Chapter 5: Adventures in the Other World
The merchants kept to themselves while I sat quietly. There were some moments where a female merchant or assistant asked some questions or offered some things but I shook my head a no and kept quiet otherwise. At one point, I heard someone whisper a little too loudly that someone should check on me to make sure I wasn't dead.
That person was startled when he saw me smile and chuckle silently at the situation. It seemed he was embarrassed that I heard his conjecture.
I spent the rest of my free time sipping water or gazing at the scenery. I discreetly kept the bread wrapped and safely stored in my bag. I didn't have the strength of mind to think too deeply on what these commoners think of me. It wasn't that I looked down on them, but I simply had no power to care about their opinions too much. It was as if time had turned back to the last time I hitched a ride to a civilized town again.
Last time, that town ended up corrupted because I did not leave quick enough, nor had I left far enough of a gap between it and myself. I shook my head in silent prayer. What else could I do like this? That ravine should be pretty difficult to pass for any creature of a lower bloodline than mine. Still, the damned shadows will not be too far behind. A pessimistic prediction would be only a week before they caught up. Optimistically, the ravine would take some of their interest and give me a month or so of time. Indeed, passing through one of the deepest world scar is a good idea.
Time passed slowly but the carts stopped abruptly. Although the sky is eternally void, Sol that lights up the desert had begun to sleep and Luna that cools the desert began rising from behind Sol. The deserts here are remnants to the Lands of Terrans so I expected that the remains of Sol and Luna would shine its blessings to the land. I closed my tired eyes and bathed contently under the fading glares of Sol and dim luminescence of Luna.
"Hey, new guy. You're up now."
I nodded, still with my eyes closed. It was easy for me to evade the guy who was jumping on the cart while slipping out and standing still in front of the man who called out. I slowly opened my eyes and tilted my head, soundlessly asking for my role in the job. The other person seemed to not mind my lack of a vocal response and nodded to the spare aenbarrs.
"Need one?"
I nodded my head.
"Then this guy will help you out with it. You just need to look out for magical fluctuations signalling an attack or a hidden magic artefact. Your skills seems to be high-leveled but we need your magic sense for now. Don't disappoint," the explanation was curt with a slight sense of alienation.
I didn't mind.
I am a random mage found in the desert after all.
I followed the younger boy that the previous guy patted to fetch an aenbarr of my own. The young boy seemed to be the quiet type and we walked in silence. When we reached the herd of spare aenbarrs, the boy whistled softly. The attention of all the aenbarrs drifted to the boy and the boy murmured a few words to the herd. The aenbarrs neighed and replied with their own language before they stepped back and a rather tall yet skinny-looking aenbarr was singled out. It whined and trotted forward.
A good few minutes were spent by the boy murmuring to the cautious-looking aenbarr. It neighed and rubbed the tip of its nose to the face of the boy and the boy nodded in return.
"His name is Rea. He will accompany you this time," the boy introduced the aenbarr to me and I nodded in reply.
I calmly and deliberately placed my hand on the aenbarr's long neck and combed through its mane. It was soft. These aenbarrs seemed to be well-groomed. I took a deep breath and hoisted myself up and on to Rea. My legs swung over its body and I got comfortable on Rea's saddle. My fingers wrapped around the loose reins and looped it twice over my right hand. I let my magic sense linger slightly around me before waving my free hand and expanding it outwards. I managed to cover half of my maximum range, but even that is already significantly better than most certified, high-ranked magicians.
When my magic sense extended past the boundary of my physical body's senses, I closed my eyes to ease the burden. Overloading is a common mishap when using extensive magic sense, so an easy way to prevent it is by shutting down other senses. I softly tugged the reins in my right hand to a direction and settled somewhere among all the other aenbarr riders. I was considered a magician and not part of the vanguard scouting team, so I stayed somewhere mid-front. Rea was very obedient although the few neighs and whines indicated that he's actually trying to have a conversation. I didn't reply but kept softly petting his neck.
"We'll continue the journey in five minutes. Everyone on night shift, get in your places! Non-combatants, return to the carts now!" Someone shouted out instructions and everyone else replied curtly.
