Chapter 234: Journey to the Barony of James V

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Sally and I head into the tent now that we have solved her problem with me. I lay down and release a sigh. Sally follows suit and lays down next to me. She uses my chest and body as something to snuggle and support her while she sleeps. I don't mind it, and it's about another day and a half until we reach The Kingdom of Pleer. Once in their land, we'll head for the Barony of James. I close my eyes and think about what Sally said. I never knew that I talked in my sleep. Strangely, I have such a habit. 

I suppose that's only natural. I suppress a lot of bad memories and feelings. I don't have an outlet for them, and I guess my coping mechanism for them is to talk in my sleep. I must be reliving them and suppressing them in my sleep. It's not something that I can control, and that makes me pissed. Who knows what Sally's truly heard about me and the things I've done. There's no point in stressing over it now, and that's probably the best way to look at this issue. I have no solution for it, so I just have to deal with the fact that it happens. 

As Sally and Cera sleep for the night, a certain sister of Cera Adamo is traveling around. In The Kingdom of Pleer, to be specific. She is there on a mission for a friend she has made as a native of Gaia. Hailey is in The Kingdom of Pleer for the same reason Cera and Sally are going there. She is there to take care of a severe slavery problem. She is heading to the Barony of James herself and has no idea that Cera is on his way there. It seems like many people who hate slavery are thinking about making a change, but only the strong can do anything.

My feet severely hurt from walking on this rough road for the last several days. I'm about a day away at this point. "If only I could fly..." I whisper my desire for the freedom I tasted when I was flying on Cera's back. While I was sick for most of the trip to the continent, I still enjoyed the beginning when I wasn't sick. I look up towards the star-covered sky and wonder if any of my friends and family are looking up to the sky too. I turn my attention back to the road and sigh. This same scenery has gotten too boring. 

The quest I got from Jasmine is a disturbing one. She isn't strong enough to come with me on this mission. So she is waiting in her hometown until I'm done. She's a native of Gaia that has become a good friend and my traveling companion. Her life as a slave haunts her very much. She has asked me to come to the place it all started to get revenge for her. I have no problem doing such a thing. Every since I got my legendary class Battlemind, my life has become very convenient. People do things for me, and I'm treated better than everyone else.

Jasmine reminds me so much of my best friend Kelly from earth. It's probably why I've grown to care for her so much. I miss my friends from earth so much... Most are dead now, and the others that are left are lost to me. "Mew!~" A soft meow comes from my backpack, and my other companion pops her head out of my backpack. A tiny white tiger cub, which is strange cause tigers can't meow—a nice difference here on Gaia. I sling my backpack on my shoulder and pull her out. I carry her in my arms.

I found her in a quest I did shortly after I got out of the airship when I left Cera. She'll eventually grow to be a powerful ally. She a beast that I'll be able to ride, and she'll fight by my side. She's a legacy in grade. I don't know much about her specific race, only that she looks like a white tiger. "You must be hungry, huh, Emerald?" She is a very intelligent cub. Her name is Emerald due to her eye color. Another strange feature of this tiger cub. She looks at me and understands my words easily. She licks her lips and lets out another mew.

I pull some salmon out of my inventory and feed her piece by piece, so she doesn't choke trying to scarf a bunch down at the same time. "My, if you're not careful, you'll take a finger from me." She slows down a bit after I say that. I smile as I look towards the road as she continues to eat. She was a bonus quest reward I got. I took a page from Cera's book and looked everywhere and did all the extra work for the quest, no matter how hard it was. She's been by my side since before I got my legendary class. Speaking of that.

From the announcements I heard a while back, Marcus and our parents have got all their now. "I can't wait for you to meet my family one day. Especially my little brother. He is a pretty awesome guy. I would've never met if not for what I learned from him." After a couple more minutes, she finishes the salmon and purrs in my arm as I carry her. Tigers can't purr either, and that's another thing I learned that is different between her and regular tigers. I bring her up behind my head, and she snuggles between my neck and backpack.

I feel her deep purrs in my head. It's her favorite spot to be when we are walking. I would've taken an airship, but the ones coming this way are closed because of the war with monsters. So that means walking for me. Normally I would've set up a camp and rested for the night, but I'm not tired enough to do that. Once in the Barony of James, it'll be smart to keep a low profile. I'm not as famous as my brother, but if people find out who I am. My mission there will become much more difficult. I take a breath and release a sigh. I'm happy I get to help Jasmine with this.

As Hailey and Emerald walk the main roads towards The Kingdom of Pleer and subsequentially the Barony of James. The night passes slowly and without too much chaos around Gaia. There is to be a meeting soon to discuss if the coalition should be fully dissolved or not. Not only that, but players are joining wars in droves. With such an influx in manpower, many kingdoms fighting in these wars are having economic booms. If not for world war 2, America wouldn't have left the great depression. The same thing applies here, and soon the sun is rising, and Cera and Sally are waking up.

I stretch in the tent, and my body pops. The sun is barely rising, and it's especially cold this morning. Sally is clinging to me as if I'm the only reason she sleeps. I'm glad the cold doesn't bother her. I raise one hand to my face and clean the crust out of my eyes. I roll my neck, and it pops a few times. I lean up and cough a little. It's one of those groggy mornings that slips in once, and a while—Sally groans in protest as I sit up and move around. I gently peel her off me, and I exit the tent. I release a breath, and I can see it as it exits my mouth. That means it's really cold today.

I get a few feet away from the tent, and I start to set up a fire. I get some dry wood, and I start a fire. I help it grow, and I feel its warmth grace my skin. It's a nice heat. The cold doesn't bother me due to my extremely high stats, and it doesn't bother Sally, thanks to her class. I look towards the sunrise, and it's barely peeking over the mountains. The sun hasn't warmed the cold woods yet, and that's why everything is cold and frozen here. Some of the coldest places that aren't near the poles are in dense forests. At least that's how it was on earth.

After a few minutes of sitting by the fire, Sally comes out of the tent in the same groggy state I did. She sees me and the fire and walks over. She sits next to me and buries her face in her knees. She isn't affected by the cold. She is just very tired. "Once the sun fully rises over those mountains, we can head out, take some time to wake up. I need it too." She slowly nods her head as she lets out a yawn. It's one of those contagious yawns, and I follow suit. I look into the fire and think about things. Mainly where we go first for when we make it to the Barony of James.