I got to the deck of the flying ship and looked around. Jane and Oliver were leaning on the railing, looking down, there was something like three metres of distance between them.

Alua seemed to be supervising what seemed to be sailors, they were tying up the sails while nimbly climbing up and down the masts, I think they weren't there the last time I've been on the deck. Our second rescuer instead was nowhere to be seen.

I got closer to the railings, between Jane and Oliver, and looked down. Underneath us was what I guessed to be the city of Hoss. We were descending and since the ship was flying at a lower altitude, I could see the city quite well.

I expected it to be similar to a medieval city but even though I could see a castle in its middle and three walls, the similarities ended there. It was far too big to be a medieval city, it must have had a population that a medieval city couldn't hope to support and the castle was far too big for it to be built without magic. On top of that, the central part of the city was well illuminated even if it was night.

The city had three baileys, and every one of them seemed taller and thicker than any bailey from the middle ages. The first one surrounded the castle, while the second divided the residential part of the city into two. The internal part of the city was the most illuminated while the external one was bigger but darker. The third wall separated the city from the outside but I could still see a few buildings outside of it, it was difficult to say how many since there wasn't any light in that part of the city.

“I expected something much more small and archaic but it almost feels like we are landing in a modern city.”

Jane said.

She was right, but the keyword in that sentence was almost. The flying ship was similar to an airplane but it was fueled by magic. Even if the city had an illumination system, it was more present in what was probably the richer part of the city, and on top of that, thanks to the illumination, we could see siege weapons on top of the walls.

“This city seemingly needs three giant baileys to protect itself. It means that there are things that could break those walls, don't lower your guard just because it feels slightly familiar.”

I replied.

“Did you really have to rain on my parade like that?”

“I said it for your good.”

“Excuse me if I don't like to be given advices from the same person that stabbed me in the butt.”

'What's gotten into her now?'

“I didn't mean to stab you that hard, you also quite deserved it.”

“What?! I wasn't doing anything, I was standing there and you grabbed me and then stabbed me. The ones deserving to be stabbed in the butt were the others.”

'Damn this girl's being a real headache, is she venting her stress by annoying me? Anyway, it's not like I can let her win, otherwise, she could get on top of me in the future.'

“I would have gladly stabbed the butt of every one of you and all of you would have deserved it.”

“Do you like to stab people's ass or what?”

For a few seconds, there was silence. I was thinking about what to say next but someone was faster than me.

“Hehehe T-that's how life is, some people turn out to be backstabbers, others turn out to be BUTTstabbers hehe.”

And just like that Oliver entered our conversation and killed it brutally.

A cold silence fell upon us.

Jane was showing a catatonic expression while probably wondering if existence still had a meaning.

While I, on my part, was thinking:

'Don't laugh don't don't laugh don't laugh don't laugh don't laugh don't laugh, you know it's not funny, you know it, for the love of god keep that face serious goddammit.'

Bad jokes were always my weakness.

While I desperately trying to not crack up laughing, Oliver, embarrassed by the awkwardness he had created, turned completely red and uttered:

“P-pleaseforgetwhatIsaid!”

He then ran away inside the ship.

A couple more seconds passed in silence and then Jane tried to continue our conversation.

“So, it's cloudy tonight, isn't it.”

“Yea, now we can't see the moon anymore.”

“Right.”

“Yea.”

After that failed attempt we stayed silent until the ship completed its landing.

I guess she wasn't really angry after all.

We landed near a big building similar to a hangar in the part of the city between the internal and middle walls. It seemed an airport for flying ships since there were other ships parked here. There were nine ships of the same size as ours and two bigger ships. I guessed the two ships to be flying warships, judging from what seemed like ballistas full of runes and from the strange cannon-like stationary rods with crystals at the end poking from the reinforced railings.

The ship lowered itself to the ground, then entered and parked the ship in a hole in the ground with the exact shape and size of the boat. After we got out, Alua and her colleague then guided us through the city, towards the castle. We were wearing mantles to cover our modern clothes, not wanting to attract attention, since thanks to the illumination there were still a few people around. In fact, Along the paved street, there were some poles with a magical light on top of them every now and then.

As we moved closer to the castle I could see better how big it was, It was a monster of a castle. It felt like a group of castles put together into one massive building and on top of that the bailey surrounding it had a lot of towers and bastions along it.

As we arrived in front of one of the bastions I could see two big standards hanging from the wall. They depicted a golden sun and a green lighthouse underneath it on a blue field, it probably was the symbol of the city.

We passed through the gates and entered the citadel. Between the castle and the bailey, there was a gap with few buildings, there were many walkways that connected the castle with the minor buildings and they were all very well illuminated by the same kind of magic street lights we saw earlier.

We entered the castle from a secondary entrance and passed through some narrow aisles, probably the servants' quarters, then went through a few generously decorated hallways until we arrived into a well-furnished living room.

The room was quite big, it had a very long table, some couches and even a small bookshelf full of books. On one of the walls, I could also see a shield painted with the symbol of the city. Underneath it there was a map, I took a brief look at it.

All the cities on the map were in the eastern part of the continent and two of them were much bigger than the others. One was Hoss, near the coast in the southeast, represented on top of a hill; the other one was called Zaven and was in the easternmost part of the continent, also very close to the coast. The western part of the continent didn't show any human settlement, except a castle, drawn a bit west from the centre of the continent, the castle's name was Dark Fortress. The map's writings were all in English so I could understand it all.

After we gave a brief look at the room, Alua said.

“Those are the heroes' lodgings, they are yours now. There are many empty rooms upstairs, you can take the ones you prefer. Since it was thought for being able to lodge up to twenty people it might feel a bit big at first but I am sure you will get used to it. For now, you should sleep, tomorrow I will begin instructing you about this world's magic system. I ask you not to stroll around the castle alone for now. If you want anything, feel free to ask. Any request?”

No one said anything.

“I will be going then, have a nice rest.”

Alua went out of the room and we three remained alone in the room. I was still feeling a bit tired and since no one seemed willing to be the first one to talk, I took the initiative.

“I'll go to sleep then, good night.”

I went up the stairs and took a room on the third and last floor, it was a simple room, with just a chair, a desk, a window and a bed. I decided to sleep right away, looking forward to tomorrow's lesson about magic.