“Then tomorrow I leave for Ardua,” Cypher suddenly said, standing up from his chair and wobbling in place. Without realizing it, he had become quite drunk during Syntinnial’s story.
“I wouldn’t advise doing that at the moment, my boy,” Syntinnial said calmly.
Cypher looked at him confused and wobbled again as he fell back into his seat. “Why not?
Syntinnial looked at him with a worried expression. “The Order of Eternal Night is still looking for you. Your disappearance didn’t go unnoticed after all. You have some level of security in Dellorim. Your home, Alvin, the Radiant Corps, and a few other defenses kept you mostly safe. But here in Farnor, that protection is gone.
“You are effectively on your own for now, and the Order has a much stronger presence here in Farnor. Additionally, you’ll find that you won’t be able to use Slingates for quite a while,” replied Syntinnial.
“Why not?” Cypher questioned.
“Because you traveled through a raw rift to get here. Your body is laden with background interference. It shouldn’t affect your centers of power in any significant way, but the Slingates won’t be able to move you through the fabric of the world for at least a few years.” said Syntinnial.
“Then I’ll travel on foot! I can hide and disguise myself in order to avoid the Order.” Cypher said, determination in his slurred speech.
“I wouldn’t advise that either. The only way to get to Ardua is to cross the Thunder Plains, and that is a treacherous journey that leads through extremely dangerous landscapes. That area has taken countless lives. Several times a minute lightning strikes the ground. When it does, it causes massive explosions that shake the area for miles. You could end up caught in one of these explosions, or perhaps even be swallowed by one of the random fissures caused by the earth-shaking blasts.”
Cypher tilted his head back as Syntinnial continued, “That’s of course to say nothing of the Zightbeasts in the area. Drudge Worms, Blast Furies, Scorpiogogs, and countless other dangerous creatures roam the land, and almost all of the protective wards in that area have failed.”
“Is there no way around it?” asked Cypher.
“Well,” responded Syntinnial, “the only other way around is to travel northeast to the tip of Farnor, 700 kilometers from here. After that, you’ll need to head north for another 200 kilometers and you’ll arrive in Ardua. Still, there are other reasons you should wait to head that way.
“For now, I suggest you rest, recover and when the sun rises tomorrow you can decide on what to do. I believe there are a few things you should see firsthand… You’ve been through an ordeal that most could never dream of and survived,” finished Syntinnial.
Cypher nodded as he examined his current state. First of all, he was quite drunk. That needed to go away before anything serious was decided. Beyond that though, his centers of power were stressed out and needed time to adjust to their new level of power. His victory against the Drudge Worm had been lucky and if it hadn’t been a weak species of Zightbeast, he wouldn’t have been able to win so easily.
He decided to heed Syntinnial’s words and get some rest. The old man offered him a small pallet on the floor of his room and Cypher had no complaints. He was just happy to have a place to sleep even though he wasn’t accustomed to sleeping on the floor anymore.
The fire was raging, basking him in its warm glow as he drifted out of consciousness, and Syntinnial headed to bed himself a little while later.
Cypher awoke the next afternoon feeling better than ever, albeit with a bit of a headache. Syntinnial was nowhere to be seen, so he decided to go for a walk and check out the area while he gathered his thoughts. As he ascended the hill he took in the amazing view of the blue flowers yet again.
He had a lot to accomplish in the coming days, and a little rest and relaxation was probably the best thing he needed right now. Of course, he was still concerned for his friends. He had no clue where they could have ended up, or even if they were still alive. Still, he had to find them. With his ability to use Slingates compromised, that would be highly difficult.
That said, it also worked to his advantage. Alex and Melodi would also be unable to use them. Like himself, they had never been outside of Dellorim, and knowing them, they wouldn’t travel too far from where they landed. Hopefully, they were in their homeland, but he couldn’t know for sure either way.
There was also the matter of finding his mother. He could leave the matter of his friends alone for the moment. They were Conductors after all. They could take care of themselves if they kept a low profile. Still, it would be shitty of him to leave them to their own devices for too long.
Reuniting became imperative in his mind. That said, his own situation was strange and had to be dealt with first. Cypher looked in the distance and saw the faint outline of a city wall. He assumed that it must be this ‘Dungor’ place that Syntinnial had mentioned.
He looked in the other direction and saw another faint outline, clearly another city. Though, aside from those two blurred shapes in the distance, it was only open plains all around him for many kilometers. ‘
At least I have options,’ he thought.
He realized that he might end up having to traverse the Thunder Plains. If it came to that, then someone in one of the nearby cities could possibly know a way through or around that didn’t involve a 900-kilometer journey across the continent. The question, of course, was which city should he visit first?
The one to his left was closer, so he decided to head there first. It didn’t look to be too far away and he was sure he could make the trip within the day and be back before the night grew too long. That said, Syntinnial was nowhere to be seen and Cypher couldn’t sense him either.
Cypher sighed and set his mind to the tasks ahead.
First, he would figure out what his own situation was like. He was in a strange land and needed to get his bearings. Secondly, he would head to Ardua and speak with this Raymont person. He needed to figure out what his mother wanted him to know. It might not be extremely important, but if she wanted him to know then it had to have some kind of value.
At the very least he would perhaps learn a clue as to her whereabouts. Once that was secured, he would then search out his friends. If they were in Dellorim it would be fine and he would begin his search for his mother, but if they weren’t, then he needed to regroup with them so they could all return home.
The Order was a problem as well, but for now, his goals were set. He was ready to start knocking them off the list.
