Eli was sitting on one of the soft blue blankets, happily chewing on a bit of the remaining jerky, washing it down with some tea. He’d never have guessed it was tea if they hadn’t told him since it tasted closer to boiled berries with a spritz of lime. He didn’t think it was something he’d try again, but it had also been free for the Lodge’s guests this morning.

It was still warm when he pulled it from his DS, the bracelet’s stasis ability again impressing him. Not that he felt much of the warmth since heat and cold didn’t bother him much anymore. On the other hand, a bright sun with almost no clouds to provide shade was still annoying. It only felt worse since there didn’t seem to be anything like sunglasses in this world.

That’s why he’d taken a rest break where he had, below a few trees with plenty of shade. Plus, underneath them was a nice patch of grass where he’d set his blanket. With the gentle sound of flowing water in the nearby aqueduct adding to the setting, it was like someone had set up a nice little rest stop for people taking the roadway.

There was a freshness in the air from the nearby channel half full of water, though he wasn’t about to go drinking from something that had scattered bits of moss and other plants growing on the bottom. At least the spot he’d found was a good distance from any of the small settlements and farms, so no one was likely to complain about him sitting here for another few minutes.

Many paths cut through the farmlands, but the one he’d chosen was a wide stone roadway that connected up with the one he’d taken yesterday. It also happened to be well-maintained and was a straight shot south towards Bishal. When he’d left Osky’s southern gate at dawn, there had been other options, but they’d looked narrower and often little better than dirt tracks. Even worse, they’d already been congested with people waiting to enter the walled town. With how the stone and wooden fences surrounding each farm had hemmed them in, he’d steered clear.

He’d wondered at first why most weren’t taking the better stone road. But after passing a few other parties sharing it with him, he’d realized that many of them were dressed in the shiny, fancy threads he’d seen in Osky yesterday. That was when he started paying attention to their relative strengths, noticing they were mostly Talents with a few Gifted thrown into the mix. Obviously, even the roads were restricted by power.

Shaking off that depressing thought, he focused instead on the bright points of the day. Funnily enough, his morning hadn’t started all that well. The first inscribing experiment had gone poorly, as he’d made the same stupid mistake by using too much pressure on the sensitive spell paper. Fortunately, just like Madwen predicted, it hadn’t even burned his hands. Instead, like a magician’s flash paper, it had given off a puff of heat before vanishing into a little ball of fire.

Encouraged at the lack of an explosion and relieved to still be alive, he’d tried a couple more times. The second one went far better, though he wasn’t sure how much of that was skill and how much was him no longer fearing that a literal fireball would go off in his face. Regardless of the reason, he ended up with a lightly glowing sheet of paper pulsing with power. The third attempt went just as well, and he’d briefly considered continuing but eventually decided there was no need to push his luck. Instead, he’d written his notes before storing the two luminous sheets away for future testing.

Another positive was how close he was to his destination. He’d passed a couple of walled towns about the size of Osky, but he hadn’t bothered to stop, instead staying on the road. There seemed to be no point with the much bigger city looming in the distance, only a few hours away. He could already pick out its white stone walls. A series of far-off little lines converged on them, tiny specks and random flashes revealing people traveling to and from the city.

Off to the left, outside the walls circling Bishal, was a massive cleared field holding a handful of airships. Most of them were shaped like the enormous container ships back home with their flat bottoms, high sides, and lack of any sails. Based on the tiny ant-sized people scrambling around their hulls, he thought they might also be of a similar size. Interspersed with the behemoths were a few smaller craft, though their design was closer to old wooden oceangoing vessels. The distance made it hard to tell, but they might even have sails. If so, he could imagine they’d help with steering and moving horizontally, but that didn’t explain how they could seemingly defy the laws of gravity. He’d definitely check them out later.

He brushed off his hands while surreptitiously looking around. Happily, the tree he’d been leaning against had not only provided some welcome shade but had also done a great job of hiding him from others. Manasight confirmed that no one was nearby or otherwise interested in him. With that, his blanket and lunch's remains vanished into his DS. It was time to visit Bishal.

***

Hours later, Eli stood in a loose line waiting to enter the massive city gate. Looming more than five stories high and seemingly built from the same bright white stone as the nearby mountains, the gatehouse was an impressive feat of engineering all on its own. The connecting walls weren’t too shabby, though they were only a few stories tall. They also blocked his view of the city, but he’d gotten an eyeful on the walk up.

His line wasn’t too bad, with only a handful of groups between him and the guards slowly waving people through. But then, this massive gate only served the nice stone roadway. He’d already spent a little time getting a sense of the relative power around him, which only confirmed his earlier theory. As far as he could tell, every nearby party had at least someone with a Gifted aura.

There were two smaller gateways within sight, one to the west and the other to the east, but their line of people snaked back for a kilometer or more. Some of the larger parties had even set up little tents beside the queue, which made him wonder how slow things were going over there. He felt a bit uncomfortable getting the special treatment, thinking there had to be a better solution.

