Location: South of Echofern Hills – Day 6 in Atheria
The morning mist still clung to the fields when the sound of music drifted across the hills.
It wasn't magical. Not like Mirae's melodies or floating harps. It was simple—a wooden flute, accompanied by the soft jingle of harness bells and wagon wheels.
Jiwoo stood at the top of a rocky slope, hands on hips. "Looks like we're not the only ones on this road anymore."
The rest of the group gathered beside him.
Below them stretched a wide path of moving wagons—over two dozen, pulled by large, furred six-legged beasts that looked like horned llamas. Flags fluttered, tents swayed, and dozens of people walked alongside, singing, bartering, laughing.
Mirae tilted her head, enchanted. "A traveling town…"
Eunsol sniffed the air. "I smell spiced bread. Fresh. I want it."
Sena grinned. "Let's go say hello."
---
The Crimson Horn Caravan
By the time they reached the path, they were greeted by a young girl in an oversized traveling cloak, balancing a tray of fruit on her head and juggling two apples with one hand.
"New faces! You lost, or just free?" she asked, smiling.
Jiwoo smiled back. "Free."
She laughed. "Then welcome to the Crimson Horn Caravan. We're going east until the starflower plains bloom—then we turn north to escape the stingbeetle migration. Name's Kaen."
No questions. No fear. No suspicion.
> Just a caravan of wanderers. Traders. Artists. Healers. Dreamers.
Jihye quickly whispered to Jiwoo, "They're harmless. Some minor mages, mostly civilians."
"Let's walk with them," Jiwoo said. "Learn the world from the ones who live in it."
---
Hours Later – Walking Among the Wagons
The group split up to blend in.
Mirae joined the music troupe, playing an Atherian flute beside a fox-eared girl with sparkling eyes.
Baek was arm-wrestling a giant man who claimed to have wrestled sand bears.
Jihye offered help translating old maps with the archivist cart.
Sena joined the beast handlers and learned how to ride the six-legged llamas—she called hers "Pancake."
Eunsol… ended up cooking an entire pot of lavender stew that made half the caravan cry tears of joy.
Yoori tended to bruised hands with enchanted herbal wraps, claiming she was "just naturally good with plants."
Jiwoo simply observed.
He didn't need to speak much. His presence alone made others smile.
---
A Story by the Fire
That night, campfires dotted the clearing like stars on land. Stories were shared freely.
A bearded merchant named Teral spoke of the Sea of Screaming Mist, where fish whispered dreams.
An old painter woman told the tale of the Sky-Bound Tree, whose leaves could stop time.
A child claimed he'd once seen a glowing gold dragon sleeping in the Hollow Mountains, wrapped in coins that hummed lullabies.
Jiwoo listened, fascinated.
> "Even without magic like ours," he thought,
"this world… is full of magic."
Then Teral turned to Jiwoo and smiled. "And what about you, quiet one? Got a tale?"
Jiwoo paused.
"Just a story about… building a paradise," he said.
The group leaned in.
"It floated above the ocean. We made chocolate towers and upside-down waterfalls. We had no neighbors. Just each other. It was peace."
Mirae added, softly, "Then it sank. And we were reborn in this world."
The fire crackled.
"That's not a story," Kaen whispered. "That's poetry."
---
The Merchant Code
The next morning, Jiwoo was approached by the caravan leader—Mistress Lura, a sharp-eyed woman with silver braids and a staff made of knotted redwood.
"You carry no weapons," she said. "Yet you walk like a king."
Jiwoo smiled. "I walk like someone with time."
She raised an eyebrow. "That's rarer than power."
She handed him a scroll—The Merchant Code of Atheria.
Rules of trade. Boundaries of conduct. Hidden signs of danger. Symbols that marked cities friendly to wanderers, and those that were not.
> "If you travel with us," she said, "you will see more than beauty. You will see the truth."
He accepted it. "Then we walk with you."
---
Secrets Between the Lines
Later that day, Jihye brought the scroll to Jiwoo.
"There's a mark here," she whispered. "One I've never seen before."
He looked. A simple spiral symbol inked in silver.
> "This mark is on the edge of a desert called Kalbrin Wastes. It's not on the maps."
Jiwoo stared at it. The mark… glowed faintly in his hand.
"Maybe that's our next destination."
---
Final Scene – Walking Under Lantern Sky
That night, the caravan released floating lanterns. Hundreds drifted into the night sky like stars reborn.
Jiwoo stood at the rear of the procession, watching the glowing trail they left behind.
Sena stepped beside him. "Still not building a kingdom?"
He chuckled. "Not yet."
"Good," she said, grinning. "Because this? This is better."
He nodded.
> "There is no rush to rule. Only a world worth walking."
And so, the nine continued.
Not as gods. Not as rulers.
But as travelers in a world of endless wonders, on roads older than time itself.
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