Chapter 31 - The Insider's Map

“You didn't have to shoot,” Tiberius said, snapping the arrow in two. Layla did not respond but simply smiled.

"So you can control time now." Rael said, “What about others?”

“Well, gravity is easiest. I can just do this," he said, opening his hand palm down and lowering it slightly while clenching his hand muscles.

Yareth, Rael, Layla, and others felt a sense of heaviness in the air, as if someone was pushing them down. Yareth and Hans, who were weaker (Yareth was still injured, and Hans was exhausted from constantly healing Yareth), were about to kneel, but Rael and Layla held them up.

Tiberius paused and apologized for overdoing it.

Rael responded, "They are just tired, but you did a great job. You're improving too quickly."

“Well, it wasn’t that hard,” Tiberius explained. “After Layla told me that magic requires imagination and hard work, I just imagine what I wish to do and it happens.”

“How do you have ‘leader’s aura’?” asked Yareth, breathing heavily. Out of all of them, he was the most affected by it.

“I don't.” Tiberius answered, “It was just gravity.”

“Don't do that again,” Yareth said in a demanding tone.

“Come on, even my sweetie was not scared that much,” Felix added.

“It is not about being scared,” Rael explained. “Just don't do it next to him for a while, okay?”

Tiberius furrowed in confusion but seemed to not oppose the idea, so he nodded. “I think we should let him rest,” he offered. “We don't have much time, but I would rather him be in better shape.”

“I may need some resting too.” Hans spoke in a silent voice.

“I will carry you,” said Rael, putting his hands on his hip.

“I can wa—”

Rael did not let him speak and lifted him on his back. “Kids should listen to their elders.” He said with a smile, carrying him to his tent. “Don't wait for me; I will take a nap.” He added, before leaving.

They watched him carry Hans to the tent and then stood silent for a while.

“Then let’s rest a bit,” Tiberius offered. “I am also tired, so let—”

A small rock hit his head from behind. Tiberius held his head and rubbed it slightly. It didn't hurt too much, but it was enough to distract him.

"Who's throwing rocks?" He turned and spoke up.

Tyler appeared next to him with a shackling rock voice, holding his book closed. “Don't get distracted. We still need to train on your reflexes.”

“Okay,” he sighed, “I won't rest. But could you please stop hitting me with roc—”

Another rock hit his head.

“I told you not to hit me!” He screamed.

“Hey,” Layla stepped in, “Do not raise your voice to him. Just go along with it. If he says you can't rest, then you can't rest.”

“Ahhh,” Tiberius walked away to his training zone. “Why are you guys scared of him that much?! He is just boring.”

…

[Next day]

“Can I come in?” Tiberius asked, knocking on the door.

“Come in.”

Tiberius slowly opened the door and entered the tent Yareth had been sleeping in.

He was up and sitting on his bed, looking around in confusion.

“How are you?”

“Better,” Yareth replied, rubbing his eyes.

Tiberius simply nodded and stood next to the door for a few seconds. Then he looked around and grabbed a chair, placing it in front of Yareth and sitting in it.

"I'm not sure if there's any way I can apologize to you. I was the reason you were —"

"It was not your fault. I was just born into the wrong family," Yareth interjected. "My mind still can't process what happened. Why would a father do something like this to his son?"

Tiberius didn't say anything; he just stood there, waiting for Yareth to say what was bothering him. He did hold himself accountable for his arrest, but he was powerless to reverse the course of events. So he didn't mind if Yareth yelled at him or even slapped him.

“Why did you want me here?” Yareth suddenly asked, changing the topic. Though he was perplexed by this, Tiberius did not want to disagree in case he didn't want to discuss it.

"You wanted to say something to Charles when we first met, but he cut you off. It had to do with how I got here. Are there any details you know about that?”

Yareth giggled, “All that for a question?”

“Not just that, but it is important for me. I am somewhere I shouldn't be.”

Yareth sighed, “I know. To your question, I don't know the details, but yes. My father was the one who pulled you into this world.”

Tiberius' eyes widened as soon as he learned the news. His heart began racing, and he was unable to sit down. He stood up and began walking around the room nonstop.

"Why?" In response to his anger, he rubbed his face. “Why would he even do that? It doesn't make sense.”

“It does.” Yareth disagreed. “You were supposed to pull the sword and give it to him. He planned to use your confusion and fear. Since he was a representative in the 99th festival, he had the upper hand in everything. But he couldn't calculate one thing. You couldn't pull the sword; you just moved it.”

“Wait,” Tiberius stopped walking, “he was present in the festival. How did he do it in front of everyone?”

“Do you think it is a problem for a king?” Yareth made a sour face. “He had a group of mages who specialized in dark magic. He had ordered them to search for a worthy candidate and they pulled you.”

“Worthy? Me?”

“Well, he only cared to find someone who looked different. Few mages looked through worlds and saw you as someone who kind of looked like the gods, so they pulled you.”

