Chapter 16

Title: Arrival in Ionia

As the ship was docking at the port Phesto and Nejime got their first proper look at the coastal town of Raikkon. The town wasn't much to look at, the port was large considering the size of the town, but considering that a lot of their produce is sold through the port it made sense nonetheless. What was grand about the town was the amount of berry brush fields outside of the town.

Looking at the town and the fields Phesto wondered about a few things. Though at first, he thought that the amount of berries seemed a bit ridiculous, as they were docking, Phesto could see that these brushes did not carry many berries. The captain was right, this town really can't produce that much. Seeing how much space they take up and how few berries each brush has on it, it must be really tough to harvest.

Within a few more minutes the ship finished docking and they got off the ship. On the ground again, Phesto used his energy sense on the surroundings and was greeted with a wave of warm and lively magic all around him slowly filling him up. They were only at the port in a southern island, still far away from where the spirit realm intersected with this world, yet the magic was already so rich and so alive.

It felt much better than when he was on the ship, on the ship the magic in his surroundings always felt so vast and uncaring, as if he was a literal drop in the ocean, the only times the magic felt different was when the weather changed or storms were approaching.

So being able to basically touch and interact with the magic around him was a novel and interesting feeling. Standing still and losing himself in the feeling of meditating here, Nejime nudged him and reminded him that they still had to decide where to go.

"Oi Phesto, is the scenery so beautiful, that it left you speechless?"

Realizing that he completely zoned out he started walking again before he said.

"Not the scenery per se, rather the magic, though perhaps that's part of the scenery. The magic here is very soothing, though your body is now strong enough to withstand your magic, it is still causing damage to it. Meditating here should help calm down the magic in your body."

"It's that amazing?" Phesto nodded.

"That amazing. But that aside, you said we still don't know where to go right?"

"Yeah, you have any ideas?"

"I think I might remember how I used my magic to help speed up the ship? The captain promised to introduce us to the people here, so we can use that to ask around.

I also think it's time you use that token you got from your mother. Now that we are here in Ionia, we can probably find some real clues."

Going with Phesto's idea the two went to the captain and took him up on that promise. The captain didn't hold back and immediately introduced him to the town chief, his house was in the middle of the town so they reached it after a short walk. The town chief was a trusted elder, who though not necessarily in charge of everything, still kind of was an advisor to everyone, so he also took over interactions with outsiders.

Being in charge of dealing with outsiders, the captain and the town chief have known each other for years now and were quite good friends. So seeing that he introduced others he was very amiable to them. With the town chief being so open to Phesto and Nejime, they asked him about nearby towns and also showed him the token Nejime got from her mother.

His eyes widened in shock. And with a serious expression, he turned towards the captain. "This... captain, I need you to leave for a bit, this is not for ears outside, but don't worry our trade agreements won't stop."

Seeing that his usually jovial old friend was suddenly so serious the captain didn't intrude any further and waited outside. Once the captain was outside the town chief turned to Nejime and Phesto and asked the two of them.

"As you can see, this token is a big deal. Who does it belong to and how did you get it?"

With the old man's question, Phesto could feel the magic in the room become sharper and it slowly lost its warm feeling it had before.

"My mother left it with me before she left for Ionia."

Thinking about her answer for a bit, the old man nodded and the magic in the room slowly went back to the warm feeling it had before.

"The place you want to go to is the Hirana Monastery. I think I might even know who your mother is, or perhaps it would sense to say that almost everyone in these lands has a rough idea of who your mother is. Just to make sure, how old are you?"

"I will turn 23 this winter."

"It fits, your grandfather is an elder in the Hirana Monastery and your mother ran away 30 years and returned 20 ago. From there not much is known about the matter except that your grandfather found out there was a child, but because your mother never told him the details he aggressively searched all of Ionia for 5 years."

Nejime was left speechless hearing what the old man said. Didn't her mother somehow sound irresponsible and incredibly willful? Running away from home, having a child, leaving the child and going home, not telling her parents any details about the child she had.

Looking at the speechless Nejime, Phesto suggested something.

"Nene, your mother seems a bit weird, but so what? You also ran from home, might as well go the full way, I still want to see the rest of Ionia, and I'd like to have you as a travel companion. What do you say?"

Asking her Phesto offered her his hand similar to when they first decided to travel together. Smiling at Phesto's suggestion she took his hand and said. "Now I never said anything about going back, you're right we're already in Ionia, and also I would like to continue travelling with you."(AN: I am afraid of adding romance)