Book 2 – Chapter 4: Welcome to Vitree

Sen’s powerful mana horses pulled them seamlessly across a smooth dirt road surrounded by grassy plains. The surrounding grass bent and shifted in accordance with the wind, which was active today. Sen leaned back against the front bench of the carriage while the wind tugged at his robes. He had to admit; it was nice wearing his cloak again. The academy uniform had grown on him over time, but the freedom and power of a cloak gave him a sense of relaxation he enjoyed. 

He turned to look at Milim. She held the reins, more out of habit than necessity. The horses benefitted from the studious modifier and understand well enough how to follow the road. But having a small sense of fulfillment and purpose seemed to make the trip easier for her. So, Milim took the reins quite often, even if it was mostly to pass the time. 

Like a fisherman who never caught any fish. She was content as things were. Now, she closed her eyes and embraced the rush of wind as it shot past them. “I wonder what kind of place Vitree is. I’ve never been,” she said.

“Oh? I know you and Orttha traveled a lot before settling down at the academy. I’m surprised there’s somewhere strange even to you,” Sen said to her. They were alone in the carriage’s front. Mori was scouting ahead, and the others were inside. 

Milim smiled, a slight blush on her face. “Well, we had to avoid the larger towns. So, there’s still lots of the Isle of Magic I haven’t seen. It’s nice, though. Traveling with a destination in mind, rather than just fleeing blindly. Not knowing whether anyone is actually chasing you. It’s nice.” 

Sen rested his arm on the bench behind her and smiled. “Well, it would be very foolish of anyone to chase after you now. They wouldn’t like what was waiting for them.” 

She raised a brow. “And what would be waiting? A very angry God of Magic?” 

“The angriest!” He imitated the shape of a claw with his free hand and held it up. 

Milim laughed at that. 

Sen felt mana in the distance and looked up as Mori appeared, running towards them under the effects of Encapsulation. He’d gone scouting ahead, mostly to stretch his legs. As the horses passed him, he swiftly climbed aboard and stood on the back row of the carriage. “There are some farms ahead. I think we’re close now. We’ll make it before nightfall.” 

Sen nodded. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure the door to the inside of the carriage compartment was pulled shut. “Tell me, Mori. Did you notice anything when you saw Dirke’s home?” 

Mori thought for a moment. “No. There weren’t any mana signatures that I could detect, nor any signs that others had been there. He could certainly benefit from cleaning more often, but other than that, I saw nothing that implied we should be concerned. Nevertheless, I’ll keep an eye on him until we know more.”

Sen nodded. Dirke was still a stranger, and though he claimed to be a member of the God of Magic’s cult, that didn’t clear him of suspicion. After all, so far none of the cults Sen had interacted with since coming to this time had been exactly pleasant. If it turned out this organization was up to no good in his name, well, it would be better for them to have chosen a different god-class magician’s mantle to desecrate. 

“Thank you, Mori.” He turned inward to Tutor. Do you have an assessment of Dirke’s level and power?

[I do not. Either he has some means of obscuring that information from me, or he’s more powerful than others we’ve interacted with in this time.]

Sen frowned. Tutor had come a long way towards gathering data that would allow him to perform as he had in the past, but he still needed data to improve his analysis. Could Dirke be that strong? Did this cult have so many powerful members lying around that they could afford to have one too strong for Tutor to analyze waiting around in the castle ruins? Waiting for the off-chance that the God of Magic himself would return to a castle he hadn’t visited in a thousand years? 

It was difficult to believe. But if that were the case, he needed to be careful. Both he and his friends had grown a lot over the school year. They’d climbed the school rankings, created powerful techniques and weapons, and acquired artifacts that bolstered their strength. Even then, there would be much stronger foes beyond the academy. Though they’d come far, they couldn’t stop now if they wanted to be prepared to face the potential threats in their path. 

So, Sen would need to prepare them. “Mori, will you get Samara for me? I need to speak with her.” 

Mori nodded. “Of course.” He turned to open the door behind him and poked his head in. 

“Mori! Join us! Fawna was just walking us through a long and detailed history of the importance of druid-based magic. I’d rather talk about anything else, so please, please, join us and change the conversation,” Dirke called out. 

A hard thunk resounded from the back. 

