Wish upon the Stars chapter 405 (Patreon)

I groaned in enjoyment as the stroganoff hit my tongue. "This is  amazing." We were at dinner with Anna-Marie, and Callie and I were  sharing a local dish called Plazkish. Which was stroganoff.  Like...almost exactly. It was also amazing, with fresh juicy mushrooms,  smooth handmade pasta, and a delicious creamy sauce so well made it felt  like the noodles were almost slithering down my throat without me  needing to do anything.

They WEREN'T doing that,  obviously, because that would be horrifying, but they were so easy to  eat they almost gave that impression. Callie was just as enamored with  the dish, and moaned her agreement as she slurped her own noodles,  neither of us caring that the others were staring at us. Well, some of  the others. Abel, Mel, Jessie, and Benny had all eaten with us before so  they didn't much care.

Looking up at the horrified and  fascinated face of the princess I swallowed and cleared my throat.  "Sorry. I'm weirdly hungry after gaining that extra point of Impact. Did  you say something?"

She giggled a bit at that, and Callie  finished her own bite and washed it down with a sip of wine, looking  embarrassed. "I said." Repeated the princess. "That I was wondering  exactly what you're looking for in terms of preparations for the next  trip. We're going to be staying out much longer next time, right? Did  you get a good grasp on what we're going to need for the journey? We'll  most likely need to get deeper into the core this time."

I  nodded thoughtfully. "We still have the herbs to sell, so that should  get us a bit more money. Just the sheer volume should get us a decent  chunk of coin. What we can get should vary based on how much we have,  but I have a few specifics in mind. First is shelter. I'm hoping to pick  up some portable housing. Maybe tents at worst, though I' hoping for  something a bit sturdier."

That got a beaming smile. "That  sounds like a wonderful idea." Said the princess cheerfully. "I'll most  likely acquire some lodgings of my own. You can accompany me to the  shop I'll use. I'll make sure the owner knows you're good friends of  mine and to treat you with respect."

Giving her a grateful  nod, I smiled internally. I figured she'd do that. Part of the future  considerations she mentioned. If possible I wanted to find some kind of  portable cabin or bunker, specifically one that had defensive  enchantments on it. A portable and stable home base was invaluable, the  latter having been made clear during the scavenger hunt. Sadly an  invented building wasn't likely to be viable in this instance. Too  likely to end up in enemy hands.

Nat too a bite of her  chowder, nodding along. "My suggestion would also be to buy some sort of  mapping item. Something to show us where we've been and where we're  going." She raised an eyebrow at Anna-Marie. "Do you know if they have  anything like that in town?"

"Of course!" Said the  princess brightly. "And that's a wonderful idea. Returning home would be  so much simpler with a nice map to rely on."

"It is." I  agreed. "As well as having some sort of emergency defensive measure.  Some kind of portable shield spell we can trigger. I'm curious, are  there any E-rank items in here? I mean, I know people can bring them in.  I...saw some people wielding them." I decided not to mention my own  E-rank weapon. It seemed like information they didn't need, especially  since it was suppressed most of the time. Maybe they'd noticed it in  battle, but no reason to help them along.

Anna-Marie  nodded gravely. "There are, but they're in the treasuries. E-ranked  items are considered national treasures, and they can only be redeemed  for extreme merit. Even that only happens at wartime usually. We have  powerful spells made by those with higher than standard Impact though,  and we usually call them half step E-rank. No one like my father, of  course, but some powerful crafters can trade for or gather god Dew  between awakenings like the royals do."

"They don't just take it?" Callie asked in surprise. Which made sense given how closely they controlled the stuff.

"Well,  sometimes." Admitted the princess. "Not all of it though. It's a  similar setup to yourselves. If they seized it all the finders might  hoard it and never let anyone know what they'd found. By rewarding them a  share it makes them more likely to come forward. Usually not half,  usually more along the lines of a third. But still, it's a tempting  reward. Mixed with the fact that it's detectable when you use the Dew,  and it's common practice to come volunteer your supply."

Celine  looked dubious. "Isn't that just forcing them though? Since you can  tell when it's used, what possible way would there be of keeping it  secret."

"Defection." Said Anna-Marie flatly. "Before it  became common practice to share it, people who found a stock of god Dew  would defect to other kingdoms. They would use it all up before  arriving. Since the Dew can't be retrieved once used, the other kingdoms  had the option of turning away a perfectly good Ascendant with higher  than normal Impact, killing them out of spite, or letting them stay."

I  nodded in understanding. "And since any powerful fighter for their side  would be a benefit, they had no problems taking them in. I can see why  you would do things the way you do. Anyway, I'd love to see some  crafting from some of those half step E-rankers. A stronger defense can  only be a benefit, and maybe we can find some other spells to suit us."

She  gave a cheery nod. "Of course. Giancarlo Spirella was going to be my  first stop in any case. He's the most well respected crafter in  Ladrigan. Some people claim he's already a Master." Which was  interesting, because it meant Master Candidates existed here. Though I  didn't know what you'd call one that had already reached mastery. Still,  it was useful information, especially about a crafter.

