When A Mage Revolts

The mages gradually arrived soon after the two of them returned to the inn. All of them gathered in a modestly-sized room and started to share the news they had gotten separately.

After they pooled their findings, they found out that the ‘dame’ left quite an impression within the Town of Garter. Aside from the Potions Shop, she and the mysterious youth left their tracks in a multitude of places like the Blacksmiths, the pub, and the branch of the Mercenary Association.

From the description from the pedestrians, the two of them shared a peculiar relationship – they were always fighting, but they were glued at the hip; they would never be separated, no matter when and where they were.

Benjamin was befuddled at this finding. He was sitting on pins and needles after he knew of this unfamiliar youth. There was no doubt that those two were accomplices, and the ‘dame’ was definitely gunning for Benjamin. They even knew that Benjamin was not the ‘Grant’ that the church announced to the rest of the world. What else were they informed of?

However, why would they abduct Augustine if their only aim was Benjamin? After all, the mysterious youth had the ability to confront Benjamin without fear, and they could immediately lay out what they wanted without all this long-winded crap. Why would they need to grab someone and leave?

Something felt off here....

"There’s a branch of the Mage Guild here at the north of the city. We didn’t dare to investigate there, but those two most probably went past that area. Shall we go and ask around?" Andy suggested.

Benjamin shook his head. "No. We spent much effort to convince the people from the Mage Guild that we were heading towards the borders. They would never expect us to be back here," Benjamin said, "If the Mage Guild caught wind of our movements, how would I be able to go into Regina?"

To be frank, they already knew from the gathered information that the ‘dame’ had left Garter three days ago. Regina lies in the direction of their journey, and there was a 90% chance that they will be meeting with Sidney, who was mentioned in the letter.

That was why they needed to enter the capital city as soon as possible.

As the capital of Icor, Regina was not only the federal administrative center for the Queen, it also housed the headquarters of the Mage Guild. The chief here sent people to invite Benjamin to visit before this, and he somehow included a note to warn Benjamin from visiting. The series of behavior was so insane that Benjamin had no idea what was up with him.

These peculiar circumstances were the reason why Benjamin felt that there was a need for them to sneak into Regina without alerting the Mage Guild.

"Then... Should we embark to Regina today?" Joanna asked excitedly.

Benjamin nodded, "We’ll move in the afternoon. Remember to walk separately, we should not leave all at once. That’s too obvious."

After they started to hide their identities, they were separated into 4 - 5 groups. Some of them were in front while the others were at the back, and although they were not too far from each other, they pretended as if they did not know each other. They wanted to avoid attracting too much attention as a group of 20+ people, where people could relate them back to the group of mages who escaped the Gateway.

However, Benjamin still had something to do before leaving the Town of Garter in a hurry. After some more discussion with the others, he left the inn by himself and headed towards the branch of the Mercenary Association that was located to the West of the Town of Garter.

In contrast to the Mage Guild, the Mercenary Association did not have a political stance - they are a free organization across countries and run by the people in the society. After some investigation, Benjamin learned that their headquarters was located in Ferelden. They also have branches in the other two countries and are a much bigger organization than the Mage Guild.

Although the Mercenary Association is gigantic, it does not impose strict regulations on the members. It will not require the mercenaries to do certain tasks, nor will it demand a full background check on each of its members. The whole operation system of the Association was very simple - Assist patrons to post missions, allow mercenaries to take on missions, ensure the deal was carried through fairly, and finally charge some administrative fee.

Although this metaphor was quite weird, Benjamin thought that the Association was just like Uber, albeit a slower and more inconvenient one.

As he walked past the long corridor that was lined with mercenaries, he felt the tension in the air when the mercenaries gave each other a once over with their eyes. Unaffected, Benjamin smiled as he faked his exhaustion to rub his eyelids that he applied glue on. He walked into the slightly disarrayed hall and walked towards the service counter.

For some reason, this process felt like he was applying for a card at a bank. But this place did not come equipped with comfortable air conditioning. The surrounding was rowdier too.

"What can I help you with, sir?" An elder man sat at the counter, his face decorated with scars. His exhaustion was etched in his eyes. He yawned, slightly annoyed.

Benjamin did not feel even a tiny bit of displeasure.

Apparently, those who worked in the Mercenary Halls are all retired mercenaries. They were either too old, lost their battle prowess, or too injured to battle once more. They have no choice and no way to earn a living, and could only utilize their knowledge in mercenary business to become the ‘receptionist’ that they despised when they were young. This happened in every generation of the mercenaries, and the cycle never stopped.

Thus, no one would come in expecting good customer service.

"Greetings. I’m here to enquire the whereabouts of Ciel and Louis."

Benjamin met the two mercenaries back in the Town of Crewe by circumstance, and he ended up asking them to dig out the goods he hid in the Kingdom. At that time, the two mercenaries told him that he will be able to find them as long as he asked about them in the Mercenary Association.

"Ciel and Louis? What did the two brats do this time?" The man laughed unexpectedly, and his scarred face made him look very intimidating. "Sir, if you’re here for revenge, I think you might as well just give up now."

Benjamin’s eyebrows rose to his hairline. "No, I’m just asking if they are back from the Kingdom of Helius. I... have a personal matter to settle with them."

"Oh? They were willing to tell you something like that? You knew that they went to the Kingdom?" The man’s smile was jeering. "Too bad, they aren’t back yet. They might’ve died at that god-forsaken place where priests are crawling all over the place. I’m afraid they won’t be able to meet you."

"Oh, really?" Benjamin shrugged nonchalantly, "Alright then, I have a mission. I want to find someone, and I’m willing to put out a bounty of 100 gold coins."

The elderly man was surprised at Benjamin’s words.

"Woah, 100 gold coins for a person, you’re an extravagant one huh?" The man took an old notebook from the counter and started writing on it. "Tell me, who is this that you’re seeking? Tell me as many details as you possibly can, this would greatly increase the chance for the mercenaries to find the person you want."

Benjamin nodded, lips quirked in a mysterious smile.

"His name is Benjamin, but I have no idea what his last name is. He’s a very young mage, and he resurfaced in the Town of Hank previously. He was often seen with another bunch of mages, around 20 of them." He deliberately paused. "If anyone knows what his last name is, I’m willing to pay another 100."

He took out a bag of gold coins and threw it onto the counter. The bag fell onto the counter with a solid thud, and some golden hue was reflected off the gold coins into the awed eyes of the elder man and some people standing nearby. The coins can be vaguely seen from the half-opened money bag.