For three years, no one had been able to enter or leave?
This news made the adventurers feel like the despair from before suddenly came back again. Right, there was no reason to be relieved yet! They might have made it to the city alive, but if they couldn't leave, what was the point?
Was the expedition going to end here before it even truly started? No one knew the answer to that question. Everyone was anxious, since not being able to leave would mean staying in this city until they grew old or the juggernaut decided to abandon its territory. However, both options seemed to be too far away in the future and were therefore unacceptable to them at the moment.
"Is there no way to bypass this juggernaut?"
While the rest of the group was still busy worrying about their futures, Rogar somehow managed to remain calm and continued to question the mayor.
"I'm afraid none that we know of. If there was, we wouldn't have to isolate ourselves here and would have sought help from outside long ago."
"Figures."
Rogar wrinkled his brows, pondering about what to do next. Corwyn could only admire his leadership qualities. At times when everything was thrown into chaos, he stayed calm and collected, observing the situation carefully and searching for the best solution. When the morale of the group was down, he always found the right words to lighten up their mood and encourage the men to get up again. He truly was a man born to guide others.
After over a minute of careful thinking, he raised his head again and shrugged his shoulders while shaking his head.
"It won't do us any good to think about it further right now. Everyone is tired and in low spirits, so we should take a rest for today and think about it tomorrow. Is there a place my men and I could be staying at?"
Lonren nodded his head.
"Of course there is! I have already arranged multiple quarters for you to live in while you are here. Let me show them to you personally!"
After everything had been discussed, the exploration party followed Lonren and his soldiers to their accommodations. Apparently, it was quite a walk away from the oasis, so they passed plenty of streets, markets, and other local facilities on their way. Rogar walked in front of them, next to Lonren, followed by Jarrok and them closely behind. Many of them looked around curiously on the trip, taking in the sight of the numerous things this city had to offer. Corwyn and Teo were walking next to each other, discussing amongst themselves.
"Quite an unexpected situation, huh?"
A corner of Teo's mouth rose up slightly, forming a wry smile. Corwyn sighed.
"Unexpected indeed. We are lucky to have made it out alive, though..."
"We certainly are, but now we are stuck here for who knows how long. Not that I'm complaining!"
Teo said that last sentence as he let his eyes wander over the wonderful scenery before him. So much greenery was everywhere! Konen really could be called a hidden garden within the dry desert.
Corwyn nodded while also taking in the surroundings.
"It truly isn't the worst place to be stuck in, but I have no intention to live my whole life here. I still have to find father and bring him home! Until I have accomplished that goal, there is no way I will settle down anywhere. There has to be a way out of this situation. There must be!"
Teo was looking astonished for a second at Corwyn's brilliant speech, but soon started to grin brightly and teased him.
"Oh my, I have never seen you so optimistic before! What happened to the Corwyn from two hours ago, who was so afraid he couldn't even stand by himself?"
He poked Corwyn's side with his elbow multiple times. Corwyn suddenly got very embarrassed and looked away in a fluster. Teo could only laugh at that scene, but soon returned to the topic at hand.
"But what you said is the truth. We can't give up yet, not until we have exhausted all our options. If our adventure would end just like that, how disappointing would that be?"
"I guess you're right. Well, at least, we seem to be safe inside this city until we have figured out a plan on how to get out without the juggernaut eating us up. Speaking of which, why does the juggernaut stay away from the city? With its size and destructive power, it could easily pass the walls and devour the whole population of Konen."
Teo nodded.
"Yeah, I'm curious about that too. Maybe they have some kind of countermeasure that can keep the beast at bay?"
He shifted his gaze to the elderly man walking next to Rogar.
"Why don't you just ask Lord Shan if he knows the reason, Corwyn? He doesn't seem to be the kind of overbearing noble like the ones in Quorin!"
Corwyn too had a good impression of mayor Lonren Shan. He didn't seem to be the kind of noble that would use his status to make others kneel before him. If he just went up to him and asked honestly, he felt like he would get an answer without any problems. However, in his whole 19-year long life, Corwyn had never talked to a noble before, so he couldn't help being nervous.
Having decided, he walked up to the two men at the forefront of the group and addressed the mayor of Konen.
"Lord Shan, please forgive my rudeness, but would you mind if I asked a question?"
Within the different classes of status under the populace, only noble families carried a second name in addition to their first one. Therefore, when speaking to a nobleman, it was common courtesy to address them by their second name.
Lonren raised his eyebrows for a moment, apparently surprised that someone from the normal members of the expedition would suddenly ask him a question. But it only lasted for a moment as he replied:
"Of course I don't mind, young man. Feel free to ask whatever you'd like to know!"
Corwyn felt relieved that he wasn't rejected, and immediately posted his question.
"Lord Shan, earlier you said that the juggernaut has been around this city for three years by now, hindering people to come in as well as to come out. But it felt strange to me that such a massive beast would settle on just eating up trespassers, instead of simply devouring the whole city. Is there a particular reason for that?"
At Corwyn's question, not only Lonren, but Rogar too who had listened to his question both wore astonished expressions. What a sharp young man!
