Under the Oak Tree (Web Novel KR)

247 Chapter 8

Startled, Maxi turned to see Anette striding into the communal workshop. She approached Maxi and leaned close so she could hear her over the clanking of the gears.

“Master Landon is looking for you!” Anette yelled at the top of her lungs. “He wants you in his office now!”

As soon as the girl’s ear-piercing message sank in, Maxi felt her tears instantly dry up. Standing up, she looked at Anette in trepidation.

“W-Why?”

All Anette could offer was a shrug. Sighing, Maxi left the workshop. What reason could the head mage have for wanting to see her this time? She hurried through the hall to the massive steel cage. After asking a passerby ferrying firewood to activate the pulley for her, Maxi opened the door and stepped inside.

Soon, the steel crate rattled and clanked before slowly rising off the ground. She rearranged her rumpled dress and disheveled hair as she climbed to the upper levels. Since she would someday be requesting a recommendation letter impressive enough to earn her the approval of Urd’s mages, she wanted to secure the head mage’s good graces as much as possible. She was aware of Master Landon’s high opinion of her skills, but it was still possible he would favor the mages of his tribe over her. Maxi did her best to flatten any stray strands of hair.

Before long, the pulley came to a halt. She gingerly opened the door and stepped out. When she knocked on the arch-shaped entrance, Landon’s voice came through, inviting her in.

“Good evening, Master Landon,” Maxi said as she slowly entered.

Inside, Landon was sitting opposite a lanky man. Maxi’s eyes widened. She had been expecting him to be alone. The stranger had his back to Maxi, but he looked over his shoulder as she walked in, regarding her with blue-gray eyes.

Maxi froze as she recognized him. It was Calto Serbel, a mage she had once heard described as one of the elders of the Tower. His influence was considerable within Nornui. Thinking she had come at an inappropriate time, she took a step back.

“I was told… you wanted to see me. I did not mean to interrupt…”

“Come, have a seat,” Landon said, pointing to an empty chair.

Maxi studied Calto Serbel’s face before tentatively sitting down. Seeing her nervousness, Landon smiled at her as if to lighten the mood.

“I didn’t call you here to admonish you, so there’s no need to be so tense. There is a proposal I’d like you to consider.”

“A proposal?”

It was Calto Serbel who answered. “Allow me to explain.”

Maxi flinched and turned to look at him. His age was impossible to guess. Though the mage had the taut skin of a youth in his twenties, his neatly tied gray hair was flecked with white. Barely visible age spots dotted the back of his bony hand clutching the armrest. Those were the only indicators that the man might be much older than he appeared.

Calto’s keen eyes observed her before continuing. “The Mage Tower intends to conduct an expedition to the Roviden Continent in the near future, and we are currently in the process of recruiting mages apt for the task.”

Maxi blinked vacantly.

After allowing the silence to stretch on, Calto added, “We were hoping you would join us.”

“M-Me?”

He slowly nodded. “Master Landon tells me you are proficient in the ancient tongue and quite accomplished with runes. I understand you took an interest in that field early on and have been focusing on it since. The expeditionary party is in need of mages like you.”

“B-But… I have yet to finish my training…”

“It would indeed be a tad premature, but if you were to join the expedition, you would be conferred with an elemental rune. On the condition that you will carry out your task until its completion, of course.”

It was such a shocking offer that Maxi nearly leaped to her feet to shout that she would do whatever they wanted. The very problem she had been brooding over would be solved if she joined the expeditionary party. Not only would she receive her elemental rune and become a high mage, but she would be able to leave the island a lot sooner. Even so, it would not be prudent for her to agree without knowing what the task entailed.

Striving to be as level-headed as possible, she asked, “What… is the purpose of the expedition? What could the Mage Tower possibly want with a novice like me?”

Deep lines creasing his forehead, Calto stroked his beardless chin with a bony finger before saying somberly, “The matter of the expedition is only known among the few high mages who have already agreed to join it.”

“Are you saying you cannot tell me what the mission is… unless I agree first?”

“No, it is not my intention to coerce you without any knowledge of what you are getting yourself into. However, until the Tower officially makes the announcement… I ask that you keep what you are about to hear to yourself. We would not want to cause unnecessary unrest.”

That meant the expedition involved matters of grave significance. Biting her lower lip, Maxi slowly nodded. “I understand. I shall not… tell a soul.”

Calto regarded her intently as if to gauge how much she could be trusted before explaining in a monotonous voice, “I’m sure you know of the monster invasion three years ago. An army comprised mostly of trolls wreaked havoc across the entire northwestern region after forming an alliance with the monsters of the Ayin race, instigating a terrible war.”

Maxi’s face darkened at the unexpected topic. She wondered how many of the mages in the Tower knew more about the war than she did. Even now, the horrors of that time still haunted her dreams.

She nodded. “Yes, I know it well. Before I came here… I served as a healer on the battlefield during the war.”

“Ah, yes, that’s right.”

Knitting his brow, Calto swept his eyes over her as though seeing her in a new light. The story of how she had come to Nornui was something of a legendary tale among the few high mages privy to it.

Calto wrinkled his nose, deep in thought. “Many things about the war are rather dubious. The monsters were well-equipped and fully armored, and they had an army with a surprisingly organized chain of command. Do you understand the implications of that? It means someone spent a long time turning thousands of monsters into soldiers. It is likely these monsters formed a highly advanced civilization in the regions beyond the Pamela Plateau. Fearful that remnants of this civilization may still exist there, the church relentlessly pursued the scattered army, but it seems the region’s arid and rugged terrain made reconnaissance difficult. Hundreds of monsters vanished like ghosts, while the Osiriyan forces found themselves in a territory they knew nothing about. As you can guess, their mission was no different from finding a needle in a vast desert. Only now have they found some leads.”

The unexpected disclosure of this mind-boggling news left Maxi stunned. The thought that a vast monster civilization might exist in a mysterious region where mankind had never ventured made her shudder.

She gulped and asked cautiously, “Is the Mage Tower… sending the expeditionary party to investigate this lead?”

“Correct. The church has privately requested your help, and after much deliberation, the Mage Tower has decided to cooperate with them on the reconnaissance of the Pamela Plateau.”

Maxi furrowed her brow when she recalled the five paladins who had visited the Mage Tower last month. Though both sides tolerated each other at present, the church had a history of ruthless persecution against mages. The Tower itself had been created to protect mages from heathen hunters.

When the Age of the Armistice began after the fall of the Roem Dynasty, the church and the Mage Tower had implicitly entered a truce as well. Even with this peace, however, the zealous adherents of the Orthodox Church were still ill-disposed toward magic. Why would Osiriya ask for the Tower’s assistance knowing full well it would spark strong opposition?

“What exactly is this lead… they discovered in the Pamela Plateau?”

For the first time since their conversation began, Calto appeared hesitant. When he continued to stew in silence, his face uneasy, Landon stepped in.

“The ruins of a small town were discovered in the eastern part of the Plateau. Records written in the ancient tongue were also found.”

Unable to comprehend all the implications of the head mage’s words right away, Maxi blinked. When the significance finally dawned on her, she hunched her shoulders against an eerie chill that crawled down her spine.

“A-Are you saying… they discovered traces of a human settlement?”

“Yes,” Landon said, his voice grave, “and we believe the people who lived there were the dark mages the church banished to the north after their failed revolt.”