Chapter 164 - The Promised Journey
Kai burned the copy of the mage’s letter he had transcribed for Flynn. The candle flame consumed the paper, and the winding wisp of smoke thinned and disappeared. The faint acrid smell lingered in his bedroom before dissolving through the open window.
During the last two days, they had poured their minds over those short paragraphs. While Virya’s open statements could imply a lot of different things, they gave away no solid information, just conjectures.
Kai had his doubts about Flynn’s methods, though he agreed they’d need to test the Fate Fulcrum. There was a whole wide world out there, and Higharbor was no more than a provincial capital of a backwater territory. If he wanted to explore it, he couldn’t discard a viable weapon in his arsenal.
The artifact might be risky and unreliable, but he could choose when and where to activate it. He wouldn’t wait for an external force to swoop down and wreck his life, as had often happened. It was time to play ahead.
There was barely any change in the glow of the silver disk that indicated its charge. The flowing script still had the intensity of a dying ember, though it didn’t flicker anymore.
How much did I blow by accident?
Kai hoped the cube had stopped the disk from collecting Fate, he didn’t want to contemplate the possibility he had wasted close to a year’s worth of charge by accident. It was possible Virya had put some kind of blocking enchantment in her puzzle. If she predicted he would activate it by accident, she might have wanted to ensure the release of Fate wasn’t catastrophic.
That was definitely the only logical conclusion.
There was no way to confirm or disprove it, all signs of mana had disappeared from the lacquered wood when he completed the cube. The remaining pieces were no longer indestructible, no stronger than wood from a mana tree, worth a couple silvers at most.
Since when do a hundred copper mesars sound little? Higharbor truly twisted my conception of wealth.
“Are you ready? We’re going to be late.” Flynn’s voice echoed from downstairs.
I’ll eat my shoes if the twins are on time.
“I’m coming, just a minute,” Kai yelled back. He surveyed the collection of clothes and books on his bed to see if he had forgotten anything.
Clothes check, potions check, rope and random gear I’ll probably never use check.
The trip to the ruins shouldn’t last more than a week, ten days at most. He often used to trek back and forth from the estate, but since settling in Higharbor, Kai had been reminded of the convenience of city life.
There was a shop for everything, and people willing to run errands for him, if he was willing to pay. Not that he ever tried, that was lavish spending of spoiled people, though he was tempted. If he could brew a batch potion in the time he took to run to the bakery for snacks, wasn’t it more logical to pay someone else to go while he worked?
That’s how they trick you. After the first step, it’s a slippery slope. Before I realize I’ll be like those insufferable brats of the upper city.
Flynn had promised to take care of supplies, and there were enough villages and small towns along the way food was not an issue.
No harm in packing a couple snacks for emergencies. Having to fit everything inside a bag is such a hassle. Kai folded everything inside the backpack as orderly as he could.
The ring was so convenient, no weight, no risk of wrinkles in his shirts or potential water damage to his notebooks. If he pushed the air outside, the spatial closet was as good as vacuum-sealed.
But the spatial artifact was the one secret he couldn’t afford to reveal. It was invaluable for both worth and utility, it contained the Fate Fulcrum and his other precious possessions.
None of his childhood friends knew about it, not even Lou. While they had reconnected in the last two months, their view of the Republic was dubious. He didn’t want to put them in a position to choose between him and their beliefs or security.
It wouldn’t be fair.
Then the dilemma was which books to carry. He couldn’t go visit a Vastaire site and not bring his dad’s old research. Since coming to the city, he had delved back into the messy volumes.
He hadn’t been able to dedicate the time they deserved between his work on the cube and his business responsibilities to Reishi. Yet, the extra levels in Inspect and his attributes had allowed him to make significant strides.
He had gotten quite decent deciphering their glyphs. Since several ruins had been demolished for resources by the Republic, many of the writings his father had collected all over the archipelago were the last of their kind.
Now that I’m done with Virya’s accursed puzzle, I might finally finish organizing Dad’s notes. Maybe pay a printer to make some copies when I’m done.
