Chapter 108

The small access gate leading back to Ur closed behind him with a dull ‘thud’, cutting Wil, and the rest, off from the city. The northern gate led to a narrow mountain pass, through which was the Wilds.

Compared to the snow-covered city, Wil could already feel the warmer air funneling down the pass, brushing past his skin. Only a few degrees in the difference, to the Illyrian Southerner it felt like pure bliss, driving away the frigid cold that he had come to despise.

The others led their horses forward, making a long line as they navigated the narrow passage, leaving Wil to bring up the rear. Urging his nondescript, brown horse forward, he took a last look at the city wall before it was cut off by the twisting mountain terrain.

Tessa had come through for him, easily recreating his mask in only a few hours. Forged of the finest steel, she had even added a few magical enhancements to the item, granting it additional protection.

The meeting with Astrid had not gone as well, with him attempting to defer when asked where he was going. Their argument had only ended when the City Lord stepped in, having a private conversation with Wil that had lasted nearly an hour.

It was thanks to Erik that Astrid had been pacified, who stated that Wil was taking on a dangerous mission for the City Lord’s Palace and that he could not share the details.

They had chosen to ride horses on their journey, rather than more exotic mounts or flying beasts. He would have been confused if he hadn’t asked Erik during their meeting everything the older man knew about traveling through the wilds.

The City Lord had provided some interesting tidbits, things that, if Wil hadn’t known, would have landed him in trouble.

Flying in the Wilds was suicide, no matter what the means. It drew attention, and that was a terribly stupid thing to do when you are surrounded on all sides by beasts and monsters that look at you as food.

Mundane transport was the best choice, anything magical or containing mana could potentially be tracked by the creatures of the Wilds, leading them directly to the party, unless additional enhancements for subterfuge were added. Everyone rode horses, or walked, when adventuring in the Wilds.

With his newly forged mask worn snugly over his face, and his hood pulled low, Wil rode through the mountain passageway for nearly an hour before he had his first look at the Wilds.

The land was flat, a stark contrast to the line of mountains to Wil’s right. A faint layer of mist obscured most of the details of the distance, making the landscape gradually fade to grey. But from what Wil could see, the Wilds were a land of extremes.

The chaotic and turbulent mana had affected everything living, and it showed the most in the grass and plants. The forest to his left had a variety of trees, some short and stunted, others so tall that Wil couldn’t estimate their height. Towering over the land, their boughs stretched outwards, each held leaves of different colors.

Undersized fir trees had blazing red needles, while next to it a leafy elm tree with purple branches twisted and hunched, almost as if it were curling in on itself.

The path ahead of their party led through a grassland, and the chaos extended here as well. A kaleidoscope of colors assaulted his vision, each blade of grass, every shrub and individual tree was unique, growing in a strange way from the mana that was present here.

Wil was brought out of his stunned observation by the cry of an eagle, the sound piecing the silence. Looking up, he saw the strangest sight yet. A bird flew overhead, much larger than any mundane creature he had ever seen. With the head of an eagle, it had long antlers of a stag.

Wil watched as it circled overhead, its gaze intent on something, before it swooped towards the grasslands below.

“Peryton.” Dragon mask remarked, ignoring the bird after it disappeared into the grasslands. “We’re in luck, means there isn’t anything worse around if they are flying about.” He finished, urging his house down a small, rocky slope that led to the grasslands.

Wil couldn’t sense the Peryton’s mana, not from this distance, but it had to be at least Rank 3 or 4. On guard, he followed the others down the trail, his horse careful with its footing. Reaching the flat land, the groups spread out, each watching in a different direction.

Wil found himself in the rear again, alone, with only the rustling grass to keep him company. Remembering Tarlin’s warning to not trust his safety to the others, he pulled out the emerald containing the Earth Elemental. Feeding it only a minimum amount of mana, he dropped the gemstone onto the flattened grass beside him.

