Tangled in the bedsheets and panting from exhaustion, Yuriko and Gwendith cuddled in the afterglow of their bouts of passion. Gwendith's breath tickled her neck as her lover nuzzled up against her. Yuriko sighed and pulled the smaller girl closer.
Evenings such as these distracted her from the fact that she was unlikely to see Rumiga for decades, at least. But there was a little ray of hope. They had decided to register under the Adventurers' Guild after all, mostly because of one thing, at least as far as she was concerned.
The Guild had portals that opened to other branches in the superregion of Arcadia. A million leagues across, it was said. That area was larger than the Empire, the Xylarchy, and the Coalition territories combined. Well, the planar territories, anyway.
Maybe there was a way to connect their portals to the one in Siderious. That was the hope, but a small one. She remembered how long, subjectively, it took to portal from Synkrasia to Irvalla, and she had an inkling that the distance from here to Synkrasia was even farther than the breadth of Arcadia. If not for the beacon that was Eli'Theria, she would not have known where to start or how to go about returning home. The threads connecting her Anima to others through her Mien were no help. It was a connection that only gave her a sense of existence, not of direction. Or perhaps she must strengthen her Mien further to get more knowledge out of the threads.
And that process she was unsure how to proceed. Entangling with Gwendith had strengthened her Mien, but only to a point. Their bonds grew stronger but had since plateaued. And since she did not want to treat their relationship as an experiment, she was unsure what to do other than allow it to run its course. She owed that much to her lover.
The portals and gates should be the way forward, she was sure. But she was also sure that operating those and manipulating them required a working knowledge, and perhaps even mastery, of the Arcadian method of Sorcery.
When she sensed that Gwendith had regained her breath, and in the rare moments when she was sure her girlfriend wasn't quite ready to go back to lovemaking, Yuriko pulled back from the hug, and asked, "What did you decipher from the spellbook?"
Gwendith smirked as her hands wandered down Yuriko's body. Her fingers left tingles as they gently brushed her sensitive spots and by the hunger growing behind Gwendith's eyes, it wouldn't be long before she got pounced on again.
Rolling her eyes, Yuriko smacked Gwendith's fingers from going down her core. The other woman's smirk widened, and she chuckled. "Not much, I'm afraid. It is indeed, a spellbook containing directions on Arcana Weaving. Unfortunately, it's not a primer. Most of the words are jargon that provide no context."
"Hmmm. Ahn!" Yuriko gasped as Gwendith sneaked her fingers in. "We…we'll have to find one in…IN Nirlith…" she panted.
"Yes, we should." Gwendith purred. "Hmmm, the locals really think we're Magi, huh? It wouldn't be good if we didn't…"
"AhN!"
"...live up to their expectations."
___________
By midmorning, Yuriko could finally see Nirlith City. Actually, the mountain it was on was already visible late yesterday, but it was only now that she could see the city itself that covered the lower third of the mountain. Hmmm, no. That wasn't a mountain.
Yuriko noticed the conical shape, as well as a thin trail of smoke rising from the top. There was also a smaller peak that had been hidden from sight behind it, and she could see buildings, royals, and walls along that slope, as well as the valley between them. The larger peak was no doubt a volcano, and the smaller one might be one too. Well, there was no plume of smoke coming out of the smaller peak so she wasn't sure of that. The road curved around the larger peak.
"Mount Savarro," Cillian said. "It's an active volcano, but the eruption is held back, contained, and harnessed by Niria Academy to power the school grounds."
"Is the eruption sustained?" Yuriko asked, surprised.
"Yes," Cillian smirked. "There are also hundreds of guardian elementals scattered across the grounds. Ah, to enter the Academy, we'll have to go through the city first. The base of Mount Savarro is restricted."
"Hmmm, alright."
The four adventurers rode stoically towards the city, and by noon, they had rounded the bigger mountain and were about to enter the city proper. Nirlith spread out in the valley and along the lower slope of the other mountain, Villieu. The distance between the two peaks was about a league, but the city covered everything there and spread farther out too. She could see tree-covered boulevards crisscrossing the slopes of Villieu, as well as pretty buildings. There was no wall, however, but as they came closer, she felt the thickness of Elemental energies swirling around.
The road led directly to the valley portion of the city and transitioned from simple cobblestone to smooth blocks and wide pavement.
"I've sent a message to the faculty," Cillian said eagerly as soon as they came into Nirlith. "If you wish, Niria has dormitories to accommodate all of us."
"We will go there tomorrow after we've freshened up," Gwendith said. Throughout the journey, Cillian had finally revealed why he wanted them to head to Niria Academy.
Well, simply put, it was politics. Yuriko and the others were foreign Magi who have demonstrated not just power, but different spells from the norm. Cillian, and his family who turned out to have their fingers in the Republic's politics, stand to earn quite a bit of merit, both academically and socially. Not that she begrudged him of that, but it was a relief to find out what he was really after.
Still, that meant she would want to visit the other Academy and probably the other major cities, too. Aside from Nirlith, there were three others. The capital, Bresia, the other academy's city, Briardale, and finally, the former capital, Virtalla. Bresia and Virtalla also had their own Arcana Weaving schools, though they weren't as competitive, or good as the big two.
For her and the others, variety could be the key to greater understanding. So, she and the others might stay here for a while, maybe a Season or two, before moving on. Well, their first stop should be the Adventurers' Guild so they could finish the registration. Branchmaster Alejandro and Vigilant Laura guided the Wind Darter, although the size of the ship would soon become a detriment to travelling within the city. Only the widest road could fit the sloop after all.