Kai picked three books full of notes about the Vastaire glyphs and architecture, leaving the others behind. No matter how careful he was about handling the ring, the only way to ensure he wouldn’t be found out was not to use it. Meeting Valela had reminded him he couldn’t lower his guard.
He couldn’t discount that someone might spy on him. Even if the girl kept her silence, an official must have ordered the first report made, and there was no way of knowing whether they would check again.
Maybe never, maybe tomorrow.
Downstairs, Flynn was pacing in the living room staring at the clock Kai had already regretted buying. Life was much simpler when he could eyeball the sun and say, ‘Good enough’.
“You take ages to get ready.” He lifted his bag on his shoulders. “We agreed to meet outside the city in twenty-two minutes.”
“That’s plenty, and they don’t have a clock to check anyway.” Kai took the keys to close their house. “You don’t need to accompany me, I can manage on my own.”
“I’d rather not take the chance. You are almost better than me at finding trouble. And that’s not a compliment that I give lightly.”
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“I’m honored.”
Flynn chuckled. “You know, I heard they were planning to put bells to ring the hour.”
Yatei have mercy on us, they want to ruin everything.
They followed one of the main roads west. The northern coast of Yanlun was rocky and jagged, so the twins had planned to cut inland for the most direct route.
The ruins were relatively close, and the terrain was mostly flat with no dense jungle in the way. It should take about three days of march according to Lou, two if they kept a decent pace.
Kai had vainly tried to convince them to take passage on a merchant ship and cut the journey. He even offered to pay for everybody, but the twins insisted they had to go on foot, it was part of the experience ‘like we did as children’.
Hopefully, this time the trip will be less of a disaster. Is this their way to set things right?
Crossing into the outer city, the houses were shorter, stone and marble shifted to wood and plaster, though the buildings facing the main road never grew too shabby. A steady stream of people filled the streets, most heading toward the city.
While Higharbor got most of its trade and visitors from the sea, the constant flow of produce from the inland farms was fundamental to feed the burgeoning population.
They crossed a dozen carts pulled by stout horses on their way out of Higharbor. There was a guard post at the city limit, but no wall. Perhaps they considered the heavy presence of the Republic enough or didn’t have the budget for such a large project.
They were let through without a glance, only the people coming in received any scrutiny. Kai looked around, it was only the fourth time he had gone inland, and the first from this road. Usually, he looked for a secluded field to practice his Nature Magic on the crops, leaving behind lush pumpkins and beets.
The farmland extended for miles on soft slopes, greens mixed with browns now that winter was approaching. It was a picturesque landscape and an alien one to the archipelago. Two decades ago, most natives wouldn’t have recognized more than a third of the crops planted.
A reminder that times were changing, and neither the environment nor people would be left unscathed.
They stopped in a grassy patch by the side of the road. To Kai's immense surprise, there was no sign of the twins. He choked the ‘I told you so’ threatening to spill from his lips.
“They were the ones who organized the trip.” Flynn pointed out.
“They were the ones who insisted we did this,” Kai corrected him. It was to be seen how much planning they actually had done. Despite all the changes, the twins' habits remained the same. It was comforting in a way. “I bet they’ll be the first to demand we hurry up when they get here.”
The grass was wet with morning dew, they sat on their bags to observe the unending line of people heading into Higharbor. With the sun up, the temperature was pleasant despite the season, slightly chilly when the wind blew.
They only had to wait about a quarter-hour before four familiar heads emerged from the traffic. Ana had her nose lost in a map while Lou surveyed the terrain with a stoic look. The teenager was the first to notice them. He gave a small wave that prompted the twins to flail their arms and shout their names.
Surprised by the commotion, Ana missed a step. She slapped Uli and Oli on the back before smiling at them.
“What are we waiting for?” Uli greeted them upon coming closer, and Oli dragged him to his feet. “Come on, little shrimp, we have a lot of ground to cover.”
Kai sent a knowing glance to Flynn, who shook his head.
“Have you finally decided on our route?”
“We’re aiming for Saltcreek village.” Oli explained before he was interrupted by his brother.
“Milltee is closer.”
