I live.
=====================
Archive of previous thread
https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2023/5813050/Recap:
You just intimidated some bandits into letting you go, but Snikt elected to shoot the one that tried to kill you.
=====================
You look at the wretch that was just shot, and with a sigh, you take out your blade and finish him.
You have honestly killed bandits for less, and this one did check to see if you might die from an arrow to the heart. Not exactly something you would usually forgive. A quick thrust to his vitals, and it's over.
The boy you took with you stares at the corpse for a while, terrified, and you're pleased to see that Paracelsus is quick to move to the boy, talking to him in his own language.
He's been keeping himself very, very quiet. During the time in the forest, he remained in the grove, and there wasn't much reason to look after him while you were... Turning into a raging, feral animal. If you hadn't been through much worse in the last few weeks of your life, you might have gotten a little hung up on that, but at this point, it's a drop in the bucket. Still, you hope it's not too much longer before you find a city.
"So... Two more days before we reach a city, correct?"
"Just about." Paracelsus confirms. From there, getting to the capital is best done through public transport. The archmage has permitted automated carriages. Mind you, they're not that automated, considering they actually use stored energy. People are turning wheels in the charging stations... It's actually a decent bit of the economy there, especially as they make it more efficient."
You blink.
"They... store energy?"
"Exactly. The energy it takes to, say, move a cart? Pushing or moving it? They just put it inside of a big saline-filled tube, and use that to power the trains. They considered using horses, but it was considered animal cruelty. So, now, they use treadmills, ropes to pull, et cetera... Honestly, while there are a few professional "chargers", most people treat it as a gym you get paid for. The working conditions are quite terrible, of course, but I admit that I've gone incognito to make some pocket money for my... earliest experiments."
Considering her body...
"It stuck, I suppose?"
"Hm. I suppose. I prefer Calisthenics, of course."
You remain silent. She understands why in just a second.
"Exercises using my body weight. Pushups, pullups, that sort of thing..."
"Ahhh. I... knew that, I think, but I just blanked on the word."
Heh...
"How expensive is it to ride that public transport?"
"Expensive enough that we'll have room... But we can afford it."
Good. Good...
"We saved a lot of money by roughing it, I suppose."
"Indeed we did."
And now, it's just more traveling. Hopefully, you can reach your destination without too much trouble...
