Xerxes raised his arms in the air, stretching them once he had finished the letter. He breathed a sigh of relief. In the past week, many things had looked his way.
"I have been able to gain an artifact, I have been able to locate 'Moonshard' ore, and it seems..."
It felt strange saying it, after spending so many months here, "... it seems like I am ready to move on from Baratheon, Airi."
Airi perhaps felt the same. Prior to visiting Lumanaria's sanctuary, there was no direct catalyst to push her forward, but with her suspected connection to the Lord of Light, it felt natural to venture beyond this kingdom.
But in their hearts, they could both sense something was still missing.
"Leiya." They said simultaneously in a sombre tone.
Xerxes looked down at the letter, which he had sealed in an envelope and placed a hand on it. "In a world that is just black and white, she could come and things could be simpler. However, I fear something more. If we continue to stay idle, remain oblivious in Baratheon. Not only will I not make it back to my family, but the threat of Yves and potentially others can grow and I cannot allow that."
Airi agreed, although the situation was difficult, Leiya made it clear many months ago she wanted nothing to do with Xerxes.
"We ought to gather materials, surely we should know better than letting Thornfum carry all the work on his shoulders..."
Xerxes scratched his head, thinking of the crazed dwarf. "He will likely spend his first 100 gold coins on women, then more on some women..."
Airi joined in, "And some more..."
They both immediately looked at each other, despair latched onto their faces, and they wasted no time in leaving. Thornfum was always the type to search for his 'first love' before getting any serious work done, and with a deadline of roughly two weeks, it seemed like Airi and Xerxes would have to gather materials.
They both left the inn, and walked towards the town.
Baratheon, whether it was day or night, hot or cold, the streets were bustling, and banners were tousled in the winds. Adventurers were dressed warmly. Most were adorned in thick furry cloaks from the beasts they likely killed from the Forest of Dreams, whereas humble citizens had a less extravagant attire.
The smell of fresh sizzling beef and other meats filled the air, with many people lining outside various stalls. It was quite common in Baratheon for people's diet to primarily consist of meat all year around, after all, adventurers needed sufficient nutrients from the meat to grow as strong as possible.
Xerxes was honestly getting tired of eating beef, but, it had been long since he had any, so he decided to get some at a cheap price.
"It looks spectacular, may I have some." The phoenix requested.
However, Xerxes frowned at the inner pocket she was hidden in, "I thought birds were herbivores, are you not supposed to eat seeds?"
She retorted with anger, "I am not a regular bird! I have already faced enough discrimination being called a flaming parrot, and I will not accept any more!"
Eventually, Xerxes gave in and fed her; they then spent the next few hours walking through various stalls, but one that particularly caught Xerxes' eyes was one that specialised in adventuring outfits; they also had a 'winter sale', which piqued his interest even more.
Xerxes walked towards the stall, taking a look. There seemed to be various items, fur-lined jackets, woolly boots and various other garments, but Xerxes felt drawn to a particular cloak. It was a lustrous black, that did not hold much detail. It was simple and effective.
It was fairly oversized, and it held leather straps that could hold various items; there seemed to be enough space for Airi too, in fact it could most likely fit more than a phoenix, it could fit a whole other person.
An old lady, who looked mummified, approached Xerxes and poked him with a cane in his ribs, "No touching, this piece is woven from a Latcher creature that resides in the Mons' Mountain!"
"Latcher creatures, eh?" He questioned.
"Yes, we even have their claws here. They are creatures that latch onto the mountains, some say they maintain the statues of the 7 great warriors, some do not believe they exist. But believe me! I have seen them with my own two eyes, and they move in packs, but due to their extreme tardiness in surviving in those harsh conditions, coupled with the size of their packs, it is extremely difficult to catch one!" She explained.
Xerxes honestly felt sceptical; it just seemed like they were relatively peaceful creatures, with no aptitude for combat. Airi would maintain his warmth fairly well, so he did not really need the cloak unless it benefited him in various ways.
"Hmm, interesting story, I do believe you...partly, but is there anything else the cloak provides?"
Immediately replying to Xerxes' question, she grasped Xerxes' sword from his waist and slashed at the fur, and to Xerxes' surprise, there was no incision. She then flexed an arm, which displayed no muscle as she chuckled, "It has a high resistance against projectiles, and melee attacks, their hide is way more durable than most, I believe it to be fit for an adventurer like you. Here try it on, try it on!"
She picked the cloak and without Xerxes' approval, she began putting it on him, and with mirrors all around the stalls, Xerxes saw himself in the reflection. It looked good; he would be lying if he said he disliked it, but it was good. He could also sense faint amounts of mana, which was probably embedded into the hide.
Giving in to her sales techniques, Xerxes asked "How much?"
