Chapter 205: Beastfolk and Eldoris

Although Varghelm had survived the war, it was certainly not back to normal. Whilst the golden barrier surrounding the city had been put back up preventing anyone getting through the gates or teleport network, hundreds of houses had been wrecked, a few merchant areas had been destroyed completely and whole parts of the roads were completely covered in rubble. Whilst they had been restored by Aurelith, bringing the dead back to life and healing those injured, he had intentionally left the damage as it was.

“Can’t you just repair everything too?” Tanaka asked as he stood beside him. Aurelith glanced over. “Why should I?” “You’re welcome to sit around instead.” You brought everyone back to life, so repairing a few buildings shouldn’t be difficult. The Kirin chuckled. “That’s precisely why I won’t do it.” Tanaka turned to look at him. “We’ll divide our people into groups.” They fought, destroyed their homes and nearly tore their entire civilization apart. Now they must repair what they have broken and take responsibility for their actions. I’m not going to give them an excuse to not take responsibility by using my power. He crossed his arms behind his back. “Power isn’t an excuse to avoid consequences, Tanaka.” Tanaka sighed. “Fine. We’ll help with the repairs.” “Good, at least we’re doing something.”

Shortly after, Tanaka gathered the Eldoris delegation. Whilst it was much calmer now the fighting had stopped, they were still reminded of what had happened by the wreckage. Whilst they had brought back the fallen leaders and warriors, the Beastfolk still needed to come to terms with many of their homes and businesses having been destroyed.Whilst there were already some groups forming, there was a lot of damage and it would take a lot of work to get the city back up and running.

“Some will help with reconstruction, while the others will assist the Wolf Crown with investigating the attacks.” Razer frowned crossing his arms. “Rebuilding? We came here to fight, not build!” “Well you can sit there then.” He grunted. “Fine.” Tanaka smiled. “Thought so.” He assigned Razer and Drakar to the more physical rebuilding work along with the Bearfolk. Their earth magic and structural magic would come in handy. Raishin would work with the remaining guards from the Wolf Crown to help secure the damaged areas. Relia and Sylva would help the Rabbitfolk healers and organise temporary shelter whilst Raveana would help the other fighters remove any dangerous debris. Sora would help move things around and search for anyone missing. Zephyr and the Mana Birds would fly around to get a good view of the city and find out where the damage has been done. Raizen would go with Tanaka to investigate and Nira would help The Foxfolk mages with investigating the magical clues. No one complained. Even Razer who had complained was already walking towards the nearest damaged street. “Alright let’s get to it!”

The first thing Tanaka did was increase his Mana Sense. Before he had only really used it to detect if there were any living beings around, examine their mana and detect anything unusual. Whilst it was helpful, he usually only used it within a short range. However he wanted to be able to feel the whole city. He closed his eyes. The mana spread out in a circular fashion from his body. Passing through the buildings, streets and underground tunnels. He slowly increased the range. Initially there was too much. Thousands of signatures were overlapping. He could feel the Wolf Crown guards, Beastfolk and mages fixing the damage. However every living being had a slightly different signature and the magic structures and magical items also had their own unique signature. There was too much to try and analyse.

Instead he began grouping them into categories. He recognised some of the patterns and filtered out the normal ones. He took a particular interest in the leftover mana. Anything that had been used recently. Slowly he could make out the noise. His Mana Sense had improved greatly. He could now analyse an entire area without going there.

He started with the prison. Whilst they had already been investigated a few times by the Wolf Crown, he wanted to investigate himself. He walked through the damaged detention section. He passed by Veyra’s old cell and the corridor where Tavren’s right hand man had been killed. Raizen was nearby whilst Nira investigated with a few Foxfolk mages. He closed his eyes. There it was. He could feel The Foxfolk style illusion magic. However there was something much thinner underneath. He could feel tiny spots where the mana had been compressed and very accurately manipulated. Leaving hardly any trace on the prison. He opened his eyes. “Strange.” Nira walked over. “What did you find?” “Good. That’s more useful than standing here complaining.” There’s something else underneath the damaged ward. They used something to mess with the lock but they controlled exactly how much mana they used so it was hardly noticeable.

She examined the structure. “That’s not how ordinary Foxfolk concealment works.” “I know.” She knelt down and allowed a few small spirits to gather around the damaged area. One drifted off to a thin crack in the wall. Circling around a thin trace of mana. Her face changed. “This part feels different.” Tanaka moved closer. It was almost unnoticeable. However he could feel the unusual concentration within the structure. It wasn’t just an illusion. It was very finely compressed allowing the caster to do a few very accurate things without leaving a noticeable magical signature. “Someone wanted us to think this was Foxfolk magic,” Nira said. “Yes. But they didn’t create everything from scratch.” They used Foxfolk methods but mixed it with something else.

