Unlike Haveena, Uaran didn’t have a wall. And unlike Kadrac, the city wasn’t one made of leather tents either. As far as Yuriko could see, Uaran was a city of large villas, much like Sorren’s Hollow within Synkrasia, except multiplied a hundred times over.

The city simply stretched out over leagues, with wide boulevards and straight avenues cutting across the city, yet the smaller streets curved and undulated with land. Trees covered many of the villas, at least in the central portion of Uaran. As with Haveena and Kadrac, the outermost portion was the poorest. Well, except for the quays and docks, which spanned across the entire coastline.

The Chaos Channel was clearly visible from where they were. The rift in the Veil manifested as a hole, half above the water and half under. Why the ocean didn’t drain out into the Chaos Sea, Yuriko didn’t know, but from how the waves flowed away from the hole, she assumed that water was actually entering the plane through it. So then, where did the excess go?

She puzzled through that thought for a few minutes, fitfully staring at the channel. That wasn’t the border of the plane but was probably leagues away from the Veil boundaries. She could see the colour-shifting patterns beyond it, but it was far enough that they all blurred into a muddied whole rather than seeing the individual threads.

The rift pulsed and undulated, then a minute later, a Chaos ship emerged from it. It looked similar enough to the Ebon Horizon that Yuriko thought that her cousins had managed to salvage it from the Pure Lands, but once the rest of the thing emerged, the resemblance ended. It was a three-masted ship, made of wood, with glimmering sails. Ropes strewn all over the deck secured the masts and controlled the sails too, but she spotted a paddlewheel on either side too. The sails snapped taut as it caught the prevailing winds and the ship, which was no more than fifty paces long, and about twenty wide, made its way to the harbour.

There were other ships docked there, but the view was somewhat blocked by wide structures so she couldn’t see what people were doing. But then again, she and the others had been standing on the hilltop for too long already. Other travellers were staring at them.

“Those warehouses. It might be a good idea to check them.” Orrin said as they returned to the road. “Yuri…your perception aura can pierce through the walls, right?”

“Up to a certain extent,” she admitted. “Stone and metal take more out of me before I can see past them.”

“At least you won’t have to go inside to check,” Orrin nodded. “If we find supplies that way, we won’t have to waste our Shekels to buy.”

“I suggest walking along the dock area to check,” Braden added, “then, we can move at night.”

“That sounds fine to me,” Yuriko agreed.

“I’ll go with you,” Asami interjected. “My Wind Scour technique can scout the way as long as air can get in it.”

“Alright.”

They were still a few longstrides away from the city, and it would take an hour to walk there. Less than that if they hurried, but then, they’d be too conspicuous. It didn’t help that their Haveenian-style clothes stuck out.

It wasn’t that bad though, since the travellers to and from the city wore an eclectic mix of fashion. She even saw Imperial-style coats, trousers, and dresses in the crowd. She…wasn’t sure if they were Imperials though, and if they were, what did it mean that they were here in this city that was at war with the Empire? The only thing she could think of were traitors, spies, or defectors. She wasn’t at liberty to do anything about it now, and she told herself not to strike out on biased judgement, not when she couldn’t afford the time to investigate.

Through her perception, she saw her friends exhibit the same reaction, except for Sheamus, of course, who took it in stride.

“Calm yourselves,” Asami’s voice rang in her ear, and she saw the others jerk and twitch at the girl’s intrusion. It did allow Heron, the twins, and Gwendith to smooth their expressions. Desire just glanced around normally, with barely a care in her stride. Roland and Kassy were similarly unaffected, though she caught a thoughtful sigh from the cat-kin…wild cat-kin apparently was Kassy’s proper species, but aside from the ability to shift her form, Yuriko didn’t really see much difference between her and Masa of the Kutin.

Of course, the feline-kin of Bella looked more like Kassy’s battleform than her current humanoid guise. Ah, Masa said she was a half-breed, so maybe that was why.

Anyway, as they neared the city outskirts, the Uaran residents’ fashion became more prevalent, especially after they turned away from the main road. Their outfits were light and breezy, which she supposed was fitting considering the climate here was just as warm as Kadrac, but much more humid. She could feel sweat clinging to her underclothes despite the fact that she wasn’t feeling all that warm. The others were already drenched, but the locals looked quite comfortable.

The local outfit was basically a tunic just long enough to come down midthigh, and sandals. It… essentially looked like a bathrobe, though with bared shoulders too. Men and women wore it. Women’s tunics looked to be in pastel colours while the menfolk wore darker greys, blacks, and browns. Children wore white.

They, on the other hand, wearing heavy ponchos, were given odd looks.

“...aren’t they hot in those things?”

“Haveenian fashion, I think. Colder up there.”

“Don’t have the sense to dress for the weather here…?”

“Must be first-timers…”

The murmurs and whispers were just barely audible to Yuriko. Ah, there was one other thing that made this city stand out, at least compared to Haveena. The streets were clean. Relatively. There were few horses around, and everyone seemed to move at a leisurely stroll. There was little sense of urgency, and the desperate air of Haveena wasn’t present at all.

Perhaps none of the Uaran citizens had been captured?

“You’ve never been here before?” she asked Braden, who shook his head.

“Only to Haveena. Never even reached Kadrac.” He shrugged.

“Should we find an inn?” Asami whispered.

Yuriko looked up at the skies. It was just close to noon, and they have the rest of the day to find out what they needed. Still, a base of operations would be good.

“Yes.”

A modest inn cost them a hundred Shekels for a single large room for the night. It was bare, only having a raised floor for bedrolls. Still, the windows were large and the sea breeze was refreshing. Well, they didn’t actually have a view of the ocean, but the salty brine was ever-present.

