City of Desire: Chapter 176 Manris (Patreon)

“You looked like you didn’t get any sleep,” said Leila as our carriage moved toward the port before dawn.

“I slept for only three hours,” I replied with a strained smile, looking at the moon through the window.

I met with Ethan after Carla left with the girls for the Greltheaven.

I would have met him earlier, but he was out on business and returned to the city in the evening. After meeting him, he took me to a few places, and before I know it. It is midnight.

I barely got to sleep for three hours. Thankfully, I would be able to sleep on the way to the Amberhold.

We are going to the port, where we will meet Ignatius Blackwell for our journey to the Amberhold.

“Well, in that, I am quite lucky. I have gained the Rest Skill quite early in my army days,” said the old man.

He has more than half a century of experience in the army. He was a carrier soldier and had been in the army till he received the title and the territory from the prince.

I wonder whether simply saving a prince’s life has gotten him into the title or if there is something else.

Usually, I don’t think so deeply about these things, but after the incident with Lockridge, I started to think deeper.

One might think the truth is what they heard and know, but there are layers deep within it and I need to learn to look deeply. I need to learn fast and be careful.

I have entered a dangerous game and I am sure I might have already entered the list of a couple of people.

Count Darrow has many enemies and seeing how much I am helping him. They might think about killing me. Sometimes, I regret taking these positions but immediately throw those thoughts away.

This position helped me a lot. I had accomplished many things due to it and was willing to accept the dangers that came with it.

Soon, we reached the port, and there was a yacht waiting for us. Not as grand as the Count’s, but still good.

There is a Lady Blackwell written on it in big, cursive letters.

The guards didn’t stop us when reached the ramp and soon we were on deck, where Ignatius Blackwell was waiting for us.

He was looking at the sun, which had just started to come out, before turning to us. “Thank you for coming. This early,” he said.

“It is no effort,” said Leila, to that he smiled and turned to the middle-aged man waiting in the distance.

“Captain Dane, we are ready,” he said, before turning back to us. “We should reach the Manris in four hours and from there we will take the carriages from the Amberhold,” he informed.

“We should be able to reach it by the night, right?” asked Leila. “Yes, if everything goes well, we will have dinner at the keep,” he said.

This means we will have been able to leave for Fort Renin tomorrow.

We were talking when the yacht begins to move and within a few minutes; it was moving toward Manris. It is a city between Oksall and Owlspring, and, from there, we will need to use the good-old road to Amberhold.

We talked for a little more than fifteen minutes before the staff took us to our cabins.

The cabin of the yacht was smaller than the cabins in Count Darrow’s yacht, but it still had a bed big enough for two people to sleep in and a private bathroom.

Modern yachts on Earth of this size didn’t have such space in them. For a yacht of this size, there would barely be a space for two private cabins.

This one had six of them.

Unlike Earth, not a large space is taken by the engine. It did have an engine of sorts, but it is magical in nature and has a much smaller size. The space is also saved, by many things, like not having big water tanks and appliances like a refrigerator.

This work is all done by the runes.

If I want water for a shower, there is a very small water tank and when it empties half, the runes activated on their own and pull the water out of the river and filter it, before sending it to the tank.

The same for things like refrigerators; there is no need for bulky appliances as the cooling and freezing runes are imprinted into the cupboard.

Yachts are expensive, not only to buy but also to maintain. It is a reality in both worlds.

Currently, I cannot buy a yacht, even if I want to. Though one day, I planned to.

I want it, not only for the luxury of it but also for the ease of travel. The river is the main route of travel and having a yacht would be quite helpful.

I put those thoughts away and lay down on the bed. It didn’t even take me a minute to feel asleep.

Three and a half hours later, I woke up on my own.

I am feeling much better and more rested. I quickly freshened up and changed into the new suit. I didn’t use my skill Get Ready. It is an important skill, and I won’t be using it unless it is necessary.

I walked out of my cabin, wearing a winter coat, and went to the deck, where my sister and Baron Harrods were present.

Though, they are standing separately. My sister is standing with the Blackwell, talking to him, and they seemed quite engrossed in conversation, under their privacy skill, while Baron Harrods is standing alone, watching the scenery.

“Enjoying the scenery, my lord,” I said to the old man.

“Yes, it is quite nice,” he said, without moving his eyes away from the passing scenery.

“What do you think about the danger on the way to Fort Renin?” I asked after a minute of silence. The old man didn’t answer for a few seconds before turning to me.

“It is a hard question, young Remus.”

“There are dangerous everywhere on that route, from the undead, orc tribes, bandits, and even monster horde from the extreme magic region.”

“If we think carefully, the undead wouldn’t be a danger and we will be alerted if there is any attack from them.”