“Is it that simple? Pulling someone from other worlds?”

“Of course not.” Yareth explained. “It took them over a hundred lives just to glimpse through other worlds and find you. Then one week before your arrival, he traded over three hundred slaves for money, just to pull you here at the right time.”

“That son of a bit—” Tiberius stopped mid-slur, “sorry.”

“It is okay. I don't consider him my father anymore.”

“I just can't understand it. How would someone buy people and kill them?”

“When you are a king, you have everything this world has and strive for more. Also, technically he didn't buy them; he just traded them for money.”

“That is what buying means,” Tiberius said with a sarcastic tone.

“Not when he does it,” Yareth disagreed. “Country Virelia is the only nation with advanced technology. No other country has the machinery we have or is capable of making it. All of them are made here. Including money printing machines. Since Virelia owns all the printing, other countries trade their goods with it, sometimes including slaves.”

“So he has control over all the nations?” Tiberius tried to understand.

“Not clearly. While he provides money, our country lacks a lot of things: metals, jewels, human power, medication, and others. Each country has their upper hand in something.”

“Balance, huh?” Tiberius frowned, “But that is not important right now. The important thing is, will you help us?”

Yareth did not reply; he stood up and walked toward the table.

“I will need some time.” He said.

Tiberius let out a loud sigh, “Okay, but we don't have much time until the next sacred day. We need to finish this as soon as possible. So, decide quick. We will be in Rael’s tent,” he said before leaving.

…

“So, you didn’t kill anyone, as promised, right?” Tiberius asked.

“No,” Rael replied with a smile. “You can ask them. Not a single soul was killed. I did hit some, but they are just slightly injured.”

Glancing around the room, Tiberius examined each person. With the exception of Tom, who was unaware of what was happening, none of them appeared to dispute what Rael was saying. He was just looking around and waiting. But Tiberius didn't mind him because, aside from his fighting style, he knew little about him.

Suddenly, the tent’s door opened. Yareth entered, holding a large rolled paper under his arm. Without saying anything, he approached the table and placed the paper and pen he was holding in his other hand on it.

“You should buy some papers; camp doesn’t have big ones,” he complained, looking at Rael.

“Did you decide? I thought you would think for the whole day,” Tiberius asked.

“Thinking? For what?”

“Helping us to take over the castle,” Tibeirus answered.

“Oh, that? I had agreed with that when Rael mentioned it on our way here. I just needed the time to remember small details.”

“Like what?” Ivy joined the conversation.

Yareth did not speak. He took two big stones out of his pockets, which were weighing his pants down. He then opened the paper and laid it on the table and put the rocks to the side, making sure it wasn’t going to roll back.

“Like this,” he only answered now. showing the whole structure of the castle.

“How many rooms does it have?” Tom asked excitedly.

Everyone stared at him immediately, with a sour face. “What? Imagine living there. You can sleep in a different room every day.”

“If we take it over, you can try it,” Yareth spoke, “But first, focus on what I will say.”

Everyone nodded, coming closer to the table. Even Tyler had closed his book and was checking the map of the castle.

“This is all the rooms, corridors, and secret ways you may need. Now listen to me closely because I will explain things you need to be careful about.”

He took the pen and drew circles around the castle image. “This is outside of the castle. You won’t notice them while using the normal carriageway, but if you try to approach the castle in another way, guards outside of the castle will take you out. They usually hide in the forest around the castle’s walls. They can be anywhere—in trees, underground, or standing in front of you. This is the most important part, because if you mess up here, you are doomed.”

“How many guards?” Ivy asked.

"Typically over fifty. That is the number you will see at least. The number can go over hundred if there is a suspicious situation, like a dungeon break.” He looked at Rael, then continued, “So you will need to approach each of them one by one and take them out. You can’t leave a single one out, because all of them carry emergency whistles. If only one of them uses it, they will send immediate backup from the castle and might even call the army.”

“I can handle that. I trained some good soldiers.” Ivy said proudly.

“Then there come the towers,” he showed. “There are always three guards checking things out. One is ‘Truthseeker,’ so Illusions won’t work.”

“Other abilities?” Layla asked.

“The other two are ‘Archers.’ Unless you got one, you can’t approach them.”

An arrow made out of ice appeared before Yareth's face. “Leave them to me,” Layla said, with a serious expression on her face

Yareth took the arrow and placed it on the table. "Then it leaves us inside with guards and captains. This is the captains' room," he indicated. “Since the king is too full of himself and also paranoid, he never lets a general or high commander stay with him in the castle. So you will have an easier time than you might expect. Just make sure you don’t underestimate any of the guards; they are trained soldiers.”

“My sweetie is also trained,” Felix smiled. “Don’t worry.”

“I am not worried about them. They are not the problems. The problem is these three.” He showed them their names.

"King Tharos, Rovshen and Charles. The primary reason why the castle is secure..."