Chapter 7.1 – First mess

The next day.

It was a clear morning, the cool fresh breeze while the rays of the sun warmed the skin was a wonderful combination.

The morning activities were like on any other day. But Kai and Sophie were also making preparations for their journey. They packed their belongings at the inn, but before looking for a horse, there was also need to buy some food.

The food of this world could be made to last for a fairly long time thanks to the use of magic. The best way to preserve food was to store it in an enchanted container, which could be a small bag or even the size of a small room. The highest grade enchantment for it would be something that slows down time within its area of effect, which, if you think about it, is almost an unbelievable notion, yet it is done.

However, a bag with such an enchantment is incredibly expensive due to the fact that the enchantment itself is very complicated and also requires vast amounts of mana to create. What Kai could afford were some magic crystals, which when around food slowed down spoiling. Both the methods allow one to buy otherwise quickly rotting food and keep it for a longer time, but still not indefinitely of course.

So, after buying a large variety of foods and storing them in a bag together with some of the magic crystals, the two started heading towards the stables near the western gates, as that's where they'll be leaving from.

Noon.

Finally the two were at the gates and ready to leave.

As for the horses, they bought two. Though the horses of this world were strong and versatile, capable of traversing all kinds of terrain, some were still more suitable for long-distance travel while others were meant for shorter and faster trips. Kai requested the former kind.

Also, perhaps from training, but the horses were quite obedient and friendly. They recognized Kai and Sophie as their new masters almost right away, and during the time it took to get from the stables to the gates, Sophie got a bit attached to her horse already, too. In Kai's view it seemed kind of weird, but perhaps it's just one of the peculiarities of this world.

Anyway,

"The first step, huh?..." Kai closed his eyes in thought, then continued, "You know, this is a memorable moment – the first day of a journey around the world that will leave its mark in history..."

"What are you saying? Shouldn't this be a normal tour to go to and see different places and cultures?" Sophie was a bit puzzled by Kai's choice of words.

"Well, you never know what might happen..." Kai responded with a really mischievous smile.

"Haa--..." again, she couldn't comprehend the meaning behind his words.

"All ready to go?" Kai asked.

"Yes, I look forward to travelling with you," Sophie answered in an honest tone.

"Heh, yeah, me too."

And thus they departed.

- - -

Let's skip to evening as during the day nothing notable happened.

By evening Kai and Sophie had arrived at the western bank of the Aresi River. It was a town of decent size, but most houses were wooden and the architecture was perhaps a bit low-grade.

The main attraction of the town, though, was the great stone bridge that connected the two sides of the river. Even if the great river was constantly flowing against its support, the bridge was in good shape and well-maintained. It was big enough that there were even some luxury houses located on it.

Actually, along the river were many such bridges. The river split the nation in two, so bridges were necessary to have a good connection with the nation's borders.

The two spent the night in the western town as they found an inn there very quickly.

2 days later.

The two arrived at the border between the Kingdom of Lazure and Kingdom of Camberth.

Sophie mentioned that the two kingdoms were on not-so-friendly terms with each other. The reason for it was the fact that Camberth Kingdom held no territory over the Aresi River, thus having only roundabout access to the Azure Sea, which the Aresi River flowed into.

Though the two kingdoms were once united as an empire, there was a civil war and the nation split up due to opposing opinions. It was a bit sad story.

Now the kingdoms had conflicts, that is battles every year, where they bet some portion of their territory and the winner acquired it. It wasn't really a war, more like a quarrel, even though lives were lost in the battles. At least, that is one way of seeing it.

Still, as more lives were lost, the more the citizens viewed the other side with hostility. They were the ones who killed their friends and husbands. Nevertheless, the agreed-upon battles were necessary to prevent a full-blown war.

Anyway, in the end it didn't really matter to Kai and Sophie. She said it to remember to just take care to try to not mention anything about Lazure Kingdom in Camberth, if just for general wellbeing.

They spent the night still camping in Lazure Kingdom.

Another 2 days later.

The two were nearing the capital of Camberth Kingdom and would arrive there some time in the evening.

Camberth, as the capital is also named, wasn't an important checkpoint on the way. As Kai still had money left, he would restock on food, but nothing else was important. They'd set off again the very next day.

Forth from Camberth there are only small towns and villages, and away from the Kingdom of Camberth there are only some smaller nations and nomadic tribes.

However, around noon, when they had stopped to take a break and eat some lunch, there was some sort of change in the atmosphere in the woods. Even if along the road there usually weren't many animals, bird songs and crickets could almost always be heard. But now all the birds had stopped chirping and the forest got eerily quiet.

"Huh, what's wrong?" Kai asked obliviously, when he saw Sophie tensing up slightly.

"...It's odd, there are no birds singing anymore..." Sophie was cautiously looking around, "there might be some monster in the area."

But her caution was useless, because suddenly she was hit in the neck by something sharp. She immediately took ahold of whatever it was and pulled it out, luckily it didn't pierce deep. Unfortunately it seemed to be a dart with some liquid coating, it was probably poisoned.

Before she could take any action and warn Kai, she saw the same had happened to him, too, but he was already laying on the ground. Just a moment later she felt a bit lightheaded, she lost balance, and in the last moment before hitting the ground, she lost conciousness.

From the woods came 3 men, all dressed in clothes that camouflaged them in the forest environment. They walked up to the two laying on the ground.

"Both targets taken down successfully," said one.

"Guess the man wasn't a ranger or anything. Or we're just so good!" said the second one.

"Anyway, tie them up, grab their belongings and let's take them back before someone else passes by here," said the third.

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