“Ow!” Dirke cried out. “Did you just throw a rock at me? Where did you even get a rock?” 

“It’s my throwing rock. I keep it for occasions such as this. Anyway, as I was saying. Fifteen hundred years ago…” Fawna continued. 

Samara stepped out and pulled the door shut behind her. Mori did not take her place. He leaned down to whisper to Milim and Sen. “I’m afraid I’ve heard that speech many a time. I’ll be staying up front, if you don’t mind.” 

Sen laughed. “You can keep Milim company. Samara, care to go for a ride?” he asked. 

Samara raised a brow. “Sure, boss, but…are we leaving the others without horses? Thought we were trying to get to Vitree before nightfall?” 

Sen snapped his fingers. The black wolf pack leader and its mate appeared on either side of the carriage. They moved silently beside it, keeping pace. “That’s what the wolves are for.”

Samara’s eyes lit up. “Are you serious? That sounds awesome!”

“I…I’ve always wanted to ride one.” Milim pouted. 

Sen turned to look at her in surprise. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?” 

“I didn’t know it was an option!”

Sen smiled and squeezed her hand. “I’ll take you sometime then.” He looked up. “Samara, are you ready to—”

She didn’t wait for him to finish his thought. She jumped off the carriage and onto the mate of the pack leader, plopping onto its back. Her wolf took off, charging ahead of the carriage and speeding down the road. 

Mori sighed. “Say what you will, Samara’s never afraid to jump in headfirst. Send up a signal if you run into any danger, Master. I’ll come running.”

Sen grinned at his brother and leapt onto the back of the pack leader. It surged forward to catch up to its mate, and Samara. 

Running under the effects of Encapsulation and flying were fairly unique experiences. But as far as freeing experiences go, riding atop a giant wolf was up there as well. For a while, he simply let them run. Samara whooped and hollered as her wolf ran as fast as it could. It seemed their mounts were making a game of it. They raced down the road. The pack leader’s mate kept up for a while, but eventually the pack leader stopped playing and broke ahead. 

With that out of their system, he patted the pack leader on the side of the head, and it allowed Samara to catch up. The two wolves walked side by side, catching their breath. “So, what’s up, boss? I figured you didn’t bring me out here just for fun. You want to talk about something, right? I’ll be honest, if it’s dating advice you’re looking for…well I’ve got no experience there. But if you’re trying to brush up on your swordsmanship, just say the word.” She grinned and glanced at the greatsword sitting on her back. 

She grew silent for a moment. “Speaking of…that book you found.” 

Sen chuckled. “The Journal of Swordmastery.” 

Samara’s eyes lit up. “Yeah that! I’m really jealous to be honest. If you, uh, see anything good in there then —” She trailed off. “I mean, I know everything inside is probably a secret, and the kind of thing people would wage war for, but…I don’t know. If there’s ever anything you think you’d be willing to let me learn, I’d be grateful.”

“I can’t do that, Samara. I’m sorry,” Sen said.

Her face fell, and she nodded slowly. “I understand. Sorry for asking, I just—”

“I can’t do that because I don’t have time to study it. I’m not a swordsman, I’m a mage. Of course I have Malleore, but at the end of the day I’m better off spending my time studying magic. With the magic essence spheres, I’ll be able to craft more high-level spells. But I can’t deny this journal will be a valuable resource in the future. That’s why I need someone I can trust to study it. Just in case Ragmár left any secrets behind for me. And if there are techniques you think would be useful for me to know, you could show me.”

Samara patted her wolf, and it slowed to a stop. The pack leader stopped as well. She stared at Sen for a moment, searching for words. She eventually shook her head and spoke. “You want…me? To study King Ragmár’s journal? The journal written by a swordsman whose weapon was literally called the King of Swords? Me? Samara?” 

He chuckled. “Yes, Samara. If you’d be willing to.” 

Samara looked down at the pack leader’s mate. “Is he messing with me, Wolfie?” 

The wolf moved its shoulders in something approximating a shrug. 

Samara slowly rose to her feet, standing awkwardly atop the wolf’s back. Then she tensed her legs. 

“What are you doing, Samara?” Sen asked. 

“I’m sorry, boss. I really am. But I’ve got to hug you now.” She jumped toward him with her arms outstretched.

They plummeted off the pack leader’s back and into the dirt.

