Krys POV

They were on the road, and quite frankly, Krys wasn't sure what to expect. Having lived his entire life in the city and barely going out past the outskirts for anything more than dead drops, the sight of trees all around felt like an almost wholly unnatural experience for him despite the fact that he was surrounded by said nature.

Looking around, he could tell that Sera was sitting in a similar boat as him, though Zax looked remarkably comfortable considering the circumstances. The adventurers looked fine for the most part as well, huddled together over some kind of enchanted chessboard that Cecil brought; said enchantment apparently being that it kept the pieces from falling off the board unless they were intentionally grabbed.

Ren was sitting among them, looking cheerful enough while interacting with people who were relatively closer to her age than his team was, watching as Rantz played against Lily while Cecil seemingly meditated. The white cat, who he learned is called Freyli, was also among them, surprisingly watching the game as well if he was following her eyes accurately, that is.

Krys wasn't too sure where Vito's black cat, Basmori, ended up, though he watched as Legosi ran along with the carts, seemingly patrolling the area for them as he occasionally ran into the treeline before returning along the carriages, casually striding around without much effort.

Looking ahead, he watched as Riley handled the lead carriage dutifully enough, seeming rather alert for the last few hours despite not much actually happening. Glancing back to the carriage that followed behind them, it was driven by the gray-scaled lizardkin who went by the name of Lostrill who seemed to be gazing at the mostly evergreen scenery while the two chivosteids pulling the carriage handled themselves for the most part by simply following the lead carriage.

As for his new boss? Well, Vito was sleeping in the rear carriage. Something about how he hasn't actually slept in the last three days and needs to catch up on some Z's as he put it.

Regardless, there wasn't much to do as he let his eyes wander, that was until Sera procured a set of cards from somewhere and held the deck out enticingly while flashing a smile. "Fancy a game of war?"

Krys just grinned in response as he bobbed his head. "Sure, I'm up for it."

Vitmori POV

It feels strange to be back in my chamber after having been gone for a few days, the feeling of being both just a core and the entire mountain around me feeling vaguely comforting after walking around as a person for an extended period of time. It was almost liberating in a sense as I reveled in my heightened awareness as an intangible perspective that could wander the mountain freely.

Moving around, I first come across Trisha working the day away in the smithy. All around her workspace, I spotted a few varieties of spearheads strewn about looking rather well done and sharpened. Though from what I could vaguely sense in her mind, she wasn't satisfied with the styles she'd thought up for me.

Hephtio was nearby as well, feeding the flames with his breath as needed while his eyes were watching as Trisha swung her hammer, the movements that went into the act as he studied her technique and physique. I got the impression that he was mentally developing by leaps and bounds during his time around both Trisha and the cooks of the longhouse. Between learning from them and putting his manaheart through the paces in such a mana-rich environment, I could feel him growing day by day despite not having hunted like Basmori.

It may also have something to do with the influence of the dense mana Basti got from Lichtdren, she had mentioned she had given each cub a dose of it and now it was up to them to process the mana in question.

Regardless, I go ahead and mentally tap at Hephtio to let him know I was here, which earned a curious but happy mreowl as he seemed to look in the general direction of my perspective. Though as I asked him to let Trisha know I was also here when he felt it would be best, he nodded intently and went back to watching Trisha while continuing to maintain the flames.

Surprisingly enough, he made me wait a full thirty minutes before mentally reaching out and verbally meowing to inform Trisha of my presence. The teen blacksmith looked over and acknowledged him with vague surprise as she quenched the spearhead before soon setting it down on her workbench and pulling off her face wrappings and tinted goggles. "Boss? Are you here?" She asked as she looked around.

I went ahead and conjured a green ball of light for her to look at while I mentally smiled to myself. 'I still find it fascinating how focused you can be when it comes to smithing. It's rather impressive, you know.'

