Suvron's Bridge

14th Banem 1092

The most famous bridge in all of Destia certainly lived up to its billing. A host of adventurers, tourists and merchants constantly crossed Suvron's Bridge, often stopping at stalls to stock up on necessary items before heading out into the wild. Those who set up stalls on the bridge were usually merchants too poor to pay for spaces inside Suvron's Gate. As a result, their products were usually a lot cheaper than those in the tower.

Naturally, these cheaper products also paled in quality to those sold at the tower. It was a system that ensured every adventurer regardless of their degree of wealth, left or entered Merriheim satisfied.

On this day, like every other day since, the sun shone overhead. Like every other day, the bridge was packed with hundreds of people. However, unlike every other day, the bridge was eerily silent, the eyes of every soul on the bridge directed at the quartet at the bridge's foot.

It was to be expected, as the group comprised three of the most notorious figures in all of Rosendun and Merriheim.

Kashi sat atop Drixlia, led Shadow, Larsial and a full-sized Kira up the bridge. The daeben was unruffled by the attention as a good number of the staring eyes contained the good-fashioned hostility he was used to. Compared to the adoring fans at Lunette's concert, Kashi felt more at ease among the hatred and killing intent.

Despite their murderous thoughts, no one dared to make a move on the daeben. This was not just because they were deep in Maggot territory. The greatest deterrence was the massive direwolf that stood shoulder to shoulder with the stallions. Those ferocious blood-red eyes and teeth as large as fingers promised a gruesome death to anyone foolish enough to cross her.

So it was that Kashi led his group past the bridge without incident. A smile blossomed on the daeben's face as he gazed at Suvron's Gate in the distance. Significant portions of the tower's walls had been replaced with sturdy glass, such that residents within the building had a magnificent view of the world from above. The modern architecture stood out in this world, drawing thousands of tourists and adventurers eager to experience this for themselves.

"Kashi-dono, it is a pleasure to finally meet you."

Kashi looked down to see a dark-skinned mertian. The heavy-set bald man looked to be in his late forties. A set of formal, sharp business attire and the host of servants following behind suggested he was a man of considerable influence.

Kashi nodded, acknowledging the greeting. "You are?"

"Ah, where are my manners." The mertian politely bowed at a sharp 90 degrees angle. "I am called Gregor. Master Miote left me in charge of operations here at Suvron's Gate."

"Of course he did," Kashi murmured. Inwardly, however, he let out a sigh as he realized just how little he knew about his guild. However, with an indifferent shrug, he completely abandoned that train of thought. As long as Leila was around, he did not need to get into all these administrative stuff. "Gregor-san, Lunette informed me of a problem you encountered?"

"Yes, of course," Gregor acknowledged as he gestured to a little ways off from the entrance to Suvron's Gate. "If you would follow me."

Kashi got off Drixlia, and after instructing the stubborn stallion to behave itself, Kashi, along with Shadow, Larsial, and Kira followed after Gregor. Kashi noticed their path significantly led them away from the entrance to Suvron's Gate. "This problem. I was informed it was in the basement?"

"Yes, it is," Gregor explained. "Master Miote insisted workers leaving through the tower's entrance was not a good look, so he commissioned a tunnel to be built nearby that connected to the basement. That is what we currently use."

"Smart," Kashi complimented.

"Indeed" Gregor agreed. "When it comes to making money, Master Miote possesses exceptionally keen insight."

"That accent, you did not grow up in Merriheim, did you?" Larsial noted.

"The miss has an excellent ear," Gregor conceded. "I did indeed spend my childhood up to my rebellious young adult ages in Imperium. As a matter of fact, I was once esquire to a knight during the Great War. Unfortunately the squad I was enlisted in suffered a terrible ambush during one of our campaigns here. I was the sole survivor. I was too lazy to move back, so I stayed and opened up my own business. Luckily, Master Miote found me recently, and after proving myself, handed me this prestigious job."

"Oh? As someone who has been through the Great War, what's your honest opinion on Rosendun and their conquest?"

Gregor proved why he was deserving of his position. Aside from a slight twitch of his eyebrows, his expression remained largely the same. "My honest opinion? There were already too many skirmishes in Merriheim amongst warring factions. It was only a matter of time before one side won and took over the others. I never expected an outsider to be the one to stop the fighting in one swoop." Gregor sighed. "In times like these, you can only pray that the person who eventually takes over will not be the greatest of tyrants. That he will care for the people. In this regard, Rosendun has far exceeded any prayers we dared to have. So, in my honest opinion, I am all for Rosendun's conquest. Our other route was an endless cycle of orphaned children and armed teenagers without a goal in sight."

"An astute analysis," Larsial stated. "You have been asked this question before?"

"The locals often discuss this amongst ourselves," Gregor openly admitted.

Larsial's gaze flashed. She looked at the unassuming daeben then back at Gregor. In the end, she only muttered, "Interesting." She remained silent for the rest of the trek.

Gregor stopped in front of a small settlement. Gregor introduced the little hamlet as the temporary lodging for the construction workers. The settlement was built around a building which upon entering, was revealed to be the entrance to a flight of stairs that descended to a tunnel.

A guard stood at the head of the stairs, verifying the identities of the workers before letting them pass. He greeted Gregor as the mertian passed, sending a curious glance at the strange party following behind. It would not be until later that night while drinking with friends that he would realize who he just met.

Gregor, meanwhile, led Kashi and company down the stairs, which bottomed out to a brightly lit tunnel. Gregor explained they had been fortunate enough to find some rare gemstones while creating the tunnel. He pointed out some branching tunnels where he stated miners had found some rich lodes of gemstones. Immediately the tunnels were declared safe, they would have miners come down to dig up the minerals.

