One of the Lizards walked up to me. He was different than others, that much was obvious. His scales were black in colour, with a hint of a gold colour mixed in. 'I think I met that guy before, and his name was Jora' I thought. He said "Thank you for your help. You drove away the Eterian, and he focused on you most of the time. We were able to win this time, and the spoils of war are not bad either. We can now use those things ourselves".
I replied "Don't be so sure about it. Those things are about to break. They abandoned them knowing that perfectly well. One or two more shots, and those things will perish… Maybe it was even a part of their plan...". The Lizard raised his eyebrows, and asked "How do you know?". I replied "Check them yourself. They are already creaking. Eterians are crafty, he would rather destroy such things, than let us use them. I fear that if we shot from it, it will actually damage our own troops".
He quickly went to check those Contraptions, and returned after a while. He said "You are right. With a light touch, those things creak a bit. I guess transporting them would be possible, but if we shot from them… We should destroy them now then". I stopped him, and asked "Are you perhaps Jora?". He nodded, and replied surprised "You know who I am?". I said "We met… kind of, at the Arena. Either way, take them with you. Transport them, and then destroy them. Let them think we fell for their tricks. I kind of feel that Eterian is still watching us from afar".
Jora replied "Not a bad idea, and you are?". I replied "Hmmm, you should be aware of who the Dark Traveller was, right?". Jora froze for a moment. When he finally woke up from his thoughts, he said "So it's you. Great news that you are here and on our side. From your display today, I already know you are strong, stronger than me as well. Do you know the situation in full?". I nodded, and replied "Lazar already told me. I will head to Sedon soon, I want to meet with Harlin as well". He laughed, and said "I'm not even surprised you know both of them. Alright, because of your help today as well as your status, we will grant you entry to Arangard. Take this". He gave me some sort of seal, that displayed a large active volcano.
"When you show this at the entrance, the guards will let you in. We hope you will be able to help us out a lot during this war". I nodded, and said "I will do what I can". Jora called for the army to back off, and dragged those Contraptions with them. I stayed there for a while longer, I was really tired. 'I wonder what he meant by status though?' I asked myself.
I didn't have any status in the North, or maybe I didn't know about something. Fox appeared next to me, and said "Let me help you". I asked quite annoyed "Where were you? I could use some help", and got up by myself. She replied "I… you know… I stayed to protect the others... Are you alright?". 'She is lying, but whatever. I'm too tired to care about that now' I thought, and moved towards Olrad.
Although the battle wasn't very long, I was tired both physically and mentally. I spent more than half of my energy, just to chase that Eterian and fight against his illusions. 'My Auras can fight against illusions, but not that well. I need to master the Art of Stealth, otherwise I will be a goner against Eterians' I thought. This was just one Eterian. If there were two or even more, I would surely kill loads of Lizards, and maybe even become their puppet for a while.
While we walked back, I said "This was bad though. Eterians are master manipulators, fighting against them will be tough. I wonder how Harlin is faring against them?". Fox tried to cheer me up by saying "He will be fine, I'm sure. After all, he is your friend right? You don't have weak friends". I nodded lightly, but I knew it wasn't that simple. 'Crow must be there helping Harlin out too. I need to figure out illusions, and maybe break through' I thought.
I had an idea, but I wasn't sure if Suly could do it. When we returned, Suly asked worried "What happened? Father was here to check up on me, but then left. You seem hurt". I replied "Don't worry, it's all fine now. Suly, I have yet another favour to ask, but I don't know if you can do it". Suly replied concerned "Whatever you need! I'm sure you fought outside, right? That rumbling and shaking, it was a battle right?". I nodded, and asked "Can you create a Domain Formation? A Formation in which no one can see me, or hear me. No one can spy on me at all. Can you make something like that?".
Suly thought about it, and said "No. I doubt even Alicia could place something like that on an item". I replied "I don't mean an item. It can be static, like field around me that would exist in only one place. Non movable". Suly thought about it, and then ran off to somewhere. She brought a few books back, and sorted through them, until she exclaimed "There it is!". I asked excited "Is it possible?". She nodded in response, and said "Yes, but it will take me awhile to set up. I don't know if I will succeed though… But I will try my best!". I said "That is more than enough for me. Thank you". She smiled, and said "No, no. You are helping us, and we are friends right?". I nodded, and said "Yes, we are friends".
I was about to leave, when Fox insisted she would tag along. "Don't worry so much. Help Suly out if you can, or practice your movement technique. When I return, I will show you the second training method… Or maybe later. We will see". Fox stayed behind ultimately, while I headed to the workshop. I had access to Arangard, but I already knew the old Lizard inside Olrad. Therefore I decided to go there.
The workshop was quite busy. It was a time of war after all, blacksmiths were very desirable. When I asked about the old Lizard, they pointed to his office. I knocked on the doors, and waited. A raspy voice answered, "Come in". The old Lizard didn't recognise me, so I asked "Do you still remember me?". He thought about it for a while, and said "I think we met, but I don't know… Oh right! I remember now. Wow, you've changed so much since I last saw you". I smiled, and said "I get that a lot. Anyway, I'm here to use your workshop… and perhaps get some materials. I need to make some daggers for myself".
He replied "Sure, I have nothing against that. What materials would you like to buy?". I replied "That's the thing… I don't have money. How about I work for you, like last time? Or perhaps I can give you some of my medicine in exchange". He nodded and said "We can work something out. What do you need?". I replied "Obviously a workshop. I also need Black Steel, Blurite and Flash Tin". The old Lizard raised his eyebrows, and asked "You have Azur Ore?". I replied "No, I will make something, you haven't seen before. Can you get me those things?".
He nodded his head, and said "Use as much as you need, I will tell you what you can do for us after you are done. Just got to one of the available workbenches. As for the materials, I'm sure you know where to find them". I thanked him, and threw one of my lesser medicines at him. "This is just a thank you, not a payment". He smiled, but didn't say anything. I left his office, and immediately noticed no workbenches were available. 'I can't just walk up to a guy, and throw him out though' I thought.
But then I noticed an old and abandoned workbench, with extinguished furnace. I asked one of the workers "Hey, no one is using that workbench there?". He shook his head, and replied "No. It's been abandoned for years. Why do you ask?". I said "I will use it then. Don't worry, I have permission from the old man". He replied "As you like, but starting that furnace will be a pain for you".
He was a bit mistaken about that. For me, starting up a furnace was not an issue whatsoever. I threw wood and coal inside, then sprinkled some Yellow Dust on top of that. I used another furnace to catch a piece of wood on fire, and tossed that in. "POOF!". The furnace was set ablaze. The wood burned down, while coal turned red hot. The workers looked at me with disbelief. I said "What? I started up the furnace, any problems?". They shook their heads absentmindedly, and returned to their work. I added more coal and wood to the mix, and let that catch the temperature. About half an hour later, the furnace was ready. 'Usually it would take much longer, but with the use of Yellow Dust, the process can be shortened greatly. Anyway, time to make real daggers' I thought, and gathered all the necessary materials.