Chapter 42: A Flair In the Sky
Landar
The ground swayed, which only made sense. I was on top of a turtle the size of a small mountain. I lifted the box I had been asked to help unload onto the balloon airship, and easily hauled it to the small loading dock next to the airship. “Thank you, young master.” The elderly woman bowed to me, and I really didn’t know what to say.
“Uh. You’re welcome. We’re here to help, at any rate.” Ezekial beamed at me from atop his flying horse. “Why don’t you get down here and help load boxes?”
“Sorry, young master.” Ezekial copied the elderly woman's speech pattern teasingly. “Someone has to stay prepared to fight. Instead of helping load cargo boxes.” I glared at him and he snickered.
“You watch your tone, knight.” The elderly woman interjected. “Or I will call the count and he will deal with you. The young master is attending to his duties. That is a worthy thing indeed.”
Ezekial looked taken aback for a moment, before saluting the woman, fist to his metal breastplate. “Of course madam. I meant no disrespect to you. Only to tease the lad. I know his father well.”
She huffed, and went back for more boxes. There were only two left, and she picked up both, though they were almost as tall and wide as she was tall with little effort. “I might be a guildswoman. But these old bones are steel. And to be respected.” She glared at Ezekial, locking eyes with him as she easily moved the cargo boxes onto the airship's loading ramp.
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Ezekial was nearly as astonished as I was. Apparently cultivation and growth is more common among the easterners.
That’s correct boss. Though their peasants don’t often get beyond what they call copper stage, and what we would call level zero, or maybe even starting to push level one, their merchant classes regularly get at least a few levels before they die. It's quite remarkable.
Why isn’t it more common in the west? It seems far more stable than what I've heard coming out of the Jade Empire. Particularly since that fight that happened in the sky on my first day at school.
That information is somewhat restricted. Sorry. Get a formal appointment by your grand dad to be a Dukal adviser, or a formal leadership position as a Baron or Count, and we might be able to gain access. But as you are? Those files are restricted off the mainframe. Not that I can really access the system all the way out here. As far as I can tell we traveled halfway across the continent!
Yeah. It's pretty incredible.
“Flair.” Ezekial said, pointing out towards the deep jungle towards the south. There, hanging in the sky over the jungle a bright, angry red flair burst to life and strobed as if desperate for attention.
“Does that mean we go?” I asked, gripping my ax to reassure myself it was there.
“Count Moran is already engaged to our rear, preventing a powerful force of treefolk from stopping the smaller turtles in the caravan. I think we might be the last reserve.” he looked down at me and smiled, offering me a hand up onto his winged horse. “Don’t worry, me and my crew are strong enough to take on most things we’re likely to encounter.”
I took his hand and in a moment he pulled me up behind him. A second later his pegasus threw us off the shell of the monastery-like moving mountain and into open air. I felt the wings catch the breeze, and with a quick glance behind me four other pegasi followed close behind us. Each with a member of my team holding tightly to the winged horse’s knight rider.
“The thing that bothers me though,” He yelled back over the wind. “Is why they are so far south. That makes no sense. Something wrong must have happened. Something very, very wrong.”
I felt the winter wolf in my core stir awake, and wake. A fight was coming, she could smell it.