90 Landing Day (2)

Now, two days after he had arrived, Seran waited at the major docks for the arrival of the transoceanic voyagers. The ship that the Juneau Clan had sent was of a very expensive design that had no need of sails, paddles or any mechanical propulsion system. Instead, it operated through the ingenious usage of the energy stores within High-grade Spirit Stones, harnessing it to power the ship's functions, including three major propulsion systems: the mainline set that moved the ship forward, the second set that assisted in turning, and the emergency set that overrode the first two with greater power than they were meant to handle. If the ship had had sails, Jormungandr's sigh would have destroyed them and the masts. However, with the spirit stone propulsion system, the transoceanic ship was capable of travelling in almost any weather.

Gradually, a carrack-class ship crested the horizon, sailing gracefully across the ocean towards the harbour of Savicche. As it came to the harbour entrance, a pair of small barges came to greet it, along with the city's resident hydra. After some quick explanation between the ship's captain and the two barges, the propulsion system was fully disabled, though the rest of the ship remained functional. Two sets of ropes were thrown to the two barges, each set having a weight on the end. The weighted ropes were expertly swung and launched to the docks, where two groups of men caught them and prepared to act, while the barges moved further ahead to act as guides for the dockworkers.

At the stern of the ship, Nessy began using three of his heads to push the carrack forward at an even, slow pace, with the remaining six split up to watch both sides for instructions from the barges. After several minutes of well-coordinated efforts, Nessy stopped pushing the ship as it came into the dock. Both groups of dockworkers tied the ropes down before moving to secure two more sets that were thrown down as well. The ship's captain ordered for the main anchor to be dropped to complete the berthing process. To the starboard side of the ship was brought a three-man-wide gangway, while the port side used a steam-powered freight elevator to handle resupplying. Each of the major docks had one such elevator due to the size of the vessels they were made to handle, a wise decision made by the grandfather of the current mayor.

Seran rose to his feet and made his way over when he saw five mages dressed in nearly identical robes of purple and gold, along with 26 people in various forms of armour . With the feudal society of Andor being what it is, wearing purple could be considered an affront to royalty, as it was considered the colour of royalty. The combination of gold and purple only made it more offensive, as such was meant for imperial families. Still, the 31 men and women were not faced with any actions that one normally would be faced with, as their left breast bore a black crest of a magic staff with an 11-pointed star at its tip. Originally, it was only the star, but the legend of the Mage King caused the inclusion of the staff in the crest. Since the Juneau Clan was one of Aregard's most prominent organizations, by blood or otherwise, it was understandable that their heraldry was known. By common agreement, though never officially stated, the Juneau Clan was one of the few groups permitted to use royal or imperial colours without the regular risks of affronting royal or imperial rule.

Leading the group was a tail-end-of-middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair, though the salt was not black but rather a faded orange, using his staff as a walking stick as he descended from the ship. Below his clan crest were five black stars, symbolizing his status as an elder. His staff appeared to be made of metal, expertly made into a pair of rods that twisted around each other like a caduceus before meeting at the top in a dragon's mouth shape, holding a bright orange orb the size of a foam dodgeball. This man was Aracar Juneau, the Volcanic Sage that had been sent for the expedition into the Polypheme Sect. All five mages were experts in using flames, which would make controlling the altered flame that Seran would imbue their spells with easier to control. While he wasn't the best at using flame spells in the clan, Aracar held his own as someone who created his own spells and used them to alter the landscape as he needed. From creating a miniature volcanic eruption to creating a stream of lava, even a great meteor falling from above, the Volcanic Sage more than deserved his title. After all, named titles were as respected as royalty in some cases.

Seran politely waited for the group to come to the end of the docks before stepping forward and giving them a humble bow, "Welcome to the Western Continent, sirs and madams. I'd say I hope your journey was uneventful but I'm already aware that it wasn't."

Aracar Juneau almost guffawed at that, but he lessened it to a chuckle as he returned the bow, as did his companions, "Yes, it was quite an interesting encounter. Thank you for having us. I didn't expect for you to make your way here yourself."

"A few reasons for that, you know. I can just teleport us to the first town I visited instead of travelling since Savicche is closer to it than my city. Plus, this city has a vibrance that mine doesn't. Little Nessy was happy to see me again too." Seran smiled as he thought of the hydra's bouncy reaction to seeing him when he first arrived.

One of the 26 fighters, a lady clad in chainmail bearing a greatlance and a heavy shield, said, "Nessy?"

"The young hydra, that's Nessy. He's a big softie and he's now officially classified as Savicche's guardian beast. He loves trying to make himself useful, so he is responsible for bringing the large ships into and out of port, along with helping with whatever repairs are needed for the ships or the waterside areas of the city. In case you're thinking about it, don't even think of subjugating him. You'd have to deal with the rage of an entire nation if you did. Having such a guardian beast is a huge deal for a nation, you know." Seran was kind to a fault, but he knew that others might not be.