Beta woke us up early in the morning, bringing breakfast to our rooms. Otho and I ate in silence, sitting on our beds. Then we packed our bags, went to the downpours to freshen up and change into our traveling clothes. After, we locked the door behind us and went downstairs. Beta came out of the kitchen to say goodbye. We handed her the key to our room.
“Have a pleasant journey and do come back, Vetulonians! I enjoyed having you here. It’s good to spent time with youth!” She then winked at us and went back inside the kitchen.
“Shall we?” I asked Otho with a tired, sleepy voice.
“Shouldn’t we wait for the girls?”
“I don’t feel like it,” I frowned and shrugged my shoulders. Now that we were leaving, the tavern felt suffocating. Me not being a morning person added to my angst. I walked outside to the streets and Otho followed. The cold fresh air engulfed me and immediately I felt better, despite the thick fog around us.
At the camp, outside the city walls, legionaries were ready to set out. Tiberius and Julia were talking to the commander. They nodded their heads acknowledging our arrival and then continued their conversation. Otho and I went to find Marius. He was sitting on an old, rotten log, playing with his fingers.
“Finally, there you are!” he yelled when he saw us, not bothering to stand up.
“What have you been up to?” I asked, still drowsy.
“Nothing much… During the day we trained, and in the evening we had lectures – logistics of all things. Tediously boring. How about you two?”
“We had some spare time,” I began taunting him, “We saw some sights, bought some gifts, ate, drank. And on our final day we went to the spa!”
“You donkey penises!” he screamed, jumping to his feet. An older legionary standing near us gave him a scolding look, which made Marius blush. Otho and I looked at each other and smirked.
“It’s cold today, cold as a snake’s arse,” Otho then mumbled, quivering.
“Did you go to the any of the brothels?” asked Marius with a serious voice, almost whispering.
“No, we didn’t,” Otho answered for the both of us, his body still shaking.
“Why not?!” Marius demanded to know.
“We just didn't!” Otho wailed. I grinned. Being with the two of them made my heart laugh. By that time the girls arrived and headed towards us. Marius continued to berate Otho:
“Look, they have much less fat than you and they’re not shivering! Stop this immediately!” We all burst into laughter, even poor Otho. By the time fog lifted its siege and the sun rose we were already well on our way. It felt good to leave, to keep moving forward.
“Lord Tiberius, may I ask you something?” I spoke after we rode for some time in complete silence.
“You may,” he answered keeping his eyes on the road.
“You’ve mentioned that you visited Giants once… When was that?”
He closed his eyes for a moment and gave it a thought.
“It was the fifth year of my lordship.”
“Which route did you take?
“At first I was planning to go up the Tegris River, passing the Badlands. But after a second thought I decided it was too dangerous. So I took the longer route. I entered the Forbidden Forest north of Megalopolis.”
The Forbidden Forest occupied a large part of central Helena. It was considered cursed and of those who entered only a few returned. To reach the Giants you had to go through those wretched woods, there was no other way. Well, one could sail to them through the outer ocean, but that was a tedious and risky voyage.
“Is it true what they say about the forest?”
“Be more specific, Antonius.”
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“Is it true it’s enchanted? That you can very well go mad by entering it? That the Ancient ones still dwell there, lurking on the passers-by?”
“Yes, my mind was playing tricks with me. By the time I reached the Giants, I was half-mad!”
“What kind of tricks?”
“The forest knows of all your deepest sorrows and keeps hitting you with them. Hard. It was a though travel,” Tiberius sighed.
“You went in alone?”
“Yes. I felt nobody should be a potential collateral victim of my curiosity. The forest has a way of swallowing people.”
“But what is it? Is it magic?” I wondered.
“That’s one word to describe it,” he enigmatically smiled. By now everyone was listening, even the nearby legionaries walking behind us.
“As I said, by the time I reached the Giants I was already half-mad... They didn’t want to reveal what caused the madness – magic as you called it – although I suspect they know.
