The road south was pleasantly calm for the rest of the journey away from the Ingmersen homestead.

  For the first time in nearly four days, cloud cover was sparse, revealing a rich, blue sky and allowing the light of the sun to brighten the snow-blanketed countryside of Calvergia up to a warm and glistening glow. The Bearded Mountains were long behind them at this point, now fully replaced by the lowland forests and rime-covered fields of the valley that stretched all the way down the Bay of Majnehl to the port at Frostwall.

  Low temperatures and a regular wind chill were still fairly unpleasant during their travels, but Blychert was more than happy to cast ‘Protection from Cold’ on both him and his master, as well as Fjrodi. He would have offered to shield the horses too, but Fjrodi insisted that Calvergian draft horses would sooner melt in the sun than they would freeze to death. Whether or not that was true, Blychert had no idea, but he certainly wasn’t going to test the stubborn sleigh driver any more than he had to.

  [ SAGE ]

  [Name: Trelen Veil]

  [Age: 16]

  [Class: Sorcerer]

  [Level: 9]

  [Experience Points: 20,515]

  [Health: 490, Stamina: 450, Mana: 680]

  [Inventory] * [Attributes] * [Class] * [Skills & Abilities] * [Sovereign] * [Journal] * [Map] * [Party] * [Guild] * [Compendium]

  Blychert sat back in the sleigh and studied his sage terminal with keen interest, swiping across to his attributes page after a few moments.

  It was hard not to look at the state of his own classless situation and wonder what other kinds of possibilities were out there, now that he’d gotten a taste for it. After all, Xander had really opened his eyes to a different kind of world; that guy had his class stolen from him for crying out loud and then had performed a major necromancy ritual just to get it back! It made Bly wonder about that strange artifact he had—the one Alyse used, and the identical item she’d confiscated from Xander. What was she trying to hide? And just where had she gotten off to in such a hurry?

  A month ago, she’d mentioned an important contact and some unresolved business, but Bly didn’t really know much about the kind of work she did, and he didn’t usually ask either.

  Come to think of it, Alyse never spoke about other classless out there at all.

  How many of them were there?

  And then there was that other matter…

  [Essence]

  Health: 490 HP

  Stamina: 450 SP

  Mana: 680 MP

  [Limits]

  Short Term Stamina Limit: 270 SP

  Short Term Mana Limit: 408 MP

  [Recovery]

  HP Recovery: 4.9 HP per hour

  Short Term Stamina Recovery: 2.7 per second

  Long Stamina Recovery: 3 per minute

  Short Term Mana Recovery: 8 per second

  Long Term Mana Recovery: 7 per minute

  Blychert paused in his inspection of his stats.

  Even after all this time, he couldn’t bring himself to talk about the Gleaming Caves, or rather everything he’d experienced down there in those final hours. The visions he’d had… they’d felt so real, and yet there was no trace that he’d even met that strange, ghostly apparition at all. Was the Pale Lady even real? Was she just an anomaly? And if not, what did that mean for him?

  Why had it said those things? Or rather, what was it even trying to say?

  They weren’t really… related? They couldn’t be, he didn’t even know his father beyond that single vision he often had of the cliffside.

  It was confusing, and more than a little worrying.

  Either way, there was no point telling Bartolo about it, and certainly not Alyse. He already got the sense that they tried to keep the outside world at arms’ length from him most of the time. He was shocked that Bartolo would let him come to Frostwall in the first place, and if he mentioned anything like what he’d seen and heard? He could forget about doing anything ever again.

  There was no way he was letting something like that get between him and the life he wanted to lead.

  [Resistances]

  Physical Resistance: 2.0%

  Mental Resistance: 2.1%

  Magic Resistance: 2.7%

  [Damage & Criticals]

  Spell Damage: 13.8%

  Spell Critical Chance: 14.1%

  Spell Critical Damage Multiplier: 2.0%

  Physical Damage: 8.8%

  Physical Critical Chance: 13.5%

  Physical Critical Damage Multiplier: 1.8%

  Bly closed his sage terminal, somewhat frustratedly.

  He just wasn’t sure what to make of it anymore, even after so many months mulling it over.

  At this point, he figured his best bet was simply to speak with Xander about it further. He had to have some kind of insights, surely. And maybe he knew someone that could help him figure things out? There had to be at least one person in all of Frostwall that had some idea of what Bly was going through.

  Right?

  Eventually, the day folded over from morning into afternoon with relative ease.

  Blychert watched with a somewhat aimless gaze and a wandering mind as they meandered down the road, his chin resting upon the side of the sleigh as it carried them southward. Homesteads seemed to become more and more frequent as the hours passed, and soon those grew to be small clusters of homes. It wasn’t before much longer that they started to pass travelers heading north, or groups of hunters and foresters.

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  Mills, both timber and grist, hatcheries, hamlets, watchtowers, bridges, and cattle farms beyond count… it was more than a relief knowing that they were at least getting and closer and closer to more civilized parts of the kingdom.

