Lanek and his companions rode out at first light, Pharaoh alternating between flying alongside Lanek and riding on Maximilian’s head. The demigryph seemed surprisingly okay with that arrangement, so Lanek simply shook his head in amusement and made his way to the south gate. Even now, he didn’t dare ride straight through the city, although he knew that the time was rapidly approaching when he would have to visit the dungeon entrance if for no other reason than to fulfill his bargain with the cats. Knowing that many of them were nearing the ends of their lives spurred him on.
Thankfully, with most members of his party having their own mounts, they would be able to reach Laethon in a day if they pushed straight through rather than the four days it took on foot. Ivan, not having access to a mount at this time, was riding behind Liv on Yuri as the gigantic bear was the only mount really suited to having multiple riders. Additionally, the extra weight wouldn’t tire him out like it would for either Maximilian and Reaver. As for Lira, the process of getting Pharaoh to transport her was surprisingly quick, the cat had simply reached out a paw and tapped her on the forehead. Immediately afterwards, Lira had turned into a ball of light the size of a small marble and attached itself to a small collar that had been hidden under Pharaoh’s neck fluff.
Before they had left the monastery, Lanek had caught Khurzag on his way out for what would likely be one of the last foraging runs of the season. The orc had been confused at Lanek’s request that they find as many acorns, pine cones, and other seeds as they could while they were out, but he chalked it up to Primordial-related strangeness after Lanek explained that he could use them to create defenses for their little outpost.
While they rode, Lanek was the target of envious looks from Liv and Ograch. It took him a few moments to realize that what they were actually looking at was his saddle as they both had very rudimentary saddles that had clearly been cobbled together by individuals that had only a passing knowledge of what a saddle should be. However, like Lanek, neither of them really needed something that would allow them to control their mounts as their bond sufficed for that, it was more of a comfort thing.
Finally, Lanek spoke up. “Sorry, guys. I would get you saddles if I could, but I’m pretty sure that it won’t work for you. I didn’t just find this thing or get it from a drop, I bought it with reward stones.” He proceeded to explain how the Mark of the Herald worked.
“Damn, it doesn’t work for other people?” Ivan asked, disappointment evident in his voice. The lothenae’s mind had gone into overdrive at the possibilities when Lanek had explained the Mark’s capabilities.
“I don’t think so. Catch.” Lanek said as he tossed his spear to Liv, who caught it with very little effort before giving him a questioning look. “Sorry, Liv. I didn’t want to toss it to Ivan because he’s got his hands full just staying on Yuri. I was just checking to see if someone else could actually use a piece of my equipment.”
Turning his attention back to Ivan, Lanek continued as they passed into the forest to the east of Caelis. “It will need more testing, but I think I can only buy items through the Mark for my soul-bonded companions. It looks like I could buy some gear for myself and hand it to you guys, but I don’t know how long it would stick around. For example, I don’t know if it would disappear when I went to sleep or if I ventured too far from it. I would be more than happy to experiment, but I don’t exactly have extra stones to spare at the moment.”
“No worries, Lanek. I would appreciate it if you tried, but I will provide the reward stones. I do have a request, however. When we camp for the night, would you be willing to see if you can communicate with the Mark? You’ve mentioned how the Mark was able to understand your intentions and helped you sort the available equipment, maybe you can get it to tell you if it can sell you equipment to pass on to the rest of us?”
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Lanek paused for a minute, considering the request before nodding. “I can do that. I never thought to try.” They lapsed into silence, Lanek focusing on the emotions and images being relayed to him from Kazuma and Sanguineus. His two companions were scouting ahead of them to keep an eye out for any returning gaunts. He doubted that they would run into shifters, but he had no idea how quickly the gaunts would discover the disappearance of the shifter nest and their kin before returning to the area in force.
“Anything?” Liv asked, prepared to reach for her own spear in the makeshift holder strapped to Yuri.
