SB: Chapter 221 – Departure From Moonwood City

AN: Delete me.

***

“Good news, Justin,” I looked at the Elvish captain. We were scheduled to depart with a caravan slash prisoner exchange. Several merchants of other races were being held in the city.

It was the day after we had arrived, and we were scheduled to travel with them to a neutral exchange point this afternoon. “The Governor approved a magical carriage for a more rapid departure, but we would require a large payment to set some seats aside for you and your team. You will be taken to the coast to a trade ship,” the Captain said.

“Would ten thousand orange Mana cores be enough?” I asked. I wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible.

“Yes, that would be more than enough to cover any expenses,” the Captain said. I nodded at that and pulled out a pouch of Mana cores and handed them over. “Get ready in an hour, that is when the magical carriage will be ready.”

“Thank you, Captain. Your hospitality and the Governor’s has been more than enough. I was worried that the neutrality of the Adventurer’s Guild would be tested, but I was wrong. I can gladly say that I don’t plan to participate in this conflict,” I said.

“That is good to here. The neutrality of adventurers is very important to us. Please spread word about this,” he replied and I nodded. The Captain left and I looked at my two teammates. We were just finishing up breakfast in the common eatery. There were only two other elvish adventurers in the dining hall. Compared to the Adventurer’s Guilds in human territory this place was practically dead.

“That’s great. We can finally leave here,” Lanner said.

“Well, let’s finish up and get to the waiting area for the magical carriage. I don’t want to miss our travel arrangements,” I said.

Thankfully we were mostly packed up. I got on my armor, since we would be outside the Adventurer’s Guild. Better to be properly equipped if something happened.  We showed up to the departure point early. I noted a dwarven merchant was there as well, arguing with the Elvish captain.

“I have business that I need to get to. You held us here for weeks and this caravan will be too slow. I want to arrange a trip on the magical carriage,” the dwarven merchant said. I could tell he was a merchant from his clothing with gold and silver with fine threading. The level of his clothing didn’t match his level of strength if he were an adventurer. I also noted he had a dwarven guard standing and looking bored behind him.

“Like I explained, the adventurers paid an extra fee for the magical carriage and we don’t want any trouble with the Adventurer’s Guild or its members,” the elvish Captain said with an exasperated look. Clearly they had been arguing for a while.

“Time is money. It isn’t my fault you won’t accept a bank draft from the Unified Dwarven Bank. That is better than gold,” the dwarf complained. He then turned and looked at my team.

“Adventurer, let me buy some Mana cores off you, so I can pay for an expediated travel fee to get on the magical carriage out of here,” the dwarven merchant said.

“Would that be okay?” I asked the elvish Captain. He let out a sigh.

“It would be the same rate that is being charged for your team,” he said.

“I paid 10,000 orange cores, mostly from the 13th layer. That would be about a platinum at the high end,” I said.

“More than acceptable. I will write a bank draft for a platinum. You can turn it in at any Unified Dwarven Bank,” he said. His guard held a large book and opened it. The dwarven merchant began filling out a complicated looking piece of paper with his name and the amount, date, and reason for the transaction.

“Good as money?” I asked.

“Yes. The ink and built in enchantment is a product of modern dwarven craft to prevent counterfeiting. Otherwise, it would be too much of a hassle to carry large amounts of coinage around for business. Unfortunately, these elves don’t understand business,” he said with a huff.

“And as you have been repeatedly been told, the city of Moonwood does not recognize the Unified Dwarven Bank,” the elvish Captain said.

“Well, it won’t be my problem anymore,” the dwarf said. He finished filling out the bank draft and held it out to me. I carefully took it and looked it over. I didn’t know anything about this Unified Dwarven Bank, but I was getting a premium for my Mana cores, which was more than acceptable.

I handed over the preprepared pouch to the dwarven merchant who practically shoved it to the elven Captain. “There, now we have spots on a magical carriage as well,” the dwarf said. I ducked the document into my clothing.

“Your contribution to the war effort is appreciated,” the elven Captain said and left.

“I am Garth Stoneskin and this is my personal guard, Yor Stoneskin,” he said.

“Justin, and my companions Lanner, and Wild Tail. My pet Ozy,” I said.

“A pleasure. Thank you for your help. This entire city has been one loss after another. You would think the elves would want some proven dwarven engineering,” he said.

“They don’t want dwarven weapons?” I asked.

“No, even at incredibly reasonable rates. I was even willing to give them a substantial discount. But no, they seized my goods and didn’t even pay cost. I lost money. No sense of business or war. Then they locked down the city to prevent spying or sabotage. Complete bollocks. I swear I am never coming to another elvish city after this disaster,” he said.

“That is unfortunate,” I replied.

