For most of the morning, we moved relatively slowly, keeping a pace at which we could comfortably talk. Most of the talking was done by Olivia, who systematically described the two possible routes we could take and what she knew about them.

It was quite entertaining to listen, especially since she happily shared tales of her travels some of them saucy enough to count as a magic spell, to summon blush or maybe conjure embarrassment, or something along those lines, but they were superbly told, showing her vast experience, both as a traveller and as a story-teller. It made me want to share her talents, to the point that I made a mental note to edit out the footage of her talking, so that I could use it, maybe playing it while showing some footage taken from the sky, with help of Lenore. That would certainly make for good entertainment. Maybe some sort of series, each of her stories with different aerial footage, showcasing the gorgeous scenery? I would have to think about that.

But the main points were quite simple, as she had mentioned the day before, there were two possible routes. One would take us near the ruins of the ancient empire, the same empire that had built the roads we were using, but to get there, we’d have to cross a major mountain-range called the White Mountains. According to Olivia, it made the Turan Mountains seem positively puny but as was expected for the mountain-range around the ancient empire, they had carved their roads through those mountains. Not quite creating artificial passes but carefully building their roads, to last an eternity.

While the ruins themselves were incredibly deadly due to lingering, reality-warping wild magic, something that somewhat aroused my interest, I wasn’t quite certain I wanted to make that de-tour, just for that. Especially as it might just kill us all.

Once we made our way past those ruins, we could head to one of the nearby cities on the coast of the Inner Sea and look for passage on a ship from there. Those ships would have to make it past the Daish Gate, the straight between the northern tip of Daiea and the southern tip of Aretia, before making the dangerous crossing to Aletoma. Apparently, very few ships went from Aretia to Arbotoma, as that crossing was apparently even more dangerous than the one between Aretia and Aletome. It would be different if we made our way to the western coast of Daiea, where we might have more luck, but that would require us to either take a ship, or cross the desert.

If we didn’t get onto a ship in one of those cities, we could continue further west, crossing the White Mountains again, until we reached the western coast of Aretia. If we went that way, we could eventually get onto the same road we would end up on if we took the northern route, near a city called Daley. According to Olivia, that town was quite famous, as it was one of the few, major cities that weren’t dwarven. Instead, the town was mostly run by trolls, similar to Kolyug or Ladrin, the town we would reach next. There was another route we could take, but we’d have to talk about that some more, once we got there.

The other route would be a lot less dangerous but longer. We’d have to head north, avoiding the White Mountains, before heading back west. It was a little annoying, we had been heading south for so long and now we had to head back north but sadly, that was how the roads had been built. We could have cut through the wilderness, finding our own way, but travelling through rough terrain took a lot more time and effort than travelling on a road, especially if the road was magically augmenting the traveller and replenishing their stamina. The shorter route was not always the faster route, as was the case here.

The northern route would take us through the heart of Aretia, where Orcs, Dwarves and various beast-people were quietly vying for supremacy. Well, mostly the Orcs and beast-people did the vying, while the Dwarves had their mountain-kingdoms, each a city-state similar to Neamov, that no sane being tried to attack. Unless you were a dragon, but Olivia was far too happy when she told the story, making me question its validity. While I wanted to question the existence of dragons, especially her descriptions of them, it had just been a couple weeks since I had seen an eagle the size of an airplane and a titan that could peek into the windows of most tall buildings, so I wasn’t willing to question that part. Just her grin. That was suspect.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Anyway, after crossing the heartland, we would eventually end up in Daley, same as with the first route, and from there we’d head south-west again, until we reached the Dorrian Mountains that separated central Aretia from the Idorra Peninsula, which we head to cross until we finally, at the western edge of that peninsula, reached another, major Naga-presence and their harbours., where we would have to find a ship to make the crossing to Aletoma.

After listening to Olivia for most of the morning, I realised that my original idea had been foolish. I had looked at the various posts describing the situation north of the White Mountains and thought it was a good idea to go that way. But looking at it from another perspective, heading through the mountains had the potential to give us more levels and while dangerous, I had greater confidence in our ability to deal with monsters, compared to the problems we would face on the other route.

Namely, my personal inability to blend into civilisations, something that seemed to have rubbed off a little to Adra, and my propensity to get into trouble whenever I entered a city. If we avoided cities by going through the mountains, we wouldn’t get embroiled in trouble within cities. An obvious solution to my problem.

For the latter part of the journey, how to continue after crossing the White Mountains, it would largely depend on the situation at the time. Where weaker beings would almost certainly take a ship as soon as possible, for safety and for their higher speed, for us, it was almost the opposite. I had more confidence in us, remaining safe, in a situation where we could fight a threat, as we could on land. But in a naval battle, where the ship beneath us could suddenly be destroyed, things were a lot more dicey. Lenore could carry me away, but the others? They would almost certainly drown.

And when it came to speed, the difference shouldn’t be that large. Just over the last few days, we had crossed almost three-hundred kilometers, granted, it had been by pushing us all and exhausting Olivia, but we had done it, and could do it again. When factoring in that ships, while staying near land, would regularly visit ports, losing time that way, the difference might shrink even further. Unless there were even more magical shenanigans than I assumed, which was always possible.

“Let’s take the shorter route.” I announced my decision some time after lunch. The statement was deliberate, focusing on the incredibly simple aspect of one route being shorter, in an attempt to draw out potential arguments that I hadn’t considered yet.

“So, some more mountain-climbing. Hopefully we won’t see another of… those.” Adra nodded, a visible shudder gripping her. It was obvious that she thought of the bound Titan, a being that left a deep impression within her psyche. Given that I had experienced more than one nightmare, featuring the large, metallic giant with burning eyes,I could empathize.

“There are dangers but nothing on that scale. That I know of, at least.” Olivia chuckled, apparently much less cowed. Maybe her experience with the divine shielded her a little, or the simple knowledge that she had a being on her side that could match the TItan. Faith, trust in her Goddess, worked out to her advantage.

“I don’t mind.” Sigmir agreed as well, while Rai simply nodded along Adra.

“Even I prefer the mountains. We might find a naturally occurring concentration of Wind Astral Power up there. That would help me balance the Death-Energy I have gained a while back.” Lenore piped up in my mind, sounding quite enthusiastic. Along her words, dreams of soaring above snow-capped mountains came, bringing a smile to my face.

With no objections or arguments forthcoming, our plans for the foreseeable future were sorted out. Now, they only had to survive contact with reality.