Rise of the Devourer

Book 3: Chapter 5 — Departure

Noah stood in the guild hall, waiting for everybody else. He had already taken care of everything that he needed to, and now he was waiting for Aurelia to finish her preparations. It was a little funny, given that she was the one who had told him to hurry or they would not make it in time. Erwest sat on a chair nearby, reading a book about Drakonias, which had taken Noah by surprise. Perhaps the paladin was truly interested in giving this a fair shot, instead of simply accompanying them to keep him on a leash.

Snow stood nearby, standing next to Zax, wearing the cloak that made her more inconspicuous. The girl practically blended into thin air behind Zax.

"Sorry! Im done now! Aurelia exclaimed, stepping out of her room with a large bag on her back.

What happened to your dimensional storage? Noah asked, raising an eyebrow.

It's full, she replied. Anyways, lets get going or we are going to be late.

Give me that, Noah said, grabbing the bag before sending it to his cosmic vault.

Are you sure? I may have to ask you for things from that, it might get annoying to constantly take things out, Aurelia said.

Its fine, lets get moving, Noah said as their party began to make their way.

As the five of them stepped out into the central halls, Ekira walked in. "Ah good, I was about to come to check on you. Follow me, the spell is ready, the guildmaster said, walking back out of the chamber, as the rest of them followed behind.

Spell? What spell? Arent we going on an airship? Noah asked.

Yes, we are, but not from here, Aurelia replied.

Following behind the guildmaster, they arrived in a side chamber where Noah noted the spell circle glowing brightly on the floor. Stepping inside, Ekira gave a nod to a woman crouching near the spell, who clapped her hand at the signal. Mana swirled around the chamber, flowing into the runes inscribed on the floor. Noah felt his body tingling at the sensation of mana, his arcane body reacting immediately as he began to sense the flow of magic. His eyes widened in surprise as he realized what the spell was.

A moment later, a portal opened up above the magic circle, and Noah saw a familiar face standing on the other side.

Get through quickly, we cannot hold the portal open for too long, Ekira said, as Noah and the rest walked through, stepping into the familiar halls of the Windrest Adventuring Guild.

Hope they didnt cause too much trouble, Nae said to Ekira.

They were alright. Ill leave the rest to you now, Ekira said, as the portal closed behind them.

Alright then, glad to have you guys back. Nice to see that weve got some new members joining the party. Unfortunately, theres not much time to chitchat, the airship will be leaving soon, so lets get moving quickly, Nae said, stepping out of the chamber they had arrived in.

If you can just teleport across cities, why not do the same for Drakonias? Noah asked, walking behind Nae.

Because teleportation is costly, and long-range teleportation is even more costly. And long-range teleportation across countries is so costly that the mana flowing through the spell would be enough to vaporize people. Which means theres a hard limit on how far teleportation can go, unless the target of said teleportation is quite resilient. We also dont have that kind of money to throw around, Nae said, glancing back at Noah. There are also political considerations, restrictions on the usage of teleportation spells, personnel required for running said teleportation spells, and so on and so forth. Its not that simple.

Why not just teleport us to the airship then? Noah asked.

Right in the middle of a busy transportation hub, with multiple complex spells that are carrying large amounts of cargo and/or passengers? Nae asked. Im glad to see you havent changed much, Noah.

Noah chuckled to himself. Its not my fault I dont know stuff. If you count my arrival to this world as a birthday of sorts, then Im probably the smartest six-month-old there is.

Aurelia snorted, and even Snow giggled at his words. Nae simply rolled her eyes, though a smile also hung on her face.

It didnt take long for them to arrive at the hangar. It was a large area of the city sectioned off, with giant egg-shaped ships, whose wings made of a mixture of metal and wood, moved around in the area. Mages stood beneath many of them, casting wind magic to control their movements, and Noah looked on in fascination.

Its interesting to me how you guys have things like airships, given the difference in technology I see overall. Back home, it took us way longer to figure out how to make these things. I wonder how these ones work.

The airship? They're just floating balloons reinforced with metal and wood. They get enchanted to be lightweight and float, and the rest is taken care of by wind magic spells, Nae replied.

Man magic sure is convenient, Noah said.

Which one are we boarding? Aurelia asked.

You see the big one there, hovering just above the ground? Thats the one, Nae replied.

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Whoa, Snow exclaimed, looking at the giant airship.

Noah felt impressed by the size of the structure as well. The spell seemed to remove a lot of restrictions that would have otherwise come from having a ship of this size. He wondered just how many people it could fit inside.

All of them walked up to a ramp laid out at the back of the ship, leading inside. Four guards stood at the entrance, checking some form of tickets made of thin metal, responding to a pulse of mana as the plates would light up. Nae walked up to the entrance, holding out the tickets on their behalf. The guard glanced down, before nodding as the runes on the plates activated.

The room numbers are on the keys, the guard said, handing the tickets back.

Nae nodded, turning around before she held out the two metal plates. These will be the keys to your rooms. Dont lose them.

Only two? Noah asked.

"Well, we kinda got you in at the very last second, so that's the best we could do," Nae replied with a shrug. You guys can decide who stays where.