A guard bowed in Eli’s direction, which he’d already seen them do to the other parties as their way of waving people forward. The young woman’s uniform was much nicer than the others he’d seen in Osky and Herria, the material having almost a sheen to its exterior. There were also little bits of colored thread within the seams and hem, which helped define and show off her physique. Even her helmet was different, the open-faced design accentuating her beauty while still appearing functional. The other guards behind her were similarly attired, obviously worn to impress the muckety-mucks using this gate.

Walking towards her, he increased the energy he was projecting, aiming for something a little stronger than Malitea’s aura. He figured someone working this gate had to be used to stronger people, and he wanted to ask her a few questions. Coming across stronger couldn’t hurt, or so he was hoping.

The guard’s smile widened as he stopped. Her aura was slightly weaker than Earnan’s, and he had been the weakest of the foursome. “Welcome to Bishal, Gifted. Please state your name, affiliation, and reason for visiting our majestic city.”

He blanked for a moment before blinking. “Sorry. I’m Eli, and I’m not sure what you mean by ‘affiliation,’ but I would be happy to help if you could explain that more. As for why I’m here, I’d like to get some supplies.” He gestured at his vanilla shirt and stained pants. “And, as you can see, some new clothes,” he finished with a self-conscious chuckle.

“By your strength, Gifted Eli,” she said with a slight nod. “There are many amazing shops that could supply you, though I’d recommend the Tradala Bazaar for most of your needs. For clothing, might I suggest Eadai’s in Old Town or Falatasi Tailoring in the Merchant District?” Her words rolled out smoothly around an easy smile, like a well-rehearsed sales pitch. “As to affiliations, that would be connections with families, guilds, or other known associations that the Bishal Council would recognize. By your accent, perhaps you are new to our region? We do see a few Outlanders visiting our beautiful city.” She ended this with a beaming smile as if intrigued by his potential answer.

“Ah, great. At least you’re used to people like me. This is my first time to Bishal, and I’m only representing myself.”

He’d expected her interest to wane since he’d essentially admitted he was a nobody, but her smile only grew. “An unaffiliated Gifted Outlander with such strength? I wouldn’t say I’m at all used to people like you,” she tossed back.

He laughed it off, careful not to glance at the three guards a few meters behind her. The two men and the woman had been having their own conversation until a moment ago. Now they’d gone silent as if listening in. If they were trying to do it covertly, they’d utterly failed.

“If there’s anywhere else I could direct you, I’d be happy to help,” she offered when he didn’t say anything more.

“Thanks, but you’ve already been more than helpful,” he replied, ready to end the conversation.

Likely picking up on this, her smile dimmed. “A silver penny, Gifted Eli,” and she held out a well-manicured hand.

“Of course,” he said, ready with the coin. He’d seen what the other parties had paid, though he’d also noticed a few that had simply been waved through. Another flash of her pretty red nails and the coin disappeared. He nodded politely back before following her waving gesture into the open gate.

***

The sky was starting to darken as sunset approached, and Eli figured he had to be pretty close to his destination. After leaving the gatehouse behind a while ago, he’d started out by asking for directions to the Merchant District. He wasn’t sure if he’d actually take Bearach’s recommendation on staying at his family’s establishment, but it couldn’t hurt to check it out. If the place or neighborhood looked sketchy, he could simply walk by and find another place to stay.

Mainly heading east with the setting sun casting long shadows over the cobblestone road, he wasn’t surprised to see a few airships floating through the sky. As far as he could tell, the merchants had set up shop not too far from the airfield outside the city. It made sense with the amount of cargo those behemoths had to move.

Bishal was definitely a nicer-looking city than Herria or Osky, even counting some of the rundown neighborhoods he’d passed through earlier. The current area was the best yet, with all the buildings made from either stone or brick. A few bigger homes took up an entire city block, though there could be multiple homes hiding behind their stout defenses. They might as well have been miniature fortresses with high stone walls and serious-eyed guards standing before their doors.

The buildings were often built against each other, sharing their walls, though regular alleys and small roads broke up the long line of structures. The overall squared two and three-story construction of the smaller residences could have been a bit monotonous, but the inhabitants had apparently come to the same conclusion. Most of the houses and even the businesses had various banners or flags near their doorways. He wasn’t sure if they were just decorations since they could just as easily be referencing the affiliations the guard mentioned earlier.

Coming around another turn, following the directions he’d been given, he paused at seeing the tall grey building with the two statues out front, just like he’d been told. Across the street was another of the fortress homes taking up an entire city block, and this one even had a few guards walking atop the high walls. Some emerald green and gold bunting was hanging above the heavy wooden doors set into one corner. A pair of guards in light leather armor stood nearby, dyed in the same two colors as the fabric over the doors.

Looking at the place, he saw no obvious signs that it was a hotel or offered any lodging. Then again, he hadn’t seen other such places on the walk through the city. Since both of the Lodges hadn’t either, he didn’t think it would hurt to at least talk with the two guards standing beside the doors.

Figuring he probably needed to impress them a bit, he upped his aura to a strong Gifted again. When he’d first been walking through the rougher part of town near the gatehouse, folks had darted out of his path as if he was some wild animal on a tenuous leash. At first, he’d tried to ignore it, but the reaction had only worsened. Eventually, he’d dropped the energy projection to something closer to a Talent just to stop all the bowing and groveling at his approach, but now it was time to put on a show again. With that thought, he walked toward the two guards.