Cold.
That was the only thing I felt.
Everything else was numb.
My legs, hanging below me. My arms, limp along the bars. My torso, barely breathing. Hunger, long gone. My heart, barely beating. My head, resting against the cage. My eyes, no longer able to see clearly.
They were all dead. No, worse. They were eaten.
I was the last one.
I think.
But then again, my head was numb too.
And cold.
Everything was cold.
I couldn’t even shiver anymore. I was that numb.
I wish they’d just eat me.
Then they’d roast me over their fire, and I wouldn’t be cold.
Or numb, I can’t even remember how I got here. It’s all a blur now. Just like my vision.
Numb.
Cold.
My memories are hazy, but I remember being brought down.
Water was given, the first time in… I can’t remember, it was all numb.
The thing held me in its arms. They were so warm, unlike me.
It wrapped me up in cloth, swaddled me like a newborn, hung me from a bassinet.
I didn’t know what was happening, but I was angry about not being placed over a fire.
Because everything was numb.
And cold.
So very,
Cold.
---
Travis
Our journey continued, sadly with not much happening.
The roads were clear, Arc never even saw anything with his huge range of vision, and I had gone through a couple dozen hunter logs.
They were interesting, but eventually they all started to blend together. Which, I guess, shouldn’t be too surprising, a successful hunter would be smart to emulate another successful hunter.
I did learn a few card games while I passed the days with Lancel. Arc even taught me one at one point, which surprised me, because he mentioned that he always had fun playing it.
I’m not even sure what to do with that offhanded comment. After spending so many years believing he was a tree, I’m worried about how many hints about his past that I’ve missed. Was he once a mage? A monster? Or something else?
I guess I could just ask, but I’m not sure how to broach that subject, let alone, know what to do with that info. I’m positive that he’s keeping information from me, he’s even admitted it on occasion. Though I’m sure if he wanted me to know, he would.
At least things were going great with Lancel, after the talk with him at Braewood Fortress, it seemed like all of the tension between us faded and we were talking as if we were family.
Eventually we only had one stop left before the capital, and the fortress we were in was packed. Lancel’s status as a Junior Knight could only guarantee us a room if no one higher ranked than him appeared, so it was only after the gates to the fortress closed for the night that we were able to get our room key and get in line at the buffet.
Despite sitting across from me, I could barely hear Lancel as we spoke during supper. He was trying to explain what we’d be doing tomorrow when we reached the capital, but we kept getting interrupted by the drunken patrons flanking us in the overcrowded tables. The old hunter on my left kept retelling the same story (with the monster growing in size each time), a person next to Lancel was failing to keep their cat away from my food, and the young woman on my right kept touching my arm while asking if I wanted to go someplace quieter.
I didn’t even pick up what she was hinting at until Lancel grinned at me from across the table and slid the room key to me, “Don't stay up too late. We've got a long day tomorrow."
My heart began to pump wildly as the girl grabbed the key then pulled me towards the stairs… this wasn’t… no… I definitely wasn’t prepared for this.
Lancel luckily noticed my panic and rushed to stop us, plucking the key from her, then escorted me out of the hall.
We eventually made it to our room, and after locking the door, Lancel turned to give me an embarrassed expression, “I’m sorry, I... I should not have done that.”
I let out a deep sigh, “It’s alright, I’m just glad you intervened. I completely froze up and didn't know what to do.”
Lancel held his seriousness for about twelve seconds before smirking, “Oh, is that why you kept hiding from Ingrid? I'm sure Father Viburnum would have been happy to explain the bucks and the does to you if you had questions.”
The redness in my face returned, made only worse by having Arc giggle in my ear.
To my relief, my former village's guard captain showed mercy by changing the topic, “Tomorrow, I'll take you to my family's estate and get you a guest room. I've got a couple weeks before my knight training starts, so you're more than welcome to stay until then. By the way, are you still being stubborn about taking the Mage’s Academy exam?”
“Yes, we got a few days before they open up enrollment though.” I narrowed my eyes at him, “I assume you already have something planned while we wait for the start of Fifthmonth?”
“Well, there's still one last party that I could attend. And I'm allowed to bring a guest.” He grinned connivingly, "Should have fancy food, capital-class entertainment, and a bunch of knights to rub elbows with, plus possibly a mage or two in attendance."
