Waking up the next morning earlier than expected, I contemplated heading back to sleep. I was curious whether it was possible to get a storage ring large enough to store a bed like this.

  Getting up, I made sure I had collected everything. We’d be heading to the capital today, and to the meeting with the King, and I was really hoping it all went well because I didn’t want to rush out of the capital straight away like some of the past cities.

  I have had dreams about visiting the capital as a powerful warrior and being a hero to the people. This time just felt very real, not knowing what was going to happen.

  As I opened the door, I saw Hari, his hand just about to knock, standing in front of me.

  “That was unexpected, but great. You’re awake. Come down for breakfast; we’ll be heading off within the hour,” Hari said. He had been in a great mood since coming to the inn.

  Breakfast was a quiet affair. We were the only group down here eating at this time. Wyatt served a delicious meal of fried eggs, fresh rolls, and ground meat that he called sausage meat.

  I was actually really disappointed that I didn’t have time to find out how to make it. It tasted amazing. It was fairly salty, but there was a strong pepper taste to it as well, but neither overpowered the buvul.

  Once we were done, I saw Hari and Wyatt saying their goodbyes before, once again, Hari was encased in a bear hug from the man.

  Soon he came by and shook my hand.

  “It’s a pleasure meeting you, Trev. A friend of Hari’s always has a place in my home. You’re welcome anytime. Oh, and if you ever want brewing lessons, I’m happy to help—heard you have a little something on the go already,” he said.

  “Thank you. It was a lot of fun here, and I will take you up on your offer when we come back through!” I responded.

  Heading outside and to the stables, I saw the three Royal Guards were there, having a discussion with Milo that I couldn’t help but overhear.

  “I thank you for your offer, but we do not need, nor do we want, an escort to the capital. I have to insist that you keep your distance,” Milo said firmly.

  “If you’re sure,” Artour said, bowing slightly, before walking off.

  “All good?” I asked.

  Milo just waved me off. “It’s fine. I think they just want to be the ones who walk you into the capital, but they won’t cause any issues.”

  I looked behind me to make sure they were at least out of sight.

  “They are real royal guards, right? Not just people pretending to be?” I whispered.

  Milo chuckled. “Yes, they are real. The easiest way to tell is their chest armour. There is a magic seal there that both binds that chest piece to the individual user, but also gives off a unique mana signature for the royal house.”

  Milo walked into the stable. “Come on, Trev, we need that wagon!”

  Jogging to catch up, I moved to the clearing in the centre of the stables before pulling out the wagon.

  This simple action, despite knowing what was going to happen, still surprised and amused me, just knowing I could store it.

  As I climbed in back to bring the barrels back out, Milo was already bringing over the horses to hook them up.

  “Uh, Milo, out of interest, on the way to the capital do you think it’s possible to complete some of the Arcane Foraging quests?” I asked.

  I didn’t think I’d be able to get the three rare items done, not unless I got very lucky, and finding carcasses didn’t really seem like the direction I wanted to take it, but the eel buffs gave me an ability called Mana Sight. So I wondered if I could unlock a permanently on version of Arcane Foraging from the time quest?

  He seemed to think about it. “I’m not sure which ones we could actually complete. After your recent run-in with mana issues, I’m very hesitant to suggest you take mana potions all day, and I don’t really know if you’ll find rare items on the way.”

  Appearing from around the wagon, Jen said, “It shouldn’t be too bad if we give him low-quality mana potions, though. He’ll just need to monitor his mana, try to keep it around half rather than topping it off fully constantly.”

  “I suppose it could work, but I’m just hesitant, especially with a certain cat being particularly protective right now. I don’t want to be the one she blames,” Milo said with a laugh.

  Soon everyone came out of the inn, making their way into the stables.

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  Both Darren and George had clearly got a new set of armour that actually fit, as they were both sporting a hard leather set, actually looking like guards now.

  I couldn’t help but make a small joke at their expense. “Look at you two! You look like you might be able to fight now,” I grinned.

  George just looked at Darren. “I think he’s challenging us to a duel. That’s what you heard, right?”

  Darren nodded, and even Crisplet burst into sparks.

  “Traitor!” I said before falling into laughter.

  “So when are you getting the chef hat?” George asked with a grin.

  “When you beat me in level!” I said, mounting Sable.

  “No fair!” George grumbled, mounting his own horse, as Darren took the wagon again.

  The ride out of the city was uneventful. Nobody stopped us, and despite some concerns from Milo, we were not being followed—well, not obviously anyway—and we made it onto the road before most of the city had properly risen for the day.

  “How far is the capital from here?” I asked curiously.

  “Three days? Roughly. These roads, the wagon can move a lot faster, but sometimes you can get stuck behind lots of farmers who are heading to the capital to sell their wares,” Jen said.

