The days passed uneventfully. The journey was long, because Eden was a vast country; The Grove was situated in the northwest corner of Eden, a hundred kilometers away from the ocean and the Verdant Empire. Fortress Hickory lay near the eastern border with the United Duchies, on the other side of the country. The distance was approximately twenty thousand kilometers.

During the day, they would be on the bird; during the night, they would be at an inn. Solera found himself meditating more than he ever had before at night, while every day he would play some control games with Chianti and sleep as Chip worked nonstop at the table.

“Why do we fly during the day, instead of at night?” Solera asked as he maneuvered his ball to smash a cup over.

Chianti answered without batting an eyelid. “The eagle needs to locate beacons to figure out its position. Obviously, that can’t be done at night. Only the military birds with Truesight goggles can fly around at night by locating power signatures given off by beacons that are otherwise invisible.”

Solera frowned. He was making conversation to distract Chianti from the game, but it seemed she was totally unaffected by his attempts.

“Oh, right. Talking about Truesight goggles, I have a pair here.” Her eyes glued to the game, she leaned back and pulled something out of her bag. It was a ratty set of goggles with protected rims that would prevent any dirt from getting inside.

Chianti’s ball smashed a cup into Solera’s, sending his ball shooting into his shin.

“Heh, you actually thought you could distract me?” Chianti smirked, tossing the pair of goggles to him. “I’ve split my mind one time, so it has no effect on me. You were just hurting yourself.”

Pouting, Solera put on the goggles. The moment he channeled power into it, the brown walls around him were bleached of color, turning into translucent shades of gray. Behind the walls, Solera could see vague, indistinct blobs of color. Chianti herself had become much more colorful as well. Actually, he could see her form very-

“Hey, quit it, you horny kid.” Chianti slapped the goggles off Solera’s face. “This is military equipment, not some toy.”

Shrugging, Solera handed it back to her, but was rebuffed. “Your daddy gave these goggles to me when I ran away.” Chianti said, stroking the Truesight goggles lovingly. “Saved my life a bunch of times. Now, I’m returning it.”

Solera looked down at the Truesight goggles.

“It detects power signatures.” Chianti explained. “Power signatures are very difficult to hide, so these are quite excellent. Actually, Truesight goggles are very valuable. Only a few creators serving Eden’s royal family know how to make them.”

Solera turned the goggles over several times, before handing them back again. “I’m going to school, you’re a mercenary, Chianti. I think, I think you should need them more.” He said, a bit flustered.

Chianti smugly took out another, shiny new pair of goggles. Unlike Solera’s, which was a dirty green color, this one was radiant gold. “Nah, Reginald gave every distinguished mercenary one of these. Don’t you know? I’m a distinguished person, which means I’m kind of a big deal!”

Nodding, Solera shoved the goggles into his pocket. Free things were good things, he had no more reservations. The thought of wearing something Chianti wore attracted him, actually.

“Cool, we should be able to see Fortress Hickory soon.” Grinning, Chianti stood up and walked out of her room.

Solera followed her to the cages outside. Standing on the eagle’s back, he could see an endless expanse of forest. But in the distance…

A huge, leafless tree stood in the middle of several buildings. The tree had thousands of branches that twisted and turned, reaching high into the sky. At a glance, Solera estimated it was around four hundred meters tall.

“Bet you were expecting a hickory tree, huh?” Chianti asked, a smirk on her face. “It’s much more like an oak tree, but whatever. Some idiot must have named it.”

She walked back inside and started banging on doors again.

Solera stayed outside, watching Fortress Hickory draw closer and closer. The branches appeared to have been chopped in half and hollowed out, turning them into walkways that allowed guards to patrol atop them. The bird descended into a clearing between several buildings, allowing everyone to disembark.

Several soldiers had come out to receive them, along with a strange, half-naked old man with tattoos all over his face. He was so skinny that Solera could see his bones, yet he had a large potbelly. He definitely did not look like a soldier.