Aurelia grabbed one of the metal plates. Snow and I will stay together. You three can share the other one.

Noah glanced sideways at Erwest. Guess well be roommates for a while.

Erwest took the second key with him.

"I'll be heading back now; this is about as far as I go. Good luck to all of you, Nae said, giving all of them a smile. And make sure you win.

You bet, Noah replied, grinning.

The Celestian woman waved them goodbye as they all walked into the airship. Noah glanced around at the various decorations hanging in the form of paintings on the walls, showing pictures of the different captains who had led the ship, and the various sceneries on the way. A lot of the items also seemed to be depicting Drakonian culture, with their lizard and dragon-like representations in the form of rugs, and trophies of monsters on the wall. "Damn, this place is kinda nice, Noah said, feeling like hed entered a luxury hotel of some sort.

Their paths eventually led them into a large hall, filled with all sorts of people, almost half of whom looked like adventurers. "Whoa, huge," Noah exclaimed. How the heck is this place so big here?

We can sense some dimensional magic, so the ship is likely larger on the inside, Zax said, humming to himself as he appreciated the spellwork.

Behind them, Noah heard the gates closing as crew members moved around, getting the ship ready to fly. Seems like we were the last ones to get on.

As they stood in the hall, waiting alongside everybody else, a woman looking to be roughly in her mid-thirties walked up to the front. She wore a uniform with a mix of white, blue, and purple colors, that covered her slim yet muscular body. She stood tall, close to almost Noah's height, with silvery white hair that led down into a long braid behind her back, and a presence that commanded attention. Noah used Identify on the woman.

[Skywarden - ???]

Alright, fellows. Welcome aboard the Skydancer. I am Ariella Brightwind, your captain for this journey. Before we take off into the skies, I would like to lay some ground rules. Most of you here are one of two things: either merchants or adventurers. Given the timing, more adventurers than merchants from what I can see. Ive been running this route for thirty-two years now, and I say this every time before we start. For the duration of this journey, I will treat you no different than I would treat my own men. Which means that when I say something, youre supposed to listen and obey, Captain Ariella said, glancing around the chamber. A few of the adventurers shifted, but most seemed to take her words in stride.

You have the training hall available to you, feel free to make use of it as long as you dont break anything. Food will be served in the dining halls during fixed hours. If youre late, you will have to suck it up. This one is going to be a longer journey, which is going to take us anywhere between three to five weeks to reach Drakonias depending on the weather, and what kind of things we meet on our way. Do not start fights. I know your type, I know how itchy you get if you're in confinement for a long period of time, thats why you have the training hall, I do not want to see any conflicts while we are in the air, or I will make you regret it. Understood? the woman said.

Noah nodded, alongside most of the adventurers, but not all of them. He could already see a few that did not enjoy the womans authoritative tone among the crowd.

Now, with that out of the way. The route to Drakonias often goes through Griffin territory. Me and my men can handle them, but it could happen that we require your assistance. I will be expecting you to coordinate with us, if you dont want to crash into the ocean and become food for some sea serpents. We might even be seeing some Thunder Wyverns, if any of you have experience dealing with those let me know and Ill put you to use. And lastly, pray that we do not run into a storm wyrm, Ariella said, taking one last look around the entire chamber.

Noah looked around himself as well, watching the many faces. He smiled, imagining what it would be like to meet a Griffin, or wyvern. Perhaps he would even get the chance to ride one.

Alright. With all of that done, lets begin our journey, the woman said, a pale green aura shining around her as a gust of wind swirled.

Noah heard heavy thumping noise come from outside, like a giant metal chain following, then with a sudden jerk, the airship took flight.

You have the training hall available to you; feel free to make use of it as long as you dont break anything. Food will be served in the dining halls during fixed hours. If youre late, you will have to suck it up. This one is going to be a longer journey, which is going to take us anywhere between three to five weeks to reach Drakonias depending on the weather, and what kind of things we meet on our way. Do not start fights. I know your type, I know how itchy you get when you're in confinement for a long period of time, thats why you have the training hall. I do not want to see any conflicts while we are in the air, or I will make you regret it. Understood? the woman said.

Noah nodded, alongside most of the adventurers, but not all of them. He could already see a few who did not enjoy the womans authoritative tone among the crowd.

Now, with that out of the way. The route to Drakonias often goes through Griffin territory. Me and my men can handle them, but it could happen that we require your assistance. We will be expecting you to coordinate with us if you dont want to crash into the ocean and become food for some sea serpents. We might even be seeing some Thunder Wyverns. If any of you have experience dealing with those, let me know and Ill put you to use. And lastly, pray that we do not run into a Storm Wyrm, Ariella said, taking one last look around the entire chamber.

Noah looked around as well, watching the many faces. He smiled, imagining what it would be like to meet a Griffin or wyvern. Perhaps he would even get the chance to ride one.

Alright. With all of that done, lets begin our journey, the woman said, a pale green aura shining around her as a gust of wind swirled.

Noah heard a heavy thumping noise come from outside, like a giant metal chain falling, then with a sudden jerk, the airship took flight.

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