Curve 11. Nuvolo and Three of His Team Members; What Is an Embedded-Aecte Animal Post System and What Is Polterbahn

Nuvolo Ardito Figliuoli has said goodbye to Agnesi Maria Caetana and her family. As of today, his status as Agnesi's private tutor has ended. He had only been the prodigy girl's tutor for about a year and a few months, and he honestly admitted to the girl's parents that he couldn't keep up with Agnesi's learning pace.

Nuvolo and Agnesi's parents had reached a mutual agreement that he would no longer teach Agnesi. Pietro Fortunato and Anna Maria had taken the initiative to round off Nuvolo's salary by a year and a half and add another payment for his final assignment. Nuvolo expressed his gratitude for the Caetana family's generosity.

Nuvolo's gratitude wasn't just verbal. After leaving Agnesi's private tutoring, he immediately began working on the assignments given by Pietro and Anna. This assignment was why he didn't return to his village after completing his final days of private lessons with Agnesi. It was this assignment that led him to immediately leave for another town on the Aethalia Peninsula.

To reach his destination, Nuvolo once again rode his two-wheeled cart. But there was something different about Nuvolo's journey this time: there was a two-wheeled cart in front of him and a four-wheeled wagon behind him. Each of the two-wheeled carts was pulled by one horse, and the four-wheeled wagon was pulled by two horses. The two vehicles flanking Nuvolo's cart were each controlled by one person. Meanwhile, at the rear of the four-wheeled wagon, a single person sat facing backward.

The three people joining Nuvolo's trip this time are Magoi, hired by Pietro to be Nuvolo's bodyguards. Like Nuvolo, they are all Epodoi-level Magoi. They travel, of course, carrying their own weapons.

The driver of the two-wheeled cart in front of Nuvolo is a melee fighter armed with a shield and sword. He focuses primarily on defense, so his shield is the only tool he uses as an evolved weapon through his anagnorisma. His sword, while a mere weapon unaffected by the wielder's Aecte powers and Aecte Arts, is crafted from high-quality materials.

The four-wheeled wagon driver behind Nuvolo is a long-range fighter. He relies on a bow, a weapon evolved from his anagnorisma. With this bow, he can fire both regular arrows and arrows manifested by the magic of his Aecte and Aecte Arts.

Meanwhile, the person sitting facing back in the four-wheeled wagon is a caster fighter. His Anagnorisma evolves into an object shaped like an animal leash. The animal leash is quite long, and he wraps it from his palm to his right shoulder. He can summon a large animal that can fight under his control.

What about Nuvolo's weapon? At first glance, Nuvolo appears to be an unarmed old man. But that's the point: Nuvolo's weapon, the result of his anagnorisma evolution, is indeed small and easy to store anywhere.

Nuvolo's weapon remains the same as it was when he was a young explorer. Back then, Nuvolo was assigned a role in stealth missions. Both then and now, Nuvolo relies on a secretive stiletto, an evolution of Anagnorisma.

When Nuvolo must fight, he can use his Aecte Arts skill to move and reposition his secretive stiletto hidden within his armor. For example, from behind his right arm, Nuvolo's secretive stiletto can move up to his right shoulder, then across his chest, and down to his left arm. With his Aecte, Nuvolo can also enhance his weapon when he thrusts or throws it.

However, Nuvolo himself hopes for a safe journey from departure to their destination, which is approximately 380 kilometers away. He would be happy if he and his three team members didn't have to carry weapons at all during the journey, which will take approximately 5 to 6 days.

(***)

Nuvolo's hope of completing the hundreds of kilometers journey safely seems to be coming true. So far, his team has found no signs of bandits planning to attack them. Furthermore, the Duchy of Milano is currently not involved in any conflict with the regions Nuvolo and his team are passing through.

In fact, along the way, many people greeted Nuvolo and his team warmly and enthusiastically asked questions. These enthusiastic questions went something like this: "Are you from the Duchy of Milano? When your Polterbahn is finished, take me there and let me ride that arcane vehicle, okay?" or "As part of the Empire of Deutschtonia, don't you have many of the latest versions of pigeon-post equipment? Could you sell them at a discount to our region, hahaha..."

The latest version of Pigeon Post is a pigeon equipped with a special device. This device allows a Magoi to embed their Aecte into the pigeon post. This technique allows the pigeon to fly faster and more accurately. Furthermore, the pigeon post is more agile and robust when faced with inclement weather or predators.

Another thing that is no less important: the pigeon can be commanded or controlled with Aecte so that there is no longer a need for the technique of bringing the pigeon to a place and making the pigeon a letter carrier by sending it to the house or place of origin of the pigeon. With the existence of such a pigeon, communication between people in places far apart becomes easier.

Only Magoi at the Epodoi level can command the pigeon post. Since Nuvolo is at that level, he has been using the pigeon to communicate with the people at his destination. One of the responses from the people there went something like this: "If only a Polterbahn line were built between Milan and our place, it would be much more pleasant. But we will patiently wait for you, Nuvolo."

The Polterbahn was a railway line built throughout the German Empire. It resembled a railroad. Horse-drawn carriages could enter the line, and they could be moved by travelers’ Aecte, or travelers could hire the services of Epodoi-level Magoi employed by Polterbahn operators to move the carriages. Horses pulling the carriages could be transported to carriages provided by Polterbahn operators or left at a horse-drawn stable.

Polterbahn itself is a term derived from a combination of two German words, namely "poltern" and "bahn." The word "bahn" means "track." While the word "poltern" means "to make a loud or thundering sound, knock hard, or hit hard." The word "poltern" was chosen because the movement of the horse-drawn carriage with Aecte on the Polterbahn track makes a very loud noise.

Because the Polterbahn generates so much noise, it's understandable that Polterbahn stations don't directly reach residential areas. Polterbahn departure and exit points are located far from urban areas. Polterbahn users must use traditional transportation from the station to their destination—if their destination is in an urban area. However, with a maximum speed of 60 kilometers per hour, the Polterbahn significantly facilitates transportation between distant locations.

The latest generation of Pigeon Post is the brainchild of Sulis Zeusleben Koepcke. Meanwhile, Polterbahn was designed by Dorothy Mariama Listammo. Because of their achievements, it's no surprise that Nuvolo—and many others—regarded these two women as Magoi on par with the legendary Magoi.