Out of his bag, Edison Matthews pulled out a sheet of white paper as well as a writing instrument. A fountain pen, as far as Yuriko could tell, was filled with dark brown ink. The older man was quick to sketch out an outline on the paper. He spent a few minutes on it, which turned out to be a rough map. Yuriko committed it to memory though she wasn’t sure if it was accurate. Definitely not to scale.

“We’re here.” He left a dot in the lower end of a roughly square shape. South of their position was a set of mountains labelled as Arc Mountain Region, and beyond that was a body of water called Kamwick Sea.

There was a peninsula, a large one that looked like it had nearly the same surface area as the country they were in, as well as a small island near the tip. He didn’t draw what was across the sea, just that it connected to a bigger body of water labelled the Inner Ocean. Ah, and there was a strip of land that choked off the Kamwick Sea, and a narrow passage called Kamus Straits. The Karcellian Islands was directly northwest of where they were, but in between them was another country called the Norrinth Empire.

“News from the battlefront is that the Confederacy launched an attack. It bypassed the Barsten Defence Line,” he marked the area between Norrinth and Richmond which was directly west of where they were, “through here.”

From what she could see, the defence line spanned roughly a hundred leagues. The place that the Richmond Confederacy used to bypass was through a country, Crizadia, sandwiched between Norrinth, Richmond, and the northern coast.

“We have two options on how to get to the Commonwealth,” Matthews continued. “We can go south, through Sanctus Kingdom, and catch a ship in the Kamwick Sea that could sail around the mainland and up to the islands. Or, we could cut across southern Norrinth, and board a ship somewhere on the western coast.”

Yuriko pursed her lips, “Isn’t going to the south easier? We won’t travel through hostile territory that way.”

“You’re right, but the long ocean journey presents troubles of its own.” He stabbed a finger into the Kamwick Sea and traced a line around the mainland. “Confederate naval vessels have been preying on Commonwealth merchant ships. The chances of getting attacked and sunk are around one in four. Worse odds the longer we stay out, and once we reach the Inner Ocean, the Confederates are more active there. If we go overland and cross Norrinth’s southern provinces, we actually have a better chance of slipping through.” He stabbed the northern part of Norrinth, “Those bastards are active here. And they’re trying to capture Norrinth’s capital city, Sheras. The bulk of their forces are there. Also, the Norrinth army and the Commonwealth Expeditionary Forces are here, too.” He traced a circle in northeast Norrinth territory, which was bordered by Crizadia.

“So, we go through here, catch a locomotive and hopefully blend in with the other refugees. Or we could go south and risk getting sunk in Kamwick.” His bias was clear though, and Yuriko hummed in thought. The sea didn't faze her. With her Anima, it was trivially easy to swim, and with her current reach, she could secure all of them too. What seemed risky to Matthews wasn’t to her at all.

“I’m not afraid of the sea route,” Yuriko said, “and it should be faster than walking across a thousand longstrides across a hostile country.”

“Longstrides?”

“Oh, er, kilocubits?”

“Ah. But we’ll have to cross the same distance, and more, on the water, too,” Matthews pointed out.

“But then, we won’t be in the midst of an enemy invasion.” Yuriko turned to the others and asked their preferences. Unsurprisingly, most of them said they’d follow her lead.

“Well, I’ve touched the Ennoia of Winds,” Heron said, “and I can’t help but think it would help more sailing as opposed to walking. And Gwendith’s Ennoia of Cold works in our favour, too. Out in the ocean…well, at least we’ll see the enemy coming.”

Yuriko turned to Matthews and said their choice, but the man shook his head and protested. “Mayhap you don’t know what the enemy can bring to bear. Although the Kamwick Sea can be considered as Karcellia’s backyard, the Richmond Confederacy’s navy is nearly as powerful.”

Yuriko shrugged. “How strong is your Commonwealth’s navy? If the Confederacy’s is weaker, then I don’t see a problem.”

Matthews stared at her for a long moment, then sighed. “Very well. I guess an element of luck is needed anyway. There’s a port town where we can take a ship, Barda. It’s roughly three hundred kilocubits from where we are. We’ll have to sneak across the border, as I don’t think my passport will get all of you through…”

They spent the rest of the evening outlining the journey. It was simple enough. They would buy a hitch-wagon from the village, and Matthews’ landcraft…car, will drag it behind. They should fit in one, and it should be faster than walking. If they encounter any trouble, then she would take care of it. As for supplies, Matthews assured her that what they had now should be enough for the journey. If nothing goes wrong, it shouldn’t take longer than a couple of days of hard travel. Of greater import was the issue of fuel.

“The car’s maximum range is about two hundred kilocubits on a full petrol tank. In ideal circumstances. Pulling along a heavy load, that range would be cut to a third. The Confederacy has a strict petrol ration ongoing, but by the time we run out of fuel, we’ll be near the border anyway.”

“Petrol?” Yuriko asked. “Oh, none of your landcraft use runescript weaving. Well, the ambient Chaos is too thin to support passive regeneration, but even so, two hundred longstrides is short, isn’t it?”

“Not at all,” Matthews protested. “It’s actually quite decent on a full tank. Runescript weaving? I’m not familiar with the term, but perhaps we have different words to refer to the same thing. Is it the use of occult symbols to draw power and create effects?”

“Yes.”

“I see. Well, using occult resonance to power a vehicle to move…that’s too much of a waste, isn’t it? Reactive malachite isn’t abundant enough to replace petrol, not when oil is so abundant.” He pulled something out of his pocket and showed it to her. It was a small glass cylinder, and contained within was a green ore that was quite reminiscent of jade. There was a touch of Chaos within it, too, about a couple of motes worth.