A mage or two? That got me interested. Although, I still had a few reservations.
“Won't it be weird for me, a farm-kid from a tiny village, to be there with you?” I gestured to my simple linen shirt and pants I was wearing, "Also, won't I stick out like a white bison?"
“No, you'll be fine. I'll be introducing you as a new hopeful to keep an eye on in the army. You wouldn’t even be the only one, it’s common for nobles to use these parties to form connections by bringing their children and wards, even my father brought me to a few before I joined the army.” He raised his hand to compare our heights, confirming that he was a solid four inches taller than me, "Hmm... you're too short for me to lend you an outfit, but I might have an old set of dress robes that'll fit. If not, I'll pitch in to get you something nice to wear, my treat."
I mulled over his offer, not really seeing any downside to going, but then a thought occurred to me, “Wait, will I have to dance at this party?”
Lancel, for the first time I could remember, told me an easy to recognize lie, “Only… if you want to…”
---
Arc
The next day had us making our final stretch to the capital and wow… was it fortified.
We were going through multiple gates every hour, the walls of the city extended well past my vision, and the winding path had us walking over glacis using bridges and weaving past ravelins, bastions, and other obstacles. The number of defensive structures was mind-boggling. I knew it would be an impressive sight, Travis once drew the flowery mandala pattern that was the layout of the capital, but the amount of distance covered was staggering, and the path we were taking was one of the quicker ones.
“I’m starting to think that we would have never made it in time had we left without Lancel.” I mention to Travis after having his travel visa inspected for the fourth time.
Travis tapped his right ear, “How long does it normally take to get to the capital?”
“When you’re marching in and out with your battalion, a little under 9 hours. An emergency runner can make it from the center of the city to the last gate in only an hour.” He stopped to smile at Travis’ amazement, “For us, it should only take 6 hours, a good portion of that spent waiting in line.”
As we made it closer to the center, I noticed the mana density increasing, and I was forced to retract my range due to the amount of mana that I was now seeing. Everything was so much more solid, the ground, the plants, the water, and even the air.
The gates kept getting more and more impressive, and I couldn’t help but stare at one of the gates that preceded the first outer housing district. It was thick with Wood, Metal, and double-moted Earth Mana; likely making it near impossible to penetrate.
I pointed out the double-moted Earth Mana to Travis so that he could see it for himself, but he surprised me. “Wow, I can literally see the mana in that gate!”
Lancel nodded his head, “I’ve heard the dwarves call it Order Mana. From what I’ve gathered, it forces something to stay as it is, so using it to enhance a gate makes it much harder to bust down.”
“Do you know why it’s visible? I thought you needed mana sight in order to see mana?”
“Not sure, maybe some types of mana are just visible?” Lancel thought for a moment before he pulled out his field guide and showing a page to Travis, “I’ve fought one of these before. It used Shadow Mana to hide itself in the darkness, was a pain in the ass to fight.” He set the guide down, taking a breath, “I lost two squad mates in that battle, they didn’t even get to fight… it just…”
Travis moved up to give Lancel a friendly pat on the shoulder. He smiled at Travis, “Thanks, it wasn’t the first time I lost squad mates, and I wasn’t even that close with them, but that encounter has always stuck with me.”
“We must be getting close now, are we heading to your home?”
“I technically should report in to debrief on the attack at Aelder Creek first, but that could take a couple of hours, plus Lakewell already sent a runner ahead with the SALUTE report. I’ll drop you off with my family first, so you won’t have to wait outside for me.”
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
We continued through the gate and suburb, and I couldn’t help but scan the buildings and area with my mana sight. The houses and businesses were strange, the exteriors were nearly all cosmetic, just a fake veneer over a rectangular and generic-looking frame.
I’d seen something similar in my past life when driving through newer developments in the suburbs of a city. There it was due to a large construction firm saving time and money by repeating the same handful of templates and floor plans in order to speed up the building process and stockpile supplies. The reasoning probably held here as well, I noticed that a few buildings had no façade or were having a new one constructed.
I was pleasantly surprised by the infrastructure; Travis’ village didn’t have indoor plumbing, sewers, or air ducts to transfer heat. It certainly put a hole in my thinking that technology was currently in a medieval era equivalent. Maybe a hypothetical future Rome? Water was being piped in via aqueducts, although there was something strange, there were two tiers of channels that traveled through the city.
