The Way Ahead

Chapter 82b: Daily Dallying

The next day, Edwin was far more successful in pulling (well, floating) himself out of bed at a reasonable hour, and following a quick breakfast (a surprisingly good bowl of what looked like oatmeal but tasted like pudding), he set off into the city to do some shopping. With luck, he’d be done by lunch!

Edwin ended up missing lunch and nearly missing dinner by the time he had gotten the first few things on his list- namely a decent satchel and new belt. His backpack and current belt were perfectly serviceable, yes, but… Edwin had in his head what an alchemist ‘should’ look like, and darn it, he was going to try and mimic that!

He’d never really gotten into cosplay or anything back on Earth; but that was more a limitation of his time and resources than an actual lack of desire. Now that he was on an actual fantasy planet, though? He could live out all his dreams of a belt full of glowing potions and a satchel full of bombs! Plus it would all be practical, not just decorative! This would be amazing.

The belt ended up being custom-made, which did make it more expensive, but he still only spent two ager on the whole thing, plus five ves on a maintenance kit. It was almost worth the price he paid just to watch the Experienced Currier make the entire getup in front of Edwin in about an hour. Now, he had dozens of (mostly empty) pouches in varying sizes, and several loops and leather strap ties that he could hold or insert vials and potions into. Said straps were mostly concentrated on Edwin’s left, and pouches more on the right, so his new handbag could hang without running the risk of crushing any of his potions.

All of his pouches and bags were bigger on the inside, naturally, but only- heh, ‘only,’ who would have thought he’d already start taking something so fantastical for granted- three times bigger than their exterior would suggest. Improbable Arsenal already doubled the size of what it worked on, so he imagined the inherent amount of extra space in his packs would be swiftly overwhelmed by his own Skills.

Apparently the aging man had upgraded his Efficient Space when it was level forty or so, trying to push to the Refolded Leather skill instead of bringing Efficient Space to the nineties or even higher the truly dedicated pushed it to. It had served him well in his youth, apparently, but now that he was working as a malemaker (in the mailbag sense, apparently), he somewhat regretted the decision. After all, he had…

It was somewhat interesting, sure, but Edwin had only half paid attention as the man talked about his life’s story, more interested in watching the incredible display of Skills he had been working with, something that had very much paid off.

Level Up!

Improbable Arsenal Level 16→19

Skillful Assessment Level 29→30

With the newest milestone in the Skill, Edwin was starting to ever so slightly be able to distinguish colors associated with different Skills being used. He needed to look really closely, yes, but it was still a massive improvement over what he’d had before.

Regardless, Edwin’s biggest takeaway from the whole thing was still just how awesome he looked. Once he got back to his room, he filled in all the potion slots with Sapper’s Arsenal rods shaped like potions, strapped his knives in place, and admired himself in the ‘mirror’ that was Visualization.

If his imagination was accurate (it should be), he cut a pretty good figure, albeit one with haphazardly cut hair (Inion was never getting close to hair shears and him ever again). He did make an Almanac note to get a few more safety equipment/accessories, though. He might be able to get away without some PPE thanks to Fey’s Caress and Fresh Air, but it never hurt to be overprotected. Goggles, a mask, and gloves were all must-haves, and he should visit the tailor to see about getting them made.

Tomorrow, he thought. Today, he’d finish packing up his outfit with alchemy stuff.

It was on the fourth day after the ‘incident’ that Edwin was finally approached by a messenger to inform him he ought to report to the garrison- that word was becoming more and more inaccurate as he learned more and more about the building, but Polyglot kept translating the word the same way- for an unspecified reason at his first opportunity. He gave the Junior Skyling a ves for a tip, which the young avior seemed to be totally unprepared for, jetting off in happiness and bringing a touch of a smile to Edwin’s face.

Well… he supposed he ought to head over now. After all, what could-

Nope, not thinking that. Not after last time.

Edwin didn’t end up seeing the governor at all, an arrangement which he was perfectly content with, and was instead shuffled around until he met with a Lirasian Secretary, who in turn directed him to find where his cart would be.