Wolfing  down my food, I got prepared to leave as the other finished, and once  everyone was done I gestured for Anna-Marie to go ahead. "Lead the way  to this Giancarlo guy." I paused. "Wait, can he buy the herbs?"

She  nodded. "He buys basically everything. He's an enchanter but he does  some work Inventing as well." I shot Benny a look. My best friend looked  intrigued. I knew he was always looking to make new gear, though he'd  already made some that I hadn't even seen yet. I resolved to set some  time aside to talk to my best friend. It had been a while since we'd  really hung out.

"Of course!"  Anna-Marie seemed thrilled to share more about her city with us, her  cheerful demeanor already pretty infectious, helped along by the  fantastic meal. Leading us out of the bistro, she walked us back onto  the main thoroughfare. "Giancarlo's studio is in the oldest district in  the city. He's got one of the treehouses, and there's no ground access."  She led us to a seemingly innocuous if huge silver tree, knocking on  the black bark in a specific spot and smiling widely as the trunk slid  open to reveal a too large shaft with a spiral staircase.

As  we climbed, I was forced to marvel at how...integrated, the city was.  So many different moving parts, so to speak, all working in harmony.  This setup must have been incredibly difficult to put in place. Between  the external defenses, the cylinder, the islands, the trees, and all the  walkways, this place was basically a complicated ecosystem.

When  we reached the top we stepped out onto one of the walkways, which  seemed to have much more room than one would expect based on the ground  view. I wasn't sure if that space was more spatial manipulation or if it  was just the angle and distance, but seeing the city from up here made  it even more striking. Sparkling gems of light polka dotting a sea of  silver leaves, buildings peeking from behind the cover intriguingly.

She  led us in a seemingly random direction as she smiled happily around us.  "Most of the popular shops are up here. Ground level tends to be  reserved for residential places. There are so many trees around that  there's always room for another building in one if needed. Houses on the  ground level get exceedingly difficult to acquire as you move inward.  The central district of the Grove is the oldest, and where we're  headed."

It  was hard to keep track of things like directionality when surrounded by  nearly identical foliage, but when she mentioned that I did kind of  notice we were heading inward. It didn't take us long to reach the  interior, and once we did the foliage started to thin, revealing more  treehouses grouped close together and creating almost a second city  above the treeline.

We  stopped at an extremely intricate house made of white wood, seasoned  with age but still extremely sturdy looking. The wood presented a strong  contrast to the bark of the tree, though it blended well with the  silver leaves. Anna-Marie strolled up to the front door and knocked  politely, waiting for a minute before a polished older man in a crisp  suit opened the door looking politely disinterested.

When  he saw the princess his expression got a lot more polite and a lot LESS  disinterested. "Your grace." He said with a bow of his head. "An honor  to see you. Please, come inside." He stepped back, gesturing us in, and  Anna-Marie gave him a winning smile.

"Thank you Humphrey." She said sunnily. "It's wonderful to be back, and I brought some new friends. I assume Gio is around?"

He  nodded solemnly. "You've come at the perfect time. Miss Zelda was sick  today, so Master Giancarlo arrived late. Lady Sandra was otherwise  engaged, but she was able to relieve him just an hour ago."

Her  sunny demeanor dimmed. "Oh. I do hope Zelda feels better." Glancing at  us, she clarified. "Zelda is Giancarlo's daughter, she's twelve. His  wife, Sandra, is a healer at the local hospital, so Zelda is in good  hands. Zelda is a lovely young lady, and it's a shame to hear she's  unwell. Her curiosity and intelligence always brightens my visits."

Humphrey  smiled softly. "Which is why you are his favorite customer. So often  they simply ignore or dismiss her. You always make time to talk to Miss  Zelda."

"Yes."  Rasped a high pitched voice, clearly rough with disuse. "She does at  that." We turned to see a tall, tan man with wild brown hair sticking  out in all directions. He gave us a wild smile, eyes wider than a normal  person's. "Anna dear. Lovely to get a visit from my most loyal  customer. And you've brought friends. What can I help you with today?"

The  sunshine was back on Anna-Marie's face. "Gio. It's good to see you. I  was just telling Humphrey to give Zelda my well wishes. My friends and I  are actually here for a few things. We have herbs to sell, and then we  were hoping to look into some defensive spells. Something powerful and  portable."

It  was impossible to miss that the man was radiating the same kind of  Impact I'd sensed from the king. Perhaps not quite as much, but he was  head and shoulders above all of us.

"Well  then." He cackled excitedly. "I suppose I'll need to break out my  best." He turned, gesturing us back through the door he'd come through.  "Please, follow me. I'll take a look at what you have, and we can find  the best fit for all of you for your magical needs." Looking at Nat and  Callie uncertainly, I shrugged. At least she hadn't brought us somewhere  boring. I had a good feeling about finding what we needed.