Travel in the carriage was fairly pleasant. The road was smooth and they could both ride inside so long as the person driving it had a clear view of the window. The carriage had windows in front and back as well as smaller ones on the sides.

Jazz was enjoying a spot of sun below one of the side windows. It was peaceful. Maybe a little too peaceful. It started to make Soral feel a it antsy.

“Will it take us a week to get there?” he asked Ruena.

“With how much you charged the carriage? We could probably make it in a day or two. I would guess closer to two because I need to be careful not to hit anything or go off the road.”

“Does the power level effect the speed?” he asked.

“It does,” she replied, still focused on the road, “The higher the speed the more energy it takes so you have to be careful and preserve it for the rest of your journey… At least in a normal situation. I suppose you might be able to recharge it again if you wanted.”

“What is that crystal on the wheels?”

“I’m not sure. If I was to guess it is made with crystilium.”

“Crystilium?” Soral asked.

Ruena paused as she tried to think how to explain. “You at least know what diamonds are, right?” she checked.

Soral nodded. Was crystilium like diamonds?

“Crystilium is like the magic based variant of diamonds. It is harder, and more magic conductive, but extremely rare. It is more stable than magic crystals for storing magic as well.”

It sounded like a convenient material but if it was really rare, this carriage must be valuable. Ruena had said it belonged to her benefactor, which meant that he either had enough influence or money to acquire it. This led Soral to wonder why he put such a harsh limit on his provisions for her. He had a feeling the man was just a cheapskate.

Having made his own judgment of a man he had never met with little to no evidence, Soral felt an odd sense of self-satisfaction. He hadn’t been one to care too much about strangers either way before outside of vast generalizations necessary for the survival of a street rat.

“It looks like we are going to pass right by Oaklin,” Ruena commented, looking to a smaller town off the road a bit to the right in the distance.

Another name that Soral hadn’t bothered to learn. He recognized the area though. This was where that mine snake den had been.

“I wonder if Jazz’s birthplace is nearby,” Soral mused, glancing at the surrounding forests.

Jazz looked up as his name was called, gave the forests a cursory glance and laid his head back down. Apparently not worthy of his time or attention. If that was the case, Soral wouldn’t worry about it either.

Another hour or two of travel passed in silence, each of them focusing on their own thing. It was Ruena who first broke the silence.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“I’m sure you are still full of questions,” she began, “Is there anything you would like to know?”

“Can I ask anything?” Soral ventured. He had been careful thus far, not wanting to poke any touchy subjects and make things tense between them. He had always preferred avoiding conflicts since the aftermath was a mess.

“Of course. Just let me ask about you in return,” Ruena bargained.

That seemed fair, and it wasn’t like Soral had anything to hide since she already knew he was Wild. “Is it true that you were a noble?” That seemed like a safe enough opener.

“It is. Or it was. Like I said, I left and am supported by my benefactor now,” she answered, “And since I can guess what is next, yes. My mother really did murder my father. I didn’t actually see it, but I saw her laughing after they told her the news. She changed after that. Immediately liquidating all of his assets. Never even greeting or looking at me.”

That sounded harsh. “But no one believes you?”

“Because I witnessed it when I was too young. Now that I am older, it’s been so long my memory must be warped. Back then, my testimony was worthless. Young children don’t know what they are talking about.”

“I don’t think so,” Soral said, thinking back to his own memories, “When something like that happens you can recall it clearer than what you ate for breakfast this morning. Time doesn’t matter.”

Ruena smiled. “Thanks… But that must mean your past is similar.”

“I don’t know about similar,” Soral replied, “I never had a father or a mother. Only myself and the dark corners of the alleys. I left that awful place, though. I don’t know where it is anymore and I have no intention of ever going back.”

There was a lot missing from that story, and Ruena could tell but she asked something else instead. “Where did you get your name, then?”

“I made it myself,” Soral replied with pride. “Soral when I was finally free and Voila to honor those that helped me.”

“Really? What were they like?”

They spent the rest of their journey talking about their pasts. Soral spoke of Vona and Ilar and his first sight of magic. Ruena told him about her impulsive decision to leave home and how she met her benefactor. He had saved her when she had nothing and offered her what she needed to grow stronger and stand up on her own.

Night fell soon enough, and since they weren’t near any towns or cities they set up camp. Since they were out in the open, someone had to keep watch. Soral immediately volunteered. He could see Ruena keeping an eye on him to make sure he slept if she did it instead, not to mention she had spent the whole day driving the carriage. Besides, he wanted to give defensive magic a try. If all magic was as easy as portals and pockets he figured he could do it without all the small details.

Unfortunately, nothing came up that night for him to use defensive or any other kind of magic on. It was a shame. He had spent the time creating a beautiful glowing shield made of magic itself. Soral kinda wanted to see what it could do.

He woke Ruena at dawn as promised. She was a bit groggy but they had some time to relax and make some quick breakfast on the fire. Once they set off again, Ruena immediately told Soral to rest.

This time he closed his eyes and let his mind wander. This probably looked close enough to sleeping, right? And he was resting, more or less. Soral started thinking of ways to improve his current magic both in practicality and coolness. After thinking of several ways to improve his magic shield, he heard Ruena say something.

“There it is.”

Soral’s eyes snapped open and he saw a large city looming in the distance. The pillars on the walls were made to look like enormous trees, and the castle towards the center of the city had large trees growing on several balconies.

“This is the capital?” he asked, then tried to remember the name, “Sick more?”

“Sycamore,” Ruena corrected, “And yes, it is. We will need to find a place to store the carriage first, then we can deliver the package.”

“Will it cost money?” Soral asked. He had a terrible feeling it would. He had heard that in large cities even breathing cost money. It was part of why he had avoided them.

“It will, but it will be cheaper than finding an inn that can store them.”

“Were we planning on staying the night?” Soral asked.

“Didn’t you read the paperwork?” Ruena asked him, “Part of your job is to attend the Magic Festival. That isn’t for a few days.”

A few days? “In that case, why don’t we see if we can stay at the Belleas Guild. Don’t they have rooms for members on active quests?”

“So you read that part of the paperwork,” Ruena noted, “Yes. But they don’t store carriages, and I am not sure they will let me stay too.”

That sounded annoying, but Soral figured Ruena was probably right. “Let’s just store it at one of those inns. We still have a lot of that advance pay left right?”

“We do,” Ruena agreed, “Let’s hope it’s enough to stay until the festival.”

It turned out that money wasn’t what they needed to worry about. With the Magic Festival on the horizon, many of the inns were full. Luckily, they managed to snag one of the last rooms at a prestigious, and expensive, inn on the main street. It was a double with a convenient divider provided if they needed it. Naturally, they could securely store carriages as well.

Ruena set up the divider first thing, then gave Soral one of the key copies. “Want to do the delivery or go exploring first?” she asked.

Soral thought about it. “Delivery,” he decided just to get it out of the way. He wasn’t sure how they would prove if he attended the magic festival, though.