"I will transform into the most common corrupted creatures, and we'll discuss their strengths and weaknesses."
The runes on Baor's body glowed once more, and his figure changed - his limbs elongated unnaturally and he became thinner, almost anemic in comparison to his former self.
Soon enough in place of the large druid stood a faithful recreation of a Blightborn - well, mostly faithful. The creature's skin had a greenish hue instead of the usual grayish-purple, and the its eyes were still human.
"Since I cannot recreate the blight itself, I have to replace some parts with my own power, it's especially visible in this transformation, but others have some visual differences as well."
Cassian wanted to ask why Blightborn are different, but the Druid answered before he could voice his question.
"It's because of their biology you see, they have a secondary circulatory system that pumps blight instead of blood. It's a sort of failsafe for when their heart is damaged, its supposed to take over and fix any damages in case of emergencies."
"Does it mean they're immortal?" asked Cassian.
"Fortunately, no. They can only use it once before it runs out, and as far as we know they can't replenish it on their own."
"How do you know so much? The book about them we've read wasn't this detailed."
"Because we caught one of the bastards a few decades ago and dissected him, no one else was able to do that."
Cassian knew that it was a completely sensible thing to do, but the way the druid so casually mentioned cutting up a sentient being send a shiver down his spine.
Baor either didn't notice or didn't care, probably the latter.
"Right, so on to the Blightborn weak points. They are significantly bigger than an average human, but they're not actually that much stronger than a regular person. Their skin is rather thick, but their joints are rather weak, aim to cut off limbs, and eventually behead them."
Cassian fought and killed many beasts in his life, but for some reason he felt hesitant when he thought about killing the Blightborn. They were accursed invaders that killed millions of humans, and they certainly deserved death, but there was still doubt in his mind.
It was because they could think, which meant killing them wasn't much different from killing humans.
If he kills a sapient creature because of its action, where does he draw the line? What actions are worthy of death, and is he really the one who should decide it?
"In this world it's kill or be killed, kid. You have to prepare yourself to take lives."
Cassian was astounded by the druids perception once more.
"To others you might appear cold and stoic, but like I said before - to me you're an open book, you might as well just speak your mind instead ofgetting lost on your own thoughts. I might not look it, but I'm pretty wise, you know." Baor chuckled.
Seeing that Cassian didn't quite believe the 'wise' part he added:
"Everyone thinks that they can fool me, they're convinced that my optimism stems from naivety. Even my dear sister is sure that I know nothing of the council politics and the city's issues."
He smiled faintly.
"In truth I know much more than any of them, when people think you're not involved they let a lot of info slip in casual conversations."
Cassian felt that he was missing a lot of context, but he got the general message.
When he asked about the information he was missing, the druid waved dismissively
"The sun boy and the mage girl probably already know everything, they'll tell you in the evening. Let's get back to training!"
For the rest of the day Bar would assume the form of various creatures, familiar and not, then inform him of their weak points, and spar with him.
_______________________
Alara and Isara were sat behind a large desk, studying a sheet of paper covered in a net of runic symbols.
"...and this part here is responsible for dampening any sounds that might come from inside the barrier."
Isara was surprised to find out that the quiet Elder wasn't in fact a druid, turns out the power of nature and magic don't mix very well and you have to choose one or the other. Consequently, Alara was only an honorary member of the council and wasn't actually a part of the circle.
Her job however - keeping everyone in the city hidden from the Blightborn and various abominations - meant that every other Elder took her seriously and wouldn't dare to disrespect her opinion.
It was her support for Lydia that made Vinifer's position especially unstable.
"I must say that you're very knowledgeable for a self-taught mage that grew up during an apocalypse." Said Isara
Alara laughed quietly.
"I wouldn't describe myself as a mage, my knowledge is deep, but very narrow. I understand barriers and illusions very well, but I'd wager I can't do a fraction of what you're capable of. Usually I refer to myself as an illusionist or a barrier master."
"I think you're selling yourself short. All magic is built on the same foundation, which you already understand very well, with a little bit of practice you could become a really powerful Spellcaster."
"Thank you, but we should go back to studying the barrier."
As Alara slowly explained what each part of the array was responsible for, Isara came up with an idea.
"Hey, do you think that an array as small as this one would work?"
Alara looked up from the piece of paper with a confused expression.
"I suppose? You'd need the right materials, but it's technically possible. Why are you asking?"
"When we're traveling around, we usually cover ourselves with a minor illusion, but it's not super reliable. I was thinking we could implement this design in cloaks or robes to make our journey easier."
Alara seemed to be lost in thought, mumbling to herself and tracing different parts of the array with her finger.
Finally she looked up at Isara.
"I think it's possible, but the design has to be altered, so that it can be powered by a smaller power source. It would be a fantastic test to check how much you've learnt from my lessons, but do you have something small that could power the enchantment though?"
Isara nodded - there had to be at least couple of magic crystals they could salvage in the stuff they salvaged from Koravel's stash.
"We also have a cloak that can partially mask someone's presence, but it's not very good for remaining undetected since the enchament is passive."
"Bring it in as well, you'll study how it's made and try to adapt this array into a similar format."
Then a realisation struck Isara.
"How do you leave the city anyway? I know you have to since you maintain contact with other settlements, but you don have any cloaking items since we have to create a new one."
"Well, human settlements communicate via specialised scouts who have access to enchanted items, so we don't have to leave for that purpose - we do still go out on an occasional patrol or hunt."
She pointed outside the window at the rather dense collection of dead trees surrounding the city walls.
"We can do it since the forest around Greenheart is inhabited only by lesser abominations, so our experienced hunters don't have to hide from them."
"Why hunt them at all then, if they're not a danger?"
"Because they could become dangerous if they're left unchecked. I'm sure at least one of your friends will be dragged out for a hunt soon enough, they can tell you the details when they come back."
After all Isara's questions were answered, they went back to discussing the array protecting the city.
The enchament was actually very old, and it started out as a simple barrier to scare monsters away many centuries ago. As the time progressed, many wandering mages improved upon the design for various reasons.
This resulted in a very eclectic design that used a few different schools of enchantments, making the whole thing rather confusing.
The barrier went through the biggest transformation when the invasion started - that was when the illusory component was added and the whole array got mapped out.
It was done by three mages who were trapped in the city during the disaster, not having any other choice they stayed in Greenheart and attempted to keep people safe.
Miraculously, they managed to do it.
Unfortunately they weren't very powerful, and their lifespan was limited. They couldn't possibly pass on all the information they had in a few short decades they had left.
So with every generation the knowledge of the resident mages grew smaller and smaller.
Since Alara's mentor died from sickness when she was just starting her training, she had to piece together the already scarce information from old notes and a handful of incomplete books.
Her level of knowledge was astonishing considering her fragmented education, and Isara had an idea how to make her even more formidable.