Ben twisted the key as the instrument cluster beeped and pinged to life, careful not to start the engine. Glancing over to Le’Vieux, he noticed he had made himself comfortable and was pressing the seat foam in and out.
“This chair is more comfortable than I thought it would be—more so than the expensive one I have in my office.” Frowning, he looked around the instrument cluster. “Where did those sounds come from?”
“Electronic sensors ensure everything is right before I start the engine… They normally make that sound.” Ben explained before a cheeky grin filed his face, “Just wait until I start it.”
Hang on!
Ben gave Le’Vieux the side eye. What confused him the most was that the guy was all hyped up to get to a place called ‘The Proving Grounds’ with a stranger he had only met the day before without a helmet or any weapons.
What if things take a sour turn?
Then he noticed something completely out of order. The guy wasn’t wearing his seatbelt. Now, that was something he couldn’t let him off for.
Safety first! Medieval world or not!
Le’Vieux motioned ahead with his hand. “What are you waiting for? Go on, then! I want to see how this thing works.”
Ben cleared his throat. “Not so fast… Before we start moving, you should put on your seatbelt.”
Le’Vieux frowned, giving Ben a confused look. “What nonsense are you talking about?”
Ben pulled the belt from his chest and flicked it back to show him. “I have a feeling we’ll be going over some rough terrain. This belt is designed to keep you in the seat. I don’t want to slam on the brakes for whatever reason and see you fly through the windscreen.” He motioned. “Look, I’ll show you how to do it… Grab it from there and place the buckle in the locking mechanism.”
Le’Vieux scoffed and frowned. “What? I’ve fought powerful enemies before. I’m certain I can handle whatever this thing has to offer.”
Ben raised his eyebrows. “Well, I’m not moving till you do it.”
Le’Vieux sighed and shook his head, clearly annoyed by the request. He pulled the buckle down and locked it in. “Whatever, just make your way to the portcullis.”
The moment the engine hummed to life, Ben revved it several times. “That’s the roar of her diesel engine. She can produce the same amount of power as a hundred and forty of your horses.”
“A hundred and forty?” Le’Vieux’s jaw dropped.
Ben grinned. “Just wait and see.”
I can prove my point about the seat belt.
Ben put the van into gear and quickly lifted the clutch while giving it some gas. The wheels spun a little before the van jolted forward, pushing them into the seat. Ben steered towards the gate and chuckled as Le’Vieux quickly grabbed the seatbelt with both hands and bellowed as if his life depended on it.
“What! How can it move this fast!” Le’Vieux almost screamed, and when Ben neared the gate, he yelled, “You idiot! You’re going to kill the both of us!”
At the last moment, Ben hit the brakes harder than necessary. He was pushed forward before the seatbelt locked, causing it to press into his chest as they lifted a little from their seats. He turned to face the old knight when the tires stopped screeching.
Le’Vieux’s arms were out in front, holding the dashboard and visibly shaking. Sweat ran down his cherry crimson face as he panted. “What was that all about?”
“Do you see why I asked you to put the seatbelt on now? That was nothing compared to what this van is capable of. Imagine if we were traveling twice as fast and I was forced to brake like that. Your head would have hit the windscreen like a cannonball, followed by the rest of your body.”
Le’Vieux shook his head in disbelief. “What? Are you telling me this thing can go faster?”
“You’ll see when we get on a straight road.”
Le’Vieux sighed. “Alright. I need to get out and tell the guards to open the gate. I could do with some fresh air, too.”
“You don’t have to get out.” Ben pressed the window switch, and a cool breeze flowed in as it slid down. “See.”
“Damn trickery, I tell you. I wonder what else you have up your sleeves.” Le’Vieux muttered before sticking his head out and yelling. “Come on, open the gate!”
The guards looked stunned, shaking in their boots. Ben knew it was most likely due to his slightly dangerous driving, but it had to be done to prove his point.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Ahh, sorry, guys. I’ll be more careful next time.
“Oi! Why are you standing around?” Le’Vieux shouted, breaking their trance.
Within moments, the guards sprang to action, relaying the order. The gate started to rise, reminding him of his early morning at the delivery depot.
Some things don’t change, do they?
“That gate weighs a few tons… It takes a while to get it up.” Le’Vieux explained.
Once they were clear to proceed, Ben noticed the ramparts must have been at least five meters thick and on the inside, similar to the Victorian viaducts used with the train bridges. Looking closer at the other end, I noticed another gate. He figured they must have moved together as if they were connected to the same mechanism.
“Please be careful going out. There’s a bend right there. I don’t want to die rolling down the side of a mountain.” Le’Vieux warned, pointing at the other side before the van moved even an inch.
Moving through the arch, Ben followed the cobbled road and made the bend. Luckily, a meter-high stone barrier was along the edge. The road started to decline down the side of the mountain, and when he looked further ahead to see where he was going, his mouth dropped open.
