Volume 18 Chapter 6 Iron Mine Investigation, Part 1️⃣
"Sir Al, please go a little slower... oh no, this is scary, it's shaking!"
Ozbert, sitting in a chair made by the 'Carrier' spell behind Al, kept speaking in a shaky voice while Al flew through the sky.
To help him keep his balance, there was a safety railing attached to his thighs, but his fingers were gripping it so tightly that they turned white.
"It's okay, it's okay. If you look up at the sky instead of down, it might help a bit. How about singing a song or something..."
Al said this to calm him down as they aimed for Channing Village. Joanna, the knight protecting Patricia, also didn't like flying, but it seemed Ozbert was the same way.
Ozbert was making a lot more noise, which made it harder for Al.
Ozbert was the same age as Al, and Al had visited his house many times. Usually, he was a reliable squire, but it was surprising to see him so scared of flying.
Al promised himself that next time they traveled together, he would definitely check first before taking him along.
Because of Ozbert's fussing, they ended up arriving at Channing Village much later than planned, well past noon.
"Look, you can see Channing Village now!"
At Al's words, Ozbert opened his eyes a little. Suddenly, he let out a scream.
"Please tell me when we land!"
His voice was very weak. It seemed he still wasn't okay. Al slowly turned and descended in front of his father's house, who was also the village lord.
Even though it was the lord's house, it looked pretty much like any other village head's stone house. Al's sister, Mary, noticed him coming and ran out of the house.
"I'm back! We made it!"
"Allll! Welcome backkk!"
'Magic Power Control.'
Al cast a spell to release the safety railing on Ozbert's chair. Now he should be able to get down normally.
"Welcome back, Al. Mr. Ozbert, you're back too."
Hearing Mary's voice, Ozbert opened his eyes cautiously.
"Phew, I'm alive..."
Ozbert murmured as he stood up from the chair made by the 'Carrier' spell. However, his legs seemed weak, and he wobbled. Al and Mary quickly supported him.
"We flew here from the capital. Mr. Ozbert was like this the whole time. He seems to have a hard time with it."
"Really? It feels nice though."
Mary tilted her head, looking confused.
"Let's go inside for now. Is Dad and Brother Jasper home?"
"Neither of them has come back from the fields yet."
Al and Mary helped the still wobbly Ozbert into the house.
It seemed their mom, Pamela, and sister, Lucy, were cooking something, as a delicious smell filled the air. They noticed Al and Mary coming home and welcomed them from the back.
Once they sat Ozbert down in a chair in the living room, he let out a big sigh. It must have been really tough for him.
"What happened today?"
"I met Big Brother Gustave, and he asked me about the iron mine..."
Al scratched his head lightly at Mary's question and briefly explained what happened.
"I see. So you came to investigate with Mr. Ozbert."
"Yeah, that's right. But what should we do? From the looks of it, it seems tough to fly Mr. Ozbert to the mine..."
At Al's words, Ozbert shook his head, looking pale.
"I'm okay now. I'll do my best."
"Mr. Ozbert should rest. Should I go with you?"
Al thought for a moment. Ozbert drank some water that Mary gave him and looked a bit calmer. But flying him to the mine still seemed a bit risky.
"Well, crossing the river can be dangerous. It might be too risky to take Mr. Ozbert with me. I'll go by myself quickly."
"Wait? No, I have to see this with my own eyes and report to Mr. Gustave..."
Ozbert clenched his fists. But looking at the situation so far, it seemed impossible to check the mine properly from the sky.
"I recently got this spell. Just wait a moment."
'Record & Play'
Al cast the spell and looked around. Then, he stepped outside the door, flew up to check out Channing Village from above, and came back into the room.
"I can let you experience what I saw and heard, but seeing Mr. Ozbert's reaction, I think this is better."
'Record & Play 50 cm window'
When Al cast the spell again, a black, semi-transparent panel about 50 cm square appeared on the living room table. It was about 3 cm thick. Part of it covered a vase and some flowers on the table, but the vase and flowers stayed as they were.
Al placed his hands on the panel and lifted it a bit so everyone could see. After a few seconds, the black, semi-transparent panel switched to show what Al had seen and heard.
"Oh!" "Wow!" "Eek!" "Is that what my face looks like?" "Wait? Is my voice that high?" "Oh no, my hair is a mess."
The women exclaimed various things. The screen showed Al stepping outside and flying up into the sky.
"Oh, the view of the village from above."
"The houses look so small."
"That's Myron's house over there."
Everyone was glued to the window showing what Al had seen. Ozbert seemed okay with this view and was also staring at the window.
"It's so crowded. I want to see it more slowly."
"Okay, then I'll pause the window."
At Ozbert's suggestion, Al paused the 'Record & Play' while the village scene was still showing.
"Oh, we could use this to draw a map of the mine."
"Yeah, Ozbert. I'll also find out how far things are. Right now, I can only record about an hour's worth of stuff, so I'll have to do it in parts. If we can see this, then Mr. Ozbert doesn't need to fly with me, right?"
Ozbert nodded. He looked a bit relieved.
"If we need more information, we can just fly again. I think I'll go by myself first. Mr. Ozbert, I want you to explain the situation with Big Brother Gustave to my dad. And I'd like you to discuss what we should do next."
"Got it. I'll do that. Also, I have one more request. If it turns out to be a promising iron mine, I think someone will need to guide the way. Of course, we can't just fly there. So, we need to find a route we can actually walk to the iron mine. Could you check it out from the sky a bit first?"
That makes sense. The destination is about a kilometer (0.62 miles) from the village, across a river, and over a mountain to the south. Of course, flying would be quick, but it's still about 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) in a straight line.
It's a route over a ridge that's about 600 meters (1,969ft) high with no path.
As long as they pay attention to the direction, they shouldn't get lost, but if they have to make a path on foot, they could get stuck on cliffs and it might take a whole day.
If they're going to guide someone, they'll need landmarks too. So, it looks like today they'll check the area from the sky and then walk the route to confirm it.
"But if that's the case, I guess tomorrow will be for checking the route on foot. I won't be back until the day after tomorrow. I'm okay with that, but is Mr. Ozbert fine with it?"
"Yes. No problem."
Orson's treatment is a week away. Al's schedule is fine.
"Okay. Let's go with that plan. Mr. Ozbert, please discuss it with my dad. I'll check it out from the sky for now. I'll try to collect some samples too."
"Yes. I'm sorry. Thank you."
Ozbert bowed deeply.
"Please be careful."
"If it gets dangerous, come back right away."
"Have a good trip!"
Everyone saw Al off as he headed toward the area where the iron mine was located.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)