In one of the vast plains dotting the world of Veldanyr, a large carriage could be seen. Being pulled along by five steeds, which were all emanating an aura reminiscent of a peak Rank 0 class holder, to ensure the passengers would get to their destination as soon as possible, the carriage zoomed under the harsh rays of the sun.
"How much longer do we have to wait until Valyr wakes up?" Sitting at the back of the carriage as he looked at the moving landscape from time to time, Wells looked at the man that slept on the carriage floor, the man's expression the epitome of delight.
"You said he drank a Rousing Slumber Potion, right?" Madeline, one of the other people stuck at the back of the carriage, decided to answer Wells' question. "Usually, the amount of time they've spent awake under the effects of the Rousing Slumber Potion is equivalent to a quarter of the time they'll spend asleep."
"Of course, that ratio might differ depending on how skilled the alchemist that made the potion is. They could even make it so that the time you spend awake is equivalent to twice the amount of time you'll spend asleep." She shrugged her shoulders soon after. "But since it's already a bit past afternoon, I'd reckon he'd get up a few minutes from now."
"Is that so?" As he nodded in response to Madeline's explanation, Wells recalled the only time he had drank a Rousing Slumber Potion in the past, only to be told that he had been asleep for a few days because of it. "In any case, I wonder what question Valyr wanted to ask you guys."
"Beats me." Shrugging her shoulders once more in response, Madeline decided to head to the front of the carriage where Braum and Neia were, leaving Wells and the sleeping Valyr at the back on their own.
Left alone in his own thoughts, Wells decided to recall everything that had transpired before they left the city, hoping to stumble upon a clue at some point to get an idea on what possible question Valyr might have in mind.
With that, he started at the moment Braum and the other two arrived at the smithy, with the awake Valyr leading them into the workshop portion of the smithy, telling them that he had been forging weapons for them throughout the late hours of the night, which was quite a surprise to the two behind Braum, while the latter just smiled in response.
All this while, Wells and Magis was at the back of the group, both of them being at a loss for words as Valyr gave the three weapons that seemed to have touched upon a higher level of power. For Wells, he felt like the weapons Valyr had given them could be considered heirlooms in his family. On the other hand, Magis felt like the weapons had touched upon a level of craftsmanship that had gone beyond the level necessary to become famous in the city.
Nevertheless, they were left alone in their own shock as the three accepted the five weapons Valyr had given them, with Madeline being the most vocal out of the three in showing her gratitude to Valyr. Unsurprisingly, all of them got a bit of a chuckle out of it.
Not long after, Braum asked Valyr and Wells if they were ready to depart, prompting Magis to interrupt the conversation as he asked Valyr if this was the reason why he was giving the Crimson Forge to him. In response, Valyr nodded before placing his arm over the man's shoulders, telling him to not waste the reputation he had forged for the smithy, even though most of it was unintentional.
Aside from that, he also told him to not turn out into something like what the forging emporium was in the past, with Magis responding to Valyr's words with a disgusted expression, telling the latter that the thought of turning out into something like that had never even crossed his mind. With a few words of gratitude in response to that, Valyr and the others then left the city on a carriage, with Valyr's parting words to Magis being the fact that he'll be back to check up on him in the future.
Pondering over everything that happened during that time, Wells eventually came to the conclusion that there was no background reason to Valyr's action just as they had departed for the city, telling everyone that he would ask them a question after he woke up before going to sleep.
However, as he thought about it a bit more, there was one part that seemed peculiar to him, being the fact that Valyr carried three normal-looking weapons with him as they departed. Though Valyr did say that the weapons were something he forged in exchange for contribution points he could use in the Blacksmith Guild, Wells felt like this was the reason he was looking for, mulling over what other possible connection there could be to the weapons.
Fortunately, he did not have to get lost in his thoughts any longer, with Valyr gradually coming to sometime later.
Feeling a bit of soreness from his back due to having to sleep on a hard floor, the overall feeling of relaxation Valyr felt from a good rest was enough for Valyr to gloss over the soreness, lightly stretching the various parts of his body as he then sat down on the carriage properly.
