In the north of Bolden, the mayor’s mansion could be found. It was a three-floor building, and one of the rgest ones in the town. A man sat in one of its guest rooms, the faint light coming from the firepce was his only companion as he read the document in his hands.

  "In this report, I’m including all my findings about the event known as the Silver Night and its participants, both the Cardinal Heroes and the Silver Eyes. Some information comes from official sources, while the rest comes from rumors, but I think they are still important. I hope that at least some will be of your interest..." The man read through the whole text and then did it again, trying to find any important detail he could have missed.

  It wasn't enough. Not even close.

  Disappointed, he scrunched the whole thing and threw it into the firepce, calmly looking as it was devoured by the fmes.

  If he wanted the whole truth, he would need to use a more direct approach. First, he would try to be as candid as possible, and if that didn't work...

  Fire.

  When fire devours everything, only the truth remains. Truth and ashes.

  Somewhere else, outside, Morgan was being dragged towards that same building.

  "Could you please stop for a moment?" he pleaded, but the green tiny guard had no mercy and kept pulling Morgan’s arm with all her strength.

  "I'm telling you, we are having this huge dinner to receive those soldiers," said Naga, fresh and full of energy, especially compared with Morgan, who had been practicing and competing with the rest of Bolden's guards all day. He had won almost everything sword-reted, but he would be exhausted the next day; he was sure of that. "Like, frankly, I don’t care one bit about them! But there’s always a lot of nice food and drinks for all the townspeople when the mayor organizes these sorta parties. So, I'll allow it," she said, as if she were the mayor's boss and not the other way around.

  "And will I be welcome? I'm not even from here." The st thing Morgan wanted was to overstep, considering he was an uninvited guest.

  "No one will mind.” Naga dismissed his worry with a wave. ”Besides, after cleaning the floor with me and all my pals, you are like an honorary guard yourself."

  And with that, Morgan’s hesitation vanished. He was too weak to compliments.

  While arriving at the mansion, Morgan noticed a curious-looking annex beside it. It was a pale, windowless building that seemed to sparkle with the rays of sunshine. It was also at least one floor taller than the mansion, even if the tter was wider.

  "What's that?" Morgan asked, halting his walk.

  Naga did too, freeing his hand. "Looks nice, right? That's the Ivory Tower."

  That name sounded familiar to Morgan. "Ivory Tower?"

  "You know about Oris, right?" Naga asked, and Morgan nodded. Before being decimated, the city of Oris had been the first capital of their country, Oman. Most children were told about Oris and its fate, sometimes it was the horror story of the demon that took the city, and sometimes the tale of the four heroes that defeated that monster. Both sides of the story were hard to forget.

  Naga continued, "dumb question, of course you do. So, they had a building like this, same name and built with the same materials, but way wider and taller, with about two dozen floors and full of humans using magic. It's hard to imagine. Like, even with hundreds of people around, you could still get lost in such a huge pce and never find the exit..." She looked at the building with a complicated expression and then shook her head, forcing a smile as she turned to Morgan. "Anyway, the original tower got destroyed and they never rebuilt it in the new capital because, well, there were no magi left to use it, I guess." Her expression was somber again. "So, the mayor built this smaller version as an homage."

  "I see." Morgan stared at the building. It was beautiful, but considering the context, he felt sad looking at it.

  "And you want to know the most interesting part about it?" A small smile returned to Naga's face.

  "Is there more?"

  Naga giggled. "Maybe, or maybe not. And that's kinda the point." She looked amused by his confusion. "No one knows what's inside the tower. It's always closed, and the mayor doesn't use it for anything either. It's just there." She moved closer to Morgan and muttered, "you know, I have sometimes babysat Cailin, that's the mayor's daughter, and not even she has seen the inside. And that's weird because the mayor adores that girl and pampers her all the time, but when she asked, he refused to let her go inside. It's very mysterious, don’t cha think?"

  Morgan suddenly felt nervous, his eyes fixed on the building. "Yeah, I guess it is."

  With the story finished, and a 'boo!' from Naga that totally didn't scare him, Morgan was finally pulled inside the main building.

  The mansion’s dinner hall was as spacious as expected, accommodating six rge tables..

  Five of them were parallel to each other, with about twenty people each. Bolden’s guards sat all together at the left table, the townspeople occupied the three tables by the middle, and the guests from Rover’s military had the table at the right of the dinner hall.

  The exceptions for these accommodations were Mayor Sigmund Basthed, his daughter, and Captain Ivonn Sol, dressed in an exquisite suit, unlike his companions, still wearing uniforms.

  Their smaller but beautifully ornate table stood perpendicur to the other five, and closer to the stairs that led to the second floor.