“Hmmpf. Well that’s why you can never trust an elf. Thought they would want to fight the Reforged Eldarin Empire, but everyone is going to hear about this. Mark my words. I am going to file an official complaint when I get back. Practically theft and then they kept me here, not even arranging a rapid departure,” he said with a huff. I noted that his guard had a spatial pouch with him that the bank book had been put away in.

“Well, I just want to get back to the College and my companions, also want to get back there,” I said.

“The College of Advancement? You a graduate?”

“Yes. But we can talk about my placement another time,” I said.

“Hmm, I see. Justin was it. No worries. I will make sure we get the best ship once we get to port. Some people recognize the Unified Dwarven Bank, unlike others,” he said with a huff. My Danger Sense was increasing slowly. I frowned at this and looked around.

Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. There could be a lot of factors. A legend passing nearby or something similar. I didn’t think too much of it. The magical carriage then pulled up. My Danger Sense increased a small fraction.

“Finally. We have been wasting too much time,” Garth Stoneskin said.

“Give me a moment, I would like to inspect the internal implosion engine,” I said and made my way over to the magical carriage. Something was off. I had learned not to ignore my Danger Sense.

“Can you open up the engine compartment?” I asked the elven driver.

“Sir, that would be improper,” the driver said.

“I just want to confirm there are no issues. I have experience with magical carriages,” I said.

“What seems to be the problem?” the elvish Captain came over and asked.

“He wants to inspect the engine,” the driver said. The Captain looked at me.

“I think there might be an issue. I just want to check. I have some experience with internal implosion engines,” I said.

“Just let him look, so we can get going,” Garth Stoneskin said.

“Fine. Just looking, open it,” the elvish Captain said. The driver appeared incredibly nervous as he opened up the engine compartment. I looked carefully over the internal implosion engine.

“What’s that? It appears that the main fuel line is loose,” I said. That was why my Danger Sense was triggering. It was picking up on the Mana. Everyone came over and took a look at where I was pointing.

It was likely that the magical carriage would have broken down partway through our trip and we would have lost most of our fuel if the line broke. “Quickly, fix it,” the elvish Captain said. The driver nodded and pulled out a tool kit, tightening the connection.

“Good catch. I am glad someone knows their dwarven engineering,” Garth Stoneskin said.

“I had a good teacher. And it was leaking Mana. My Danger Sense skill is maximized,” I replied.

“Even maximized, not many people would notice something like that and know what the problem was. If you are ever looking for work, my Stoneskin Corporation would be more than happy to pay you,” Garth Stoneskin said.

“I appreciate the offer, but I plan to stay an adventurer,” I replied.

“Hmm, understandable. You clearly are experienced,” Garth Stoneskin said as the elvish driver finished tightening the connection. My Danger Sense dipped but not as much as before.

I couldn’t tell where it was coming from. Probably just a passing legend or some elites. I got in the magical carriage with my team and the dwarves. It was a bit cramped, with Lanner sitting on the side of the dwarves with Wild Tail and myself sitting on the other side.

The magical carriage took off. “One of the older models. The suspension system isn’t that great,” Garth Stoneskin complained as the magical carriage bounced occasionally.

“I would say it would be the dirt roads,” I said.

“Hah, good point. The elves don’t know one thing about proper infrastructure. Roads are the lifeline of any civilization for trade and business,” Garth Stoneskin said.

My Danger Sense was slowly increasing still despite exiting the boarders of Moonwood City. There was no wall around the city. But if there was a legend or other elites protecting the city, they should be at the edge.

“Stand ready, my Danger Sense is increasing,” I said.

“What?” Garth Stoneskin asked.

“My Danger Sense is only increasing. Lanner get a wand out,” I said while I drew my blade carefully and set it on my lap.

“Yor, stand ready,” Garth Stoneskin said. The dwarven guard nodded and got a large hammer and shield ready.

The minutes went by and my Danger Sense wasn’t decreasing. “Still increasing?” Garth asked.

“Yes,” I said.

“I can detect something,” Yor spoke up in a rumbly voice.

“Not good. Not good,” Garth muttered as the tension continued to increase.

There were multiple reasons why my Danger Sense could be increasing. But the most logical one was that the elves had figured out my background. They wouldn’t risk targeting me in the Adventurer’s Guild and breaking its neutrality.

They were going to ambush me on the trip and claim elven rebels or some other nonsense to use me against my father. That was why the magical carriage had been sabotaged to provide deniability.

We were quickly reaching the point where the fuel line would have probably broken. My Danger Sense was reaching dangerous territory. Whatever the elves had planned, they were going to go all out. They might have even called a legend to participate. The Captain probably didn’t know, but the driver knew if his reactions were anything to go by.

I switched my blade to my offhand and used my free hand to quickly begin drawing runes in the air. Garth and Yor didn’t say anything or interrupt me. Lanner and Wild Tail clutched their weapons tighter.

This fight would be my most difficult one yet. The elves would likely have a team to try and capture me along with several elites or possibly a legend. I wasn’t going to make it easy for them to take me alive.