“Hello, Captain Selim.” Chianti coolly shook his hand, but Solera could see a faint trace of disdain in her eyes. “I have brought my batch of students, from the Grove and from Peat City.”

“Hahaha!” Selim guffawed, his spittle flying all over Chianti’s face. “You took the longest to arrive, everyone else has already settled down!”

“I had the farthest to travel.” Chianti said bluntly.

“Yes, yes, yes, that’s true. You must be weary, my girl.” Selim stroked his long beard, a wide leer on his face. “We should have dinner tonight.”

Chianti bowed her head. “We both know I need to go to Leera’s. I’ll have to decline, I’m late already.”

Selim let out a long sigh. “Nobody will eat dinner with me. Is it because of my looks? It’s definitely not because of my personality, hmph…” Shaking his head, he beckoned the children to come over.

“Hello, kids!” He smiled, showing them his yellow teeth. Some of them were cracked, as if his face had been punched too hard. “I’m Captain Selim, and I manage Fortress Hickory! You kids had better listen to me, or else you’re all going to have some problems. I hate it when people don’t listen to me…”

He looked up at a branch above them, an annoyed look on his face. “Shut up! Shut up!”

Pinot followed his gaze upwards and screamed, backing straight into Solera and clutching onto him tightly.

Above them was a large mosquito, around ten meters tall. Its legs were perhaps as thick as Solera’s, and its stinger glinted in the light.

“Sorry about that.” Selim coughed. “I’ve had to summon some new things today. This mosquito is quite disobedient. I’ll send him packing off to the southern border as soon as I can.”

Chianti frowned. “What are you talking about?”

Selim was confused for a moment. “Oh, right. Breaking news, my girl. The Tornado and Thundercloud Sect have ended their two-century feud to attack Eden!”

He said it so casually that the impact didn’t hit them for a few seconds.

“What?” Chianti’s eyes bugged. “Why?”

“I don’t know.” Selim shrugged. “Not my problem, anyway. I’m just the warden of this fortress.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.” Chianti said, shaking her head confusedly. “No sense whatsoever. I’m going to go to Leera’s now, see what’s going on.” She walked past Selim into a stable next to Fortress Hickory.

“All right, Fayvitt, you go show these kids around the fortress. I have a bath to take.” Selim said, picking his nose. The mosquito floated down, allowing Selim to latch onto its leg and ascend into the branches above.

Fayvitt, a woman with long hair and a hooked nose, stepped forward. Her bored eyes swept over the crowd before she turned around.

“Follow me.”

As Fayvitt explained each building with a dull, flat voice, Solera slipped into the stable. Chianti was walking around, looking at the available reindeer. Unlike the reindeer that had taken them to Peat City, these reindeer were only around the size of a horse.

“Chianti!” Solera whispered as loudly as he could.

Chianti turned around, her lustrous hair swishing like waves on an ocean. “What’s up?”

“Are you really leaving?” Solera asked unhappily. He had thought that Chianti would stay at Fortress Hickory, although now that he thought about it, she had never said anything to that effect. It was probably just his wishful thinking.

“Awwwww.” Chianti hugged Solera. “You cute kid. I’ll only be thirty kilometers away, at the border with the United Duchies. If you go on a high enough branch, you might even be able to see me!”

“I don’t… I don’t want you to go.” Solera mumbled. Then, his face turned red. What was he saying?

“Haha, this guy…” Chianti was at a loss for words. “You’ll be fine, Solera. Selim is an inept ass who only became a captain because of his family, but he’s harmless. There are many interesting people at Fortress Hickory. Go back to the group, buddy. If they get onto the lift without you, the officers won’t be very happy.”

Solera reluctantly let go after a few seconds. “Okay,” he mumbled. “I’m going to become a strong warrior who can fight with you!”

Chianti chuckled, patting Solera on his head and sending him on his way.