Magnus rode into the deep night. He was exhausted from his five-day long trek, but he wasn’t done yet. The happening at Sir Pearce’s manor was just an interlude. He had heard the news at the tavern, and curiosity led him to sneak inside. He met the hunchback there, and agreed to help him confront any danger. In return, he was given a bag of gold. Now that his job was done, he could continue his road without worrying about food.

Magnus had been completely broke before. He would go knock on doors and beg for food. Because of his grand stature and the large sword he carries, villagers generally were terrified enough of them to oblige. Some villagers were polite enough to invite him into their lodging, and he appreciated that. More often than not, though, he would be given his food and had to take it on the road.

This bag of gold was the most money he had ever had. He did not think particularly much of it besides the fact he was relieved that he would have enough for a couple years of food now. The Dew mushroom chicken cooked at inns are much more consistent than those by random peasants. Not that he minded the inconsistency, though, as he was not a choosing beggar.

Magnus began to head to a different world now.

Disconnect Hills was the far west. With the Peninsula horse he has at the moment, Magnus estimated it would take six days to get there.

By the end of the first day, he had reached the outskirts of Birchland and ventured in the Camelback Plains. He rode by farmlands and ranches, from sunrise to sunset. The Camelback Plains seemed so vast, but its ancient history was forgotten more and more throughout the years. A hundred years ago, the Camelback Plains used to be ruled by various tribes, until one tribe named the Ibauzun united the rest. Then they were quickly overran by the fabled Moon Kingdom.

History isn’t easy to preserve across tribes, as the lack of architecture or sometimes even a writing system made it difficult. Magnus rode by, wondering about all the warfare that had taken place in this now peaceful land. There were nothing but farmers now. There is one central town called Resurgence Town here where all the trade and festivals happen. Magnus remembered hearing it was named so as the town was hoping that the Camelback Plains can establish its identity once again.

Soon Magnus rode into the streets Resurgence Town, and he was greeted by an inhabitant.

“Hello, sir. You look foreign.” The man, wearing a tidy black tunic and a grey cloak, greeted Magnus.

There is nothing resurgent about Resurgence Town. The place just does not cut it among the most prosperous cities in the land. The flats alongside the streets are monotone and uninspiring. The population in the city was sparse, as most of the successful young men and women have moved out of the place when given the option.

“A passerby.” Magnus replied, “Is there lodging in this town?”

“Yes. Follow me.”

The stranger led Magnus to the only multi-story building within several miles. Magnus recognized it to be a tavern, but wasn’t so sure anymore after he stepped in. It was dusty and silent, as cobwebs stuck to the corners of the walls, and many broken chairs and broken tables occupied the middle of the room.

“Something happened here.” The stranger muttered, “Boss? Are you here?”

No reply.

Magnus realized sweet dreams for this night is off the table. He watched the man who led him to this tavern bolt towards the stairs in panic.

“Don’t. Stay here. This could be dangerous.” Magnus warned. The man hesitated, but then nodded.

Suddenly, Magnus heard gentle footstep coming from upstairs.

“Do you hear that? There is someone upstairs.” Magnus whispered.

“I don’t hear anything.” The man replied.

“Stay here. I’ll go check it out.” Magnus proposed, and then followed through as he trotted upstairs, light on his feet and quiet as a mouse.

There was indeed someone there. Someone was sitting with his legs outside the window. Since Magnus could not see the person’s face, he could only tell that the figure had a large frame and long and scruffy white hair. Magnus’ entire body started twitching for reasons he could not explain. It was as if he was hit by a chill gust, but the gust came from inside his body.

The figure felt Magnus’ presence, although it did not turn around to face him. “I should have known you were going to stop by here.” The figure remarked.

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“You know me?” Magnus inquired suspiciously.

“I do. Perhaps I know more about you than you do about yourself.”

“Interesting.”

“Not the type to ask questions I take it. I will be leaving.”

The figure jumped out the window and dissipated into the night. It all happened so quickly that Magnus could not keep up. This was the first time he had ever felt something like this. Magnus knew that if the white-haired person wanted to harm him, it would happen. Magnus would not have been able to defend himself.

Magnus felt relaxed and uneasy at the same time. Relaxed because he knew he was probably safe for the night, but also uneasy since there had been a grand presence that had been monitoring his life that he could not understand. Was the person a friend or an enemy?

Magnus remembered his mentor Luft telling him, “People are rarely just your friends or enemies. They have their own intentions, and when your goals align with theirs, they be your friend. Otherwise, watch your own throat. It can be slit open any second if you trust them too much.”

Luft spoke the truth. Magnus knew at some point, he would have to find out the mysterious man’s intentions.