They continued to investigate throughout the morning. He investigated where Mereth, the Lion warrior, the Rabbitfolk healer and the others had been found. Similar results. The strength of the leftover mana varied depending upon where they were and how long ago they had been killed. However they all had The Foxfolk illusion hiding another structure. This time though, the mana had been compressed into very fine channels and was very accurately manipulated. He also found traces around the gathering area. The magic bomb had been created differently to the usual spells used by the Beastfolk mages. The mana had been compressed into a very unstable core. Whilst most of the original structure had been destroyed by the explosion, he could still feel a few faint marks. These had been placed intentionally. He studied them for a few minutes. “Raizen.” The Star Wolf King walked over. “Lord Tanaka?” “Can you ask Zephyr to send someone to check the roofs around the assembly grounds? I want to know whether anyone was positioned nearby before the explosion.” He spoke to Zephyr through their link and the Mana Bird immediately organised a search.

Tanaka turned to Nira. “Can you compare these traces with The Foxfolk techniques?” She nodded. “I’ll need to consult their senior mages, but I should be able to identify which parts were copied and which weren’t.” “Good. I want every difference recorded.” He studied the marks. They hadn’t just learnt Foxfolk magic. They had mixed it with another discipline. Using the strengths of both to hide the weaknesses. Meaning they had access to knowledge from two different sources.

By midday they had begun to rebuild Varghelm. The Bearfolk were working with Drakar and Razer using earth magic to lift huge stones and strengthen the damaged foundations. Some could lift several tons of materials on their own whilst others used carefully planned spells to lift whole sections of the broken walls. The Boarfolk were providing their strength and knowledge of moving heavy items whilst the Rabbitfolk had set up healing centres and prepared medical items. The streets were beginning to clear. Raveana was leading a group of warriors through the eastern area. Removing dangerous debris and helping families get their items back. Sora was carrying broken beams with several large tendrils and was leading scared children to temporary shelters. Zephyr and the Mana Birds were flying around mapping out the damaged areas and finding anyone stuck under buildings. Raishin was helping the Wolf Crown set up patrols around the rebuilding teams.

Whilst the Beastfolk weren’t suddenly becoming friendly, many refused to work with their former enemies. However seeing the Eldoris monsters helping them rebuild their homes started to change the atmosphere. A Tiger warrior who had fought against Razer was now working alongside The Orc Lord lifting a fallen pillar. Two Foxfolk mages were also accepting help from Nira and Relia. They weren’t friends but they weren’t trying to kill each other anymore.

Eventually Tanaka went back to the centre where Aldren was going through the investigation reports with Aurelith. The Kirin looked very relaxed. “How goes your little investigation?” “It’s going slow.” “disappointing.” Tanaka ignored the comment. “I’ve found traces of two different magical disciplines being used together. One is definitely based on Foxfolk illusion techniques, but the other uses extremely precise mana compression and manipulation.” Aurelith’s expression didn’t change. “And?” “The illusion magic isn’t the only thing here.” Someone from another race supplied the second technique, and whoever did it had enough knowledge of their magic to combine the two without making the differences obvious. Aldren leaned forwards. “Have you identified the race?” “Not yet.” Aurelith smiled. “Then keep looking.” Tanaka narrowed his eyes. “You’re enjoying this.” “I am.” He turned away looking pleased with how far Tanaka had got. The slime sighed. He had expected The Kirin to at least give him a clue but it seemed determined to let him figure it out.

Tanaka focused on the investigation. Something was bugging him. Whilst there were multiple places with copied illusions, the accurately manipulated mana wasn’t exactly the same. The structure had been altered depending on the situation. This meant the caster knew both techniques very well. It would take a great deal of experience to be able to do this. It wasn’t something an average assassin could do after a few lessons. He increased his Mana Sense again. This time he followed the faint traces of leftover mana. Trying to find links between the different magics. Most faded into the normal mana of the city. However a few followed the same path. Going through the merchant areas and private homes. Eventually coming together near the eastern quarter. He opened his eyes. “I found something.” Raizen looked over. “What?” “A path.” He pointed to the eastern area. “The traces from the prison, the assembly grounds and Mereth’s residence all have faint connections to that area. They’re weak, but they’re there.” “To somewhere?” Raizen looked over. “Possibly. Or a place they visited frequently.”

Tanaka began to walk. He wouldn’t jump to conclusions but for the first time he had a lead linking the individual attacks to one place. And it was within the city. Aurelith watched him leave his golden eyes narrowing with amusement. “Interesting.” He leant his chin on his hand. “Let’s see how far you can follow it, dragon-blessed.” Far away in the eastern area, behind the walls of an unassuming home someone felt a slight disturbance in the mana surrounding their home.