Chương 53: The Next Step

A few steps out of the Sapling estate, Jordan realized he didn't know the way back to the barracks. So far, he'd been too reliant on the locals. Pewter was originally meant to take him everywhere. Foxhill had told him how to find the White Dragon House. Canyon had then directed him back to the industrial district. And now, he was well and truly on his own. He briefly thought about turning around and knocking on the Saplings' door again. A horrifying prospect that only made him walk away faster.

He then turned to the streets for potential help, only to find them emptied for Heaven's Day. Wait a minute. I think I have an Item that might help … [Rampart's Map of Stormvast]. A decent enough idea, but it was not to be the solution Jordan needed. The world map was really just that: an overview of the world, without the added feature of zooming in on the local mini-map. Might have to dock a couple of points off my Steam review, Horst brother.

But just as Jordan was about to roll up the [Map] in disappointment, he noticed something moving on its waxy surface. A faint ink smudge, sort of 'floating away' from the arrowhead that doubled as Jordan's own location. Right now, the arrowhead was stuck onto the walled settlement that represented Featherift City, while the smudge appeared to float in a roughly northerly direction.

If I'm understanding it correctly, Jordan analyzed, this inky effect is that'broad sense of where to go next' mentioned in the item description. Probably the closest thing I'll ever get to a quest marker.' Yeah, try sort of going north a bit' wasn't the most helpful as far as quest objectives went. But Jordan nevertheless found it encouraging. Mainly because it tracked with what he himself wanted to do next. Don't know about any cardinal directions, but I do know I want to leave the city at some point.

Let's just hope I don't have to become a deserter or a fugitive to do it. Left with no recourse, Jordan wandered aimlessly for the next little while. He eventually did make it out of the industrial district, whereupon he screwed up his millennial courage to ask for directions from a passerby. Which was how he found his way back to the arterial road in the middle of the city. This he followed west in the direction of the barracks… until he came upon a sight that demanded his immediate attention.

The main street was the busiest place in the city, especially true on Heaven's Day. Today in particular, a large crowd had gathered across the width of the road, blocking passage and causing a heavy traffic jam. Jordan waded his way through the throng of bodies, expecting to come across maybe a ridiculously hype street performance. As he got closer to the source of the blockage, however, he noticed that the vibes were… off.

"Get moving! We haven't got all day!" A sternly impatient command. Issued by a city guard and directed at… a band of travelers? Upwards of fifty men, women, and children, many of them visibly disheveled while weighed down by large packs on their backs. They looked just as exhausted and miserable as Jordan once felt on his way into the city. They also looked just as unsure of themselves—flinching at the loud voices, eyes darting at the rubberneckers all around.

Despite zero context, Jordan's heart immediately went out to them. Especially when he spotted a family of four: a mild-mannered father, a bravely smiling mother, and a boy and girl holding tight to each other's hands. They reminded Jordan of a younger version of the Mallet family… which, as he soon learned, wasn't far off the mark.

"So where's this lot from, then?" A rubbernecker's muttered conversation filtered into Jordan's ears.

"Blue River. Nomads from the northern reaches."

"Figures. I hear things are getting pretty fraught up there."

"Well, that's why all these refugees are pouring into our city, ain't it? Let's just hope they didn't bring the trouble in with them…" As if Jordan needed any more signs from the universe telling him to go north. If this had all been scripted by the Vesselia devs, he had to dock points for a heavy-handed narrative while also commending them for making him care anyway. This trouble that's brewing up north, it's displacing humble folk just like Mallet and his family.

And if the ill winds ever blow west, maybe in Copper Hill's direction… Jordan had seen and heard enough. Evidently, so too had the gathered crowd. As the city guards herded the refugees away from the center of attention, the prying eyes dissipated one by one. The main street went right back to business as usual, though with an uneasy mood still hanging over the air. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

Constitution DC 14: success Xihe:"Trust your instincts for adventure, earthborn. Nature has a way to test all her willing creatures, big and small. Risk much, and your reward for overcoming said challenges shall be all the greater." Thus, it was with a renewed sense of purpose that Jordan conveyed himself back to the city barracks. And there, even before he got to the gate, he was in for another intriguing scene.

