The journey to Orphen through the jungle of Morr went without much shock. The jungle was too extensive; the salamanders controlled only part of the huge forest. Some monsters and animals attempted to attack the group of travelers who invaded their territory. Of course, the salamanders took care of them.
'Another one is coming,' warned Moger, who was traveling in front of the group.
'What is it?' asked Xavier.
'Scorpion, quite large,' replied Moger.
'I will have it,' urged Uruk.
Perhaps because he was the youngest, he was impulsive and always eager to go into battle.
'Your opponent should appear soon.' Moger retreated, leaving Uruk at the forefront.
'Don't kill it,' Xavier reminded him. 'It would be a waste.'
Morr jungle monster body parts had a high value in the market. But they weren't traveling for that. Moreover, Xavier was worried that if, for some reason, something went wrong, the cave would be the only shelter they would have. If the salamanders eliminated all the strong monsters, the jungle would soon be filled with mercenaries and explorers.
The scorpion came out of the trees and rushed toward Uruk. The monster would be about two meters long at most; its pincers were so big that they could catch Uruk and cut him in half. However, Uruk diverted the pincer with a slap of the palm of his hand. The scorpion attacked again, and again and again, the result was the same. Even when he used his huge stinger, Uruk simply slapped it away with no effort.
'Well, it's a persistent one,' said Temma. 'Uruk, we don't have all day.'
Uruk advanced, and in only a fraction of a second, he was next to the scorpion. He dropped his open hand, smacking the giant insect. The impact created an intense sound. As if it were a puppet whose ropes were cut off, the giant arachnid collapsed.
'Let's go before he wakes up.' recommended Moger, retaking the lead.
The first time Xavier saw the salamanders fighting against the monsters, it was a show. By the fourth time, it was just a hassle that delayed them. Now they were stronger than they were before, and after shrinking in size, they became an even harder target for the overgrown monsters living in the jungle. They arrived by noon at their destination, one of the towns around Tormon Citadel. It was really a village, but the population had increased so much that it got treated as a Town.
'Wait here. I have to deal with some stuff.' Xavier got out of the trees and aproached the town.
The salamanders were covered in clothes from top to bottom. Nothing could be seen of their scally bodies. They could have accompanied him. However, it was best to keep them hidden for as long as possible. Xavier wandered around this area after killing the Marea mercenary group. He did some odd jobs for a handful of people and had some contacts among the guards, mercenary gangs, and some of the workers at the registry office.
'How have you been, Tashe?' said Xavier, approaching one of the guards. Tashe wasn't his best choice, but he was the only member of the old team he found.
The guard looked at him for a few seconds before recognizing him. 'Well, well, Aleum, "the handiman," it's been a few years since I've seen you. I thought you were dead.'
'Not yet, Tashe. Not yet.'
'What brings you here? "Are you still doing odd jobs?' asked Tashe, going straight to the point.
'Nah, I got myself something more stable.'
'By the way, I hardly know anyone. What happened to the old guard?' asked Xavier.
'Well, they're all dead,' replied Tashe.
'The war of the dragons?'
'Yeah,' replied Tashe. 'Those dynasty bastards fucked us up big time. Only their main army escaped safely. Phill, Macua, and Gulie are all dead.
There was a moment of silence. Although Xavier didn't really care that they were dead, he had to keep the appearances. As far as he was concerned, any of those guards may have been the ones who revealed his location so that the recruits could capture him and send him to die in the world of dragons.
'But everything has a bright side,' said Tashe. 'Now I am the commander of the town guard unit,' he added proudly, puffing his chest out.
"Bingo," Xavier thought.
'Thats great. You always had leader material' Xavier commend buttering him up.
Tashe puffed out his chest even more.
'You know, when Phill was the leader, he knew how... forget it, you are probably not interested.'
'Wow. Wait a minute. Aleum. We've known each other for years, and you know you can trust me, right?'
"Got you," Xavier thought.'I know, Tashe, I know. Well, I'll tell you. Phill and some of the mercenaries, people he could trust; you know how that goes. We had certain agreements. You know the life of a mercenary is difficult; sometimes we need to have some trick under the sleeve in case things get ugly. The same goes for the guards.' Xavier approached Tashe and said something in his ear. 'You know, with a few extra coins for yourself, you have better chances of coming out alive if things get ugly. You never know when another war will start or another world of dragons will appear out of nowhere.'
'Sure, yes,' replied Tashe with the glow of the coins in his eyes.
'Well, as I told you, Phill, he used to do us a few favors, and we provided him with information about bandits or helped him secure his future with a few coins. You know, we have to take care of each other, don't we?'