They returned to the carriage, covered in dirt. Samara cradled King Ragmár’s journal against her chest. Sen sighed as he climbed aboard and plopped down next to Milim on the bench. His cloak was filthy. 

“Master, would you like me to use a cleaning spell?” Mori offered. 

Sen sighed more loudly. “It’s fine.” 

Samara scooted next to Milim and nuzzled her head against her pink-haired friend. “The boss is so cool. Look what he gave me!”

“Loaned you,” Sen corrected.

“Loaned me!” Samara agreed. 

It wasn’t long before Milim spotted the town up ahead. “Look, I think we’re here!” She pointed. 

The door to the carriage opened, and the others joined them up front. Fawna, Dirke, and Ilm all squeezed into the standing space behind the bench. 

“Here indeed!” Dirke grinned.

“We finally get to sleep in a bed!” Ilm exclaimed. 

Vitree was a vast town. It was surrounded by thick wooden walls with massive gates on every side. Unlike the mana-streetlights of Bright Sail, here the lights were filled with vibrant, magical flames that illuminated the roads. The streets were filled with traders and shoppers shouting at one another in search of deals and bargains. Even merchants just entering the town hopped right into the fray. Their assistants held up goods from the back of wagons as they made their way to an inn for the night. 

Sen watched as one man liked a merchant’s wagon so much he offered him several pouches of gold for everything inside, an offer that was promptly accepted. The merchant and his assistants wandered off on foot with their newfound wealth.

As Sen and the others reached the gate, several armed guards and cloaked mages approached to stop them. 

At their head was a man with bright red hair that trailed far down his back. He wielded a spear and seemed fairly powerful for him to just be a town guard. 

[High Noble-Class, if I had to guess. Strong too.] 

“Welcome to Vitree. I’m Captain Fulcrae. You all traders?” he asked.

Sen shook his head. “I’m Sen. And no, just looking to stay here for a few days.” 

The man eyed their carriage. “Mind if we take a look inside?”

Dirke placed a hand on his shoulder. “Just so you know, that’s not optional.”

“I do mind. As I said, we’re just staying here for a few days,” Sen asserted. He wasn’t willing to spend more time here than necessary, and he was ready to get into the city. 

A few of the other guards tightened their grips on their weapons. Sen eyed them. 

Captain Fulcrae stared for a moment. “Tolls are higher if you don’t submit to search,” he said.

Sen pulled out three pieces of gold from the vault. He tossed them at the man, who caught them promptly and inspected them. His eyes widened. “You realize this is—”

“Are we good to go?” Sen asked.

The guard captain signaled the others, and they hurried out of the way. 

“Enjoy your time in Vitree, Sen.” Fulcrae nodded slightly. 

Dirke squinted. “I’m sorry. Did you just give that man three pieces of king’s gold?” he asked. 

Sen looked over his shoulder. “Gold? Yes.”

Dirke slapped his own face with both hands. “You…you realize how much more valuable that is than normal gold, right? Please don’t tell me you’ve been spending that casually?”

“No, of course not…” Sen trailed off. 

“Only on food, and inns, and street festivals, and well, anytime we need to spend money, really,” Ilm said. 

“Well, I suppose you aren’t the God of Economics. Though if there ever was such a god, he’s rolling in his grave right now. We need to get you to a bank. You’re spending a lot more money than you need to,” Dirke said.

Mori sighed. “I tried to tell him.”

Sen shot Mori a look. “I’ll keep that in mind.” 

They got directions and made their way to a side street. Once there, Sen stored the carriage in his temporal world to make traveling through the city easier. From there, they split up. Sen, Mori, and Ilm were going to secure a few rooms in an inn for all of them. Samara and Milim were tasked with finding somewhere to eat. Dirke said he knew a local banker who might be able to help them exchange some of their coins. Sen sent Fawna with some of the gold to check it out. Her abilities rivaled those of Mori’s, so Sen had no doubt she was capable of handling herself and protecting the coin. 

They were following instructions to an inn when they stopped in their tracks. 

Ilm gasped. 

Mori raised a brow. 

Sen froze. 

“Is that…is that a—” Ilm started. 

Mori nodded. “It is.” 

In the center of this isolated street stood the last thing Sen expected to see in a crowded trading town.

A dreadbeast walking directly toward them.