“My God, what are you doing here?”
Maxi could not stop staring at him.
Riftan seemed just as stunned as he helped her to her feet. “Did I hurt you?”
His gauntlet dug painfully into her skin as his large hand gripped her shoulder. Jolted back to her senses, she swept her eyes over him from head to toe. Her vision turned misty as tears began to well. She carefully took in his powerful frame, black eyes round with surprise, the cold expression across his dark features, and disheveled hair.
Her lips quivered, and she threw herself into his arms. Riftan stood stone-still. A second later, his arms snaked around her. All the tension in her body seemed to dissolve at once. Flattening herself against his breastplate, she felt her thin thread of self-control snap, and she burst into sobs.
“W -What on earth… happened? D-Do you have any idea how worried I was?”
“There’s no need for that now. I’m fine.”
With his arms still wrapped around her, Riftan began to rock her gently back and forth. Maxi looked up through her tears to study his face. He seemed to have lost weight, and the sight of his unshaven jaw tore at her heart.
“A-Are you hurt anywhere? Th-There was a trail of blood.”
“I think that belongs to someone else.”
Startled by the dry comment, Maxi whipped her head around to see Ruth standing in the cave. He looked about with a grim expression. She followed his gaze and froze when her eyes landed on the figure lying in the dark.
“U -Ulyseon…
“Was it a monster? ‘
Kuahel Leon strode into the cave. The light he summoned pushed back the shadows, revealing a sight that left Maxi speechless. Practically none of the missing party members were in good shape. Ulyseon was slumped against the cave wall, his face deathly pale. Kneeling beside him, a blood-soaked Elliot was tending to his wound. On the other side, Sidina lay bound with a rope, with a Temple Knight pinning her to the ground. Maxi stood frozen in shock.
“Are you going to keep standing there? Come help!”
Geoffrey’s urgent call snapped her out of her daze, and she left Riftan standing at the entrance to rush over to the others. She was at a loss for what to do. As she was dithering, Ruth pushed her aside to crouch next to Ulyseon.
“He appears to be under a lamia’s hex.”
“A I-Iamia?”
“An abominable monster that can take over a human mind,” explained Elliot. “Once bitten, its venom deprives a person of their will, turning them into beasts. A trained knight can resist it, but…” His eyes moved to Sidina. “It slows their movements and paralyzes their muscles instead. He is in this state because he continued to fight despite his condition.”
Elliot bound Ulyseon’s arm with a torn piece of cloth. Maxi regarded the older knight in surprise. She had never seen him look so grave or his eyes so full of concern. He pressed on Ulyseon’s wound, where his shoulder armor joined his breastplate, and yelled over to Ruth.
“We need healing! The bleeding won’t stop! ‘
“Max! I need you here. This fellow is badly wounded as well.”
Removing the glove from Sidina’s hand, Ruth placed his hand on her elemental rune and allowed his mana to flow into her. After some time, a faint smile formed on his lips.
“There is no need for concern. Everything is as it should be.”
Relieved, Maxi placed a blanket over her friend. When the barley porridge was ready, the group gathered around the fire to eat. Kuahel and Hebaron scoured the area near the cave with their subordinates, returning later with no news of monsters.
Hebaron testily clicked his tongue. “Lamias, was it? There’s no sign of them, but we left a few traps just in case.”
He seemed to be back to his old self, his tone detached.
“Traps won’t be enough,” said Riftan, pouring himself more wine. He furrowed his brow and pointed his chin toward Ruth. “Cast a barrier around the cave to alert us immediately if anything approaches.’
Grumbling, Ruth got to his feet and left the cave. By the time he returned, Kuahel had run out of patience.
“I would like to hear your explanation now,” he said irritably. “Your failure to return on time has disrupted our plans in all sorts of ways. What was so important that you had to press on knowing the dangers?”
Maxi shot daggers at the Temple Knight. She was about to snap at him when Albern, who had been focused on his bowl of porridge thus far, spoke up. “I was the one who insisted we continue. Sir Riftan only did his best to keep us safe.”
Kuahel’s piercing eyes seemed to bore through the mage.
Bits of porridge dotted Albern’s mouth and chin, evidence of how hungrily he had wolfed down his meal. He wiped it with his sleeve and continued, ‘We were running out of provisions, but… I could not turn back. Not when I knew doing so could lead to grave problems later.”
Kuahel’s eyes glinted. “Did you find something in the city?’
Albern hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “It was while scouting the city with magic. I found a wywern breeding farm with over a hundred of the creatures.”
Silence fell over the cave at his revelation. That is until Ruth snorted.
“The monster army is keeping them captive with magic,” said the sorcerer. “We found a basilisk breeding farm in the mountains, likely similar to yours, where the creatures were only confined because their magic was suppressed. I’m sure those wywerns are being bred in the same way.”
“You’re wrong. The monster army had complete control over the wyverns — we even witnessed several training sessions. We had to figure out how the monsters were controlling them.”
“Don’t tell me you… infiltrated the city?!” Ruth exclaimed.
Maxi was equally horrified.
Seeing their reactions, Riftan scowled and said, “Do you not grasp the seriousness of the matter? Imagine dozens of wyverns attacking from the air, under the absolute control of their monster master. And did you forget that we are planning a siege? Our forces would be decimated with an above-ground attack while we’re out in the open, surrounding the city. If those accursed dark mages are also in the mix, the result would be more disastrous still. We have no chance of winning this war if we don’t find a solution.”
“B-But, don’t knights hunt wyverns?”
Riftan narrowed his eyes at Maxi and shook his head. “A hunt is different from a battlefield. While we’d only deal with one species of monster during a hunt, in a war, we’d face trolls, ogres, goblins, and those slippery dark mages. If well-trained wywerns were to join the fray, we would not stand a chance.”
“And? Were you able to find out how the wyverns are being controlled?” Kuahel asked sharply.
It was Albern who answered. ‘We copied the runes inscribed inside the breeding farm. We should know more once we’ve analyzed them.’
He pulled out a stack of parchments from the leather bag he kept at his side. The mages’ eyes gleamed with interest, and they flocked around him to peer at the parchment. Maxi followed suit, standing on her toes to get a better look over his shoulder…
