The wagon entered the walled city through an open gate, which was being guarded by a few more armed men although these were dressed quite differently from the ones I have seen so far. Their armor and equipment was a lot more shabby and the colors on their shields were visibly faded through wear and tear. They also lacked the bird that was emblazoned on the shields of the armed men accompanying our group, so they were probably serving as a policing force and as a deterrent rather than a properly armed group. After seeing the soldiers accompanying the wagons we were all let through without issue as the sun was beginning to set over the horizon in what I assume was the west, and we continued along the narrow road surrounded by stone and wood houses that were at most three stories tall. They looked very crude, and the lack of glass on the windows certainly reinforced the notion that we were nowhere near America, and possibly no longer on Earth. But how could that be possible? Travel through time and space was still not an option for the advanced society I lived in, and yet this phenomena may have happened in a medieval society which has not even discovered steam power, not to mention electricity. I recalled that Kuvira and the armed men guarding her were present in the valley where we first appeared, so could she have been the cause of us being here? I dismissed such thoughts as soon as they came to me since there was nothing in the valley that could even give the appearance that such a thing was possible. We appeared in a valley untouched by man. I would still need more information if I am to understand how we came here, and find a way back.
I’m sure mother would have received a phone call from the school to tell her that myself and the other students disappeared, and would be worried sick. I am an only child and as such my disappearance would definitely cause her a trouble, and she would somehow rationalize the blame for the whole situation on herself, as she usually does. I am not in a place to confirm such things, and theorizing what would be happening back home right now is of little import. I decided to use Brian who was sitting next to me as a sounding board so I can see if anyone else is thinking the same way.
“Hey Brian where do you think we are right now?”
He must have been doing some thinking of his own as I had to repeat myself before he finally acknowledged me and replied with a neutral expression.
“I don’t know man, I’ve never been to any place that looks like this, and I don’t even know if we are in North America anymore… We can’t even find out anything concrete from the locals since they don’t speak English, although I hope the teachers will be able to develop some understanding with them and tell us what we want to know…”
I nodded, it seems I am not the only person thinking that we were nowhere close to home, the question remains, just how close are we?
The wagons kept their pace through the now cobbled road towards the center of the town, at which point a much larger and well-made building appeared. This one had a few windows that were made of glass, although the glass was not perfectly transparent as the one I was used to. It still allowed some visibility through it, although some coloring was present and it reminded me of the glass used in some ancient mosaics or churches.
The wagons came to a halt in the courtyard of this building and the soldiers began disembarking, gesturing to the seated students that we should do the same. We were sitting in these wagons for a few hours now, and I did not need any convincing to leave, and walk off some of the soreness that built up in my legs. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the teachers and Kuvira getting off the leading wagon and in a primitive conversation about where we were and what we were doing, I was a bit farther away than I would have liked and as such couldn’t tell what they were talking about. After a few minutes the teachers shouted for us to gather around and Mr. Hendricks began speaking.
“So from what I understand, Kuvira here wants us to spend the night inside this building we arrived in…at least I think that’s what she said, so before it gets dark make sure you pair up into groups separated by gender and as soon as I see how large the rooms are inside we can see how many of you can be assigned to any room, I’ll ask Kuvira if there’s any food and water we can get you guys and hopefully tomorrow we can gain a better understanding of what to do for the future” Mr. Hendricks finished his speech by glancing at the other teachers who nodded in agreement to what he said.
I gave a look to Brian which I hope he would understand that we might as well pair up since we wouldn’t be going anywhere else, he glanced at me for a moment and nodded, so at least I wouldn’t end up among people I did not know tonight. The teachers continued their conversations with Kuvira, asking her about how many students would be in each room and she held up four fingers and said the word for four in her language in reply. I guess Brian and I would be sleeping with two others in the same room as us tonight.
I decided to leave our pairings to chance and just waited for the rest of the groups to form up so that we could be placed with the odd-ones-out for the room pairing. After a few minutes passed, the teachers paired us up with two guys from the grade below us who I hadn’t met before, although I do remember their faces from school where I passed them in the corridors a few times. They gave Brian and I only one look, and scowled, before returning to their previous slightly nervous expressions. Kuvira eventually led us inside in groups with teachers accompanying us and making sure to remember where their students were placed, our group was led to the second floor of the building near one of the corners, and the room we ended up in was definitely not one used for sleeping. It looked to be either a storage room or a room in which some kind of work was being done, there were dusty wooden shelves, and unfortunately we were not assigned a room with a glass window. It could barely be called any kind of window, more like a shutter. Thankfully it was spring so the nights wouldn’t get too cold but there wasn’t even a bed or anything to cover us with, so unless we were expected to sleep on the wooden floor in our sportswear, we should be getting something like a blanket from the locals.
My expectations came true as after about five minutes of waiting the soldier from the wagon ride came by and gave us four pieces of cloth which while crude should keep the heat in. I decided to pass the time by talking to Brian about the situation and the two freshmen eventually decided to join in on the conversation.