It was common sense to question why the city had been left untouched by the juggernaut for three years. Anyone would sooner or later arrive at this question. But most of the adventurers were still busy worrying about their current situation, their futures, and other matters. Only few would already have the presence of mind to evaluate the whole situation and notice factors beyond their imminent concern. This young man actually showed a bit of a mind of a leader!
Of all people, Rogar knew how crucial those qualities were to someone who carried the responsibility of leading other people. Strength and charisma were not enough, you had to always analyze many different factors, and notice details others pushed aside for the moment. Corwyn showing such an important trait at such a young age was truly surprising to him. Although, he wasn't too excited about it yet. One occurrence didn't necessarily mean that the youth had the qualities of a leader. Only if these qualities kept on showing up multiple times could he be certain that Corwyn indeed had the talent to be a leader.
After overcoming his initial surprise, Lonren cleared his throat and answered Corwyn's question.
"You are correct, there is a reason why the juggernaut has let us live in peace until now. You see those walls?"
He pointed his finger in the direction of the walls surrounding Konen. Corwyn's eyes followed his motion and he nodded in confirmation.
"Those walls existed here since the time Konen was built. They are made from a special material no one has any knowledge of today, and we can't find anything in our history records ever. However, for some reason, the mysterious material seems to hold any type of desert creature at bay, even the mighty juggernaut. Thanks to it, our city has managed to survive through many tough times."
As Corwyn listened to Lonren's answer, he became more and more astonished. A mysterious material that could keep any type of creature away from them? The world truly held more secrets than he had ever dreamed of.
Lonren continued:
"We had briefly considered breaking a piece of the material out of the wall for studying purposes and using it as a defense for a delegation seeking help from the outside. Sadly, all our attempts in even making a ripple into it have failed. With our current resources, it seems to be impossible."
The man let out a huge sigh.
"It has been three years since we have been trapped here, and most of the people are already used to it, but in reality, it is nothing more than a better prison. There are many young folks here who are craving to see the other cities of the desert for themselves but are denied from doing so. If this continues for much longer, our culture will just become a bunch of recluses, ignorant of the advancements of humanity. It is a pity I can't do anything but wait, however, I currently don't see any way out of our predicament."
Having finished his long explanation, Lonren let his shoulders slump as he continued to walk forward. Corwyn really felt sympathetic towards him. The number of mayors in this world who really cared about their people probably didn't even surpass a dozen, yet this one couldn't do anything to help his people. It truly was frustrating to see.
A little while later, they had finally arrived at a few houses serving as their accommodations. The houses were built the same way like any other, but they were considerably larger and each one of them could easily provide space for a whole squad. Lonren had already given orders to prepare the houses for their guests, and after some brief discussions between Rogar and him, the multiple squads moved into their respective houses and could finally take a rest.
Corwyn shared a room with Teo, and both of them were busy sorting their belongings and making themselves comfortable, as Hanaan entered the room and greeted them.
Sorry for intruding, but I am already finished with moving in and thought it would be a good idea to check on you guys. How are you two feeling?"
Both of them raised their heads. Corwyn replied with a tired smile that showed his fatigue.
"We are doing fine, I guess. What has happened before has been really scary, but now that I've calmed down, my mind is already on the problem of how we escape from here."
"Oh? You think you know of a way out?"
Hanaan raised his eyebrows in astonishment. Teo looked at him with wide eyes as well.
Unfortunately, Corwyn had to shake his head.
"Up till now, I can only work on guesses. Outrunning the juggernaut seems to be impossible, and distracting it will probably not work either. Therefore, we can conclude that there is no way we can leave Konen alive if we do it the normal way."
He looked at both of his friends one after the other, before continuing.
"However, the mayor told me the walls are made of some mysterious ancient material that keeps the juggernaut and other beasts away from the city. It is so hard it can't be penetrated with weapons, so it is probably not natural. I can't really say yet, but this special material might give us some clues on how to get out of here."
Teo and Hanaan both listened to Corwyn's explanation, then looked at each other. They had also guessed there must be something mysterious being involved if that massive juggernaut kept its jaw away from the city, but they never expected the material of the city walls to be the reason. This indeed made them curious.
Hanaan got lost in thought for a while before he resumed the conversation with Corwyn.
"You said this strange material might give us some clues on how to bypass the juggernaut. Are you going to inspect that material?"
"It would probably arouse suspicion if I just went to the city walls and fumble with the material, but maybe I can get the mayor to let me have a closer look at it. I will discuss this with Rogar tomorrow, for now, we should rest and replenish our energy!"
Having finished his announcement, Corwyn laid on his bed and closed his eyes. Teo and Hanaan couldn't help but exchange glances once more. Where had the frightened Corwyn from a few hours ago suddenly gone? After overcoming his initial fears, had he already matured to such a degree in such a short amount of time? No, this was probably his natural attitude that had been deeply buried by his occupation as a poor blacksmith, seeing to the needs of his customers every day, that slowly surfaced from deep within him.
After having concluded so in their hearts, they soon felt the accumulated fatigue as well and quickly went to bed too. They had reached a new destination and discovered many previously unknown things to them, but how they would advance from here on out was still clouded in shadows.