Aster asked, blinking.

replied the Warlock.

It's been a very long time since any from outside came to our village, said another. Only once since we came here from the wooded lands where we lived before.

We were curious about who you would be, said the third. We weren't sure it would not be the Enemy.

The enemy? Aster asked.

Kestra said.

The Warlock nodded. Yes. We were told about your...affection for naming things. He glanced at the Black Mage, who was standing silently, his eyes seeming to gaze everywhere at once without even moving.

We also know that you travel with one who dresses like the Enemy, put in the first Warlock. And uses their magic.

But you say she is different, said another Warlock. It was hard for Aster to keep track of who was talking, as he could see none of their faces even in the best light. This one, however, was looking directly at Aster.

I really don't want to get into it, Aster began, feeling that he had been challenged to prove that Linnis wasn't a threat. Why should I have to defend her? he thought. They can get her in here to speak for herself.

But the Warlocks seemed to have no significant interest in him anyway. Now, they seemed to be looking at Kestra. You are familiar, one said. I've met your kind before. Long ago, before we came here.

I wouldn't know about that, Kestra replied. I've only lived nineteen years, and I've never seen one of your kind before yesterday.

That's not a surprise, replied the Warlock. Our people chose the seclusion of these cliffs many lifetimes ago.

You just said you remembered how it was before, though, Aster said, frowning.

The Warlocks looked at him. Your people don't understand us anymore, one said.

I don't know about that, Aster said. Maybe someone just didn't bother to teach me.

I was never taught either, came a voice from the entrance. Everyone turned to see Linnis and Darren standing there.

I'm sorry if we're interrupting, said Darren.

We were hoping you would come, said a Warlock. We're curious about you as well.

...You never really answered my question, Aster said, curiosity overriding his uneasiness about the strange situation.

Warlocks don't die, spoke up the Black Mage. Their powers with magic make them immortal.

That's only partly true, one of the Warlocks said. Any presence, from the smallest beast to the most powerful mage, can be destroyed.

But our strength in magic comes from our detachment from your world, said another, so that time does not affect us the way it does you. All Mages have long life-spans, and the strongest of us do not age at all.

That isn't true for the Red Mages, said Linnis, almost wistfully. The oldest of us lived to be almost two hundred, but he did die.

Though I've never seen it with my own eyes, Darren said, I've been told that some of the Shamans of my order were alive to witness the end of the First Age, fourteen centuries ago.

There was a brief silence, as the Warlocks looked at each other. Has it been that long already? muttered one. No one counts the years in this place.

Aster blinked. So you're...one and a half thousand years old?

said one Warlock. At least one of us is. The others became Warlocks over the years, and are not as old.

But normal Black Mages are mortal, then? Darren asked.

replied the Black Mage. Although I don't know how long we live; time isn't so important here, beyond knowing the hours between day and night.

The group was silent for a while, as the implications of talking to a millennia-old being sank in. ...I guess what I was wondering, Gavin started at length, was if you'd be willing to grant us passage out of the Highlands. Your...enemy is after us, too.

Our people don't leave the...Highlands, said a Warlock. Most of us don't travel far from our village at all.

Do you know the way? Linnis asked.

Simply keep the morning sun to your left, said the Warlock, as if it didn't understand.

Why do you dress in the same manner as the Enemy? asked another, looking at Linnis. You have their powers in magic, as well.

Linnis paused a moment before answering. I was one of those who you would call the Enemy, and a student in their schools of Magic. But I left their company when I realized...that the truth about them was one I could not endure. She cast her eyes down at the floor. I desire no association with them, or with the harm they have done to your people.

She's okay, Gavin assured them. She's helped save our lives more than once, and that was while Cardinal was trying to kill us.

They want to kill her, too, said Kestra.

Why did you come here? asked another Warlock, looking at no one in particular.

We didn't really mean to, said Kestra. We were just trying to keep away from the armies. We want to make our way out West.

Okay, I still have to ask, Aster broke in. What did you mean you were expecting us? Did someone tell you we were coming, or what?

Our senses aren't as limited as yours when it comes to time, one Warlock said. If something is unusual or important enough, we can sometimes know of it before it happens. Your visit was such an event.

Now it was the travelers' turn to look at each other. What was so important about our coming here? asked Gavin.

We don't know, said a Warlock. Perhaps it's just that you're only the second visitors we've ever had.

...Who was the first? asked Gavin.

It was a long time ago, said another Warlock. I don't remember his name. But he came from the lands to the North, and stayed here for a time before leaving again. He taught us a great deal about the world outside, and gave us our first warning of the Enemy.

There was another pause, as none could seem to think of anything else to say. ...Okay, then, ventured Aster. So this has been...really fun.

Something else is going to happen, said one of the Warlocks, as if this fit perfectly into the conversation. Very soon.

This completely silenced the Warlocks, and now they were all glancing among each other, without uttering a sound.

What's going on? asked Aster.

I think they have the ability to communicate without what we would call speech, said Darren.

Aster raised his eyebrows. You don't say.

Suddenly, the Black Mage looked straight at him, his eyes somehow conveying an expression of alarm. They're coming, he said.

Gavin asked.

Aster asked.

Linnis breathed.

The three Warlocks and the Black Mage all made their way out the doorway, followed quickly by the five travelers. Every Black Mage in the Village now seemed to have stopped in their tracks, and was staring at the sky. As many of those on the ground seemed to be looking straight at the rock face of the far cliff, it took the group a moment to realize that their attentions were in fact focused on something beyond the cliff, which they themselves could not see.

From their vantage point well up the side of the near cliff, however, the five travelers could. Beyond the far ridge, high up in the sky, floated the unmistakable hulls of two Cardinal airships, turning slowly toward them as they swooped in towards the village.