  I pulled out the small journal. I really wanted to read some of the text, maybe uncover some of the mystery behind this Morlin?

  Reading through the first few pages, it sounded almost as if a bard were telling a tale:

  The cavern seemed barren; I very nearly believed it. Walking past the stone cavern walls, stone gave way to motion as the Giant Grack revealed itself—a master of patience, against the master of arcane.

  Barbed tentacles unfurling from the walls like a crown of hooks, the beast’s beak snapped forth in an attempt to catch me off guard. Steel and spell answered. Flame ripped its camouflage away, revealing the hideous creature—one that I had been walking next to for some way, unknowingly walking into a trap that would have had any other adventurer killed.

  Echoes of our clash rang out like music against the stone, the cries of the beast a choir to my ears before it eventually fell.

  A rather disappointing result, as the creature’s carcass turned to stone before my eyes.

  Next time, I will remove the beak while it is still alive.

  This creature sounded terrifying. The one after was just as bad. It went into a description of what it did to the villagers. It was known as a Marrow, a large monstrosity that lived in the water and occasionally preyed on villages by the water.

  The creature enjoyed tormenting its prey and tricking others into its trap by having individuals appear to be drowning to lure people to the water in an effort to save them.

  It was honestly the stuff of nightmares, and this was the start of the journal. Just how much did this Morlin encounter?

  ***

  A day had passed on the road. The night before, we had a very simple dinner. Hari had heard about the encounter with the royals and didn’t want to take the chance, thinking they might turn up unannounced.

  That didn’t happen, but we got a surprise on the second day as we travelled. Up ahead there were two wagons, both pulled off the road slightly, but as we approached, we saw a familiar face.

  Colin appeared to be with four farmers who looked to be trying to repair a wagon wheel.

  “Hello again!” he called happily.

  Hari waved. “Need a hand?”

  Colin beamed. “Absolutely. They were kind enough to offer me a ride until they turn off, but I think the extra weight was too much for the poor old wagon.”

  Hari jumped down from his horse, and between Hari’s strength and Milo’s magic, they had the wheel repaired and back on the wagon, now looking like an almost natural fusion of stone and wood.

  “That won’t last forever, so be sure to replace it when you get back home,” Milo instructed the old farmer, who was thanking him profusely.

  I saw Colin head to Hari, whispering something.

  Hari looked over. “Fine, but the same as before.”

  Colin looked happy over whatever Hari allowed, and I quickly figured it out as he took a seat on the wagon next to Darren as we moved again.

  The look on Jen’s face, however, showed she did not approve.

  “Everything okay?” I asked curiously.

  She just held her finger to her lips.

  I went back to reading. Today I was working on the history books I got. It was fairly dull, at least the Events That Formed the Kingdom was. It seemed to really focus on the visit and gift of feathers from the phoenix hundreds of years ago, which was seen as blessing the family and their rule.

  Those feathers were held in the treasury until the Phoenix blacksmith came to be, and on learning he needed to work on armour and weapons with an infusion of phoenix feather, it was seen as destiny and he began to work for the royal family eighty years ago.

  Since then, the royal family has had a stranglehold on all phoenix feathers that are found, with a decree that they are to be sold to the royal family only.

  “Do they really pay fair amounts for the feathers?” I asked Jen and Liane.

  Jen nodded slowly. “Sort of. I mean they pay a lot, over a hundred gold per feather; however, it’s not a fair market, since no one else can buy.”

  “And the smith needs to use a whole feather in every item he makes?” I said in disbelief. That must be incredibly difficult to work with.

  Jen laughed. “No, not a whole feather. He just needs a part of it. Perhaps a whole feather resides in the King’s armour and weapons, but for his family, and certainly his extended family, there would be a tiny sliver of feather in their items.”

  “What do they gain from it?” I asked curiously.

  “That we are not sure of. It’s a pretty closely guarded secret; however, a few reckless distant cousins have let it slip they have a certain affinity to fire, and even their warriors tend to have access to some fire spells,” Jen added.

  Looking up front, I saw Colin was in conversation with Milo on the wagon, Darren now riding on Milo’s horse.

  “What are the chances of me cooking dinner tonight?” I asked curiously.

  Jen frowned. “I don’t know, but I am looking forward to having words with Hari.”

  “No chance of doing the Foraging though now,” I said, feeling a little sad about it.

  Jen shook her head. “Not necessarily. We only need nine hours, so there is no reason we couldn’t stop earlier than normal, and you do it tonight. It might be better that way, since we’d be able to watch you properly. Wait here with Liane. I’m going to go talk to Hari.”

  And just like that, Jen rode off to the front as Liane pulled up alongside me.

  “Hari is in so much trouble,” she giggled.

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