18 The Queen's Journey, Departure

Decena looked around when she arrived. In a cloudless day, under a burning white sun, were around thirty people, waiting for the woman who had beckoned them. Decena was now part of those thirty, or rather, thirty-one. She looked for something to sit on, and beside a small building, she found a simple wooden crate.

On her way there, her hand shook. She didn't want to admit it, but she was excited. Not to embark on a suicidal journey, but to see Verana once again. That promise the queen made to her... Would she keep it? She had no reason to. She could arrive at Nova and just like that, throw Decena into a dungeon, never to be seen again.

Once she sat down, from here, she analyzed those who had shown up. Of the thirty others present, around twelve were soldiers. The rest, were low rank adventurers from the village. The only group that caused Decena to look at them for more than a few seconds, were the three Saviors standing beside the queen's carriage.

The Saviors. Not only did Decena know who they were, but once, by chance, she had seen them train. They almost moved faster than a person could see them, and their bodies were supernaturally strong.

For them to be here, Decena wondered whether anyone else was even necessary. Still though, it appeared the queen thought so.

"Ah, what a marvelous day this has already become." Decena heard someone say from her left. She turned, and found two familiar figures smiling at her.

"Floren, Jess!" She called out, standing to meet them. "You're here to answer the call?"

"Yes, I tried to convince the poor lass next to me that t'was a dangerous prospect, but alas, she would not be stopped." Floren said.

"This 'lass' can defend herself. If anyone here should be worried it's you, you're the one who fights like you're pregnant."

"Ah, the situation has done nothing to calm your crude tongue, I see." Floren rubbed his forehead.

"But, on a more serious note." Jess said, her blue eyes locking back onto Decena's. "I wanted to get away from this place."

"As did I." Floren added.

"What? You mean, escape?" Decena asked.

"Yes." Jess' tone turned far more serious than it had been just a second ago. "The memory is still fresh in my head. Standing there, hiding behind a wall because I was too afraid to fight a monster. I don't want to go through that again."

"I fear that staying here, where the duke can order me to continue searching for those things will drastically reduce my life expectancy. So, I decided to tag along." Floren said.

The cowardice in their decision was not lost on Decena, but she couldn't say she didn't understand. Truth be told, if she weren't so fond of disregarding her own life, she would be cowering, just like them. She couldn't judge them.

"Well, we have to check on our equipment. See you on the caravan." Floren said, as the two of them moved away.

Once again, Decena was alone. She looked around, and this time, she found a familiar face in the crowd of adventurers ahead of her.

Theresa stood, looking just as beautiful and intimidating as usual, dressed in a black cloak that extended all the way down to the back of her knees, and black boots. However, beside her, was someone Decena didn't recognize.

A boy, maybe her age, that looked almost like a typical villain in a theater show. He had wavy brown hair, tan skin, and yellow eyes that seemed as though they were designed for a torturer. He was dressed in brown, leather armor, and held several weapons on his body, including a dagger, a sword on his waist, and a bow on his back.

But, he stood with an aloofness that was completely contrary to how he looked. It was genuinely bizarre.

He wasn't the one everyone else was staring at though.

A few feet away from him, was a man with the head of a snake, and the torso and legs of a regular person. Only, green scales covered his arms and probably the rest of his body, which lie covered by a white shirt and black pants. Decena was impressed with the restraint the guards were showing. Clearly, they wanted to either capture or kill this man here and now, yet they did not.

She assumed the queen had something to do with that.

Finally, the only other interesting presence was one most of these adventurers probably never noticed, if not outright ignored. A small girl, probably twelve, or thirteen-years-old, dressed in a black suit of cloth, with a black mask around her mouth. Her skin, what little of it Decena could see, was wood brown, and the hair that flowed down her back was black as the night sky. She was sitting to the side of a building, with her back to a wall, and her knees huddled against her chest.

If Decena weren't as perceptive as she was, she would have missed this girl as everyone else had. A girl like that signed up for this mission? She was going to get slaughtered.

Decena shook her head, turning her attention away from the girl. All there was to do now, was wait.

Jin's POV.

He moved his head around, as though he were stretching his neck. Really, he was just trying to find something to do.

The queen had yet to arrive, and thus, everyone here was just lazying around, waiting for her.

Suddenly, a voice called out to him.

"Hey, Jin!" He looked straight ahead, finding a woman half his size running towards him. She was no child though. It was Ricca, the secretary over at the guild.

It dawned on him that he'd never seen her full body since she was always behind the desk. She was dressed in a simple white skirt. She was thin, child-like, and her skin was almost glowing in the sunlight.

"You never got the message, eh? We got some new imports yesterday!"

"What?" Jin asked. The heck did "import" mean?

"Just take out your adventurer's ID." She said. Jin had almost forgotten he had the thing. He took it out, and Ricca promptly swiped it from his hand. She held it out in front of her, staring at the small object.

Her eyes began glowing, releasing a yellow aura, and suddenly, the contents of the ID card changed.

"We've been trying to figure out a way to measure people's magic for a while now, and yesterday, we finally did it. So now, you can gauge how much magic you, and anyone around you has at any given time."

"What do you mean?" Jin asked.

