It better not be more than a thousand for a ticket. Nolan led the way over to the cave mouth, where everyone was gathering with cups in hand. He was nervous about closing in on the last leg of this part of the journey, which had technically taken him several years. This is a nation of merchant’s we’re talking about. They’ll definitely charge a high fee. It wasn’t that he was short on funds—on the contrary, he was quite wealthy these days, more so than most people on the continent. Simply put, he just didn’t like the idea of being ripped off, especially when he and his friends were more than capable of making the trip across the Northern Straight themselves.

“I’m doing it now.”

While everyone was chatting away, Delia said a short, soft-toned sentence and then abruptly wrapped them all in a large cloud of spiritual energy. Without waiting any longer, she shot through the waterfall and ferried them along after her at such a speed that almost all of them looked as if they were about to get sick.

“Slow down!” Nolan suddenly thought that it might not be a good idea to drink extremely powerful ale while rocketing through the sky at such a rapid speed. “Or at least put a barrier around us, if you can.”

Delia complied without making eye contact, and soon they were surrounded by an invisible barrier that was only detectable due to the fact that they were met with absolutely no wind resistance or undulation.

With flagons in hand and boisterous conversation bubbling from their mouths, the group left the lonely island at their backs and began closing in on their next destination.

***

Three hours into their relaxing trip and they had yet to see any signs of civilization. They had only recently crossed over the lake’s northern shoreline, something that would have happened sooner were they not limiting their speed for the sake of their festivities.

“I still can’t get over how big this lake is,” Sean was saying, which prompted everyone to follow his gaze southward to where the great body of crystalline waters was still visible at their backs. The sun was soon to set, its fading light setting the lake aglow with a gorgeous blanket of golden light that seemed to swallow up half the world.

“It’s so beautiful,” said Aine, whose big, round eyes were wide with wonder. “Much prettier than what lies ahead of us.” She had just finished sobering up with the help of a few mouthfuls of Divine Spirit Fountain water, her comely face no longer flushed from ear to ear from the potent effects of the amberwood ale.

Below them lay a dreary expanse of dull and daunting landscape, defined by an abundance of pale, lifeless dirt that was pocked with sparse copses of dead, sun-bleached trees. They were currently flying at an altitude of about 400 metres, which afforded them a generous view of the surrounding horizons. The topography here was unremarkably flat, though a healthy supply of cottony clouds lent the lacklustre scenery a serene sort of charm as they caught the fleeting rays of sunlight and adopted a healthy, orange-yellow ambience. It was amidst this backdrop that Delia continued to ferry Nolan and his friends across the Northern Wilderness in a quiet manner, her demeanour still inexplicably skittish as she carried out her task without complaint.

Tallgate was still quite a ways off due to the fact that they had been travelling at a reduced speed, though everyone save for Delia found joy in their leisurely flight and thus didn’t view the hours that lay ahead as boring or bothersome.

A few minutes after everyone had shared some remarks about their current environment, Nolan’s bladder pressured him to call out to Delia with a bit of urgency to his tone. “Hold up a moment!” He let go of his cup, which floated harmlessly by his side as he assumed a standing position and gave his body a much-needed stretch. When Delia didn’t stop, he infused his voice with inner essence and snapped, “Stop flying. I’ve gotta drain the main vein, if you get my meaning.”

Ian, Sean and Esteban all gave varying groans of agreement, the girls nodding along as well. They had been flying for several hours at this point and had only stopped to relieve themselves a single time.

“Here’s good,” said Nolan, who conjured a few platforms of spiritual energy about ten metres away from the others, footholds for him and the guys to stand on. He nodded at Sean and Esteban in a sort of taunting manner. “Careful not to fall, eh?”

They exchanged slightly uncertain looks, the younger one laughing as the older rolled his eyes.

“What about us?” said Lyra, whose face was still flushed with inebriation.

“What about you?” said her brother.

“Why are you so simple? We can’t just go pee up here like you guys.”

“Blame that on the heavens.” Ian’s laugh was cut short at his sister elbowed him in the ribs, replaced with a wince. “I was just joking around. You didn’t have to hit me.”

“Do you see anyone laughing?”

As the two devolved into their usual bickering, Nolan ordered Delia to take them down to the ground so that they could all take care of business. They landed atop a blank expanse of dirt, Nyla conjuring a simple wall of clay with a basic construction arrayment that converted said dirt into an interesting little bathroom with individual stalls and well-sculpted holes for the girls to pee in.

Peeing on a decaying tree stump, Nolan enjoyed a somewhat bitter, scentless breeze and smiled at the innate satisfaction that came with letting loose a stream in such a natural and organic environment.

Yep, he sighed, giving himself a shake before stowing away the snake. Pissing outside really is the best.

When everyone else had finished with their business, the group set off once more. This time however, they set aside their drinks and opted to sober up so that Delia could pick up the pace in light of the encroaching gloaming. No matter how powerful their overall capabilities, there was something about absolute darkness that put them ill at ease. Considering the large amount of dense clouds and the fact that tonight was the night of the new moons, they would be lucky to see a single star let alone a speck of light from the ever-darkening sky. May warned them that the spirit of the lake wasn’t the only powerful creature that dwelt within the Northern Wilderness, known or otherwise, and that they could never be too careful when travelling across such a desolate yet dangerous place.

Hundreds of kilometres sped by in the hours that followed, with hardly any change to the local topography. It was so dark at this point in the night that Nolan had to rely on his spiritual sense to get a feel for his surroundings, tracking the ground as if he were an airplane equipped with a sonar mapping system.

To his surprise, he sensed an abrupt change in the environment about four hours after they had left the giant lake at their backs. The amount of Origin Energy in the region experienced a drastic jump in a matter of moments, which made him suspicious that it wasn’t simply some natural occurrence but rather something similar to the way that the Desolate Spirit Tower nurtured the Grand Isle of Weston at the cost of the surrounding regions’ life force.

A gigantic forest of ancient trees now made up most of the topography, showcasing trunks so large and heavy with healthy leaves that Delia had to double their altitude in order to avoid colliding with their piney tops. Many of these trees were dotted with man-sized pinecones, while others sported strange fruits and fungal growth. From what Nolan could sense of the forest floors, the ground in this region was covered in a thick padding of fallen detritus, dotted with countless thickets and thorny brambles that hid and housed an untold number of flora and fauna.

“Wow,” muttered Esteban as he narrowed his eyes in focus. “There are so many animals down there. Maybe we can go down and take a look? I bet there’re tons we’ve never seen before!”

“What’s the point?” said Lyra, munching on a crunchy fruit. “We still won’t be able to see them.”

“Well, we can use spirit stones for light. Or maybe Nyla can make some kind of arrayment that’ll light up the area?”

“That sounds like a complete waste of time.”

Esteban quieted down, the frown on his face betraying his annoyance and embarrassment. He had a habit of blurting things out in excitement, while Lyra had a tendency to shoot down his comments in her usual, nonchalant manner. Nolan could tell that the kid was getting tired of her constant remarks, and was waiting for the day that he could work up the courage to tell her off.