The trio left the library again. However, when they stepped out of the large gate, they were met with an unexpected sight. A huge throng of people was passing along the main street, adjacent to the library. Inside the building, they had already heard a ruckus from outside, but they had never imagined that there would be such a large crowd. What was going on here? None of the three knew. They hurriedly glided down the long steps to their horses so as to protect them from the crowds here. Wenzel was in such a hurry that he immediately flew to his horse instead of walking. A foolish idea, as it turned out! The passers-by then recognised, that he was the Chosen One. More and more people immediately flocked to the men and began to surround them. None of them meant any harm, they were just onlookers. Nevertheless, this aroused great concern in Brahm and Ferenc, who immediately positioned themselves protectively around Wenzel and shouted at the people to back off, even though they were only asking harmless questions or trying to touch Wenzel, if only slightly.
However, the action did not help and the number of people around them continued to grow. One person having been turned away was immediately followed by the next, who had to be aggressively scared away again. The pressure on the three of them began to grow until finally Wenzel pulled the ripcord and flew upwards out of the crowd. He landed on the roof of the house on the other side of the street. The hordes of people immediately let go of them when they realised that the Chosen One was now somewhere else. "Hail, Melgar!" many could be heard shouting over and over again. Where had they all come from? The chap used telekinesis to pick up his companions and let them float over to him on the roof. He then lifted up their horses and transported them to the other side of the house, into a side street where there was almost nothing going on. "The crowd was astonished, shouted and screamed when they saw this. From up here they had a good view of the city, which enabled the three of them to realise, that these people weren’t from here. At the southern city gate, an inundation of people was pouring in. The group didn't have time to take a good look, however, as they had to hurry to avoid being surrounded by the multitudes again. Wenzel let them float down, straight into the saddles of their horses. Then they rode off quickly to gain some distance.
When they felt they were out of reach, the young man remarked: "I’d like to go over there and see what's going on." His two bodyguards, who were equally interested, agreed with him. They rode southwards through the less frequented streets. Under the large lime trees of the wide promenades, they crossed one of the bridges that spanned the mighty Duhn. Then they took the promenade along the waterfront, where one of the Inquisition's quarters had been on their right. The now abandoned building had been pelted with stones and eggs, which was recognisable from its fa?ade. Our protagonist didn't even notice this as they were passing the aforementioned building. Eventually they reached one of the city's larger squares, where huge numbers of people were milling about. The trio stopped and watched them move towards the city centre. Now they could see better where they were heading. The Cathedral of the Annunciation was obviously their destination. So, was it a pilgrimage? It would be possible to argue this, but such a conclusion would probably not be entirely correct. They would soon find out what the real answer was.
Amidst the deluge of people, that was streaming into the city, an old, haggard man rode an almost equally haggard-looking steed. He wore priestly clothes, but they were colourfully decorated, and he had a large, funny-looking hat on his head, almost like a warning light. "Oh, Meglarsbruck, you pearl on the Duhn! It was my fondest hope, that I would see you again one day. 40 long years have passed since then! Like us, the grip of evil, that has held you, has clearly changed you. But time will heal all wounds," said Patriarch Elias II, surrounded by other clergymen who had also travelled here. The flags they displayed were those of the Old Believers' Commune, that of the patriarch himself and a third one with a sun on it, which Wenzel didn’t recognise.
The men inspired by their sermons had followed them on their entry into the old capital. Since the beginning of their journey, more and more had joined the procession in all the places they passed through. From all regions, ever greater numbers of fighters had followed their call and turned into a vast migration of people. On the eve of the revolution, His Holiness had called for a great uprising and a holy war against the Alethian tyranny. And the people had obviously answered his call! Wenzel and his bodyguards watched in fascination as so many people from near and far were pouring into Meglarsbuck. It was an exhilarating sight. Shouts of "Praise the martyrs!" or "Hail, Melgar!" could be heard here and there. Elias hadn’t proclaimed the war in his own name, but, as was tradition, in the name of the Chosen One.
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The arriving delegation slowly made its way through the congested streets to the cathedral. When they arrived there, the trumpets from the towers finally announced the mass that the patriarch himself would be holding. However, the three companions were no longer present, as they had already taken their leave of the procession and returned to the palace. Once there, Brahm said: "It wasn't exactly a good situation we were in today. Because of the mob that surrounded us, I mean." The other two had to agree with him. "I think we should ask August to increase the number of bodyguards for you, Wenzel." - "Would make sense," he expressed his agreement.
Thus, they went straight up to August to discuss the matter with him. When Wenzel approached him and explained the matter, he replied: "I can see the problem. I will see to it that it is solved soon. But I'm quite busy at the moment. When I get round to it, it will be done." His currently cold, emotionless tone made a strange impression. But then Ferenc had another request: "Hey, August! Huge crowds have come to the city today. They were brought here by the patriarch. What are we going to do with them?" August went on to explain to them that these were the recruits for the so-called "people's army", something he had agreed to and prepared for in advance with the church. Everything was going well at the moment. This was no coincidence or surprise of any kind. The three, however, were impressed by his explanations. With the help of August's planning and coordination their organisation had achieved something absolutely incredible.
However, when Wenzel and the others had left the chief of staff's office, the lad expressed his concerns about August's explanation. Why couldn't he be able to increase the number of bodyguards right away? It could be done very quickly and easily. Brahm and Ferenc ran their boss’ words through their heads and agreed with him. There was something fishy about this. As they strolled along the lower corridors talking, the mage speculated that August might still harbour a grudge against him, because of the incident in which his leg was injured. At first Brahm remained silent, but then said: "I think that would be a plausible explanation. The man doesn't forget things for a long time and he can be extremely vindictive." Based on what Wenzel had seen of the gentleman lately, he knew that this was definitely the case.
Then the young man suddenly startled. "Ha! Where are the prisoners?" - "The prisoners?" - "Yes, the ones August had arrested." Now the other two also realised that they were no longer in the palace. Being called to the scene, they went to the nearest soldier patrolling the corridors and asked him about it. He replied: "Most of the prisoners have been executed! It was only around midday today." Wenzel gritted his teeth. It was almost as if August had waited for them to leave building, in order to carry it out then. He was angry, but also disappointed, as he knew that this was also his own fault. He then asked: "And the others? Where did you take those who were spared?" - "To prison," the soldier returned succinctly.
The wizard turned to Ferenc: "Can you please go to the prison to see, if my adoptive parents are really there? You know, the couple I questioned separately." The man nodded immediately and replied: "Sure thing, boss." Then he immediately ran off to do so. Wenzel was now worried that August might actually wanted to take revenge on him by getting rid of Bertold and Hildegard. He could then have simply argued that it was an oversight, that they had been executed along with the countless others. However, Wenzel would not forgive him for such a thing! It took quite a while for Ferenc to return. He brought him the good news that the two were still alive. The lad breathed a sigh of relief. He could accept their imprisonment for the time being, although he would probably want to change this in the long term. At the moment, however, there were much more important things on the agenda. The war had only just begun.
