Stillwater says "As you wish. I will handle things here."

Brightfire says "But..."

Stillwater says "No! It is already decided!"

Of course that doesn't stop Brightfire, she is still arguing with her dad as they leave. Nala and Albion woke up during the conversation so they are aware that I am leaving. They aren't too upset, they will still be able to see me in the soulscape each night.

After eating lunch with them I head up on deck and plan out the route the ship is going to take. Then, before Brightfire comes to beg some more, I take flight and leave the ship. I haven't read all of the history books yet, but I have read enough to have a general idea of the main continent.

Unfortunately, the charts focus on the coastlines and port cities, they don't show the inland cities. So the first thing I am going to need to do is find a city and get myself a map. Then I will plan a route leading to the magic kingdom, passing as many cities as possible.

While my main goal is the magic kingdom I still plan to rescue any elves that I find. In order to find an inland city I first head back to the port city, or what's left of it. Almost half of the city is nothing but rubble and ashes, it is worse than I expected.

It makes me feel kind of bad, innocent people definitely died in the fire. Although, I am happy to see that the burned area includes the rich area. That means at least those responsible for the trap should have suffered as well.

There are several roads leading out of the city, although calling them roads is a stretch. Choosing the road that looks the most traveled, I follow it hoping it will lead to a city. As I fly along I spot numerous villages and even a few towns, but they aren't worth my time.

After flying for a few hours I finally spot a large city, so I land and shapeshift into a human. Then I continue walking along the road towards the city and reach the gates just as the sun is setting. The guards hardly pay any attention to me, just asking for coins before letting me in.

Since I want to blend in the first thing I do is find an inn, get a room, and have a meal. The food the inn serves is filling, but not as tasty as what I get from my pouch. However, eating it is part of fitting in and listening to the other patrons gets me some information.

None of it is anything too useful, but it does give me some insight about the local culture. News of the port city hasn't arrived yet, or I'm sure everyone would be talking about it. Staying ahead of the news is a good thing for me, it means people won't be as suspicious.

If the news had gotten here ahead of me I am sure that people coming into the city would be questioned. At least those people coming from the direction of the port city like I did. Since I am ahead of the news, maybe I can even finish things up before it arrives.

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Not only do I need to get a map and search for elves, I also need to find food. The problem with me leaving for a while is that the elves might run out of food. Especially since they have extra mouths to feed now and I hope to add more.

However, this seems to be a major city so buying bulk goods shouldn't be an issue. Although, from what happened in the port city I should probably be discreet about my pouch. Thinking of that I call over the innkeeper and ask him if he has an idea that would work.

Innkeeper says "Oh, that's simple! As long as you pay up front you can just have whatever you buy delivered here. We will store it in the stable for you. A spot in the stable is only five silvers a day!"

"Great, that will work perfectly! Thank you."

Innkeeper says "No problem! We aim to please! Speaking of, would you like company for the night? We have a good selection of girls!"

"No, thank you. Wait, do you happen to have an elf woman?"

Innkeeper says "No. Unfortunately, my humble inn can't afford an elven girl. Only rich merchants and nobles can afford them! My girls are all human, but they have the skills to make sure you are satisfied! I guarantee it!"

"No, thank you. I need to get some sleep."

Innkeeper says "Alright, dear customer. If you need anything at all just let me know."

Once the innkeeper leaves to help other customers I head up to my room. After locking the door I sit on the bed, open a soulscape, and invite the kids. I play with the kids for a few hours, then after ending the soulscape I start scanning the city.

This inn is fairly expensive, but I chose it because it is really close to the city center. This allows me to scan most of the city without having to leave my room. Of course, this is only possible because of the boost from the ring, otherwise I wouldn't have enough range.

There are only eighteen elves in the city, five near the market, the rest are in the nobles area. There are numerous wards on the city walls, but none within the city itself. There are no signs of any traps, although there are probably defenses on the noble estates.

However, those shouldn't pose any problems, but I still plan some escape routes just in case. Tomorrow I will do some shopping, then tomorrow night I will rescue the elves. I will try to keep the rescue as low key as possible so that it doesn't alert the nearby cities.

Once I have a plan I sleep until morning and then go down for breakfast. To my surprise the breakfast served is much better than the dinner was. When I think about it for a minute I realize why, there are several restaurants in the city.

That means those who can afford it go to them for dinner, so the inns serve cheaper dinners. After I am done eating I head out into the city and start looking for what I need. Thanks to scanning the city I know where the market is, but my first stop is at a small book store.

The reason is that when I scanned the store last night I noticed a big map on the wall. When I walk in and see it I am happy to see that it not only covers the continent, but it is very detailed. This includes all the coastlines and a few miles of ocean, it is exactly what I need.

Clerk says "Welcome! What can I help you with?"

"Is that map for sale?"

Clerk says "Yes, it is. However, it is very expensive."

"How much?"

Clerk says "Five thousand gold."

"I'll take it!"

The clerk looks like he doesn't believe me, but his expression changes when I start taking out the gold. He quickly resumes his normal look and takes the map down to roll it up. It is only as I walk out of the store that I realize I just did it again, I showed off my pouch.