"How long was I out?" Letting out a brief yawn as he scratched his head, Valyr looked at Wells beside him with a faint knowing smile.
"Around seven hours, I think," said Wells in response.
"Hmm… sounds about right." Pondering over Wells' words for a bit, Valyr eventually nodded in agreement before slightly grinning. "You've bought quite the good Rousing Slumber Potion, then."
"You're finally awake, huh." Hearing the faint hubbub that was going on at the back of the carriage, Braum left Madeline and Neia at the front to man the carriage before making his way to the back, quickly noticing that Valyr was finally awake. "Got some good sleep, I presume?"
"I've gotten better sleeps in the past." Valyr let out a chuckle in response. "I'd put this one somewhere around the middle."
"Let's put that topic aside for now," said Braum as a solemn expression appeared on his face. "What question were you planning to ask us once you woke up?"
"Remember how I brought along three weapons with me, telling you that I'm submitted them to the Blacksmith Guild in exchange for contribution points?" asked Valyr in response, prompting Wells and Braum to nod as they listened. "Well, all of them were for tasks that had something to do with an orc outbreak."
"What? An orc outbreak?" Unsurprisingly, Wells had no clue at all that this was the question Valyr planned to ask.
"I see." On the other hand, the expression on Braum's face turned slightly grim as he nodded. Looking at Valyr, he then asked, "And I guess you want to get an idea of what's going on?"
"I wouldn't have brought up in the place if I didn't." Hearing these words from Valyr, Braum nodded once more, with Madeline and Neia popping their heads through the curtain to take a quick listen to the conversation that was unfolding.
"I presume you already know that three races rule our world, right?" Wondering where to begin his explanation, a question quickly popped up in Braum's mind that seemed to be the perfect start.
"Yeah." Valyr nodded. "Humans, orcs, and elves."
"Correct." Noticing that Wells seemed to have no clue on what they were talking about, Braum decided to explain a bit more. "In terms of whether or not there's an overlap between the races' territories, the humans and elves have no overlapping territories, thus there is no conflict in that regard. The same could be said for the elves and orcs."
"Though, if one were to ask that same question regarding human and orc territories, there are tons of places where the two territories overlap. Naturally, this problem erupted into conflict on both sides, with the fact that the orcs always resorting to battle to settle it once and for all only making the problem even worse."
"With that in mind, this outbreak is just another one of those multiple conflicts we've had with the orcs in the past," said Braum, only for him to let out a long sigh as his expression turned grim. "However, unlike those previous conflicts, this outbreak occurred near the Algerie Kingdom, one of the main kingdoms of the Meltierre Empire. If the orcs take over the kingdom, the empire will definitely spring into action. And not before long…"
"It might turn into an all-out war."
At those words, everyone in the carriage went silent, with the galloping of the horses being the only sound they could hear amidst the silence. Thankfully, sometime later, Valyr broke the silence as he took in a deep breath, looking at Braum with a faint smile on his face. "All the more reason for me to get to the kingdom, then."
"Indeed." In response, Braum nodded before letting out a bit of laughter as the five continued on their journey to the kingdom.
…
"We're almost there." As Valyr and Wells were in the process of waking themselves up, Madeline's voice echoed from the front of the carriage, giving them a bit more energy to get themselves ready as they quickly made their way to the front.
At the very moment they got there, a sight both Wells and Valyr had never seen before swiftly greeted their eyes. Compared to the large city walls of Clossbay, the walls before them were far larger, spanning tens of meters tall, with their ends being far beyond the scope of their vision.
Aside from that, both of them could already hear the bustling clamor behind the walls, something that only got louder and louder the closer they got.
With that, even though they already knew what place they were entering, they still felt a hint of excitement when Madeline looked at them and grinned as she told them, "Valyr, Wells, welcome to Algerie Kingdom."
Then, at the instant she had finished saying those words, a notification sound resounded within everyone's minds at the same time.
Ding!
[Version 0.1b of Greater Beyond has finally ended!]
