Chapter Fifteen

“It’s hard to believe how big this city is,” I mutter. Gartric isn’t the capital, but it comes close in terms of prosperity. A good hundred thousand souls live within the stone walls that are visible from the carriage. Percy is still in the back, he’s seen this sight a million times. When he told me how imposing his dad’s city looked from a distance, well I just had to ask the handler if I could sit with him.

“It’s a beauty, it is,” the driver says with a thick accent, “It’s the city ‘o walls after all.” And it’s a well-earned nickname.

Even from our low vantage point, it’s hard to miss the incredible fortifications that are present around the city. Those very same fortifications make it difficult to see the inside, but from what Percy told me, it’s the same in the whole settlement.

It comes as no surprise that this place raises so many fantastic geomancers, they must need legions of them just to maintain what they’ve already built. The roads are in much better shape too, though that’s also a natural result of our proximity to the heart of the kingdom. Gartric and the capital are only a day or three away from each other, it depends on what transportation you use.

For once I didn’t need to pester my encyclopedic friend, he shared it willingly, brazenly, and without pause, for the past few days. We’ve already passed by half a dozen towns and cities, though none come close to Gartric, not in size and certainly not in looks. Though it was still hard to miss how much wealthier those places were compared to Lorvia or even the village I recovered in originally.

I’ve long since healed from the injuries I sustained by killing those demons, there’s only so much you can squeeze out of a mind, and mine was past its breaking point. The illusion targeted at Alan, combined with needing to contain my mana… The spectacle at Lorvia didn’t help, and even the little wind bursts added up. I still couldn’t rest as I was leaking as badly as I was at first, but at least the training tool that the old doctor gave to me was pulling its weight.

Alan, the paladin of the Order, was also no longer a concern, he didn’t stay much longer after that horrific encounter with demons, when we reached the next village he kept traveling. Whereas we stopped to sell our wares. We’ve also been picking up applicants as we went, so Percy and I got less and less privacy. That is, until he just happened to mention that in front of James, from that point on we just had more cargo in our ride. No other people to share with though, so that was still an improvement. Who needs legroom in a vehicle…

My good fortune wasn’t going to last, however, as Percy would get off at this stop, taking away our special privileges with him. I can’t say I blame him though, he’s not safe either. Aside from the plethora of information that he’d been sharing with me, he’s also been unable to shut up about his family; and how terrified he is about meeting them again.

After leaving, a little over a year ago, without a word of goodbye I might add, his overprotective siblings and father were on his mind more often than not. Which I noticed, repeatedly. In a way, my insistence on sitting out in front was as much to see the city earlier, as it was protection for my sanity.

I am going to miss the noble boy. He’s a good person, very helpful, and very driven too. I think about his good points as I nibble on some meat, the jerky has been on my mind too, the lack of it, really. Though I haven’t run out yet, the bag is starting to run dry, even after Percy donated his portion to me. With his leakage fully gone, he’s finally been able to safely perform magic again, as well as help with his duties as James’s employee.

A bear only has so much meat, unfortunately, and what little I have left is losing its use too, mana doesn’t stay in corpses forever. The thought sours my mood, even the beautiful walls don’t cheer me up. I think back on our disastrous attempt of healing me with a demon’s cadaver.

It seemed like such a good idea though, if somewhat unsavory, demons have a ton of mana in them, I needed a ton of mana in me. A perfect solution. Until I came into contact with their energy, which turns out to not be mana in the way that I understood it. Theirs is potent, oh so very potent, but that aspect comes from how densely packed it is.

When I first touched the demon’s heart, I passed out immediately; my whole mind got shut down. I woke up quickly, fortunately, and that’s when I discovered what happens when a mana-deprived body gets an incredible burst of energy injected into it. Namely, it tries to both absorb and release it. The mana stuck to me, like adhesive, it glued itself to me and soared through my veins. I felt like a god for an entire five seconds, and then the drop came.

I used up all the mana in the span of those five seconds, I don’t even remember actively doing anything with it though. What I do remember, is how I threw up and passed out yet again. Landed right in my vomit too. The second time I woke up, I was back to feeling somewhat good. My body felt fresh and energized; my mind much less so. The feeling of having pulled an allnighter clung to me, yet I couldn’t fall asleep at all.

I was lethargic for days, but physically in peak condition; far from ideal. It could have been much worse of course, and the healing effect helped immensely with my fatigued mana channels. The moment that healing was done, however, the release part of the process happened, which was very involved with making me faint.

My mana reserves were once again dangerously low, but at least my body’s desperate desire for energy was sated for a while. Even now, my daily upkeep was significantly less, though it was growing every day.

