The two days before departure passed in a blur of shopping, errands, and endless teasing.
Most of our purchases were mundane, clothes, food staples, soaps, and other daily necessities, but we also had to stock up on parchment and ink. I had been working hard to improve my reading and writing ever since meeting Lira, and now that I was formally recognized by the academy, I wanted to get ahead of the curve.
Lira, naturally, supported the idea, and Mae insisted on tagging along, claiming that "as Master's personal artificer-slash-genius," she had a duty to oversee his scholarly growth. In truth, I think she just wanted to flaunt her knowledge and needle Lira whenever possible.
As we walked through the bustling market district toward a tome shop, our conversation drifted to my studies.
"You've only been learning to read for, what, a few weeks?" Mae said, adjusting her spectacles as she peered at me. "And you're already tackling magical notation? Not bad, Master. Not bad at all."
I shrugged modestly. "I've had good teachers."
Lira squeezed my arm and smiled, but Mae just smirked. "Flattery will get you everywhere, Master. Especially with big sis Lira here."
"Mae!" Lira hissed, cheeks flushing.
Before Lira could escalate, Mae clapped her hands together. "Oh! And speaking of my brilliance, I finished tuning up your pistols. They now have variable limiters. You can fire weaker bursts without draining your core dry in a single duel. Ingenious, right?"
"Actually," I said honestly, "they feel smoother already. Thank you."
Mae grinned ear to ear, clearly fishing for praise. "And my next project will be even better, a collaboration with big sis. We're going to reproduce some of the relics from those ruin-tomes she brought back. If we succeed, the academy will shower us with gold!"
"Assuming you don't blow us up in the process," Lira muttered.
"Details, details." Mae waved her hand dismissively.
The tome shop itself was an ancient, dusty building with shelves that stretched to the ceiling, groaning under the weight of thick volumes. The smell of old parchment and ink filled the air. An elderly shopkeeper with a bent back and ink-stained fingers shuffled toward us.
"Welcome, seekers of knowledge," he croaked. "What wisdom do you hunt today?"
"Beginner tomes," Lira said, "focusing on his aptitudes: physical enhancement, explosion, and programming."
The man raised a bushy eyebrow at me. "Three aptitudes? My, my. Ambitious."
He vanished into the shelves, leaving us to browse. Mae darted off immediately, muttering about schematics and enchantment formulae. Lira guided me gently toward the front counter.
The shopkeeper returned with a small stack of tomes. "Here. 'The Foundations of Enhancement.' 'Elementary Blast Principles.' And for the third… ah, a primer on programmable constructs. Difficult, but not impossible, if you have patience."
I ran my fingers over the covers, feeling a thrill of anticipation. These weren't just books; they were keys to a future I'd never imagined.
Mae returned, arms full of heavy tomes of her own, and dumped them onto the counter with a thud. "Charge it to the academy!" she announced cheerfully.
The shopkeeper gave her a long-suffering look. Lira sighed. "We'll pay."
Mae winked at me. "See, Master? That's why having a harem is useful; big sis picks up the bills."
"I don't have a harem though!"
"Not yet. I know how dark elves do things!"
The rest of our time was filled with preparation. Lira double-checked lists, Mae smuggled in more bottles of dwarven water than I thought possible, and I tried to absorb as much as I could from my beginner tomes.
At last, dawn arrived, and with it our departure.
The skyport was already alive with activity when we arrived. Crews shouted orders, cargo was hauled aboard, and the smell of salt and oil mixed with the crisp morning air. At the boarding ramp of a sleek but sturdy vessel stood the Valkyries, waiting for us.
Captain Serana gave us a curt nod. "Welcome aboard the Skyfang. You're under our protection until we reach the academy's island."
We followed them up the ramp and onto the deck. The ship was impressive, every line of its reinforced hull built for both speed and survival. Gleaming runic wards shimmered faintly along the wood and steel.
Serana gestured to the others. "Alenya, show them their cabins."
The young archer led us below deck. She opened the first door with a smile. "This one's yours. Spacious enough for two. I assume you'll be sharing?" Her eyes flicked between me and Lira knowingly.
Lira flushed and nodded.
The next door opened onto a much smaller cabin, barely wide enough for a cot and a chest. "And this is for you," Alenya said to Mae.
Mae frowned immediately. "This is a broom closet, not a cabin!"
"It's what we have available," the archer replied smoothly.
Mae crossed her arms, pouting. "Master, surely you'll let me sleep in your cabin instead?"
"No," Lira said flatly.
Mae stuck out her tongue. "Killjoy."
Once we'd dropped off our luggage, the Valkyries took us on a tour of the ship. We saw the mess hall, the common room with its worn but comfortable chairs, the armory lined with blades and crossbows, and the reinforced infirmary stocked with potions.
Kaelen, the wolf-kin warrior, demonstrated the training yard at the rear deck, slashing a dummy in half with terrifying ease. "If you need practice, this is the place. Better to sweat here than bleed in the sky."
Veyra, the demon sorceress, showed us the warding circles carved into the planks. "These repel minor devils. Against stronger ones, they'll buy us precious seconds."
Finally, Captain Serana led us forward, where a massive metal cylinder rested within a reinforced housing. Runes glowed faintly along its length, humming with restrained power.
"This," she said with pride, "is our mana cannon. Forged in the academies themselves, powered by crystalline batteries, and capable of obliterating a sky devil in a single shot."
Mae's eyes lit up like a child at a festival. She ran her hands along the barrel, whispering calculations under her breath. "Oh, the things I could do if you let me take this apart…"
"Don't even think about it," Serana warned.
Mae sighed wistfully. "Master, one day we need one of these."
Lira rolled her eyes. "One day, maybe. For now, let's focus on not blowing ourselves up."
The tour complete, we returned to the deck, the sun rising higher as the crew prepared for departure. Excitement thrummed in my chest. The Skyfang wasn't just a ship; it was the start of another leg of my journey.