When Aarav finally opened his eyes, he was extremely dizzy. Fitful sleep interlaced with nightmare and bucking of the gryphon had made him feel a couple of times that he was about to fall, even know he knew Haemish would never let that happen and had secured him well. So it took a couple of minutes before he could fully appreciate his surroundings. Or, more specifically, Aarav’s current bird’s eye view. When he finally did, he could not hide a gasp.

Aarav had been on a plane before. Yes, that view itself was nothing unique compared to what one could see through one of those portholes on the side of a plane. But there was something special about being high up in the air and open to the sky around you. That feeling of having nothing artificial around you, just you and the air and the sky, was exhilarating. It made you want to take a deep breath of that fresh air and just hang suspended in the beauty and freshness of it. It was incredible!

Aarav struggled to express the feeling in words, the full impact of what he felt and what he saw, and that was just the sky. Far below, he could see that they were approaching a city of some sort. Different to the ones he was used to, no skyscrapers, more like a city that had been limited to twenty metres high vertically but still sprawling, they had grown out instead of up. It was a decent size but small for a capital city, Aarav thought. But then maybe it was a reasonable size for this world, he was using a city like New York or London as a comparison, so it seemed minuscule in that light.

The fresh air continued to wake him with its refreshing quality, and he looked over to Haemish. The man was also quietly sitting, contemplating something. He didn’t appear to have noticed Aarav awake yet. Aarav just quietly continued to observe the capital approach, enjoying the sight of it in front of him. This place was likely where he would be spending the next few months. If he survived that long, while he had gained some trust for Haemish during this trip, it was still a sobering thought. He would probably be fine in all likelihood, but there was still a possibility that he would be sacrificed as a solution to some problem that one of Haemish’s nearest and dearest was having. I don’t doubt that things would have already gone in a different direction if I hadn’t shown him I was capable of speech and, more than that, spoke Darfan.

Still, there was little that Aarav could do in his current situation and if actions failed him. Well, he had always been good at talking his way out of most cases, hadn’t he? In his twenty-three years of life before Resh, he had learned quite a few Skills which he hadn’t had any use for so far. Maybe living in a city would be an excellent chance to regain some of those. He would need to gain enough trust with these people to roam about freely, and as long as they did not pose a danger to his life, maybe this could be an opportunity? Aarav, formerly known as Rash or in this life Resh, was cautiously optimistic about this potential future.

Amusing thoughts and reminiscing about better days in his previous life also had the, unfortunately, side effect of reminding him of his dreams. He didn’t need that, not now. Maybe he would deal with them someday, but he had a new life to look forward to, right? He sighed and helplessly hung his head-body. Everything was in flux. Nothing certain; why did that seem familiar? Oh right! He had lived his entire life in that state!

All these musings weren’t doing him any good. He was just making himself feel worse about things he could not change and would not be of any immediate use to him. Right now, he needed to take stock and prepare his arguments like a lawyer before a court date. He might need to plea for his life. What then? Time to get ready.

“What are the people in the palace going to do with me once they see me?” He wanted to ask what you would do with me once we got to the palace. But he couldn’t bring himself to ask such a direct question of the man.

“Nothing I would imagine, we are bringing you in as a subject for study, you will be in my…our custody, and no one should question it. I certainly will not volunteer any information, and as long as you don’t draw any undue attention….” Haemish raised his eyebrows pointedly at the Slime. “None will be the wiser.”

“Very well, you have my agreement.” He made it seem like a royal proclamation. Like he was in charge, and they were his subjects. Fake it till you make it! A sly grin spread across Haemish’s face.

In mock severity, he replied. “It will be as you say, my liege.” Then he performed a court bow, the slight nod of his head, and the grin on his face widening further with Aarav’s scowl. Being seen through so thoroughly rankled his entire being. I can’t catch a break! Whatever, it doesn’t matter. I’m doing what he wants anyway.

Rion, Taler and Marteen all moved closer into what seemed like a flying formation approaching the city. The closer they got, the tighter they flew. “We will come in at the back of the palace, and let’s circle the city. We don’t want people questioning what they saw.”

As Aarav looked around, he realised that flight and aerial movement in the city was quite limited. There weren’t a lot of creatures in the sky, even in a magical world such as this, where he would have expected a lot of beasts and people flying around their four gryphons, stood out like a sore thumb.

“Why aren’t there more people and creatures in the air?” Aarav wondered.

“Not many gryphons in Darf. They are not native here, so we haven’t had gryphon for very long. The Monster Tamers need to breed them before they become more prevalent.” Haemish answered, and Aarav hadn’t even realised he had spoken aloud.

“Oh…right.” Aarav muttered. He had been hoping that gryphon wings were in his future. He might have to wait a little while. Or find some elsewhere. Haemish called this place Darf? I assume that is the country. Has he told me that before?

Now that they were closer, Aarav could see a little more of the buildings, just a little more, enough to make out that wood was the predominant material of their construction. Aarav guessed that with the forest being so close, it was likely the most abundant material available. It was likely easily used in construction with magic, even more so than it had been in his previous life. Earth magic was incredibly versatile, and while Aarav had only learned one spell when he was an Earth Slime, he could see that he could acquire a lot of practical magic to aid in manipulating plant life and soil and stone. Maybe plants would be a combination of Earth and Water? In either case, though, it would be helpful. Making a mental note to look into plant manipulation, he looked on further.

They banked right and swerved around the city before getting too close. The average person on the street would only notice four specks in the sky. Landing a little way away from the palace proper, it would be about an hour’s ride from here on the gryphon, according to Haemish. With the day coming to a close, it would be close to nightfall before they arrived, just how they wanted it and to attract the least amount of attention.

Their approach after landing was from the palace's back, and what a building it was. What looked like white walls, Aarav wasn’t sure what the building was made of or gave it that sheen that reflected the light so brightly, but the palace seemed to shine. It was not significant as such things went, compared to Buckingham Palace that he had seen once in his life. It was minuscule, just as the city itself was. It felt like it was on a scale with Brewyn, of modest size and comfortable. Incredible! It was the only appropriate word he could think of, something he had heard someone say on the streets once.

“Wow, the palace is quite the sight!” Aarav stated.

“Hmm? Yes, it is, isn’t it? I think once you have seen it as many times as I have, you become used to the sight. I suppose that you can become used to anything. Yes, it is quite the sight!” Haemish beamed at Aarav as he took in the wonders around him.