Now that the tour had been ruined for them, the entourage comprising of Ivor, Mane, Lam, Lily, and Tucker their new addition, made its way straight to the residence of the Orange Team. As they rode towards their destination, Tucker got acquainted with the group. He was stunned to learn of Ivor's identity, and it was strange for Mane and the twins to see his face turn pale when he heard the name Ivor the Tattler. The weirdest thing was he actually begged for Ivor's forgiveness for his earlier impudence, and the fear in his eyes could easily be seen by a person an entire mile away. So it was right to assume that the twins and Mane saw this – and they did. This made Mane even more wary of Ivor.
"I wonder what kind of things he has done for so many people to be so fearful of him"
That was what Hildegarde said when she saw the fear in Tucker's eyes. And Mane wondered the same as well. It was clear that Ivor wasn't respected but feared. He wasn't seen as a benevolent god, but as a demon king more fearful than Magical Beasts of great power. Mane had to ride between Lam and Lily so that the poor man wouldn't have to shake in fear throughout the entire journey. Soon they got to a large manor.
"This is the place," Ivor stopped his Red Maned Horse from moving any further and pointed at the large manor that could be seen even from several yards away.
"It's huge," Mane admitted that the size of that building was impressive, especially given that the Orange Team had only 4 members. It seemed too extravagant for a team of only 4 people.
"It seems the powerful people in this world sure know how to enjoy life," Hildegarde whispered into Mane's ear as she swung her legs merrily.
"How can only four people live here?" Lily was stunned as she gazed upon the manor that looked like it could comfortably house at least 20 people.
"Or is it meant for all the teams to share?" Lam wondered. He was finding it hard to understand why such a huge place was used by only 4 people. It seemed like a huge waste.
"Actually this isn't strange," Tucker spoke up. He had been become familiar with Mane and the twins as they rode and wasn't as nervous as he was initially. He sat behind Mane on Roxanne since there was no other Red Maned Horse available.
"All the other teams have manors as large as this one. And the Black Team has the largest mansion since it is Asher City's team. Theirs is almost two times bigger than this one." Tucker continued.
His words stunned Mane and the twins. It was already wasteful to have four people staying in the mansion in front of them. But now Tucker was telling them that the Black Team had one that was about two times the size of this one? It seemed that Predators and strong warriors were treated quite well in Asher City.
"Truly wasteful spending," Lam shook his head and said.
"Not really," Ivor commented, his trademark smile on his face.
"What do you mean Ivor?" Lily wondered. Just like her brother she thought this was wasteful spending. And Mane agreed. But on second thought Mane realised he had no right to say anything since he was not the right person to complain. His parents had several mansions on Zandor. One could find a mansion belonging to his parents by visiting any kingdom in the Western Empire. And each of these houses was bigger than the one in front of him. The house he grew up in alone, was three times larger than this place. And he grew up there alone. His parents only returned recently and even that made them only 3 people living in that gigantic mansion. Of course Mane didn't take the servants into account. Although to be fair he had to include Butler Fin since the man was part of his family. But even with Butler Fin included, they were only 4 living in that giant house.
"Although the Orange Team has only four members, that is excluding their very own healing team and the servants that cater for their every needs. They are also allowed to bring their spouses and family if they want to, so it isn't really a waste." Ivor explained patiently.
His words enlightened the twins and they finally understood why the homes of the competitors were so large.
"Let's go. We aren't achieving anything by just standing around." Ivor remarked and nudged his Red Maned Horse forward. Mane nodded his head and commanded Roxanne to follow Ivor. The twins were right behind the two since the road wasn't large enough for all four horses to ride side by side. Soon they reached the gate of the large residence. However, they were stopped by the two guards who manned the gate.
"Halt! This is the temporary residence of the Orange Team. Only visitors invited by the Orange Team members are allowed entry. Please turn back!"
"An Animal Hunter. The other one is also an Animal Hunter." Mane easily identified the strengths of the guards. They were obviously not meant to protect the Orange Team members since they were too weak to do so. It seemed that their job was only to open and close the gate of the manor.
"Let Vital Orange know that Ivor is here to see him. He would want to meet me." Ivor rode up to the guards and said.
"Please hold on," one of the guards said and turned to enter the manor. But he was stopped by his counterpart. The other guard was looking at Ivor like he had seen a ghost. The expression Mane and the twins had seen on the guards who recognised Ivor appeared on his face. His expression was fearful, and beads of sweat which weren't there before trickled down his forehead.
"Why?"
"That's Ivor the Tattler."
"Wait! Are you sure?"
"Yes I am sure. I didn't recognize him before, but I do now. I have seen a portrait of him before. Besides, no one dares to use that name anywhere. Even those who were called Ivor have changed their names"
Although the guards were whispering amongst themselves, Mane could hear every word they were saying, and he could also clearly see how the other guard's expression had changed when he was told that the Ivor in front of him was Ivor the Tattler. It was also fear.
"What did he do to get so many people to become so fearful of him?" Hildegarde stated, and Mane nodded his head subtly. Those were his thoughts exactly.
"I didn't recognize that it was Sir Ivor. Please forgive my impudence and come in." the guard who was initially going to make enquiries apologized with a pale expression as the other guard opened the gates widely for Ivor and his entourage to go in.
"You were only doing your jobs," Ivor waved his hands and said. Then he proceeded to ride past the guards and through the gates. Mane and the twins followed after him.
"Are you going to ask Tucker about Ivor?" Hildegarde whispered into Mane's ear as they rode into the compound. She knew that Mane didn't just recruit Tucker as a guard for the twins.
"Yes," Mane nodded his head and replied Hildegarde. Mane assumed that a local would be able to tell him about Asher City, and know where to gather information about Ivor. However, seeing Tucker's reaction when he was introduced to Ivor led Mane to understand that Tucker didn't need to make any enquiries about Ivor. The man clearly knew why Ivor had such a fearful reputation, and Mane was surely going to ask about that once they were alone.
"It seems that the guards are more afraid of Ivor than they are of the Orange Team," Mane said to Hildegarde.
"Indeed. They opened the gates without so much as asking for permission. It makes me more curious about the man." Hildegarde stated, and Mane nodded in agreement. They left their horses in the mansion's stable and walked into the house under the guard's lead. Soon they were within the living room and were asked to sit. The guard then rushed to get Vital Orange.
"Sir Ivor, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit" soon the man Mane had seen in the images of the Record Stone appeared. He wasn't wearing his signature uniform, and was covered in loose clothes but they couldn't hide his impressive physique. He spoke to Ivor with a lot of caution, as if he was afraid of offending Ivor with his tone.
"There's no need to be so formal," Ivor sat down comfortably with his limbs spread akimbo like the house was his, yet Vital Orange didn't seem offended by his actions.
"I'm here today to present to you a gift," Ivor went straight to the point. "Well, it isn't really a gift since your City Lord already paid me handsomely to do this," Ivor laughed and confessed.
"What is it, Sir Ivor?" Vital Orange asked politely even though he had been told formality was not needed.
"I brought you a replacement for Orange Monk," Ivor announced and Vital Orange's eyes shone with an excited gleam. He naturally turned to look at Tucker. The man was the oldest after Ivor, and he had the aura of a Thrasher.
"It isn't him, but him," Ivor laughed and pointed at Mane. Before Vital Orange could say anything Ivor continued, "This is Mane. He came from a village to this place under my recommendation. He is a Predator!"