Alice watched for several moments the dwindling light as Spartacius left to explore the many small turns and twists of the cavern, marking his way with a piece of chalk.

She hesitated again if to forcefully stop him or not, then decided to let him go. He had some good arguments to search for another way out, and maybe he needed some time alone.

She returned to the group.

They were sitting around a small mound of boulders that Sid had overheated with black breath. The first time they had tried this, a couple of stones had started to emit smoke, and they had to cool them down with water and ask Sid to flap his wings to get rid of the toxic vapors.

In the end, they found suitable stones that could be safely heated, and Sid found the right balance of black breath flames to bring them to a safe temperature but not overheat them.

Sitting like this around the almost molten stones was like sitting around a campfire, even if one had to keep a little bit more distance to the weak glimmering rocks than a normal fire would request.

She wondered if the camouflage that White Flower had set up at the entry to this part of the cavern was still active. They hadn't heard any orcs lately, and Sid had mentioned that they rarely came to this part of the caverns and never entered except for the rare cases when accompanying Katan, but they had to remain careful.

Food was always thrown in about once in ten days. As the last 'delivery' had been done relatively recently, they had time until the next, that is if the 'prison-cavern' would still be functioning now that Katan was dead. Depending on if and when the orcs would find out he is dead. So many ifs.

The darkness was almost complete; they kept no other light except the shimmering boulders. They were speaking in a very low voice; only a murmur was heard as she approached the group.

She went near the Lynx and looked at Tina. There was a point that was nagging at her, and she wanted to clarify it.

“One question Tina. The last time when I heard you talking about magic, you were outraged against everybody using it. Didn't you say that people use magic in an impure form, and with this, they pervert nature with their magic instead of living in harmony with it? That mages and witches pervert and destroy the natural balance of all beings!? Was it not so that even the use of potions is not natural and would build devilish flesh? That flesh gained this way is prone to wicked wishes and carnal desire!? That only the priests with their holy healing are the natural healing that does not pervert the flesh and thus the soul?

So how could you dream of becoming a witch when you thought like this?”

Tina raised her eyes to look at Alice and let the tirade wash over her. She looked guilty but, at the same time, betrayed.

“You listened to me talking to Cala in the coach?” - she asked in the end.

“Maybe!” - acknowledged Alice locking her eyes with Tina's.

Tina sighed:

“True, this is what they say. Using magic is a perversion against nature. It is what they teach us in their schools and what they chant again and again in their churches, but it is not true.”

“So you do not think they are right? Then why did you say that to Cala if you do not believe it? You sounded very convincing to me?”

Tina swallowed and looked down.

“I did not know Cala well enough at the time. I was afraid she would send me back... I...”

Alice sighed. Did you not know Cala well enough? Did she not risk her life to free you? Did you not run away from home to stay under Cala's protection? That and more were on her tongue, but she did not say it. Instead, she only asked:

“So you do not believe that?”

“That magic destroys nature?” - she shrugged - “It is the church's official position in the kingdom. The church is one of the main pillars of the monarchy. I could not speak against it.”

“Is it not the same that the academy of science says?” - wondered Alice

“True,” - said Tina with a laugher - “our academy has confirmed this finding and supports the clergy.”

“And yet you do not believe it?”

Tina looked very uncomfortable, then she sighed and continued:

“This is heresy of the highest level. Do you know what happens with heretics? Haven't you seen or heard about witches burning? After heavy storms or earthquakes, the guilty witches are found and end up on those piles of wood. It may be that I would be pardoned and end up in a monastery for the rest of my life if I am lucky, or maybe I would be packed and sent to the emperor if he would still want me."

"Is it not true? Are they not guilty and caused those catastrophes? Why don't you believe it?"

"Because it is a power game. It is too convenient to be true. Don't tell this to anybody: it has to do with the power the church can harness from believers. I heard when my parents were talking about this between them. The divine magic that the priests have comes from the many believers that go pray inside their churches. My father was calling it 'milking the believers'. The mana of a mage, a druid, a shaman, or a witch, of all caster classes, cannot be harnessed by the church this way. Their magic is linked to their body and cannot be extracted.

Imagine them losing all that power. This would weaken the church and the clerics, and that's why they fight against the heretics. They have tried to harness their magic in many ways, but it does not work.”

“What about warriors, archers, all those fighters? What about them?”

“They are not casters; it is different for them. I am not good at magic theory, and these things are kept secret, but I think that only unstructured mental magic can be extracted and converted into divine magic. All those classes that cannot spell are usable. These people do not have much mental magic, only traces of it, but the numbers compensate for it. Probably high-level archers would be of no more use for them as they gain those faculties and can spell, thereby gaining control to their mana, but there are always trades off.”

“You mean that divine magic does not come from gods but is gathered from believers?”

Tina shrugged:

“I don't know. Possibly. My parents spoke in a low voice, and I did not understand everything they said as I was eavesdropping on their conversation. You see, this was the reason why I did not want to learn to use magic that is obtained in this way. I did not want to support their way of extracting power from people, and I didn't want to be one of those people they extract power from; this was another reason why I wanted to become a witch.”

“But the academy's results?”

“Money and power. Pigs at the trough, as pa said. Do you think it was so difficult to find a correlation between places struck by hurricanes or earthquakes and the number of magic users in that area? Depends on who was counting them, isn't it? You know that Theodoculus at the academy contested the findings? Do you know that he was himself found to use magic and was discredited? He retracted everything, of course, and now lives a poor's life, no longer a respected professor at the academy.”

She sighed again. She put her hand on Alice's.

“I hope you will not rat me out?”

Alice hugged her.

“You are with friends here. Me, the Lynx, or Sid to rat you out? No chance.” - she sighed at her turn - “This is all so incredible, but now that you say it, I see many things in a different light. However, I wonder what the clergy has against potions? At least that, they could accept!”

“Potions? - asked Tina and shrugged tiredly - “The same schemes. Potions are brewed by witches who learn alchemy. First, they lose the mana of those witches. Many peasant wives were making potions in older times. Now not anymore. That many believers mana gained. Then those who used potions did not pay the high fees for the healing priests, and they lost that money. No potions, more money for the priests. As simple as that.”

“Humans!” - exclaimed the Lynx, horrified looking at Sid - “They invent a religion and these rules, they say it is to keep nature clean, so they say, live in harmony with nature, so they say, but these are just lies to extract power from their fellow humans? They do not care for the harms and problems that they cause?”

Sid shrugged.

"Well, dragons are at least more honest about wanting to extract money from you. They tell it like it is: give me that gold, or I'll burn you down."