I traced them back until I found what I could only describe best as a water tower, not like one from my old world however, this one looked more like a barn silo. It stood in the middle of an artificial pond, with multiple channels coming from it, and one large aqueduct acting as the water source.
I kept looking, still perplexed about the multiple tiers. The pond was surrounded by a park and even had fish living in it, so it was likely an intentional beautification project. The lower channels made sense since they came out of the water tower enclosed and only went to buildings to provide plumbing. The upper ones were what confused me though, they were open, exposed, and even porous, letting water seep into beds of soil with plants and vines growing out of them.
It took me far too long to realize what I was seeing, or I guess it would be more correct to say, what I wasn’t seeing. It should have been obvious, I’ve been to plenty of greenhouses, and even tried to replicate something similar in my backyard with trellises above the sundeck in order to create a natural shade from the sun.
“Travis, when you get a chance, could you… describe just how beautiful this city is. It would mean a lot to me.”
---
Travis
Arc’s request spurred an old memory of mine, one from when I first met him, at the time I didn’t understand how he didn’t know what color everything was, but now I knew. I closed my eyes, allowing me to more easily see the world the same way that Arc does, and almost began to weep.
The world of colorful lights just couldn’t compare.
Wanting to fulfill Arc’s request swiftly, I began to babble, “This city is amazing! There’s so much greenery, not just the trees lining the roads, but even on the roofs of the buildings.”
Lancel, enjoying my amusement chirped in, “It’s almost impossible to stand in the sun in some districts. In fact, let’s make a quick detour, there’s a row of Ashman styled houses down that street.”
“Oh, wow! It’s like they carved their home into a living tree and then covered it in flowering vines and moss.”
Lancel chuckled, “Yeah, from what I remember in school, their ancestors were kinda like us Packers, always roaming, never making any permanent homes. Unlike us, they built temporary shelters that blended into the rainforest, allowing them to hide from monsters.”
“That matches with what Issac told me, the rainforest to the south is thick with undergrowth and the trees are so tall that barely any light penetrates through the canopy.” I chuckled to myself remembering the reason Issac once told me when I asked why he doesn’t attend church with the rest of the village, “Nature will smother you within her embrace and keep you safe, but she’ll chill you to your core. That’s why you need to burn her in order to feel warmth.”
Lancel raised an eyebrow at me, “You’ve definitely hung around Issac.” He began to lead us back to our original path, “Hang on, I thought Apheros was a male deity?”
“He is, although… there are a few stories about him disguising himself as a woman in order to woo some of the goddesses.”
“I can’t believe I considered converting… Torbolt would never do something so ridiculous.”
Arc began to chortle, “Maybe not on this world”
---
We kept moving, and I tried my hardest to keep vocalizing my appreciation of the different buildings and scenery, “That one must be dwarven, all of those hand carved tiles, I really like the geometric designs. Oh, is that one a Packer style? I like the false shield wall, are those painted designs all different clans? More Northman buildings! I love that roof design, especially how the tiles look like scales on a fish. Are those elven buildings over that pond? I know they build them on stilts, but I didn’t know they also had glass covered rooms that went underwater.”
I kept going constantly talking and gawking, until Arc interrupted me, “Might want to pile up all of those leaves you keep scattering, I think Lancel is getting exhausted.”
I turned to see Lancel sighing in contentment at my silence. He caught me looking and bowed his head in shame. I decided it was best to apologize, “Sorry, guess I got overwhelmed.” I looked around, seeing all of the intricate architecture, “Us Lakelanders have such boring looking buildings…”
“I wouldn’t say that. You just have your own style, one that I actually like quite a bit.” He gestured to a row of Lakeland style buildings, “The clean lines, the painted wood siding, simple sloped metal roofs, and my favorite part, the front porches. It’s like it’s not even trying to compete with nature, it’d rather be the frame to the painting.”
Hearing Lancel’s words gave me a fresh perspective as I looked at the row of houses. All of the flower beds popped, the critters and birds were easy to spot, and the wooden furniture on the decks looked super inviting. “Thanks Lancel, they remind me of why I miss home.”
