247 Winged Messenger

The sleigh came to a stop on solid ground. There was no snow-covered grounds around them, only dirt. 

"Have we arrived?" Lycster asked as he looked around. His eyes took a while to adjust, but he was eager to see what his surroundings looked like. 

Vy looked around and sniffed the air. 

"We've arrived," she muttered as she stepped off the sleigh and helped Lycster off. 

Shin stepped off the sleigh after Lycster. He turned back around and thanked the Flakes for their assistance with a bow. A cool wintery breeze blew past them as if to reciprocate his words of thanks before the sleigh began to move on its own. 

The sleigh u-turned back into the Bleak Lands and disappeared into a tunnel that opened up in the ground. Lycster watched as the tunnel closed back up and disappeared completely. Out of curiosity, he went forward and squatted down to examine the soil. 

Vy, on the other hand, was fixated on their journey forward. Based on how the surrounding area looked, she quickly realised that they were on the edge of the Bleak Lands. The soil they walked on would eventually become the sand-covered ground of the Rihi Desert. 

With the help of her enhanced vision, Vy quickly spotted their destination. Their first stop was a small settlement known as Madina. Madina sat at the border between the Bleak Lands and Rihi Desert. 

Despite its small size, it had all the essential businesses any traveller would need. According to the instructions given by Future Eye, upon arriving in Madina, they were to report to the Bird Keeper of Madina. 

Vy took off her fur coats and kept them back into her spatial storage, Lycster did the same. Shin never wore much thick clothing to begin with, since his body was used to the cold. It took them close to two hours to get to the settlement. 

The heat of the desert quickly got to them as soon as they had begun their journey. Upon entering the walls of Madina, they felt a slight drop in temperature. It was as if the town's temperature was regulated within the walls. 

They had some protection from the relentless heat of the sun and desert. Following the instructions, they arrived at a round tent in the right-wing of the town. A signboard with the image of a bird with a scroll in its talons hung over the entrance. 

"Welcome to Madina Messenger. My name is Rasul and I am the owner. Is there anything I can help you with?" the shopkeeper greeted them as soon as Vy entered the tent. 

On the countertop, he laid out two letters, a fresh set of pen and paper, and a cage with a brown feathered falcon in it. 

"The first letter arrived for you a week ago. The second one arrived just yesterday." Rasul said. 

Just then, another customer entered the tent so Rasul excused himself to serve them. Vy read the contents of both letters swiftly, before keeping them in her pocket. With the pen and paper, she wrote down a message. 

She rolled up the finished message and secured it with a small ribbon. She opened the cage and placed her message into the canister that was attached to the falcon. After securing it, she placed her hand near the falcon. 

The brown feathered falcon seemed fearful and unwilling to perch on her hand. Vy was baffled as to why the falcon felt uneasy, after all, she meant it no harm. Then it dawned on her. She had offered the hand on which Aether was attached to. 

The poor bird was terrified of her Familiar. Hence, Vy switched hands, and the falcon happily perched onto her hand. When Vy was about to pay the shopkeeper, he politely declined. 

"All is taken care of, Miss. Have a great day!" Rasul replied with a smile. 

Lycster was intrigued by the falcon that perched on his sister's hand. He was more curious as to what Vy intended to do with it. 

"Where are you bringing it to?" Lycster asked. 

Shin silently observed as they stepped out of the tent. 

"I'm not bringing it anywhere, I just need to bring it out of the tent so that I can send it off on its journey," Vy explained. 

As soon as they were out of the tent, Vy lifted her hand towards the sky. The falcon unfurled its wings. Using Vy's momentum, the falcon leapt into the sky and flew off to its predetermined destination. 

With that out of the way, Vy decided that they would stay in Madina for a few days before they begin their journey through the Rihi Desert. This would also give them enough time to stock up on any supplies they would need for the journey. 

They needed to be prepared for the sweltering heat in the day and cold temperatures in the night. After some scouting around, they found an inn that still had rooms to spare. Though their journey had not been very long, Vy was glad to be able to get some rest. 

As much as she wished to gain quicker healing abilities, she was still glad about the progress she had made so far. Vy also wanted to ensure she was doing well internally, so she decided to visit the local healer the next day. 

For the day, they would rest and explore the settlement. Just as Vy was about to suggest that they find something to eat, she could hear her own stomach growling in hunger. Before she could say anything, her brother's stomach growled too. 

"I guess that's a clear answer to what I was about to ask," Vy chuckled, "Shall we go get something to eat?"