With the problems surrounding Hertha’s mother solved they were finally able to settle down and rest for the remainder of the night.

There was plenty of room in the house since Hertha’s children had long moved out and the house was a spacious one.

Althaea seemed to sober up after the incident and was no longer so insistent about wanting to be the ‘female figure’ in her life. 

Ava was pleased with this as it gave her a moment to have some breathing space for the first time since they began their hectic journey towards Adruil. 

Arwen did not want to pressure Hertha into allowing them to stay due to the feeling she owed them for saving her Mother, he knew that the woman may get involved in some danger with them being around but Hertha was so insistent they ended up staying for the night. 

Fortunately the night was quiet and nothing happened, however whether this was due to the guards pursuing the culprits or them managing to intimidate them off with their display of strength was to be seen. 

The group wished Hertha well before leaving, much of the clothes they had bought ended up damaged in the aftermath of the incident in the Inn therefore she provided them alternatives for free of charge. 

Arwen insisted on paying but Hertha firmly said it was to make up for the expense of the pill which she believed outweighed the value of the clothes anyways. 

The Druid couldn’t force the woman to accept any reparations therefore accepted her gifts in good faith and thanked her greatly. 

Equipped with everything they needed, the group headed towards the docks where the ship they would be joining for the voyage towards Kaldor was located. 

They met little trouble on the way through the bustling City, with the incident from yesterday fresh on their minds they were prepared for trouble since it would the one who targeted them their best chance before they leave the City potentially for good. 

Yet nothing came about in the end, and they even met the Magistrate who was head of the guards and was in-charge for enforcing the laws here in the City. 

He seemed to be expecting them as he smiled with two burly, powerful looking guards next to him.

It was obvious the two were strong, capable warriors by the fluctuations they emitted.

They both seemed as capable as that Barbarian Yu who attacked them yesterday. 

It was obvious the figure of his attention was Arwen as he greeted him politely and said, “I apologise for the incident yesterday, I assure you it has been resolved! The culprits have been dealt with and I can assure you the Emperor still greatly values his relationship with the Druids. Please accept these reparations for our fault in allowing this to happen on his territory.” 

Arwen was about to decline the gifts since Druids usually would not accept something that was not earned.

Nonetheless the Magistrate was clearly a clever man, seeming well informed on a Druids principles so his gift was something Arwen would find hard to refuse.

“A Soul-Nourishing Pearl.” Althaea said in surprise upon seeing the item presented to them, that was some good stuff.

Even Arwen seemed shocked something like that was offered as a gift to them. 

And it made it even harder to refuse, a soul-nourishing pearl was an excellent cultivation material for Mages, however it was extremely rare and well sought after.

It was very useful in speeding up the progressing of building up a Mages soul though was mostly effective for weaker Mages, for instance someone on Althaea’s level would not benefit much however Ava for instance would speed up her progress to upgrade her soul from a Tier 1 to Tier 2 Mage standard by a year. 

This made it difficult for him to refuse since Arwen would not accept anything for himself, however the main sufferer of the incident was Ava in the end since she was the target of the incident making him able to justify accepting such a gift. 

The Magistrate smiled in satisfaction upon seeing The Druids conflicted expression. 

Even knowing he would be dealing with the culprits of the ordeal allowing him to provide a satisfactory response for his Emperor did nothing to sate his anxiousness, he knew the Emperor maintained a positive relationship with the Druids as they were one of the few organisations who did not view him as some threat to remove. 

And the young Emperor being new to his throne and Empire had few friends and allies compared to the millennium old nations surrounding them, and being the one responsible for creating a problem with the Druids one of the few major organisations openly friendly with the Empire was a responsibility the Magistrate did not want to be placed upon his shoulders. 

It made him desperate to find whatever means possible he could do to make amends. 

He knew the Druid likely would never accept any reparations for himself for such an incident, so the only way was to bestow the young elf girl who was the target of the whole mess created by the Gravenports an offering to settle the affair. 

It pained him to give away the Soul-Nourishing Pearl. It was an item that was of great expense and something priceless for young Mages at the beginning of their training. 

