“Somehow, it’s almost like coming home.” I chuckled, making my way down the hill, towards the ancient, imperial road. Travelling through the rough terrain of the mountains, with unpredictable, suddenly changing weather, unstable footing and overall sparse vegetation had been more of a challenge and a lot more of a hassle than I had thought, when we had been leaving the Bright Hollow Orcs. To say nothing of the predators roaming the mountains, many of them thinking that a group of humanoids, no matter their power, would be an easier dinner than the canny mountain-goats who had managed to survive, even thrive, in these harsh conditions.

Over the days we had been travelling together, Olivia had demonstrated her worth over and over, even with her insistence that she was unable to use offensive magic. As she put it, her Lady didn’t allow to force her, Olivia’s, will onto others, even if they attacked her. Instead, she was granted abilities to quickly escape and shield herself from danger. Curiously, she was allowed to help those travelling with her, to ward danger away from them, as they defended themselves, which, in turn, allowed me to focus on using my frozen shuttles and a combination of Blood-, Darkness- and Death-Magic to hinder animals attacking us.

However Olivia truly shone outside of combat, when it came to finding a good path, to spot foes lying in wait or trying to sneak up on us and, at the end of the day, finding a good spot to make camp. That magical dome-shield she used to ward of the weather had allowed us to spend more than one night in its dry comfort, even if I had decided to demonstrate that I could create shelter, too, and set up a hut made from Ice one night. It was mostly to show that I had the ability and I think each of my companions preferred Olivia’s dome of comfort but then, it was quite literally magic created to provide shelter for a comfortable rest.

She even had a couple of spells that could be used to aid in navigation, from something simple, like finding out where North was, to more complicated things, like a spell that essentially gave her a magical GPS, only without the accurate maps. However, for Olivia who had been to many places, the lack of accurate maps wasn’t too bad, as she had noted the positions of different places on her maps, allowing her to correlate the position she learned using her magic.

Curiously, those spells were what I thought would be easiest to replicate, simply due to my increasing familiarity with the Astral River. If I somehow managed to improve my ability to navigate that realm, it should allow me to compare my position in the Astral River with previously visited places, giving me my accurate position within the world of Mundus, even allowing me to compare my position with other places that I could find within the Astral. But, to get to that point, a lot of research, learning and effort was needed, so it was placed on my ever-growing to-do list, with an asterisk that said to leave if for later.

“I can relate.” Olivia responded, carefully following behind, her eyes roaming across the hillside. Some distance down the road was a group of travellers, keeping a close eye on us, likely fearful that we were bandits of some sort.

“These roads, they are truly a marvel. I’ve spent more days on them than in any other place.” Olivia continued, her tone pensive.

“Did you know, these roads, they exist all over the world, or at least in as many places as I’ve been to. Built by the same people, built by the same design, enduring even long after their builders have long since passed. A true monument of mortal ambition.” she continued, sounding a little more upbeat.

“I’ve heard tales about them, and their builders. It makes one humble, to know that a civilisation once had the means to create something grand like this. It makes you wonder, how much further could this world be, if not for the Severing?” Adra asked, as she looked across the hillside. At that, I had to smile to myself, knowing that while Adra had tremendous respect for their feat she wasn’t too happy about the roads themselves. There was a part within her that enjoyed the wild nature, to the point that she had eschewed the ancient roads on her original way north, causing her to take many a month more than she’d have needed if she had used the roads. And moved with a purpose, instead of slowly wandering, trying to make sense of her own feelings and her place in the world.

Olivia stopped for a moment, to respond to Adra’s question.

“Who knows? Maybe the Shattering was necessary, despite the scars it left on the world. How could we, mere mortals, grasp the fate of the world, when we can’t even understand and master our own?”

“If there even is such a thing as fate.” I replied, just before a small rock slid out beneath my foot, forcing me to focus on my footing, instead of philosophical debate.

“It doesn’t matter what you want to call it, Fate, Destiny or Divine Guidance, what I mean when talking about the fate of the world is the course the whole world takes and how large and small actions can change that course. Who knows what would have happened if the Sunderer never had been born? Or if he had died or been killed, long before he became the one now known as the Sunderer? The world’s fate would have changed but who can say if it would have changed for the better? That is a feat that might even be beyond the gods themselves, nevermind us poor mortals.” Olivia explained what she meant, causing me to nod.

Over the course of our conversation, we had managed to make our way down, to the ancient road, letting its potent magic wash away some of our fatigue. Once again, I felt humbled at the complexity, the sheer effort that must have gone into the design of the magic beneath me. It was something that couldn’t be described as genius, it was more, it was the concentrated effort of hundreds of scholars and millions of workers, all striving for a common goal.

“And west we go.” Sigmir said, once she was next to me. Looking at her, I noticed that her line of sight wasn’t towards the west, but back, to the east, the direction in which her home was, somewhere far beyond the horizon. For months, we had been moving further and further away from the place she had once called home, even if the place she’d called home was no longer there. Looking at the longing in her eyes, I made a mental note to try cheering her up later, to remind her that I was with her.

“We should reach Neamov the day after tomorrow, unless something unexpected happens.” Olivia stated, after looking around a little and casting one of the spells she used to assist in navigation.

“Good to know.” I replied, as we started moving down the road, our steps noticeably lighter. It was a combination of the even road-surface and the magic that permeated through us, washing away our fatigue. Truly, a marvel.

“Can you tell me about Neamov again?” I asked Olivia, as we were walking. Now, on the road, I had a feeling that the potential danger had changed, from wild animals in search of a slow meal to bandits, hoping to get a drop on us. But considering that we were a relatively small group, all more or less well armed and armoured, I thought that most bandits would pass on attacking us. Unless they thought we were using magic bags to carry vast amounts of expensive goods or something along those lines.

“Certainly. Sadly, I’ve not seen all of it myself, some of the parts are restricted, especially the deeper parts, but I’ve heard tales.”

In response to my question, Olivia began to describe Neamov again, a town that was split in two. One half seemed to be above ground, outside the mountains, the other side built into the mountains around us. How very dwarf.

It reminded me of the way that the Ashenforge-dwarves had built their homes into the mountainside, the above-ground merely a decoy and entrance to their defensive network, making me wonder how the dwarves of Neamov had gone about things.

Just listening to Olivia describe the different parts of the city, the merchants district, the craftsman district, the commons, where the majority of locals lived and the nobles district, deep within the mountains. It made me look forward to seeing a true city of Mundus, on a scale that should even dwarf Kolyug.