Capítulo 44: Chapter 44 : Oase del Mare
The ship was unharmed by any attacks from the sea animals for the remainder of the journey to the city.
In their quarters, Dion and Vega spent their time casting charms and engaging in meditation. Even after spending several weeks on the ship, they made the decision to maintain their distance from the other residents. The other apprentices were mostly playing rather than practicing standing or sitting on the deck socializing with the other guests. Not long after, the ship's captain reminded them they had almost reached the capital.
The deck was now full of people. Numerous apprentices shouted and pointed toward the island's edge as it began to emerge over the horizon. Many held their breaths looking at the beautiful view they were experiencing for the first time in their lives.
Even Dion, who was a noble, stared at the beautiful sight with his mouth open.
The closer the ship came, the larger the island seemed to be. Oase del Mar was majestic, living up to its name, with a number of lanterns soaring above the night sky and illuminating the outline of a sizable white citadel perched on mountains. With their enormous crystals spinning, several towers reached the night sky, enveloping the citadel with a formation that shimmered when observed from the correct angle.
The ship slowed down and approached the dock gradually. It became more difficult to view the entire city, even with multiple lanterns, due to the advancing darkness.
"Come on! Faster!"
The captain yelled without giving a damn about the powerful apprentices' potential reprisal, despite the strength of an adept and numerous high-level apprentices in the ship. On the flags of the ship was the guild's emblem. Under the watchful eyes of the guild, no one in their right mind would ever try to assault the ship.
Vega put all of Dion's stuff inside his ring and garnered much attention from the apprentices for being the only one who didn't bring a huge pack with them. The sight was odd compared with the other people who tried the hardest to keep their packs steady while trying to descend the slope from the wooden ramp reaching the dock.
"Papers!"
Three gates in total greeted them after they stepped onto the stone pathway on the dock. The gates stood tall, surrounded by several guardsmen armed with their staves, complete with several lines of symbols Vega had seen in Wyatt's description of the trapping sigils. The interconnected lines were even clearer under the lanterns hung from the top of the gate.
Pretending to reach into his pocket, Vega took out two identical papers, which he showed to the guards, and after they scanned them and the papers together, they were finally allowed to go through the gate.
Even surrounded by some of the thickest gray walls, the road leading through the capital was still littered with some buildings that stood together without showing any gaps in between their walls. Vega had to walk from the ship with the apprentices, who had already formed their own alliance. Luckily, the huge stone pathway allowed several carts to traverse the street smoothly. Finally, after a long walk, the street divided into several forks reaching deeper into the capital.
While the other apprentices with their group separated and walked deeper into the capital, Vega had to stop under a huge building standing between the two forks with written symbols of the academies.
The inside of the building was really confusing. Several stands with some of the well-known symbols of the academies littered the entrance.
"Try the back." Dion whispered.
"Why?"
"Because our academy was or still is one of the four major academies in the islands, together with the Eight Flame, Night Haze, and the Terra Vida."
"That makes sense." "Are we stronger than the others?"
"Not really, but when our ship was caught by the Shoal Blue Sea, the Night Haze lost the competition. Probably our status was higher than the other academy back then. But after all of this, who knows?"
Vega nodded as she pushed the wheelchair past all the stalls guarded by the high-level apprentices from each of the respective academies. He didn't know what the news was from the capital, but from their expressions, the war outside didn't really affect them.
True to Dion's word, surrounding the counter were four big stalls with different colors, one representing each of the major academies. When he spotted his old academy symbols, he approached the stalls guarded by someone who was closing his eyes and meditating.
Vega tapped the wooden stalls harder, and finally the apprentice grudgingly opened his eyes and stared at him. "What?!"
"I need a map of the capital."
"Sure. Your medal?"
Vega touched his gold medal, but realizing that his medal was somewhat questionable for showing his relation to the elders, he glanced at Dion, who understood the assignment.
"I think it's lost somewhere." Dion made sure to show his empty pouch to the apprentice in question. "During our way here, some higher-level apprentices belonging to the elders' faction almost caught us and took our belongings."
The apprentice scanned the people in front of him and nodded after making sure that they didn't seem suspicious.
"Then you can't get anything for free from here. Go to the other side of the capital. The adventurer's guild will give you anything free of charge."
"So walking there? I can't walk, as you can see clearly, and my friend was already tired from the journey."
"Of course not." The apprentice started to feel bad for the newcomers and took something out, showing them a complete map of the capital. "Here, take the underground rail from here, and you can reach the other side of the capital quickly. Only about an hour."
"Alright. How about the closest inn?
"Here, just take this one. The cheapest inn for an apprentice Especially after you lost your stuff, this is the most affordable inn." The apprentice pointed in another direction on the map.
Vega thanked him because he was really helpful and tipped him ten bronze coins.
When they finally were back outside, Vega whispered. "We're just going to stay in the inn until we figure out the time to join the guild, and we could probably check the adventurer's guild for any jobs."
After Dion approved of their plans, Vega pushed the wheelchair along the empty street. The sound of a mechanical grinding wheel and his boots clicking briskly against the stone pavements But the capital was still a capital after all. Some buildings were full of shady customers exploring, scattering between buildings with their hoods on. But luckily, most of the people were commoners.
Together they finally reached a strange building constructed with mostly stone connected with several lines interconnected one to another. The closer they were to the buildings, the more whispers from the building brought Vega to his first time visiting his mentor's place.
"Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Dion looked back, frowning.
"The sounds from the formations on the building."
Dion shook his head.
Vega felt curious and edged closer toward the building. The whispers grew louder, but when he finally managed to put his hand on the stone building, the whispers stopped and his vision turned dark.
"Vega, Vega!" He heard the intensity in his friend's voice, and he went back to where he was.
A soft click sounded from the door of the building, and he felt his feet stuck on the ground. When the door creaked open slowly, a figure slowly emerged from the darkness in the room. A dark veil covered the face and even the whole body, even the fingers. Even though the figure was scary, Vega still had his voice. "Who are you?"
"Come. You're almost stopping the formations from working, and you have to explain yourself."
His feet followed the person's without his consent. Dion tried his hardest to keep his chair from advancing, but Vega kept pushing forward. "Stop! Don't go inside the mysterious building."
"I'm trying, but my legs are moving on their own."
"Try using your sound magic. You heard a whisper before. So probably this could be similar."
Vega whistled, and the spell faltered. But whoever cast the spell, he cast a stronger spell, and when Vega stepped inside, the door slammed shut.
Inside the room, it was dark, but Vega still walked without being able to control himself. The strangest thing was that the building hummed with a relaxation melody, keeping him and Dion quiet until they finally reached a bright room. The room was similar to a tavern, with some empty tables and chairs. There was a long bar whose paint had started to fade. Behind the counter, a veiled figure stood staring at them mysteriously.
"Welcome to the Raven's Order."
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