Thames returned to Ode with his leather trunk suitcase. It was a soft brown color with a silver frame and a lock built in. He had filled it with as many clothes as he can, a toothbrush, and a pair of dress shoes.
"All good?" Ode asks sheepishly.
"Mhm." Thames lifted the suitcase to show him.
"Let's get outta 'ere then!"
Thames watched as Ode walked out the workshop, the sun hitting his brown hair. He then followed shortly after. Thames looked down towards the where the fountain was.
"Where are we going, Ode?"
"Right. The tower'll send us to Lino."
Lino was the capital of magic. A fantastical accumulation of both magic, wealth, and knowledge. All three were practically synonymous with the city.
"There's a magic tower near..?"
"Oh nah!" Ode waves his hands while thurning the opposite direction of the fountain. "Bout a days trip from 'ere!"
"That's quite far, no?"
Thames followed the man down the stone brick road, averting his eyes from the familiar wooden homes. He never really familiarized himself with this town and he only knew James because he'd ship Thames' paintings.
"Don't worry! It'll go by like a breeze!"
Ode looks back, grinning at Thames, then back forward towards their destination.
Eventually the surroundings of the town gradually began to fade to farm land. The farmers were growing wheat and corn this season. Thames often enjoyed the local corn produce, but this was really out of necessity.
Corn was among the cheapest dishes available in Nira, and was sold frequently, even when corn wasn't in season.
As Thames mins drifts to harder times, which were in actuality just last week, the shape of a carriage comes into view, and Ode points at it.
"That'll be our ride to the tower."
Thames doesn't respond, but continues to watch the carriage grow closer as they continue to walk towards it too.
Eventually, they reach a middle point and Ode opens the well crafted wooden door to the carriage. Thames climbs into it carefully, observing the craftsmanship of the carriage.
He wasn't unfamiliar with carriages, but this one had a certain level of detail, incomparable to the crude buggy he had used in the past.
The dark wood inside the carriage made up carefully crafted seats, which had red velvet cushions covering them. On the cushions were embroidered patterns depicting golden swirls, similar to the neckerchief Ode had.
"Take us to the tower, Fredrick."
"Understood, Sir Ode."
The carriage driver responded instantly to Ode, and Ode quickly joined Thames inside. Thames had set his suitcase behind his legs, on the ground.
"Should I be calling you Sir Ode too?"
"Only if ya feel comfortable doin that!"
Ode leans back in the carriage and watches Thames' mannerisms as silence fills the carriage.
The occasional bump on the now dirt road breaks the silence, but no words are exchanged by the pair.
Ode lets out a sigh and points at Thames.
"So how'd ya wind up in Nira?"
A confused look stretches across Thames' face.
"I mean ya dress like ya came from a kingdoms capital! Obviously you ain't from Nira!"
"It was that obvious..?"
A certain level of ignorance overlaps his honest question.
"Yeah! Where're ya from really??"
"Well I'm from Prolton. The oil province just outside of Lino."
A large bump tosses both of them up.
"That makes sense! Knew ya weren't from the country side.."
Ode snaps to himself, clearly celebrating his discerning eye.
"Wouldn't a painter wanna stay near the capital though??"
"I guess.. But the views aren't any good there! It was so boring."
"Ahah! So ya fancy nature over city life. I get it I get it."
"What about you? Why were you in Nira?"
Ode presses his right index finger to his own lips.
"That would have ta be a secret for now!"
A smile creeps across his face again, now looking out the window.
The scenery has become rolling vibrant green hills, dotted with variously colored flowers. Thames also joins Ode in watching the nature.
This far out from any civilization, the skies are clear.
"We're gettin close.."
"Really? But I don't see anything.."
Thames inches closer to the window to investigate the surroundings, but other than the hills there's nothing interesting outside.
"[Reveal]"
The words leap out from Ode's mouth, and before Thames' very own eyes the scenery changes.
He watches the hills flatten on themselves and the flower grow, the stems resembling mighty tree trunks. The sky turns to an artificial deep blue and the sun fades into obscurity.
Ode reaches and opens the door, directing Thames outside the carriage.
Without sharing any words, Thames exits the carriage and turns towards the front. A hulking, sky piercing tower made of marble and dark stone stretches out further than his eyes can comprehend.
At the bottom of it stood a ridiculously large wooden door, embedded with glowing gold gems.
Ode quickly hands Thames his suitcase, which he had accidentally left behind, and steps in front of Thames.
With a face splitting smile, Ode lifts his arms in a grandiose fashion.
"Welcome to the Forest of Flowers Tower!"