She eyed up Xerxes, "Generally I sell it for 15 gold, but a special price for a special person, how about it, 5 golden pieces a 66.6% discount!"
Xerxes handed it over without further problems, and spent the next few hours exploring the stalls, gathering a few pieces and going to an adventuring guild to request information and reports from adventurers who have travelled through the interpass of Baratheon and Amento.
It was safe to say he had made the right decision; the storms and conditions were said to be unbearable, tier 5 and sometimes tier 4 mages would avoid it, unless accompanied by a tier 3 mage, who was required to use fire magic for warmth.
But that was not as concerning as the other things he had learnt; people had been reporting hidden routes for slave trade, which Xerxes did not really doubt. It had been known out of all kingdoms, the south of Baratheon and the south of Layne seemed to engage in slavery.
Xerxes wondered what he would do if he were to encounter any; take them with him, or was it just the natural order of the world? Was he to go against traditions that have lasted for hundreds of years, or simply walk away if he did see it.
He did not know the answer, and he was hoping he would not have to find out, as it would pile onto the responsibilities he had, and he was not looking to make further enemies than he already had.
The day was almost over, but he had one last thing to do, and that was to post the letter to Leiya. He made a trip to the residence she was staying at. It was a large estate, that was a holy place of worship for Luminare.
"I promise Airi, I am not a stalker or anything...I just had to make sure she was in good hands," Xerxes spoke sheepishly, embarrassment written on his face.
Airi frowned, "Whatever you say, keep deluding yourself."
He clicked his tongue and then went to the gates that surrounded the Lord of Light's worship place, and placed the letter in a postal box towards the right.
"Hope this finds you, Leiya." Xerxes said, whilst looking up at the building. He could sense her mana; it was so distinct from the rest and it seemed to be stable. There were no spikes in her mana like how it would do when in battle or a highly emotional state.
Smiling bitterly, Xerxes waved and began walking away.
Somewhere in Xerxes' heart, he thought of himself as foolish. 'Why do I wish for her to come here now, to say that things are alright and that we can move forward?' He looked down at his fist and clenched it.
"This is the last letter I write to you, Leiya, I hope it finds its way to you." He said aloud, after thinking on the letters he had been sending her weekly after discovering her location.
In his heart, he wanted her here, but the way life had turned out, in its cruel reality, she never came and Xerxes walked back to the inn, all by himself.
****
Thornfum was not in sight when Xerxes arrived back at the inn, so he must be slacking off somewhere.
"It was a good idea that we set out, Airi, mind helping me with the bandages on my arm?" It was something Xerxes had to repetitively do.
The injury he had gotten from using that weird mana against Yves which caught him off guard had done significant damage to his arm, and he had used it against Tristan in the eclipse tournament, which was the way he had won, but the scars were definitely gruesome.
Airi flew over, holding some bandages and Xerxes unclothed his arm.
Beneath the bandages there was a charred and scarred arm, that seemed like it was not functional. Though he could still use it, the arm provided a great deal of pain each time he used it and he knew the way he was expelling that strange mana from his arm was debilitating each time he used it.
Though his control over it was not good, it was always a final option for him, but he was hoping he would not need to use it any more.
Xerxes finally wrapped his arm in fresh bandages with the help of Airi, and entered his routine he had picked up.
Nightly meditation, utilising Airi's healing flames on his arm and then he fell asleep and Thornfum was yet to return. Xerxes did not expect anything bad, as it was common for Thornfum to return late.
So he slept.
****
A few hours into sleeping, it felt disturbing. Xerxes was not able to rest deeply; there was something off.
He did not know whether it was his instincts, or simply just discomfort.
But then, he felt it.
He sensed it.
Something was peering at him; it was a gaze so intense it felt like a dagger was at his throat.
Xerxes opened his eyes, and in a flash of blinding speed, he leapt towards the window.
"Piercer!", he utilised both wind and fire to expel an attack of pure force and precision, leaving a deafening explosion in its wake, completely destroying the glass window in front of him.
He then breathed, and the noise woke Airi.
She asked, trying to be as vigilant as possible, "What in the 6 kingdoms happened!"
Xerxes put a hand on his throat, "I... I felt some gaze, filled with malice. I am sure something was wrong."
Airi, who was visibly shaken, asked another question, "Did you at least get rid of them?!"
But Xerxes did not reply; he walked towards the visible hole within the wall, and reached out.
He grabbed a piece of black cloth; it was not enough to make a distinct assumption of who it was, but it was at least a lead. Someone has been watching him; it seemed to be a blindfold?
That was not the only thing that was concerning; Xerxes saw something on it which made his skin pale.
"Airi, is that one of Thornfum's pieces of earth? It is similar to his mana signature; he must have left it."
The phoenix peered at the item and realised it was Thornfum's magic and they both looked at each other, with visible fear in their eyes.
Thornfum must have been taken by someone.