“The orc tribes won’t like the freedom they have enjoyed till curtailed by the Oksall, but they know they are powerless to do anything against it.”

“The bandits, on the other hand, are splintered and mired in their own personal conflict to work together.”

“As for the monster horde from the extreme magic region, it is very rare and unpredictable,” he said and smiled.

“All of them are threats and have the potential to cause us great harm or even wipe us out, but an educated guess tells us that not a single one of them would be a threat,”

“Though, in my experience, I have found many times this educated could turn very wrong.”

“You see, people are hard to predict. So, my advice would be young Remus, be prepared for anything.”

With those words, the old man turned back to the scenery he was watching, while I went to my thoughts.

I really hope everything goes great, but I am prepared. I won’t be caught off guard, like the undead incident and bandit one.

Thankfully, I have brought four of my guards, this time.

Not to mention, there will also be a big force of the Blackwell family coming with us and would be stationed in Fort Renin.

I would have very much liked it if the Oksall army had taken this task, but Blackwell’s forces are also well-trained and better equipped than the Oksall army.

Fifteen minutes passed, and I saw another silhouette; it is not of the town or village but of the city.

“Baron Harrods, Adviser Silver, we will reach Manris in ten minutes,” said Blackwell, as he stopped beside us.

The ship got closer and closer to the city and soon stopped at the port of the huge city.

Manris might not be at the level of Oksall, but it is still a big city, with a population of six million. It is also the city of Isolde Ashenwood. One of the human council members of Oksall's ruling council.

We walked down the ramp, and Blackwell talked to a few city officials waiting for him before we sat in our carriages.

Where more than a hundred guards surrounded us; they are from House Blackwell and would protect us on our journey to the Amberhold. I felt relieved seeing their number and the power they were radiating.

Manris is a beautiful city and is also known as the craft capital of Oksall. Some people even called it a smelly city, due to its tanneries.

The city had one of the largest tanning industries in the whole merchant states. Thankfully, the tanning district is a distance away from the other districts and the smell remained contained there.

We are not entering the city proper and taking the bypass to the eastern gates directly.

I watched the city through the window in comfortable silence.

I have taken the carriage alone, while my sister and Baron Harrods are with Ignatius Blackwell. I said I wanted to take the rest, but the real reason for the separation carriage is keeping my distance from him.

Ethan had told me a few more things about the assassinations of Blackwell yesterday.

Let's just say I want to remain close to get the benefit of the guard's protection but maintain enough distance that if assassins came, I won’t be targeted unless they want to kill me.

I watched the city, till our carriages passed through the eastern gates, before taking out the book to read.

I am taking a little break from hospitality and reading about the current events in the world. I have brought a large dossier of information and planned to finish it all before reaching the amberhold.

As I read it, I took out the snack to eat; I had skipped breakfast earlier and am now feeling a little hungry.

“The way you read; you should have been a mage. You have the right mindset for it," said Zela, who is also reading a book and eating snacks with me.

“I wanted to, but unfortunately, I have no talent for it,” I replied, smiling.

An hour and a half passed, and I reached the Mayhurst section. The forces of Vris’alud had conquered the kingdom of Edulia and Brarod and more than half of the Dekas.

Now only Kalgha Dominion and Bulgan had remained nearly intact.

Kalgha had lost some of its territory, while Bulgan was intact and that is because of Kalgha and Dekas, which are protecting it like a wall. If Dekas fell, it will give an undead way to Bulgan.

Through this, they will be able to surround Kalgha Dominion in all directions.

“How long do you think Dekas will take it to fall?” I asked her. She seemed surprised but quickly controlled her expressions.

“If Dekas forces alone had been defending, I would say two months at most, but things have changed in the past month.”

“The Kalgha Dominion have sent Lokra Bonebreaker and his iron fangs to Dekas, and they seemed to have stopped the advancement of undead,” she replied.

Iron Fangs are one of the three elite armies of Kalgha Dominion, having two hundred thousand men.

The army had a reputation even before Vris’alud started its conquering war and, in the few years since the war began, it had become even more dangerous, especially their leader.

Lokra Bonebreaker also known as Lokra the Wavecrusher.

An immensely powerful man, who rose from a normal soldier to leader of Iron Fangs in a matter of years.

All the leaders of the three elite legions are S-class powerhouses. Kalgha Dominion has not publicly acknowledged it, but if it is true, then he would be the youngest to reach that level in centuries.

He is only thirty years old.

“Let’s hope, with their aid. The advancement of Vris’alud would be stopped. It would be bad for everyone if the undead were to conquer the whole island.” I said, before turning to another section of the stack.