The triangular tiled roofs of buildings continued for a considerable distance. The buildings were constructed of the same stone as everything else and looked sturdy enough to stand the test of time. In the center was a congregation of taller multi-story buildings, the most prominent being a clocktower, which rose above them a few stories. Another thick rampart surrounded everything, and the lack of roofs beyond it gave Ben the feeling that all sorts of danger could be beyond.
“Impressive, is it not?” Le’Vieux interrupted.
“What is this place?” Ben asked, still mesmerized by the scale of the settlement.
“We call it Hollow City, the main hub of all the guilds and tradespeople in the Hollow Lands. Over the years, it has become one of the largest cities in the entire kingdom, rivaling even the capital.” Le’Vieux explained.
“I didn’t expect all this to be here… Back at the courtyard, it looked like this was just a military installation.”
“With it being more dangerous up north, the guilds prefer the fort's safety to conduct their business, resulting in better opportunities for the people here.” As they neared the bottom, he pointed at what looked like another gatehouse and added, “There is a crossroad just ahead. You’ll want to head over there.”
As Ben arrived at the bottom, the city's people started appearing. Most of them stopped what they were doing and started staring at the van as it hummed by. Some people even peeked out the windows of the buildings that appeared around the road before a group of armed men ran towards the commotion. They stopped in their tracks once they noticed Le’Vieux in the passenger seat waving them away.
Once the van reached the end of the road, a crowd of children had gathered a small distance away from it, looking and pointing at it. The guards at the gatehouse were all out, with their weapons drawn and in defensive formations. Le’Vieux had to head out the window again and command them to clear the way and open the gate.
“You and your van will be the talk of the town for the next year… I won’t hear the end of it.” Le’Vieux muttered, shaking his head.
When the gate opened, Ben drove through it. The cobbled road continued, with a few other trails leading off it. They were decent and flat enough that the van could travel without issue. Looking around, he noticed more buildings scattered around the area, but they were not as cramped as the ones behind the rampart. They had larger land attached to them where some animals grazed on the sparse patches of grass.
“You need to go down that one. It’ll take us to the grounds.” Le’Vieux pointed at a trail leading toward the mountains in the distance.
----------------------------------------
“Is that it?” Ben asked after parking near the edge of a hill.
Because they were considerably higher, they had a great view of the valley below. A lake sat in the middle, fed by a river from the larger mountains in the distance. It was surrounded by more flora and trees than they had seen in the last half of their journey, making it look like a desert oasis—or a mountain oasis, as Ben thought.
“We call it Lake Valley. The ecosystem there is just right for some wildlife to flourish, which makes it a perfect hunting ground for creatures called Frogmen,” Le’Vieux explained before putting his hand up. An item materialized out of thin air with a brushed steel cylindrical shape and round glass pieces at either end.
Ben’s mouth dropped open at what he had witnessed. “What! How did you do that?”
“Hah! You’re not the only one with tricks up your sleeve. My spatial storage skill allows me to store and summon items at will.” Le’Vieux explained, raising the item. He held one of the ends and slowly extended it before it started to resemble a looking glass like the ones used by naval captains. He then stuck his head out of the window before putting one end close to his eye.
Alright, I’ll give you that one.
Ben sighed in relief. He was glad they made it there in one piece.
They had spent the previous two hours traveling down that trail. Because of the unfamiliar route, Ben decided to save the questions for later to concentrate on the road. A hilly forest emerged when they passed the city’s outer buildings.
The terrain had gone from patchy grass to stones resembling gravel, but the trees confused him the most. He wasn’t sure how they could grow in a place like that. His question was answered when Le’Vieux randomly explained how their extensive root network allows them to access underground water reserves. When they ascended to higher altitudes, the trees became sparse before disappearing, leaving only smaller shrubs here and there in their place.
After that, it started to get more hillier, and some cliffs even started appearing. The trail bent around them like a snake, and some parts became narrow at the edges of the cliffs. Ben, whose hands had become sweaty, maneuvered through using his years of driving experience.
Before arriving at the hill, they had gone through a tunnel chiseled through the body of an entire mountain. Luckily, the van had enough space to pass without suffering any scrapes.
Le’Vieux finished looking through the glass and let out a huff. “Something isn’t right.”
Ben raised an eyebrow. “What’s going on?”
“Our knights have used this area for centuries to train and test their skills, which normally keeps the Frogmen numbers in check. If I’m honest, these last few years have been rough for the order, and we have not been able to send new expeditions here. However, that doesn’t explain why hundreds of them are down there.”
Ben scratched his head. “You’ve just said you’ve not been coming here. Kinda explains why their numbers have increased, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, that would be true. But there’s a manned outpost of hunters here who are supposed to keep things in order while we are away.” He pointed towards a smaller trail. “If you follow that one there, it will take us to the outpost. We should figure out what’s going on before doing anything else.”