A well-dressed civilian man was standing just outside the barracks, gesticulating angrily at whoever was on the other side of the gate. It was none other than Nickel Sapling, the very son Jordan had been tasked to direct home by a chagrined father. And as he got nearer, he heard…

"—long as he holds true to his oath, he's a soldier of the Imperial Army. A soldier under my charge, no less." There was no mistaking that mild yet authoritative tone, with just a hint of the sneer that surely played upon the speaker's face. Ranger Heron Catchgrain continued, "And you won't ever get a different answer from me, no matter the size of your'donations' or the substance behind your threats. Pray take your leave, Metallurgist Sapling, before I'm forced to call the city guards on you."

"Why, you!" Nickel reared up, looking for a second like he might take a leaf out of Jordan Yu's book from last night. Unlike the trigger-happy Gatekeeper, however, the heir to the Sapling estate exercised some semblance of restraint.

"With respect, Ranger, I believe you're making a grave mistake. Don't think this is the last you've heard from me!"

"For your sake, I sincerely hope that it is." Nickel turned and walked off in a huff. Mercifully in the opposite direction from where Jordan had approached. Jordan waited several beats until the coast was clear, then poked his head into the barracks. Heron had already found a new target for his acid tongue, now giving the poor sentry an earful. Something about having to involve a senior Ranger for such a trifling matter.

The situation reminded Jordan very much of an acne-faced part-timer at a McDonald's getting yelled at by the shift manager. Which was how he let slip an irreverent snort within Heron's earshot.

"You!" the Ranger turned to him in an instant, eyes flashing with renewed menace.

"Two measly days of leave, and you've already called down more trouble than you're worth. My room. Now. You and I have some grave matters to discuss." Jordan gulped like a chastened schoolboy. Heron Catchgrain just had that effect on people. As evidenced by the look of commiseration that passed between sentry and recruit. Strength DC 12: success Zhurong:"It's just as well. From one manling to another, make this brute see the strength of your resolve!" A rare W for Zhurong in the advice-giving department.

Besides which, the way Heron had stood up for Pewter had scored some points in Jordan's estimation. So, it was with equal parts gratitude and trepidation that he followed the Ranger across the courtyard.

"While you were out and about in the city," Heron dug into the 'grave matters' presently, not waiting to get to his room, "did you hear anything of the unrest in the northern reaches?"

"Just now," Jordan replied promptly, "I came across a bunch of refugees being marched through the city. Something to do with Garuda Akula, I would assume?" Heron nodded grimly.

"As far as we can tell, the Garuda herself hasn't caused direct harm to any grasslander. But it's her winds. Whatever is the nature of her magic, it's whipping the region's monster population into a [Frenzy]."

"That weird status? What's it do, exactly?"

"It's hard to say anything exact. We only have what we've observed, which is that the monsters have become more aggressive, more populous, and therefore more difficult to contain. Multiple settlements and nomadic communities have had to be evacuated already. At this rate, it's a matter of time before the [Frenzy] spreads throughout Featherift—before it reaches this city."

"What are you doing about it?" Jordan asked earnestly, very much invested in the answer. Heron stopped at the door to his quarters and turned to meet Jordan's eyes, absent his usual sneer.

"I've been thinking more and more about your report. About your apparent ability to [Cross the Void], as it were. I've since come to the conclusion that this so-called [Cross]-ing defies well-established laws—natural or magical—of time and space. And seeing as how the Garuda has thus far eluded every conventional attempt to capture or vanquish her… perhaps it's time we turned to more un conventional means." Jordan's face lit up.

"Great minds, eh?"

"Come again?"

"You know, great minds think alike? Don't you Stormvasters—never mind. Just let me get this straight, though. You are sending me on a quest, aren't you?"

"I was going to, but upon seeing the smug look on your face, I'm having second thoughts."

"Nah bro, I'm your man, have more trust in your first thoughts! In fact, even if you didn't bring it up, I was gonna come to you for the same thing."

"… Do you have a concrete plan, then? Of how to quell the Garuda's storms?"

"Well, I can't exactly call the plan'concrete', but… I do have some theories kicking around that I'd love to test out in the field. And for that, I'ma need your help, more than ever."

"Oh? Pray tell, recruit, how might this Ranger be of humble assistance?" Jordan was happy to. But first, he took a deep breath. Not only to temper his own nervexcitement, but also to commemorate the momentous occasion. For here, on Day 51 of his wacky adventure in Vesselia, he finally had a clear purpose to which to apply his boundless potential—his untapped Vessel. In other words, he was finally biting into the meat of the game.

"It's simple, really. I need a fuckload of mana and I need it quickly. Teach me how to get it."