“Desire, you come with me,” Yuriko said. “I’ll need a disguise so I won’t stand out too much.” When her Chaos Lord nodded in happy agreement, she continued, “Asami, too. Gwen, go with Orrin and Braden to look at shops. See if we can buy supplies. Sheamus, stay here. Heron, you too.”

“But…” Heron protested.

“What about us?” Kassy asked.

“Uhm, see what you can find out. Come back by evening,” Yuriko said. “Heron, you still need training with your aura. It flares out every now and then, and if I hadn’t been keeping it pressed down, you would have given yourself away. Sheamus, keep him safe.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the Cheldan adventurer agreed. “Hmm, I want to go check in at the Guild building. There should be one here, being situated next to the Channel after all.”

“The guild building?”

“Adventurer’s Guild.” He looked at her thoughtfully. “If you want, we can register you to the Guild. It’ll provide an alternate identity for you.”

Yuriko pursed her lips. “What would that entail?”

“Registering? Some coins, an Animus signature recording, and a statement of capability.” Sheamus frowned. “On second thought, registering here might not be the best idea since the government should have access to the information…”

“Well, do what you like after someone else comes back here then,” Yuriko decided. “I won’t register. I don’t think I’d really need it anyway.”

“Suit yourself. Membership in the guild should not conflict with your Empire’s laws. I know hundreds of Imperial adventurers.”

“Oh. Do you think there’s a guild office in Rumiga City?”

“If there’s a Chaos channel, then probably yes.”

“Alright.”

Asami and Desire accompanied Yuriko as they made their way to the warehouses near the docks. All three of them had doffed their ponchos as being too warm. Desire put up an illusion for Yuriko, changing her face and hair enough so that she didn’t stand out. Well, they were still noticeable for wearing Haveenian-style clothes, but at least her Mien should be restrained by the disguise.

She felt her Mien stir in protest but tamped it down so that it didn’t form unnecessary connections with passersby. Going around armed with a sword drew more than a few eyes, but she wasn’t alone in doing so. The path to the docks seemed to go through the poorer districts, and the residents eyed the three of them shiftily. Asami’s hand always rested on her blade, while Yuriko kept herself ready to act. It seemed to work since none of the onlookers did anything.

The dock area was bustling, and so were the warehouses. Workers carried cargo to the warehouses, and just as many moved cargo to the ships. The crates were transported using push carts. She saw a couple of dockhands lift a crate that was as wide as she was tall, from the ground and muscled it onto a cart.

The three of them wandered around a warehouse while Yuriko expanded her Anima. She kept it as light and invisible as she could, but a little bit of golden light still leaked out anyway, especially when she pushed it through the walls. Thankfully, the act only ate up about a pace's worth of reach and she had a full seven and a half paces of perception available. That was more than enough to scan about a third of the interior.

The first warehouse she checked didn’t have Wayfarer’s bread but was filled with cloth, oils, and other goods. The second and third ones were similar, but the fourth was successful. Yuriko couldn’t hide her grin when she perceived several crates of the stuff, more than enough to feed them for a year. However, a MiJin of the bread took up more space than she expected, and she now worried about how to bring all of that bounty away from the city. Still, it was a better problem to solve.

__________

“Miss Saki Mishala, you have a message from Yuriko?” Finan asked as soon as he arrived at the town hall. Knight Davar and his fiance were right behind him.

The hall had a couple of the town’s leaders. Tara Andersen and the Alderman. Both turned to him, rose from their seats and bowed. He waved at them to return to their seats and focused on the Shadow Guard.

Saki Mishala had short, tawny hair, and had inherited many of the Mishala clan’s features. She was honestly too pretty to blend in a crowd, but her Facets and techniques allowed her to disappear in the shadows anyway. The woman gave him an insouciant grin and gave a head bow.

That wasn’t how a woman of her station was supposed to give him courtesies but he didn’t really mind. He noticed it simply from the years of etiquette training that had been forced on him in his youth, but ever since his Atavism Ritual, he decided he really didn’t like forcing the proper mannerisms.

“Good afternoon, Prince Finan,” Saki said. “I have several reports, as well as a letter for you from my young mistress. Let me give them now…”

She handed the letter to him but then continued to give her report to the rest of them. It took a supreme act of restraint not to leave and read Yuriko’s letter. However, a few minutes into the report and his attention was riveted.

When she finished, Knight Davar laughed and said, “She’s building an army in the midst of enemy territory? What is she thinking?”

Saki Mishala merely smiled and shrugged, to which Knight Davar chuckled. “Yeah, she probably hasn’t considered things through. Still, considering the lack of intelligence and the circumstances, I suppose she couldn’t have made a better choice.”

“We need to send supplies and reinforcements,” Finan muttered.

“Can we spare people?” Knight Davar asked.

“No, we’re stretched tight as it is,” Tara Andersen said.

“I think I want to go there,” Finan muttered again, but he noticed his bodyguard giving him the stink eye. He sighed and settled down. He had his self-imposed duties here.

They discussed what could be done, and settled with Saki Mishala returning with ration bars.

“Wait.” Finan said abruptly just as the meeting was about to be adjourned. “The Implacable Jade has a small fabricator. A personal ration bar maker,” he added to clarify. “Take it with you.”

“That’s mighty generous of you,” Knight Davar said.

Finan merely smiled. Small fabricators were heavily restricted since they were easy to steal, though even a genius Runeer would take years to figure out how to make one. The one in the Jade was part of his safety net, but he had no qualms about lending it to her.

However, when they arrived at the Implacable Jade, it was to the thunderous face of Cillian Abrigo, his chief bodyguard.

“Behemoths have entered the Tidelands,” he said grimly and Finan felt a chill run up his spine.