They were on the move the next day. Kennon was right about the bull ant. Two and a half meters tall, and three times that in length it pulled the cart with ease.

  Everything, and every one had been loaded on it. They were making great time. The six legged T3 beast casually pulled the cart faster than they could sprint. And he felt it wasn’t even going full speed.

  Apparently they had let it out to graze when they arrived at the portal.

  It felt weird. Going around without his arms or armor. He knew Bev felt like she was naked without it. He wondered if all adventurers felt that way or if it was simply because they had been through such an ordeal.

  Their traveling companions were thankfully silent. Kennon didn’t know what to say to them. Hermis made it clear that the moment they reached Aithgard they would be leaving. She refused to say where they were going. Only that it was part of the contract.

  They weren’t even going to be walking them inside the gate.

  Because of that Kennon didn’t want to get too comfortable around them. He still wasn’t sure they could trust them. They hadn’t even agreed to share contact information.

  Ever since they could talk to each other with their minds Kennon and Bev had little use for the system's messaging features. And the people that rescued them refused to let themselves be contacted.

  It was annoying. But he figured they would be away from them soon enough. Though he doubted he could trust the people in the city much either.

  With their secrets. Was there anyone they could trust?

  Time seemed to pass quickly. With neither side being too chatty the next week passed in silence. Every day Pico would cast repair on them. He didn’t get any faster. And Kennon was actually surprised when he managed a crude casting in less than two minutes. It was far from perfect. But he wasn’t even trying to be. He didn’t want to experiment too much around these people. Besides, he had to cast the spell on a blade of grass since he couldn’t use it on himself.

  Tutor gave a delightful description of what happened if you used it too many times. And apparently to Tutor learning healing magic meant learning a great deal of biology. So the detailed descriptions of accelerated cellular decay were a little confusing. But there was no way to confuse the statement, “random blood vessels bursting”. And “drowning in your own blood.”

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  At least Kennon’s arm was out of the cast. It was still tender, but it was much better. He wouldn’t want to block beast strikes with it. But just about anything else was fine. And now that they were approaching the city he would be able to cast repair on himself if he wished.

  The city was an interesting thing. A few kilometers from the wall the forest simply stopped, and farms began. The variety of food was startling. And he was certain some of those baby plants were gathering mana. He couldn’t wait to see what alchemy ingredients they had for sale here!

  In the distance he saw the city walls. Smooth stone, as black as night rose more than ten stories in the air. The circular city had watchtowers every half a kilometer on the walls. And the city had to have been five kilometers wide.

  Big enough to blend in indeed.

  The farm land was connected to the city via smooth stone roads that the bull ant covered with ease. Now going almost twice as fast as before.

  The road was interesting. Clearly an application of earth magic. He wondered how often it needed repaired to stay this smooth.

  As they circled the walls they eventually caught sight of the city gate. It was a crude massive thing of thick mana enriched metal. Even a kilometer away he could see the mana coming from it. As they approached they no longer had the road to themselves and had to slow down.

  There were a scattered few at first. Then some more. Then dozens. Now the road was packed with carts on their way in and out of the city. Some small, just one person. Others carrying ten times as much cargo as they were. The line was moving fast. But Kennon could tell that inside it would be absolutely packed.

  As they got closer Hermis said, “I won’t leave till I see you go inside. But after that you are on your own. I suggest you go straight to the adventurers guild. Even if you don’t want to join. They know where everything is. And they will buy your loot at a fair price. Watch out for pick pockets and scammers.”

  As they got closer to the gate Hermis looked like she wanted to say something. But she didn’t speak till it was time for them to get off. She got in close and whispered in their ears so softly Kennon wouldn’t have heard it without enhanced senses.

  “It is not just a contract. I owe the Vonns my life. I hope to see you again. System willing.”

  Then louder she said, “Ok, off you go. It was nice traveling with you.” then motioned for them to get off the cart.

  What did she mean by that? And why did she say it that way? Was she keeping it from her team? If she wanted to see them again then she should have shared her contacts.

  Kennon wasn’t certain he would ever learn the answers. And considering what the system seemed to want from them… System willing indeed.

  Not knowing how to respond, they got off and headed to their welcome party. A member of the city guard.

  He noticed the guard identify them, then a startled look filled his eyes. No doubt he saw their level.

  “Hello sir, madam. Welcome to Aithgard. Is it your first visit?”

  Thank you for sharing my journey. To help me walk it I have a set up. It is 20 chapters ahead and releases at the same time as the Royal Road chapters.

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