Trisha just chuckled softly as she scratched the back of her head before undoing her ponytail and pulling off the bandana that kept her hair down. "I appreciate the kind words, Boss. What brings you back so soon? Did you forget something?" She mentioned before flashing a smile. "Well, you did forget your bow and arrows, but anything else?"

Oh, right! I was so quick to head out the other day that I had completely forgotten to ask about them before I left. Well, I might as well pick them up before I head back. 'Well, thank you for the reminder regarding my equipment. But I actually came back to drop off some supplies. I did some work while I was in town and managed to do some shopping. Got some food and materials for clothes and stuff.'

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Trisha looked pleasantly surprised by that as she nodded intently. "Well that was fast, though you don't need to stop by with every little delivery Boss, you can take your time and collect things until you have a big supply and then drop it off all at once."

I couldn't help but mentally chuckle as I could sense she was thinking I maybe had a bag of grain and a couple of bolts of fabric or something. 'I appreciate the sentiment, but it is quite a bit... In any case, we can perform a sort of trade then, if you can just give me my bow and arrows, I'll leave the supplies with you after you stop by the longhouse.'

Trisha smiled at that as she bobbed her head. "Sure, why not? The bow and arrows are at the longhouse anyway since Cinco was putting the finishing touches to it last night." She explained as she pulled off her gloves and her apron before waving Hephtio along as she started to leave.

With that, I hitch a ride with Hephtio as we make our way down my mountain and beyond the bubble of my territory. The forest seems to bustle with more activity than before, as borats scurry around here and there for whatever reason Frisby has for them to do.

Coming into the clearing, it was relatively quiet, with most people having gone out to forage or hunt some more as they continued to prepare for the day. I could smell the scent of food on the air thanks to Hephtio's nose as lunch was already being prepped for the group.

Pressing further as Hephtio scampered into the longhouse, we spotted Cinco sitting at one of the tables, still busily working away as he prepared quite a lot of arrows, carefully fitting the fletching where it needed to be along the shaft. Though as Hephtio hopped onto the table to greet him, Cinco flashed a smile, looking up to see him and Trisha as she approached. "Back so soon? What's up?" He asked pleasantly as one of his ears flicked.

Trisha just smiled as she gently scratched the top of Hephtio's head. "Vitmori just stopped by to drop off a few supplies he's put together and wanted to pick up his bow and arrows."

"Already?" He asked curiously, taking a moment to look around for me but not seeing me. Hephtio pipes up soon enough, murring cheerfully with delight as Cinco nods intently. "Ah, he's with you then? Give me a moment." He said as he moved to stand before walking off.

'What was that about? How did Cinco understand Hephtio without a bond to him?' I asked while reaching out to Trisha.

Trisha just smiled a bit, still doting on Hephtio. "It's because Cinco is a ranger, I'm not too sure about the specifics but he's able to speak to animals without any noticeable magic, something about an intrinsic connection to wildlife or something, like I said I'm not sure." She said while doing her best to explain what little she knew.

Interesting... Something like magic without magic?

Cinco returned soon enough, coming back with a neat bundle of thirty black-tipped, barbed arrows along with what looked like a meticulously hand-carved recurve bow that was one solid piece and sanded down until smooth. He smiled as he gestured to his handiwork. "I recommend you get your hands on some lacquer or beeswax to protect the bow when you get the chance. However, I do wanna make sure you know just how much Sehka has been helping out when it comes to preparing the staves for the bows, among other things." He mentioned with a smile before continuing to speak before I could respond. "That clever little cub has been very helpful with drying the wood using that water magic of hers, saving us months of waiting time without making the bows too brittle or dry." He enthused as he patted the bow gently.

The craftsmanship was certainly impressive, though I was more pleased to hear my cubs being praised like that as I couldn't help but smile to myself before speaking out to them in their minds. 'Well, thank you for your kind words, I'm glad to hear it. As for the bows and arrows, they look great! I'm sure they'll serve me well.' I say as I reach out and pull them into my inventory.

