🍁Nine Ancient Obelisks

This was probably the first time that Ushumgall was genuinely happy to see all four of them. After what he had been through, he was sure that either he had died and ended up in a parallel world, or that he was still under a spell and would not be able to find his quartet, or even the castle itself, and would wander forever in a mirage together with the black knight.
-- I'm sorry! I didn't mean to keep you waiting," the young man said with a forced smile, but his eyes were still anxiously searching for a trick, expecting the black knight to reappear. -- Let's go.

The knight (a wandering knight, not a black one) did not reprimand the student for being late, but instead pondered something indefinite.
- Well, let's get going.
The quartet, now a quintet, reaches the Sizka - not a capital, but a river that flowed near both cities. There they witness an interesting scene - in the course of a fierce battle, one lion kills another, and then its cubs, and the defeated female does not resist.
Watching the tragic fate of the lion cubs, Iliman barely held back the tears that welled up in his eyes.
- Lions rarely attack people," Sir Kir explained, "but if a person attacks, they will respond in kind, so this beast will be a good partner for your training today.