It wasn’t long before we left the mountain range behind us, heading south into the rocky wasteland. There was not a single landmark in sight outside of the large mountains behind us. The place seemed completely devoid of life.

“This barren stretch of land is the first reason the Revilon Empire tends to ignore the passes to the northern continent. Not only is it difficult to set up outposts in such a remote location, the wasteland is also teeming with powerful monsters. Most of the people who live up here are considered uncivilized at best in the other parts of the Revilon Empire,” Marquis Williams explained. “The second reason is that Duke Lupis, the regional lord in the north, profits off trade from the north.”

“So how long until we can leave this desert?” Elaina asked.

“Oh, we should reach the town of Ashur, a remote outpost, by the end of the day, which is located at the very border of the northern wasteland. That will be the end of our trip together.”

That was a little disappointing. While I didn’t particularly like the marquis, he had been more than helpful during the length of our trip. Not only had he let us ride in his wagon, he had also answered any questions Elaina had asked him. And he hadn’t asked us any personal questions as well.

Although that might have just been because he wanted company during the week long trip and was scared we might stop talking with him.

What was worse was losing the protection of the Crescent Moon Warriors. Elaina and I right now were far too weak to travel anywhere without protection, even if we were now in the much safer southern continent.

While we had been ranking up quickly through our ‘night’ sessions, we were still only at the level of an ordinary teenager because we started at the very bottom. The fact was that we could not protect ourselves.

Our funds were also running low. Not dangerously low, but we had used up almost half of our total coin back in Red Peak. Sure, that was still a lot of money left but it was also all that we had. It’s not like either Elaina or I had the skills necessary at the moment to make more money.

Elaina might be able to do something if she ranked up a little more with her magic, but I certainly didn’t have much to go on at the moment. Unless I wanted to work as a prostitute.

We also had plenty of things to buy as well. The first was more hair dye. Preferably a permanent option. Elaina only bought a quick temporary hair dye in Red Peak because she liked my pink hair, but now that we knew that pink hair was a sign of royalty…well I didn’t think the empress would forgive me for stealing the body of her darling son.

“So, where are you two ladies headed once we reach Ashur?”

“We haven’t decided yet. We’ll probably just stay in town for a while.”

“Well, I wouldn’t recommend staying there too long. A lot of unsavoury folk live up here in the north. And that’s coming from me.” He laughed a little. “If you don’t know where you’re going though, I would recommend the capital.”

“The capital? Why would you recommend going there?””

“Because it’s the largest city on the continent, twice as big as any other city in terms of population. Everything you could ever want or need is there. But the main reason I’m recommending the capital is because I can see that you’re trying to learn magic. No better place for that than the Royal Academy. And since you were able to hire the Crescent Moon Warriors for this trip, you could probably afford it. The next term should be starting soon and many people are heading to the capital,” the marquis explained.

“They teach magic at this academy?” I asked, jumping into the conversation for the first time.

“Of course. The highest ranked mages in Revilon teach there. But magic is hardly all they teach. The academy is mostly for nobles or rich merchants since the tuition rates are sky-high, although they do have plenty of scholarships for talented individuals. It is not just people from Revilon that go to the academy either. Folks from all over the south enrol there. While it costs a lot of money, the price is more than worth it as other schools just can’t compete. It is one of the reasons the capital is so large.”

“Is that the only place I can learn magic?” I wouldn’t mind joining the Royal Academy but we hardly have the money for it.

The marquis laughed. “Hardly. There are other schools that teach magic but they are usually more specialized into specific magic types. Joining the army is also an option. They would teach you the basics but you’d be required to serve a certain number of years. Finally, you could also get an apprenticeship to a mage if you’re skilled enough.”

I thanked him for his advice. He had offered a lot of options. Still, for now I could continue learning magic by myself. There was no rush.

*******

Time passed and we eventually arrived at the town of Ashur.

The town was even smaller than Red Peak from what I could see, and its short walls little more than a person’s height tall were more like a tall fence, offering barely any protection. While the walls were nothing special, the knights in flashy red and gold armour standing outside were a sight to behold.

“Well, that’s a little troublesome,” Marquis William muttered up front.

“What? Is something wrong?” Elaina asked.

“A small town like this shouldn’t have any knights. And those knights sure aren’t from the surrounding region if they’re dressed like that as only one knight order wears red. The royal knights.” For the first time, the marquis almost seemed worried.

“What are they doing here?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. The royal knights almost never leave the capital. Only the royal family can order them around.”

The red knights surrounded us just outside the gate. There were eight of them, all dressed in bright red and gold armour. None of them had helmets on and I noticed that most of them were fox beastkin with a scattered few that were other races.

The knight captain stared at the leader of the Crescent Moon Warriors with one hand gripped on his sword. “My apologies but we’ll need to inspect each traveller coming in to the city.”

The Crescent Moon leader scoffed. “I don’t believe you have the authority to search just anyone. These are the lands of Duke Lupis. And you have no proof that we’ve committed any crime.”

The knight captain pulled out a scroll and handed it over. After a few seconds of reading, the Crescent Moon leader’s face twisted into a grimace.

“The knight commander is up north?”

“He is. Here to find someone important. We were instructed to find her and bring her back to the capital.”

“Fine. You can take a look. It’s not like we have anything illegal on board.”

A few of the knights surrounded our wagon, forcing us to get off.

“Just do what they say. They’re only looking for a certain person and won’t bother us.” The marquis whispered to us as he stepped down.

“Lift your hood please, miss.” The knight, a male fox beastkin asked me as he stared down at me. My head didn’t even reach his shoulders.

I did as he asked. It was a little too late to run away now.

The knight’s eyes widened a little as I revealed my ears, before narrowing as she studied my hair.

“Captain Leonard, I have one here,” he shouted at the knight captain.

“Alright, bring her to the commander. The rest of you are free to go in.”

The fox knight returned her gaze to me. “Miss, I’d like you to come with me.”

I stepped back a little. “Am I under arrest?”

“No, of course not. I just need you to meet someone for a minute. Don’t worry, it’s probably nothing. It’s just that the person we’re looking for is a cat beastkin.”

Probably nothing? This can’t be good but it’s too late now to use the invisibility ring. Well, it wasn’t like I had committed any crimes yet.

“Alright, but can I bring my companion?” I glanced over at Elaina who was looking at me worryingly.

The knight waved his hand. “That’s fine.”

And so, Elaina and I followed the knight as she escorted us into the city.