Once I entered their realm I was immediately brought back to my senses. Just like that I was my old self,” Tiberius snapped his fingers. He glanced towards me. My expression urged him to share more. He laughed and folded to my curiosity.
“The Giants’ numbers aren’t high, I was told less than ten thousand. Some live in simple stone houses, some in huts, some in caves. They don’t care much for material possessions. They wear simple clothes and eat vegetables and fish. They have no rulers and no political structures. Although some of them do seem to carry more weight in discussions.”
“What do they do? I mean, what are their values?”
“Knowledge. They believe all evil derives from ignorance, an assessment I very much agree with.”
“I always thought they were an advanced people, yet you say they live in huts and caves?”
“Technology doesn’t equal luxury. True, they live a simple life and don’t care much for certain commodities. But I assure you they’re ahead of us in everything. For example, they have flying tents. They light a fire under it and after some time the tent will rise high up in the sky.”
“With people in it?!"
“People sit on the podium that encircles the tent.”
“What else?” I kept asking.
“They also produce a liquid that softens any stone to a clay-like state. They use this fluid to shape even the hardest rocks into any shape they prefer. When the liquid dries off, the rock becomes hard again.”
“That IS magic!” I yelled.
“Magic is a word for science we do not yet understand,” Tiberius smiled.
“When we were in that cave, you talked of the war of the Ancients. Of how Giants know the true history of Helena and beyond?”
“They do,” Tiberius sighed, already tired from all the talking. “The Ancients, as we refer to them, were the first people that inhabited this world. The First age. Although some Giants speculate that even they weren’t the first ones, but that’s a whole other story. We call these predecessors of ours Ancients as if they were one people. But there were many and philosophically they very much deviated from each other. In their final days two philosophies prevailed over the rest. One that tried to legislate enlightenment of individuals, the other who opposed such an idea for obvious reasons. Tensions grew until a war broke out. In this terrible war they destroyed each other and reverted our world back to barbarism. All they had gained vanished.”
“No matter what we do and how hard we work, everything gets lost in sands of time… What’s the point then?” I frowned.
“The point of what?” Tiberius frowned as well. A true frowning duel!
“Striving for anything!”
“The point of being, Antonius, is just that, being. And nothing ever gets truly lost. Thoughts and deeds echo through time and space in a very subtle, yet profound way. Light finds a way,” Tiberius smiled. He also gave me a patronizing look, but without any hint of arrogance.
“Is it true that the Elves are direct descendants of the Ancient ones?” I realized he was getting annoyed with talking, but couldn't help myself.
“It’s hard to speak of direct descendants after tens of thousands of years. But yes, we can say the Elves are the long lost children of the Ancients. This theory also explains the Elven longevity and the way they grow old. The Ancients had a way to tamper with their blood, prolonging their life. That is the reason why Elves appear not to age and how they suddenly die old, yet still appearing youthful.”
“I would give anything to pick a Giant’s brain about this! About everything!” I sighed.
“I intend to write a book about what I had learned from them. I have notes in my office, back in Lux. I’ll share some of them with you when we get back.”
“I would very much appreciate that! Since we’re talking about Elves, have you met with them in Elis?”
“We have. They signed an alliance with Alena and thus, indirectly merged their fate with ours. At last, something productive emerged from this trip.”
“Were they hesitant?”
“They needed some persuasion, yes. They have their heads in clouds. The Elves sometimes don't comprehend danger lurking around the corners.”
“Meaning?”
“They’re arrogant.”
“What convinced them to sign the treaty?”
“Mathematics. It all comes down to mathematics. The League has numbers on their side. The rest of us have to counter that. Now, let’s have some quiet.”
In the next few days we passed over the Atlas Mountains by a well beaten, wide mountain path and descended into a lush, green valley that was mostly unpopulated. We camped on a nice spot, near a small lake. After I set up tent for the night I looked to the north towards our next destination. Megalopolis.