"Everyone who can use magic has a certain amount of magic inside them. Every spell costs a certain amount of magic. Before, you kind of just had to feel it out, but now, we know how much each spell costs, and with this new card, you know how much you have. So," She looked down at the card, "you have 120M. 'M' being, magic units, of course. The number is just an approximation, by the way, meaning you could have 114, or 131 or something like that, but the card says 120M."

"Uh, okay." Jin took the card and examined it. Below his name, on the upper left corner of the card, was a blue meter, with the letters "120M" written over it.

"Aim it at someone." Ricca instructed. Jin looked around, and quickly, his eyes found Theresa. He understood the basic concept of this new meter, and a thought appeared in his mind. How much magic does Theresa have?

He held it out in her direction, and right before his eyes, the card changed. His name disappeared, his information did as well, and letters rearranged themselves to form:

"Theresa, of house Varys. 1354M" Jin read aloud.

Theresa turned around when she heard her name being called.

"Hm?"

"Ah, Theresa, hi!" Ricca waved at her.

"Ricca?" Theresa crossed her arms. "What? Wanted to get a last kiss in on your man before he left? I didn't know you two had that kind of relationship." She smirked at the terreth.

"D-Don't be ridiculous." Ricca pouted. Theresa chuckled.

"So, what's that?" Theresa asked.

"We updated the adventurer's ID card so that now, it shows how much magic people have." Ricca said.

"Oh, that sounds pretty useful. Can I see it?" Theresa asked. Jin handed her the card. Theresa looked around, and her eyes fell on a girl sitting on a crate, sulking. She had red hair, and wore plain steel armor. For some reason, Jin felt slightly intimidated by her. She had a pretty depressing aura. Theresa didn't seem to mind though, and aimed the card at her.

The card shifted again, and eventually, it read: "? 0M"

"Is the card faulty?" Theresa asked.

"No. It only displays the names of people who have registered with the Adventurer's Guild. Since, I assume, she hasn't yet, the card doesn't know her name. As for her magic, most people can't use magic, so she probably just has none." Ricca shrugged.

"Ah, I see." Theresa added.

"Well, that's all. Good luck on your travels, Jin. Don't forget to visit from time to time!" Ricca said, before the wings on her back began fluttering, and suddenly, she was flying away at an impressive speed.

Just like that, they were back to waiting.

Eliara's POV.

"Do you have everything?" Cerena asked.

"Yes, mother." Eliara replied, with a stagnant tone, and half-closed eyes, not out of a lack of rest, but out of a lack of interest.

Cerena crossed her arms, and opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again and turned to instruct her servants. She waved her hand towards the luggage, and they promptly began carrying it.

"Then let's leave."

They were out of the castle in no time.

Her mother's distant back stayed in front of her as they walked. She looked down at her feet, dragging a white, silk skirt across cleansed stone. How much longer would it take before her mother understood that she wasn't some child anymore?

She was already a better Light mage than most people she knew. She was praised often by both Nova's court mage, and Farrah Valor's. It seemed her mother was the only one who had yet to realize her potential.

But one way or another, Eliara would make sure she understood that her daughter was gifted.

Within a few minutes, they were at Daysinn Village's southern gate. Eliara held back a scowl as she gazed upon the dirty, ragged peasants her mother had enlisted. Thieves, beastmen, amateurs. Eliara was quite disgusted with the lack of a standard.

Still, there were a few of them who looked passable. A girl with crimson hair, dressed in steel armor, she looked like she knew what she was doing.

Of course, Eliara knew Theresa quite well. She'd been around almost as long as Eliara had been alive. As long as she stayed near, they'd certainly be safe.

And, the boy behind her. Handsome almost to a fault. His yellow eyes briefly fell on Eliara, and she found herself blushing. Though, she quickly regained her composure.

"Ah," Her mother began speaking, and already, Eliara sighed. "It pleases me greatly to see so many of you willing to help. But, I will be frank with you, as this is your last chance to turn away. This journey, will not be a short one. From here to Nova's capital, it's around a three week ride, that goes through some of the harsher territories Azeria has to offer. It will not be safe either. We are being chased by an army," a few eyes drifted towards the snake, "and I'm sure you've all heard the rumors regarding the monsters that have been wreaking havoc throughout Nova."

Eliara surpressed a shiver. That was what really scared her. She was confident the Saviors could protect her, and her mother from any Griffins, but these monsters...

She remembered seeing a knight who had supposedly been injured by one of these things, one day, while she and her mother were travelling to this village. He described it as being the most terrifying thing he'd ever seen.

It appeared some of these recruits felt the same way, with the crimson-haired girl noticeably looking a lot smaller all of a sudden.

"... So," Eliara's attention went back to her mother. "I'll say again. Do not feel obligated to come. If this seems to daunting a task for you, please, there is no shame in retreat."

A few of the younger looking adventurers moved away, walking back into the heart of the village. Cowards, Eliara thought. If she were in their position, she'd stand and fight. Of course, she was certain if she were in their position, she'd have nothing to fear, as she'd be the most talented combatant on the field.

Her heart beat a little faster when she saw the yellow-eyed boy's lack of a response. Why couldn't more men be like him? Brave, relishing a challenge.

"Very well," Her mother said. "It is time to leave then."