The night could not stay young forever, so Magnus took a light rest. He decided he will roam around the town for half or day or so the next day. The place always intrigued him, as he could not comprehend how one of the most prosperous towns in the land could just practically disappear from the memories of people. The older folks referred to it as the ghost town, and the young man and woman would reply “Where?” when they were asked of Resurgence Town.

The stranger part was that the Camelback Plains, where Resurgence Town was located, was an autonomous region. It would rarely be affected by war or change of regime, so it flourished throughout the years. Magnus was convinced that something must have happened in the last thirty years for this town to fade out of people’s memories.

The next morning, Magnus headed to the market. There were about twenty vendors or so, and down the street from the market there was a large plaza. The performers drew in a small gathering. There were flamethrowers, jugglers, and dancers. The audience was gently clap and cheer from time to time.

The town was far from a ghost town, but Magnus can envision during its best days, the plaza was probably filled with enough people where you won’t be able to get through and see the stage. Magnus walked through the market and scanned the items the vendors were selling. There were plenty of normal fruits like cherries, pears, and apples, but there were also plenty of strange stuff.

The sign in front of a vendor read Ice berries. Phoenix eggs. Dust melons.

Is this a hoax? Magnus thought to himself. There were no one else paying attention to that vendor, but Magnus checked out the items on the stand carefully.

The ice berries looked like soft and round crystals. Magnus could see his own reflection in these berries. “What in the world…” He muttered.

“Never seen an ice berry before?” The vendor who sold the eccentric items asked.

“No one will buy your shattered glass, Harold.” A neighboring vendor replied.

“Mind your own business Clarissa. You haven’t gone around this world enough to know crap.” Harold shot back.

Clarissa picked up an ice berry and slammed it against the ground. It broke into pieces, and it was indeed, glass.

“Well, ice berries are rare as shit. I can’t sell them in volume, but I do have a few pieces mixed in here, you just have to get lucky.” Harold replied.

“No ice berries. Don’t exist. You a liar.” Clarissa called out.

“What are the phoenix eggs?” Magnus turned to Clarissa, the con-man had been ratted out, but the contents of the counterfeits amused Magnus.

“That just a big chicken egg.” Clarissa replied.

“There are no chicken eggs that can be bigger than your big and empty head.” Harold shot back.

“How are you selling them for?” Magnus wanted to gauge if it was worth spending money he finally had to fulfill his curiosity.

“Seventeen silvers.”

“That’s about fourteen meals, don’t think I will be doing it.” Magnus replied.

“Fine, eight silvers.”

“Still too expensive.”

“I can’t just sell you a phoenix egg for cheap.”

“Five.” Magnus offered.

“Seven.”

“Six.”

“Deal.”

Magnus handed six silvers to Harold and took over the “phoenix egg”. He inspected the dust melons, which looked like regular watermelons. While Magnus was trying to figure out what was so special about the melons, a hooded man came through and handed some coins to Harold, and grabbed a melon and quickly left without saying a word.

“Why you buy fake stuff?” Clarissa shook her head at Magnus while Harold grinned, “Better go get a guide book from the nearby store on how to raise a phoenix.”

Magnus left Harold and Clarissa and headed to the empty tavern. The phoenix egg was quite an inconvenience to carry, as it was probably the size of cantaloupe. so he decided to answer his questions now. He set the egg on the table and raised his sword, and slashed at it.

The egg did not crack at all.

Magnus quickly made another attempt, but the shell stood the test once more, and twice more, and thrice more.

“What is this made out of.” Magnus muttered.

He decided to get up and return to the vendors, but by the time he got back, only Clarissa was still there.

“Where did he go?”

“Probably made his money for the day and went home.”

Magnus did not press more questions on Clarissa. He decided he needed to get going, so headed back to the tavern once again. He will have another couple hundred miles or so to go before he would reach his destination.

Westward of the Camelback Plains was the Dew Forest, and farther west of that was the Disconnect Hills Kingdom. The kingdom of Disconnect Hills was not as powerful as Birchland or Vrie Empire, but it was strong and prideful enough to defend itself in case of invasions. The Vrie Empire had launched a few invasions at some strategic points like Zenith Castle, but was fiercely pushed back. The rumors have it that the princess of Disconnect Hills, Anya, is not only highly skilled in combat, but also well-versed in military strategies. She led the rebuff efforts against the Vrie Empire, and after two years, they still could not find a breakthrough.

When Magnus got back, the phoenix egg had disappeared. He immediately looked for signs for danger, but could not sense anyone’s presence. Could it have been the person from last night? Not usually easily spooked, Magnus decided this was probably a good time to leave this town.