"Finally!" Luci declared, "I thought we'd never leave this place."

His happiness came as a surprise to Syryn because the teen hadn't known that even Luci could feel Red's stress which came from smelling the trumpet plant's perfume.

Syryn had returned to the cabin home and found Rei and Akida clearing up the evidence of their stay. The duo worked with so much efficiency that the alchemist didn't have much to do.

Syryn had also found out that Akida had procured another khlat to supplement the one they already had. Riaku had paid the innkeeper to take care of the beast for the duration of one month but it had only been a few days. Consequently, Akida had forced the man to pay back the rightful amount he owed them after subtracting from the days that the mount had been cared for.

Having enough time on his hand, he packed his and Lucien's luggage with care. The alchemist also did not forget to buy a bundle of products exclusive to the valley of flowers. He packed them all in with the fresh salmon iris' that he had extorted from the village healer. And sometime during the night, a young man delivered to them a single stem of the trumpet plant, thoroughly wrapped up in several layers of cloth. They had taken great care to ensure that not a single part of the plant was left exposed to accidentally come into contact with skin.

Packing was done and Syryn was ready to hit the bed. "Sleep early, we'll move at dawn," Syryn told the redhead who was energetically chattering.

"I've been sleeping for days, Syryn. I'm so excited I can't fall asleep."

"Then let me sleep, Luci. I'm tired."

"Okay, but-"

"Hush."

"Syryn, I-"

"Luci, I will kick you out of the bed if you don't let me sleep."

"Aww"

--------

The group set out in the morning after saying goodbye to Dinah and the village headman. When asked about her plans, the priestess told Syryn she was heading back to her temple after nightfall.

Syryn even received a gift from Suni just as they were leaving the gates of the village. A jar of honey that she had harvested out of her own bee box, the young girl had told him.

Akida was on horseback while the others rode on the backs of the khlat that he had brought back from the inn.

It was neither a harsh nor easy journey to Nua. Unlike the first leg of the journey they'd made with Riaku, Akida did not have them stop at villages. Their first break was at a waterfall where a wide awake Luci went too close to the rocks and was sprayed by cold water. The little boy was pulled away by Syryn and made to change clothes before they continued onwards.

And when the moon was out, and exhaustion had caught up to the travellers, Akida still pushed them on a little further till they reached a cave that the avian was familiar with. The avian guard took the first watch while the others slipped inside their bedrolls.

"Wake me up in three hours," Syryn said to the avian whose straight back was turned against the alchemist from his seat near the entrance of the cave.

At midnight, Akida shook Syryn awake. It was an hour later than Syryn had asked to be roused.

"If you still need sleep, I can do another hour," he was told by the guard.

Syryn stretched his body and emerged from the sleeping roll. After travelling all day, he was impressed at the avian's resilience to tiredness. "No, I'm good. Take your well-deserved sleep, Akida."

Syryn refrained from waking Rei who was supposed to take the third shift. When the sky gained some light, the healer guard came to sit beside Syryn. He was only half an hour past his shift time.

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"I can run on less sleep than the average person," Syryn told the healer guard.

"Even so, it was my turn."

"Bring some firewood if you're intent on nagging me so early in the morning," Syryn told the avian. "I'll make breakfast today."

--------

Nua was 3 hours away. The group found that the jungle was getting thicker and wetter as they kept going. Luxuriant green forest blocked out most of the harsh noon sunlight while the air grew heavier with a humidness that covered them in sticky discomfort. A wide path had been cut through the jungle but palm fronds and other broad-leaved bushes went out of their to encroach upon the road made for travellers.

Even the ground that they walked upon was unpaved forest floor covered in decaying leaves and whatever fell from the upper layers of the jungle.

Syryn had the group stop when he noticed bright orange fruits that were dangling like teardrops from the canopy of a tall tree. Both avian guards were tasked with plucking the fruits and then helping Syryn take out the seeds from them.

"The oil from this seed is special," he told the avians. "It's a very effective ingredient in the making of essences for patients that suffer from rheumatism and poor circulation."

Almost an hour was spent on the task because Syryn insisted that the flesh had to be removed. His storage space could not possibly accommodate all the fruits that his greedy heart was unwilling to leave behind.

"We're behind schedule," Akida told the alchemist. "No more stops for picking up mushrooms, weird plants, or cutting off vines."

"I don't have space left anyway," Syryn replied. "By the way, why have we not encountered any wild beasts? This journey has been too peaceful."

"You're complaining about not being attacked?" Rei dryly commented to the alchemist.

"This is a road often used by merchants so Nua sends people twice a month to clear a straight path through the forest and also drive away the beasts that stray too close," Akida explained. "Sometimes, an unlucky group might encounter wild creatures but it rarely happens."

"This land is ruled by Nua, isn't it? Why don't your people convert it into agricultural land?" Syryn asked the avians.

"It serves as the first line of defence from terrestrial enemies. But plans are being made to start clearing a few areas of the forest for such a purpose," Akida told Syryn, "not to mention that this forest is under the joint of custody of Nua and Eliibri, a kingdom to the east of here. Any undiscussed development on the jungle grounds would cause a row to erupt between Nua and Elii, and the rulers hadn't wanted that in the past, not while Nua was already embroiled in wars with the other avian kingdoms."

"And now that the stone claw tribe has been defeated, Nua is free to annex the land shared with Eliibri, is that it?" Syryn asked.

"Yes. We cannot keep relying on merchants for food. If something cuts off our supplies then Nua will be doomed to a future of starvation. Our reliance on trading is a point of weakness that the enemy can use against us."

It made sense. The avians needed agricultural land and there was luxuriant forest sprawling at the foot of Nua's rocky cliffs. Why not take it by force if they were capable of doing that?

"Can you be my guide when we get there?" He asked Akida. "I plan to visit all the individual plateau groups before I leave."

"That might be a problem unless you can convince Riaku that you, a non-avian, should be allowed access to the forbidden areas."

"I'm sure I'll manage it," Syryn replied. "Riaku owes me one."

"Do you really mean to visit all the groups?" Rei asked Syryn. "Even the ones with harsh terrain?"

"All, without exception."

This was his only chance to explore Nua, one of the most exotic destinations that Syryn could not afford to miss out on when given the opportunity. Why Nua was so special to him lay in the existence of flora and fauna that could not be found anywhere else.

The flat-topped ranges of the avian kingdom were isolated from the lower forest strata by elevation and temperature. It meant that the path of evolution had taken a different course on Nua despite coming from the same initial pool of species. What Syryn found very fascinating was that Nua's plateau groups were separated from one another by deep gorges and large stretches of distance and this allowed interspecies differentiation even within Nua itself. What magical vegetation awaited him? What creatures could he study for use as ingredients? The alchemist was just as excited about it as Luci.

"So, how well do you know the lands of Nua?" Syryn asked the guard.

"I'm not a tour guide."

"So you say."

The group travelled for two more hours before they exited the forest right at the foot of a plateau that was so high that Syryn could not see the top of it. A thick cloud cover obscured his sights from what he imagined was a paradise of rare ingredients.

"Wipe the drool off your face, big brother," Luci joked.

"It's not drool. That's the rain, Luci."

The sparse drops of drizzle that spotted their clothing was now turning into a full-blown rainstorm. The rain washed away the heat from their skin and refreshed their tired spirits.

"This way," Akida shouted to have his voice heard above the sound of heavy rain.

They followed the guard's horse past a wall of stone and reached a narrow cave opening that was just big enough for the khlat to enter.