Chapter 91: Embarkation (2/2)
”I really only need a mortal to help guide me through the pitfalls of civilization, and since you are already acquainted with the Hero, you can aid me in my search, too. Now, we must move quickly.” The woman began to drag Julia with her, despite her protestations.
”Hey, wait!”
The woman did not appear to hear her, ”I heard from a green haired adventurer that the one we seek has left for the capital. Upon further investigation, this appears to be a completely different city, one that will require long days of travel to reach. We must make haste! My mission is too vital!”
She stopped suddenly, and let Julia go, dropping her to the ground. ”Ah! I almost forgot.”
Springing to her feet, Julia tried to escape, but felt the iron grip close on her arm.
”I forgot to introduce myself. I am known as Cariel, an angel in service to the Sun Goddess. Now let us hurry! I have heard that there is something called a 'boat' that can take us to where we need to go.”
The so-called angel began dragging her once more, not even aware of the teeth the cat beasman had sunk into the flesh of her forearm.
After a few more minutes of pointless struggling, Julia finally resigned herself to her fate, tears once again streaming down her face, as she was forced to listen to Cariel speaking happily about her recent experience with a delightful creature called a 'dog.' Apparently it had been the friendliest mortal she had so far encountered in her travels.
[I really am cursed! Damn that newbie adventurer! This is all his fault, somehow!]
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Mike sneezed as he disembarked from the ship.
[Someone must be talking bad about me. That or I'm catching a cold.] He thought to himself, before wondering if it was even possible for him to get sick anymore.
The rest of the journey to the capital had been uneventful. Ever since the encounter with the raiders Captain Bont and his 'sailors' had treated the group with the utmost delicacy, so much so, the tension had evidently gotten to the crew.
By the time they had reached the capital's docks, they were jumping at every sound, whispering about him when they thought he wasn't listening. From the sounds of it, the rumors they started were getting more and more outlandish.
Pretty much, as soon as the group had set foot on the docks, the plank went up and the ship once again departed, not even bothering to try and sell the cargo they had brought to sell in the capital.
[I guess the good Captain no longer wants me to keep him in mind for future shipping needs.] Mike thought to himself while examining the city.
It was a true marvel of engineering, or perhaps magic, now that he thought about it.
According to Sera, the city of Almirn was once located on an island right off the coast. As the city grew in importance over the years, it spread out to the mainland. Soon, this caused a major problem, as the few bridges and ferries in operation quickly became overwhelmed. This all changed when the legendary mage Ryan Stonehewer was put in charge of a team tasked with solving the problem for good.
Originally, the king at the time merely wanted wide, stable bridges to link the two sections of the city. Since, maritime trade was a large part of the city's economy, the bridges couldn't block off the Almirn Channel that ran between the island and the mainland. However, he had underestimated the audacity of Ryan.
Utilizing a complicated ritual that spanned three days and took nearly 30 mages specializing in Earth Magic to complete, the Tier 4 mage permanently linked the two landmasses. He summoned a massive span of hardened stone reinforced with unusual spiral structures made of crystal that Ryan himself put into place, and whose exact composition remains a mystery.
Sections of the sea floor were actually raised and fused with the nearby bedrock to give the bridge symmetrical anchoring points, allowing for its nearly 8km width. Massive support columns, themselves close to 30m in diameter, supported the titanic bulk of the structure, which soared hundreds of meters above the channel.
It was quite frankly a wonder of the age. Essentially, an artificial island produced through magic. Over time it evolved into its own district of the city, complete with shops, homes, and government buildings built on the gently curving surface. In typical human fashion, its original name was eventually forgotten, and now was known simply as The Span.
They had disembarked on the mainland side of The Span, where extensive docks had sprung up over the intervening centuries leading up to the present day.
”Alright, does anyone know where we need to go from here? I'm assuming that I need to check in with the University.” Mike asked, still marveling at the structure of the bridge.
It wasn't particularly pretty from a distance, but up close, the clear crystal spirals that were visible on the underside were breathtaking. Supposedly, they were an even greater spectacle at night, when pulsing specks of light could be seen traversing the complex, crystalline structures. It was something he was looking forward to seeing.
”I think the University is supposed to be in the Old City, on the other side of the Span. Wait a moment.” Sera replied while glancing around. She spotted something that resembled a tourism kiosk, and after haggling for a minute with the owner, she returned, triumphantly, with a simple map of the city.
”Here we are,” She said while pointing to a section just south of The Span, which was unimaginatively called the Southern Docks. ”And here is where we need to go,” Tracing her finger across the bridge, she finally pointed to a walled compound which dominated the northern section of the Old City. It was labeled 'The University of Almirn.'
”Seems simple enough.” Brenden commented while wiping the sweat from his brow. It was still a little before noon, but the day was already reaching uncomfortably high temperatures.
With unanimous, unspoken consent, the group set off though the dusty streets.