With members of the Fire Monks at the waystation, it was rather inconvenient for Zhao Si and his companions to talk, so they decided not to linger and set off for their next stop. Their destination was the Church of Vows, from where they could choose whether to head to Academy Gatefront Town or Limgrave.
Going to Gatefront Town would let them visit their old friend Thops along the way and see how the genius sorceress Sellen's research was coming along. Presumably, she had not produced anything new yet. Zhao Si did not think he had been away for very long, and it was perfectly normal for research to take years.
He reckoned she was probably devoting all her efforts to working out the Glintstone Telescope now. He also wondered whether the two masters who had fallen unconscious during the Frenzied Flame war had woken up.
A horse had been prepared for Zhao Si outside the waystation, a well-fed, sturdy warhorse with excellent speed and stamina. It held its head high and chest out, snorting at him. When he first passed through Caria, he had been a complete novice who could not even ride a horse, and had spent time learning from Bagralim. Now, passing through Caria again, he was an outstanding Finger Maiden who could throw Volcano Manor into chaos and leave even Rykard thoroughly humiliated.
He had gone from needing his master's guidance as a newcomer to being able to handle things on his own. That was quite a rapid rate of growth. But no one found it strange, because everyone felt that, as a Tarnished descended from warriors, this was how Zhao Si ought to perform. Inherited memories were not an advantage available to everyone in the Lands Between, but a privilege exclusive to the Tarnished. There