William panicked and took a step back. He couldn't help remembering what Cale had taught him several months ago. Every human being possessed mana. Therefore, someone who did not possess mana was so good that he was able to suppress all of his mana. Unwillingly, he stepped closer to the High-Magician and his friends felt the same way. The tall man in front of them was not emitting an ounce of mana, so they were clearly aware of the danger he posed.

"Sir Thopas. This man... he has no mana. Is he suppressing it? How strong is he?", Philippa spoke up quietly, probably so quietly that Theorik could just barely hear the statement. He seemed a little surprised, as his gaze shifted back and forth between the group and the giant.

"As far as I know, he really doesn't carry any mana", the High-Magician quietly admitted.

"Do you hear badly? Get out of here!", the stranger growled again, causing Theorik and Philippa to wince.

"Why are you always so rude? The four of them came from Altona to talk to you", Theorik boldly declared.

"Do you want me to repeat myself again? Get lost!"

"Don't be like that. I brought rabbits, you like them so much", Theorik bribed, raising his spoils in the air, much to William's amazement. Rabbits? Was Theorik helping them right now? Why that? Did he want to hear more stories from Sylve and Altona?

Basil replied nothing and looked at his old acquaintance searchingly. William wondered if the couple of rabbits could even satisfy his hunger, as tall and broad as the man was. Couldn't Cale have given him a heads-up about how scary the man looked? From the drawing alone, you couldn't exactly tell he was that big. In all his life, William had never met a man taller than the Duke Loys of Freigoud. But Basil was beyond his imagination.

"All of them?"

"Yes, all of them. You'll get all the rabbits if you listen to their story", Theorik repeated, waving the dead animals back and forth as if he were trying to lure a monster with them.

Basil walked towards the young spear-bearer, who seemed tiny compared to him. When he arrived in front of him, he looked down at him skeptically and then cast a grim glance at the group. William had to pull himself together not to avoid the look.

With renewed courage, he set up rock solid next to Aaron, defying the frightening aura. But just when enthusiasm had gripped him, his body played against him. A low stomach growl was heard in the silence and immediately William's face turned red as he suppressed the reflex to clasp his hand in front of his stomach. Instantly he cursed himself. Why hadn't he eaten anything?

The tall man fixed his gaze on William as he took a step closer.

"Are you hungry, child?", the man gave voice as if his food was being disputed.

"A little, yes", William admitted. He didn't dare lie. The man's aura was as frightening as Cale's when he was really angry. The size and the grim face only made it that much worse.

For a few moments, Basil stared at William, but to his amazement Basil then turned away from them and hung back into the darkness. Theorik threw William a frown before the giant spoke up.

"Come along. All of you."

None of them moved. William only now realized how hard his heart was pounding. He looked hesitantly at his group, and Aaron seemed to look at them anxiously for a moment as well. It was no comparison to the attack in Exarion, but the whole situation felt similarly threatening.

"How did the conversation take such a turn?", Ben asked quietly, turning his gaze to William.

"Because of the food", Theorik interjected, following the giant first. "The only thing Basil really cares about is his food."

Grimly, William watched the spearman as he and his party followed the two strangers. The large man led the five of them a short distance up the hill before coming to a stop and lifting a large, dead animal onto his shoulders. At that moment, William thanked the shadow for sparing him the close look. He could smell the blood and that alone was reason enough for him to feel sick.

Silently, the group followed Basil for several minutes, getting closer and closer to what appeared to be a small cave. Basil entered first, followed by Theorik and the Anuxer group. Aaron brought up the rear, and before entering the high ground, he looked around the back one last time, checking.

To his surprise, after a few steps there was a light at the end of the height, followed by wind. It took William a moment to realize that there was a narrow path leading through the whole mountain and that the setting sun was shining down on them. He looked at the path with interest, wondering if Basil had dug his way in.

