After wolfing down the delicious breakfast Mrs. Wilters had prepared, the squad set off for Antrinita where Mr. Wilters said they'll gain more credible information.
Solla had requested to join them on their adventure with the argument that she'd get a lot more combat experience by tagging along. Her parents were more than supportive of her decision.
Kristen was pretty sure that he just didn't want to believe that Antrinita had teamed up with Wintershold, but he did have a point. Maybe one of the locals is willing to give them some info.
Solla had suggested that she give Kristen and her friends' weapons a little boost with some of her smithing capabilities. Cold thought it was a good idea, but Kristen wasn't entirely sure if she agreed to it. Her guns aren't something to be messed with so lightly.
"Your guns are a special case," Solla explained as they headed to the cave that Solla mentioned had great ore for weapons. "They don't exactly use actual bullets, but rather condensed elemental magic."
Even though initially, they didn't remember a thing, when Solla brought the topic of magic up, Kristen started to recall a few principles and such. She remembered the eight elements Mortals manipulate—basically borrow from nature—her favorite being fire.
"Speaking of which, I've thought up of two ways to improve your guns, but to keep its light weight, only one of the upgrades can be done," Solla explained that she could either make it easier for Kristen to absorb elements from around her or make them amplify the attack power when she releases the bullets.
Kristen pondered for a moment. At first, she was incredibly interested in the second option, but that old woman's voice at the back of her head kept her from making that decision.
"You don't have to decide now. Just when we get to Antrinita so that I can begin immediately," Solla smiled and Kristen thanked her.
Cold also brought up another topic related to magic, just not elemental. "Like how Mel can make some kind of feather at will," was his example.
"Hmm," Solla thought, "I've only ever heard such things in legends; mortals being able to create things like that. They say that only the most powerful mages can do it."
"I'm...flattered...?" Mel tried.
"Come to think of it, isn't that magic quite unpredictable then?" Rayn asked Mel who nodded. "Unpredictable when you can't control it. But flexible when you can."
"Anyways, I don't think I remember any of you telling me what happened that made all five of you lose your memories," Solla pouted. Cold, being the obvious leader and pushover, told Solla everything that happened, even going as far as Wintershold.
"So yeah," Cold finished.
"Wow," Solla commented as they reached the mouth of the cave she was talking about. "That's one remarkable story."
"So you don't know anything about the Kingdom of Lumina?" Cold asked as Solla walked deeper into the cave. "Afraid not, sorry."
In the cave, Solla walked past the colorful crystals all around them. "None of these are the ones you're searching for?" Cold voiced Kristen's questions. "No. These are all common. We're not here for some low-quality ore."
"What does the ore look like?" Cold asked, "Maybe we can help search for it."
"Well, it's not exactly the easiest to find- Oh! Here's one!" Solla excitedly ran off to the left.
"You just said-" Cold sighed.
"Yeah, for you guys, it's hard," Solla elaborated as she took out her equipment and shrugged, "I can sense the ores in the ground."
YOU ARE READING
Nophos: Memories of Cadleigh
Fantasy"The dawn of a new era is drawing near And with the coming tides, another ruckus shall arise For that, she has conscripted you five." Once a leader, now a "Stupid Blockhead" as Kristen would call him. When Cold and his friends awoke in the snowy pl...
