Chapter 513: Meanwhile, Two Weeks Ago in Vitesse (1/2)

Jason was disembarking from the airship that had just returned his expedition to Rimaros. He was moving with the group across the open-sided walkway stretching from the docking cradle to the port tower when he froze on the spot.

“Mr Asano?” asked the expedition leader, Jeni Kavaloa.

“We’re done, right?” Jason asked. “Expedition over?”

“The contract is complete, Mr Asano. I’ll be handing in the report but you can get a copy of…”

She stopped bothering when Jason leapt from the side of the walkway without another word. She shook her head.

“You’re not meant to do that.”

Unbeknownst to Jason, at the moment he had been leaving the airship, his friends had been leaving the royal sky island’s magic barrier under the escort of Trenchant Moore. As they left the island’s magical defences, which easily blocked his silver-rank powers, their presence was brought to his attention.

Contact [Humphrey Geller] has entered communication range.Contact [Sophie Wexler] has entered communication range.Contact [Belinda Callahan] has entered communication range.Contact [Gareth Xandier] has entered communication range.Contact [William Hurin] has entered communication range.Contact [Amelia Hurin] has entered communication range.Contact [Arabelle Remore] has entered communication range.Contact [Travis Noble] has entered communication range.Contact [Taika Williams] has entered communication range.Contact [Neil Davone] has entered communication range.Contact [Clive Standish] has entered communication range.

As he dropped through the air, Jason conjured his cloak to help him swerve around the walkways connected to ships docked further down the tower.

“Where are they?” Jason asked. “I can’t map their location without spreading my aura over the whole damn city, and I’d get into all sorts of trouble for projecting like that. Should I do it anyway?”

“Perhaps before doing anything drastic,” Shade suggested, “you could try asking them where they are.”

Jason landed at ground level, getting disapproving frowns from the people around him at the base of the busy docking tower.

“Asking them. That makes sense. I can do that because it’s a thing I can do.”

“I recommend you pause and take a breath, Mr Asano.”

“I don’t need to breathe, Shade.”

“Perhaps you should do it anyway.”

Unaware of Jason's proximity, his team and the others with them were moving down through a column of water in a boat shrouded by a force bubble. For the earthlings, Taika and Travis, the iconic local feature was a wonder. Even for those used to other great cities, like Vitesse, it was an impressive feat of magical engineering.

Sophie felt Humphrey go stiff at her side and he started talking to himself.

“Where are you?” he said.

The others noticed Humphrey acting strangely and listened to what was clearly one side of a conversation. It was something they all recognised but hadn’t seen in some time.

“With a man named Trenchant Moore,” Humphrey said. “Yes, Trenchant Moore. What? I don’t know.”

Humphrey turned to look Trenchant up and down.

“I guess he is,” Humphrey continued. “I suppose he has very piercing eyes. I don’t see why that… he’s taking us to Arnote. I think we’re switching to a larger boat on the big island.”

Humphrey turned to look at Trenchant again.

“Where are we transferring to the other boat?” he asked him.

“Essen Port,” Trenchant said. “A private terminal for a ferry called the Blue Burden.”

Humphrey repeated the details.

”How am I supposed to know that? Yes, it does kind of sound like the ferry is unhappy about carrying people about. What? No, it’s probably not a sentient boat. Even it is some kind of animated construct, I don’t think it will have feelings… what’s a danger boat? Tick, as in the parasite?”

Jason’s team were laughing at the very familiar expression on Humphrey’s face, and the very confused one on Trenchant’s.

”Look, are you going to meet us at the ferry terminal or not? Okay, thank you.”

Humphrey slumped his shoulders, looking exhausted.

“And Jason… it’s good to hear your voice, Jason. That’s nice of you to say, but please don’t call me Hump.”

The only portal destination near the port was restricted to reduced port traffic congestion and Jason didn't have a permit. Nor did he have a permit for personal flight in the city. As for ground navigation via mount or vehicle, it would be slower than he wanted through the bustling streets.

Instead, Jason turned to his old techniques for travelling quickly on foot. Compared to the delta where he first developed them, the city was easier terrain, and Jason’s abilities were so much stronger than when he was an iron-rank. His reflexes, perception and straight-line speed were all improved, as was his control over his abilities.

The techniques were a holistic combination of movement skills taken from the Order of the Reaper, precisely-toggled weight reduction and jumping through shadows in rapid sequence. It allowed him to navigate obstacles and go largely unnoticed as he raced through the city, a flickering shadow passing through market stalls and alleyways as he followed his map ability in the direction of the port.

Essen was one of the primary ports for traffic between Livaros and Arnote. It was where Jason and Farrah had been reunited with Rufus, and now where they would reunite with the rest of their friends. Jason found the ferry terminal, but the port authority guards would not permit him entry. What they would do was point out the dock where boats coming from the royal sky island usually moored.

Having been contacted by Jason while he was on the move, Rufus and Farrah were ready when Jason opened up a portal to the cloud house for them to come through. While the nearby terminal guards were watching him closely, he was opening a portal to somewhere else and not portalling in blindly, so it was permitted. Farrah was less forgiving than the guards as she marched out of the portal, into Jason space and started jabbing a finger at his face.

“What were you thinking, going off like that?”

She snatched him into a hug.

“If Shade wasn’t with you, how stupid a thing would you have done?”

“It was pretty bad,” Jason said.

She let him go, hands on his shoulders as she gave his face an interrogating look.

“What are we going to do with you?” she asked. “I wish Rufus’ mother was here.”

“She’s on that boat,” Jason said, pointing out at the water behind her.

“Mother came too?” Rufus asked.

Jason, Rufus and Farrah watched as the boat approached. It wasn’t much more than an outsized skiff and they could see familiar faces on the deck. Gary’s grin was so wide it threatened to split the top of his head right off as we waved. A falcon came darting over the water from the boat, shooting at Jason like an arrow. Right before impact, it turned into a hairy dog the size of a tiger, bowling him over and crushing him under its weight.

“YAY!” the dog cheered with a child’s voice.

“Stash,” Jason croaked. “You got big.”

“I can get bigger. Want to see?”

“Nope.”

“Stash,” Humphrey admonished as he landed on the dock. “Get off him.”

The dragon wings that had carried Humphrey over the water in pursuit of his enthusiastic familiar vanished as he alighted on the dock.

Stash transformed into a small bird that started flapping around in the air over Jason as Humphrey helped him to his feet. Jason didn't let go of his hand, pulling the big man into a hug.