Between secrets and dangers

As Mortis quietly slipped out of his own room so as not to wake Helga, another room opened in the hallway. Mortis could see two eyes peering curiously into the hallway. When they met Mortis, the room's occupant tried to slowly close the door again, but Mortis spoke a little louder. "Good morning, Merlin! I'm glad you're here. I was going to pick you up and take you on our trip anyway. I'm still going to take a bath, in the meantime you can say goodbye to Opera." Merlin looked out the doorway and just nodded with flushed cheeks without saying anything. Mortis just laughed and headed towards the bathroom while muttering to himself. "As if the castle didn't already know." And then he laughed again.

After Mortis finished bathing, he headed to the dining room, where some servants were already preparing breakfast for him and Merlin, setting out portions to go. A short time later, Opera arrived, which amused Mortis greatly, as her usually stern look disappeared and she dared not look him in the eye. "I'm not your father, and besides, everyone knows about you two, since the servants like to chat. So stay relaxed." Merlin, we're about to head south. I've heard that you've also been to some dungeons and that direction in the past few months, so it shouldn't be a problem for you to accompany me. While you're trying to gather information as a common adventurer, I'll check the dark alleys to see if I come across anything."

Opera was about to reach for Merlin, but held back when Mortis said, "In 7 days, when the troops march and my women are with them, you are welcome to accompany them. Don't worry, I will bring him back safely." Mortis then stood up, put his ration in his ring, and tapped Merlin on the shoulder to go on his way.

The two headed to the church and through a portal to end up in a graveyard near Ulm. From there they would get to the next county of Bayaroma to see the city and countryside. With the nightshade they would be faster, but the big dog would only be a hindrance, as it could be recognized immediately. Therefore, Mortis also took the mask from his ring, which he had received from the raid, to change his shape. Suddenly Mark stood in front of Merlin.

Mortis was now an older man with short brown hair, in which some gray showed, and a gray stubble beard. He had broad shoulders that made him look more like a miner, but he still wore classy clothes, though he exchanged them for regular pants and simple shirts. Merlin asked curiously, "Did you look like this in your former life?" Mortis replied, "Yes, I did. Even in my old age, I was hot, as you can see." Merlin countered, "I'd say you look more like a stubborn old fart who's had a lot of fights in his life." Mortis laughed and said, "If you only knew!" And he continued to laugh.

Along the way, Mortis mainly let Merlin fight. Only when an opponent got too close did he interfere with punches and kicks. He didn't want to use his scythe lest someone accidentally recognized him. But Mortis found it interesting how different Merlin and Marina were, even though they were both mages. It was noticeable that Merlin had a system and also reacted quite differently and faster. His stats should be higher even though they were the same level. Merlin reminded Mortis more of an Arcane Mage, while Marina was a Frost Mage.

After a few kilometers, they reached a city in ruins. This should have been empty, cleansed of the souls of the population, but it was not. The city was filled neither with soldiers nor with former citizens. Instead, scum and riffraff seemed to have taken up residence, trying to loot the ruins and make this ruin a home of crime. This was not a small gang, but a vast number of people dressed in black robes and dark leather, their scent filled with the smell of death and sin. Mortis could already see their black souls from a distance, but the closer he got to them, the worse it got for him.

Mortis would have liked to find out more about these villains and look around at them, but he didn't want to put Merlin in danger and move quickly. If these bandits continue to stay there, they will have an unpleasant surprise in a few days, Mortis thought to himself, and continued on his way with Merlin, pulling him into the spirit realm so that they really couldn't be tracked down by anyone. So they continued their journey and in the evening they reached a busy city.

In the evening they arrived in Tirola, a small hill town with a small castle ruled by a baron. There Mortis and Merlin parted to go different ways. They agreed to meet again here in 6 days to discuss together what they had found out and how they would proceed. Merlin went to the Adventurer's Guild, while Mortis moved on to first get to the next graveyard and then try to integrate himself into the lower swamp of society. For even though the citizens in this land are not the strongest, many an evil deed is planned in the dark corners, especially in back rooms.

In the dark night, Mortis flew through the new, unknown land in his ghostly form to further spread the power of Primus. He made a brief stop to visit the nearest graveyard and strengthen Primus' presence there. Arriving in Lichtenstein, Mortis sought out a dark corner in the poor district to transform himself and check into a cheap inn as Mark. This way he could make it appear that he needed sleep, while he continued to roam the streets and houses in his ghostly form, looking for secret passages or dark guilds.

It wasn't long before the souls of men revealed the location of a gathering that could only be beings of darkness. One would have thought demons from hell had been cast out and had gathered in this county. Curious, Mortis penetrated further into the deepest core of these cellars, which resembled a labyrinth. But in the innermost core he saw bright lights of souls that were pure, but at the same time seemed full of pain. When Mortis turned in a corner to get a clearer picture of what was missing from his spirit form, he found that these people, whose souls looked like demons, had the form of mages, but teeth like wolves or other wild animals. Mortis was almost frightened, because apparently these people had sold not only their souls, but also everything that makes them human.

No sooner had Mortis turned and peered through a crack in a door into the next hallway than a deep bell sounded, announcing disaster. Mortis quickly looked for a cell to jump into to continue looking around. As he did so, he heard the crying of women and children pleading over and over, "Please don't let me go, please don't!" When Mortis heard the desperate voices of the women and children, he became alert and peered through the bars. Unfortunately, he could see nothing. Determined that the secrecy had to end sooner than he thought, he kicked the grate and knocked the door off its hinges, causing it to crash loudly to the floor.