While I was engrossed in my thoughts we reached the entrance of Gartric, from my spot up with the driver I can see James jump out of his vehicle, he walks towards an official-looking fellow. There’s no way I can hear anything from this distance but it’s clear that they know each other. After a prodigious amount of hand waving they go off on their own again, I’m guessing James had us all a spot assigned in the stables, or perhaps a place to set up camp outside of the walls.

We start moving again at James’s behest, his carriage guides the others and we follow like ducklings. All towards a building that I can best describe as a farmhouse, except much wider and less tall. These were the stables, and after the drakes drop us off at the pasture outside, they each find a spot inside. I hope there won’t be too many other visitors because we’re taking up a huge amount of space.

I can see James motioning for me to come over, and curiously I head towards him.

“Samual! Would you mind amplifying my voice again?” he asks politely. I don’t want to accuse him of anything, but I suspect he just loves hearing himself speak loudly. Not that I can deny there’s an actual use for his vanity. There’s a lot of people traveling with us and they need to be told when we’ll leave. I let loose a dramatic sigh.

“Don’t forget your promise,” I say to him, “We’re in Gartric now, don’t tell me you cannot get my mana potions here.” James has been postponing my payment for a while, giving the same old excuse in every city. Saying that the city is too small to have any potions worth the gold won’t fly here.

“Of course! Two high-quality potions, you'll get them,” he assures me, and thus I get to work. Not too much work though, but I’m taking care to avoid straining myself. So instead of casually casting what he wants as I would usually do, I sit down and take it slow.

In front of the merchant appears a small rod with a bulb on top, he grabs it eagerly and moves it to his mouth. As a freebie, I also add a glowing sign above his head; though it is technically not part of the deal.

The crowd gathers, having already gotten used to the show.

“Hello everyone!” James happily shouts, now easily heard by everyone in the area, “We’ve reached Gartric, and we will be staying here for two days before heading onward to the capital. Everyone is free to visit the city in the meantime, but make sure you are here before nightfall tomorrow. We’re leaving early as always, and if you’re not here then I’m charging you double before I leave without you.”

His crew cracks a smile at this, but most of the applicants don’t know him well enough to judge how sincere he is. Some awkward laughs fill the silence before I dismiss the spell.

“So, are we going shopping?” I ask James with an innocent smile, he pulls a face.

“I’m not entering the city,” he says resolutely, “Not without Maria to defend me from her husband. Percy's father is a fair man but I’m not taking chances when it comes to his reaction toward his son's departure.” I narrow my eyes at his words.

“Then how and when are you going to pay me?” He breaks eye contact and I start glaring at him.

“Look,” he says, “This can wait until the capital right? Where’s the rush?”

“Then I guess you’re going to give those applicants their money back too?” Now it’s his turn to glare at me, though I don’t avoid his eyes the way he did to me.

“Fine, get Percy to buy them, you can send me the bill,” he caves, “But don’t even think about buying anything else in my name!” James warns me. I grin at him.

“I’ll go find him then,” I say, “I think he needs the emotional support before his family reunion.” James and I share a look of mutual understanding, both of us knowing full well how nervous Percy is about the whole thing.

Then I’m off to find my friend, I doubt he went inside the city yet. Though he’s a real go-getter, I get the feeling he’s going to procrastinate this for as long as he can. So I walk throughout our camp, waving at people along the way. I didn’t mingle much with the applicants, I only heard a few names. Though there was one guy that told me his entire life story before James rearranged the seating.

Still, I greet whoever I encounter, leaving smiles as I go.

“David!” The burly handler turns his head at my call.

“Aye lad, what’s got you so excited.”

“Oh, it’s nothing, James finally decided to honor his debt,” I tell him, “Have you seen Percy around? I’m looking for him.”

“I think I saw ‘em gettin’ swarmed by them applicants? Near the gate,” he says, and it’s not hard to imagine the scene he’s painting. Percy’s noble origins got leaked a while back, and every applicant we picked up along the way heard about it. They must be harping about meeting the city lord, or just trying to get into his good graces the same way they’ve been doing for days now.

“Thanks, good luck with Bertha and the girls.” I wave as I walk off, David grunts something I can’t make out. Then I’m off again, walking towards the giant walls that protect the city, though no one has mentioned yet what they’re supposed to defend again these days. I’ve been told plenty of stories about how this was the last bastion of humanity before turning the tide in the Hellwar. The myth is so common knowledge that I’ve even heard kids reference it, though it isn’t a complicated story so that isn’t as odd as it may seem.

It takes a few minutes to reach the gate, a portcullis hanging above. There was no moat, though Percy had told me that the inner castle did have one. The ruling family lived there, though it also functioned as a city hall of sorts, so he was very familiar with it.

