Dorin traveled on, not bothering to look back at the fallen tower. If he did, he would have seen a familiar crest drawn, though faded, on the other side of the wall. He flew at top speed until his curiosity got the best of him once more. This time, it was a metal tower with round, metal dishes stuck on top of it. The metal towers were on a field. There was another one just like it in the distance, and the towers seem to be connected by thick black vines.

Dorin flew nearer, cautiously keeping an eye out for more men in uniform. He didn’t want to be held up by any more questions, much less, be asked to call for his mother.

He examined one of its legs and gently rapped on it.

It gave a spark which made his hair stand on end.

He decided to stop investigating after that. He went on his way, his hair a bit frizzled, but otherwise fine. Besides, the scene behind the next hill looked even more interesting, for beyond that was a black winding road going down the mountain and up a hill that led to a village filled with buildings made of glass and stone.

There were colorful carriages running on the roads.

Automobiles.

He remembered reading about them, from some other pamphlet he found stuck in the pages of one of his mother’s books.

“So, this is what a ‘car’ looks like,” he said to himself, swerving down to take a closer look.

The People in the car consisted of two very attractive blond women in front and a young man wearing glasses in the backseat. They were all looking at him, wide-eyed.

“Young man, do your parents know you’re riding alone on the freeway?!” one of the women asked after she opened the window.

“Mom, don’t you think it’s cool! And he looks so young too!” said the younger woman beside her. “To think he can keep up with the car at this speed! I guess the magic here is still thicker compared to the city.”

The young lady’s golden locks fell over a petite pink dress. She smiled enchantingly at the young man on the branch. Dorin didn’t answer. He was too busy looking at the car’s interior to notice her – at a wheel that was steering itself while the driver sat comfortably behind it.

Just then, the car swerved to the right.

Dorin looked ahead and saw a sharp curve on the road, and speeding right at him at the opposite lane, was a large vehicle twice his height!

The women in the car screamed.

Dorin increased his speed, the truck narrowly missing him. He flew over a steep cliff and right through a thin expanse of pine trees.

“That was close!” he said to himself, his heart raising.

He floated to a halt and watched as the vehicles came to a screeching stop. It was a good thing that there were no other vehicles behind the car, while the ones following the trailer truck were able to stop before a collision could occur.

“I haven’t had such a rush since mom took me wyvern hunting when I was eight!” he shook his head, remembering the dragon-like creatures who nearly clawed him to shreds.

He saw the women get out of the car, as well as a gruff-looking man from the truck. They seem to be searching for him beneath the cliff.

He remembered the two men in the tower then, and quickly went on his way towards the west, before the people in the automobiles decide to call his guardian.

Back at the freeway, the truck driver was busy on the phone. He had just called the highway patrol to report a kid that might have fallen off the cliff.

“There doesn’t seem to be any disturbance on the undergrowth,” said the woman from the car. “Perhaps the kid just got spooked and decided to fly back home?”

“Mom, come on! We’re gonna be late!” called her daughter from the car.

At the back seat, the young man stared at the sky, his glasses reflecting the sun.

“What are you looking at Sebastian?” asked his sister.

Sebastian simply shook his head and went back to the spellbook he was reading.

Meanwhile, Dorin had just gotten his first glimpse of the city. The sight of it made him stop in mid-flight at the edge of the woods. It looked like a forest made of tall glass towers, some of which were high enough to touch the clouds.

The first thought that popped out of his head was, ‘How do they climb all those steps?!’.

Then he noticed the bridges over land with vehicles running on them – hundreds, thousands of automobiles! And that fog... that gray fog at high noon... He couldn’t really tell from this distance, but there was something ominous about it.

Slowly, he descended. He now knows that flying around in the city would bring him a whole lot of trouble, so he decided to ride low and walk the rest of the way across the busy streets. After all, he was dying to take a look around!

He alighted at an empty alley, careful not to let other people see him. Turning around the corner, he came out into a busy street full of buildings with glass doors showcasing different objects inside. There were people milling everywhere.

“Stores...” he thought aloud, “This must be a market place!“

“If you want the market, it’s at the other side of town,” said a young voice from behind him, “This here’s the mall district.”

“The mall...” Dorin repeated as he looked at a small girl who was appraising him from head to foot.

The kid was wearing a flowing blue-green dress, not unlike the pink dress the girl in the car was wearing a while age. On her left hand was a silver wand, and on the other was a drippy blob of brown goo.

“So, which countryside are you from?”

To Dorin’s surprise, the girl held the drippy blob to her face and licked it!

He was still staring wide-eyed when the girl asked again, “You want some ice cream?”

“Ice... cream...?” He repeated.

“You know? Frozen cream on a cone?”

Dorin shook his head.

“Man, which hole did you creep out from?” She licked the ‘ice cream’ again, her soft blue eyes staring at him.

“I’m from Monarch Forest,” said Dorin, not taking his eyes off the ‘ice cream’. “I’m on my way to Aubrianne University...”

“Oh, a new student from the old country, huh?” asked the girl.

Dorin nodded uncertainly.

The girl tucked her wand under her arm and held her left hand to him.

“Agate,” she said.

Dorin stared.

“That’s my name.”

“Oh...” Dorin quickly took her hand and pumped it. “Dorin!” he replied with a big smile, “Dorin Silvius! It’s my first time here in the city!“

“Yes, I noticed,” Agate replied with a grin. “Is that your... staff?” she asked, motioning at the branch on his right hand that has now lost all its leaves.

“Oh, it’s just a tiller.”

“Tiller? You mean, like a boat... oh... that’s your ‘broom’... I see...”

“Yes, my mother took the oar so I had to improvise a bit... although my butt is a bit stiff from all that riding...” here he rubs his bottom unconsciously.

“What a minute,” Agate frowned, “you rode here all the way from Monarch Forest?” she looked surprised. “Which settlement are you from?”

“Settlement?” Dorin thought of the one nearest to their home, “Cirsium Village,” he replied.

“Hmm... that’s the village closest to the middle...” Agate mumbled to herself.

“Are you from Monarch Forest too?” the boy asked.

“Nah, I’m just good at geography,” she looked at the boy who was again, staring at her ice cream cone. “C’mere...” she said to Dorin.

They went inside a store. The guy behind the counter looked suspiciously at Dorin who left the broken branch of laurel by the entrance. He seemed to relax a bit when Agate approached him.

“Why, hello little miss,” said the guy with a practiced smile, “would you like another scoop?”

“No thank you, but my friend here would like to try one, too.” Agate pushed Dorin to the front where a large selection of tubs of different color were lined behind a glass panel.

“Go ahead and choose one, young man,” said the vendor, eyeing the clothes his new customer was wearing.

“Wow...” Dorin said beneath his breath, “there are so many of them...”

“You can taste them if you want.” His companion handed him a small spoon. “Tell Mr. Bayer which flavor you want to try.”

“Can I really?!” Dorin was delighted.

10 minutes later, Mr Bayer hands him a large sugar cone with 3 scoops on top –pistachio, strawberry, and chocolate.

“Wow... I had no idea you could turn pistachio nuts into cream – and freeze it!” Dorin exclaimed, taking a big bite off his ice cream.

“Have you never seen almond milk before?” Agate smiled as she took out a purse.

“Oh, I can pay for myself!” Dorin fumbled for his makeshift bag and took out a pouch. “I can’t let a child pay for me!” he added with a bright smile.

He opens the pouch and empties a small pile of coins on the counter. “How much for this ice cream?” he asks with a big smile, while his companions gaped at the coins, wide-eyed.