A Soul-Nourishing pearl was something that can only be retrieved from a very rare magical sea beast known as the Blue-Spectral Clam. 

It is a magical beast known for its powerful soul related abilities, being extremely difficult to capture since it excelled in illusions and beguiling its predators. 

Each Blue-Spectral Clam would only produce five Soul-Nourishing pearls in their entire lives making them extremely valuable.

He had bought this pearl from a clan specialised in breeding the clams. 

However there was a limited amount since Blue-Spectral Clams had very low fertility rates making the pearl a high-demand item that few in the Empire can get their hands on. 

He originally planned to gift it to his son, however he had to make a sacrifice for the boy this time since it was the only item of worth that would have true significance to the young elf girl at this point. 

The pearl gave the most benefits for its first use anyways and was most effective for young mages with still developing souls, therefore he had plenty of time to retrieve another to help speed up his training. 

Arwen stared at the gift hard knowing he cannot refuse such an opportunity for his young apprentice.

It would do wonders for her at this point since it would allow her to focus on developing her spells with the increase in soul-force provided by the pearl that would greatly save her training time. 

Therefore he replied, “Thank you, you don’t have to concern yourself with the actions of others. We found no offence in what happened.” 

Hearing Arwen’s reply caused the Magistrate to release a bright smile as he said, “Of course’ Of course! Now have a nice trip to Kaldor, and remember a member of your order is always welcome in the Empire.” 

The Magistrate knew Druids are not ones to appreciate overly bootlicking behaviour so was quick to leave after handing over his gift though not before he specifically shared his apologies and well wishes directly to the remainder of the group present, focusing on Ava specifically. 

Ava just smiled to the sweating man who looked like he was going to faint from stress if he stayed here any longer as he hurried away.

She had no idea what that Soul-Nourishing Pearl was but judging by the Magistrates pained expression handing it over and Althaea’s exclamation in surprise indicated it was something very useful to her. 

Cense straight away confirmed these thoughts as he said, ‘These pearls are very valuable to the current you. Though weaker and limited due to the low cultivation and poor bloodline of the beasts who produce them, these originate from a Clam-Type Magical Beast, for a weakling like the current you is, it is very beneficial. However to a higher tier cultivator it would barely make a difference, however this Pearl will speed up your training by a good amount at the very least helping your poor talent in cultivating soul power!’ 

Althaea sighed at Cense words. Her talent in cultivating the soul was truly poor, it improved at a snails pace despite her meditating practically from birth. 

A truly talented individual would long be of a Tier 2 Mages standard by now with the advantages she had. 

It was why despite her other talents increasing greatly, such as her Elemental Qi affinity, and bodily strength she found her talent in soul cultivation remained poor giving her a new aim to find out how to improve this.

The Soul-Nourishing Pearl was only a supplement in the end and would be merely a temporary fix, if she does not solve this problem soon, she would be found out to be a fake prodigy no matter how greatly her Elemental Qi Affinity was allowing her to master and gather Elemental Qi at an alarming rate, yet this all meant nothing if her Soul Force remained stagnant not allowing her to progress the Tiers as a Mage.

After accepting the gift from the Magistrate, the group continued onwards towards the docks.

Arriving soon after since the Magistrate met them nearby, Ava found herself in a crowded harbour full of life.

A row of boats filled the bustling docks, they were an assortment of different sizes with the boats organised to accommodate their dimensions.

Ava found herself staring at them in wonder as the sights before her were a mix of medieval, yet with varied advancements beyond that level with the inclusion that cultivation brings. 

The boats look advanced though backwards in some areas compared to her old world, the more expensive looking ones seemed to be made of unidentifiable looking materials that seemed worldly thrumming with magical power indicating they were filled with supernatural strength. 

A number of buildings filled the docks with the dockyard holding multiple workshops and large houses seeming to belong to the officers who managed the area.

She could identify the workshops were present for mending and producing new boats, with it fully capable to replace old and damaged ones. 

There were even a few hospitals present to support emergencies in the case of ships needing to unload soldiers who required urgent care. 

Other areas of the docks seemed more designed for visiting merchant and travelling ships for disembarking here at the City. 

That was the area they headed towards as they neared the Ship Arwen had arranged the voyage with.

