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As Aedan arrived in the nick of time, the group unanimously decided to venture into a tavern to fill their bellies and sate their thirst, not that any of them were truly hungry or thirsty.

The moment they stepped into the port town of Ikon, their presence immediately drew the gazes of many as per usual. However, the gazes drawn were not as many as the time they first stepped into the city of Sephrodia Valley. The reason was, Erin had cast Twilight Shroud, a type of illusion spell, on herself.

Instead of her original long white silverish hair, her hair was now neck-length and black. But as her body’s well-tempered shape remained the same, she still managed to garner the fancy of many, though not as much as she would in her true appearance.

Still, they were a very conspicuous group as each of the girls in Erin’s group was a beauty in their own right. Well, of course, save for Aedan, who was the only man in the group, which drew the many ires from the envious ones.

The streets of Port Ikon were less than savoury, much to Erin’s mild surprise. She had already expected a busy port to be unclean and littered but the roads were outright unpaved. There were paved roads but no longer could it be considered paved.

People and carts were travelling through mud and soil instead of proper roads. However, none seemed to care about the inconvenience and discomfort they had to wade through. From the looks of their faces, none of them showed any displeasure as if nothing was amiss.

The saving grace of this town was the space between buildings. There were barely any narrow streets. There were plenty of spaces between buildings. The port was built this way as the found, whoever they were, envisioned this place to be extremely busy and lively.

They weren’t wrong. As such, Erin and her companions didn’t chance upon any attempts at molestation from the leering passers-by. Their walk through the town was a pleasant one. To Erin, it was even a brand new experience.

Half of the people here were Demis but despite that, Erin couldn’t spot a single Fae. It was not strange. The presence of Spirits in these parts was low, after all.

If there was anything amiss, it would be their wariness towards the soldier guards patrolling the town. The adventurers would stare at the guards as if they were mortal enemies. In fact, the adventurers were paying the patrolling guards more attention than Erin’s group as they walked down the busy streets.

Eventually, they arrived at a tavern, far from the main streets that were teeming with people. This tavern was considerably smaller than the others in the town but the silence was what drew the group here.

No one raised a fuss as the group entered the tavern. The patrons within gave Erin and her companions a glance and went back to their business. Erin sighed in relief internally.

After they found a decently sized table in the corner, the waitress came and took their order as soon as they took their seats. The waitress wasn’t smiling as she took their orders but her tone was gentle and patient.

Each of the girls gave their order with Aera and Lyra being the only ones ordering food. The rest simply went with drinks.

The only ones who were truly in dire need of some food and water were Lyra and Aera. Erin, Nivia, and Lilian were of the Faerie-kin. Their affinities with the Spirits allowed them to be self-sustaining for the most part. They were only required to eat once every day.

Siv was a trained and battle-hardened warrior. Her endurance far surpassed the average individual. She had gone up to a week without eating. Amyra was the same. She spent most of her life as an adventurer in dungeons, making do every day with only a little to eat.

As for Aedan, he had many ways to acquire sustenance other than the conventional method. Moreover, his natural constitution and vigorous physique of a True Dragon allowed him to go through months without eating or drinking.

As they waited for their food and drinks, Nivia let her gaze wander. They sat by the windows, giving them a good view of the streets outside.

“I do not wish to sound fearful but… many of the townsfolk seemed on edge” Nivia said.

“Evidently, there’s some kind of friction between the adventurers and the soldiers,” Lyra responded after giving her surroundings a quick but thorough glance.

Amyra chuckled. “This isn’t anything surprising. Adventurers are always at odds with… the authorities.”

“This is more than just being at odds,” Lilian muttered with a serious face. In turn, everyone glanced at her. “This place is a den of slavers. That alone is enough of a cause for concern.”

“I don’t see the correlation here,” Lyra retorted.

“It’s just a hunch, my dear. Mayhaps there’s a correlation or maybe not.” Lilian managed a light titter and looked Aedan’s way. “What say you, dear?”

“Don’t ask me,” Aedan replied curtly.

“You’re the expert, are you not? You are older than any of us here, no?”

Aedan turned his gaze to Erin.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“This is your decision to make, sweetheart.”

“You already know my answer,” Erin said. “All of you do.”

“We just weathered a storm and now you’re looking to plunge into another one?”

“...I know it’s improbable. It’s absurd but… I can’t do it. I can’t just… leave them be, knowing that I could have at least tried.”

“This is not something you can just half-ass.”

“Half what?”

“Half-ass. It means to do something without the intention of seeing it through till the end. You may be able to save them but what happens after that? Where will they go? Do you intend to take care of all of them? If so, to what extent? And who’s to say that these slaves even deserved to be saved?”

Erin turned her gaze away from Aedan and looked out the window with a melancholic gaze.

“Master’s right, Mistress,” Siv said. “This is not your duty, neither is it your obligation, Mistress.”

There was a boy limping on the street just outside of the tavern. His clothes were ragged and he walked barefooted. There were two men walking alongside that pitiful boy but neither of those two did anything to help him.

