The northern Parts - Act 1: Part 2

The stoned landscape stood in front of the, overshadowing everything in the vicinity. The tall peaks of the place looked like floating islands from afar. The supporting lower half and the towering upper part was joined by such a thin strip of stone it looked as if both sides were detached from each other.

The stone itself didn’t look that durable and hence, a constant fear would emerge in the mind of any passerby.

The lower part of the peaks was covered by the dense vegetation, but it did nothing to curb the high-speed winds that blew above the canopy. The wind blew making a cutting noise so loud that it was difficult to hear anything above it.

“Welcome to the northern headquarters. Aren’t they impressive?” Xiao asked the teen that accompanied them. He didn’t look too impressed with the aesthetic of the place but then again, the child looked not too impressed too often to take into account.

Currently, they had stopped in what looked like the middle of the road restaurant with a few shops in the vicinity. There were attached houses with the shop and looked a little run down.

Not something one would actually pay any attention to.

Xiao had already exited the car as soon as they had arrived and Kei had followed in toe. Noah, however, had waited to do the same for some time. But even he didn’t take long to get out.

“We’ll walk from here. I’ve contacted the administration and they’ll take care of my car” Noah approached the pair which was admiring the peeks before them.

The pair finally diverted their attention from the scene in front of them to take a look at the approaching man.

“Right. They don’t like people to drive here. Something about scarring their natural vegetation below the tires or something. I just think that they want to flaunt their superiority with their wealth and fancy travelling” Xiao complained.

He stood in a distance and from the first looks of it one would think that it involved a crazy amount of travelling around.

“Don’t be a drama queen. They’re not that far off for us. Besides, even you are aware that it’s all artificial and these people want to show it off. Just let them do it” from the tone Kei used, it was not something he wanted to talk about.

Xiao nodded and let the topic go. In the past, the topic of spreading resources on useless things had sparked many controversies between branches. North branch had all been in on spending great resources for such feats.

The families that had the resources for the same had banded together to start the project many years ago.

There had been protests, especially from the west where the families were not that well off but the matter had been dropped in the end when he had interfered.

Since then, there had been a strained silence between the north and the west branch. He was sure that there had been another reason for this festering tension between the branches but either he had not been privy to it or not deemed it important enough to remember.

After all, he had been trying to extract himself from this mess for generations without much success.

“I don’t believe this all naturally exists? I refuse to believe that the upper part could stand on such a narrow strip of rock with all this wind. Also, you’re telling me we have to walk all the way there?” Kei commented as he pointed toward the peaks in the distance.

His concern seemed valid to Xiao. From where they stood, the peeks looked to be at least 5 KM away. Not that far if one had a vehicle but for the journey they had to undergo on foot, it was a nightmare.

Besides, there stood a whole forest before them and their destination and the winds blowing above made flying all the more difficult if one were to think of it.

“Don’t try to play stupid kid. No matter how much we walk we can never reach the peaks in the distance” and what Kei said was the truth for that was how the place was built.

“What he means to say is that this forest is all but an illusion made up of overlapping arrays. To get there, we’ll need a guild which can fly us through the currents” Xiao expanded on Kie’s comment.

His cousin had a habit of simplifying what he said as if he expected everyone to already know what he was saying. So, it fell to Xiao to rectify that fault of his.

“So, where is this guild of yours again? Did he decide to ditch us because of your temper?” Kei took a jab at Noah. It shocked Xiao a lot.

This was the first time he actually heard Kei be rude on purpose to someone and it had been Noah.

It shouldn't have come as a surprise to him. The tension had been brewing for some time between these two. Ever since yesterday morning and Noah was treating Kei as a child which could get frustrating at times.

But still, it did surprise him and from the looks of it, Noah was equally surprised and a little angry?

“Don’t be ridiculous. Our guild is inside already waiting for us just like the agreement. But of course, a kid won’t understand such high business tactics” Noah’s voice although calm had that slight tint of anger.

He had been a high enough position for as long as he could remember, so he had not been criticised often. People respected him a good deal and he had people that did his bidding.

To see a kid being disrespectful was unacceptable. The only one he took such language from was Xiao and all hat because they were partners and needed to work together. He could forgive him from time to time, but this kid was really getting on his nerves.

Xiao liked him rough to keep him around and maybe have a hidden agenda, so he could allow it for the time being. Didn’t mean he had to be civil about it all.

“Let it go Noah, he’s a teen and doesn’t understand his words. Where were we supposed to meet that agent again?” Xiao interfered before it could get worse.

His glare did enough to stop Kei who looked to be opening his mouth to rebut. The other was acting as a child and trying to provoke his cousin. He didn’t know why but he didn’t like it.

And it was so not the time for a fight. Kei should know better and so should Noah. That cousin of his should learn to take criticism once in a while from people other than him.

“Right, follow me” Noah led them toward a small shop. However, rather than entering the shop, they entered the home directly.

The door was not locked and the party opened the door to enter a small drawing room with only a visiting table occupying the middle of the room. There was no one there.

“I’ll get the guide from the front. You two wait here” Noah stormed off as soon as they reached the table.

The two who were left behind took a seat in the meantime taking in the bare walls and the bamboo mat flooring of the space.