With that in mind, they headed first to the warehouse district to rent a space for the Darter. Desire and Devotee would remain with the ship, along with Saki, in order to keep it safe. If Yuriko does accept the academy's hospitality, they'd move the ship there.
They wound up in the outskirts on the city's western side. There was a river running along there, and it was populated by barges and pleasure yachts, as well as screeching kids swimming in the shallows. She wasn't sure if this was the same river that led to Waterlow since the road did not follow it. Chances were that it was, though.
The Wind Darter, though a Chaos ship, was also more than capable of floating, so they ended up paying for a space by the docks, rather than the industrial district. They'd gathered a crowd who gawked at the floating ship, but upon seeing the adventurers, as well as Lieutenant Coinoch in his uniform, the attention shifted to them. Corporal Adan Ortiz had flown off as soon as the city was in sight, to report to the local garrison.
After they left the boat in Dock 21 and took a carriage pulled by a horse-shaped Steeld, towards the Adventurers' Guild branch. The building they were led to was bigger and grander than the one in Waterlow. It looked similar enough that this one seemed like an upscale version of the previous, and upon entering, the reception area and tavern common room gave off the same feel. Alejandro and Laura bade them farewell, though the latter asked Yuriko to meet with her in one of the cafes in the square outside for afternoon tea. They hadn't really spoken much over the journey, and the Vigilant looked like she had a lot on her mind.
Alejandro took their signed papers and asked them to wait in the common room where a server soon came up to them and offered a few mugs of ale. Yuriko gingerly sipped from her mug and winced at the bitter aftertaste. Still, it had been offered for free so she couldn't really complain.
Heron drank heartily, mimicking the adventurers drinking at the other tables. It being midday, the common room wasn't exactly full, and most likely the people lingering here were in between assignments. Well, she wasn't sure how things went here.
Hmm, come to think of it, she remembered encountering adventurers while she travelled across the Chaos Sea. Did they call themselves part of the Adventurers' Guild? It might have been something else, but Sheamus did describe the badges correctly.
After a few minutes of waiting, a receptionist approached them and presented three badges. Two of them had a bow and arrow, while the last one had crossed short swords.
The receptionist lady, a whiskered Durandir, gave the bow and arrow badges to Yuriko and Gwendith, and the crossed swords to Heron. "Welcome to the guild!" she said jovially, took their signatures on the logbook, left a trio of handbooks, and left them alone.
"Explore the place?" Gwendith asked.
"Just the nearby shops," Heron said. "Yuri has a date later," he added in a dry tone.
Gwendith leaned over and poked Heron's arm. "Jealous?"
He looked away, but the tips of his ears were reddish. Yuriko struggled not to giggle.
After she finished her ale and put away the booklet and the badge in her hip satchel, they walked out of the Adventurers' Guild and took in the sights. The Square was at least two hundred paces across, and in the middle was a statue of a man in robes holding a curvy staff, a woman with a greatsword, and a wolf.
She spotted the cafe Laura wanted to have tea in, Moonlight Radiance, and took note of the local time. There was a clock over the statues and it read 1 o'clock. So she had a couple of hours to kill.
All sorts of people walked around the square, in colourful outfits. Tomorrow was the turn of the Season and weather had grown warmer. There was a troupe of street performers near the monument, brightly dressed and juggling a dozen knives to a lutist's tune.
Heron wandered off towards one of the shops, while Gwendith headed towards what looked like a seamstress' shop. Yuriko saw a building with a sign that showed an open book. She wasn't sure if she could find a primer on Arcana Weaving there, but it didn't hurt to look. She retracted her Anima completely, trusting in the strength of her body to keep her safe. That and it was quite peaceful here.
As she headed to the bookshop, she came across another shop that caught her interest. The sign above it said Marina's Potionaire and Brewery Extraordinaire! Behind the glass display were dozens of glass vials with colourful liquids.
Curious, Yuriko pushed into the shop while the receptionist called out a greeting. In the local language, unfortunately, rather than Wojan.
"Hello!" Yuriko said in the common trade tongue. "What do you sell here?"
"Oh, welcome!" The woman switched languages. "Potions, tinctures, and ointments for everything an adventurer needs."
The woman, Marina in all likelihood, scooped up a small box and opened it, displaying an array of bottles and tins. "Here's a healing kit with healing potions, ointments, and bandages…"
Yuriko could feel the Elemental energies locked into the potion and the ointment, as well as the rolls of bandages. Interesting.
Her hand brushed against the healing cube secured in her hip satchel, and she wondered which one was more effective. Still, the healing kit costs only five golds. It was around the same cost as a one-use healing cube, but this set had enough for dozens of uses. She bought one and left the place for the bookshop.
The proprietor there handed her a primer on Arcana Weaving, with little fuss. That cost her another gold. It was a good thing Gwendith and Heron earned a lot of coins from the guild last time.
Shopping done, she headed to the Moonlight Radiance and took a seat. Before the server could approach, Laura rushed into the cafe, spotted her immediately, and hurried to her seat.
"I'm sorry to be late."
"You aren't."
"Ah."
Yuriko smiled as the server took their order. "So… ?"
"Ah! I…uh," The Vigilant fidgeted in her seat, and Yuriko chuckled to find the older woman acting like a child with a difficult request. "I wish to ask you to let me…uh, learn from you," she said in a rush.
"Alright."
"Wha–? Really?"
"Sure, I don't mind. But I'm not that good a teacher so…"
"No, no, I will learn! You won't regret it."
"Well, that remains to be seen." Yuriko chuckled. The set arrived and she took a sip of the fragrant tea.
Delicious.