“I guess we could check it out, but not for long. I’ve got a shit ton of gunpowder and poisonous smoke to make, and our priority here is finding the girls.”

“Of course.” Ian pointed toward one of the larger towns in the distance. “Let’s meet up there in six hours. You go do your thing and we’ll ask around for the girls.”

“Alright, if I’m late just wait for me at a tavern or something. I’ve gotta find an out of the way alchemy lab to work with the poison.”

Nolan split from the group and darted toward the nearest town. He spent the next three hours scouring the southern area of the valley for alchemy shops, most of the storekeepers reluctant to point him in the direction of their competitors. Still, he managed to get a detailed explanation of the local alchemy industry from a young but knowledgeable shop assistant with a strong liking for golden cards and an even stronger dislike for his employer.

With this he was able to visit every single alchemy store in the valley with an hour to spare before he’d have to seek out the others. During this time he was able to fill up two dozen barrels of gunpowder thanks to the use of his spiritual energy, which he used to hold and mix the powdered ingredients that he’d ground up at record speed. While he had initially planned to make much more, he quickly decided that it was more important to stock up on ingredients for these weapons rather than focus on making a limited supply. Along with those attained in previous settlements, he now had quite a healthy stock in his homemade arsenal, even more than he’d used up in the battle for the Haussian city of Davenhold.

He made his way over to the specified town and sensed that his friends were sitting in a building somewhere within the central area. Food stalls, flute players, dancers, gambling games; so many people enjoyed the activities and services that the streets had to offer that he was sure not a single resident was missing out on the festivities. He hurried through the hustle and bustle toward his friends, whom he found guzzling down ale in a poorly lit tavern.

“Dude, stop giving Esteban beer.”

Nolan snatched a half-empty cup from the boy and helped himself to the remainder of its contents.

“I don’t like it anyway. It’s gross.”

“Good.” Nolan sat down and ordered another round from a passing barmaid. “Any news of the girls?”

“Not the girls, per se.”

“What do you mean, Ian?”

“Apparently the caravan passed through here, but only briefly. From what we’ve heard they should’ve left Ridgerock a few days ago around suppertime.”

Seized by excitement, Nolan chugged down the full flagon of ale that the barmaid had just set down in front of him. He gave a great belch, smiled at her and then placed a golden card atop the platter that still had Ian and Sean’s drinks atop it. “Man, that’s perfect. That means that we can catch up to them soon!”

The others exchanged looks.

“Well…” After pausing to form the right phrase, Sean produced a small stick that was mostly covered in opaque crystal. “Give this a try.”

“Like eat it?”

“What else would—yeah, just eat it.”

His eyebrows shot up the moment that the substance touched his lips. “Is this…sugar?”

“It’s a lollipop!” Esteban took one out of his spatial bag and began to enjoy it as well. “We went to a bunch of places while you were gone. They have tons of awesome food and snacks out there. Can we…? Do you think we could…?”

“I know we’re close to finding your friends,” said Sean, “but maybe we could hang back for the night and relax a bit?”

Looking at their hopeful expressions, he turned to Ian. “What do you think?”

“I think it’s a good idea. I’m used to spending at least one night a week in a tavern with Shain and the others, so I wouldn’t mind some downtime.”

“Even though your long-lost sister is only a day or two away?”

“She’s probably doing the same thing. Besides, think about how slow caravans move. Even if we spend the night here we'll only have to run for an extra hour or so.”

Nolan couldn’t deny that he had a point. The caravan that he’d taken from Greenwall to Ferguson had been several times faster than the caravans noted in the known histories of Earth, but that didn’t mean much when he and his friends could travel many times faster than that.

Nyla…

He stifled a sigh. “Alright, let’s grab some roadies, hit up the ten biggest towns and get smashed while taking in the sights. In about, I don’t know, ten hours we’ll chug Divine Spirit Fountain water to kill our buzzes and then we’ll head north as fast as we can.”

Sean blinked a few times. “What, were you planning this all along?”

“No, but I just did. You guys cool with that?”

Agreement was unanimous. Nolan purchased a barrel of chilled ale and led them out of the tavern, Ian pausing to drop a golden card atop their table before snatching up their empty flagons.

“What’s this town called?” said Sean a dozen minutes later. “Look at those dancers go. They’re as good as anyone I remember watching on TV.”

“One thought at a time buddy.” Nolan silently agreed with Sean as he stared at the twenty men and women currently lost in intimate dance atop the stage that sat on the western side of the town’s central plaza.

“Finish your drinks, fellas,” Ian smiled. “Let’s find a bigger town!”

