Three days were all they had to pack and get their affairs in order. Though Vy had wished they had more time, Lycster and her work with what they were given. Uncertain of when they would be back, they said their farewells to Caster and Carole before heading on their journey.
"Be safe out there," Carole said to Vy as she gave her a hug.
"We will try," Vy replied with a grin.
When they arrived at the keystone portal, the Blackfire siblings quickly noticed a lone figure who seemed to be waiting for them. As they got nearer, Vy soon realised who it was. Her maroon coloured hair gave her ident.i.ty away.
"Miss Zylphy, you"re the a.s.sociate that we"re meeting?" Vy asked.
Zylphy gave her a smile and nodded, "Indeed, it is I. I hope you"re well-rested and packed, Miss Blackfire."
"We are as well packed as we can be!" Lycster said with glee.
When she realised that Vyrena"s younger brother had come along, Zylphy was surprised. She had not accounted for Lycster Blackfire to accompany them on this trip. After all, he was just a child.
But regardless, Zylphy focused on her task at hand. She guided both of them to the keystone portal and retrieved a device from the inner pocket of her jacket. Using her fingers, she traced the carvings on the pillars.
When she found a leaf-shaped indent on the pillar, Zylphy placed her device in it. The small metallic device magnetised onto the pillar with a snap. It glowed green. Zylphy covered the device and seemingly whispered something to it, causing all of the pillars to light up at once.
When the base of the portal began to flow as well, all of the light energy that lit up the pillars converged into a single point in thin air. A portal appeared before their eyes. When Vyrena and Lycster looked through it, they could not see anything beyond it.
It resembled a translucent silver mirror pond.
Zylphy removed the device from the pillar and slipped it back in her pocket. She stepped onto the platform and was about to walk through the portal when she turned around. The Blackfire siblings were staring blankly at her, uncertain of how to proceed.
Zylphy grinned as she called out to them, "Well, what you are the two of you waiting for? Let"s go!"
With that, she stepped through the portal and disappeared. The siblings looked at one another, then back at the portal. While it was a little different from the portals they had seen before, it seemed to function just the same.
"Let"s go," Vy said with a smile as she took the lead.
Lycster caught up to her. Together, they walked into the portal and came out the other side. When they opened their eyes, the forest they were in previously was nowhere to be seen. But, they were still surrounded by greenery.
Before their eyes was an open pasture of lush green gra.s.s rustling in the wind. The sun shone down upon them with no mercy, slightly blinding their eyes a little. Vy used her hand to create a shadow over her eyes, allowing her to see a little clearer.
It was at this moment, that Vy noticed that they were on a hill. There was a small cottage at the side with a stable filled with horses.
"Are those horses?" Lycster exclaimed as soon as he saw them.
He quickly ran down towards the stable, leaving his sister behind on the steps of the portal. Looking back behind her, the portal closed and disappeared into thin air. The pillars stopped glowing.
Vy walked over to the stable as she spots Zylphy, speaking to the owner of the horses. Lycster came over and grabbed onto Vy"s hand.
"Vy, come look!" he exclaimed with glee as he pulled her over to the stables to see the horses.
As they got close, the horses remained calm. Some of the horses had s.h.i.+ny brown coats, others were white with speckled brown spots. One of the dark brown horses whinnied as Vy approached.
She reached out her hand and lightly pet the horse on the head. The horse did not panic or move away, it remained calm and quiet.
"Looks like you"re getting acquainted with the horses," Zylphy said as she came over to check on them.
Zylphy briefed them on their task at hand. She brought them closer to the edge of the hill and showed them their destination. Across from where they were at, was Vallis Valley. That was where the Kingdom of Papillion was in.
She continued to explain that Vallis was ruled by twelve families. According to their tradition, each family would rule over their land for 12 years. The currently ruling monarch, King Flutterheart, had not been seen by their people ever since they were appointed ruler.
"You"ve been brought here to negotiate a trade agreement and alliance between Papillion and Mothylek. That could also be a marriage alliance," Zylphy explained.
"Marriage alliance?" Vy asked.
Zylphy nodded, "That is if both sides would agree on it. So, are you ready?"
Vy was taken aback. Was that all the briefing she was going to get for her mission?
"That"s it? Aren"t you going to provide me with more information?" Vy asked.
Zylphy opened a file of notes and flipped through it before she replied, "Nope, that"s all. As per our previous informant"s advice. They said that it was best for you to understand it through an outside perspective."
Vy and Lycster looked at each other. They were not sure what she had meant by that. But at this point, did they have much of a choice?
"So, who do we meet first?" Vy asked.
"You"ll be meeting with the Mothylek first. They have set up a campsite just below the hill from here. You will be meeting with their leader, Leader Atlas," Zylphy explained.
"And you won"t be coming with us?" she asked.
Zylphy shook her head, "I am afraid not. This is also where we part ways."
"Leaving so soon?"
"Indeed. When your task is complete, we will meet again. Once you"ve met Leader Atlas, you will be guided on to your next task by one of our a.s.sociates." she explained.
Zylphy gave Vy a few more simple instructions before taking her to leave.
"I hope to hear good news from you, Vyrena," Zylphy said to her before she left.
"We will do our best."
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