The Fusionist Book 2 -- Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The rest of the trip south over the next few days was unfortunately super awkward and incredibly boring. The group of 5 SIC members acted as if no one else in the cargo hold existed, but they were still present enough that Larek wouldn’t be able to do any Fusions or have Nedira teach him any spells – especially with how they reacted to seeing Rheina’s bracer. As they helped to unload supplies at a couple of towns and once a much larger city even bigger than Peratin where Crystalview Academy had been located, he was able to briefly talk to his friends without anyone overhearing, but no one had an explanation for what had occurred.

“It was extremely strange how that woman just stopped being interested in the Fusion like that,” Nedira mentioned.

“Does anyone have an idea why they are doing this? It’s almost as if they are afraid of saying or doing something that could cause problems.” Larek knew all about what that looked like, as he used to do it himself when he first really went out into the world.

“That’s a good interpretation of how they’re acting,” Verne agreed. “But that still doesn’t explain why.”

Unfortunately, they didn’t learn anything more over the next 5 days as they traveled to the capital city of Andrin, as they basically slept half the time or exchanged small talk along their journey. The morning they made it to the city, it took almost an hour for them to get inside and arrive at their final destination, which told Larek that the capital city was much larger than any he’d ever seen before.

With his first sight of the city as soon as he stepped out of the carriage, he wasn’t disappointed. In every direction were buildings, buildings, and more buildings, and the only reason he could see past them was because they were in an extremely large courtyard that he estimated was a little over 1,000 feet in diameter. With it located on a gentle rise in the landscape among the city, he was able to look out in just about every direction except for directly behind where he had emerged, which he immediately identified as south according to the sun.

For as far as he could see, there were structures blanketing his view in a myriad of different colors, shapes, and sizes. Some he identified as houses, including some massive mansions like the ones he saw in the Nobles quarter back in Peratin, but the majority of the ones he saw appeared to be single-family or residential buildings similar to the one in Rushwood back home. The rest he figured were some sort of businesses, though he was too far away to tell for sure.

At the edge of his vision, to the north, east, and west, he could made out an extremely tall stone wall that he estimated was at least 100 feet tall, or perhaps even taller; as they were so far away, he couldn’t say if there was anyone on top of them, but he wouldn’t be surprised if there were. Given the sheer size of the wall, he expected that they must’ve had thousands of defenders that were part of the SIC, and he couldn’t even imagine attempting to repel an attack by a powerful Scission in the biggest city in the Kingdom.

To the south was another wall, but it was much closer and prevented him from seeing further past the extensive compound they had been dropped-off within. Looking around, he could see dozens of different Network carriages either parked near storage warehouses or moving around, all pulled by the same sort of Canniks that pulled the carriages they had traveled with to get there.

“Copperleaf Academy transfer students?”

Larek turned around to see a woman holding a clipboard similar what he’d seen some of the Professors using back at Crystalview. She was taller than most, at nearly 6 feet, and she was most definitely not from the Kingdom with her pale white skin and long, shiny black hair, where half of it was tied up in a bun on top of her head. She was wearing a dark-grey dress that cut off just below her knees, and she was wearing a pair of what appeared to be thick-soled black shoes that shone just like her hair.

“Yes, that’s us,” Nedira answered for the group. Larek and his friends were currently mingling with the other students that had departed the carriages, as they were at a loss of where to do. As for Rheina and Crester, as well as the veteran SIC members that had traveled with them over the last few days, they had taken off almost immediately, with the former at least telling them goodbye.

“Great! It’s a good thing that you were able to get in early today, because we already have your carriages ready for transport to Copperleaf Academy,” the woman continued, marking something off on her clipboard with a pencil, similar to the ones that Larek just noticed were stuck through her bun.

“We’re leaving today?” Nedira asked with audible annoyance. Larek understood immediately; he could tell that everyone was frankly tired of traveling, and just wanted to at least stay overnight in some comfort.

“Oh, yes! We have a timetable to keep, and we can’t afford to disrupt the schedule more than it already is with your arrival!” Whoever this woman was seemed inordinately excited about telling them they couldn’t rest.

“Ugh. Fine. Let’s just get it over with,” Nedira grumbled. Looking at Verne and Norde, he could tell they felt the same way; the last few days had been rough for them with the SIC members nearby that acted like they weren’t even there, as they didn’t feel like they could talk about what they wanted while they were sure to be observed.

Larek hadn’t cared about not being to talk, of course, but not being able to freely create Fusions when he had the time and opportunity had annoyed him thoroughly. Now it seemed as though he wouldn’t have any time again as they were about to leave for Copperleaf Academy.

“Right this way, students. Please, follow me,” the woman in the dress said, looking up from her clipboard and apparently seeing Larek for the first time as her eyes widened. Instead of being annoyed or angry at his appearance, she smiled at him as her eyes roamed up and down, like she was sizing him up for an outfit or something.

Larek suddenly felt a hand on his arm and he looked down to see Nedira next to him. “It looks like we’re going to be traveling immediately again,” she said, which he thought was unnecessary because he had just heard that from the woman with the clipboard. As he nodded, he looked up and saw the aforementioned woman turning around with a swish of her dress as she led the way toward their new vehicles.

“I know. Hopefully we’ll have some private time to ourselves at some point along the journey,” he said, even as he began to follow the other students who were following their guide.

“I would definitely like that, too,” Nedira agreed.

Larek heard Verne and Norde chuckle for a moment and he peered around to see what they were getting into, but they were looking away. He didn’t see anything, so he turned back to their relatively short walk across the courtyard to where a pair of carriages awaited them.

