The light from the new world shone on our faces through the portal. I caught a smell of the sea carried on the new and humid air of the new world.
Cara looked up into my face and smiled. She squeezed my arm, and together we stepped through the portal, out of Saxe, and onto the thick, warm grass of the new world.
Chapter Three
“That smell!” exclaimed Cara, breathing deeply.
The change of air was the first thing that struck me, too. The air of the Westmarch had been thick with the smell of smoke and battle, the deep damp of the marshes, and the repulsive undercurrent of the festering. As we stepped through the portal into the land of Yamato, I breathed deep, smelling a crisp sea breeze that cut through a humid, richly-perfumed air.
The grass was deep and thick, rising up to our knees. We stood for a moment, letting our eyes adjust to the bright sun.
“It feels like early summer here,” Cara said in a wondering tone. She was gazing around with an air of professional interest. “It’s much warmer than Saxe! I wonder what plants there may be here for me to use in my potion-crafting?”
We were standing in a woodland clearing on the top of a small hill. The clearing was surrounded by small, low-growing trees with dark, reddish bark that gleamed in the sun. Their leaves were gracefully pointed, and from every branch, big bunches of blossom flowers frothed like sea foam. The flowers ranged from bright white, through soft pinks, to a dark, blood-red. The sweet scent that permeated the air was coming from these blossoms. In the spaces between these trees nestled an abundance of flowering plants.
As I gazed around at the new land, Cara took a few steps away and knelt with a cry of delight to examine a dark-leaved bush. As she moved, a flight of creamy yellow butterflies fluttered up from the thick grass and darted here and there in the glade. I laughed aloud, gazing around at the beauty of the place.
I reached up to wipe a bead of sweat from my brow. It was warm here, and the armor of Ironside seemed unnecessary just at present.
I reached toward the Helm, intending to remove it, and a sudden strange feeling washed over me. It was like stepping through a curtain of warm water. I felt lighter, and looking down I found that the armor was gone.
Instead of the heavy white-enamelled steel plating, I was wearing a very well-made tunic of fine blue wool. Dark trousers of good black linen and high leather boots clad my legs and feet, and a belt of sturdy leather cinched my waist to finish the outfit. Fixed to the belt on the left were three big pouches containing my food supplies. On the right, there was a steel belt knife in a sheath. The belt, the knife, and the pouches all bore the wolf’s head motif of Ironside.
Clearly, this ensemble was another aspect of the Ironside Persona, one which I could switch into at will when I needed a lighter and more comfortable gear set.
Cara turned with a handful of dark leaves in her hand and looked me up and down appreciatively.
“My ancestor’s Persona has good taste in clothing as well as skill in battle,” she commented. Her eyes lingered on my waist and chest. “Can you switch between them at will?”
“I think so; the Persona seems to respond to my intentions.”
I took a breath before I brought my focus to the battle armor. Immediately, that same warm feeling bathed me for a moment, and I was rewarded by the satisfying clicking into place of the enormous suit of armor. The huge two handed axe leapt into my hand in response to my thought.
Cara laughed out loud as I made a fierce face and struck a battle-ready pose.
“It’s brilliant,” she said.
With a thought, I switched smoothly back into the humbler tunic and trousers.
“I wish I could do that.”
“Well, the Keeper did say that there was a way for you and I to share the Personas.”
“That’s true. I wonder what he meant?”
“He seemed sure we’d work it out for ourselves in time.”
She nodded, looking at me thoughtfully. In one hand, she held a bunch of dark leaves.
I walked over to her. “What’s that you’ve got?” I asked.
“This? Oh, it’s a plant we call Greenroot. It’s a binder that I use as a basis for a lot of my potions. In Saxe, it’s mainly grown in sheltered spots away from the wind, sometimes even in artificially heated glasshouses. Here in Yamato, it seems to grow wild. I wonder what else there is growing wild in this land? I’d bet there’s all kinds of useful stuff I can gather.”
I smiled at her enthusiasm as she gazed around the clearing with the bunch of leaves clutched in her hand.
“Let’s take a walk,” I suggested. “Maybe you’ll find more ingredients as we go.”
“What direction shall we head in?” she asked, looking around.
I pointed to the red roofs of the town, barely visible over the trees. “That way. I’d like to reach the town, but not too directly. We should get an idea of what the surrounding land is like first.”
It was about mid-morning by the sun. The town was to the north-east. In the north, the wooded hills climbed steadily away to the distant mountains. From our view of the land through the portal, I figured that the sea lay to the east and the south. To the west, I could see nothing over the trees. I had no idea what lay in that direction.
Questions filled my mind as we headed off in the general direction of the town.
What new threats would the Festering present in this land? The Keeper had mentioned magic; what form would they take? What were the people’s traditions that the Keeper had