I did a semblance of a nod before focusing my senses in front of me.
Although closing my eyes meant not seeing physical things, my magic sense can help pick up traces of magic on living creatures and magic artefacts. Other than that, Sol and Luna's blessings are considered a type of magic and I can also faintly discern it if there were any interferences. The rapidly cooling desert was spread clearly in my senses.
Aenbarrs were smart. Although not as smart as the most intelligent creatures, they are smart enough to discern patterns and simple reactions to certain things. Without my urging, Rea leisurely began galloping along with the other aenbarrs as the convoy restarted their journey.
"Miss Magician, I'll be accompanying you since our captain noticed you couldn't speak," the petite boy that suddenly approached me replied nervously beyond my index finger.
I paused, the hints of magic on the tip of my finger disappearing as quickly as it appeared.
I lowered my head and nodded. The boy beamed in a mix of joy and relief, his raised hands dropped and gripped his aenbarr's reins. The boy guided his aenbarr to my right-side, a few paces behind me.
"I'm Kari, the captain tasked me to attend to you, Miss Magician. Now, what signals from you should I look out for magic artefacts?"
I crossed my middle and index finger, pointing towards the fisted hand that held Rea's reins. I then waved a few quick numbers. When the boy, Kari nodded, I smiled then gestured for the boy to move on.
"Then when an artifact is in a certain direction, you'll point to it in such a way... How about enemies?"
I gestured with my middle, ring and little finger straight to the same fisted hand before waving another few quick numbers.
"Those are for enemies... How about dangerous magical zones? Or magical disasters?"
I blinked, then looked at that boy. How thorough of him. After a moment of silence, my hand slowly rose up and I opened my palm, the swirling fire twined the flowing water while the soft wind swirled around them. The small display of magic disentangled themselves before slithering around Kari. They moved in sync, the water creating a diamond, the fire creating a circle while the wind was triangular. A few unseen dust collected themselves to form a square. No matter how Kari glanced or looked through the magic, his eyes would land on my fist. He brightened up as he understood what it meant.
"Ah! You'll show me the magic element and where it is! That's wonderful, Miss Magician. Your control over the elements are superb. Then, please rely on me to voice out your signs to our mercenary group."
I nodded then ignored the presence of that boy.
In the far distance, there was nothing but sand dunes, rocks and dead remains of plants and beasts alike. The moonlight may not be bright for those who see with eyes, but I revel in the soft feeling of being basked under any light at all. If only...
Well, I shouldn't think too much about the past. What was done is done. Who I was no longer mattered.
I would only need to do what my whole bloodline attempted to do.
Most of the time was spent traversing as quick as the large carts could go while the group of solo aenbarr riders chatted as they moved in formation. I had nothing much to do, and the barren wasteland does not merit much of anything useful. I occasionally pointed at places where hints of magic artefacts appeared in my senses, ignoring the ones whose brilliance are likely to fade in a few days. It was rather boring but I was used to boredom. Then...
'Who are you?'
An overwhelming, trembling shock coursed through me.
That voice was male, slightly scratchy and there was the lingering echo. The echoes indicated just how far away that voice originated but I was exhilarated all the same. I knew how difficult it was for anyone to reach me despite the innate ability of my bloodline. This... This was the last task I must do.
I tried to talk but the pain from within my throat reminded me that I would not reach that voice using my physical voice. Although it has been a while, I had not lost my ability to use my soul body to speak across dimensions. My voice felt foreign since I had not heard it for a long time but it was enough that it could be heard on the other side.
"Y-You are... Please tell me what century it is for you, human!"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
MystenNoire
MystenNoire ( p_q) I admit it, I'm a terrible person AND it's impossible to follow any schedule. I'm just incapable of focusing on writing one story to the end. Please don't murder me! (╥_╥)
I won't discontinue any of my works but I'm not gonna promise any schedule ever. I'm still gonna update whenever I finish a whole chapter! It'll just be... really sporadic updates. Sorry!
Thank you to everyone that read up to here! I'm grateful to every reader that has ever dropped a view hehe. See you later!~
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