The group took a carriage and reached the Vichy Harbor soon.
The merchant ship from Fey Continent—The Redbud—had been pulled ashore by this morning. After being unloaded in the forenoon, all cargo bays were now empty. Once it got loaded with new merchandise again tomorrow, the ship would set sail once more. Mara took everyone to the ship this early as a precaution. The ship only came once in a year, missing it would be disastrous.
"Do not run about or cause trouble once we're on the ship. The Redbud belongs to someone we absolutely don't want to offend," said Mara as he led the kids. He warned them, "No ordinary ship can breach the icy sea and make it past the Sea of Silence. There's a rumor that the Floating Mech City is behind this. If it's true, even formal wizards wouldn't attempt to get on their bad side.
"So you all remember, get rid of those noble tempers no matter who you're up against, even if it's the most common sailor on the ship!" Mara's warning sounded more serious this time. He ran into a lot of sons of riches during his travel in Goldspink Empire, and a good number of them would draw their weapons over the smallest conflict. This was why he was so serious about all this, to avoid unnecessary trouble.
The three kids nodded quickly like chickens pecking on the ground. Mara was much experienced in dealing with the world, of course, he would not do the kids harm now.
As Mara told them his experience, Angor began to inspect The Redbud in front of him carefully. It was huge, though maybe a little smaller than the cargo ships on Earth his teacher mentioned. Still, for Angor, who basically did not know much about the outside world, The Redbud was already the biggest vehicle he ever saw. The ship was half the size of the Padt Castle, with elegant, shining steel walls painted in violet and white.
What attracted Angor most was the figurehead on the tip of the ship. It was the statue of a praying maiden wearing gauze robe, with her fingers crossed. Soft, long hair flew with the wind, while bits of redbud pedals would fall off now and then. The whole statue looked holy and solemn, perfectly beautiful and graceful. Anyone would agree that it must have been the work of an extremely skilled crafter. Also, there was a pale, crimson-colored gem embedded in the center of the maiden's forehead.
Angor felt something strange about the gem, but he could not really tell why.
"Oh, that's… Why is he here??" Mara suddenly yelled. Angor looked at Mara to see the old man was staring towards the exit of the ship, somewhat terrified.
Angor followed his gaze and saw a young man wearing red hair slowly walking down The Redbud with a blank expression. He was dressed in a black wind coat with golden patterns, black trousers with white lining, and a pair of brown riding boots.
His hairs were wild, but his expression was cold and emotionless. Everything about him seemed to be telling everyone to stay away from him.
"What, one of those ascetic uniform guys?" Angor muttered using the language Jon told him.
"What was it, Brother Padt?" asked Aleen who somehow was standing nearby. Angor just realized he could almost smell her fragrant hair.
Angor silently took a step back and gained some distance. "Nothing. I was wondering who that is."
Aleen saw the strange expression on Mara as well, "Who is he, grandpa?"
Mara did not reply. He only dragged everyone and walked along the boarding bridge quickly. When Aleen wanted to ask again, he only growled at her, "Silence!"
This was something new for Aleen. She pouted in frustration. Mara did not notice her emotion and kept his hurried steps. Seeing this, Alan quickly paced ahead and wiped some tears off his sister's eye corner using his little chubby hand.
Angor whispered to Aleen to comfort her, "Mister Mara must have his reasons."
Angor was wondering about everything as well. Mara's attitude changed drastically upon seeing that man and never dared to look at him again. Maybe the man was Mara's enemy?
As the group stepped onto the ship, the young man glanced towards the deck of the ship, puzzled.
"I get a strange feeling… Maybe it's just me."
He kept walking away without giving it much thought. He came to look for someone else, and should not be wasting time on other matters.
…
The night passed. The sun rose in the distance and covered the surface of the sea in gold.
HOOOOOOOONNMM—
The ship's horn bellowed as anchors were pulled up and sailcloth hoisted. People ashore and on the deck waved at each other either in silence or in tears. In the heavy atmosphere, The Redbud slowly bid farewell to the Old Earth and sailed towards the unknown distance.
Angor stood on the deck and watched as the continent of the Old Earth getting smaller. Apart from feeling lost, he also sensed foreboding, that this meant he would leave the homeland for real.
What would he see the next time he returned? Would it be under the brilliant sunset or the beautiful morning glow?
Angor shook his head. He smiled to himself and decided to put that sadness away. Next, he went back to his room and continued solving the puzzles Jon left him.
Three days passed in a blink of an eye.
The ship went smoothly without any staggering, so Angor never had to worry about getting seasickness. However, his face still paled, due to many discomforts when living on a ship.
There were knocks on the door. Fast and urgent.
Angor put down his quill and paper and opened the door. A beautiful girl was standing there. She was wearing a white, lace princess dress. Long, pink hair flowed down her shoulders, with a tiny bit of shyness in her expression. When she saw Angor, her eyes quickly brightened up.
"Brother Padt!" She called in a friendly voice.
Aleen.
Except for going to the mess hall for meals, Angor always stayed in his room doing his puzzles during the last three days. This was the first time he saw Aleen since they sailed.
"Grandfather is back and he called for us. He has something to say," Aleen said.
Angor nodded to her, "Okay. Just a second, let me get changed."
They ran into the man with red hair that day. Mara asked a waiter to take care of their meals and rooms, then went towards the cabin on the top floor to look for someone. That was all the kids knew. Angor would not realize that Mara was already back if Aleen had not told him so.
The three kids were living in the middle level of the ship, while the bottom level was occupied by sailors and various workers. Mara stayed on the top floor. They did not know exactly who lived up there, but they could guess that there must be someone important or power wielders like Mara.
Following the waiter, Angor and Aleen arrived at Mara's cabin.
The first thing they saw was Alan, who took a big bite on the cake he was holding, with white cream covered the edge of his mouth. Mara was sitting nearby with a grim expression while holding a leather scroll.
Hearing the door opening, Mara raised his head and nodded towards the pair casually before asking them to sit in front of him.
Alan finished his cake too. He joined them with a smile while still wiping his mouth. Aleen gave him a stare, then moved aside to let Alan sit near her. She also took out her handkerchief and helped Alan clean his mouth.
Angor sat down and looked at the leather scroll on Mara's desk.
There was a portrait of someone printed on it, and one single word above the portrait: WANTED.
"You probably want to know where I have been these two days, so I'll tell you first," said Mara. He chose to talk about something else in the end, "There are three wizard groups permanently stationed on The Redbud, to welcome talented ones as well as protect the ship from sea monsters. Our White Coral Floating Island Academy is one of them. I have been discussing with the academy's escorts up there, about Red-Haired Thewis.
"Red-Haired Thewis…" Mara paused for a bit before he continued, "He was the man with red hair we saw the other day, and he came because of this WANTED poster. You'll know who he is once we're at the academy. For now, I'll only tell you one thing. Stay away from that man whenever you see him. His bad temper is well known across the entire south."
When he finished, Mara's expression calmed down. He smiled at the three kids, "But I called you here for something else.
"I've talked to the escorts on The Redbud. Since you three are talents, it won't hurt to teach you about Meditation earlier. This is why I need you here today."