Under the Oak Tree

288 Chapter Maxi had been warming her hands by the fire. She jerked her head up when she heard Anette speak.

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“Do you… think our discovery is not a model of the monster city?”

“I’m just saying nothing is certain. Who knows what might’ve happened after it was created? The dark mages’ plan could’ve gone awry, or the monsters could’ve moved their base elsewhere.” Anette stared at the snow-covered field as she tossed wood chips into the fire. “We found more ruins under the snow while searching for you. This whole area is strewn with them. I suspect a great battle was fought here.”

“It could have been a monster attack,” Miriam said, knitting her brow. “Some large creature like a serpend or a basilisk.”

Anette scoffed. “Do you honestly think that after seeing all those magical devices? The people here had powers and skills advanced enough to build a settlement in this barren wasteland. Not to mention they would’ve had to hunt monsters to create those devices. I doubt creatures, however large, could’ve overpowered them.”

“Anette is right,” said Royald. “We found countless wyvern and basilisk bones in those caverns over the past few weeks. It seems the dark mages regularly hunted the dragon subspecies as if they were deer.”

A chill ran down Maxi’s spine. Did that mean the dark mages had fought amongst themselves? She was glancing around the snowfield with a contemplative expression when she heard Miriam’s tart voice.

“Are you suggesting the dark mages failed to build a city because they ended up killing each other off? Isn’t that a leap? If that were the case, how were the monsters able to form such an organized army?”

“What I meant was,” said Royald, huffing an agonized groan, “we don’t know with any certainty what occurred here. We can’t leave until we are certain that the city on the map really is the monster base. Must you be so exacting? I am terribly sick of this place.”

“Stop your whining. Did you think investigating the Plateau would be easy?” Miriam spat bitterly. “I know you only agreed to join this expedition in exchange for a private workshop back in Nornui, so you should do your part. And quite frankly, what have you done so far?”

His face turning red with indignation, Royald burst out, “I could ask the same! What have you—”

“That’s enough,” Nevin said warningly. He had been exchanging messages with the mages above the cliff. “They will lower our luggage with magic shortly. If you’re done grumbling, get ready to help.”

The group promptly got to their feet and summoned a double windbreak above the ground. Soon, sacks of food and firewood floated down. Though there was a safer method of circling the mountain with the luggage, it would have taken an entire day. Once all their food and equipment had safely made it down, their mounts were next to descend through the fog.

Maxi watched anxiously as the horses frantically kicked and neighed. The mages had covered their eyes and wrapped them in blankets, but there was no helping the naturally skittish creatures. Even from afar, it was clear how terrified and agitated they were.

Unbeknownst to Maxi, Riftan had walked up next to her. He pulled her away and said, “Stay back. We’ll calm them.”

Maxi looked up at him in shock when she realized how lightly he was dressed. Only a breastplate hung over his woolen tunic. It felt strange to see him dressed thus when she had gotten used to him being in full armor. After pulling out a pair of gloves from his pocket, Riftan slipped them on and signaled to Garrow and Elliot with his eyes. The two knights seized the horses’ bridles as soon as the creatures were on solid ground.

They skillfully restrained and pacified the terrified animals. By the time they finished the exhausting undertaking, a total of thirty-six horses were safely inside the temporary stables. Only then did the chosen mages and knights descend the cliff.

Ulyseon was among the first to reach the bottom. He rushed over to Riftan and Maxi. “Sir Riftan! Lady Calypse! Thank heavens you are both safe!”

Riftan looked up with a scowl from soothing his snorting warhorse.

“You are truly incredible, Sir Riftan!” Ulyseon continued, evidently unaffected by his commander’s glare. “You jumped off a cliff and rescued her ladyship. It’s unfathomable!”

“You are to address me as Commander.” Riftan sighed as he handed Talon’s reins to Elliot. “You still haven’t fixed that habit of yours.”

The young knight’s excitement seemed to have rendered him deaf. After gazing up at Riftan with reverence, Ulyseon walked over to Maxi and began to fuss over her. He went silent only when his commander, having run out of patience, gave the lad a sharp warning to shut his mouth.

Heaving a sigh, Riftan gave instructions to his men. “Set up camp and scout the area. There are unicorns nearby, so stay vigilant.”