  Honestly, Blychert was just about ready to be off the road entirely.

  “Jilvarlok?” Fjrodi beckoned suddenly, “Coming up to Everden now. We stopping for the night? Or are you keen to press on? No difference to me.”

  Blychert raised his head at the mention, turning his gaze forwards with a furrowed brow.

  Just past the bobbing heads of the horses, it wasn’t exactly hard to miss the massive wooden wall down a way in front of them. Tight clusters of differently shaped and sized wooden buildings lined the main road leading up to the sturdy northern gatehouse, and they even lined the edge of the wall itself too. It was approaching nightfall, and so lanterns were lit along the watchtowers, allowing Bly to get a good grasp of just how large this town really was.

  It must have been at least three or four times the size Darskaart! And Bly’s hometown was already a large town in and of itself and didn’t even boast a wall of its own. But Darskaart, unlike Everden, was not a port town, and so Bly figured that had to account for something.

  “Hmm…” Bartolo grumbled to himself from the seat over, before replying, “If it’s all the same to you, Fjrodi, I would very much like to continue onwards. That is, if you and your animals are able, We could make camp a little way farther along, should you like? I know it’s getting late.”

  Bly turned and studied his master’s expression for a curious moment.

  It wasn’t like the old sorcerer to turn down a hot meal and a warm bed, the likes of which were undoubtedly guaranteed in town that must have all but certainly had many inns and like places to get out of the cold.

  “Something wrong?” Bly asked quietly, figuring it was best to keep the conversation as private as possible.

  “…Hm?” Bartolo glanced at Bly quickly, then looked away just as fast. However, he double took the glance, and said, “What? No, uh… nothing’s the matter. It’s just that this is a very large municipal center, with a bustling port at that. Almost all the trade from eastern Greygarde passes through Everden, you understand, so…”

  “Ah…” Bly nodded.

  If that was true, Bartolo must have been worried that they would accidentally run into someone, or something, from their past lives. As far as Bly understood it, the Guild wasn’t very active in Calvergia. At least, not like it was back home. But that didn’t mean they weren’t a threat. After all, administrators weren’t the only ones who worked in the Guild. And Bly couldn’t say for certain what his master’s dealings outside of Kelvalder truly entailed.

  For all he knew, Bartolo was a highly recognizable person of interest.

  If that, or anything in that vein were true, steering clear of town seemed like a fair assessment. Even still, if Bartolo had such a problem with blending into a huge town like this, was Frostwall really any safer for them in that regard?

  As the sleigh turned off the main road, they began to crest around the northwest side of Everden proper. It wasn’t long after, however, that a strange commotion at the fork in the road heading west and farther south caused Fjrodi to bring the sleigh to an abrupt halt.

  Bly lurched, catching the edge of the sleigh, and pulled his gaze up to where the problem was situated in front of them.

  A number of other sleighs, at least six or seven, as well as several dozens of people were clustered by the fork in the road. There was an unintelligible mixture of voices and sounds permeating the air, as the seemingly distressed crowd of people tried to push their way westward. However, a line of soldiers adorned in steel armor kept a wall of pikes and shields at the ready, preventing anyone or anything from getting through to the other side. By the single lantern dangling from the wooden guidepost, Bly recognized their white and blue-colored cloaks as those of Calvergia proper, not that they frequented Kelvalder much.

  These were kingdom soldiers.

  “By the grace of the Three, stand down, all of you.” A rugged, altogether irritated voice said from somewhere ahead of the crowd. Standing to his feet, Blychert crossed to the other side of the sleigh and leaned out for a better look. At that moment, one of the soldiers stepped forward and removed his helmet, revealing a middle-aged man with the makings of a dark, neatly trimmed beard and scar across his left cheek, who then added, “By order of the High Marshall, there’s not to be any travel west by way of road until the giant raids have been dealt with. We’ve had a raid this morning not eight miles west. So, unless you intend to risk going north and around the Steps, then all travel accommodation should be made at the port, and by sea alone. No exceptions. Now, disperse, the lot of you.”

  Audible groans of discontent, and more than a little choice cussing, echoed through the late afternoon air at the conclusion of the soldier’s words. Some of the sleigh drivers and many more who were on foot begrudgingly turned back and began to head in the direction of Everden’s western gatehouse, chattering amongst themselves and not too pleasantly.

  Turning towards the front of their own sleigh, Bly couldn’t help but to ask, “Did he say… giants?”

  “Mhm… that he did.” Fjrodi worded with a nod, seemingly not too pleased by the announcement himself either. At that moment, the horses whinnied a bit, and so Fjrodi got up and out of his seat and pulled a few sugar cubes out of his pack. Feeding each of them, he looked towards the western road, and shook his head, “Would be the Icestone clan, he’d be talking about. Tough bastards, that lot, and cutthroat. Can’t say I blame them for closing the roads down, if that’s the case.”