Though they all wore the same sets of stylish robes, they didn’t stick out in any of the towns that they went on to visit. While countless people had come from all over the Dragon’s Tail to attend the festivities, only those that fit a certain status could make it to this far-off realm let alone pay the exorbitant entry fee into the valley. This meant that many if not most of those in attendance were members of the countless clans, tribes and powerful families that held heavy influence in their respective settlements and independent states, the majority of which wore the iconic colours that reigned supreme in their homelands. As far as strangers were concerned Nolan and his friends were simply fellow clansmen from some unknown community dressed in smart sets of piney robes.

Their next stop was the third largest city in the kingdom, Hollygrove, which was built around the base of the stunted mountain where the capital resided. In essence the city was simply two opposing strips of homes and businesses that hugged the all-encompassing road that circled the mountain, meaning that there was only a single main road around which the entire city was constructed.

Familiar yellow hauberks stuck out among the crowd, which was constantly in motion as people made their way down the bustling street.

“There’re a lot of soldiers around here, huh?” said Sean as he rejoined the group with a handful of kabobs.

“Ridgerock is the only place with a standing army that I know of. I heard that something like one in ten citizens is in their military.”

Nolan snorted at Ian’s words. “How is that sustainable?”

“With all the demonic beasts they subdue, I’d imagine there’s enough gold to go around.”

They accepted the food with hungry hands.

Esteban snatched his share with starved speed. “Thanks Sean. It’s so good!”

“What, you don’t like when I barbeque?”

“Well…I like Sean’s soups.”

Is it really that bad? Nolan decided that he’d stock up on high quality foods and ingredients at some point during their stay in Ridgerock. Based upon the quality of the products that the street stalls offered, the cuisine of this kingdom was on a higher level than any he’d encountered.

After dozens of cold ales, savoury street snacks, live performances and fun sights, the group made their way up the long stretch of winding stairs that connected Hollygrove to Mason, the looming metropolis that rested atop the halved mountain. Large poles lined the staircase at regular intervals, where seemingly endless lengths of thread supported the same sorts of streamers that decorated the other settlements within the valley.

“What a view,” said Sean once they’d ascended the several thousand steps of polished, marbled stone. “You know, even though this world can be extremely terrifying, at least there’re moments like these.”

They took in the scenery for a few more minutes, enjoyed the sweet scent of food and flowers that drifted upward with the wind. They then followed a wide path to a congested street where thousands of people entertained the same festive atmosphere present all throughout the valley. Many armoured soldiers patrolled the streets, almost all of them at the first level of Integration. If the average foot soldier was so strong then how powerful would their superiors be? From the sheer amount of yellow hauberks in view it was evident that this kingdom was no pushover.

No, hold on. Most of the people here are around the same level as the soldiers. Nolan's vigilance rose despite his buzz. Their group was pretty strong, but so were all the other representatives of the clans and valley states that had travelled here to celebrate the kingdom’s prosperity. Not only that but most of the citizens were in the late levels of Profound Entry, with many in Integration as well. No wonder they’re not worried about letting so many people into their valley.

They picked a random direction and began to roam the streets in search of more beverages. Considering the strength of their livers and the irrelevance of caloric intake there was no need to hold back now that they were in such a lively place.

“What’s that?” Esteban pointed up ahead where the street opened up to a huge plaza on the scale of the ones in Verdurian and Haussian cities.

The street leading up to the plaza was completely packed with people, throngs of thousands leading into the open space where several thousand others currently surrounded a small elevated platform. An old man in a soft yellow robe sat quietly atop the metre-by-metre platform, his legs dangling unceremoniously from a height of thirty metres.

“Wanna check it out?” said Nolan.

“Obviously we’re going to check it out.” Ian nodded toward the distant rooftops, which stood several storeys taller than the buildings found in most valley settlements. Hundreds of others had already made their way up there, with many dozens doing the same as the seconds continued to claw by.

Nolan walked over to a kind-faced woman in simple robes of soft grey fabric that matched those of the young boy at her side.

“Excuse me, ma’am, but can you tell me what everyone’s waiting around here for?”

The woman brushed a large swath of auburn hair away from a sweet, heart-shaped face and considered him with careful eyes before she acknowledged him with a pleasant smile.

“Every year an elder of the royal court hosts a game of sorts where anybody is allowed to participate.”

“A game?” said the young boy beside her, whose head barely reached her elbows. “It’s more of a challenge, Mother. How can it be called a game when nobody ever wins?”

“A challenge?” Esteban appeared at Nolan’s side and tugged at his sleeve. “That sounds fun. We should enter it!”

“Didn’t you hear me just now? I said nobody ever wins.”

“That doesn’t mean it won’t be fun.”

The woman looked amused as she smiled at the boys. “It’s quite expensive to enter this year. That elder there is asking for one hundred spirit stones from anyone who wishes to take up his challenge. I feel that this year will be the toughest one yet.”

“Can I enter it, Nolan?”

“No way, didn’t you hear that kid? Nobody ever wins these things.”