Wordlessly, Yuriko fished out a jade cartridge filled with denatured Animus. The ones her cousins had given to her had a capacity of thirty lumens.

Matthews' eyes bulged when he saw the cartridges, and with trembling hands, reached out to touch them, hesitating at the last moment. “That’s not reactive malachite.”

“It’s jade,” Yuriko said.

“But, jade doesn’t contain occult resonance energy!”

“Of course not naturally,” Yuriko huffed. “Jade is but a container. I put the Animus inside this myself.”

“Animus…occult resonance? Yes… But, how can it… Oh, no wonder all of you show up like beacons in Astral Sight. I’ve no doubt that the Confederate warlock is keeping track of you by the occult resonance you passively give out. Not to mention the relics you hold.” He chuckled, “Ah, the Commonwealth would pay a queen’s ransom for those relics. Would you be interested in trading or selling any of those? You’ve got a lot to spare, I can see.”

“We’ll see,” Yuriko said neutrally. The jade cartridges she held weren’t hers to trade away, but then, they were stranded far away from home. Again.

“Ah, we’ll have to mask your occult resonance signature to have any chance of avoiding pursuit,” Matthews said. “I’ve a few things here that may help…” He pulled out a silver container, roughly three inches by five. He opened it and pulled out a card.

It practically gleamed with contained Chaos. Yuriko observed the patterns inked on both sides with interest. Runescript, of course, but patterned and inlaid in a much different fashion than what she had learned.

“This Obscure Card should hide your occult resonance signature,” he repeated. “But I think we should test it before risking our well-being.”

“Agreed. Saki?” Yuriko turned to her handmaiden, who was idly drinking beer. She perked up at Yuriko’s call and bounced towards the table, her cheeks were flushed and she had a silly grin on her face.

“Yes, young mistress?”

“Your concealment failed against the Confederate warlock, do you think this would help?”

Saki’s flush went all the way down her neck and bosom, “Maybe, young mistress.” She snatched the card from Matthews’ hand, stared at the patterns, then fed it with a lumen.

“Ah, wait!” Matthews’ protest died as the card activated. Yuriko switched on Chaos Sight and observed as a strange layer or something enveloped Saki.

There was always ambient Chaos leaking out of each of them, but with the concealment layer, they were far less obvious. “It’s forcing the ambient Chaos to go into the ground instead of lingering in the air,” Yuriko said.

“Hmm, it should work,” Saki said, then she grinned at Yuriko. “But young mistress, you should try it first.”

“Oh. Alright.”

Saki withdrew the lumen she invested into the card, pulling it back into her body in a casual display of fine Animus manipulation. Through her perception aura, she noticed Heron and Gwendith goggling at Saki’s skill. None of them, including Yuriko, were that deft with Animus finesse.

‘I guess it takes practice.’ Yuriko thought.

She took the card and invested her Animus into it. The card glowed with power as the runescript pattern etched into it activated. The concealment layer crept up around her body, but just before the encirclement was completed, Yuriko’s Anima pulsed, and the layer burst like a soap bubble.

“Oh.”

“Hie hie! I knew it! The young mistress’ Mien detests being concealed!” Saki giggled.

“That’s no laughing matter!” Yuriko protested, only for Saki to continue giggling. “You’re drunk.”

“Yup!” came the shameless reply.

“Haah. Go drink water and go to sleep,” Yuriko said crossly.

“What happened?” Matthews asked. “Why did the card fail? That can’t be right. You have too much occult resonance? Oh…what to do…”

Yuriko shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. If they can track me, but not the others, that’s alright. Do you even have enough of these things?”

“Er, not for all thirty of you.”

“Then, it shouldn’t matter. Come what may,” Yuriko said, “if they persist, then they’ve only themselves to blame.”

“...You’re very confident, aren’t you?” Matthews laughed. “Very well, come what may.” However, he looked distinctly uncomfortable while he said that. “I guess going by sea would be better. Confederate warlocks don’t like being on ships, I think.”

“Oh, why?”

“Sea sickness, mostly. Aha ha ha…”

That’s probably why Matthews didn’t want to go by sea, huh?

With most of the plans and issues dealt with, they retired for the night. The next morning, after a scrumptious breakfast of eggs, bread, and milk, Yuriko came out of the house and saw that Matthews and his aide had already secured a hitch-wagon and were in the process of connecting it to the car. The wagon wasn’t that long, so it would be a tight fit, at least. It also didn’t have a roof, but the skies dawned clear and blue, and she hoped it wouldn’t rain.

An hour later and they were on their way. Yuriko was floating behind the wagon, using her Animakinesis to latch on. Gwendith, Asami, and a couple of the female marines were squeezed into the back seat of the car, while the rest were packed in tight, on the wagon. There wasn’t any room to sit at all. Still, this little bit of discomfort could be borne for a day or so.

The car puttered forward but moved much slower than she expected it would. It was about twice as fast as a Journeyman could run, which was a fair clip, now that she thought about it. It would take the majority of the day to reach their first stop though. They took frequent breaks to allow the others to stretch and relieve themselves, but they were closing in on the border. Yuriko ended up perched on the car's backseat anyway, as her floating was too eye-catching.

And then, the car’s engines stopped in the middle of the road. The place wasn’t deserted by any means, but they were only a couple of leagues from the purported border. Now, they would have to hike through the mountains.

She glanced back northwards. Whatever was pulling at her, had suddenly weakened and diminished during the day. And that had her worried more than anything else.