“Come on Sophia, we need to get going if we are to sleep in a bed tonight.”
We leave the town of Hadron as soon as we had our breakfast, which was without a story this time. I have slept rather comfortably, but I suppose that is more due to Cerolus’ grip on my body rather than the softness of the bed.
Now, our travels continue across the plains of Dralarag, and I can only hope this day will be a bit more eventful than the last.
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It’s funny how no stories mention getting from one point of another. Now I know why. Travelling is exhaustingly boring, and my husband is apparently not a man of many words.
“You know, you can try some magical training if you are bored. It shouldn’t be affected by being in a carriage. You’re no longer at the stage where you require perfect focus to achieve some sort of betterment, and if anything were to happen on the road, I’ll gently pull you back from your relaxed state.
Or we can do something more interesting to pass the time.”
I remember that grin on his face. It’s the exact same one when I walked in on him shaving his face. My thoughts immediately jump to the morning it happened and heat flushes through my face. He wouldn’t, would he? Here and now? My mind jumps from thought to thought, my chest thumping loudly as I contemplate what Cerolus is thinking right now.
“…like this.”
He pulls a small linen bag somewhere from the carriage, and also lifts a small board to stand between us as a small table. The bag opens to reveal a number of figurines which pour onto the table which has visible planks hammered into it making a tiled pattern on the surface, with 8 rows and columns of squares clearly visible, each tile slightly sunk in the surface.
“I don’t suppose you know how to play Maoross?”
I take a good look at the figurines spread before me. Half of the figurines are white, while the other half are red. I take a single one in my hand to examine it closer, a small helmeted warrior being depicted on it.
“It’s not that complicated to start with. These are the footmen.” he points to the helmeted warriors like the one I’m holding, a total of sixteen on them split evenly between the two colours. He then takes them one by one and puts them on the table, each put on a single tile to make two complete rows of eight, one white and one red. The rows of figurines are turned to face one another, with one empty row behind them and four rows between.
He then takes a figurine that depicts a cloaked horned Demon, similar to what Cerolus looks like. “This is the disruptor.” There are four of them in total, each put into a tile in the corner of the table. “Next are the charge cavalry.” Four mounted Firemanes are then put on the table, each one occupying a space next to the horned Demons.
“Then we have the tracker cavalry.” Four Triforce drakes are then put on the table next to the Firemane figurines. “Last, but not least, we have the Maorok and the Consort.” A large armored horned Demon and a smaller one that appears to be looking more like a female is then put on one side of the table, with the same figures of different colors put on the other, each facing its coloured counterpart.
“So these are the basics:
The Maorok can move exactly one space in any direction, provided it is empty, or there is an opponent’s piece on it. It can also move together with the disruptor if either of them hasn’t moved before in a game…”
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After Cerolus has briefly explained the game to me, I set out to play against him a couple of times. There aren’t really that many rules to the game, but the essence lies in the execution of those rules. The goal is apparently to make the enemy Maorok unable to move after being attacked or all enemy pieces unable to prevent the attack on the Maorok when he is attacked.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Cerolus showed me some of the basic strategies used in the game, like using footmen to make a diagonal wall that would allow my pieces a larger area of movement, or making the Maorok and the disruptor swap places moving one in a more defensible, and the other in a more maneuverable position.
He won all of the games, understandably.
“It takes time to learn to play the game. You being able to follow my instructions is worthy of praise at this time. Who knows, you might be able to beat me in the near future if you set yourself to playing the game regularly. At least you’re not as bored as you were at the beginning of the day, right?”
He’s right actually. My mind has been almost completely occupied by the game, I can’t even discern what time of the day it is.
“We should be nearing our stop for the day, before we continue with the travel. It would do us all good to get out of the carriage.”
Soon enough the carriage slows to a halt, the beasts in front audibly neighing as they are allowed a glimpse of rest. Cerolus and I walk out of the carriage, the scenery around me vastly different from the open plains I watched all day yesterday.
We are standing on a small cliff overlooking a valley, a river making its way throughout the center of the landscape, splotches of red grass intermingling with the various colours of the flowers and trees spread throughout. A large number of animals can be seen around the river, some using it to drink, others to bathe in the water. The sounds of birds can be heard in the distance, only helping me relax in the view I’m given now. I can see Firemanes and Triforces running around, but the other animals elude my recognition. A large reptile can be seen basking in the afternoon Sun, just next to the river, his tail slowly swishing around the water. A flock of large pink birds is threading through the shallow water, their long necks darting into the water, before their beaks break the surface of the water carrying a small frog or a lizard. The trees slowly sway in the gentle breeze that tingles my skin, the petals of a Seraphim laying small fires on the ground as they fall.
A large shadow crosses the landscape, and my eyes dart upward, only to see a huge winged creature soaring in the skies. It’s a dragon! The beasts of legends, here, right before my eyes! It’s amazing, I’ve imagined Dralarag to be a deadly and desolate place, but this view shows anything but that.
“Is that a dragon?” My head turns toward the sky following the path the flying monstrosity makes below the clouds.
“It’s a wyvern actually. Dragons can only be found in Drakkar, and the Drakkor will be really angry if you make the mistake in front of them. That in front of us is a Black Wyvern, the largest of the wyverns in Dralarag. It’s a gentle beast, contradictory to its appearance, usually avoiding people and nesting on various mountaintops.
And what you see before you is the Valley of the river Styx, the largest river in Dralarag. I sometimes come to this place to bask in the peace, it’s a rare thing to find in here.
We’ll make a stop here for the meal, and continue our travels then.”
I wish my family could see this view, maybe they would like Cerolus more then. I wonder if he would allow them to visit us sometimes. Not now certainly, but in a few years, maybe.
Small tables are set on the small clearing the convoy has stopped in, as I slowly take a seat and begin enjoying my meal to the fullest. Maybe Dralarag isn’t so bad after all.