Much to Edwin’s surprise, it was actually pretty nice! Small, yes, but it was everything he would realistically want from his cart. Well, it was more of a carriage in all honesty. Wooden walls and ceiling, tall enough to stand up in, and some… oh, ten feet long on the outside, more like fifteen on the inside? It had loads of shelves and some sort of Skill on them that would… that would…

Ah, forget it. He wasn’t good enough with Skillful Assessment to tell what a Skill did, just whether or not it existed and what it affected.

Best of all, it came with a pack animal- specifically, a Mature Therassan Pony- to pull it! He barely came up to Edwin’s shoulder, but was more than strong enough to haul the carriage along the road without even a hint of strain. The secret was visible with a bit more examination- a Skill ran from his four hooves (which had their own ongoing Skill, presumably in place of the missing horseshoes) up through his body and into the cart. It vaguely reminded Edwin of Packing, though it had a number of distinct differences.

Edwin named the shaggy animal Bill.

After all, what else would be a valid name for a pony?

Everything was packed away nicely. Food had been bought, Edwin had all his new gear prepped-including a leather coat- which would apparently function as armor to some extent, but way stuffier than he’d like even after the Skills imbued into it for comfort- and some basic furniture bought and folded away under the carriage’s bottom and fastened by many Apparatus conjurations. That process had brought him all the way up to level 29 in the Skill, and while the conjuration wasn’t getting any faster, he was able to make significantly more intricate creations than before.

That didn’t matter at the moment, though. Currently, he, Inion, and Bill were plodding down the some fairly familiar roads. He wasn’t going to lie, the idea of getting closer to the Blackstone Citadel made Edwin… nervous, but he knew he was being irrational. Sure, they had sent an assassin after him, but that had been taken care of, and Edwin was way stronger now anyway! Besides, he had Inion. That would surely be enough. He could take care of himself.

Bill performed his job admirably, trotting along at a moderate pace which Edwin would have once called a light jog. These days, it felt painfully slow, particularly at the start. Even a moderate walk with Longstrider would have let him run laps around his workhorse, but disabling the Skill would mean he’d fall behind unless he jogged every once in a while, which he didn’t want to do.

Well, it wasn’t like he was in any kind of rush, and this way he could practice his Flight. His top speed with the Skill was comparable to Bill’s pace, though he was ever so slowly getting faster. He could also just tether himself to the carriage and stay ‘stationary’ anyway. Of course, if he were to do that, he could also just sit inside, but where was the fun in that?

Besides, it was easier to direct Bill when he was outside, not that the pony needed all that much guidance. Edwin didn’t have much experience with horses back on Earth, but Bill seemed particularly intelligent and focused, staying on-course and at a steady pace the entire time. Edwin only needed to direct the horse when they encountered a fork in the road, or in one case, when they passed by a particularly luscious meadow.

The roads themselves were absurdly straight, even to Edwin’s modern sensibilities. Only about once or twice a day did the road turn at all, with such incidents usually corresponding to another path splitting off from the main way. They were also very level. Other than a bit of slope from the center of the road out to the edges- Edwin had checked, with several Apparatus marbles- the road was absolutely level, with the foundation lifting it above the ground where it dipped at times, or cutting straight through hills in others, stone imposingly rising on each side for some of the larger hills present.

Even with the impressive construction inherent in ensuring the straightness of the road, the stones still had gaps between them that were just wide enough to produce some seriously impressive rattling in his carriage.

The roads were, simply put, clearly optimized for foot traffic, a fact proven by the occasional courier dashing by them, feet pounding against the stone and pushing up a massive cloud of dust in their wake as they rushed by. The one that Edwin managed to peek at with Numeracy gave him a velocity of about 175 m/s, which was blazing fast- even over half the speed of sound.

Why the empire didn’t just use avior as their primary messengers was beyond him, given the flying humanoids wouldn’t need roads at all to get around, but perhaps the relative abundance of humans pushed them to utilizing humans much of the time? Or, more likely, Walking was more likely to give Skills that were useful for rapid overland movement. Something to ponder, and possibly ask Tara or Rizzali the next time he saw them.

