"Now, explain."
All the group members sat down.
"Exactly which part?" Seraphina asked quietly.
"The guards said you came out of the Cindervein Passage."
The student council president sat across from them.
"None of the humans found so far have come from that side."
"First the Forest of Giants, then we entered Glassthorn, and then we came here." Seraphina answered.
"You crossed two forests?" Rindo stared at her for a few moments.
"Three forests, if we count Emberroot too." Lian added.
Rindo turned his gaze to Seraphina.
Not because he didn’t believe Lian’s words.
He knew well that if parts of the story needed a detailed explanation, Seraphina would probably provide the more organized version.
"I and Seris appeared inside the Forest of Giants." Although it was Lian who answered, he explained parts of the path.
The first hours after the transfer, passing through different sections of the Forest of Giants, reaching the Giants’ Graveyard.
Finding the path, moving to Glassthorn, and then finding Seraphina and Liana.
But his explanations were calculated. He said nothing about the true nature of the Giants’ Graveyard. He spoke nothing of Orrakas.
He omitted the Mirror Vault.
He also did not mention the Primordial Root, The Black Silence, or Seraphina’s inheritance.
Rindo remained silent throughout.
Sometimes he would ask a brief question about the distance, the monsters’ Levels, or the duration of the journey.
When the story reached the crossing of the Cindervein Passage, his gaze fixed on Lian for a moment.
"That’s it? You found a map and crossed the passage?"
"In short, yes." Lian answered.
"And the full version?"
"It’s longer."
Rindo examined him for a few seconds. He knew parts had been omitted, but he didn’t seem to consider it important, so he didn’t continue the question.
"I appeared directly inside Emberroot." This time it was his turn to explain.
"The first few hours I was alone. Then I found two second-year students from another academy and an independent Awakener who had obtained a special entry quota from the federation."
He pointed at the map on the wall.
"We appeared near one of the rivers. Before we knew where we were, a group of monsters attacked us."
The four had managed to survive, but one of the students was severely wounded.
After a while, a Cindari patrol found them and brought them to Vhalaris.
In the following days, more humans were found from different parts of Emberroot.
Some had come without resistance alongside the soldiers, some had assumed the Cindari were enemies and had caused conflict.
A few had been killed during the first encounter, and some groups had found Ashfall Ward themselves before being found by the city’s patrols.
"At first, everyone was working for themselves." Rindo said.
His gaze fell on the room’s maps.
"Food was being stolen. Groups were fighting each other. People were trying to take each other’s equipment through threats."
"And you organized everyone?" Liana asked.
"Organized is too strong a word. At least now no one kills each other for a piece of meat."
"That’s good progress."
The door opened, and two people placed bowls of water and food on the table.
After they left, Rindo closed the door again. Seraphina this time directly addressed the topic she had been waiting for since the start of the meeting.
"Do you have any news about the others?"
Rindo placed his hand around his water glass, but did not raise it.
"Have you seen Selina?" Liana asked sooner.
Rindo turned his gaze to her.
"No."
The faint smile Liana was trying to keep on her face faded.
"I didn’t see her name among the registered people either." He added before the silence could become heavier.
"But that doesn’t mean she’s dead. Not all humans in Emberroot have reached Vhalaris yet. New groups are found every day."
Liana lowered her gaze. Her fingers tightened around the edge of the glass.
"Okay."
"What about Marcus and Ethan?" Lian added.
Rindo did not answer immediately this time. His pause was only a few seconds, but it was enough for Lian to understand something had gone wrong.
The young man’s fingers pressed on the table’s edge. His gaze moved away from them for a moment and fixed on the wall map.
"What happened?" Lian asked without changing his expression.
Rindo let out a quiet breath.
"Marcus and Ethan are alive."
Seraphina relaxed slightly.
"Cassian is also alive."
This name made Lian pay more attention.
"All three are here?"
"Yes, they are inside Vhalaris." Rindo paused briefly again and then sighed and added.
"But they are imprisoned."
The room’s atmosphere immediately changed. Seris, who had been more of a listener until then, asked.
"By the Cindari?"
"Yes."