Lancel began to grin at me, “Speaking of home, we’ll never make it to mine if we keep looking at everyone else’s.”
---
As we got closer to the center of the city, the houses and buildings got less and less crowded. No longer were they multi-family complexes or buildings with shared walls, but actual free-standing homes with a short fence and small yard. It kinda bewildered me that we had to go so deep into the capital just to find a house layout similar to the one I grew up in.
We kept going deeper, passing a ring that held only glass covered buildings that functioned to provide fruit and vegetables year-round. One that Lancel told me was full of military barracks and training yards. Another that was a massive stable and grazing/riding area for horses. Then finally, the one that had the Hopkin’s estate on it.
“How loaded is Lancel’s family?”
“Umm, just how close are we to the Queen’s palace?” I asked, hoping that would be less rude.
“Still a good ways. My family is an ‘outer ring noble house’. The older your family is, the higher you are on the waiting list to get into the innermost rings. Although realistically, it’d take a cataclysm for my family to move more than another ring towards the palace. The older families have so much manpower and wealth that they could lose half a dozen knights every year for a dozen years and still be standing.”
We kept riding, eventually coming up to a gate with a painted symbol of a rabbit hopping away from a lightning strike.
“Finally home.” Lancel stated as he approached the gate.
“Sir Lancel!” A surprised guard shouts as he opens the gate for us, “We weren’t expecting you for another 2 weeks. Would you like us to announce your arrival?”
“Yes, that would be wise. However, I need to make a report to the Lakeland Guard Headquarters before I stable my horse.” Lancel tilted his head towards me, “This is Travis of Aelder Creek, he will be staying as a guest of mine.”
The guard nodded, and then led us up to the main house. It was a beautiful building, stylized to mimic a classic Southern Plains shield wall tent. “Mimic” being the biggest descriptor, because there is no way that a leather tent with a bunch of large rectangle shields acting as supports could ever survive a winter this far up north.
“What’s with all of the rabbits?” I finally asked, seeing them painted everywhere.
Lancel began to give out an embarrassed laugh, “Well, you see… my dad was known for his fast charges from cover to cover, moving from ravelin to ravelin, in and out of the burrowed tunnels that were built underneath them to provide cover for resting soldiers.” He pointed out a nearby family crest, “Eventually, he gained the nickname of ‘Hopper’ since he was ‘kin’ with those who can evade Torbolt.”
“It could be worse; I knew a guy with the last name Cockburn.”
I mentally took note of Arc’s loaded comment, mostly out of curiosity of why being named after a flaming rooster would be a terrible name, but focused on Lancel’s explanation, “Those who can evade Torbolt?”
Lancel resumed his laugh while he and I remove our gear from the horses, “There’s an old children’s tale about a tortoise that challenges a hare to a competition. Whoever could last the longest in battle with Torbolt would be the winner. The tortoise, knowing he couldn’t possibly harm a god, but was confident in his strong armor, hid within his shell while Torbolt sent down lightning. Torbolt, however was too powerful, and the tortoise's shell shattered so hard before its immediate death, that even its progeny's shells became cracked.”
“The hare, realizing that he was next, began hopping from place to place in a zig-zag pattern, dodging multiple lightning strikes. Torbolt grew angry, not pleased that such a lowly creature could escape his wrath, and kept casting down bolt after bolt, trying to kill the hare. The hare kept evading, and eventually made it to its burrow.”
“Torbolt turned furious, creating a powerful storm that created even more lightning and flooded the plains with its rain. He couldn’t hit the burrow though, for it was too well hidden and too small of a target. The rain failed as well, since the hare built his home near the top of a hill, causing the water to flow away and allowing him to stay dry.”
“The storm lasted multiple days, the hare satiating his hunger by chewing on roots, until one night, the hare began to pray.”
“He asked Torbolt why he was so furious with him, for he was not the one to insult him by claiming to be able to withstand his might. Torbolt, in reply, told the hare that he was the destroyer of monsters, and that such a small and weak creature escaping his heavenly might would only embolden the monsters, since it proves that they could do the same.”
Lancel turned to me, now giving a confident grin, “The hare then stated, 'If that's the case, then how about I challenge the monsters first? I could lure them beneath your storm clouds, then you could teach them the same lesson you taught that foolish tortoise?'”
“That tortoise was an idiot, should have challenged the hare to a race.”
