We spent less than 48 hours in this new world and already one of the students has lost their life. The others were in a state of shock comparable to mine and it took one of the teachers beginning to ask around to make sure that everyone else was still within the camp and not missing to break them out of it. Some of the students could be seen crying, not being able to deal with the loss of one of their classmates. From what Mr. Hendricks told us, Brian went to the latrine pit after eating his dinner, where some sort of beast attacked him and bit him near the neck, where one of his arteries ruptured and he bled out within minutes. After Mr. Hendricks arrived at the scene of battle between the soldiers and the beast, it was already pushed away form Brian’s body and he managed to grab it and rush back to the campsite. Kuvira and the soldiers seem to have the situation under control although two more bodies were brought into the campsite, these being soldiers who died fighting the beast. From what I managed to see from the light of the campfires, some of their armor was destroyed, the chainmail ripped apart in places, and the gray color of the armor stained with red.
The teachers urged the students to retire for the night, saying that the soldiers would protect us, and the wagons would alert them of any intruder that may try to enter. I entered the tent that was assigned to me where Max and Louis gave me a few pats on the shoulder, assuming that Brian was a close friend of mine and that I was grieving his loss quietly. They were wrong, Brian was not my friend and I think I spoke to him more after we arrived in this world than before that. I think the term friendly acquaintance would be more applicable, the reason I was being quiet is that I am afraid. When the realization set in that this was another world, I failed to consider that the beings in this world might be more dangerous than the one in ours. What kind of animal can take on fully armed soldiers, and kill two of them within minutes. I know that Humans aren’t exactly apex predators due to their natural capabilities, but human ingenuity is the most dangerous weapon we possess. That armor was made of some kind of metal, and this armor was meant to protect men from swords, arrows, and spears. And yet this metal armor was destroyed by a beast, on earth there were some freakishly strong beasts that could bite through the hardest of substances, but they are quite uncommon. The closest most people would get to such dangerous animals would be the zoo, but here we met one on our second night in this world, on a trip between two cities.
The armor worn by the dead soldiers also showed that it was destroyed in places, how can an animal do that? Wouldn’t its teeth break from biting down on the armor? Or did the animals in this word possess bones stronger than metal? I also remember hearing the sounds of wood being destroyed, so the shields the soldiers carried did not provide adequate protection from the dangers in the woods. Hell, I even went to the woods today to get firewood, completely ignorant of the fact that there could be things there that could kill me in an instant. This thought sent chills down my back and I vowed to stay safe until I could get my bearings in this world that played by different rules from Earth. I would stay out of sight, and hope that by being in the herd that was the rest of the convoy, I could avoid Brian’s fate.
I did not manage to get a wink of sleep that night, and by morning I was dead on my feet. The students slowly started leaving the tents and many seemed to have the same problem as I did. I hoped that the journey to the city we were headed to would not take too long, and that we wouldn’t camp out again. I doubt I would be able to get a good night's rest anywhere but behind sturdy stone walls for a while yet. I headed to the latrine pit to relieve myself and the sight there woke me up. A carcass of a massive brown beast that looked like a bear lay about twenty paces from the latrine pit, the body covered in multiple wounds, some spearheads still stuck in its torso. But the thing that truly frightened me was not the size of the bear, but the fact that its claws shone under the morning sun.
What the actual fuck, did bears in this world have claws made of metal? How could the soldiers even rush out of the camp to fight it with wooden shields and spears that could be broken in one move by this bear? The bravery of the men accompanying us immediately gained my respect, and I swore that I would try to never wrong them in the future. The soldiers who fought last night actually managed to bring down this monster that would be four meters tall when standing, it’s eyes closed did not give me any specifics but I imagined them to be red, in the dead of night with limited visibility, it would be as if the spawn of the underworld came to claim our souls.
I returned to the campsite visibly shaken, my breathing steadying only as I passed the two soldiers guarding the entrance. We were given some gruel for breakfast, but if you asked me what it tasted like, I couldn’t tell you. My mind was numb, and the hardest part to accept in this situation was that of your own mortality. In 21st century America, you wouldn’t have this kind of worry as a fifteen year old. You could live quite comfortably for most of your life without having to worry about something killing you out of the blue. I have never been to a funeral so death was an abstract concept in my mind that I accepted, but never got to experience it happening to anyone I remotely cared about. But yesterday, my classmate, someone I knew died, and it happened at an unexpected moment, in a place that I thought we were safe.
Kuvira told the teachers that she wanted to bury Brian and the two soldiers who died fighting the bear yesterday, and as the burial would be done outside, the students who had not left the camp saw the beast that killed their schoolmate with their own eyes. The fear visible on their faces was probably the same as my expression earlier in the morning, this was too soon a rendezvous with death for all the students involved, at least by the standards of the society where we grew up in. Kuvira delivered some words before holding up her hands in prayer as the last of the ground where the three dead men were buried was filled up. After the funeral ceremony concluded everyone returned to the camp and prepared to set off on our journey, people were definitely eager to get as much travel as possible done today in the hopes of making it to civilization sooner rather than later.
