Chapter 284: Skywalkers

The carriage that would carry them, not a wagon, was waiting for them outside of the city. They were only two with a few servants, Arthur and Bao. The goat-man seems to be deterred away from Arthur by Larza's instruction. 

The carriage was gigantic and had no wheels, but gems that levitated it from the ground instead. It was pulled by giant unicorns that had the winds as their mercy, proud beings that even Bao was careful at handling. 

Arthur was curious about this carriage, but he didn't dare ask Bao. After the last time that they interacted, there were bruises and defiance. Things grew tense between the two, resorting only to curt talks. 

As he boarded the carriage, he felt as if he was sitting on a piece of cloud. He wondered how a world can achieve this level of skill in manufacturing without the aid of technology. 

The unicorns neighed as they used their winds to run across the land. With no roads, it was a bumpy road but there were no reasons to take the burn of that. The carriage cut smoothly that Arthur didn't even feel they were moving, only evidenced by the changing scenery. 

The wind helped to push them forth, negating any air resistance that they might have encountered. The levitation helped to avoid any friction with the ground. If they wanted to stop, the unicorns used the winds to decrease the speed of the carriage. 

The land was nothing that Arthur has seen before, or maybe he hasn't seen enough, to begin with. As if a heavenly monster had bitten it and left its teeth, it was full of cliffs and high mountains. The valleys connected in a great jigsaw puzzle, providing a trail for travelers to follow. 

"We're going to Freya, city of night and love." Bao seemed to be ashamed of Arthur's ignorance, making sure to educate him in a harsh tone. "Do not wander off thinking you can participate in the activities; you need to know your place." 

"What do you mean night and love?" Arthur was confused. 

"The city itself is unique." Bao glanced at him. "Most of the establishments there operate at night, bards will be singing all of the time, and most of the people who seek mating will go there." 

'Seek mating.' Arthur was appalled by such a term of primitivity. 'I guess this city is a passionate one, something Jalin in Sourna where the sailors rest with their songs and stories.' 

Larza had told him that it would be a three-day trip, so Arthur prepared himself to go sleepless for a few days. However, the smooth ride made him grow drowsy. 

The servants took another carriage, which included some guards that took care of the monsters that obstructed their way. Arthur realized the monsters weren't different from the ones appearing in dungeons. 

Until now, he had yet to see a single dungeon. He asked Larza about a space where monsters were crowded, separate from the world, but she didn't know what he meant. There wasn't even a word that resembled 'dungeon' in all of the words he learned so far. He would have to ask either Traitor or the young man, who spoke perfect Yalveran. 

They camped a few hundred miles away from the city, their third night on the road. Arthur kept the herb beside him in a special leather bag, afloat and untouched. 

"Eat it even if it was cold," Bao said to his servants. "We can't make a fire in the wilderness; it will attract attention." 

The reason they were going with only a few people was to avoid such a thing. Their trip should be a secret lest the other nations attack them. 

The prime suspect for such a thing was Freda, but Arthur knew they wouldn't do anything. Even if Greatest Harmony was to empower the duke's house further, it would still pale in comparison to invading the kingdom as a whole. 

There were other nations, it seems. Arthur managed to pick up on some things from Bao talking to his guards. One of them is the route they took, one that was usually avoided due to its complexity. 

'If they didn't find use because of the route, they should be able to find us once we get closer.' Arthur looked upward into the sky, a feeling of dread filling his heart. 'It seems we couldn't hide from them for so long.' 

The sky split in two as figures appeared from the sky. With wings covering their back and spanning twice their body height, the newcomers were anything but friendly. 

"Skywalkers," Bao scowled as he took out his rapier. "I was waiting for you." He seemed unfazed at the winged masked people. "You've only come here to die." 

'Cut it out with the red-flagged villain lines.' Arthur shook his head inwardly at the goat-man. He studied the Skywalkers with interest. There was only a handful of them, as it seems they have spread their forces to catch up to Arthur's group.

The Skywalkers didn't respond and the leader in the middle took out a small black box. Bao's expression changed slightly at the sight of the box and shouted something Arthur didn't understand. 

Runic lines appeared on the box as light exploded from within it to cover all of the present people. Bao turned to Arthur and shouted before the scene changed. 

"Don't let them find you!" 

It was the last thing Arthur heard before he found himself standing in a grand temple. He looked around in bewilderment as he made sure the leaf was still in his bag. 

'Is this a separate space?' Arthur wondered as he looked around the temple. It was a grand temple with a hall as wide as a soccer field. There were giant pillars that held ancient engravings on them but most of them were broken. 

The hall was covered in fog and there were statues in every direction. He held into his bag as he started walking to find a hiding spot. 

If he guessed right, that box was something like a summoning rune but in reverse. This kind of artifact can be used to 'divide and conquer' the enemy troops. 

If the Skywalkers, who had the advantage of a better view, managed to find him first, he would be dead and the herb will be destroyed. That's why Bao asked him to hide and why Arthur was looking for a hiding spot. 

He crawled into a small hole beneath one of the statues. He risked being buried beneath the status. He hugged the bag with his sole arm as if it was his lifeline. 

'I'm so weak right now.' Arthur's eyes dropped as he thought, staring into space. 'There's nothing that I can do with my current body other than pray for safety.' 

He felt pathetic. The reasons that he ended up here and like this were his ignorance and arrogance.  There was so much he could have done if he had his powers, but he was as useless as a wood log. 

'A Sakal.' 

He hadn't felt this weak since the time he was kicked away by his boss at work after thinking an iron shard was an artifact. He smiled as he remembered those days where his biggest dream was a shard a tad bigger than normal. 

'Did my family get caught in the fissure too like Rae?' Arthur asked himself as his remaining arm rested on his knees. 'I hope everyone as safe.' He closed his eyes. 

It was quiet, peaceful, and away from everything that scared him. That was until he heard the sound of flapping wings. His eyes snapped open as he looked toward the foggy sky. It was dark but he could see the fog move. 

He clenched his fist as his heart raced. Hoping it wasn't a Skywalker, Arthur tried to hide deeper into the small hole. His hopes were crushed when the fog parted way to reveal the humanoid winged creatures soaring through the skies above him. 

'Please, let me go unseen.' Arthur clenched his fist until his nails dug through his flesh. He followed the Skywalker slowly with his eyes. 

They hovered in the air and looked around the area. Arthur could feel them scan the area looking for him. With a flap of their wings, they flew in a circle and looked around. They were directly above Arthur when they spread their wings and stopped flying.

Slowly, the Skywalker turned to Arthur's location. Before Arthur could wonder whether he was found, the Skywalkers flapped their wings, and wind blades cut across the air toward Arthur's location. 

'Damn it, does praying ever actually work?' Arthur curled his body into a ball as the statue above him was cut into three giant pieces. The statue fell on the hole and closed it completely except for a small gap in it.

His side was struck by one of the statue's arms and Arthur let out a pained cry. He gritted his teeth and crawled out through the gap and started running as soon as he reached the ground.