“Now, the accommodations are going to be a little tight, but fortunately most of you are small enough that it should be fine,” the woman with the clipboard said as soon as she stopped them in front of the first carriage. “For those of you who are a little larger,” the woman continued, looking directly at Larek, “it won’t be nearly as comfortable, but if anyone who might fit that criteria wants to stay overnight, I think I can find another transport in the morning.”

“No, I think we’re all fine. We can manage even if we’re a little squished,” Nedira immediately responded. Larek nodded, as he didn’t want to be separated from the main group; he still felt responsible for overseeing that they arrived at Copperleaf as safe and sound as possible.

“Are you sure?”

Nedira seemed taken aback at the question. “Uh, yes, we’re sure.”

“Fine. Have a safe trip!” the woman said with a last brief look at Larek before stomping off in a different direction.

“That was odd. Anyway, let’s see what this is all about,” he said, gesturing toward a couple of people wearing clothing that he now recognized as belonging to the SIC Transportation Network.

It turned out that they weren’t going to be stashed in the cargo hold this time, as they were completely full of supplies for the trip south toward Copperleaf. They were the only passengers along for the ride, but that still meant that an area meant for a max of 20 adults needed to fit more than 60 students along with Larek.

“I’m sorry, but you’re probably going to have to sit on the floor,” the driver apologized, ushering them onto the carriage. As soon as he stepped inside, following all the other students, he realized why the driver mentioned the floor – because the students were sitting hip to hip along four long, padded benches set up along the passenger cabin, leaving the only spot for someone of his size being the floor. He shrugged and sat down with his back along the rear wall, which he knew separated them from the cargo hold.

It wasn’t comfortable by any means, especially once they began to move and he could feel the bumps and other movements along the road more than in the cargo hold. Regardless of his comfort, he knew that there was no way he’d be able to do anything he wanted during the rest of the trip with all the other students there. Even if he were willing to demonstrate his abilities with Fusions, he didn’t think he’d ever have enough focus to completely block out the conversations of around 30 ten-year-olds who didn’t seem to know how to regulate their speaking voices for enclosed spaces.

Nedira was at least sitting next to him – on the bench, of course – and she helped pass the time by chatting with him, though he could barely hear her over the incredible noise coming from the other students. Verne and Norde were next to her, having their own conversation that he also couldn’t hear, and Larek suddenly wished his Listening Skill wasn’t as high as it was currently; he had difficulty separating different people talking all at the same time, because his Skill wanted to enhance his sense of hearing so that he could hear them all. After a while, he stopped trying and closed his eyes, just waiting for the torturous journey to be over.

It took a total of 6 full days of constant, ear-splitting conversations and what seemed like much bumpier roads than their journey to the capital before they finally arrived. Larek had needed to use his Healing Surge Fusion a few times along the way as he got more than a few headaches from the sound and pains in his back from sitting on the hard, bumpy floor, but it was more than worth it. Along the way, they were fed at different intervals throughout the day, typically as they stopped by a town or city to drop off supplies, and he was glad of the opportunity to get up, stretch his muscles, and walk around. Even with stopovers of a few hours, it was never enough to make him feel satisfied, and he was beginning to become irritable by the end.

“Larek, we’re here.”

He nearly snapped at Verne who shook him awake out of the daze he had been in over the last few hours of travel, but he caught himself. The simple thought that they had finally arrived at their destination after what was approximately 2 weeks of constant travel, starting with the caravan where they had been attacked by Bog Goblins, and then multiple Transportation Network carriages with different levels of comfort, was enough to banish most of his irritability.

When they finally stopped he followed the rest of the students outside of the passenger cabin, stretching as he stood on solid, unmoving ground again. When he finally looked around, he found that they were in another large city; unlike Peratin, which was basically built into the side of a mountain, this one seemed to be surrounded by forests. In the distance, past the trees, were small mountains that created what appeared to be a U-shaped border with the opening likely where they had just come from. From his vantage point, which was a much smaller courtyard than the one in the capital, he thought that the city was larger than Peratin but not nearly as large as Andrin.

“Welcome to Thanchet, home of Copperleaf Academy and Fort Pinevalley!”

Again, they were greeted when they arrived, but this time instead of a woman with a clipboard, it was a woman dressed in a black robe with 8 different-colored stripes along the sleeves. A Professor, at least, but based on the colored stripes, it might also be the—

“My name is Dean Lorraine and I’m here to escort you to where you’ll be staying,” she continued, smiling at everyone – including Larek, which he took as a good sign. What was an even better sign, as far as he was concerned, was that the woman reminded him of his old Mana and You: Basic Mana Usage class, Professor Kincaid. Standing a little under 6 feet tall, she had pale skin – not quite as pale as the woman back in the capital, but close – and long, nearly white hair, which freely hung down her back. Her bright blue eyes sparkled as she looked out at the assembled students, which Larek thought was a good sign until he remembered how friendly Dean Wilburt had been to all of the new students, too. He decided to stay wary of the new Dean before he found out more about her, at least for now.

As the started to move out after the Dean instructed them to follow, he looked around at the carriage behind him, bidding it good riddance.  Stretching his legs, for the first time Larek started to consider how different this new Academy would be compared to Crystalview. He hadn’t exactly hated his old Academy, as there were things that were great about it…

…and, of course, things that he disliked.

Overall, he was looking forward seeing what kinds of Fusions he could learn without getting in trouble for overreaching. Either that, or he’d end up dead because they found out about his Martial stats and couldn’t handle the unknown.

Should be a fun rest of the year.

Book 2 Chapter 18: https://www.patreon.com/posts/fusionist-book-2-82302392