The Elemental emerged quickly from the ground, its head barely reaching Wil’s boot where he had it secured in his stirrup.

“Hide your presence but warn me of any danger that approaches.” He ordered, waiting for the elemental to nod, before continuing. “Can you find the betrayer?”

“Trail clearer. Very far. That direction.” It rumbled, pointing directly in front of Wil. Could the betrayer be connected to their destination?

“Keep me informed of any changes.” Wil ordered, letting the Elemental merge with the ground once more. It would follow them, discreetly, only communicating with him in an emergency. The last thing he wanted was the elemental to draw unwanted attention from the beasts in the Wilds.

As dangerous as he knew the Wilds to be, he found the trip to be rather pleasant. Although the company was terrible, the weather improved as the day passed, and the sun was warm overhead. Nothing attacked them, and the landscape was beyond beautiful.

Primaris was sinking low on the horizon when they finally stopped for the evening. Dismounting his horse, he looked over a lovely lake, the turquoise water shimmering in the dying light of the day. The grass was shorter here, and Wil could see the remains of other campsites, the ground still black from their cookfires.

The others began to remove their equipment from their horses, erecting tents or spreading bedrolls near fires. The ‘Numbers’ had two large tents, separated by gender, placed beside an orderly campfire. One of them, the woman in black with ‘3’ on her mask, was removing the saddles from the horses and rubbing down the animals with a brush.

The large man, ‘5’ lifted their equipment and stacked it by the tents, pulling out more items than seemed possible from their saddle bags.

Looking to the others, Wil saw that the ‘Dragon’ was missing, while his companions had placed a piece of black cloth on the ground. With a tap of the ‘Luan’ woman’s hand, and a whispered command, the cloth snapped taut, forming into an elegant looking tent, with a large, peaked roof.

Her companion, ‘Phoenix’, was seeing to their horses, each turning into a small wooden figurine with a short incantation. The horses were magical items, brought to life by magic and returned to their inanimate state when they were not in use. The magic was flawless, the horses as real as their living counterparts when the items were activated.

A wave of ‘Luan’s’ hand made a campfire blaze merrily, with a few stools pulled out from their own saddle bags. ‘Dragon’ soon made his return, carrying a large Hare in his hand, the creature having grown three times the normal size, with a pair of horns sticking from its head.

Shaking his head at the peculiarities of the Wilds, Wil looked for the last of the groups. The ‘Triplets’, as he had taken to calling them in his head, were as far away from the others as possible while still remaining in the campgrounds. They had eschewed tents, simply spreading blankets they carried from their horses onto the ground.

Wil thought he could see a look of envy as ‘Orc’ watched the others, especially while he stared at the well-off ‘Numbers’, the disparity of their equipment obvious. Of all the groups, the ‘Triplets’ motivation was the easiest to discern. They were here for the money, plain and simple.

Ignoring the others, Wil took care of his own horse, removing its saddle and equipment, stacking them neatly to the side. Looking for a clear space, he pulled out a small item from his bag while walking towards it.

The item was a small house, made of wood. Aside from the clear evidence of strong enchantments around the item, it could almost pass as a children’s toy, something that would be found in a noble’s nursery.

Drawing on his mana, Wil placed the item on the cleared space, well away from his horse and items. Stepping back, he chanted an incantation followed by a whispered command.

“Enlarge.” Wil said, staring at the small, toy house. The enchantments glowed brighter, and Wil could feel the ambient mana around him draw into the artifact. In a flash of light, the toy was gone, in its place was a large house, complete with stable in the rear.

The house was an item that he had gotten from Tessa, something that she herself had used in her adventures in the Wild. While discussing his need for a mask, he had asked about items that she would recommend for a journey here. She had offered it to him immediately, her only requirement that he return it once he was back in Ur.

Leading his horse to the stable, Wil ignored the stares of the others at his causal display of wealth the artifact represented as he settled the animal in for the evening.