The rest of Karl's team entered, then stopped at the door when they felt the power of the gathered visitors.
One of the mages turned to them, and his evil smirk turned to an honest smile. "Well, this is unexpected. Yes, this works very well. I approve of sending them all together." He announced.
Dana turned to Karl, who motioned for them to move to a side room.
"I will keep it short because they're getting impatient.
I am being exiled as a threat to the power balance. They haven't said where to yet, but it's unlikely to be sowhere nice, and the danger level will be high enough that if I do reach Totem Rank, it won't even make a ripple in their local power balance.
The problem is that it's almost certainly not going to be sowhere human-friendly. You all have the choice if you want to go with , and possibly never co back, or remain here under the protection of Totem Lord Ahmad."
Karl couldn't rember if that part had been explicitly stated, but he was certain that the mage could be counted on for at least that much. Dana understood right away what the danger was, and Ophelia wasn't far behind her. Both looked vaguely horrified, but Tessa had a placid look, as if she had made peace with her decision, whatever it was. In contrast, Lotus looked outraged.
"You're not taking all the beasts and leaving. Nope, no way. If you go, I go."
Yeah, that was about what he should have expected.
Ophelia sighed. "You know it's impossible for to say no now. If you had left without saying anything, I would have made peace with your choice. But given the option, I can't just abandon my friends."
Karl patted her on the shoulder. "I know, and I apologize for putting this sort of pressure on you all. I also understand if you all want to wait here for to return one day. It's not like I will be alone, and Lotus will still have a cuddle bear even if you all stay here."
Lotus cald down a bit when she realized that. One cuddle bear wasn't a total loss. Plus, Ophelia was probably the most risk-averse one in the group when she wasn't raging.
Not that it was a high standard.
Dana straightened a bit and nodded to herself. "If it's not human-friendly, we can use disguise spells. I'm coming with you."
Tessa nodded, as did Ophelia, which left Lotus to shrug. "I guess we're going on an adventure, then." The Nature Priestess agreed.
They walked back into the main room with grim looks, and the Totem Rank Naga General of Newbon nodded happily. The eldest of the Spellblades nodded politely to the group before he began to speak.
"Prodigy Karl and friends. We have decided on the location of your exile. We have signed a magical contract not to interfere with your lives after you arrive, and to keep your location secret from anyone not involved in this negotiation.
You will be sent to the Kingdom of Drodh in the Dragon Isles. It is a primarily demon inhabited nation, with a much higher population density than anywhere on this continent. As per the General's insistence, you will be deposited on the outskirts of a city to give you a chance to understand the local culture before looking for a more permanent ho. In order to make the story of your disappearance more compelling, we will not allow you ti to gather any personal items, and you will be leaving right now." The Spellblades worked together, and quickly opened a portal that showed so sort of altar on the other side, then motioned for Karl to enter. "It is considered rude to hold the portal more than thirty seconds at a public station. Now, go." He complained.
Karl did a quick double check to ensure everyone was in their space, so they didn't get left behind on the wrong continent, and then activated [Bestial Form] and stepped through the portal.
If he had been thinking ahead, he would have tried to teach the others that skill in advance, but Ophelia had already changed to Werebear form, the sa as she did in Newbon.
Karl heard the startled sound the mages made when he transford with his [Bestial Raint] armour spell active, but the guards on the other side of the portal didn't seem bothered by Karl's appearance.
They were also all Overlords, and all demons with large black leathery wings.
"Welco to the city of Drodh. The entry fee is one silver coin each." The guard blocking the path toward the city announced.
Karl took out a gold coin and flipped it to the guard, who took out five silver coins and handed them to Dana, who had just co through the portal.
The others followed close behind, with Ophelia going last, right before the Portal closed and another opened to let a group of Demons pulling large carts through.
In front of them were masses of simple wood buildings, looking both aged and hastily constructed at the sa ti. It appeared that the portal area was in an outlying, impoverished area past the city walls.
At least, they all hoped that it was going to get better once they got in the city itself.
Karl brought up the System Interface as he walked toward the city, away from the busy portal. Nearly everyone here had a na visible above their head, showing that they had a class from the System. Warriors made up nine out of ten, but there were Rogues, Mages and a few Shamans visible as well. Clerics were rare, and Karl hadn't seen any yet, but there were a few other colours that he didn't imdiately recognize.
There didn't seem to be any restriction on skill use in the city, other than damaging spells, and most residents had so sort of defensive magic active. So, Karl brought out the Guardian to spread [Void Body] to the whole group, along with the [Eternal Lightning] barrier. That should be safe enough for now.
Everyone was giving them a wide berth, despite the busy street. That seed a bit odd, as there was no shortage of Overlord Rank Demons and Monsters in the crowd. It wasn't as if he were an overwhelming force here, and even the weaker adult residents were mostly Commanders.
Then Karl realized what the issue was. Everyone had a system active, and when a stranger in a black and white tabard bowed to him as they passed, it reminded Karl to see what was visible from his own status.
{Monarch Karl} In the deep red colour with black trim distinctive to the Packmaster.
{Grand War Champion of the Darklight Host}
He was wearing a Guild War Champion tabard openly in the city.
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