Chapter 20 - Thewis, The Man with Red Hair
The group took a carriage and reached the Vichy Harbor soon.
The merchant ship from Fey Continent—The Redbud—had been pulled ashore by this morning. After being unloaded in the forenoon, all cargo bays were now empty. Once it got loaded with new merchandise again tomorrow, the ship would set sail once more. Mara took everyone to the ship this early as a precaution. The ship only came once in a year, missing it would be disastrous.
“Do not run about or cause trouble once we’re on the ship. The Redbud belongs to someone we absolutely don’t want to offend,” said Mara as he led the kids. He warned them, “No ordinary ship can breach the icy sea and make it past the Sea of Silence. There’s a rumor that the Floating Mech City is behind this. If it’s true, even formal wizards wouldn’t attempt to get on their bad side.
“So you all remember, get rid of those noble tempers no matter who you’re up against, even if it’s the most common sailor on the ship!” Mara’s warning sounded more serious this time. He ran into a lot of sons of riches during his travel in Goldspink Empire, and a good number of them would draw their weapons over the smallest conflict. This was why he was so serious about all this, to avoid unnecessary trouble.
The three kids nodded quickly like chickens pecking on the ground. Mara was much experienced in dealing with the world, of course, he would not do the kids harm now.
As Mara told them his experience, Angor began to inspect The Redbud in front of him carefully. It was huge, though maybe a little smaller than the cargo ships on Earth his teacher mentioned. Still, for Angor, who basically did not know much about the outside world, The Redbud was already the biggest vehicle he ever saw. The ship was half the size of the Padt Castle, with elegant, shining steel walls painted in violet and white.
What attracted Angor most was the figurehead on the tip of the ship. It was the statue of a praying maiden wearing gauze robe, with her fingers crossed. Soft, long hair flew with the wind, while bits of redbud pedals would fall off now and then. The whole statue looked holy and solemn, perfectly beautiful and graceful. Anyone would agree that it must have been the work of an extremely skilled crafter. Also, there was a pale, crimson-colored gem embedded in the center of the maiden’s forehead.
“I’ve talked to the escorts on The Redbud. Since you three are talents, it won’t hurt to teach you about Meditation earlier. This is why I need you here today.”