“Hey I’m Max, and this is Louis, what are your names?” The shorter of the two freshmen asked.
“I’m Brian and this here is Leon, we’re sophomores, nice to meet you” Brian replied for the both of us.
“So do you guys have any idea about where we are or how to get back to the athletics field from here?” Max asked us.
We both shook our heads before explaining to them our thoughts although I didn’t exactly give away my theory about us no longer being on earth. I myself was having a tough time coming to grips with the realization that we were not on planet Earth, and that there was probably no realistic way for us to make it back home, I could only imagine the panic that would erupt should the rest of the teenage students come to realize that they would never see their families again. Hell, even some of the teachers might crack and right now they were the authority that was keeping everyone together and in line.
Closer to nightfall we heard a knock on our door, and Brian opened it to see an elderly woman who wore crude servant clothes carrying a pot, and another younger woman carrying four wooden bowls and some wooden utensils. They brought in their things and placed them on the wooden table that was present in our room, said something to us which we couldn't understand but I guessed they were telling us to eat the contents of the pot, I nodded, and by the time I looked up they were already leaving our room.
I decided to open up the lid to see what was inside the pot, and although whatever it was didn’t smell foul it certainly was no fine cuisine. Brian looked over my shoulder then tapped me on the back.
“Got any idea of what this is?”
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“Nah man, I guess it’s some kind of soup or gruel, which is why they left us these spoons, but don’t they have any forks?” I replied.
We stared suspiciously at the contents of the pot but we were quite hungry from our activities today so our base instincts took over and Brian began pouring out the contents into the four bowls after which I picked up one and sat down on a stool. It didn’t taste that bad, but I have a feeling that after Athletics Day I could have eaten tree bark and come to the same conclusion. I noticed there was some sort of meat in the gruel and decided to make a lighthearted joke to replace the somber mood present in the room.
“I hope none of you guys are vegetarian since there’s meat in this soup” I said with a slight smile.
Brian laughed and decided to join me in my efforts to lighten up the mood.
“Oh dude, imagine how some of the fitness chicks will react, I assume everyone has the same thing to eat tonight so some might go to bed hungry!” He exclaimed.
Max and Louis just gave us these weird looks for a second before they decided to acquiesce and smile at our conversation. The room didn’t have very good ventilation; the smell of the gruel and sweat permeating throughout, so I decided to open up the shutters to let in some fresh air and stepped back in shock at what I saw outside in the sky.
“Hey Brian, come here for a sec, I think I’m going crazy” I pleadingly said to him.
He stood up and came to my side before he too starred in shock at what I was now sure was two moons hanging in the night sky.
***
Kuvira sat in her chair enjoying the pleasant tea she was served by the mansions servants, after sending away the teachers and students to their rooms and making sure they had some food and cloth to keep them warm at night she took on a pensive expression as she began thinking about the complications that resulted in her seemingly straightforward quest.
As she finished drinking the tea in her cup, deciding to pour another from her teapot, a man dressed in elegant armor and wearing a yellow cape walked into the room.
“This whole situation is a disaster My Lady, how are we meant to face his majesty after this?” He said worriedly.
Kuvira looked at him as if he were out of his mind and replied.
“How is the situation a disaster Grant? We were tasked with bringing the summoned to the Imperial Capital safe and sound and we are doing just fine in that regard, none of them are hurt are they?” She asked him.
“No! That’s not what I’m talking about Kuvira and you know it!” He said in anger, forgetting to address her in a fitting manner due to his frustration.
“Are you referring to the fact that there were more of them present than what we assumed? That may be true but I know that the Emperor will not be disappointed with this development, as long as there are not fewer than what is expected it will only be a boon, not a problem” She calmly replied, and began sipping on her new cup of tea.
Grant remained standing and was still twitching nervously as he was unconvinced of Lady Kuvira’s reasoning. She noticed this and decided to put her temporary subordinates’ mind at ease.
“Have a seat Sir Grant, I wish to discuss our plans for the morrow, and our provisions for the upcoming journey” She invitingly pushed the chair on the other side of the table with her foot out of the table, with Grant pulling it away the full distance before taking a seat himself.
“I’m just worried my lady, I was tasked with your security in this important quest and while escorting a group of ten or so to the capital is no tough assignment, doing the same with a group of over three hundred is a task of a completely different magnitude” He expressed his worries out loud, to this Kuvira smiled and decided to assuage his concerns as much as she could.
“Do you think that our path will cut through the Rhodan wastes? Or the Golden sea? There are no pirates or bandits of any number that can bar our path to the capital, and I’m sure that you and your men can dispatch any dangers, whether they be human or monster in nature” She hoped, her kind words and flattery, and by reminding him that the lands around the heart of the Empire were certainly safer than the aforementioned locations.
Grant remained still, thinking on her words but seemingly remained unconvinced, feeling it in his gut that the journey will not be as smooth as the mistress envisioned.