While the knights promptly set off, Maxi had to listen to the others express their relief at her return at least thirty times over. It seemed her fall off the sheer cliff had left everyone quite shaken. She would have undoubtedly met a terrible fate had Riftan not thrown himself after her. If it had been only her life in danger, she did not think she could have mustered the strength to cast the levitation spell at the last minute.

As she surreptitiously watched her husband converse with his knights, she brooded over how heedlessly he had launched himself into danger. She felt a strange relief and sadness, followed by an assurance that, even now, he would blindly risk everything for her.

It was obvious that his obsession with her safety was as strong as ever. She also knew his physical desire for her was as fervent as ever. So why in the world did he feign indifference every time they made it through these dire situations?

Though he doesn’t always succeed.

Maxi was deep in thought when a polite voice snapped her out of her reverie.

“We would also like to see these new ruins.”

She turned to find Celric calmly looking dowm at her. Since Calto and Anton had opted to remain above the cliff, Celric was currently the highest-ranking mage among them.

“Would you lead us to it?” the mage added cautiously.

Maxi nodded. The sky had miraculously cleared, and the mages likely did not wish to miss the opportunity. The Temple Knight with them was in agreement as well.

“You should rest inside one of the tents, Riftan told her with a disgruntled expressiom “I’ll take them to the bizarre dragon temple.”

“I-I will come with you. I would like to inspect it further as well.”

Riftan’s face grew stony, and he regarded her pensively for a moment before replying, “Fine. That might be a better plan considering the trouble you could get into if left to your own devices.”

Maxi hunched her shoulders at his scathing remark, but Riftan simply turned to face the knights. ?Wait here while I put on my armor.”

Soon, around eight mages and twenty knights set off across the snow-covered hill. Though a portion of the knights had to stay behind to guard their provisions , most of the Temple Knights and the mages wanted to see the temple with their own eyes.

Maxi could feel her heart thumping as they got closer. She wondered how the

Temple Knights would react when they saw how the cavern resembled the Basilica of Osiriya and the dragon statue erected within it. She was flicking anxious glances at Kuahel Leon’s icy face when Miriam, utho was riding ahead, pointed to the swirls of steam rising from the cave’s entrance.

“Is that the place?”

Maxi nodded and scanned the vicinity for unicorns , but there were no signs of the creatures. They briefly surveyed the area around the reservoir before filing into the cave. Soon, gasps of horror rose from the mages. Their magic – summoned lights had briefly illuminated the grotesque carvings on the walls, the stone dragon, and the basilica-like cavern.

Ruth looked around, fascinated. ‘They must have created a monster-worshiping cult,” he muttered.

Maxi carefully observed the faces of the Temple Knights, who were surprisingly calm.

After coolly inspecting the dragon statue, Kuehel turned to look at Riftan.

‘Where is the model you spoke of?”

‘This way.”

Riftan led the group to the chamber that contained the crystal mountains. The knights circled the marble table and heaved a heavy sigh.

“If this model is accurate, taking the city ?????????? be no small feat,” Elliot muttered grimly. “If we are going to lay siege, we will have to expect a long battle.

Transporting supplies and weapons all the way here would prove a challenge

“Why complicate things?’ Ulyseon chimed in. “Why bother with a siege when we can bring the place dowm by ambush?”

Riftan let out a sigh at Ulyseon?s ignorance. “Do you even know the number of men we would need to successfully ambush a city of this size? Not to mention it’s highly likely that the monster army’s intelligence network is better than ours. The moment we form a coalition army, the monsters will fortify their defenses.”

Glaring at Kuahel, Riftan added, “What do you intend to do now?”

“We need to gather more information before starting a war.” The Temple Knight turned his head to the mages. ‘We must investigate the breadth and terrain of the city as well as the size of the monster army. Can we expect your cooperation?”

A heavy silence fell over the group, and Maxi saw Riftan’ s face contort in anger. Before the mages could say anything, he slammed his fist on the table and snarled, “Why would you need their cooperation when we can gather that information ourselves?”

‘This is a city inhabited by monsters of the Ayin race. It would be impossible for us to send a spy for reconnaissance. That being the case, we have no choice but to rely on magic.”

Kuahel’s piercing green eyes landed on Anette and Maxi.

“With your tracing spell, would it not be possible to discern the city’ s structure from the outside?”