The caravan's destruction

Not long after the female mage escaped, the entire caravan was wiped out. Almost everyone was killed. Just then, the mysterious man in black from the previous day appeared. He slowly drifted out like a ghost. "My lord, everyone has been killed."

"Where is the thing I wanted?" the mysterious Black-Robed Man asked. "My lord, it should be on that woman."

At that moment, Short Man stepped forward and dropped to his knees before the Black-Robed Man. "My lord, I was careless. That woman escaped..." Before he could finish, the mysterious Black-Robed Man whipped his head around. "What? She escaped? You useless fool. I don't want to hear your explanations." With that, he raised his hand and pointed. A strange bolt of red lightning shot from his finger, bursting with dazzling light as Short Man screamed.

"Aaaaah! M-my... lord, your subordinate deserves death. Please... punish me, my lord." The mysterious Black-Robed Man tortured him for a full minute, only stopping when he was barely breathing. This time, the Black-Robed Man no longer drifted along slowly. He strode quickly to the spot where the female mage had just disappeared.

He closed his eyes and slowly extended both hands. A strange magical fluctuation emanated from his body. Then his eyes suddenly snapped open. "She couldn't have gone far. She's right over there." The Black-Robed Man pointed ahead in a particular direction. Like sharks that had caught the scent of blood, the vicious bandits shouted and charged in the direction he indicated.

The bandits finally left, but Allen still did not dare climb down, afraid they might double back and catch him off guard. He had kept his eyes closed and pretended to sleep in the tree the whole time. He had not dared look at the mysterious Black-Robed Man at all. He knew that powerful people like that could detect even a glance directed at them. He did not want to be discovered and then killed. So, from the moment he heard the fighting, he had lain motionless on the branch, pretending to sleep.

Allen waited patiently in the tree for an hour. Once he saw that no one was coming back, he quietly climbed down and approached the camp, peering cautiously around. The camp was strewn with bodies, a complete mess. Human organs of all kinds lay scattered with blood in every corner.

Allen quickly ran to a pile of grass beside the camp, where he had hidden his backpack beforehand. Once inside the camp, he did not dare disturb the bodies, afraid the bandits would notice they had been moved if they returned. He went over to Kells's body and discovered that it had already been picked clean. Looking at the others, he found that almost everyone belonging to the Mason Family had been searched.

The mercenaries' bodies, however, had been left untouched for lack of time. He immediately realized that this might be a good chance to make a fortune, even if it meant taking money from the dead. He needed money far too badly. Still, he did not intend to take all their valuables. Quite apart from whether his backpack could hold everything, the people who had wiped out the caravan had clearly been searching for something, which was why they had searched the Mason Family's people so thoroughly. If the bandits failed to get what they wanted from the female mage, they would certainly return to examine the bodies. So he would only take the larger share of the money.

Allen carefully searched the bodies for money, took a portion, then carefully put the bodies back in their original positions. It took him an hour to finish. He returned to the foot of the large tree and, recalling the direction in which the bandits had given chase, decided to flee the opposite way. That would take him away from his original route, but after thinking it over carefully, Allen realized he had only been going to Atlan to earn more money. Now he had looted nearly a hundred gold coins from the bodies, an amount he might never earn in a lifetime as a mercenary, even if he spent nothing on food or drink.

He therefore no longer intended to go to Atlan or join the army. Enlisting had, after all, been a last resort when he had no other choice. With so much money now, there would surely be some way to gain access to the secrets of professionals. Allen carefully weighed his options and found that he actually had few choices. Most of the power of professionals was held by the nobles. Even if he offered his services to one of them, someone of his low standing could not possibly attract their attention.

In the end, he set his sights abroad, on Dalaran. It was a place entirely unlike the other kingdoms. First, Dalaran had no king. It was ruled by a council of powerful mages, called the Kirin Tor. Second, it was the smallest of all the nations, consisting of little more than a city named Dalaran and the people living nearby. Small as it was, no one dared underestimate it, because Dalaran had nearly ninety percent of humanity's mages. Their castles and towers formed an important part of its defenses. The mages of Dalaran claimed that their city's defenses were impregnable and that no one could breach them.

Finally, Dalaran's small territory, unusual form of government, and transcendent power on the continent made major conflicts of interest with the various kings unlikely. The human nations all marveled at its mystery. After all, it was a city built entirely through magic.

