To the Border 5

Leonard woke up with a ringing headache. He jerked up with tinnitus worse than a combat veteran in the trench. He tried to get up, but his bed consisted of solid stone.

"@#-$%?"

The ringing suddenly got worse, he clenched his head and went into a fetal position. Zhar'kerut must have run out of patience and grabbed Leonard by his collar and forcibly made him drink a potion.

Leonard almost choked but he held it in and drank the potion, the result of the sudden liquid rushing through his throat pushed him into a coughing fit.

But thanks to that potion the ringing stopped and he had his respite. He stood still and recovered from the pain he was subjected to.

"You dug more than you're supposed to."

Zhar'kerut spoke on the sideline with indifference. Leonard's eyes turned towards the massive arthropod. His eyes are begging for an explanation.

"Circles are a set of instructions, but not just any instructions. These are intent. Depending on the strength of the intent the person who's studying them could be swayed. These lines and shapes aren't so empty there's a reason why the magic circle isn't just a picture."

Zhar'kerut handed another parchment paper to Leonard, he saw that it was a circle, another magic circle. Leonard immediately jerked his head away trying not to lay his sight on the circle.

"Don't worry, this time I dumbed the circle down to your level. So get working and memorise it." Zhar'kerut spoke with no room for negotiations.

Leonard frowned, he knew that being in here is an attack from the enemy and he survived by pure luck, well even if his arrival was predicted he knew that being in here is a blessing in disguise.

But the fact that he had to crawl into a journey of madness makes him miss the comforts of his home. His eyes slowly looked down at the parchment he had.

A thick base circle, a mini inner circle connected with four medium size strands of lines, and a Pentagon in the middle of the mini circle. The four medium size strands entail the intent of burn, combust, alight, and warmth. The inner circle is a stabiliser connecting the four.

The Pentagon added some clarity to the outer strands from the inner circle. "Air ventilation, Air circulation, ventilation strength, combustion intensity, combustion range." all of those that form the Pentagon.

Leonard nodded he was so reluctant to look at it again in case his mind was ravaged by madness. He silently thanked the heavens that he won't go mad again.

Though, by the time he completely memorised the single piece of the circle he was yanked to reality by Zhar'kerut.

He reluctantly removed his eyes from the parchment and looked at Zhar'kerut with mild annoyance, which Zhar'kerut ignored with proficiency.

"We're here."

"Huh?"

Leonard looked up with confusion, he was so focused on understanding each intent in the circle he forgot that he walked with Zhar'kerut towards the border city.

"We're now in Vaharacht."

Zhar'kerut pointed at the large arched double-door entrance. Whatever it is, the door seems to be made with the intent of accommodating something larger.

Leonard folded the parchment and stashed it in his bag, and they walked towards the huge entrance. The warriors who guard the entrance looked at Leonard with both confusion and scrutiny.

They couldn't believe something this weak is living down the dungeon. Especially in the care of a Ziquir, a well-respected title within their society.

Zhar'kerut showed his identity to the guards and they nodded allowing him entry, the warriors pushed the door with one hand and it opened.

"Follow close."

Leonard got curious and tried to push the door himself, only to be humbled by his human origins. The door didn't move an inch.

Though their small journey was short, it still took two days. Something that Zhar'kerut didn't like. Once they were inside, a labyrinth-like structure was presented to them. If Zhar'kerut hadn't yanked Leonard he would've been lost, several times.

"What the hell? Why is it so hard to backtrack this place?"

"Because we placed glyphs, it distorts memories for the non-Xyn."

"Oof."

Leonard could understand the implications of the Labyrinth and its enchantments; they're on the lowest floor of the dungeon. Nothing is an easy target. If a single parasite wandered here and got to its home city things would go down, considering the nature of a parasite.

Leonard and Zhar'kerut finally reached the city, it was very lively. It was full of activity but for a reason. Leonard saw a bunch of warriors being patched up and some of them being healed by some web a Weaver is spewing.

"Don't you have healers?"

"We do but they're rare," Zhar'kerut answered surprisingly. "So rare that the Queen and Gene brooder are the only ones that have them available."

"What about the division of Labour?"

"Castes."

Zhar'kerut soon ignored his small talk as they entered a building that was designed like Mayan structures. Filled with intricate and asymmetric carvings.

It was large, larger than a building that Leonard had been used to. He continued to follow Zhar'kerut till they got to a room that looks like a standard office.

"Ziquir, Hazar'naheb." Zhar'kerut bowed his head prompting Leonard to do the same.

"Ziquir Zhar'kerut. It's nice to see you on the frontier."

That alarmed Leonard, all he knew was that Vaharacht is a border city! Not a frontier! Border and frontier are vastly different! The border is just the fence while a frontier is ants and buys waging war on its neighbours every second.

It might be exaggerated to a degree but a frontier is a very same thing that desperate two countries by definition! And the constant skirmishing is possibly not because of a simple-minded race.

"I was needed, also, I have something on my side that needed to be shaped up."

Leonard flinched, and he flinched hard. He could already see the guy cooking up the worst food to be on his plate. And Zhar'kerut is going to shove it down his throat whether he likes it or not.

"He's the man, or rather a boy from the seers' expectations." Zhar'kerut continued.

"Ah, so if that is really 'it' then that's good. The Jakari is stepping foot in our territory again."

Again?

"Well no matter, I suppose you already have a plan regarding the human. I won't keep you any longer." Hazar'naheb waved his hand in dismissal.

"Yes." Zhar'kerut nodded.

Zhar'kerut abruptly turned around and walked off with no further comment, they encountered a lot of Xyn walking up to this building and so far Zhar'kerut only showed indifference, not sparing a single glance to the surprised Xyn's as they saw Leonard with him.

"Ziquir, am I fucked?"

"Explain that stupid slang."

"Am I going to be thrown in the front lines?"

"No, Your work is going to be more important than that."

"And that is?" Leonard asked nervously.

"Logistics."

"Oof."