"By the way! How impolite of me to call myself a clan leader, I didn't even welcome the new Grand Leader." At the sudden sound, everyone turned as one, only to see the white-haired chán, who came back grinning. "I was too moved and forgot." He looked at Rahul, then put his hands on his hips and smiled at the new Grand Leader, She Tao. "You will be the one who fundamentally changes and develops this empire, son of a demon. But beware of premature sex, be it a woman or a man. I know it's tempting, I was young too, but if you do it prematurely, you're causing yourself a lot of pain." He said seriously, then shrugged. "Well, that's all I wanted. Bye bye." He gave another wave and disappeared again.
"That was strange." Rahul blinked.
"It was the clan leader!" Said all the members of the seer clan spoke almost as one, and their faces were red with shame.
"I don't want to interfere in your enthusiasm, but if he really is who you say he is, then how is it that he didn't give us a prophecy to his own people, but to such idiots from the West?" A chán leader grunted in front of him with folded arms and staring at the hegins with a piercing gaze.
"Now that we mention it." Razvan spoke. "You got the information you needed. I think it's better if we leave." He noted it. "Team, let's go! Farewell!" He said, then turned away from the chán and started towards the nearest mountain, with the Athamanas at his heels.
"Farewell!" They heard She Tao's voice.
"Wait, he said he was the son of a demon?! Then you…" That was the last thing the Athamanas heard before they got too far from the cháns.
"Is it just me or do the cháns really get everything too slow?" Suk rolled his eyes.
"Why do you think I don't like coming home?" Master Mo appeared next to them, with a grimace on his face that the team had never seen before. His face was much sourer than when the hegins had first damaged his trees, although he still had a rather grumpy look on his face back then.
"My sincere condolences Master Mo." Suk nodded.
"I'll survive. I have survived for centuries." The master waved. "But now it would be better to go home." He sighed.
"Then it's time to do it. Benkó, do you have enough bricks to get us home?" Razvan turned to the boy with a questioning look, who opened his bag and started counting under his breath.
"It's tight, but I have." He finally nodded and knelt down to pack up the seven-mile tower. "It's ready, but you have to pick it from the bottom. "He grimaced as he stood up and inspected his work.
" It won't be a problem." Razvan smiled as he now knelt in front of the small tower and carefully pushed out the small brick in the middle of the lowest level, then took it in his hand, threw it a little and simply placed it on top of the tower.
The feeling that enveloped Rahul when the tower activated was the same as it had been every time, only this time it lasted much, much longer. And when the world around him cleared, he wasn't the only one whose face was twisted into an unpleasant grimace.
"How can you handle this without your stomach turning over?" Citar looked at Wandi acusingly.
"I have been traveling such long distances since I was a child." The danovus shrugged his shoulders, which only managed to make Citar shiver.
"Good spirit flame! It must have been horrible." The Bolacsuk boy muttered, and Wandi put his hand on his shoulder and giggled.
"You get used to it after a while." He assured.
"Where are we now?" Rahul suddenly asked the question.
"At my place, just at ground level." Master Mo shrugged his shoulders, but with this he managed to make the Athamanas look up at the sky at the same time, where they actually saw the floating rocks in the sky.
"And how do we get up there?" Achilleus muttered after looking around in their immediate vicinity. "No mountain path anywhere." He added.
"With a space-shrinking gate, of course." The master shrugged as he calmly started towards the right side of the valley, as if he knew where he was going. And the team followed him faithfully. As they reached the foot of the nearest mountain, they saw a cave, which the chán man marched into without thinking, and on the other side, the group found themselves on top of one of the floating rocks.
"These shrink gates are just as amazing as the seven-mile towers." Said Citar enthusiasticly.
"They just require more energy. Your solution is much more economical." Master Mo waved. "The only drawback is that it doesn't always take you accurately when traveling long distances. As we have seen now." The man started stroking his beard. "Maybe I'll experiment with that one day." He added. "Come on! The sun will set soon. You can stay with me tonight." Master Mo turned his back on the team as he started towards his house.
According to his words, the Athamanas spent the night in the chán man's home. And the next day, after they had eaten a hearty breakfast and politely said goodbye to their master, they took on the roads of Madüjawr to get down from the mountains. Of course, half way there, night fell on them again, so they had to set up camp.
"Where are we going now?" Teveli asked the big question while eating their dinner. A hush settled over the team, as if no one was sure of the answer.
"Maybe we should go west. The seer said that if we do not visit the place before the beginning of the year, there will be great trouble." Razvan held his chin when someone cleared his throat.
"Boss?" At Wandi's voice, Razvan immediately looked at him questioningly. "Could we make a detour to us before that?" He asked the question.
"Why should we go to you?" Citar preceded the team leader with the answer.
"I think it's time for me to get the last nail." The boy lowered his head, and with this he managed to make Citar swallow and bite his tongue before he could speak.
"If that's what you want Wandi, of course we can make a detour." Razvan nodded and was about to get up to encourage the team to sleep, when the familiar screeching sound of a hawk filled the space. The bird calmly landed among the Athamanas and walked straight in front of Suk, ignoring the hegins staring at it.
"What is that?" Rahul asked, breaking the silence.
"A messenger hawk." Suk noted. "Judging by the ribbons on its legs, it came from home." He said with a grimace, as he stretched out his hand towards the bird, which immediately raised its leg, so that the hegin could take out the message from the cylinder attached to its leg. And the bird immediately flew up into the air. However, Suk didn't bother with it, he just read the message and threw the letter into the fire with a grunt.
"What was inside it?" Benkó asked.
"Judging by his face, it was his uncle." Teveli noted.
"Yes. I have to go home, theoretically he has something to discuss with me that cannot be postponed." Suk pressed his forehead. "I think that means I have to miss the visit, Wandi. I'd better leave tomorrow. When you're done, pick me up and we'll go together to see what the Fene is going on in the west." The boy finally grinned enthusiastically.
"Be it. But now." Razvan looked over the team. "Everyone it's time to go to sleep!"