The group walked for another twenty minutes, often descending deeper into the earth through carefully constructed sloping tunnels. Eventually, they reached the end of the road, where the tunnel opened out to a massive cavern.

"Kashi."

"Yeah," Kashi acknowledged. His gaze traveled from the massive lake at the center of the cavern to large pieces of crystals scattered on the strangely, grass-covered floor. "It's the place we fought Krakul." Kashi was understandably surprised. He had assumed the cavern would be buried when the tower rose. In fact, he had only asked that people explore below Suvron's Gate in the hopes that some of the scattered crystals would be found. Maybe with those, they could figure out some of their secrets and utilize them for the guild.

Never would he have guessed the cavern would be completely intact. Only now did Kashi understand why Lunette had used the word 'basement' when talking about the problem. Indeed, this was the tower's basement. It was just, who had ever heard of such a large basement!?

Kashi quickly reeled in his shock as he turned his attention to a crowd gathered at the shore. "I assume the problem is over there?"

"Yes, Kashi-dono," Gregor confirmed as he led the way to the back of the crowd. A quick cough and a path opened up to the center as soon as the workers realized who was behind them. "How about you all get back to work?" Gregor suggested with a smile, but the speed at which the workers scampered off suggested there was far more to him than the harmless persona he displayed.

"This, Kashi-dono is the problem I mentioned," Gregor said as he gestured at two massive stones standing next to the shore.

"What are those?" Larsial asked confusion etched in her brows.

"They-"

"They are eggs," Kashi interrupted, eyes wide in shock. "I can hear their heartbeat. It's faint, but it's there." He stepped past Gregor and placed a hand on the eggs. He turned to Shadow. "Come up, you can feel it. They're pretty strong."

Shadow did exactly that. "How are they still alive in there?" He questioned as he tapped on the hard stone-like exterior.

"Their mother provided them with plenty of high-quality mana." Kashi and co turned to see who had spoken. A wisben wrapped in loose-fitting fur clothing approached them, shifty green eyes regarding them from behind a pair of glasses. "It's too bad it will soon run out. They will not survive past a couple of days."

Kashi turned to face the strange character. "You are?"

"Kashi-dono, this is Doctor Abnier Newt, a highly decorated beastmaster," Gregor quickly introduced. "Before you arrived, we had sent out a summons for qualified beastmasters to assess the situation. He is the best among those who stepped forward."

"Mmhmm," Kashi nodded. He held out his hand and greeted, "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Doctor Newt."

"The pleasure and honor is all mine," Doctor Newt returned the greeting with a handshake of his own.

"So, if you please, would you inform us what you mean by they will not last long?"

"It's truly a pity," Doctor Newt lamented as he adjusted the glasses on the bridge on his nose. "I cannot be sure of their species, but their progenitor was a really powerful monster, possibly one of the apex species. However, no matter how great the species, they must still succumb to the same rules of reproduction as every other species." He glanced at the stones then continued, "In the case of reptilian creatures, it is important the conditions during incubation are kept constant. In the case of these eggs, our tests have shown that compared to the environment and position, the determining factor for their hatching is the quality of mana they have been imbued with. Unfortunately, we are incapable of replicating that quality, hence the embryos have begun showing signs of deterioration. If we do not find a replacement for the mana, these eggs will become nothing but oversized rocks." Doctor Newt cleared his throat. "I have an associate who was lucky enough to restrain a dragon. If you'll allow me, I can have the eggs delivered to him. A dragon's mana might not meet the quality needed, but it's the best chance we have."

Kashi raised a brow. "So, what you are saying is, if we can replicate the quality of mana, we can save these eggs? They do not need a lake environment?"

"Huh?" Doctor Newt was completely thrown off by the question. What's with that nonchalant way of mention the quality of mana. That was the entire point of his whole speech! There was no way they could replicate its effects! Still, he had to answer the question. So, he stammered back. "Uh... yes. In theory. While a lake environment will definitely be helpful, it is not that important."

"Good. These eggs, I'll be taking them," Kashi proudly declared. Before anyone could process the meaning of his words, he placed a hand on each egg. A second later, they both disappeared.

"What are you doing!?" Doctor Newt screamed with undisguised hysteria. "That inventory of yours is a void! It will instantly kill the eggs!"

"Don't worry doctor," Kashi laughed and patted the confused beastmaster's shoulder. "We are not allowed to put living creatures into our inventory for that exact reason. The eggs are not in my inventory."

Doctor Newt's eyes went wide. "Th-then where are they?"

"I'm a Dimension Artist." Kashi sent the doctor a knowing glance. "Where do you think?" The doctor stared at him, mouth agape but Kashi did not care. He turned to Gregor. "Your problem's been handled. Thank you for your hard work." He also thanked Doctor Newt for his help, but the beastmaster was completely unresponsive. It seemed the shock had been too much for him.

Kashi only laughed and exited the tunnel with Shadow and company. He had to hurry to Rosendun before the Blight wiped out the centaur tribe. Kashi, Shadow, and Larsial retrieved their respective horses then galloped past Suvron's Gate towards the heart of Rosendun.

When they were a good distance away from the tower, Kira suddenly came to a halt. As a result, Kashi, Larsial, and Shadow also stopped a few feet away. They turned to face her, curiosity on their faces.

"What's wrong? Tired already," Kashi teased.

"Shut up and get off," Kira instantly berated, red eyes blazing in unbridled rage. "You forget we are connected. You can fool anyone except me."

"Heh, guess I could not get it past you," Kashi muttered. His grip on Drixlia's reins loosened. He slumped forward on the stallion's back. He vaguely noticed a panicked Shadow jump off his horse before he blacked out.