“Kei, don’t egg Noah. You’re not a kid despite what appearance you take your actions and words give it away” Xiao broke the stalemate first. He felt as if he should get all this out in the open first.

Kei turned his head toward him and there was a glint in his eyes. Was it anticipation? Or interest? Xiao could not read it that well at all.

“Oh, you don’t see me as a teen at all. You never saw me as a teen at all did you?” Kei asked, his voice still as firm as ever. There were these moments, these cues that made Xiao more certain.

“Maybe when we first met, but not since the second morning. There had always been this feeling of knowing you and yet not knowing you. Tell me, what are you after if not a wish? I can’t give you anything else despite whatever you heard”

Xiao realised that was the truth. He didn’t see Kei as a child nor as a teen. In his eyes, he had seen him as an adult and a friend. And it had progressed fast as if they just connected.

“Will it change anything if you know what I am after?” Kei asked in a subdued voice and Xiao nodded. Maybe it will, maybe it won’t but he wanted to know. His curiosity was a problem for him but he didn’t mind the trouble that came with it.

There was a small smile on Kei’s face before his reply came.

“Maybe I’ll tell you later. Keep a close eye on me in the meantime” Xiao frowned at the answer. He was expecting an answer, not to get teased with it. It did however spark his curiosity a bit though.

“Don’t worry, I’m watching your every move carefully. Friend or not, I can’t allow you to do as you please till you have the power of the wish-granting tree” Xiao said in a small voice and was lucky for him because just as he finished the door opened and Noah walked in.

Following him was a man who looked ordinary enough to not even spare a second glance on. If you have met the dark brown-haired, brown-eyed man in his middle 30’s on a normal day, you won’t even pay attention to him.

Such a remarkable person as a guide was a clearly superior choice to not attract attention by sending their more out their personality people.

“Esteemed guests, welcome. I’m afraid the flight would not be possible for the time being, so you’ll have to take the teleportation sequence there” their guide informed them.

“It seems they decided to lock the area in case it got dangerous. So they decided to open this emergency port for us” Noah explained to the two who were sitting in front of him.

Every main hold had an emergency port which was generally locked. Since it was a mix of technology and magic, it was susceptible to both aspects. No stronghold would use it regularly, but emergencies were another case altogether.

Besides, they could not make it a monolith magic device since the technology was a necessity to track the exact locations and magnetic fields with satellites and AI. It was an amalgam of both and hence it worked.

“Isn’t there one near the station we entered here from? We could have saved all this time if someone bothered to check it beforehand” Once again, Kei egged Noah and when he was glared at by Xiao, just sheepishly extended his tongue out.

“Are you serious? It's a hunter port. Do you really think that any place will give them direct access to their place? Even they used the port here” The reputation of hunters was bad, might even be the worst. Of course, no one wanted to be affiliated with them if they could avoid it.

“But aren’t they there already? In that case, it doesn’t matter if we use their port or not” Kei reasoned with a bored voice. Really, Xiao tells him to behave and he just goes on and picks a fight with his brother.

Xiao was not surprised that I already knew about the hunters being there. The child knew much more than he let on after all. And Noah must have thought that Xiao told him about this.

“Their strongholds are blacklisted, so even if we ask them to, they can't teleport us there. Besides, we’re already here so we should not keep our guide waiting any longer” Xiao decided to be their voice of reason.

They were a team right now, if they liked it or not. They would need to show a united front and while both Noah and Kei looked like they would be alright, he was not going to risk his sanity.

The guide who was looking from the sidelines finally moved. With mechanical movements, he plugged the port. The port was a circular plate with wires attached everywhere.

It was crammed into one of the bedrooms while the adjacent store serves as the control room for the electronic support. The guide left behind was no doubt a magical projection with specific commands.

Soon they were done and the power for the port was charged.

Going through the port was similar to the feeling of a free fall. For a few seconds, there was no gravity and your inside felt to be floating. The sense of touch could not feel anything around you and your body felt light.

Then came the pressure of falling and moving at a fast speed before the shock of an urgent stop crashing. Xiao had never liked this feeling as it felt him disoriented. He was never able to maintain his balance and the first few steps always swayed him on his feet.

Arms caught him before he could crash into anything and held him securely. Looking up, the purple eyes stared back at him. They colour swayed all over the place as he tried to steady himself.

The arms that held him neither tightened nor loosened, they just held him. Supporting his body to stay upright and he was grateful for the same. They were a solid weight he could rely on to keep him upright.

“You alright?” that voice was also pleasant and sounded as if genuinely worried about him, unlike the pretentious ones he had been hearing until now. Maybe staying there won’t be so lonely for him.

The surroundings slowly came around and he confirmed the owner of those purple eyes. Kei had stabled him all this time and he didn’t even look awkward about it.

But the moment had passed and it was time to let go. He didn’t feel any embarrassment when he let Kei go, but he could not meet his eyes again either. It just didn’t feel right to do so when the arms around him were no longer there.

He should have been mindful of the company around him but they knew his problem with ports. And if anyone was paying extra attention, well let them look. It was after all just one person helping another and not anything indecent.

“Should I lead sirs to your quarters?” one of the voices called and Xiao nodded. It is time for work.