Ignoring the commentary from Arc, I turned my head to the guard who was walking out the main door. He was followed by a silver-haired elderly woman who, despite her age, quickly moved over to Lancel to give him a hug.
“I’m still angry at you for running off,” she stated, clearly happy about Lancel’s return, “but it can wait till later.” She let go of Lancel and gave me a quick look before returning her gaze to Lancel, “I was expecting you to bring home a potential suitor, not some random boy. I take it there's a story I need to hear?”
Lancel grimaced, “Yes, but some it may need to stay under wraps. I need to give a report to HQ before I can enter the estate proper.”
“Understood.” she then turned to face me, “Welcome to the Hopkin’s estate. I am Rabiria Hopkins, the clan’s matriarch.”
I was about to speak, but Arc stopped me, “Wait! Don’t say anything yet! Hold your left hand in front of you with your palm down as if it was resting on a shield. Now set your right hand on top of your left with the palm up to show that you are unarmed.” I do as he instructs, remembering now the formal way to greet a noble from the Southern Plains.
I tilted my head downwards, but maintained my firm posture before speaking, “I am Travis from the Lakeland city of Aelder Creek. I come unarmed.”
A familiar grin crept along the woman’s face, “Then you shall fear no spear.” She spoke, completing the old ritual for when soldiers of a different clan would meet with another. “Well then,” she turned to Lancel, “I believe you need to get going. I’ll put a hold on supper until you return. In the meantime, I’ll take care of your guest.”
“Thank you Mother. Could you have my old wardrobe checked? I still have an invitation to the Quintillius Estate’s party, and I’d like to bring Travis.”
Rabiria gave me a look from head to toe, “Are you sure your old wardrobe would fit? I remember you being much scrawnier than this handsome young man.” She began to chuckle at Lancel’s frown, but then turned back to me, “Come now, let's get you settled in. Lancel barely talks about his exploits in Aelder Creek, it be nice to hear a from a local."
---
I followed Lancel’s mother inside, the guard would carry my belongings to my guest room, and I took in the grand hall of the main complex. It reminded me of the ones from the forts, but there was only a single large table, and the furniture was similar to what I grew up with in my house’s living room.
She signaled the house staff to approach, quietly requested supper to be delayed, and had an attendant approach me, “Would you like assistance in refreshing yourself after your long journey?”
“Umm,” I paused, trying my hardest to remember what was written in the etiquette book that I read. “Say yes, it’s a huge insult to turn down help from the house staff when you don’t have any of your own.” “Yes, I would hate to bring the road into your lovely home.”
“Good job. Now try to relax, they know you’re not used to formal etiquette, and likely won’t hold it against you if you fumble a bit.”
I try to do as Arc coached and took in a deep breath while I followed the attendant to the bathing room. Once there, the attendant showed me how to use the shower, where the toilet was, and gave me a simple robe with sandals to put on after I was done washing.
“I’ll need help getting dressed, I’ve never worn an evening robe.” I croaked out, embarrassed.
The attendant gave an amused smile, “No worries, it’s actually customary to receive help putting one on.”
I gave a nod and went to clean myself before coming back to get dressed. I was a bit uncomfortable standing nude before the attendant, but they quickly wrapped the length of cloth around my waist and legs. They then had me hold the fabric while they tied a second piece that was long and narrow just above my hips and left the two ends hanging towards the ground. The part that was wrapped around my waist was then folded down, leaving me feeling silly since it looked like I was wearing the lower half of a dress.
“Would you prefer a sleeved or sleeveless coat?”
I looked at the two options, they both would extend to about halfway down my thigh, but the sleeved one had buttons to hold the front opening shut and the sleeveless one looked like it would leave a good portion of my chest bare. After some internal debate, I decided on the sleeveless one since it was already getting warm out.
It was tied loosely shut and the attendant stepped back to check me over, “Excellent choice, your warrior physique is accentuated nicely, I’m positive the young mistress will find you alluring.”
“Wait, what!” I exclaimed, trying to stop the attendant from leaving.
“My apologies, I will refrain from gossip when attending you in the future.” They then stepped out, leaving me alone in the changing area.
“Oh, Lancel,” Arc gave out an amused laugh, “I underestimated you. We walked right into your trap.”