For the next half hour, the four nervously climbed up the mountain range, led by Philippa. The stranger had also started moving and was waiting for the group to arrive at a flatter spot.

"He still has his spear in his hand, but does not appear to be hostile to us. This is definitely not the man we are looking for. Looking at his appearance, he should be about our age, maybe even younger, and he's definitely the lean, athletic type."

"Can he recognize us by now?", Aaron asked quietly.

"Yes. He's looking me straight in the eye. I gave him a quick smile and he responded with a smile, but otherwise he's very quiet."

Philippa deftly climbed the ledge, followed by Ben and William. Aaron used a spark of magic to elegantly propel himself upward while continuing to keep an eye on the surroundings.

"Is he alone?", William asked as he glanced over at the High-Magician.

"It seems like he is", Aaron replied.

"Pretty brave of him to reveal himself to four strangers like that", Ben interjected as he pulled himself up.

"What should we want from him? We're pretty far from civilization, I think he realizes we're just searching", William chimed in, watching the High-Magician deftly leap from rock to rock. Something about his posture and movements reminded him strongly of Cale, though he couldn't really say why.

"I suspect that as well. The man seems cautious, but at the same time curious. Maybe he really knows him?"

The archer's statement gave everyone hope as she skeptically followed the wall in front of her.

"Wait, let's fly from here", Aaron declared, jumping a bit to the side before using his Igrikum and affecting the gravity of their bodies. Ben, Philippa, and William exchanged glances for a moment before Aaron enclosed everyone with his mana and carefully lifted them. With the aid of this locomotion, they had come to the trading city at that time, but Aaron explained to them that he refrained from traveling this way whenever possible. He might be a High-Magician, but he didn't really want to waste his mana.

"Is that all right?", William anxiously chimed in as Aaron carefully ferried the group up the cliff face.

"For a short distance, yes", Aaron replied. Ben and William stood skeptically beside him as they followed the archer's gaze, now recognizing the stranger as well. Philippa held on to Ben, who gave her a sheepish grin and looked to the man as well.

"He seems surprised", Philippa stated the obvious. The group, meanwhile, flew slowly toward him and by now everyone could make out the man's face. Shock and nervousness were literally written all over his face.

A young man, who should be about the size of William and was relatively muscular, although not as muscular as Ben. He had similar dark skin as Philippa and his eyes were also brown, but his hair, on the other hand, had a distinct red tint. At first, he really seemed like a man their age, but the closer they got, the more William could make out the almost childlike face.

"Is this the first time he's seen magic?", William asked quietly, as they were now only a good 20 yards apart as the crow flies.

"You'd think", Aaron replied as he skillfully came to a stop above the ground and made his Igrikum disappear. Calmly, the four walked toward the stranger, who drew his spear closer to his body with each additional meter. When only a good 3 meters separated the two parties, the High-Magician stopped and the others did the same. They knew their counterpart was afraid, even if he didn't show it to them. "Please excuse the way we sent you the message. We suspected you would distance yourselves from us if we approached without warning."

William watched as the stranger accepted the statement with a nod, but his tight grip on his weapon did not loosen. It was a nice euphemism of 'running away', which the stranger also seemed aware of. But he did not address the comment.

"My name is Aaron and this are Ben, Liam and Philippa. As written before, we are looking for a man named Basil who is said to live in this region."

"He won't talk to you", the stranger gave in a surprisingly deep voice. William's eyes grew wide and immediately he looked at the High-Magician, who didn't pull any facial expressions.

"So you know him?", Aaron gave matter-of-factly to word.

"Yes. I know Basil. But as I said, he won't talk to you. People have been here before you and wanted to talk to him."

Astonished, William stared at him. They were here because of a rare creature, and according to Cale, hardly anyone should know the creature. Had Cale been mistaken? How long had it been since Cale and Basil had met? Or was the stranger simply lying to the group, hoping to receive some sort of payment for his services?

"Would it still be possible to speak with him in person?"

The stranger did not answer. However, he stood to Basil, he too seemed unenthusiastic about the visit. But why did he even bother to talk to him? Was it pure curiosity or did he just want to annoy Basil? Or had he planned an ambush for the group here somewhere? What the hell was going on right now?

"Where are you from?" the stranger asked after some time.

"We have come from Altona, more precisely from the capital Exarion", Aaron answered calmly. As agreed, the High-Magician did the talking while the others stood silently beside him.

"Exarion? Then you've been on the road for quite a while already."

"Indeed. I don't even want to hide the fact that it's quite important for us to talk to Basil."

"He won't talk to you", the stranger repeated, raising his spear. One would almost think he was trying to frighten his visitors, if he himself woudn't tremble like that. To William's astonishment, the High-Magician remained silent. Presumably he was unsure what to do now. They had several ways to get the information, but none of them wanted to use force on the stranger. They could simply follow him, he probably would inform Basil about the visit as soon as they left. Or they would really just leave, after all, the man had to be around here somewhere.

Nervously, William's gaze moved from the stranger to the High-Magician, for he could feel Aaron's mana increasing. He immediately realized that it was his Igrikum, so he stepped in at the same moment.

"Please...", William very calmly spoke up and looked at the stranger with hopeful eyes. The swordsman could feel Aaron's gaze lingering on him before his mana calmed down. To the High-Magician, the first path seemed the easiest; after all, Grischa's life was at stake. But William wanted to avoid conflict as much as possible. "... let us know where we can find him."

The stranger's bold eyes lingered on him. He didn't seem to have noticed how narrowly he had escaped physical agony as he eyed William skeptically.

"He won't talk to you", he repeated for the fourth time, but this time his words did not seem particularly convincing. "But you are welcome to see for yourselves. Basil hates people, even to me, he is very unfriendly, and I have known him for several years."

Inwardly, William breathed a sigh of relief and Aaron also withdrew his mana completely. He could see the High-Magician relaxing and then looked at Ben and Philippa. Whether they had been aware of the action just now, William didn't know for sure, but relief was reflected on their faces as well.

"So don't get your hopes up too high", the stranger added, before he too relaxed and calmly held the spear in his hand. Slowly he turned back and only then did William realize the five dead hares hanging over a stick. Immediately, his stomach twisted when he saw the blood on the animals. Even years after becoming Anuxer, he couldn't control himself at the sight. "Follow me."

"Thank you for your help and your warning", Aaron replied, slowly following the stranger. The other three quickly ran after the mage, while Ben gave his friend a skeptical look. With his gaze, he seemed to be asking if everything was alright with him, which is why William only smiled in a pained manner.

"Don't thank me too soon, Basil is really exhausting. I'm only helping you because you don't particularly meet new faces out here and I find it a welcome change", the stranger announced his intentions in a serious voice. "Most of those who live here are outcasts of the Three Gods Faith, but don't think we live together. You know and respect each other, but you don't really have interpersonal contact here."

"We've heard about that before", Aaron explained in a relaxed manner, dropping his gaze to Philippa. Much like him, William had also realized that they were quite lucky with the stranger. Judging by his age, he couldn't have lived out here too long, probably that's why he was still so friendly to strangers. "Not pretty stories."

"You can't argue with people of faith", the stranger countered, as if remembering bad times. He pulled down his hood and swung his booty over his shoulder. With a quick turn, he looked down at the four who quietly followed him. For the first time, William could see his face properly. He had an oval face and discreet, dark eyes. The freckles on his face, however, gave him a beauty all his own, while his long hair framed his face. "You can call me Theorik, by the way, or just Theo."