"Tell me that at least the good news is really good." Lith wasn't the type to complain so much, yet Jirni understood his reasons.
'In the space of a few hours, he has faced a vampire, several meat puppets, and whatever opponent the Dawn Court forced him to fight in exchange for their information.
'I noticed at first glance that he was too tired for someone who was supposed to just have a chat with them. I never saw him so tired, poor kid. It's better to cut him some slack.'
"Very good. First, we don't have to fight unless strictly necessary. Our is solely a rescue mission, no one expects us to face Thrud Griffon and win. We get in, find Manohar, get out, and destroy the Warp Gate from Othre's side. As simple as that."
"I think you just jinxed the mission." Lith sighed. He had almost forgotten what the word "simple" meant.
"Second, we'll only enter after the other Spellbreakers have surrounded the outpost. The attack will start when we are sure to have her outnumbered and outmatched. The Crown is calling mages from every corner of the Kingdom." Jirni ignored his pessimistic remark.
"Third, since you are tired and I'm not a mage, we'll work with two more Spellbreakers. Even if I 'jinxed the mission' a team of five Spellbreakers can hold long enough for the platoon to destroy the array and swarm the place."
They reached the old temple of Xhal, the god of healing, almost at the same time as their reinforcements. Lith was pleasantly surprised by the unexpected reunion with Professor Vastor and Captain Kilian Aluria.
Vastor was a short man in his mid sixties, barely over 1.55 meters (5'1") tall.
The top of his head was completely bald while the hair he had left on the sides was snow-white and so were his waxed handlebar mustaches. His belly was so big that it made it hard to guess if he was larger than tall. That, together with his pure white robe, made him resemble a real life Humpty Dumpty.
"Oh, oh, oh!" Vastor laughed loudly watching them land. "Jirni, dear, should I tell Orion to be jealous? This is the second time in less than a month that you work together with that little demon. You know he likes older women, right?"
"What are you doing here, Vastor? I was expecting Marth." She ignored his remark.
"Marth is the Headmaster of the White Griffon and the second best Healer of the Kingdom, while this old coot is expendable." Vastor sighed. During his youth, he had been considered eligible for the title of god of healing multiple times.
Until Marth became Professor, stealing Vastor's spotlight thanks to his achievements. Vastor had dreamed for years of being once again the number one, but Manohar had outshined both of them like the Sun does the stars.
"Constable Ernas." Kilian gave Jirni a deep bow before shaking Lith's hand.
"Long time no see, Lith. I've heard great things about you."
They knew each other since the plague in Kaduria and had seen each other again during Balkor's attack on the White Griffon academy. Kilian was a Captain in the Queen's corps. He was a man in his early thirties, around 1.9 meters (6'3") tall, with shoulder-length pitch-black hair, and ice-blue eyes.
"Thanks, Captain. It's sad that every time we meet there are hundreds of lives at stake." Lith said before entering the old temple.
He didn't want to give Vastor enough time to tell them about his days as Assistant Professor at the academy. There were too many embarrassing details Lith preferred remained forgotten.
"The runes composing the Warping array are mixed with gibberish. We need to look for a hole big enough to fit this mana stone." Lith explained to prevent any further conversation while showing the marble sized yellow crystal.
"If we get through this, you'll become the youngest Spellbreaker in ages." Vastor used air and water magic to clean the altar's surroundings, revealing in the process many more runes on the floor.
"It will be the perfect moment to get married. Listen to an old fool's advice and don't' repeat my mistakes. If you rest on your laurels, your star will start declining sooner than you think. Aim as high as you can now, otherwise you'll have to settle."
The Professor was one of those people who could talk without losing focus in the matters at hand. Jirni and Kilian were used to much more annoying quirks, so they didn't mind him. Lith wasn't as patient.
"I seem to recall you married one of the most beautiful and influential women in the Kingdom." He rebuked. "How can you call it settling?"
"Back in my heyday, I could've married the Crown Princess." Vastor sighed. "Later I had to give as much as I got, otherwise Vilya wouldn't have even looked at me. I…"
"Found it." Kilian cut him short. "Right at the center of the altar."
"Then we have a problem. Because there is another hole in the chapel." Jirni said while pointing at the feet of the stone statue.
"There's another one here." Vastor had found a third one at the base of the altar.
"It's likely that only the right one activates the Gate. The others must have defensive properties, like destroying the array or making the temple detonate." Kilian was a Master Warden. That was how he would have defended a strategic asset.
"Can you describe to me what the Dawn Court's array looked like? I need a starting point to understand what we are dealing with."
"I can do better." Lith cupped his hands as Solus recalled from his memories the exact design of the Warp Gate, allowing him to conjure its scaled size image with light magic.
"What the fuck?" Vastor flinched at the sight. "Lith, my boy, are you really like Manohar?"
"What do you mean? This is just what a communication amulet does. It's good for projecting stories for the kids, but that's it."
His words made no sense to Lith. According to all the Forgemaster books he had read, it was one of the easiest enchantments to apply among those required to make a communication device.
"You can even move them?" Vastor admired look was now shared by Jirni and Kilian.
'Fuck me sideways. I'm getting the feeling that what I considered a parlor trick is actually much more important.' Lith inwardly cursed.
After watching Lith's hologram and studying its runes for a bit, Kilian knew what to look for in the archives.
Kilian used his amulet to access tomes about ancient Gates and the runes necessary to activate them. Every time he recognized one, he marked it with a wisp of light. Soon the runes formed a circle.
"I'm done. Prepare your spells, there will be no time to chant once we get on the other side." Kilian warned the group. Jirni wasn't a mage, so while the others chanted, she gulped down a few potions, just to be safe.
Kilian placed the magic stone in the hole at the base of the altar. The runes he had marked earlier lit up one after the other, forming a Warp Gate right in front of the statue.
The Captain activated the tier five Warden spell Third Eye before stepping through it. The dimensional door led to a corridor that was full to the brim with arrays made visible by Kilian's spell. One of them shone brightly for a second before fading away.
"I've bad news. The enemy has just been notified of our arrival."
