Ruger had barely taken two steps when he felt several gazes turn toward him.
Amid the crowd, the tent before him was a decent one, wide and spacious enough to offer at least some privacy, provided no one rudely probed it with mental power. That had been Ruger's first thought, but he withdrew it as soon as he rounded the muddy corner. At the edge of the tent, he saw one of the Mushroom Person wizard's feet sticking out.
"My friend, I think you've come at just the right time. They have many questions about what I told them..."
Gubo shook his body, and a few emotion spores slowly drifted down, carrying traces of exhaustion and frustration.
Ruger raised his eyebrows. As he walked closer, several unfamiliar wizards came into view.
The moment he appeared before them and they saw his looks, the wizards' expressions shifted slightly. They glanced at the Mushroom Person, apparently taking the two of them for some eccentric pair of wizard friends.
Several distinct currents of mental power flashed through the tent and vanished.
Including Gubo the Mushroom Person and his friend, seven wizards sat on one side of the tent, while a silver workbench stood on the other.
Ruger glanced around. This seemed to be a tent dedicated to making those water ball alchemical devices used to counter the Emberfolk's reignition.
Gubo raised a chubby hand to greet him. The old wizard remained seated beside him with his head lowered, lost in unknown thoughts.
The seven wizards sat in a circle, seemingly discussing something, but their arrangement looked more like five people had cornered the two oddballs in the tent.
Five Three-Ring Wizards.
The mental power that had briefly flashed out had been released deliberately, as a simple indication of their rank.
Ruger smiled faintly