The boy’s status was clear to anyone who saw this sight and yet, no one lifted a finger to do a damn thing. Erin was no different from the bunch that only watched as the boy suffered.

No one helped the boy. Not because they saw nothing wrong with it but because they knew the power behind the slavers. Erin saw the conflict in the eyes of the ones who wished to help but tremendously feared the repercussions.

“Close your heart to it,” said Aedan, who was staring at the ceiling while perching his chin on his fist. “I know you want to help but there’s nothing you can do now. This isn’t Sephrodia Valley.”

“I know that,” Erin responded in a grumble and looked away from the window. “If only I had more power…”

“I believe in you, Erin,” Aera said, leaning forward. “If it’s you, Erin, I’m sure you will be able to make a huge difference in the near future.”

Erin smiled wryly. “Thank you, Aera.”

Lilian tittered. “Now that is something that I would really love to see. By your hands, I’m sure there will be many great things to come.”

“Easy now, Lilian. That’s still a distant future. First, we have to find ourselves a ship or a boat. The road to the Royal Capital will not be an easy one. There will be many bumps in the road, that’s for certain.”

“I can get us a ship,” said Siv, confidently. “A big one, enough to accommodate all of us and more. The captain of the ship is a trustworthy man and a competent boatman. He will get us upstream.”

“What about security?” Nivia asked.

“That will be at our own expense.”

“Are you serious? Are you unaware of the people out there that are trying to kill us?”

“Nivia, this is a trading port, not a naval one. You won’t find a boat with security that matches the threat we will be facing.”

“Traversing on water will limit our battle capabilities by a huge margin. We will be sitting ducks.”

“We will manage, Nivia,” Erin asserted. “Like we always do. We are more than capable.”

“What if one of those Skinwalkers excels in water? What then?”

Amyra snorted. “You worry for nothing, Niv. The soldiers are on high alert. The zealots won’t be so rash in their assaults from here on. This is Port Ikon. There will be many patrols around here. I reckon we will be safe from those zealots until we come to shore, far away from the port.”

Nivia tutted. “Pray that you are right, Amyra. If not, I’m blaming you if we are attacked by zealots while traversing the river.”

Amyra snickered. “It’s not those religious fucks you should be worrying about when traversing across the deep waters.”

“Everything will be fine as long as we don’t encounter a Water Wyrm,” Aedan mused with a hum.

Nivia glared at Aedan hard. “Don’t you dare curse our journey, you damn lizard.”

“A Water Wyrm?” Aera blurted out. “The wandering priestess told me about them. They are Serpent-like Dragons. They have skin that is said to be immune to most magic.”

“Most magic, yes. Not all of them.”

“They are Dragons, right?”

“A quarter of their blood, maybe even less.”

“There are Wyrms in the waters here?”

Aedan shrugged. “Most likely not, but Water Wyrms are nomads. They move around a lot. Who’s to say there won’t be Wyrms in the waters here tomorrow or the day after?”

“Why are you damning our journey here, Aedan?” Erin questioned.

“It’s good to be prepared, ready your hearts and guts for what we will or would be facing.”

Erin narrowed her eyes. “Is there something you’re not sharing with us?”

“Aerysians.”

“What about them?”

“What do you think they have affinities with?”

“...You can’t be serious,” Erin said after a brief pondering.

“I’m afraid I’m not.”

“Can they even do such a thing?”

“We don’t label them as zealots for nothing. Perhaps it wasn’t possible then, but who’s to say it’s not possible now?”

Nivia was still glaring at Aedan. “You are being awfully glum.”

“As Erin said, our journey will not be an easy one. I’m just contemplating the possibilities. It’s better to be over-prepared than underprepared.”

“Cheers to that,” Amyra laughed but she frowned in the next second when they realised there was no cup for her to raise. “What’s taking them so long?”

Erin tilted her head. “There’s a quarrel in the kitchen. It’s bound to become an altercation at some point.”

“Can’t they at least serve our drinks first before they start killing each other in the backroom?”

Suddenly, someone flew out of the kitchen. The person crashed through the countertop and tumbled across the floor.

Aedan sighed. “There goes our drinks.”

The person who was thrown out of the kitchen was a bald-headed old man with an unkempt beard that hid most of his lower face. His apron spelt his status as a bartender.

A large man strode out of the kitchen and towards the bartender. The large man was obviously not part of the tavern’s work crew given the shabby leather armour he was wearing and the crude sword by his waist.

The bartender clambered to his feet but he dropped to his knees afterwards and started begging. “Please… just give me a few more days… I’ll have your money by then, I swear.”

“That’s what you said last week,” the large man sneered. “Time’s up, old man. Whatever excuse you have, save it for Mister Rhys. I’m sure he’ll love to hear all of them as he slowly—”

“Leave him alone,” a girl said, not from Erin’s group, but from the few patrons in the tavern. She was an adventurer, going by her offhanded armoured garments. She had a sword and she was pointing it at the large man that stood two heads taller than her.

“Oh, dear,” Lilian muttered. “This is getting complicated and strangely interesting.”