It wasn't two minutes before they had reached the other end and were amazed at the view. They were a good 100 meters above a precipice and could see a large part of the area. Unwittingly, William came to a stop and stared into the distance, which seemed tiny and peaceful from up here. William couldn't help but think of the mountains of Sylve, but the landscape before him was in no way the same as the creature plain. It was simply too green for that.

Basil, however, did not stop and led the troop into a hollow on the right side, which was shielded by a rock wall. Hesitantly, William started moving again and entered behind Ben. He was astonished to find himself in a large, rounded cavern. Deep inside, Basil dropped his victim and knelt to the ground. A few moments later, there was light before he stood back up and distanced himself. He had started a small fire.

William had come to a stop, Ben on his left and Philippa on his right. Aaron stopped behind the three and also watched as Theorik passed his bunnies to Basil, who accepted them without comment.

"Sit. I'll make dinner for you guests", the grim-faced man announced. Confused looks wandered from the giant to William, who didn't really understand the statement either. The reason he had taken them was because William was hungry?

William was the first to break out of his stupor. Cale always seemed to be right. Without comment, he approached the fire and took a seat next to Theorik, who watched him and his group. Ben followed him afterwards, followed by Philippa and Aaron. When the last one had taken a seat on the floor, William cautiously raised his voice.

"Thank you, sir."

"Don't call me sir, my name is Basil. You should know who I am when you seek me out", Basil threw back. Swallowing nervously, William looked to Aaron as if handing him the job of speaking.

"All right, Basil. My name is Aaron and this is Liam, Ben and Philippa. Would it be all right if I asked you a few questions?"

"Because of questions they all come, but I'll tell you right now. I don't do swords for you guys."

"Swords?", Aaron replied in amazement, watching as the giant skillfully skinned the rabbits. He paused for a moment and pointed his bloody knife in his hand at William, who involuntarily jerked up.

"Swords. I see you are carrying a Kama sword. Do you think I'm stupid?"

With even more confusion, William looked at the tall man before glancing at the darker weapon to his left. The noble, silver sword that he always carried with him. How did Basil know the weapon was a sword from Linus Kama if he hadn't seen it properly? Was there an external identifying feature that William simply did not know?

"I received the sword as a gift from a friend", William politely admitted, glancing again at Basil, who looked at him skeptically and turned his attention to the dead animal. William concentrated hard not to let his eyes fall on the hare.

"Must be a good friend if he's giving you this. There are people who would kill for this sword", Basil replied, receiving an approving nod from Theorik. Unwittingly, William tightened his grip around the scabbard as Aaron realized the movement and stepped in.

"Yes. It was a good friend of ours who bequeathed him the sword. I just don't quite understand what you're trying to say."

"Aren't you here to request swords like the child's?", Basil admitted, pushing a skewer through the animal before placing the whole rabbit over the fire. The sound made William feel sick.

"No, we aren't. If you don't mind me asking, what makes you think we're asking for swords from you?"

"Where did you find the madmen? Didn't you say they were looking for me?", Basil threw back, dropping his gaze to Theorik. Both seemed surprised at the statement.

"Sorry, I also thought they were looking for you to forge swords for them."

Silence enveloped the room. Aaron didn't dare raise his voice again and just looked mutely at Theorik. William held the scabbard of the expensive sword with one hand, while refraining from the High-Magician and looking at Basil.

"Excuse me if this question sounds strange, but who are you?", William spoke up quietly. He stared at Basil, who returned his iron gaze before bursting into loud laughter. Surprised, all five guests flinched as they listened to the giant's laugh. It was not a normal laugh, it was very loud and raucous and somehow it sounded degrading.

The giant fell silent again after a few moments and started skinning the next rabbit.

"To have someone come to see me who doesn't know who I am. What a shock", he muttered to himself, concentrating on separating the fur from the meat without looking up once. "My name is Basil Kama. I am a descendant of Linus Kama, the man with the golden hand."