't get an answer to that question." Aldren said. He knew that they were members of a mercenary group, so Connor addressing himself as the commanding officer was not something unexpected.

"As I said, we are not mages." Connor was really frustrated at this, sooner or later he would need some kind of explanation regarding their gear.

Aldren stroke his beard. "I see. I would like to see the abilities you demonstrated in the Mercenary's Guild, including the magic item you used to heal the soldier. I have an offer that will benefit us both should you choose to accept." Aldren was especially interested in the healing item as healing magic was something rare and elixirs were expensive. To be able to use a healing item on an enemy soldier was interesting. Interesting enough, although they had searched them and their gear, the only thing they were able to get a hold of was their wands and clothing. Aldren knew that no one would like to reveal their secrets so they must have used some sort of magic to hide them.

Elicia was surprised. 'Why is Master Aldren treating them like this?' she couldn't understand the reasoning of her master's actions.

Connor frowned at Aldren's words. "An offer you say? What happens if we reject it?" Connor said.

"You haven't even heard my offer but… if you were to reject, it saddens me to say that best case scenario, you would be sent to The Exiled Isles." Aldren replied. He wanted to scare them. After all, two unknown people with unknown backgrounds showing unknown skills was definitely interesting. They would be a great addition to his forces. Some of the other archmages would probably say a thing or two, but even King himself had accepted the Special Division.

Exiled Isles was a neutral zone governed by several organizations that were supported by the 4 kingdoms. Some people called it the Demon's Lair as it was the most detested place on the continent. All kinds of people were there, some were sent there because they betrayed their kingdom, some went there because they were serial killers, some were sent just because they offended a noble in one of the kingdoms. It was a place that no one wanted to be at.

'Exiled Isles? Although I have no idea of what it might be… The name of the place on top of it being the best case scenario is somewhat tempting.' Connor thought, he had some guesses about the worst case scenario and some other scenarios for sure.

"What is the offer?" Connor asked.

"I would like you to join Astragon's Special Mage Division." Aldren's reply shocked Connor and Miles, but there was one more person, who was going through many kinds of emotions. Elicia was surprised, angry and shocked at the same time.

As Connor tried to comprehend Aldren's words, something unexpected showed up in front of him.

<You have been invited to join sub-faction Special Mage Division.>

<Joining a sub-faction will have an effect on the ranking and reputation system until you leave.>

<Would you like to accept?>