I noticed that the adults were dealing with the deaths in a more mature manner than I was, and Kuvira had a stone-faced expression which suggested that the loss of her soldiers was something she had happened to her more than once in the past. There were not many people seriously grieving the loss of Brian, the tears that I could see in the eyes of some were more a response to people coming to terms with the fact that they might die at any moment in this strange place we found ourselves in, just like Brian. Some people gave me sympathetic looks, assuming I was the closest out of those present to the late Brian, I guess Max and Louis extended that misconception onto others. I hopped on the wagon, this time around a teacher was riding in almost every wagon, giving encouraging words to those that needed them. Mr. Reuter, who was sitting to my left in the now empty spot, kept trying to lift my spirits up, and help me deal with my ‘grief’. I ignored his words as much as I could and kept thinking about what other dangers our convoy would face on the journey.
***
Kuvira and Grant sat in her luxurious travel carriage that was provided for her as a member of the royal family of Jenusia and as such it was furnished with things such as pillows, and a padded seat, things that Kuvira appreciated as she did not have much experience traveling, and the comforts of the carriage would make this journey just that bit more bearable.
Grant sat in the carriage, looking outside through the shutters with a pensive expression on his face, thinking about the events of last night.
“Why would an ironclaw appear in the Royal Forest my lady? The last time one was sighted this close to the capital was in my father’s generation, this is very unusual…” Grant did not continue his train of thought hoping that Lady Kuvira could shed some light on the situation that occurred last night.
“This is unusual Sir Grant, although not outside the realm of possibility. Perhaps the ironclaws have never disappeared from the Royal Forest as we previously thought, but rather that there were no sightings of them because any run-ins with the ironclaws would result in the people not being able to make it back to report them” She replied.
Stolen novel; please report.
This did indeed appear to be the logical conclusion to Grant, and he lamented the loss of two fine soldiers to this dangerous monster. Fighting monsters like the ironclaw was always easier with the presence of mages. But mages were few and far between so none were assigned as escorts to Lady Kuvira, in a truly dangerous situation she could fend for herself, but there was no reason for her to run out of the camp and join the fray, even if that would have aided the course of battle.
“Do you foresee any problems with our quest Lady Kuvira? The death of a summoned will certainly be a stain on our record, although when taking the fact that an ironclaw showed up to the campsite it could mitigate our blame” Grant stated to his mistress.
“I do not think the blame for the death of a summoned will be as big of a problem as you imagine, there are after all, quite a few of them. This would have been a problem if I managed to summon only ten as originally intended, but now that we have extras even if ten of them perished in yesterday’s attack, it would be of no import.” She replied with extra malice in her tone.
Grant was frightened by what she had said but it did make sense in a twisted sort of way. He decided to keep his thoughts to himself, perhaps it was not a good idea to converse with the fearsome lady more than was necessary.
The journey continued on for a while longer when unexpectedly it was Lady Kuvira who restarted their conversation.
“In fact yesterday's events might be a good thing” she flatly stated.
Grant stared at Lady Kuvira, surprised by the words he just heard.
“Oh don’t misunderstand me Sir Grant, the unfortunate death of two soldiers in the crown’s service is certainly nothing to celebrate. But the death of a summoned after only a short time here in an unknown land will frighten the summoned, and this is an opportunity which I will not miss. We will be their salvation from the dangers that they now think might exist all around them. This development will be very beneficial for the crown's plans” She ended her thoughts with a wicked smile on her face, as she continued staring through the carriage’s shutters, eagerly awaiting their arrival in Krilas, the capital of the Jenusian Empire.
***
The journey continued throughout the day at the same pace as I was now used to. The scenery kept changing around us but the type of trees and the grass all remained the same shade of green as always. The convoy stopped for rest and food a few hours into our journey but this time around the students all seemed to be afraid to be too far away from the ‘herd’. I too had some reservations about venturing too far away from the convoy, but when nature calls, I would rather take the miniscule risk that a massive bear might maul me over the embarrassment of relieving myself in front of others. As I was alone in the forest after doing the deed, I did not appreciate the beauty of nature in quite the same way as yesterday. I remembered that I was in awe at the beauty of the forests in this world yesterday when searching for firewood, but now that same beauty was accompanied by a fear in my subconscious that the same nature that looks so beautiful and serene, can also produce beasts that are as terrifying as monsters commonly seen in fiction and mythical tales.
I remembered that Brian wanted to pluck that pretty blue flower we stumbled upon yesterday while gathering firewood, and I stopped him, not wishing to disturb its growth for the sake of vanity. I thought then, what I could do to remember the first person who I spoke to in this new world, and my mind somehow connected Brian with that pretty blue flower. I remember exactly where Brian was buried and I promised myself that I would one day plant that type of flower where his grave stood. Perhaps he would have liked that.
