The woman who stood before them with her head held high—an air of authority about her—had a porcelain black skin. She kept her hair tied in a bun, held in place by a … was that a wand?
The [Great Mage] studied them in such a fashion, Michael wondered if the woman was scanning at their very souls to find every secret they kept, to learn their strengths and weaknesses in an instant.
It was not fair for a woman to have such knowing eyes. The fact that she might know many secrets of the world made it all the more worse.
"Liam," Castra said, perching on a chair. "You should sit down. I have questions for both of you and a proposition if you will listen to me. I hope you will answer my questions truthfully."
Liam sat on the same bed as Michael was resting on.
Michael was not sure if it was his fancy or not, but was there a hint of threat when she said, hope?
Coming to this world has addled my mind, making me see monsters in the shadows and threats when there are none.
But his paranoia was better than falling into a trap he did not see coming for not questioning things, Michael decided.
"We will answer your question, the best we are able," Liam said.
"Good, good," she said with that same predatory smile that made his hackles rise. A dangerous woman that wanted something from them, perhaps to use them in some game he did not understand.
He wouldn't be a puppet, not of the System of this world or the woman. He would not!
Castra clapped her hands lightly in apparent delight. "I knew the two of you would not be difficult to work with."
"What is this about… ah… Mistress Castra?" Michael said awkwardly. He had no idea how to address a [Great Mage]. He hoped she would not take offence. People in power could be offended for the smallest of reasons. It was never healthy to anger such people—even if the offender never understood what had set them off. "If I may ask," he added.
"You may," she said, her eyes glinting. "The two of you know magic and are exceptionally … I was about to say you are exceptionally deft at it. But what Michael does is anything but deft."
She turned to Liam. "You, however, have incredible Mana control. I would most love to know who taught you. Would you tell me who taught you?""A High Mage in passing taught me what I know for saving his life."
Castra's one eyebrow climbed. "A High Mage who can cultivate such a talent in Mana control? Do you mind telling me their name?"
Liam shook his head. "I'm afraid I cannot help you, Mistress Castra. He never gave me his name. When I asked, he said his name was the most precious thing he had left and he could not give it freely, even to someone who saved his life."
"He sounds like an interesting man," Castra said, leaning her head against her first. "Well, if you do not know his name, then there is nothing I can do to learn about him."
Castra turned her eyes in Michael's way. "What about you, Michael? How did you come by such a large reserve of Mana? You are not nobility. You seem like a simple countryman to me."
Michael shifted his feet under the cover of his blanket. Those… cold eyes… to the word coming motion. In her voice. None sorting up in her eyes, I stepped in as hard as stone and cold ice.
Under her scrutiny, Michael could not help but answer the question. "I … um … I found a Coral Stone. I did not know it would increase my reserve of Mana to this extent."
Something flashed in Castra's eyes, but it was gone as soon as it had appeared. "First Nairobi, now him. What is happening here?" She muttered under her breath. "Something is afoot here, something I can't put my finger on."
Michael did not think he was meant to hear those words.
A different light flashed in Castra's eyes. "I hear you are from the same place as Nairobi. A country called… Mars, was it?"
Michael's eyes widened in surprise. "How do you know that?"
Castra's smile made him want to run as far and as fast as possible. He would have run, he thought, if he was not too injured to move a muscle, and weak besides.
"Why, Nairobi and Isha told me, of course," she said. "I do not know the name… Mars. But there are many countries out there, and I know not the names of a tenth of them."
Why had Nairobi told her they were from Mars? Was she mad? At least she had not told her they were from another world. Stupid woman!Wait… no, he knew Nairobi, the woman was shrewd, if nothing else. She would never reveal a secret without a cause. Perhaps she had told the woman what she did to divert Castra from asking too many questions or from the actual truth. Nairobi could veil truths without lying, like no other person could.
"Tell me, what do you remember of the event," she said.
There was nothing to it but tell her. "We were walking down an alley and then a fog rolled in…"
When Michael finished telling about his arrival at the cabin in the woods, Liam was gaping at him, and Castra had a thoughtful expression—her eyes staring at nothing.
"Same as Nairobi, perhaps you were indeed hit by a teleportation spell. But by whose hand? And for what purpose? The one who did it must be a powerful Mage to use such a complicated spell that can land people in different locations."
Michael shivered. If a teleportation spell had hit them as Castra had implied… perhaps he and Nairobi were right. Perhaps his older siblings were also in this world, only in a different location.
Maybe Castra would help find them. She was a powerful Mage after all. Maybe! But for what price?
What will she demand of me for her help? People like her always had a price.
Castra guffawed, throwing up her hands. "I am grasping at straws when I know it's useless. We will discuss your mysterious arrival in this land at a later date. For now, I have other questions for you."
"What question?" Michael asked apprehensively.
"The same question I asked Liam," she said, "No matter how crude your control over your spell, you must have learned the magical arts somewhere. Tell me, how did you learn it?"
Michael told her about the book he had found at the farmhouse infested with Titan Spawns: FOUNDATION OF MAGIC: A FARMER'S GUIDE
"Yes, the book by Laras Windsnow. A wonderful book that," she said. Castra had a hint of reverence in the tone of a voice. "I myself began my journey of magical arts through that book, though it was not easy to find a copy of it in my homeland. I was lucky. Without that book, I would not be the Mage that I am today."
"Mistress Castra," Michael began. "Was this Laras Windsnow a powerful Mage?"