The mood in the carriage was a lot better by the time Riverlane came into view. It had large stone walls with guard towers set every couple hundred meters. A large central gate let streams of people and carts into and out of the city.
Riverlane was one of the major cities of the Kingdom of Riote and was a trade hub for all the surrounding regions.
Unlike the Duchy of Guestinore, the Duchy of Riverlane was directly related to the bloodline of the King of Riote, making them in line for the throne.
This meant that they were given more royal favors, such as tax benefits in the city walls.
It was due to this tax haven that Riverlane was the largest center of trade in the kingdom outside of the capital, Lumenex City.
There was also a bit of a family rivalry between the Guestino family and the Eyrial family, the nobles of Riverlane. This was mostly due to the Eyrials viewing the Guestinos as false nobility due to the method they rose to prominence, which was from an Arch Magos defending the kingdom in its youth from a Ravager.
The lack of "pure blood" in their eyes was a frequent cause of conflict, even so far as sanctioning certain trade goods from being sent to Guestinore.
The King of Riote had to intervene on numerous occasions to keep the two families from open war.
As the carriage trundled towards the central gate, Ojero stretched his stiff muscles. They had, unexpectedly, driven through the night. That led to all four of the teens having to sleep on the hardwood of the carriage floor and benches while constantly being jostled by every stone that happened to be under one of the wheels.
In the morning, Ojero had awoken to see Orpham and Jason in a large heap on the floor, both sleeping without a care in the world, while he and Roger seemed exhausted from the constant bouncing.
'I understand we are on a schedule, but could we really not make camp during the night?'
For a couple of hours after that, he and Roger quietly conversed to let the other two get some more sleep. He enjoyed the ability to converse with his friend in semi-seclusion.
Although Orpham and Roger were both boisterous, Ojero felt confident he and Roger had a closer relationship than the two of them. There was just a distance both of them had concerning everyone else that didn't have to be there with each other.
They recognized each other for what they were, and that was all that needed to be said.
They spoke about many things during that morning, from the Academy and what they wanted to accomplish there, to Jason and how interesting it was for him to have a legendary tier gem.
It was strangely cathartic to spend so long talking with the short rogue.
Despite his curiosity, Ojero avoided the topic of Rekira. He felt that Roger would fill him in on why that story was so important to him at some other time, but that wasn't yet here.
He had his secrets, and Ojero wanted to respect his privacy.
By the time the others finally woke up, the top of Riverlane's walls were just barely close enough to be made out.
"Finally! I hope they have garlic here, I want to make a nice soup!"
Roger was greedily rubbing his hands together, most likely plotting how to steal the food already.
'Some things never change…'
Orpham and Jason seemed to have grown closer over the past day, now chatting quietly across from each other.
They seemed to be starting down the road of a good friendship, which didn't surprise Ojero in the slightest. Both of them seemed to be more muscle than brain, both held their morals in high standing and were obsessed with protecting others.
It was actually kind of heartwarming seeing the two so dedicated to the idea of helping those in lower positions.
As they approached the gates, they felt the Magos that was guiding their line of buses walk across the roof of their cabin, a common occurrence by this point.
Ojero didn't know why, but the man seemed to enjoy running along the roof rather than alongside the carriages.
'I suppose everyone has their oddities.'
A few minutes later they heard distant conversations between the Magos and the guards manning the gate before the caravan started moving again into the city walls.
Even though he had been in Riverlane before, how busy it was still boggled Ojero's mind. It was like the city itself was alive, with thousands of sounds and smells coming from every direction.
Houses were built on top of houses, with ramps and staircases crisscrossing all over to give residents access.
Merchants would run up to the windows of the carriages and try and quickly make a sale, waving their goods in front of the future students.
Before too long, Roger had a small stash of miscellaneous goods around his feet, his coin purse having lost not a single coin.
How he managed to swipe that many goods without a single merchant noticing, Ojero didn't know.
Jason seemed even more surprised by Roger's abilities than either of the twins, Ojero and Orpham having grown used to it over their lives.
Eventually, the giant couldn't help but speak up, his tone full of anger.
"How could you do that to all those innocent merchants? You're hurting their ability to earn money! They have families to feed!"
Roger gave him a sideways glance.
"Yeah? Well, I have myself to feed, and today that's more important. If they didn't want their items stolen, they should be more careful with them."
That only seemed to stoke the giant's anger, which surprisingly even seemed to affect Orpham.
"He has a point, Roger. You probably shouldn't steal as much. It was easier to ignore when you were too young to work and had few choices, but you're going to be an Academy student now. In a years time, you will be able to make more money than most of these merchants."
This wasn't the first time Orpham had taken issue with Roger's shenanigans, but it had been a while since he mentioned it. He seemed to have grown used to it with time, but having Jason also point it out reinvigorated his opinions on the matter.
"Oh come on, surely missing a few items won't doom them to starvation! Besides, we are all going to be heroes soon, the least they can do is help us on our journey."
That caused even Ojero to raise an eyebrow.
"You can do better than that Roger. That's a poor excuse, and you know it."
Seeing all three turn on him, Roger rolled his eyes.
"Okay fine, I won't steal any more with you three around. I'll spend my hard-earned money instead."
'Hard-earned? He means the money he stole?'
"You are all a bunch of killjoys…" The thief muttered under his breath, his mood slightly ruined.
Eventually, they rode into the central part of the city where most of the nobles and rich merchants lived. Walls and gates surrounded every property, the truly rich and important having multiple guards standing outside.
They pulled to a stop at a junction in front of arguably the most grand and ostentatious of all the houses. The Magos soon opened the door, his smile almost as bright as the sunlight behind him.
"You guys have about an hour of free time before we set off again, I need to confirm some arrangements with your fellow new students."
Something felt off about the smile, a hidden tensity rested behind it. Ojero recognized it quickly, his father often gave such a smile when there were increasing complications with fellow nobles.
It was the forced levity of politics, the hidden disgust at the power held in the hands of others that was abused for personal gain.
The moment the Magos stepped away, Roger practically flew out of the doorway, leaping over Jason and landing gracefully on the cobbled street, and began running back towards the merchant district.
Jason stepped out next, his large frame once again squeezing through the tight opening. He looked around as if unsure of what to do, before being joined by Orpham.
"Come on, let's take a look around! You want to join Ojero?"
Mulling the decision over for a moment, he ultimately decided to refuse. He would rather spend some much-needed time alone, and maybe catch up on sleep. He still felt the exhaustion of the past day on the road, and the excitement of the day before that.
It somehow felt like it had been weeks since he had proper rest, despite him knowing the truth to be different.
Shrugging, Orpham and Jason quickly left him alone, accepting his decision without attempting to change his mind.
Ojero watched their forms disappear down the street before closing the door.
Leaning back on the bench, Ojero closed his eyes and exhaled deeply.
His brain felt like mush and the numbness of sleep called to him.
He eagerly answered and fell into a deep sleep.