The Ship was known as the ‘The Quinte’ and held a great reputation in the City, they were more expensive compared to other ships who offered the same service but its safety and reliability was one of the best in the City at providing a steady journey to Kaldor. 

Soon they stopped outside a particular docking bay that housed the ship they were going to be entering.

And shortly after she saw the ship known as ‘The Quinte’ that captured her attention immediately.

‘Arwen knows how to pick a ship’ she thought as she saw the large Galleon-like vessel gently floating in the port. 

Though the ship that reminded her of the Galleon type vessels used by European nations in the medieval times, it was a large one by those standards, seeming very well armed but also plenty spacious enough to hold a good number of cargo and occupants. 

There was a walk-way that connected the ship to the port. 

At the front of the walk-way leading into the ship was two fierce looking men either side of a friendly, middle-aged man who seemed the odd one out beside the two battle-hardened men beside him. 

As they approached the three men, the two fierce looking ones began to let out their aura as they saw them approach.

However this caused the gentle man at the front to frown as he said, “Tone down men, these are our guests and we do not show this attitude towards paying customers.”

The men immediately withdrew their intimidating aura at the commands of the man causing Xandas to appraise them with an impressed look at the fine control of the two being a Warrior himself. 

Althaea though seemed completely unimpressed as she scoffed at the display.

Ava on the other hand was still looking bright-eyed at that gorgeous looking vessel, completely captured by the appearance of the ship.

The gentle man didn’t seem to pay attention to the mixture of reactions he received from the group, instead focusing entirely on Arwen as as said, “Ah you made it, as promised it would cost ten gold coins for safe passage to Kaldor. Although this is a great expense, you will receive free meals for the next four months and we offer one of the most secure, fastest means of travel to Kaldor. You won’t find many other ships who can do better, and you’d have to pay even more for them of course.”

The man offered his most business like smile as he told them the price. 

Arwen showed no hesitance to pay the price. Although as a Druid he did not have the riches an expert of his level would expect to have, he had more than enough to pay such a sum. 

The gentle man was pleased he received the sum readily from Arwen, making a gesture with his hands the two men moved to the side, as the man gestured up the walkway to the group.

“You’re free to enter the ship, soon as you get onto the deck someone will direct you to your rooms and show you around. Meals will be provided at set times, so show up to those times if you want anything, you will be shown where the dining and other key areas are. And I’ll just quickly remind you, violence is not permitted on the ship, and if we catch any untoward actions, you will be detained into the hold until we throw you out without a refund to the nearest Town or City, understood?” The gentle mans eyes suddenly turned fierce as he said those last words. 

Arwen just smiled amiably as he nodded, that was fine with him and the others too, none of them planned such things anyways.

The gentle mans eyes softened a bit when he looked down at Ava as he said, “And make sure the kid is watched, don’t want her to get in trouble with some of the guests there. There’s some people here with troublesome identities and if you offend them though they may not do anything on the ship, it may cause some needless problems out, alright?” 

The group once again nodded to show they understood. Xandas thought in particular had a glint in his eyes that promised violence to whoever would dare to target his daughter. 

The gentle man sighed as he knew from just looking at him Xandas was the vengeful type who would resolve grievances no matter the status, the others on the hand he couldn’t get a read on at all, the child was impassive, Althaea had an innocent look the entire time but his intuition deep down told him she was dangerous. 

Arwen on the other hand from start to finish showed complete calmness, seeming completely at peace with himself.

‘What an odd group’ he mumbled under his breath as they finally walked passed him, ‘I got a bad feeling about them, hopefully they don’t cause no trouble.’

His gut told him something might go wrong during this trip, but he hoped that was just him overthinking things.

‘We even have that strange noble guy who paid a fortune to join the voyage last minute.’ He thought, thinking the strange group only added to the number of potential problems he may have.

The noble seemed to want to leave this place urgently which seemed highly suspicious however a paying customer who abides by the rules of the ship was no problem to him, and he was confident his men can deal with him if needed. 

“Let’s leave as soon as possible, the earlier we get to Kaldor and these people leave my ship the better” he grumbled under his breath as he gathers his men to prepare to leave.