Chapter 134: Return to the Continent

{I want you guys to choose who helps Cera in his divine mana aura quest. The choices are between Fenrir of course, and the other is Nelli, the first born of the dragon king Vendris. I'll tally the votes when I start writing the chapters for the divine mana aura quest. Thanks for reading!}

Hailey is suffering greatly, and she doesn't sound like a healthy person should. "We are only a minute away Hailey. If you can look you'll see the beaches of the continent." I feel her move her head slightly and I hear her groan and moan. I focus on getting us to landfall and soon the minute passes and we reach the beach. I land on the beach and toggle my wings off, don't want anyone seeing me. 

No one is around right now, but I'm still not going to risk it. Hailey almost falls off my back and I catch her just in time. The sun is getting lower in the sky, we have been flying for 12 hours in total today. I carry her in my arms and make my way off the beach. She obviously needs a break from all the highspeed movement. I look down to her face and see that she is already asleep. Must be recovering from the strain on her body.

I don't know where we are specifically on our original continent. Once we reach a city it should be easy to find out where we are, even a town will do. I carry Hailey in my arms all the way to a dirt road that is used for travel. You can tell by the wear and tear of the road. I start to walk down it, any road that is traveled frequently leads to a place with people. I walk for a few hours and the sun is now setting, and I hear the faint clicking of horse hoofs and the turning of wagon wheels. 

I look behind me and I see what looks to be a caravan. It even has guards and escorts, they must be heading in the same direction we are. Which means there is a sizable city up ahead. The noise catches up and my nice walk is interrupted. "Halt! Make way for the Countess of Kreoma!" I get out of the way and stand on the side of the road. So a countess, but the name of the country tells me where I'm at. 

Kreoma is a port country, they makes tons of money thanks to their travel routes. I remember the king of this country is very sick. He passed away in the second year of Ancients World, other than that I don't know much about this place. This is actually the first time I've been here. "Stop the carriage!!" I hear a feminine voice order the driver of her carriage to stop. I look and see an elegant looking cabin stop. A lady opens the door and looks directly at me. She is older then me by 10 years at least, must be the countess.

She steps out of the cabin and walks over to me while being escorted by guards. "I recognize you... Now if only I can place it..." Strange I've never met this woman before. I look individually at the guards and they all have their hands on their sword handles. "Ahh now I remember... You were the young man who interrupted King Jackson at his party in Zenith... I must say that was mighty bold of you to storm a castle, but I've never seen a king defend someone like that." So she was at the party. I didn't talk to anyone other then Charles and Jackson.

She continues to stare at me waiting for a response. "You have an impressive memory Countess. I don't know your name however. Jackson is an old friend I helped out awhile ago. I'm surprise a noble all the way from Kreoma went to Zenith. Matters of state I bet, you nobles are so crafty aren't you." When those words leave my mouth the guards get ready to attack. The countess holds up her hand and they stop.

She gives me a calculated look, and then looks at my sleeping sister. "My name is Patricia Lecruz. Head of house Lecruz, I was in Zenith on behalf of king Edward Whirlpool of Kreoma. May I please have your name sir?" She has the voice, attitude, and disposition of a noble. Edward Whirlpool is the king of Kreoma still, so this part of the continent hasn't changed. I set my sister down on the ground gently and give a slight bow in respect of the noble. 

No reason to make her my enemy and its better just to play the role they assume me to play. A poor idiot on the road, that way I can move on through this country with no problems. "My name is Zern, I'm a new person. Its a pleasure to meet you Countess Lecruz." She gives me a suspicious look. She waves her hand in a circle and the guards leave us. She must want a private conversation about something. 

She walks up in front of me and gives an overconfident look. "There was an incredible event that took place in the kings palace in Zenith. Its strange that it happened right after you showed up and seemingly disappeared... Do you happen to know anything about that?" This woman is both intelligent and a master at trapping you with words. 

I could just kill her and everyone on this escort mission, but that isn't really my style. "You should watch your words Countess... A person will get the wrong idea with questions like those... You may have plenty of guards, but we both know I can kill them all and you... So run along and forget you saw me. I'm sure a Countess is smart enough to understand my warning." She looks at me in slight shock, and backs away very slowly.

Good, she got my message. I watch her turn around and head into her cabin and proceed on her journey. I pick up Hailey and continue walking forward myself and watch them fade out of view. I have a long walk ahead of me, and as much as I'd like to fly I'll be risking a lot heading to population center. Hailey is still sound asleep, and I have no problem walking through the night. I could run at top speed, but that might make her sick again. Its not near the same speed, but Hailey is in a delicate state tight now.

I close my eyes as I walk on the straight dirt path and organize my thoughts. Hopefully this Patricia doesn't cause me any problems, and if she does I'm going to deal with her. Her guards aren't higher then tier 2 I can feel it, she is most likely heading back to her territory to take care of whatever nobles take care of. Jackson offered me a duke ship, but I'd rather pass kidney stones for a week then be a noble. I wonder if he did ask my in game mother to be a noble, Amelia deserves it. 

Speaking of Amelia I should check my mail at the next church when I get a chance. I sent her a letter awhile back before all the crazy things happened to the players. She has probably been waiting for me to respond. "Mmmmnnggggnnn..." My sister makes a strange noise and I look down at her. She must be dreaming about something, but I have no idea what it is. Knowing her its probably about the few things she likes, and those aren't available in Ancients World.

[World-wide Announcement: The monsters are attacking the small country of Perla! This surprise attack will result in bonus exp for any players that help repel the attack!]

Perla huh... If memory serves me right that is about an hours flight from here at full speed. I could use the exp since I'm going after my divine mana aura soon. I exit into the forest and I set up a camp really fast. I place Hailey inside and take out my player journal. I write her a note that I'll be back by the time she wakes up and to wait for me here. I rip the page out of the journal and place it next to her.

I exit the small tent and toggle my wings back on. I'm itching for a fight, its been several days since I got to fight anything strong, and this is a nice opportunity to get some exp. I launch off the ground in a burst of speed and head to the red blinking marker on my map. I quickly mark the location of the tent before its out of view. Once done I head towards Perla and I cant stop the grin on my face.

Yes people are dying, and yes they are suffering greatly. I should get there before they cant defend the borders anymore. I wonder how many monster I'll get to kill. I should consider using a 2x exp boost I have saved, stack that with the bonus from the event and that's cha-ching. I will get even more since I don't have to deal with the debuff anymore. This event is going to help me a lot. To bad Hailey is going to miss out, but I'm sure she is happy sleeping this time.