CHAPTER 55: SONDER

Though his hair was now cut ear length short, Hadrian easily recognised him.

Haldon wore a similar blood clot red robe "uniform."

Already?

Hadrian wondered.

Maybe the process wasn’t long and hard, but it was surprising to see Haldon already seeming to be in such a comfortable situation.

"Don’t let me stop you. Every time a new mage is led down this path, I like to see."

Haldon shrugged with that confident smile.

For a moment, Hadrian’s control wavered and a bit of his emotions leaked to Baruch’s consciousness.

Sensing Baruch reach out with wonder, Hadrian controlled himself.

"Taking it from here again?" The female mage asked.

Haldon’s lips pressed tightly before speaking. "Sure." He gave a serious nod.

The female mage turned on her heel and walked in the opposite direction.

"Hey, eyes on me." Haldon said, snapping his fingers, and already walking forward.

Hadrian controlled Baruch’s body to follow.

"What is that barrier?" After a few steps, Hadrian asked.

"Already asking questions?"

"I’m here to swear an oath, aren’t I?"

"I’ll tell you after."

Sat a couple metres away from the Episcopal palace, Hadrian’s jaws flexed.

On their way here, he’d actually spent coins on making one of the remaining Baruch brute’s vessels look like an individual from these parts.

Hadrian and Alia Hadrian sat with him like his children.

That barrier must be why this castle is built in such an accessible place.

For a military institution, he’d imagined it would be heavily guarded and far from commoners.

"This way." Haldon said, bringing his focus back as they approached a flight of stairs.

The stairs went down.

Not another dungeon, why is it always a dungeon?

Before they went down however, Haldon turned to him.

"I know you’re here for me." Leaning forward, Haldon whispered.

Baruch’s lips parted, and Hadrian found himself at a loss of words for a moment.

"Oh?" Baruch raised an eyebrow.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."

Baruch said.

Haldon’s lips pressed tightly and he nodded.

"Back then, when I investigated one of your comrades, he told me the mind, soul and body are more connected than I think, and now, here you all are, mind, soul and flesh path mages coming out of nowhere."

Baruch didn’t respond.

Seeing the bewildered look, Haldon tapped his shoulder.

"Don’t mind me. I love playing guessing games."

Hadrian thought of entering that space, "carrying" the rank two sword out and cutting down Hadrian at the moment, but of course, he couldn’t.

For one, With the suppressor cuffs, the current Baruch would not be able to even lift the sword.

Second, he still wished to learn the reason for the special treatment to the three paths mages, and if he could find others here.

Hadrian found himself, not in a cellar dungeon, but in a long and wide hall. Up on the dais, a cloaked figure sat facing away from where Baruch and Haldon had entered.

"I remember telling them that sometimes, things happen fast, and won’t wait for them."

The cloaked figure turned and Hadrian’s eyes lay upon the visage of an old woman, one of her eyes smaller than the other.

...

Outside, where Hadrian and Alia Hadrian sat with the brute, a figure flickered into existence.

It was a thin and pale woman, wearing black robes that had three tiny star sigils on the right of her chest. Her voluminous curly hair blew about in the wind.

Hadrian’s intuitions flared, even without looking at the figures’ cores, he could tell she was a powerful mage.

The brute vessel made to attack the figure, to distract her while he substituted the Hadrian and Alia vessels.

Channelling the rank two elemental essence, the brute shot out a blaze of fire at the woman.

She disappeared in the large flame. However Hadrian did not see her burn or hear her scream, instead, her figure suddenly turned to grey ash.

From behind him, Hadrian heard familiar mutterings.

Terra sorcery?

The Alia vessel turned on its heel and Hadrian saw the woman had a small, engraved box in her hand.

She smiled and in the blink of an eye, Hadrian, Alia Hadrian and the brute vessel vanished in an instance.

The woman walked over, collected her ash remains, muttered something and just like she’d arrived, she vanished.

...

Back at the hall, Baruch felt that existence’s control over him disappear in a blink.

He fell to his knees. His body didn’t feel like quite his own. His gaze on the floor, his eyes were wide. It was abrupt.

"I didn’t think you’d be that scared." Haldon, standing above him, said as he clasped his hands behind his back.

"Did you think you could simply walk around with the body of a witch’s son?"

Baruch’s head rose to the dais.

"Back then, when Bagdona went to talk to her, she’d actually come up with methods to track, not you, but her own son."

Haldon shook his head.

"And as a rank three of the force path, Bagdona could observe all your little movements without you knowing any better."

Baruch’s head turned to look at Haldon over his shoulder.

"You noticed? Yes, we figured out it’s more complicated than just a group of individuals."

Haldon scratched his nose and took steps forward.

"I won’t take credit for that. It seems that the decree by our new princeps isn’t as easy as it seems. And "they" have great interest in you."

Haldon’s shoulders shook with laughter.

"So, when a more powerful witch arrived .... Of course, she hadn’t been here for you, but to deal with the Baron."

"Hehe, and Bagdona himself isn’t quite simple, but I don’t feel betrayed. I had always been suspicious of a rank three mage living in Daron’s street and running such a business."

The pale thin woman with voluminous black hair flickered into the dungeon hall, cutting Haldon off.

"Already?" Haldon asked.

She gave a nod and walked closer to the old witch.

"Is he free?" The old witch asked, meaning her son, the bearded man.

"Not in the way you hoped."

The old witch took in a breath with her eyes closed. When she opened them, they were set on Baruch.

"Wasn’t there a chance?"

The pale thin woman followed her gaze and her eyes were on Baruch as well.

"It’s different for them." She said.

Turning back to the old witch, she stretched out her hand, "I’ll be taking that."

Dropping the cloak off of her shoulders, a chain around her neck was revealed. It looked rusted.

"Can’t I keep it till you return? Bagdona and Egoz will need he- "

"They’ll be fine, they’ve sworn the oath, and so have many mages in this city. Besides, it’ll destroy you in time, you should know that."

Hearing this, the old witch let out a sigh, removing the chain from around her neck and handing it to the pale woman’s left hand.

Haldon cleared his throat. They turned to him.

"What now?" He asked. "What about him?" He pointed to Baruch.

The pale woman put the chain inside her robes then walked over to Baruch, muttering those strange words.

She went down to one knee, placing her index and middle finger on Baruch’s glabella.

"You can take him to the oath swearing." Standing up, she said.

"And what about "him" ?" Haldon asked with confidence.

The pale woman dug out the metal box from her inner robes, tapping it with a finger.

"I was meant to stay here. Finding this, however, I have to go back."