When the next morning dawned, Wenzel did not have a cosy awakening. He had slept in a tent together with three other people who were high-ranking members of the organisation. One of them was Isidor. The boy's back ached, due to him having to sleep on the hard ground. He had spent the whole night restlessly rolling back and forth. Unfortunately, he would have to get used to this. Many of the men already got up again before sunrise. Wenzel watched them with fascination when he realised that the first thing they did after getting up was a short prayer. Wenzel himself never prayed, just as his brother never had done. He had tried to have as few preconceptions as possible about these people here and to approach them with an open mind. Fortunately, they had not been as "bad" as he had imagined so far. The only thing he was hoping was, that they wouldn't ask him to do things he didn't want to do.

  Although, prayer was probably not a problem for the lad. He believed in God, but he didn't really devote much thought to him or orientate his life around religion. That was a clear difference between him and the "Martyrs’ Brigades". Wenzel actually wanted to go back to sleep, but he had the feeling that it would be inappropriate to continue sleeping while the others got up and went about their work. He also stepped out of the tent and stretched his limbs. He had no idea what he was supposed to do, because no one had told him what his role here was supposed to be. So, he simply followed Isidor and Brahm. The two gathered together with their men and began to do strength and endurance exercises. When the sun finally began to twinkle over the horizon, the training programme started and the soldiers began to practise sword and spear fighting against each other.

  Meanwhile, Wenzel simply sat down on the side in the dry grass and watched them train. Of course, he himself had no experience with or knowledge of weapons at all. He probably wouldn't make a good soldier, because he wasn't exactly the most athletic. He wasn't totally unathletic either, but he surely wasn't a fighter and the boy was fully aware of that. "Come here, Wenzel! We're training too," Brahm urged him. The boy vehemently refused. Even after being asked several times, he still did, whereupon his bodyguard gave in and left him alone for the time being. The boy breathed a sigh of relief. They apparently wouldn’t force him to do things.

  The fighters practised with wooden training swords, although some also used real ones made of iron. They struck each other and tried to outmanoeuvre the other, in order to find a gap in the defence in order to attack him there. They all wore thick robes so as not to accidentally injure themselves. After he had spent what felt like an hour as a spectator, a lady suddenly came up to him. She had shoulder-length black hair and was quite short. She introduced herself as Petra and told him that August wanted to see Wenzel. So, he got up and followed her to the large tent where the "bosses" of the group were staying. The boy entered it and went over to the "noble one", who was sitting on a table reading something. Theodor was not to be seen at the moment. "Good morning, Mr August," Wenzel began the conversation. "What is it you want from me?"

  "Oh, good that you're here. I have got two things I’d like to talk to you about," he said, smiling at Wenzel. This sent a shiver down the boy's spine. He didn't like that smile at all. "The first matter is concerned with what we intend to do today. We will introduce you to the Old Believers' Commune as soon as possible. Well, to be precise, we're going to pay a visit to the Patriarch." The boy looked at him and just thought to himself: "Old Believers?" Without interrupting what he was saying, he continued to listen to him.

  "He is, as you can imagine, operating underground, just like us. As soon as Theodor is back today, we'll pack up and go and see him straight away. You can probably guess the reason for that. There is probably no one for whom it is more important to meet and welcome the Chosen One than the true church."

  When Wenzel heard this, he already had a bad feeling. He briefly ran what the man had said through his mind. He almost wanted to ask whether this was the so-called "Melgarist Church", but then held back as he already knew the answer. "And then there's a second point that we need to discuss, but which I can't make the decision on," August continued. "We haven't decided on your future role in the organisation yet, but the leader has the final say here anyway and I wouldn't discuss the matter without him. So, this matter will probably be on the programme either later today or tomorrow. Is that clear so far?" The boy confirmed. He didn't know what to say in reply anyway. For the time being, he would just have to go along with their decisions.

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  Then August moved a little closer to him, held out his hand and spoke in a quieter voice: "You shouldn't lose your own will here! It is advisable to always remain critical of the goals of the organisation, but also of the leader. You shouldn't always believe everything people tell you here. Question them! Make up your own mind. Not everyone here is really Ordanian and has the best interests of our people at heart! Some people here are certainly pursuing an agenda that they won't reveal."

  This came as a great surprise to Wenzel and August could see it on his face. Had the chief of staff just warned him about the leader having a "secret agenda"? Now the boy had to inquire. "What do you mean? You want to overthrow the current rulers and the Alethic Church, don't you?" Wenzel whispered to him. He replied: "Yes, and that is the everyone’s goal here. But you should ask yourself where some of the people here come from and what their intentions might be. That's all I'm going to say about that." He had a very serious expression on his face when he said that.

  The lad was unsure. He didn't know whether he could believe or trust him. After all, he didn't really know anyone here. He didn't answer and returned to the training soldiers. "Where some people here come from.....What did he mean by that?" the boy wondered. Meanwhile, he watched the sword and spear training of the fighters. But he would soon be picked up again. Petra came up to him again and informed Wenzel, that the leader had returned. Together they immediately set off to meet him, with Brahm tagging along.

  They went to where the horses were stabled. As he approached, he could already see Theodor's huge stature from afar. He ordered a few of his men around, followed by their saluting and subsequent leave. Next to him were August, Isidor, Irnfrid and another soldier. They were all saddling and packing their horses for the journey. When he reached them, Theodor spoke to him immediately: "I’ll assume that August has already informed you about today’s, let's call it a trip, of ours." - "Yes, indeed," Wenzel quickly returned. Irnfrid approached the lad and held out a small rucksack. "Here are your travelling provisions." The boy thanked her. Then she turned to her husband: "Have you packed yours too? I left it there for you." - "Yes, darling, I have," Theodor answered. "Very good! Then I hope you haven't forgotten anything else." - "Don't think so."

  She gave him a kiss on the cheek and wished him a safe journey. Petra did the same and kissed August goodbye. "Oh! Okay," Wenzel thought, as if a light had dawned on him. "Very well, Wenzel!" Theodor began to explain. "You're riding with Brahm. Is that alright?" - "Yes." Brahm was still adjusting his horse’s baggage, but he hardly had to do anything as it had already been saddled. He lifted Wenzel onto the horse and then mounted it himself. Then the group rode off. They travelled right through the forest. Only after a while did they come across a path, which they followed.

  After a while, his bodyguard asked him: "And you have no experience with riding?" - "Well, I've sat on a horse before, but I haven't really learnt how to ride." - "Well, then we need to do that as soon as possible. There's nothing more important than being able to ride yourself. You don't always want to rely on others taking you along, do you?" - "I guess you're right."

  The ride took two hours. All that sitting on the back of a horse for so long had an extremely chafing effect in certain places. "Oh, dear!" was all Wenzel could say. But regardless of this, they eventually arrived at a small settlement. They had crossed a whole valley and came to the first houses along a small stream. It was a village that seemed to have grown into the rocks. To the left and right, large rocks on and along which small, dainty houses were nestled. There was no church to be seen here. So where were the people they had come to see? The boy would soon find out.