Tension rose in the room for a moment. The student council president could see that the people present were not happy to hear that their friends had been imprisoned by outsiders.
"It’s complicated."
"Simplify it." Lian said with a cold tone.
Rindo was silent for a few seconds, then leaned forward and sat up straight.
"According to the city’s official report, Marcus and Ethan entered one of the restricted sections beneath the Rootspire without permission."
"The Cindari say they intended to steal from the military Archive."
"And Cassian? They say he was the one who prepared the entry route."
"How?" Seraphina asked in disbelief. With what she knew of all three of them, it was impossible for them to want to do such a thing.
Lian’s face was calm, but surprise could be seen in his eyes. For him too, it was hard to believe that Cassian would do something foolish.
Now, if it was Marcus, such stupidity could be expected, and he didn’t know Ethan well enough.
"By forging a Guest Sigil, stealing a seal from one of the Archive officials, and opening two checkpoints."
This accusation was not impossible with Cassian’s abilities.
He was a precise and intelligent person. If anyone in the group could find a way into a protected area without triggering an alarm, Cassian was one of the most likely options.
But Rindo’s expression showed the more important part had not yet been said.
"What are you hiding? Just tell everything?" Lian frowned.
"The city guard says Cassian killed one of the Cindari archivists inside the Archive."
For the first time, Lian, Seraphina, and Liana reacted almost simultaneously.
"Impossible."
All three voices overlapped.
Rindo said nothing.
"Cassian would never kill an unarmed person."
Lian kept his gaze on Rindo.
"Even if his goal was to enter the Archive, killing an archivist would have no benefit for him."
Cassian was cautious. More than that, he would examine the consequences of every action and would never endanger the entire group.
He might break a law. He might enter a forbidden area to save a group member.
But killing an unarmed person in an unknown city, in a way that would incite an entire civilization against humans, was not consistent with his character and methods.
"If he had to fight a guard, maybe. But an archivist? No." Seraphina said.
"I didn’t believe it either." Rindo nodded.
"The body was found next to him?"
"Yes."
"The weapon?"
"Cassian’s sword was inside the archivist’s body."
"They definitely framed him." Liana clenched her fist. She didn’t know why they would do such a thing, but she had no doubt.
"Cassian says when he entered the room, the archivist was already dead." Rindo said.
"Was the time of death checked?" Lian asked.
"The official report says he was killed at that same time."
"And what does Cassian say?"
"He says the body was colder than it should have been. That means the death happened earlier."
This was important.
The Cindari naturally have a higher body temperature than humans. If Cassian had been able to detect the cooling of the body even in Emberroot’s warm environment, there was probably a significant time gap.
"Before he could examine the room, the guards arrived." Rindo continued.
"Were Marcus and Ethan there too?" Lian asked.
"No. They were in the lower corridor. When the alarm was activated, the guards blocked their path. A conflict started."
According to the official account, Marcus and Ethan had attacked the city guard.
Several guards were wounded, and one Cindari soldier had died during the conflict.
"Which one killed the soldier?"
"Ethan. And he has been sentenced to execution."
"But why did they go down there at all? Just for an Archive?" Liana asked in disbelief.
She couldn’t understand why they would do something so foolish in an unknown civilization.
Rindo looked at the room’s closed door, and his voice lowered as he answered.
"Because they thought there were humans being held down there."
"Thought, or saw?" Lian immediately asked.
"Marcus had seen a night caravan."
He explained that a few nights before the incident, Marcus had returned to the city later than the others from a hunting mission.
Near the Rootspire, a military caravan had passed through one of the side entrances. The wagons were covered.
The guards had blocked the path to keep anyone from getting close. But for a few seconds, one wagon’s curtain had moved aside.
"Marcus said there were several people inside. Their hands were tied, and they wore prisoner clothes."
"Most of them were Cindari, but Marcus swore at least one of them was Human."
For a moment, silence filled the entire room.
Because if what they were hearing was true, contrary to their initial belief, they were not dealing with a hospitable and honest race.
On the contrary, they might have unknowingly walked into a large trap...
Lian leaned back slightly. He had guessed that a foreign civilization was not going to treat them well.
But now he was worried about One... could these bastards harm it?