They chatted about insignificant things for the rest of the way, some of them even opting to take a nap midway through.
Damien must have really pushed himself to the limit since they arrived at their destination almost two hours early – they didn’t ride up to the gates of Mountainfall though, deciding to leave the carriage a few hundred meters off in order to approach on foot.
Seeing an object approach at those speeds would have surely alarmed the guards, which was something they would rather avoid.
"That was quite a nice run!" Damien said, not looking tired in the slightest. *I might do that more often."
The group approached the entrance without attempting to hide their presence – in fact they made sure to talk loud enough that the guards would know about them beforehand.
When they came into view the guards were already expecting them.
"Halt, who goes there?" Despite the fact that the words were nigh identical to those they heard when they approached the Order for the first time, they were significantly more relaxed, bored almost.
"A delegation from the Order – we bring news from the fortress and request an audience with Lady Sylara."
"Sir Damien!" Both of the guards looked rather star-struck. "We didn’t know you were coming, the Verdant Watch would have prepared a much better reception."
Damien waved his hand dismissively.
"Communication broke down due to our internal issues, don’t worry about it – but perhaps you could let us in...?"
"Of course sir, please come this way and we’ll have someone inform Lady Sylara of your arrival."
The guard moved to open the heavy door and froze when he saw what was on the other side:
Sylara was standing just beyond the frame, being accompanied by Geodor, Tiana and Alison.
"It seems you won’t have to inform them." Damien chuckled and bowed to the Guardian. "It’s a pleasure to see you again my Lady."
"Likewise sir Damien." Sylara smiled. "You too, Alfred – and... is that you Gregathour?"
"In the flesh." The devil grinned. "I’ve heard you are to partially thank for the purification process that was used on me."
"I simply showed Calen how to use his gifts – he was the one who cleansed your body." She shook her head. "But you can tell me more about it later, for now let us escort you to where you’ll be staying."
The group began moving through the city – it’s only been around two weeks since they left so the surroundings didn’t change much, but there was something different about it.
Perhaps it was the stares they got from everyone around; Lady Sylara and a delegation from the Order walking through the middle of a street were a rather rare sight after all.
Damien seemed to be the most popular judging by the crowd’s reactions – perhaps even more than Sylara.
"He became extremely popular because he always came to the festival and told stories in the tavern." Alison explained. "This year he obviously wasn’t here, so his presence now Is bound to cause some buzz."
"Do people even know what happened with the Order? I mean obviously they didn’t before, but did you tell them something?" Calen asked.
"There are some rumours circulating, but nothing remotely close to the truth. Officially they know only that the Order went dark because of an internal issue."
"That’s probably for the best."
They walked in silence for a bit before Alison spoke again.
"Did you manage to do what you set out to do?"
"You mean reclaiming the temple? Yeah, I got skewered with a sword but managed to burn my enemy from inside out."
She raised an eyebrow but didn’t ask for clarification.
"Well you can gues how it went since the delegation is here, but I’ll let you learn the specific with the rest."
Soon enough they reached the fortress and stopped.
"All of you are welcome to use the rooms you stayed in before – there will be a small banquet in your honour in about two hours where we’ll discuss all the details, please rest until then."
Alfred and Greg bid the rest of the group goodbye and walked in the opposite direction, but Damien apparently had a room relatively close to them so he tagged along.
They were also accompanied by Alison, as per usual.
"I haven’t seen you in a while Ally!" Damien grinned and moved in for a hug.
To the absolute shock of everyone else present, the capitan didn’t avoid it but instead reciprocated.
"You should’ve come for the festival, you’re not even a part of the round table so the power struggles don’t concern you."
"I’m afraid they do when Leon gets involved – I couldn’t leave him when the situation was so precarious."
"Well, at least you’re here now."
They finally noticed the curious and shocked stares from the rest of the group.
"Did you not tell them about me Ally? I’m almost hurt."
"I might have omitted a few details when they asked me about my career." Alison admitted and addressed the others. "Damien is the person who thought me everything I know about swordfighting."
"I thought you said Nickolas trained you." Cassian pointed out.
"He tutored me for a short while after he noticed me in a tournament." She corrected. "I had to get to the level he would notice me first and I obviously didn’t do it alone."
"So you thought her?"
"From how to hold a sword all the way to sensing aura." Damien nodded. "She’s talented as hell, don’t get me wrong, but without the series of coincidences that led me to teach her she would have probably never picked up a sword."
"A coincidence, eh?" Isara smirked. "Between this and meeting Maya it seems like good chunk of your life was shaped by good luck."
"I suppose you could say that." Alison nodded.
"Speaking of your girlfriend..." Damien smirked. "How is she? Isn’t she bored with you yet? I always said that a fine girl like that has no business being with a stick in the mud like you."
"I would rather not discuss my relationship, and I’d wager they don’t want to hear about it either. Besides, she’ll be on the banquet you can talk to her there" Alison crossed her arms. "If you insist on talking you might as well tell them how we met, it’s much more interesting."
"Well if you don’t mind then I’m glad to do it!"