When returning to the wagon convoy my eyes spotted the bird emblazoned on the shields of the soldiers who were guarding us, and I immediately realized that if such mythical creatures as bears with metal claws existed in this world, would the same not hold true for other creatures which I might not even know of. Did the bird on the shields represent the national animal of the country we were on? Or what it some sort of guardian beast like the ones I read about in fantasy novels? I would have to wait until I learned the language, before asking the backlog of questions that keeps filling up over time.
Everyone waited for the horses to rest up and reboarded the wagons after an hour. The journey did not have any interruptions throughout the rest of the day, and before the sun began to set I began to see more travelers on the road. This meant that there was a settlement nearby and I hoped that it would be our destination. After crossing a particularly large hill my thoughts were confirmed as I laid eyes on a city much bigger than Thacks. The walls were at least eight meters tall, made of evenly-sized stone bricks. There were towers on the wall at regular intervals giving the whole wall a boost to defense. The city was surrounded on all sides by either a moat, or the massive sea that stretched out to the horizon with a select few islands which lacked any sign of civilization. We were positioned at least a few miles from the city limits, but a large portion of the city was visible from the crest of the hill, and the breeze that flew past smelled quite salty. It had been a while since I saw the sea in either world, and seeing the sea now brought back memories of visiting the beach on the Atlantic ocean as a child with my family.
I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that I would have a safe place to sleep tonight. My mind felt lighter, and I tried to absorb as much of my surroundings as I could when entering this large city. The people trying to enter before us allowed the massive convoy to cut in line and enter first. There were many kinds of people lining up outside the massive city gates, which had a portcullis across the moat.
Most of the people lined up to enter the town wore simple clothes, which were mostly for practicality rather than any sense of fashion. There was a distinct group entering that had clothes in more vibrant colors, which had intricate patterns weaved into them. I assume these men were merchants as they bowed while not moving away from their wagons. After the guards at the gate saw the flag carried by our convoy they stood aside and let us pass without any complications. The gate itself had two components, the outer wooden gate and as we passed through it I could see a metal drop-down gate hanging above us in the gatehouse.
The houses immediately past the gate were not much different than the ones we saw in Thacks, but it took us a substantially longer time to reach our destination here. I could see street vendors every now and then lining the streets, selling their wares. I could smell some food being sold on one corner but immediately after we passed him I was hit with an unbearably filthy stench. There were streams of liquid running along the streets in this district and I noticed that the locals did not see this as unusual. I suppose they did not have any system of sanitation in place, and with horses being used by some to either pull carriages or to ride this would mean that animal dung would be present on the streets every now and then. This would surely have a negative effect on the locals health, but from the looks of it, this was not the part of the city that those with means would live in.
A few turns later our wagon arrived at a secondary wall, this one much smaller in size than the outer one but it seems that this wall was significantly older. The type of stone used is different and in places I could see missing stones or broken stone bricks at least on the outside. After passing the checkpoint at the wall, the scenery changed significantly and the smell of the place was much more pleasant. The buildings here were evenly spaced, but were made of a combination of stone and wood as opposed to the buildings before which only had stone foundations. Glass panes could be seen in some places, and there were fewer pedestrians than in the outer district.
Our convoy trudged on until we reached an area resembling suburbia in America. There was much more space between buildings, and the size of the building we were approaching was massive. It gave me the impression that this was a school of some kind but there were no students in view anywhere. The wagons disembarked the passengers one by one near the entrance and our teachers took roll call to make sure that everyone was present. After making sure of that, Mr. Hendricks began to speak in a loud voice.
“Everyone, we have arrived, from what Kuvira has told me this is the capital of the country we find ourselves in. Its name is Krilos and this building here is where we will be staying until we can find some clarity of our situation and make our way back home. After we all settle in, in the next few days Kuvira will take me and a few other teachers to see the representatives of her government, where I will request their aid in finding our way back. So for now sit tight” He ended his speech with a smile, which I could see was not genuine.
Make our way home? There’s probably no chance we will see America for the rest of our lifetimes. I kept such pessimistic thoughts to myself as we were led by the soldiers to our assigned rooms and I would be sharing mine with Max, Louis, and another freshman who I did not know by name. As we entered our room, I saw that we had actual beds, bunk beds at that. I boldly sat down on one of the lower beds, and noticed that on it lie a pair of clothes that were provided for each of us. It was a simple brown tunic and pants, not extravagant but when I picked it up and smelled it, it seemed clean.
While sitting on the bed to settle down for a while, I began thinking about what I would need to do next. A lot of things in this whole situation still seemed unclear, and I would need to be able to speak the local language in order to gain a better understanding of exactly what Kuvira and her government wanted of us. I would play along for now, with the knowledge each student possessed of the modern world we were definitely persons of interest.