Markus laid awake, staring out through the port hole set in the far wall. Replaying the last few weeks over in his head, fighting the pirates sucked, it should have been easy. I had the drop on them, but the area was to cramped my sword was basically useless
I could switch to rely on my revolver more, but I really only use it at short ranges or on things I can’t miss. I might need to consider carrying a dagger or a short sword but then I’d have to maintenance and carry it around... After hemming and hawing about it for a while he decided he’d take look around to see if anything interesting caught his eye after they hit port. Eventually his thoughts wandered toward the end of the fight. Ellianora had acted as if there was nothing to worry about, but he had his doubts. She was shaking. Even when she was doing the bandages on my shoulder she was jittery and her eyes looked scared as well, I don’t think mana burn is as minor as she claims. He sighed and pulled his sleeping bag up, there was still all night to pass.
The next morning crashed into his ears, people talking and moving about, the ship bell ringing, and crew and passenger alike shouting from the deck. Grabbing his belt Markus shot to his feet and moved toward the stairs, it was still dark, the sky painted deep blacks and blues. Behind the ship the first reds and golds of the morning crested the horizon and, off the prow, the unmistakable shine of a light house
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The remainder of the seven and a half hours to port were a rush of action, people packed their bags, the crew moved cargo, the religious folk on the ship thanked the gods for the (mostly) safe voyage. Markus finished packing early, used to living out of his backpack and also now having less items than he’d started the voyage with. Ellianora’s packing however, was anything other than smooth.
“How did you even fit all of these in one bag?” Markus indicated the sizable stack books Ellianora was in the effort of “sorting” into a messenger bag.
“I just packed it well.”
“Is you bag magic?” he added indignantly.
“What? Of course not! I just spent like, six hours?, organizing them to fit in the bag before we left harbor.”
“Here, you do the clothes and your sleeping bag I’ll do the books.” He offered.
“Fine” She yielded so that she’d be done by the time they enter the bay.
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After almost forty minutes she had everything packed up and stowed on her pack, except of course her books. Markus had managed to get every book save for one to fit in the satchel, the massive tome that remained he’d strapped to the outside of the bag instead. She slung it over her shoulder then sat on the floor and scooted the larger backpack into position on her back.
Hefting her overburdened-self up the stairs, she found Markus near the helm. He’d come up ahead of her and managed to find a perfect spot to watch the city of Westgate (which she still thought was a tragically uncreative name) come into view.
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One of the largest cities in the god touched lands, the region was under two and half years old, but you’d never guess that by looking at it. White stone had been pulled from the surrounding cliffs and made for an abundant building material, aided by society’s unwillingness to be contained, the buildings had climbed the natural walls and spilled over the top on both sides. It looked as if the city itself was a wave from the ocean, tall on the out most edges, but flat and low in the middle. The docks were a forest of masts and smokestacks, and every kind of ship imaginable could be seen coming to and fro. There were the triangular and square sails most common to the iris continent, but also the wing like sails signature of the Dragon lands in the far east, even new state of the art steam ships could be seen billowing smoke and puttering along as they paddled their way up and down the various river mouths. But most impressive of all was the Guardian of Commerce, a gift from the dragon lands during trade negotiations, the construct was awe inspiring.
Over two dozen stories tall, it loomed above the ship. It was shaped like a tower, with windows, fortified balconies mounting siege weapons, and a top floor crowned in crenulations, and cannons. To its sides the massive building sized arms swayed lightly, churning the water. Runes coated it’s surface, so strong they audibly hummed, and even when inactive the air rippled and quivered around them. It stood in the mouth of the bay, its legs alone long enough to keep its mass above the water. Aboard the walking fortress, tiny men moved like ants, in and out of doors, checking the ensigns that flew above ships, signaling in semaphore to military vessels, or waving at passing boats.
Ellianora, more than anything in that moment wished she could see inside, see how it moved, how it was controlled. Unable to speak, she just stared as the ship passed it by and she wasn’t the only one. The deck was silent, most of the onlookers, crew and commuter alike, were slack jawed. She snuck a peek at Markus next to her, he was staring as well but had managed to keep his mouth closed as he ran his eyes over the gun decks and fortifications. What his eyes lingered on though caught her notice, as they watched a flying scaled form glided down onto an empty deck, it was about the size of a carriage, discounting the wings, its two bird like feet caught the railing before moving to fit snuggly on the platform. As a figure in armor slid off the saddle, she finally recognized them. Aralie’s dragon knights were famous, able to personally tame and train an incalculably powerful beast, they were the best warriors before even being given the challenge of taming their would-be lifetime companion. Those that succeeded were awarded the highest honors, those that failed doomed to obscurity.
You know, Ellianora thought to herself, they’re called dragon knights, but they don’t use actual dragons. Supposedly the order uses exclusively dragon kin like wyverns and drakes with weirder and more rare species like wyrms and amphitheres being found rarely in their ranks. She watched the brownish-green creature until the Mist Hauler passed them by making ready to disembark. Markus however, she noticed, stood transfixed by the beast as if flew away and until it was well out of sight. Hmmm… maybe I should pick up some materials on dragons. He seems pretty interested in them, plus, you can never be to through in research. She thought to herself as the ship slid against the dock and the moorings were tied. Besides, I think I need a real bed and some real ground too. She added mentally as the gang plank dropped and the anxious crowd poured off the deck.