She decided to give one last push to seal her subordinates’ worries.
“The summoned do not appear to pose as large a threat as we had predicted earlier, they do not appear to wear any armor nor carry any weapons… they don’t even have any supplies with them to make an escape attempt. You should redirect your focus from keeping them secure, to making sure that they all remain safe throughout our journey Sir Grant…”
She hoped that her command to change his focus from containment to protection would allow him to focus his one-track mind on the most important task, rather than try to make sure that all things went perfectly.
“You don’t know that for sure my lady, they are all dressed in a similar manner, so who’s to say they aren’t some military force wearing their uniform equipment? The lack of weapons or armor does not equate to a lack of combat ability, even some of the men I have encountered in service to the crown do not appear to be dangerous to those not ‘in the know’ ” Mr. Grant dismissed her assumptions, seemingly more paranoid about what the summoned are capable of than Lady Kuvira.
Kuvira raised an eyebrow to his comment, and decided she now could convince him completely.
“Sir Grant, did you even see the physical condition of most of the summoned? The majority of them look as if they’ve never seen any hardship in their lives, be it hard labor or combat. It is not as great an undertaking as you think to keep them in line, I have been making progress in communicating with the more elderly summoned on our journey to Thacks, and they seem to be very friendly and not malicious in the slightest. Try to put yourselves in their shoes Grant… They have no knowledge of how they ended up in the Jenusian Empire, and do not know anyone here either, so when they arrive they meet us, and it is human nature to make attempts to grasp at whatever safety we can find… I will continue making efforts to befriend them and gain their trust on our journey to the capital, and I will prevent any information from reaching their ears that is not in the crown’s interests.” Her logical reasoning, and her plan to manipulate the summoned to remain docile throughout the journey finally convinced the worrywart that things are not as bad as he originally envisioned and he let out a deep sigh finally releasing the stress building up in his neck and shoulders.
Kuvira was happy to see that Grant was no longer worrying and offered him some tea, which he gladly accepted. It is a great honor to have tea with a member of the royal family, and if not for the importance of the assignment he was currently given he might have relaxed completely.
“My lady, have you informed the capital of the preparations that would need to be made considering the complication we have suffered in our quest?” Grant asked Lady Kuvira.
“Yes Sir Grant, I sent a rider to the capital with instructions for minister Geld to arrange accommodations and security for our now enlarged group of ‘visitors’. The crown has also been informed and I’m sure they will see the situation in the same light as I do.” She replied mysteriously.
Grant Woodsbane is not a learned man, whose nature is more attuned for battle than intrigue and so he did not understand how his mistress could remain as calm as she was and so, decided to prod.
“Forgive me if I am out of place Lady Kuvira, but I fail to see the situation as you do, could you explain to me how having such a large group of the summoned is a good thing?” He asked.
She remained silent, sipping her tea for more than a minute, Grant began to worry again for a different reason. Had he asked something he shouldn’t have? Was this information so secret that his curiosity led to a massive misstep?
Eventually, Kuvira glanced at the knight, and decided to reveal just enough to answer his inquiry, but not enough to endanger the plan.
“The summoned have a purpose to serve in the Jenusian Empire, and as such, having more of them rather than the original amount provides safety for the crown’s interests. Let’s examine a hypothetical scenario so that you may understand Sir Grant. Imagine that one of the summoned does not conform to the role that they must play for the crown, and as such becomes dissatisfied or disillusioned. If there were only ten of them as we had intended, this would have been a major headache for us. We would need to placate them and listen to their wishes to work out some sort of compromise so that they would remain in their role, and as such, the stability of the Empire would be at risk.”
She paused for a moment, allowing the knight’s thoughts to catch up to the things she just said.
“Now however, we have over three hundred of them, and as such we can easily replace those that fall out of line. These additional summoned should not be viewed as a burden as you do, but rather as a safe fallback… should the crown's plan not work out.” Kuvira finished her thoughts cryptically.
Grant was temporarily at a loss for words. He did not know exactly what the plans were for the summoned as he was only part of the minor initial stages of the plans. His duty was only to accompany Lady Kuvira and ensure her safety during the summoning ritual. He also did not know Lady Kuvira for long, this assignment being his first out of the ordinary and as such, was reminded of what one of his fellow knights said about his mistress a few years ago. His fellow knight mentioned a rumor about how the seemingly delicate flower of the court, was actually a vicious and brutal woman, who by masquerading as an innocent and pretty girl could ingratiate herself with others and control people just as well as a puppeteer controlled his puppets. Grant did not believe these rumors, as he had no opportunity to verify or deny them over the next few years, but seeing as how she could speak about ‘replacing’ one of the summoned with such a calm expression, he too began to believe them.
He decided to ask one last thing, against his better instincts, to finally calm his mind about the journey that lay ahead.
“My lady… do these summoned truly have such an important role to play that they have the ability to affect the stability of our thousand-year Empire?” He asked quietly.
“More than you will ever know, Sir Grant” She replied.