Stepping foot on the desolate port, it felt as dry as a dead town. Each crashing wave at the shore created soft thuds and rattles from the sheer amount of wood scattered around.
Maeyurai continued walking around the port. It was creepy due to how quiet it was. There was not a single soul in sight.
"Is there anybody here?!" he yelled out in question, trying to gain a response.
Once more, there was no answer.
Are the people here deaf or something?
There's no one answering, nor is there even a single person walking around the port.
Maeyurai continued walking around the place. It felt deserted, abandoned by the people.
He thought it was normal for this place, that the people here were just that quiet. But his mind immediately changed once he went deeper into the port.
A few buildings were destroyed; several signs of battle were also present. Not to mention the dry red spots on the floor and walls, indicating that blood was recently spilled.
"What happened here?" he muttered under his breath, wondering what could have possibly attacked the port.
Whatever it was, it definitely wasn't Common-Level. A destruction of this level wasn't something that those of the weaker-level Hell's Spawns could create.
It was possible that it was a General-Level, or maybe something worse.
Clack!
A wooden bucket fell off a table and created a noise. It must've been the wind. But if it weren't, then something was definitely around.
Startled, Maeyurai immediately turned his head in the direction of the sound, his gaze searching around the place to find what caused the noise.
"Strange," he said. "Is this place haunted or something?"
Curiosity came into his favor as he approached one of the destroyed buildings to examine what happened inside.
As he approached the doorstep, his hand pushed open the door that was already half open.
Entering the building, he was technically trespassing. But since there was no one around, he didn't consider it illegal.
"Hello?" he called out once more, trying to gain a response.
Inside the building was dark, only lit up by the light near the window. The dim reflection of the sun's rays couldn't reach the deeper part of the room.
He brought his hand up tentatively and conjured a fireball, lighting up the place.
It was a humble living room, torn into pieces. There were pieces of wood on the wall and holes on the ceiling. Whatever attacked, the people inside definitely couldn't escape.
"The terror of the Hell's Spawns," he muttered. "Mhiya was right; they aren't to be taken lightly."
The floor creaked loudly, as if something heavy stepped on it, but Maeyurai was standing still.
The noise immediately caught his attention like a fish to bait as he turned his head directly towards the sound in caution.
"There's something here..." he said under his breath, carefully watching his surroundings.
"I feel like I'm being watched."
To ensure that he wouldn't be ambushed, he immediately turned back and ran out of the building, carefully watching the area around him.
For a few seconds, his eyes locked on the dark place behind the door, watching if something were to come out.
But there was none; only air was present.
Maeyurai tentatively let his guard down and dispelled the fireball in his hand.
"Okay, whatever," said he. "That was creepy; I'm not going in any of the buildings again."
Afterwards, he walked away to continue exploring the port.
There really was not a single person in the port. Or they've only been hiding well. But either way, only Maeyurai was present in the entire port.
There would be no way for Maeyurai to get to Wyumatsui Island if the port was dead empty. If that were the case, he'd be forced to change his destination.
But currently, he has two options if he wishes to continue going to Wyumatsui Island.
Option one: he can row a boat on his own to get to Wyumatsui Island. But this is dangerous and risky, as he doesn't know what lies beneath the sea, and also because he has zero experience with a boat.
Option two: he can send a messenger bird to the port of Wyumatsui Island by accessing the message station. With this option, the portmaster of Wyumatsui may send a boat to the port to pick him up. However, the boat's captain may demand payment, and this was something Maeyurai didn't have, as he didn't carry a single penny on him.
Who would go on an adventure without a map and money? Not to mention having no camping equipment as well!
Well, you know who.
After a moment of deep reflection, Maeyurai had set his mind.
Since the first option was very dangerous, he just scrapped it.
The second option was plausible, and if the ride did demand payment, he would just bargain his way in or find any other way he could pay.
Maeyurai chose the latter and went on to find the message station in the port.
Though, he doesn't know what a message station looks like, so he'll have to check every single unique building around.
But this was his logic: if a message station's purpose is to send a message through a bird, then shouldn't the building be tall so it's easier for the bird to fly?
It made sense to him.
And since he thought that a message station was going to be a tall building, he searched for a tower nearby and indeed found one.
He headed towards the tower right away, assuming that it was a message station.
Standing before the tower's entrance, Maeyurai admired how tall it was.
Opening the wooden door, he was met by a spiral staircase that led to the top of the tower. In the very center of the tower, there was a long chain that connected the floor to the top, where the birdcages were hanging.
Walking up the spiral staircase, most of the cages were empty. Only a few cages contained a bird, or more specifically, pigeons.
After a minute of walking up the long spiral staircase, he finally reached the top. There was a room that stored purely food for the birds, and the other had a table with drawers, possibly for recording messages.
There was also a platform around the tower, serving as a place where they launched birds to send the respective message.
"Did only one person stay here? Why a single table only?" asked Maeyurai, approaching the table.
He examined the drawers, opening them to check the contents. Some drawers contained mostly paper, some bottles of ink, some leather strips, and some drawers contained extra quills. It was a table meant purely for writing a message.
"Okay," he said. "Time to write a message."
He took one of each object from the drawer. A paper, a bottle of ink, a leather strip, and a quill.
Sitting on the chair, he prepared the paper, dipped the quill in the bottle, and started writing.
'To the Portmaster, please send a boat to the Port of Jinsang Bay. I need to get to Wyumatsui Island. I'll be waiting at the docks' was what Maeyurai wrote on the paper.
Then, he wrapped the paper with a leather strip and took a pigeon from one of the birdcages.
He attached the paper to the pigeon's side and brought it to the platform.
"Go to Wyumatsui Island's message station," he said to the pigeon, even if it didn't understand it.
Then, he released the pigeon, and it flew towards the island.
Looking in the distance, Wyumatsui Island was quite massive. Even though it's a hundred kilometers away, it looked like it was close due to how large it was. It was, maybe, twice as big as Gangumen.
"There we go," said Maeyurai. "I better be able to get to Wyumatsui Island."
He then made his way down the spiral staircase with a smile, proud of himself for being independent.
Maeyurai's hand gripped the railing firmly, taking his time as he walked down the staircase.
A boat should arrive the next day.
Which means... I have to find some place I can sleep in.
I can borrow one of the destroyed buildings near the dock.
Or I can just stay in the tower.
Either way, I just need the boat so I can get to Wyumatsui Island.
Please be a success; I don't want to change my destination.
Maeyurai stopped moving and closed his eyes in a silent plea, wishing for himself to be able to get to Wyumatsui Island safely and without much trouble.
He left the message station tower and wandered around the port, trying to pass the time.
Walking around the docks, Maeyurai couldn't help but feel like he was being watched.
That something was stalking him out of plain sight.
"This is making me feel paranoid," he muttered under his breath, looking around the docks with an anxious expression.
"It's just an intrusive thought," he told himself. That it was just nothing, and he was being paranoid for no reason.
The wooden floor creaked.
But Maeyurai wasn't moving. Something was nearby.
He turned around.