Thanks to Milian, they reached the inn just in time.
It got very quiet in the room when they closed the door behind them. Everyone dropped what they were doing, only Orion kept cleaning the sword Oasis had left him for safekeeping, but there was a silent question in his eyes as well.
“Well, what did you learn?” asked Juel.
He was looking at Pai as he said that because it was Pai’s mission. But Pai Prior was in no position to speak coherently, so Milian had to do the talking.
“We talked with one of the magisters,” he explained. “He told us that the mages powerful enough to cast Transvolo are out of the city now, they may not return for months.”
Pai was sitting cross-legged on the carpet, busy with following a pattern of dancing tigers on it with his eyes, his thoughts still somewhere far away. His voice sounded very far away too when he said, “That’s enough time for me to learn Transvolo myself.”
Nobody dared to laugh.
“How much time do you need exactly?” inquired Juel.
“A month. Maybe two,” mused Pai, his idle fingers brushing through the carpet’s fur.
“Too long,” the Faizul shook his head.
Orion gave Oasis’s sword, now as shiny as a new mirror, a last look, sheathed it, and cleared his throat.
“As far as I remember,” he said in a matter-of-factly way, “Sainar gave us no deadlines.”
“Yes! And Transvolo may prove useful!” Bala joined him.
“Agreed,” nodded Lainuver. “We could use some more time as well. While Pai is busy with Transvolo, we can learn a thing or two about the No Man’s Land and its dangers. I’d hate to go there unprepared, if you get what I mean.”
“We can’t afford that,” Juel stopped the arguments. “We don’t have enough money for rent and food…”
Someone knocked at the door. Hard. Probably with a boot.
“And here goes the hero that will solve our rent money problem,” guessed Orion. That said, he stood up and headed toward the door.
The late visitor turned out to be Oasis. The team’s urban jungle specialist was tired, bruised, sweaty, and angry (for being left behind the door for too long) but glad at what he had found.
“Hi, pal!” Orion greeted him cheerfully. “I've cleaned your sword. Take good care of it from now on.”
“Who’s beaten you up?” asked Jarmin, his eyes wide with worry.
“Ah, that…” Oasis waved his hand and made a bored face. “Local street urchins. A whole gaggle of them, strength in numbers and all… Well, I think I’ve taught them a lesson. Knocked down five of them; the rest ran away. Scum.”
Another ambasiath elephant made a jingly run through a pottery store. Just great…
“I hope you haven’t killed anyone?” frowned Juel.
“Of course not.” Oasis sprawled himself on the soft carpet, pure joy on his dirty face. “To tell the truth, I almost grabbed my knife when they started throwing stones but I managed without it. Ah, it’s been years since I’ve had a proper street fight. I used to be good even before my apprenticeship; now, it’s all child’s play.” Oasis rolled to the side, his face suddenly serious again. “Almost forgot: I found us a cheap place to live. No carpets there but it’s still cosy.”
Juel and Orion exchanged glances. Pai watched them both with burning hope in his eyes.
“Fine,” yielded the Faizul. “We’ll stay here to learn about the No Man’s Land and Transvolo.”
“Huzza!” Orion winked at Pai, “Do your thing, mage!”
