Chapter 111:Border town.
They moved quickly through the capital’s teleportation hub. It was far larger and stricter.
Guards there were sharper, while Aether manipulators were stationed at every interval, watching for any disturbance.
Lilith was tense as she moved through the hallways, her gaze occasionally moving to Atheline then back to the front.
She would occasionally slow when his breathing pattern changed, but Atheline’s reassuring gaze would snap her out of her obsession.
Her fingers tightened around his as though trying to reassure herself.
"Don’t slow."
"I’m not," Atheline answered almost immediately.
Lilith didn’t seem to believe him, how could she when the poison was circulating faster?
The second teleportation circle came into view. This one led to the border city.
This was their second-to-last teleportation location. The most dangerous one at that, because if anything went wrong there would be nowhere left to go.
Crossing the border into the third kingdom would not be hard but getting to the beach in time would prove to be a problem.
While the third kingdom was small, it didn’t mean travelling by carriage would be shorter, it would take two weeks to get to their destination at their highest speed.
Unless Lilith risks teleporting them.
She leaned closer to him, her voice barely a whisper.
"When we get there, we don’t stop."
He nodded.
"Agreed."
Her eyes softened, just slightly, then hardened again.
"It’s our turn." He said quietly.
The mages were pointing at them since they were the only ones going to such a remote part of the kingdom. He pulled her towards the second platform.
The circle activated magic patterns lighting up as they connected.
The light began to rise, swallowing them whole.
They were spat into cold air, unlike the other hubs which were lavishly built. The building around them seemed to be barely standing, a true sign of neglect.
They had finally arrived at the border town a few minutes before noon.
Brodel border town, that was what it had been named.
It was a town built for survival rather than comfort unlike the other cities.
Stone and timber buildings squeezed together, their walls reinforced with old magical spells that had been broken and repaired over and over again.
Watchtowers rose around the perimeter, unevenly placed. It was clear from the remnants that most of the towers had been destroyed by something.
Beyond the wall, nothing remarkable, just a stretch of empty field that led to a dense forest that spelled disaster.
Lilith took it in a single sweep of her gaze.
"This place looks war torn than the last time I visited, " she murmured, only for his ears.
Atheline glanced at the almost dead town.
"It seems they get attacked by both beasts and humans, it’s a border town after all."
Unlike the capital, there was no one watching the circle. They walked outside to find what looked like a clerk half asleep by the door.
Their footsteps startled him out of his sleep. His drooping eyes gazed up at them.
"I can’t believe it... " We have visitors, " he said his tone carrying disbelief.
"Don’t you get any?" Atheline asked his curiosity piqued.
"We used to, until the beast attacks became too frequent for most to visit, " he answered.
A small sigh escaped him.
"Can you activate the teleportation then," Atheline went directly to the topic," We would like to go to Pelican."
Pelican was the capital of the third kingdom. The man let out a heavy exhale. He leaned back on his chair his fingers tapping the desk lightly.
"You’ll have to wait for two hours, " he said quietly, " the Aether manipulators who control the portal have gone home... they’re tired after not working the whole morning."
The sarcasm in his voice wasn’t unnoticed.
Atheline and Lilith looked at each other in confusion.
"We should get breakfast, " he quietly said only for Lilith’s ears.
He wasn’t used to starving himself for too long and he didn’t want Lilith to compromise more than she already had.
"Okay."
Atheline glanced down at the man.
"Can you tell us where to find them?"
He maintained his gaze.
"Who?"
"The Aether manipulators."
"Ooh... you’ll find them at Fiona’s tavern, a little down the street."
"Thank you."
He passed him a gold coin. The man’s mood visibly improved. He didn’t even bother to check their documents or even teleportation credentials as procedure.
The streets were already active but not bustling with overjoyed activities like the normal towns.
This one was more tense, repressed even.
Blacksmiths hammered at reinforced weapons. Traders unloading crates stamped both with elven and human markings.
Hunters dragging carcasses that clearly looked like beasts.
"They’re gathering supplies, " Lilith said quietly.
Atheline nodded. Both their gazes went to the forest that loomed over the town casting its shadow on it.
"It seems beasts attack this town frequently."
She nodded.
"There might be a beast tide coming soon," she said.
It came to Atheline that the officer who gave them their tokens had also told them that.
Atheline noticed that conversations dipped whenever they passed by almost like a subconscious reaction from the residents towards new faces.
They found the inn near the inner wall.
"It’s the one, the manipulators are," Atheline quietly said.
The sign read the same. They hadn’t been looking for it actively but it seemed to be the only eatery in town.
They stepped inside.
A modest interior met them, nothing elegant. Low ceiling, heavy tables, a fireplace burning constantly despite the daylight.
The smell of meat and bitter herbs filled the air. It looked like the kind of place that fed hunters and soldiers.
Conversations weren’t too loud, but enough for those across the next tables to hear. Everyone seemed to be maintaining some sort of fragile peace.
They took a seat at a corner table. It was backed to the wall and gave a clear view of the room, enough for them to react if anything ever happened.
Atheline identified them immediately, the manipulators four of them sat by the counter, drinking what looked like beer early in the morning, though none of them seemed drunk yet.
He didn’t approach them immediately.