There were other travelers on the road, naturally, and the sight lines of the roads (Maybe that was another reason for them?) ensured that Edwin could see them for miles before they actually passed each other and for miles after as well

While neither the most interesting nor the most common, he did pass a few groups of merchants, with carts and wagons of their own, or with laden pack animals passing Edwin, usually saying nothing as they did so. He didn’t spot anyone he recognized either, despite keeping an eye out.

Three or four times, a group of heavily armored figures on horses rode past him, moving much faster than he and his solitary pony could manage. Usually, said sallies returned back in the direction of Vinstead within a day or two, but one time Edwin never caught the ride back.

There were even a couple of bards, dressed in distinctive and colorful clothing as they passed him. The first was a Wandering Herald-Minstrel, and seemed to be trying to compose a song as he plucked strings on an unfamiliar instrument, singing half-finished lyrics which hung in the air for minutes in the wake of his passing, and echoed down the road for a good hour. A few days later, the second danced down the road to a beautiful melody, her eyes closed as her steps twirled her side to side, a flute producing notes which made even Inion close her eyes to appreciate the sound. The Seasonal Dancer of Whimsy barely even acknowledged them as she passed, but Edwin was happy to have encountered her.

The most plentiful group, though, was just locals using the roads for ease of travel. There were plenty of Lirasian Farmer variations, sometimes driving beasts of burden, sometimes carrying massive sacks of food, sometimes both simultaneously. Herds of sheep, kept in place by Shepherds or Farmers and a handful of dogs- Rhothosian Herders, according to Identify- monopolized massive sections of the road when they came through and stalled Edwin’s progress until the fluffy tide continued onward.

There wasn’t a lot of outgoing trade from Vinstead, all told. Apparently, other than the immediate surroundings for the city, most exports from the city were loaded up on barges and sailed downriver

The scenery was spectacular. With the mountains to Edwin’s left, and endless grasslands to his right, the sights were always worth seeing to say nothing of the stars.

And oh, the stars. Even back on Earth, Edwin had always loved looking up at the night sky. He’d managed to get far, far out into the country a few times, frequently with his time as a Scout, and beheld the full glory of Earth’s starscape with such minimal light pollution as could be found in a modern world.

Here, though? With his newfound supernatural sight? And nary an electric light to be found this side of the universe? It was something else. The colors on display in a proper fantasy world were beyond spectacular, and the moon gleamed like a pink and blue crystal ball amidst the green and orange nebulae-like shapes which swept across the sky.

Several nights had been spent lulling himself to sleep as he told Inion all about the incredible things that could be found in the infinite nothingness that was space. He spoke of galaxies and white dwarfs, of black holes and supernovae.

Every night, as he drifted off to sleep, he wondered which of those might still exist, off in the eternal nothingness of space, and what further, exotic structures might exist when magic was added into the equation.

One day, he promised himself, I’ll see the stars.

Maybe I’ll feel at home out there.

Despite the interesting things he encountered, Edwin’s days were frequently nothing spectacular. When he didn’t want to practice Flight, he usually sat on the carriage and experimented with his other Skills. He found that Prototyping could either include or ignore the motion of the road beneath him depending on what he wanted, that Fresh Air leveled best when it had something to filter out, Health meant he never got blisters, and Adaptive Defense kept him from getting sunburns altogether.

Currently, he was seeing how fine of a chain he could make with his Sapper’s Apparatus. Consistent use and practice had helped him lower the time required to summon his creations- the Skill leveling did nothing in that regard- but large or intricate creations made that shoot right back up. Chains, depending on how long he made them, met both criteria, and he was practicing summoning them one link at a time, which might well-

“Stop right there!” a voice broke Edwin out of his experimentation. His head jerked up to see a figure standing above him emerge from the surrounding light woods, seemingly melting away from the treeline, “Give me all your valuables!”

Well. It looked like he might have a bit of excitement today after all.

Level Up!

Skill Points 486→522 (Average Level: 33)

Flight Level 23→28

Outsider’s Almanac Level 128→129

Longstrider Level 22→27

Prototyping Level 13→16

Fresh Air Level 8→11

Numeracy Level 15→19

Adaptive Defense Level 24→25

Arcadian Elixir Level 8→11

Watchful Rest Level 10→15