Len watched Rick as he stalked around the forest at the edge of Eskon.

“Now where is that tool crate? Left a marking here.” Rick’s eyes glowed as he peered through the world.

"There you are!" Rick slapped his thigh, moving past the tree into the wooded area.

The ground parted underneath his feet, revealing the crate of tools he'd left behind.

Rick picked it up, pulling his hand through the air, the dirt dragged off the crate.

He opened it checking the contents. “Good to go.”

“Give that to me, odd for a noble to carry his own stuff,” Len said.

“Very well pack horse!” Rick put the crate ontop of the larger food one that Len had on his shoulder.

Len shifted the weight and adjusted his coinpurse, it was heavy with coin from the hunters. All the mana stone and cores were in their front packs.

Using those to buy and sell goods right now was likely to bring all kinds of the wrong kind of attention.

They started their walk back into Eskon.

Len and Rick walked through the outskirts of Eskon’s lower industrial district. The forest was conquering the open space between it and the city. Several buildings had collapsed.

"Looks like people are taking the building materials from them," Rick pointed to collapsed buildings.

"And either no one cares that they're doing it, or they don't come down here to see it," Len said.

"And neither of those is a good thing," Rick added.

"There isn't even a wall between them and the forest. If a beast wave came, it would just tear right through them on the way into the city. Stupid.”

"Gotta remember that they have never dealt with a mana beast wave. Haven't dealt with mana, probably, most of them." Rick said.

“Its so hard because its such common sense in the future.” Len said.

“And hell common sense ain’t that common in any time period,” Rick chuckled.

They moved deeper into the lower industrial district, spotting people living among the buildings, ruined or in disrepair, or in hovels that they had created themselves.

They stared over with wary eyes, moving into deeper shadow and giving the duo a wide berth.

"What's with them?" Rick asked.

Len followed their eyes to his hip, where his sword lay. He studied them, they were ill equipped to deal with the ravages of the apocalypse, the thought stuck. "None of them have any weapons or armor. Not used to it. It was only when the apocalypse was in full swing that people started wearing them all the time.”

“Strange,” Rick said.

They cut through the city, people stared chuckling and laughing but leaving them mostly alone. It didn’t take them long to reach the central station, a great edifice of stone and steel where a dozen tracks ran through.

“Okay, looks like we’ve got a train headed east to Goran in,” Rick checked the clock. “An hour and a half?”

“Works.”

Rick moved towards the ticket counters. “Are you sure we should go to Goran first, we could go to your family farm.”

“From Goran we can cut south for my family farm. Your Grandma isn’t in good health as it is. I just hope we can move quickly.” Len said.

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“As soon as we can leave we will,” Rick looked him dead in the eyes.

Len nodded, it was as good as carved into stone now.

“Two tickets to Goran?” Rick asked at the window.

“Going for the competition are you sir? The ticketmaster said, checked a board behind the counter.

“Thought it might be entertaining,” Rick said.

“It’ll be forty four coppers each,” The man said.

“Okay,” Rick pushed the coins under the metal gate.

The ticketmaster separated out the coins with his index finger.

“All here,” He pulled two tickets out from under the counter, writing something on them and then stamping them both. “Don’t have any private carriages, though should be able to get a seat here. Don’t let it go till you reach Goran!” He pushed the tickets under the gate.

“Thank you,” Rick said, pulling them out and tucking them into a pocket in his pack.

“Platform three heading eastbound sir.”

Rick led the way up the bridge over the platforms and train tracks, conductors used whistles, signalling to drivers as trains started chugging, dragging themselves forward.

Rick and Len went down the stairs to their platform.

“More people than I was expecting,” Len said.

“The competition attracts people from all over,” Rick said. He found a spot against the brick building in the middle of the platform, offering bathrooms and a store selling drinks and food.

They settled into wait, people avoiding them and their armor.

Eastbound train approaching!” A conductor yelled, moving down the platform and repeating his message, pushing people back from the edge.

The train whistled in the distance, its brakes squealing as it slowed down.

“Move in the name of Duke Crenda!” A man bellowed out. A dozen guards swarmed onto the platform. One holding up a crest with another on the front of his jacket.

The guards split up, some pushing passengers out of the way as they got onto the train, others moving down the platform, searching.

Rick pressed back up against the wall, the brick pillar they were next to, hiding them.

“Why would a Duke’s guards be looking for you?” Len asked.

“Well,” Rick peered around the corner. “Remember how I said that I ran into a bit of trouble in the Hunter’ Bureau?”

“Yes.” Len nodded “You killed them?”

“No no, nothing that bad, they were idiots, just punched them up a bit and then they were kind enough to give us some extra funds for the experience and a few extra potions.”

Len cocked an eyebrow, then let out breath leaning his head back against the brick wall. The train gave a whistle, conductors chivvying on the last passengers.

“Its going to be damn tricky, but I could bend the light,” Len said.

“You sure?” Rick asked.

“Just a bit of fancy work, just can’t hit anything,” Len said.

“Alright, well,” Rick looked out and ducked back. “Might do it soon they’re nearly here.”

Len manipulated the light around them, bending it slightly around them. It was similar to the concepts one needed to master with the spatial enchantments needed for storage devices.

A pocket of altered reality.

It snapped in space, the world around them distorting slightly, footsteps approached, two guards with their hands on their swords moved past the alcove. One frowned, looking over the space, he slowed, looking around, then picked up his pace to keep up with the other.

Rick grabbed up a crate and looked at Len.

He grabbed the other and put a hand on Rick’s back, settling the spell that was quickly burning through his mana he pushed Rick forward. They moved quickly across the platform, pausing for a mother and son that walked across the platform, focused on the toy he was eagerly playing with.

Len pushed Rick forward again, reaching the stairs up to the small metal walkway off the back of the train, he opened a space in the light ‘bubble’ undoing the chain on the stairs. He pushed Rick and they went up the stairs in lockstep.

“Anything?” The leading guard yelled as he jumped off of the train.

“Nothing!” The guard who had stared at their hiding place said.

“Shit.”

The conductor whistled, the train returning the noise.

Len saw the thoughts run through the lead guard’s face, delay the train or not.

“He’s not here, must have been wrong.”

He headed for the stairs up to the bridge.

The conductors threw up paddles and doors were shut.

The train huffed and the wheels started to pull the carriages forward.

Len jerked with the sudden movement, the bubble touching the railing and collapsing.

The bubble reflected the railing, making it seem a dozen times larger.

“Go!” Len pushed Rick forward, he pushed open the carriage door, people were still putting their items away.

He broke the light bending spell.

“What was that?” A guard yelled.

The train started to build up speed.

“Hey in the carriage!”

The guards moving towards the bridge turned, looking at the train as it started to get faster, the engine chugging now.

Rick flipped them the bird as they cursed and turned for the train, running for it.

“Weirght reduction,” Len said casting the spell on the supply carriage behind the carriage they were on. The train shuddered forward, making one guard have to run faster to try and catch the walkway.

He had to slow his pace to not come off the end of the platform.

Rick cast out a spell on the carriage they were on and the one ahead, the train lurched forward again and jumped in speed once more. People rocked with the motion and let out notes of alarm. The train was still getting good speed now, faster than the guards could catch up with. They cursed and yelled, slowing their pace as they reached the end of the platform.

“Well, that was exciting.” Rick laughed.

Len reduced the spell on the last carriage before his mana bottomed out, the train engine struggled some and then picked back up.

Rick did the same with the other carriages. “Seats?”

“Yeah,” Len sighed.