“Not yet, the forest seems devoid of any enemies. I think we’re good, even the wildlife has returned for the time being. The gaunts probably haven’t noticed the change yet. Let’s pick up the pace, though. I want to make sure that we get to the first village before nightfall.” Lanek responded as he silently urged Maximilian to speed up.
They rode through the forest until the early evening when the forest thinned out substantially. It was an abrupt change for the party as they went from being in almost constant shade as they traveled down the road to Laethon to suddenly bursting out from underneath the canopy to see sparse groves, small trees, and other plant life in the process of reclaiming the open land. Seeing the outline of walls in the distance, Lanek guess that this area used to be the vast farmland that Laethon had cultivated to feed their armies. From the maps he had seen and Lira’s descriptions, this farmland would surround the city on all sides with the largest stretch of them being on the east side of the city. Apparently, grasslands had dominated the land to the east and continued for a day’s walk to a small coastal town that had owed fealty to Laethon. While the maps had not showed much signs of life between Laethon and their subject, Lira had made mention of small hamlets that had sprung up to provide small markets, basic general stores, and taverns to provide a place for the farmers to do business or simply relax with their fellows.
“Alright, looks like we should be coming up to a crossroads pretty soon. There used to be small villages both to the north and the south. I’m confident that we can all take care of ourselves, so should we split up? If we do split up, I would like to send Kazuma or Sanguineus with the other group so they can let me know immediately if they need help or find what we are looking for.”
“I don’t mind splitting up, but are we going to do that tonight?” Ograch asked.
“I would advise against that.” Ivan said. “Before we left, I made sure to look at a map of the area and I’ve been researching Laethon for the last few weeks for a possible expedition. They had a garrison stationed at this crossroads as well as ones to the north and south of the city itself. I’m hoping that some of the structures remain so we can rest inside tonight.”
“That sounds great to me, I would much rather not be so exposed when we make camp.” Liv said, looking at their surroundings grimly. “I’d judge that we only have an hour before the sun sets.”
“Agreed. But let’s not get our hopes up. Presumably, Laethon fell as well, so there might not be anything left of their garrison’s structures.” Ograch said.
At that dark thought, the group went silent once more, eyes scanning the horizon for any foes. Not too long after their conversation, they came upon the ruins of the garrison. No building remained intact. Unlike Caelis where the buildings were left mostly intact but the doors were destroyed, whatever had attacked this outpost in the distant past had been much more savage. Building had collapsed as their supporting walls been completely demolished. The best that the party could hope for was to shelter against one of the larger piles of rubble to give them some shelter from the wind.
“Fuck.” Liv cursed. “Guess we aren’t going to get any shelter tonight.”
“Not necessarily.” Lanek said as he eyed the terrain. His companions looked at him in confusion as he retrieved a few seeds from his pockets and began laying them out in a large half circle that ended at the largest pile of rubble. Concentrating, he activated [Nature’s Rampart]. Immediately, he was able to see the seeds he had laid out glowing and focused on connecting them, leaving only an opening large enough for Yuri to pass through. An outline appeared in his vision of a growing wall of bushes and vines sprouting and reaching out to their nearest neighbors, creating a low barricade. However, Lanek continued to push the spell, envisioning a dome that would allow his companions to stand upright. At the center of the dome, he imagined a hole that would allow any smoke from a campfire to exit the structure. Finally, he was presented with a faint glowing blueprint of a domed hut that connected to the pile of rubble and a hovering number that he quickly determined was the cost of creating the structure.
400 mana? That’s not bad, I bet it’s so cheap because of the seeds I used. Let’s do it.
He warned his companions to step away and accepted the cost, feeling his mana disappear gradually as the structure was grown. Lanek felt a bit of relief, he wasn’t a huge fan of feeling a large chunk of mana disappear at once and it was nice that if he didn’t have enough mana to complete the project, he could at least complete the project in stages.
Oh, I think I’m going to get a lot of use out of this skill!