They both entered the gate and came out inside the library where Cygnus, Mr. C and the dragon were waiting for them. First to step out was the duke who looked a little bit pale followed by an awkward looking Ezio. He then clapped his hands and the gate disappeared before he faced the duke.
"I apologize, your excellency, it seems that my gate isn't constructed well enough," he immediately apologized.
The moment they stepped inside the gate, the surroundings were not smooth because the inside of the gate was an uneven path and everything was moving like a wave. It made the duke feel a bit nauseous because even the walls wouldn't stay still.
"It's fine, as long as you've succeeded in making a gate. Now, I will leave the four of you because I need to rest my body and mind." The duke left the room with a pale face and he did not look back.
Cygnus was silently looking at the young man, who now had his head bowed. The master wanted to see him smug but he was still looking at the floor. He couldn't understand why this person still insisted on appearing weak.
"Is the floor that interesting?" He couldn't help but ask after a moment of silence between them.
Ezio raised his head and met the master's eyes. "I apologize, master. As you have ordered, I managed to create a gate and I will continue to do my best to master my own magic." He immediately spoke without listening to whatever the master was about to say.
"Heh, is that so," Cygnus stood up from his seat and walked up to the young man. He leaned forward until their foreheads were touching. "I hope that you will be diligent enough to master your magic. If you can be as strong as this dragon or my butler, I won't have any problems with you. As you know, I am not the kind of person who will babysit you. You need to learn to protect yourself like all of those who followed me are doing." He moved back and stared at the young man's eyes. "Whatever delusion you have of me, you should forget all of them because I am not like that."
He smirked and shook his head before he turned around to return to his seat and to his book. Ezio was unable to speak and all he could do was nod his head. He had realized it already, that the master he met the first time was different from the master he was facing right now.
Ignius suddenly appeared behind the young man and gave him a strong pat on the back that made him cough a couple of times. The dragon then laced his hand on his shoulder and was grinning at him. His gaze went from his head to his foot before he chuckled.
"You are pretty decent so I'm sure that you'll get stronger and don't always listen to the master. It is also good for you to rebel sometimes," he grinned. He then laughed after saying those words and it only made the master scoff. "Come on loosen up, you've been stiff ever since you stood there."
Ezio could only force out a smile at the dragon's words. He couldn't do what the other wanted him to do. Ever since his experience at the tower he had been having a difficult time to loosen up. His body was on constant alert because of what they did to him.
"I will leave you for now then master. I still needed to help in making talismans," he gave them a bow before he hastily left the room.
From the outside of the room, he created a gate that enabled him to go to the archmage's work room. Sigma was surprised when he saw a metal door appear inside the room and Ezio came out from it. He raised a brow and looked at the young man which made Ezio a bit uncomfortable.
He gave the archmage a short greeting before he immediately walked towards his seat and started to make talismans. Isaiah, who was focused on his work, was oblivious to what just happened. Sigma on the other hand was left to ponder about what he saw.
Afternoon came and so was the report of the sentinel. Galahad quietly read the report from his table and when he finished, he let the sentinel go. No questions were asked because the report was what he already expected.
The duke then drafted a plan on who he would send on the errand of distributing the talismans once they were finished. Just before dinner came, he already finalized the list he would send and all he needed to do was to inform them beforehand. It would be a long week for them.
A thousand talismans were finished after five days of nonstop toiling from Sigma and his two apprentices. It then took them a day to organize and divide the talismans into the areas that needed them the most. The groups that were formed to distribute the talismans were also ready to move out.
Ezio and Isaiah were in one group while Archmage Sigma was in another group. Cygnus also took that opportunity to be on the third group while the two dukes would be left in the manor to deal with some other matters. Duke Ulysses stared hard at his son to warn him not to overdo it again.
The distribution of the talismans began as each group went their separate ways. Their travels were blessed with good weather and they have not encountered any assassinations along the way. They even thought that their task would go smoothly but their expectations were crushed.
The two young mages reached their first destination and everything was going well not until they reached the fourth place where they will be distributing the talismans. The moment they stepped inside the small village, they could already feel a prickling sensation in their skin. The people in that place were giving them weird looks as they whispered with each other.
A gaunt man with sunken eyes approached them. He was giving them a smile but it still gave the young mages a sense of creepiness. The sentinels who stood with them did not move and waited for the man to get near them.
"Welcome to our humble town, we were told that someone will be delivering the talismans and we didn't expect these young lords to deliver them personally," the man spoke after he stopped in front of them.
"Yes, it is an important task so the duke entrusted us with the job." Isaiah gave the man a smile as he looked around. "It seems that the situation here is not that good," he commented.
The man, who was the leader of the town, as they had guessed, looked around and nodded his head. "Ever since those evil spirits started to roam around the town, business has not been doing well. Even the people who go to the mine are being affected so we are just getting by, by what we can harvest from our small fields."
"I'm sorry to hear that. Don't worry we will relay your situation to the duke once we return to central." Isaiah nodded and assured the man. "We will also deal with the evil spirits scattered around the mining sites so that the workers can go back to their work," he added to make sure that the people won't worry any longer.
The leader was happy to hear the young man's words. He then gladly invited them to his abode and served them a warm tea. Isaiah took this chance to explain what the talismans can do since it was different from the first ones that they have distributed in the past.
