The sun was barely rising as Kael and Riven stood near the Skyreach Eastgate, where the Emberbound Caravan was being loaded. Carts powered by magical engine cores rumbled with quiet heat, their wheels hovering slightly above the ground. Enchanted crates shimmered with warding runes, and the air smelled faintly of burning copper.
Lena was already there, standing by the lead wagon.
"You made it," she said, offering a nod. "Good. We've got a three-day ride ahead through the Ashwinds Route—burnt plains, shallow canyons, and the old rune highways. Bandits. Wild beasts. Maybe worse."
Kael smirked. "Sounds fun already."
[QUEST OBJECTIVE: Escort the Emberbound Caravan to Emberpoint]
Status: In Progress
Time Remaining: 3 Days
Danger Level: Yellow–Red
As the caravan rumbled forward, Kael and Riven walked alongside the central wagons, their weapons at the ready. The landscape changed quickly—verdant hills giving way to ashen soil and dry, cracked stone, dotted with glowing embers. The heat grew steadily more intense, but it was bearable—for now.
Day 1: Smoke on the Wind
Halfway through the first day, the wind shifted.
Lena called out from the lead. "Ambush—north ridge!"
Figures cloaked in heat-resistant armor leapt down from above—Tier II bandits, wielding curved, fire-tempered weapons. Kael's swords flashed, intercepting the first, while Riven rolled under a wagon and came up firing arrows with fire-resistant coating.
The bandits weren't coordinated. Just desperate.
Battle Outcome: Victory
Loot: Crude Flame Daggers / Ash Coins / Minor Fire Potion
Kael wiped his blade clean. "If that's Tier II… we've got this."
Lena shook her head. "That was the warm-up."
Day 2: Canyon of Echoes
The caravan rolled into a narrow canyon. Strange echoing howls bounced between the cliffs.
Then they saw it.
Molten Sabers. Three of them—long, lizard-like beasts with magma under their scales—slithered into the canyon path.
[WILDLIFE ENCOUNTER: Molten Sabers – Level 13]
Kael and Riven moved fast. Riven peppered the lead saber with piercing shots, while Kael drew both blades and activated Sporeblade Poison, leaping onto the back of the second.
One Saber pounced onto a wagon—but Lena cast a Fire Reversal Rune, turning the beast's own heat against it.
Battle Outcome: Victory
Loot: Saber Claws / Flamehide / Molten Core Fragment
Damage: 1 Wagon Slightly Burned
Morale: +15%
They camped under the canyon stars, watching distant lava cracks flicker on the horizon.
"We're getting close," Lena whispered.
Day 3: Emberpoint Awakens
On the third day, just after sunrise, the world changed.
The horizon split with towers of steel and fire. The sky shimmered as floating forges and suspended flame-bridges came into view. Emberpoint—the city of fire and invention—rose from the earth like a living volcano crowned with towers.
Flame banners danced. Gearwheels turned. Airships floated between forges like honeybees over fire-flowers.
They'd made it.
[QUEST COMPLETE: Emberbound Caravan]
+300 EXP
+Arcshine x100
+Special Gear Upgrade Voucher
Kael: Level 13
Riven: Level 13
Lena turned to them as the caravan rolled through the great obsidian gate.
"Welcome to Emberpoint," she said, smiling through the heat-haze. "Where steel breathes, and fire remembers everything.