Dalaran's founding dated back thousands of years, to when the elves and humans had joined forces to defeat the Trolls. The mages who had previously been taught by the elves wished to continue strengthening their powers and study in greater detail how to use and control the mysterious force of magic. They came north of Stromgarde and established Dalaran beside Lake Lordamere.

From its founding, the place had been intended as the world's largest center for magical learning and experimentation. Countless mages gathered there to conduct their magical research. Because their research required vast quantities of materials, and because the mages needed servants to attend to their daily lives, it gradually developed into a city. Later, only after the human kingdom split apart did Dalaran become a kingdom.

Why did Allen intend to go to Dalaran? Mainly because he had just witnessed the power of mages. Even leaving aside the mysterious Black-Robed Man, the female mage could decide the life or death of ordinary people at will. There was another crucial reason: when he had studied that stone filled with energy, he had discovered that whether someone could become a mage must have a great deal to do with their mental strength. Besides, he did not think his physical constitution would allow him to become a powerful Warrior.

Taking all these factors together, going to Dalaran was a necessity. Only there might he become a powerful mage. Once Allen had thought it through, he hesitated no longer and immediately set off for Dalaran.

His current location was still far from Dalaran, probably several months' journey away. He first had to reach the border between Lordaeron and Alterac, then travel through Alterac to Dalaran. Before that, however, he had to return to Giles Castle and make thorough preparations. This time, he did not intend to travel with a caravan. His first caravan escort job had left him with lingering fear. He did not want to get mixed up in the nobles' damned affairs again.

The return journey went very smoothly. After all, he was simply retracing the caravan's route and encountered no powerful beasts at all.

A week later, Allen finally returned to Giles Castle. Giles was just as it had been before. Allen went back to the same shabby inn and stayed in the same room. Once he was somewhere safe, he gave himself several days of solid rest. The past few days had left him terribly tense. Throughout his time with the caravan, his nerves had scarcely relaxed at all.

During those days in Giles, Allen did almost nothing. Apart from eating and sleeping, he spent his time in the library. This time, he was in no hurry and carefully read through all the books he wanted to read.

A week soon passed, and Allen finally emerged from the library. This time, he intended to sell the things he had taken from the mercenaries. There were not many, just a few little odds and ends, but they still took up space. He was setting out for the border and had no room to carry them.

Allen went to the marketplace. First, he visited a weapons shop called the Mercenary's Home and showed the owner the weapons he had picked up along the way. "Have a look at these. How much are they worth?"

"One gold coin," the owner offered without even looking. Allen ignored him and walked straight out. Afterward, he visited many weapons and armor shops. In the end, he sold the items separately, selling each to whichever shop offered the highest price. It took three days to sell everything, earning him seven or eight gold coins in total.

Although this was less than the cash he had taken from the bodies, it was still a considerable sum. He now had to economize wherever possible. Everyone knew that studying magic in Dalaran burned through money. This might look like a great deal of money, but only to ordinary people. To a mage, it might cover no more than a single experiment.

After taking care of these matters, he went to a general store to replenish his dry provisions before finally returning to the inn. He had also wanted to buy a weapon, but even with his current funds, he could not afford a good one. Inferior ones were no better than simply continuing to use the mercenaries' weapons. In the end, he could only give up the idea.

It was nearly evening when he returned to the inn. He ate a hasty meal downstairs first. After returning to his room, he planned his route to Dalaran. The route he planned was not actually the shortest. The shortest route would have taken him straight through Silverpine Forest, almost in a direct line, allowing him to arrive in a little over a month. Crossing Silverpine Forest, however, was very dangerous. He would rather travel farther than enter it.

His planned route would take him from Giles around to the rear of Lordaeron, into the Kaldz War Fortress, then across the border to the Hill Highlands. He would cross the highlands into the Misty Coast and finally enter Dalaran. It was somewhat long, but it was the safest route. It would probably take about three months. Once he had settled on the route, he checked his supplies again, making sure nothing had been overlooked, then packed them into his newly purchased large backpack.

Over the next few days, he did not immediately set out. He intended to leave in a week. Before then, he wanted to ask around the city about the Mason caravan.

The Mason Family seemed to have shown no reaction at all and carried on as before. It appeared that the female mage had not gotten word out. This most likely meant that she had already been killed, or that her circumstances made it impossible to send a message. He thought the former was very likely. After all, the mysterious Black-Robed Man had been far stronger than the female mage and possessed strange tracking magic as well. Her chances of survival were slim.

After learning of the Mason Family's situation, he did not wait any longer. After all, even if the Mason Family were wiped out, it was none of his business.