“Only the coachmen know well about the routes, sir. But... they’re all killed by Heylan’s soldiers. I’m afraid none of us can help you,” Rinya said sadly.
Tulu was confused by her words. Back at the Land of Revelation, they asked a random farmer’s help to reach Saint Sem City. But here, Rinya seemed to be someone from the upper class, yet she didn’t know how to travel around?
“Seriously? None of you know how to go to Yamei?” Tulu looked around the cages, and the prisoners all avoided his look.
“Most of them are peasants who never left Sumai Colony in their lives, sir,” Rinya explained. “Please don’t blame them. It can’t be helped.”
“Then what’s the nearest city?” asked Angor.
“Go over that mountain and follow the river behind, you’ll reach Kuroza City. But if I’m not mistaken, it’s already taken by Heylan.”
“Mister Padt, do we head that way?” Tulu looked at Angor.
Angor nodded to agree. No matter who was controlling the city, they just needed to find people and receive more guidance.
Tulu moved around the campsite to unlock all the cages. All the prisoners gathered up behind Rinya, probably because they did consider Rinya as their leader.
“What will you do from now on?” Tulu asked out of curiosity. If Heylan’s soldiers were everywhere, these people were in constant danger no matter where they went.
“There should be an underground sanctuary at Sumai Colony,” said Rinya. “My family always keeps a team of guards to keep it running. I’ll bring my people there to seek safety.”
Tulu nodded. He did feel bad when these people gave him cold shoulders, but they were innocent civilians after all.
Angor pulled Gondola closer and asked Tulu to get on.
Rinya widened her eyes when looking at the fantastic boat. “Are-are you a rumored wizard, sir?”
Angor nodded, not intending to hide this fact. “You heard about wizards before?”
According to Jon’s studies, the entire Goldspink Empire didn’t have any historian or scholar who was curious enough to look at what was beyond Old Earth, and there weren’t any reliable records about wizards.
“I do!” Rinya nodded in excitement. “I heard it from Miss Shannon.”
“Shannon... THE Shannon Clan?” Angor raised an eyebrow.
Grue Town was a remote place in Goldspink, but Angor at least knew the name of the royal clan who was ruling the empire.
“Yes! I was referring to Miss Tavier Shannon, the 7th princess. Can-can you help her, Sir Wizard? Three days ago, we helped her escape from here so that she wouldn’t die with us. She’s out there in the forest right now, I wonder how she’s doing...”
Tulu stepped up and said, “Are you perhaps talking about a pregnant woman who wears something made from beast skin?”
Rinya showed a surprised look. “You’ve seen her?”
“Yeah, she’s that way. You can go and find her on your own if you wish.” Tulu pointed the way. He hated Shannon for leading them to danger, but he still preferred seeing her unborn child safe.
When Tulu climbed onto Gondola and was about to depart, Rinya called to stop him.
“Miss Shannon used to be a student of Goldspink Royal Academy. She’s really good at geography, art, and tactics. She knows how to get to Yamei!”
“What are you implying?” Angor gave Rinya a stern stare.
Rinya knelt on the ground and pleaded, “Please take Miss Shannon away, good sir! You can send her away later if you wish, as long as she’s out of conflict zones. You can take her to Yamei. She mentioned that she once went there to watch Master Megeve’s concert at Waterford. She can show you the way.”
“Shouldn’t you be worried about your own life for now?”
“Miss Shannon is the princess, sir, but Heylan doesn’t know this yet. If they discover her and use her against Goldspink...”
“Alright.” Angor nodded.
Rinya thanked Angor repeatedly and put her head against the floor.
When she looked up again, the flying boat was already outside her view.
...
“Do we have to take her with us, Mister Padt?” Tulu was obviously bothered by it.
“Let’s do it for now. She’s... special.”
Angor made this decision mainly because Rinya mentioned “Megeve’s concert”. Before leaving Old Earth with Mara, it was Angor’s biggest wish to watch the concert together with his brother. Master Megeve was always his childhood idol. The name really brought back old memories.
