Shadows Over Arcadia Chapter 75: 73. Hillcrest

Read chapter 75 of Shadows Over Arcadia by Zacheas on NovelPedia.

I am Ren Drakemore, age 9, and my time in Hyperion is nearly over. https://shadowsoverarcadia.com/api/storage/objects/uploads/94d9f12d-768f-4ec3-a12d-51b487be4617 I lie sprawled out on my back, bathed in the midday sun and the scent of wildflowers carried on the breeze rolling over the grassy hill I’m dozing atop. A shadow passes overhead, and I lift an arm to shield my eyes as I look up. Talon wheels above me, swooping, twisting, and diving through the air as he puts his upgrades through their paces. Through our connection, I can feel how much he’s enjoying every second of it. He’s so free and graceful, spiraling through the only pillow-white cloud in the sky. I can’t help but smile. I’d be jealous if I didn’t know that experience would be mine before long. I might be the only boy on all of Gaia whose dreams of soaring through the sky aren’t just fantasy. I hear Yukiha panting close by, and Wolfy letting out a lazy yawn. All of us are dozing amongst the purple and red blooms in a field of rolling green. A low rumble from Whiskers reverberates through the ground and into my chest. I sink into the thrumming vibration, the soft soil, the cooling breeze. What a relaxing way to end my final day helping the very last village on my list. It’s been two full arcs, eighty days, since I first arrived in Hyperion. I’ve met more people than I can remember the names of, and constructed more miles of aqueducts than I care to count. A long breath leaves me, and with it the release of a tension I’ve been harboring in my chest. A weight of expectations I’d placed on myself, a monumental task that had consumed my every thought and directed my every action for so long, finally completed. It was hard work, but I achieved everything I set out to do in Hyperion. A kingdom is indebted to me, I gained powerful new allies, and raised a mountain of gold I can use to grow my influence in Arcadia. But will it be enough? The unwelcome thought creeps in and spoils my victory. Like a dark shadow hovering over my every effort is the worry that the allies and riches I’ve gathered will never be enough in the face of the enemies waiting back in Arcadia. I push the thought away. My efforts haven’t been in vain. I’ve created the perfect weapon to protect me. After five days of upgrading Shadow, Alastor believes that today will be the finish line. A golem of mithril, combining the best of enchantments and mechanical engineering, armed with magic and firearms. A living weapon that could kill any mage. Or at least, that’s what I hope. A piercing screech rips through the meadow and snaps me out of my thoughts. I sit up, startled, along with Yukiha and her magical beasts. We all look down the hill toward the noise. It blasts again, rising from the city of Hillcrest below. At the city’s center, the massive train lurches forward, smoke billowing from the engine at the front. My smile returns as I lean in to watch. The metal behemoth, with its many boxcars and even more wheels, begins to move. Like some giant metal serpent come to life, it crawls along the tracks that stretch endlessly east and west out of the city. This is the moment I’ve been waiting for. I’d picked Hillcrest as my final stop, not because they needed my help the most, but because Alastor had told me his father’s train, the product of his life’s work, would be passing through today. I would have liked to have arrived early enough to see it come in. I did, however, see them unloading injured soldiers returning from the border—and I spent the entire day healing them instead of touching a single farm. An unexpected change of plans, but not one that anyone complained about. While I tended to the wounded, I watched them load the train back up with supplies and personnel headed back to the front. “Isn’t it amazing?” I ask, wistful. Yukiha huffs behind me. I look around to see her panting hard as she pours water from her flask over her head. “She says it’s hot and boring,” Wrath says in my head, sounding resig