“We’re never going to make it before nightfall.”
“We are if we cut through—”
I see we’re in good hands.
Kai wondered how they sold him that spending days crossing Yanlun’s hinterland would be fun. Sweaty days away from a shower and sleeping on rocky ground when he had a warm bed at home.
I should have fought harder for the ship.
Reincarnating in Elydes had forced him to adapt to a life without the comforts of modern society. That didn’t mean he enjoyed it. It was one thing to make sacrifices out of necessity or to train, but to inflict that upon himself for fun?
Lou shared a sympathetic look, mistaking the cause of his gloom.
Hoping to reassure him, Ana silently mouthed behind the twins’ back. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this.” Then she raised her voice. “Either way, we need to go down this road to reach both villages.”
Uli and Oli threw dirty looks at each other before they both tried to take the lead.
“Let’s go!”
“This way!”
Positive thoughts, this will be fun.
Kai followed them trying not to think of all the productive ways he could be spending his morning doing. The skills he could have trained, the potions he could have brewed. Taking a break was fine. And sure, the trip could have been cut if they took a ship, but it didn’t matter. He allowed himself one last mournful look at the city and the comforts they left behind.
Goodbye civilization, welcome wilderness.
He had always planned to visit more Vastaire ruins to reconnect with his father, but his dreams didn’t include camping in the wild without personal space for days.
I love being social.
The group’s chatter brought him back to the present. Ana was reminiscing of their last trip together to the ruins before everything went down. “Do you remember how tall they were? I couldn’t believe my eyes—”
What she didn’t mention was that the Vastaire site no longer existed. Destroyed after millennia because their ivory stone would make pretty palaces. Not to mention the rude fuckers they met there.
Is this why I’m so annoyed about this trip?
His four friends appeared to have selectively kept only the good memories of that day, but he perfectly remembered what happened. Faced with the childlike grin that split the twins’ faces, Kai also tried to focus on the best parts.
“I heard these ruins are even bigger,” Uli said.
“Yes, enormous. They say it was one of their largest settlements.”
“Said who?” Kai couldn’t stop himself. “That’s baseless nonsense. We’re not even sure if the Vastaire lived in the ruins that are left, or if their cities had been swept away by time and the ivory towers were simply the only buildings made to last.”
Following his outburst, every pair of eyes was on him. His four friends shared looks with a certain note of amusement.
“What?” Kai interrogated, but no one answered him. “Well, you should know some basic historical facts since we’re going there. Where to start…”
A little lesson can’t hurt. Their education went down the drain since I left.
The cultivated land continued for miles dotted with farmers at work. The sun shone in the sky, but the temperature never got too hot. Time passed faster than he expected. They stopped to eat in a field of wildflowers before continuing down smaller paths.
“Are you sure we’re going the right way for Milltee?”
“And Saltcreek? How much farther is it?”
“I’m sure.” Ana kept a firm hold of the map. “Both villages are this way, trust me.”
The farmland became a patchwork in the early afternoon. Cultivated fields separated by wild grassland and spare trees. Somehow both villages always remained on the same road. Right till the sun dipped over the horizon and they reached Mateili’s Rest, a settlement of farmers sprawling on a low hill.
“It seems I was wrong,” Ana said with no hint of shame. “Well, it’s too late to reach another village. We might as well stay the night here.”
“You did it on purpose!” Oli accused, stomping his feet after her.
“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about. It was an honest mistake.”
Kai’s mood took a leap when they found a small inn with clean beds and a warm meal. He was so happy he tipped the old owner an extra night, and it was still less than what he’d pay for a night in Higharbor.
Sitting in the main hall, Kai watched the twins and Ana argue over the map. Lou had gone to refill their water supplies, and they weren’t likely to reach an agreement before he played arbiter.
Maybe this trip wasn’t such a bad idea.
“I’m glad I’ve come. I’ve never visited any Vastaire ruins,” Flynn said, his tone was casual, but he had a suspicious glint in his eye. “You know, tomorrow we’ll be in the middle of nowhere. It will probably be sunny again, with no people or beasts nearby.”