Cinco smiled a little more as he bobbed his head. "You're too kind Vitmori, if you have any troubles with it, do let me know." He mentioned as he went to sit back down and work on preparing more arrows.

At this point, I nudged Hephtio to head toward the middle of the longhouse as he cheerfully hopped down and made his way closer to the kitchen area before sitting and waiting for me to do my thing.

It takes a little more focus than usual as work to carefully set out all the materials and foodstuffs, by the time I was setting out the barrels of pickled fish, Trisha's eyes were as wide as could be as she took in the spread of food and furs along with all kinds of other materials.

"By the gods, where the hell did you get all of this?" Trisha asked with a delighted smile on her face that looked like she wasn't quite believing her eyes.

It wasn't long until Cinco came over as well, letting out an impressed whistle that caught Luna, Remi, and Mina's ear.

"Whoa, where'd all this come from?" Luna asked, her eyes wide with surprise as she picked up a hefty wheel of yellow cheese and looked it over. Her tail wagged behind her despite the look of confusion on her face.

Trisha couldn't help but smile, picking up the delighted Hephtio while he was sniffing at the barrel of pickled fish curiously and just cradling him in her arms. "Vitmori just stopped by to drop off some foodstuffs and other things, but I didn't think it was going to be this much." She explained as she looked over some of the furs and blankets.

Mina picked up a pillow and hugged with a smile on her face. "It's so fluffy..." She said softly as she looked over to Remi and sighed happily. "I could die." She mused a little as her ears flicked with delight.

Luna set the cheese wheel down before taking a step back as she looked at the array of goods. "There's just so much stuff here... How much gold did he spend to get all of it?"

'About twenty-four pieces of gold and change.' I mentioned amusement clearly in my voice as I watched from over Hephtio's shoulder, expending a little effort to get a better look around the room instead of directly through his eyes. It was more than a little funny seeing everyone save for Trisha and Cinco jumping at hearing my voice as they looked around curiously for me.

"Oh gods, Vitmori, I didn't know you were also here... Wait, twenty-four gold? Truly??" Luna exclaimed, looking surprised once at my interruption and then again as she heard just how much I spent.

"Where'd you get so much coin?" Remi asked while looking through bags of beans and rice.

'I did a few things... Sold some gems and cured a guild master's family friend of foul growth. Made some friends while I was at it, too.' I mused before looking around at them. 'Anyways, I gotta go now, I'm playing at being an art merchant and currently riding a carriage to the Hegemony's capital.'

With that, I pulled away from Hephtio's perspective and ended up back in my core room, even though I heard the others try to ask a few more questions before I left. I couldn't help but chuckle to myself at their expressions and thoughts, though even I could recognize that those series of events were just a little preposterous for the average person.

Regardless, it was back to go back on the road. Looking around my core, I soon spotted the thin, intangible thread that connected me to my vessel and reached out for it. In a blink, I find my vision obscured by my cloak as I slowly sit up, doing my best to act like I am stretching and waking up, even going so far as to yawn as my cloak falls into my lap.

I could sense Lostrill's surprise at my movement as he turned to look back at me with a fanged smile on his face. "Good morning Vito, up so soon? I thought you said you were tired?" He asked in a rather pleasant, if not confused manner.

I make a show of rubbing my eye with my one hand before yawning again, pulling my cloak back on, and fiddling with the button before climbing up front with the lizardkin man. "Yeah, but all I needed was a power nap, and now I'm good for another three days." I mused kindly while patting his shoulder and settling in beside him.

Lostrill just looked a little more confused but just smiled a bit as he looked back to the road. "You mages are odd ones, but I can't say I'm not a little jealous of your endurance." He said in a good-natured way.

I just chuckled a little bit before leaning back against the somewhat cushioned seat of the carriage and starting to take in the scenery. "Don't worry, it's not all mages. It's just me in particular. That's more than a little odd."