  “I understood that you Calvergians had good dealings with giants of these parts?” Bartolo inquired shortly thereafter, “Something change recently to stir such animosity?”

  “Can’t say. I’m just a driver.” Fjrodi shrugged, hoping back up into the sleigh, “Anyway, it looks like we’ll be staying in Everden, after all. Should find you lot an inn before the rooms are all filled for the night, and what not.”

  The sleigh lurched forward without another word, and Blychert took his seat.

  To think he found ice wraiths and wolves—the kinds of creatures that the folks of Kelvalder had to deal with on their perimeter, that is—troublesome, really spoke to how little he knew about the rest of Calvergia, or the rest of the world for that matter. He honestly had no idea what a giant even looked like, or what they were capable of. Strangely, Bly couldn’t help but think that it was both terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.

  After all, “tough” and “cutthroat” sounded exactly like the kind of challenge he was interested in.

  Fjrodi drove the carriage south for a time, following the route of the other disgruntled travelers as they all made their way towards the western gatehouse. The road narrowed as buildings on the outskirts of town tightened around them.

  Everywhere Blychert looked, there were people.

  Children played on stoops or in the snow just outside their homes, a few waving at Bly as the sleigh passed. Other older folks continued to work, even as the last light of day began to fade. Bly wondered if there must have been as many people living outside the walls as there were living in all of Kelvalder; it seemed that way to him, at least.

  Soon, however, the western gatehouse was clearly in sight, and before long the sleigh had passed through it and into a wide plaza on the other side.

  The sight was as busy and as bustling as Blychert imagined it would be.

  He was certain that there were at least a few hundred people in just that plaza alone, many of whom spread out and headed down various roads and alleyways—too many to count. It was getting late in the day, and thus darker and colder, but that didn’t seem to stop anyone from walking and chatting, bartering and trading, drinking and eating, and just generally going about their business. Lanterns were lit, and there were sounds and sights and smells… it was somewhat overstimulating in the moment, especially after what Bartolo had mentioned about possible danger, but Bly did his best to keep his composure.

  It was best to enjoy new experiences, after all.

  “There’s a few good inns down by the port.” Fjrodi mentioned amidst the noise, “Looks as if you’ll have to make your way to the city by ship now, so it’s probably best for you stay somewhere close by. I can take you that way, if you like?”

  However, before Bartolo even had the chance to reply, a loud bell began to toll from somewhere along the wall behind them. Not a few moments later, another bell farther along tolled as well, and then another, and then several more throughout Everden all in the span of a few seconds.

  “In through the gate!” Someone shouted from one of the nearby watchtowers along the wall, “Raiders approaching from the west! Call to arms!”

  The fearful commotion was almost instantaneous, as the plaza just on the inside of the western gatehouse began to clear up and move farther into town. As Fjrodi turned the horses southward, the entire town seemed to be a buzz now, as alarm bells continued to toll throughout.

  Blychert turned in his seat, staring wide-eyed in the direction of the gatehouse, back to where a unit of soldiers quickly exited a building attached to the main bulwark, heading for the exterior of town. He guessed by the speed with which they had mustered, that it must have been a somewhat common occurrence.

  Suddenly, there was an itch in the back of Bly’s mind.

  Evidently, the soldiers were well equipped to manage whatever was coming their way; better equipped than the folks back in Kelvalder were, anyway. It wasn’t like… they needed any help, did they? These were soldiers in the kingdom’s army. They must have been pretty well trained. Yeah, of course they were. And hadn’t Bartolo told Bly to keep a low profile anyway?

  Was that even possible for him?

  “Nope…” Bly muttered, wondering why in the hell he was like this. In any case, and without skipping a beat, he leapt from the sleigh, saying behind him as he dashed towards the gate, “I’ll catch up with you—!”

  “Bly—Trelen!” Bartolo shouted after him in a fluster, but he was already weaving in-and-out of the crowd towards the gatehouse, the sleigh out of sight behind him.

  Smirking, Bly couldn’t help but recall momentarily that this was almost the exact same circumstance in which he had met Bold Arrow for the first time. Though he wasn’t excepting to find any friends on this excursion. But then again, that wasn’t really what he was itching after.

  If there was trouble, it was a safe bet that he wanted a piece of the action.

  [Followers]

  ?????????? 100%% ? [700/700]

  Reward: The first installment of the Extraplanar Archive, featuring "Appendix A - The World of Sulren" which will cover a brief overview of the world with maps.

  ? Quest Complete

  [Ratings]

  Reward: The second installment of the Extraplanar Archive, featuring "World Primer - Calvergia" which will cover an overview of the country of Calvergia with a map.

  [Reviews]

  Reward: A SAGE system formatted "Character Sheet" featuring Bly's full spread of stats and abilities (as of the end of Book 1).

  [Favorites]

  Reward: A three-part short story, featuring a flashback from Bly's perspective in his hometown of Darskaart.