“Special? She’s just the princess of a mortal nation, big deal...” Tulu muttered.
“Don’t forget you’re still a mortal as well.” Angor chuckled.
“But I’m well on my way to the road of wizardry!”
Tulu pretended that he was confident about his words, but his trembling hand on his Tang Dao proved his anxiety.
“You know, my father used to speak highly of the rulers of Goldspink, saying that they always came up with splendid policies to benefit our people. As his son, I grew up to like the royalties as well.” Angor decided to find an excuse to comfort Tulu.
Although Tulu didn’t seem convinced.
Angor sighed in frustration. “I always thought Heylan didn’t have what it takes to achieve a thorough invasion, and Goldspink will chase them back sooner or later. But now... I don’t know what happened to the war.”
They soon arrived at the simple campfire, where Shannon was nibbling on a piece of fruit. With Angor’s coat, she wasn’t trembling in the cold and could now show the etiquette of a royal member with her careful moves.
“What a princess you are. Even out here, you still keep your manners!” Tulu’s voice reached her ears.
The woman looked at Tulu cautiously but without showing her knife this time.
“Guess what, your nice little plan worked out. I ‘helped’ you kill all the Heylan soldiers and rescued the villagers,” Tulu spoke while observing Shannon’s expressions. The woman was both glad to hear that her people were safe and a little nervous about getting her trick revealed.
“I admit it. That’s my intention all along. And I’m sorry. Did you come back to execute me or something?” Shannon dropped her half-eaten meal. “By fooling a mighty wizard, I know there’s no other way than death. I deserve it. But I’m begging you to wait for a few days before killing me. My child... He’s innocent.”
“Nah, we won’t kill you.” Angor shook his head. “We just need you to lead the way. Properly.”
...
A moment later, Gondola got an extra passenger in its small cabin. Angor put Shannon in there so that she wouldn’t have to suffer from the cold wind in the sky.
With Shannon on board, they could now travel at Gondola’s top speed instead of looking for people randomly.
It seemed Shannon wasn’t much of a talker. Since she came onto the boat, she never said any extra words other than what was necessary to tell the next direction.
Tulu frowned. “Why do we have to find a princess to tell where to go? I mean, it’s fine if the peasants are clueless, but that landlord lady didn’t know anything either. Back at the Land of Revelation, everyone knows where they’re going.”
“This is common in Goldspink, where common civilians are usually forbidden from possessing maps. To find ways to travel around, you either ask experienced carriage handlers or nobility who are authorized to view the maps.”
“But why would they do such a thing?”
“Because Goldspink is, let’s say, behind the times. In fact, every nation at Old Earth is similar. Since you’re from Ferran, I can come up with a good example. Consider Old Earth to be a place from the Age of Gold.”
When traveling at Ferran, Angor saw machinery and simple technologies that originated from the Fey Continent.
But here at Old Earth, even clocks were luxuries.
Even paper was a rare sight at Old Earth because the old-fashioned noble clans still insisted on using expensive parchment scrolls to record knowledge, which in turn resulted in poor education among civilians.
Angor’s father once mentioned that the Shannon Clan always planned to implement the use of modern paper, but the plan was put to a halt when the other clans turned it down, saying that “old parchment held all of their ancestors’ wisdom and they’d like to keep using it in the future”.
Previously, Angor wouldn’t mind which type of medium to read because he’d gladly accept either as long as the contents were fine. But later, he preferred reading modernized paper books since they always looked tidier and easier to keep.
“Are you from the Goldspink Empire, Mister Wizard?” Shannon suddenly asked a question from the cabin.
“Mm-hmm.”
“You’re definitely not a commoner. May I ask which clan you came from? The Morns?”
The Morn Family was the first name that came to her mind when she thought about Yamei Province. Also, she heard rumors that the Morn Family had a powerful wizard among their rank, which was the reason why nobody ever showed any disrespect against them.
“No, I’m not a Morn, but I did work with them once,” Angor said as he recalled his days with Mara, Alan, and Aleen.