  In Morgan’s case, he was sitting in the chair beside Naga, as the only civilian at that table. Luckily, everyone seemed alright with him being there, throwing some pyful comments about their earlier spars with him.

  Some maids approached to serve aperitifs along with wine. Morgan eyed his cup with hesitation, taking a moment to smell it. A pungent smell made him scrunch his face. Meanwhile, Naga had already drunk her cup. "Hey. Are you gonna drink that?" she asked.

  He looked at her with disbelief before pushing the cup in her direction. At least she would enjoy it.

  Someone cleared his throat loudly, making most people look towards the main table.

  "Well, first, I'll say I'm happy to be here in Bolden with all of you," said Sol, standing up, his cup in his hand. "In just a month from now, it will be a new year, and not only that, but the twentieth anniversary of how one of the enemies of our dear country was vanquished by four grand heroes. One of which sits with me right now." He smiled, looking at Basthed, who looked surprised at the unexpected attention. "And for that, I propose a toast: For Lord Sigmund Basthed, our host. For Lord Elvran Selbair, our dear King. For Arsen of Ronan, our goblin brother. And for Lady Romelia Altorossa, our only elf ally in centuries, that she rest in peace."

  Looking hesitant, Basthed stood up and brought his cup towards Sol's. "Cheers."

  Everyone cheered. Everyone with a cup to drink from, at least. Morgan shook his head, looking in amusement at Naga happily drinking the whole thing in one go.

  Morgan turned his attention back to the men sitting at the main table.

  People called Basthed the World-Bringer; he was a magus, not a warrior like Sol, so Basthed wasn't quite the figure Morgan aspired to be like, but he still respected both men.

  "Lord Basthed," said Sol, not quite projecting his voice this time, but Morgan's chair was close enough to hear him.

  "There's no need to call me lord, I'm not one. Just Sigmund is fine. Or Mayor, I guess."

  "Excuse me, Mayor Basthed, then," Sol said with a charming smile. "You see, I've always been curious about magic. I was born and raised in Rover, but I still remember my parents taking me to the old Capital when I was a kid. It was the first and st time I visited, but I had a good time there. The magi from the Tower could do such amazing feats.” His smile lost some of its brightness. ”But all that was lost... It's my understanding, your family was among the victims of the Silver Night?" Basthed nodded, saying no words, but looking uncomfortable. "Pretty much all magi in our continent were lost that night, Mayor Basthed. You could be the st one."

  "I'm not sure about that," said Basthed, fidgeting with his cup.

  "I haven't met that many magic users these days. Only one, actually.” Sol smiled, recovering some fervor. ”A young nun from the church, with healing hands." He took the high colr of his suit and pulled at it, revealing a big scar on his neck. "I would have died without her help."

  Cailin gasped in shock, while Basthed’s expression barely twitched. "That sounds like an amazing ability, Captain. Sadly, I don't think I've seen or heard of many like that in the st two decades."

  Sol fixed his colr. "Me neither, which makes me more curious about what kind of thing your magic can do, Mayor? Would you mind giving us a demonstration?" he spoke the st part loudly, dozens of voices immediately supporting the captain's request, which made Basthed frown.

  "The mayor doesn't look too pleased about this," Morgan commented.

  Naga nodded. "He isn't the type to enjoy attention too much. Especially, when people want him to use magic."

  That was weird. The man was literally famous for that. "So, he won't do it, then?"

  "Oh, no. He totally will. Just look." She pointed towards the table, not at any of the men, but at the child sitting with them. "The mayor can’t say ‘no’ to her."

  Cailin looked at her father with excitement. "Could you, papa? Could you do some magic?"

  And suddenly, all the discomfort the man felt evaporated. "Fine." Basthed sighed and grabbed his fork. After looking at it for a couple of seconds, the fork floated some centimeters over his hand. It was simple but still impressive. With some light movements of Basthed’s fingers, the fork twirled around, moving by itself, as if dancing. But when it seemed as if the curious trick would escate into something greater, Basthed closed his hand around the fork, putting an end to the little spectacle.

  It was strange, and maybe Morgan was wrong, but Basthed almost looked tired.

  Sol just stared. "That was a nice trick, Mayor," he sounded quite unimpressed, though. "But please, feel free to do something a bit bigger. Or, would you need more space?"

  Basthed defted, as if it were the first time someone reacted to his magic like that. "No need for that, Captain, I'm afraid there's little else I can show you."

  "Excuse me?" Sol's expression was bnk.

  "I..." Basthed remained silent for a moment. His daughter grabbed his arm to comfort him, while cutely gring at the soldier, immediately looking away shily. "Sorry, but I lost my magic."