'Of course you cannot deny an old friend a favor. Although it depends on what kind of favor it is.' Tashe said it with an inquisitive look.
'You see, I have three nephews. They just awakened as magicians, but I think they'll be shadow magicians like me. We don't want the kingdom to know in case something big like the dragon war happens again. I wanted to test their elemental affinities in secret. You know, in case they are different from mine. I would be very grateful if you could help us out.' Xavier said, putting twenty silver coins in Tashe's hands.
'Of course. We have to take care of the family,' replied Tashe, smiling and keeping the coins in his pocket.
'Who is in the office?' asked Xavier.
'Manel. You remember him, don't you?'
"I'm lucky. Manel is as corrupt as they come, although he is expensive."
'Yes, I remember him. I'll go and say hi to him. I'll see you at dusk.'
′ I will be here,′ replied Tashe, winking.
Xavier approached the registration office. 'I come to see Manel.'
The guards at the entrance looked towards Tashe. Who raised a hand as a sign that they could let the men pass.
Xavier entered the already-known office. A man about sixty years old, bald, of milk-white skin, almost white light green eyes, scarce eyebrows and white eyelashes without any other facial hair, a long, pointy nose, and with a constant bad mood expression, stood behind the counter.
'What the fuck do you want?' angrily asked the man. His voice was coarse, like he had an irritated throat.
"Still and asshole, as always. Even better, straight to business" Xavier thought as he put a gold coin on the counter.
'affinity identification, three people.'
'Three coins.' The old man said, looking at the gold coin.
'Manel, that's too much,' Xavier complained.
'Three people, three coins,' replied Manel, looking at Xavier in the eyes and pushing the gold coin back towards him.
Xavier put his right hand in his pocket and pulled out some of the coins he had. He selected another two gold coins and put them on the counter, pushing the three coins towards Manel. After carefully examining the coins, the old man smiled; in his smile, there were only three teeth.
'When?'
'At dusk.'
'Have you already secured the guards cooperation?'
Xavier nodded. Manel nodded back. Xavier turned around and left the building, walked out of town, and went into the jungle.
'It's done. Now we just have to wait for sunset... Where is Uruk?'
'He went out to hunt for food; he should be back shortly.'
Half an hour later, Uruk came back with a pair of wolves.
'Hey, don't damage the skin.' Xavier hung up the animals and skinned them off. He couldn't avoid it; years of always doing the same thing urged him to do it by instinct.
Once the work was completed, the salamanders began to devour the wolf meat.
'Why don't you cook it first?' Xavier asked. Although he was used to seeing grotesque things, he preferred not to do so.
The three salamanders, with their mouths and hands covered with blood, looked at him.
'Do you spit on your food before you eat it?' asked Moger.
'No,' replied Xavier.
'exactly,' said Moger, and then he went back to eating.
Xavier merely looked at the town in the distance as they waited for the agreed-upon moment. A few hours later, at nightfall, the few businesses in town had closed, except the tavern. There was nobody roaming in the streets or in the alleys.
Xavier and three men, covered from top to bottom, approached Tashe, who sat down and let them pass. The guards at the registration office also let them pass without asking questions. As they approached the counter, five glass pipes with a spherical end and sand of different colors inside rested on the wooden furniture. Manel was at the other end of the room, drinking tea. He didn't even look at the counter.
'You already know what to do.' Xavier had explained it long ago.
The salamanders nodded and, taking turns, touched the spherical end of the glass pipes. The four men had formed a wall that hid their activities from Manel's sight; although Manel didn't seem interested, it was better to be careful.
Uruk was the first to try; as they expected, he had an affinity for fire. The surprise came when he also showed affinity for the shadows. Moger was second; his affinity was only for fire, while Temma also showed affinities for both fire and shadows. They were just finishing the test when Manel approached them.
'What the fuck are you doing here?' He started screaming. 'The office is closed; come back tomorrow.' His screams could be heard from a distance.
The salamanders were confused. Xavier pulled them and led them out of the building. They passed by the guards without any more turmoil. As they walked in front of Tashe, he winked. Xavier returned the gesture to him, nodding. They went back into the trees.
'It will take us all night to get back home.' Uruk complained. 'By the way, why did that guy start yelling at us?'
'It's kind of a coverup. If anyone saw us enter the registration office, Manel can say that he chased us out as soon as he saw us and that nothing happened in there.' Xavier answered.
'Human beings are frightening; they are always plotting and scheeming,' said Temma.
'Thats right, let that be a lesson, and never forget it,' Xavier advised.
They continued their journey through the jungle during the night. The salamanders had no trouble with the dark or finding their way back.