Chapter 69
What appears to be the problem? I asked. The light of the sun coming into the window was late afternoon, filling the room with a golden glow. Raven said you seemed worried.
It occurred to me while I was off-line that we need to make sure were out of town before the map updates, Maxwell said, gesturing to the mapit showed the same positions as before, with our dot west of town. If the map updates again and shows us in town, the priest will know the villagers deceived them, regardless of what the old fart says, that will cause them unending trouble.
How much time until the next ping?
So far it appears to only update once a day, Maxwell said. We should still have several hours.
Then we should get moving. The rest was good, but its time to keep going. I grabbed Mercy and headed for the door.
Maxwell gathered up the map and followed me out along with Raven. The village elder spotted us, and we explained that we were getting on the road again to use the advantage wed gained to stay ahead. I thought I saw a flicker of relief passed through his eyes. The man was no fool, but hed felt that he owed us a debt. He made promises to provide us with further aid if we ever returned, but I doubted that would be a favor we ever called in. If that elder had horses, I mightve taken one, but the only one they had was a draft horse used for plowing the few fields they had.
As we left town and headed east, we fell back into our regular routine. After about an hour, Raven stopped. We should head into the woods.
Why? Maxwell asked. Thatll slow us down.
Because, if they see us on the road, they might think we actually stayed in town, or at least passed through it, Raven explained. But if they see us off the road when the map updates, they will likely think we skirted around the village and thats why we were slowed down.
She makes a good point. I gestured toward the woods beside us. Might as well. We need to be far enough off the road by the time the update happens that it doesnt look like we just stepped off.
And once it updates, we can come back to the road. Maxwell sighed and put away his guitar. These woods were far too thick for him to be practicing.
Our progress slowed. Aside from the map giving us valuable information about where our pursuers were located, it also provided great detail about the general terrain. The map itself was an invaluable resource. We were headed toward the plateau that made up most of the central part of Valdor. Unfortunately, that meant the terrain we now found ourselves traversing through was not only thickly covered in trees and bushes, but it was also steep.
I led the way. My strength allowed me to push through thick patches. Raven had transformed back into her lynx form since it was easier for her to move through the brush, and she was scouting ahead. The sun had long since set, and a partial moon had risen, when Maxwell announced the map had updated.
Wed put far more distance between us and the town than I thought we would. Wed cut at an angle away from the road instead of heading directly away. From what it looked like on the map, we were only a little ways away from breaking onto the plains.
If we can get onto the fields, it will be just as fast as being on the roads, I said.
Hopefully theres not a cliff though. Maxwell studied the map. You cant tell.
Deciding it was worth the risk, we continued on our current trajectory. Only for that risk to lead us to a small cliff that blocked our path. Though it wasnt an insurmountable obstacle. All of us were physically far stronger than regular humans, and while none of us had climbing skills, aside from Raven, we managed to scale the cliff.
There was a small, wooded area at the top, but after another few minutes of traveling we stepped out of the forest onto the vast plains. The pale moonlight shone down on rolling fields that stretched into the distance, dotted with different homes and hamlets. It took a far larger population to maintain the huge fields in this world than it did back on Earth in the current era.
Even though, technologically speaking, this world was in the Roman period, there was magic. When you added magic into the equation, even if it wasnt super common, it became hard to compare technological levels. Valdor was far from a magically advanced kingdom, but there was enough magic from both priests, local wizards, and enchanters that the farmers had tools that greatly amplified the amount of work they could get done.
The season was in the late spring, and winter wheat was growing happily. It was far from being ready to harvest. The green stocks and leaves of the grass came up to about my knees.
We consulted the map to get our bearings and headed off across the fields. We were close to crossing the outer line of dots, and if we were lucky, we would accomplish it before they realized what was going on.
With no need to scout, since we could see clearly in all directions, Raven, in her human form, jogged along beside me. My long strides kept my speed at a fast walk, while her short legs struggled to keep up. After awhile I let her hop up on my shoulder, though I worried it would be awkward with her in human form. But she neatly sat on my shoulder, and it was quite comfortable keeping her balanced.
How do I learn more magic? she asked as Maxwell began to pluck his guitar.
Dark magic is one of the base magics, I told her. In total there are eight basic magic forms: fire, water, air, earth, light, dark, disorder, and order. Tell me what interests you more: becoming a mage where you can innately work magic, or becoming a wizard where you can use your knowledge to build powerful spells. Either way, your dark affinity will make it easier for you to learn certain types of magic and spells.
Mage, Raven said without hesitation. I dont want to take time to read books.
I chuckled, that was the response I expected. If that is the path you want, then this is what I know.
As we traveled across the field, I explained as much as I could about being a mage. It was something I wasnt super familiar with, but I understood the basic principles. The other handicap I had was that she was an NPC, and I didnt fully understand what the difference was in how she learned magic. Though I was more similar to her now than I was to Maxwell.
***
The plains allowed us to travel quite quickly, and we eventually came across another road which led to small villages. We didnt stop at any of them, though Maxwell would fall behind and pick up any supplies we needed and catch back up. Our funds were getting dangerously low, but we couldnt afford to stop.
We pressed all through the day and into the next, and when the map updated, we were almost in line with the dots that were chasing us. The ones coming from the west were now both to the north and south of us. We took off into a sprint. This was the moment that would determine just how desperate our position became.
When Maxwell ran out of stamina, we were forced to stop running and settle for as fast a pace as possible heading straight east. The plan was for us to turn back north, but for now we wanted to get distance reestablished.
A small black explosion of magic next to my head made me stumble, and Raven started cursing. What the fuck am I doing wrong? I can enchant my blades just fine, why cant I get this simple spell to work?
I was thankful to basically be immune to dark magic, and tried not to laugh at her frustration. Such would not be good for my head. Like I said before, being a mage is more about will. You need to exert your will over your magic to get it to do what you want. That means not getting distracted and having an ironclad picture of what you want it to do.
Easy for you to say, Raven grumbled.
Im sure youll get it, I assured her. And once you figure it out for that simple dark bolt, youll understand what you need to do for other spells, and it should become easier.
Why is it so much harder than enchanting my blades? she demanded.
When enchanting, the magic is staying within your area of influence, with the bolt, youre trying to project it out away from you, very different applications. The daggers are also likely aligned with your general fighting style. I bet your claws in your lynx form have some natural dark magic attached to them, so doing it to the daggers is just a natural extension of your base nature.
Interesting I need to go test something. Raven hopped off my shoulder and turned into her lynx form. She darted off into the fields, and though she wouldnt be able to keep up that pace all day, for short sprints, she was far faster than I could ever be.
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