  "You lost it?" The incredulity on the younger man’s face was impossible to miss.

  "Yes, a long time ago. All I can do now is this 'trick', as you call it. Bigger magic than that it's not in my reach anymore." Basthed sighed. "Sorry, but I can't expin it in more detail. It's a private thing." Despite his generally affable disposition, it was clear Basthed wasn't going to budge an inch on it.

  "It was the Silver Eyes? Did he steal your magic?" Sol still asked, though it felt more like an affirmation.

  Basthed didn't answer.

  And so, the dinner continued, the awkward atmosphere never leaving after that.

  With the dinner finished and some parting words from the mayor, the party was over.

  Sol and his people left for the guest rooms deeper into the first floor of the mansion, and Basthed and his daughter retired upstairs.

  "Well. That was nice," commented Naga, trying to sound sarcastic but only getting halfway there, as they stood from their chairs, "at least until that blockhead started being nosy and ruined the mood."

  As they walked out of the mansion, the full moon greeted them, illuminating the streets.

  Morgan added, "can you bme him?" Naga immediately nodded, but Morgan decided to ignore her. "Being honest, I was also curious about what kind of magic the mayor could do. I had no idea he couldn’t."

  "It's not as if he is hiding it." Naga shrugged. "Everyone here knows he can't do much magic... I mean, most people can’t do magic at all, and he doesn’t need it to be our mayor, so no one cares. And he always gets sad and weird when someone brings up the Silver Eyes, so we never speak or ask him questions about that. Bad experience, I guess."

  Morgan nodded in understanding. In the end, both he and Sol were still just outsiders in Bolden. They had no right to meddle in Basthed’s business.

  Naga and Morgan walked by a house with an anvil and work tables at the side, the bcksmith's pce, he assumed, when the door opened and someone walked out, catching his gaze.

  At first sight, he wasn't even sure of this person's gender. The figure was slim in a sinuous way, making him think it was likely a woman, but the considerable height, as tall as him, and the male clothes made him uncertain. It was the type of rustic but functional outfit a hunter or gatherer would use, perfect for working outside, covering this person's body from head to toes; a hood and bandana ensuring even head and face were not fully visible.

  His initial guess was confirmed when a husky but clearly feminine voice said, "sharp enough." The mysterious woman examined the dagger in her hands before giving it a twirl and securing it to her belt.

  As the woman walked past Morgan, the momentary closeness made him freeze and notice a strange feeling brewing in his chest since he first saw her.

  The woman stopped walking and, as if noticing Morgan’s stare, turned her head in his direction. He distinguished a fsh of red before looking away.

  The feeling in his chest increased. It wasn't the kind of floaty feeling one feels when admiring someone they found attractive; if anything, it was something heavier, like a pressure, tied with a sense of unease.

  Morgan wouldn't quite call it 'fear'... But it was embarrassingly close.

  However, his common sense was stronger. Morgan could have his awkward moments, but when did he become the type to get paralyzed in such a way for no reason? Why was he having such feelings in the first pce? Just because he got caught staring at a dy?

  Swallowing his nerves, Morgan forced himself to look back, just to find the woman had walked away and was not in sight anymore.

  Naga, still standing by his side, sighed. "Well, that was as bad as always, but you recovered surprisingly fast. Well done." She awkwardly spped his back in congratutions and continued walking as if nothing had happened.

  "What?" He shook his head and started following her. "Sorry, but who was that?"

  "The local huntress," Naga said, as if that expined everything. "Well, she actually lives in the forest north of the town, like a hermit, but it's kinda the same." She smiled nervously. "Kids call her the forest witch."

  His eyes widened. "And she is?"

  "You ask if she is a witch?" Naga chuckled for a sec, but quickly the humor seemed to leave her. "Maybe? That scary thing going on around her doesn't feel normal." Morgan nodded, gd he hadn't imagined that, whatever it was. "But don't worry, she is harmless," she said, sounding unsure. "I mean, the mayor would have done something if she were dangerous, don't cha think? In any case, she keeps to herself and only visits the town once or twice a month to trade for things and get her tools repaired. So, you probably won't see her again."

  "Oh." Morgan nodded, this time with less energy. It was a shame; he truly had wanted to apologize for staring.

  In the end, Naga talked with her superiors and managed to get Morgan a room at the barracks to stay the night.

  It was a small bedroom, just like Naga had described, but still better than any pce Morgan had stayed before.

  But as he fell asleep, Morgan remembered his meeting with the huntress and realized something.

  It was about a fraction of a second, so quick that Morgan almost missed it, but before he looked away, their eyes met.

  Hers were glowing red.

  erintesden