As I reach the gate I can see why David mentioned the swarming part. There’s a whole school of teenage people hanging around Percy as he tries to stay polite. I grin and watch the show for a minute before interrupting.

“Excuse me!” I shout which draws their attention, “I’m afraid I already have an appointment with him.” Percy looks at me with worship, something I rightfully deserve. The crowd is less pleased though, and the sound of resentful muttering can be heard. Without letting that bother me I grab Percy by the hand and pull him towards the city, though his followers don’t leave so easily.

They move after us like ducklings, not sure where they’re going, but clinging to the one thing they understand. I spot one of them egging the others on, some guy with a mustache that makes him look much older than he is. Before he gathers his nerves enough to cause a ruckus though, I decide to give a demonstration.

Limiting my mana usage is of the utmost importance so I can’t do whatever I think of, and regardless, most of these people have never seen me properly cast spells. Intimidation would be inefficient at best. So the opposite is a much more appealing option to me. Considering the vast majority of these applicants are guys, well there’s a very effective method for them. So, very coincidentally, there’s a woman that emerges from an alley.

I somewhat underestimated how taxing this is, but at least I can base her on some model from my world. The generous curves and entirely impractical apparel draw their attention as planned, though some of them don’t react much. They’re all distracted by this beauty though, attraction aside, and so I pull Percy into a different alley, away from them.

I let the illusion vanish and the effect is instantaneous, some yelling can be heard from the main street so Percy and I head the other way.

“Who was that?” my friend says, distracted. I look at him with faint amusement.

“Me.” His goofy grin evaporates.

“...An illusion?” he asks though he already knows the answer. I offer a polite smile.

“So, this is your city, where to?” I turn to my guide, who’s still coping with his shattered dream. Wordlessly he points to a crossing further down the road.

“We go left there, it’s mostly straight from that point.”

And so we walk side by side, my amusement clear on my face, his own showing the disappointment he feels deep inside. Before we even reach the turn, he’s already back to normal; serenading me with information.

“Most of the city is actually less than twenty years old,” he shares with me, though before I can even ask, he explains what he means, “Not that the city grew that much in just two decades, we just do so much construction work that most building and roads get completely renewed roughly every twenty years.”

He timed his reveal perfectly because as I turn the corner we reach one of the bigger streets, and the open space shows just how much stone is used in this city. With great results, there’s a steady stream of people walking around us, and even some carriages taking up the middle of the road. These aren’t pulled by drakes, however, as the lumbering giants would take up far too much space. I’m not a fan of how noisy the area is, the weather is great, so plenty of people are out and about. It’s nice to see such liveliness, but I can appreciate it better from a distance.

Percy guides us further along, and I take the opportunity to ask him about his family.

“My sisters? Well… Where to begin? I’ll start by warning you that they look identical, and even I have trouble distinguishing them by their appearance. Demeter and Persephone are their names, though as I said, I can’t tell you who is who based on what they look like. Their personalities aren’t useful for it either; they’re very fond of mimicking each other.

Only their interests are different, with Persephone living up to our reputation by focusing on geomancy. Demeter, on the other hand, prefers pyromancy. They both dapple in the hydromancy too, and neither is very good at aeromancy.” He’s painting a dreadful picture, of two identical sisters that only differ in their preferred element of magic? I’m looking forward to meeting them. At his words, a new question comes to mind.

“Then which element are you focusing on?” He grins, and I narrow my eyes at this suspicious sight.

“It’s aeromancy isn’t it?” I guess. He deflates a little.

“Don’t just guess my element like that,” he says, “Spoiling the surprise is rude.” Then I can see the lightbulb in his head start to shine.

“Wait, let me guess yours too then.” I nod, knowing damn well that I don’t have one. Magic wasn’t as bound to the elements back home. We specialized more on how we used it, less than on what we used.

“It is also air, right? That sound amplification spell is aeromancy,” he guesses, and I take a moment to consider his point. The thing is that it isn’t air-based. It is vibration-based, I can use the same principle to shake a rock or water, it isn’t exactly more difficult. The denser a medium is though, the more mana it takes.

“It kind of isn’t? Though I guess you could call that aeromancy,” I tell him, “You’ll have to guess more later though. We’re here aren’t we?”

Percy stiffens and starts paying attention to his surroundings again, going pale as he realizes we’re right in front of the bridge to his house. The moat only has a little bit of water in it.

“Yea…” he says, then he pulls himself together and heads for what I can only assume is an employee standing guard at the entrance. He takes a deep breath in front of the man, who is looking at Percy like he’s trying to figure out if he knows him.

“I am Perseus Trigalt, and I return from my year-long departure.”