Varis and I got our room on the second floor of the Tilted Tavern with Isa. The room was nice—two large beds with a nightstand between them on a large skin rug of a creature I wasn't familiar with. There was even a small study and mirror above the desk, and of course, I couldn't forget the small chests to store our items.
It was cozy. The only thing missing was a small private restroom. Instead of being out in the hall at the very far end, there was a small public restroom. After taking some time to rate it: three and a half stars out of five. The place was clean, yet despite that, it still had an odd smell I couldn't pin down.
Overall, the place was a nice break from traveling on the road and being cooped up in a small hole in the ground. Yet it wasn't enough to fully distract me from why we're here. The tavern was crowded with refugees, some of whom were much worse off. Injured and confused people roamed the upper floors and crowded the main floor beneath. I could hear the sounds of wailing mothers and their children, and outside, I could hear the sounds of constables trying to keep the peace as they blew into their whistles what seemed like every few minutes.
Our room was at the front of the building, with a window facing the direction we had come from on the wagon train. With New Gessik being on the incline up the mountains, I could easily see over much of the valley—not enough to see Oren, though—and even then, looking out over the valley pained me.
As I looked out over the dusk-lit landscape, I could see distant fires raging in the east. The horizon flashed occasionally due to distant spells and explosions igniting, and if I trained my ears, I could hear the constant rumblings of battle. Smoke stacks could be seen wafting high up above the treetops and mountains like massive pillars. And coming from all of this, a stream of refugees continued to flood into the village. Many of them were people like my family who had chosen to leave at the last minute.
Why did they take so long? I wondered. If they'd just told us sooner, we could've avoided much of this. I sighed softly to myself as Varis joined me at the window.
His face was stern as he glared at the scene before us. "I hate them," Varis huffed.
I glanced at him and sighed. "I…" I went to respond but stopped.
I haven't thought about whether I hated the invaders or not, honestly. I don't know what to think. I thought. I just want to get out of here and go back to how things were.
"I understand," I said softly as we watched what seemed to be a new stream of fleeing people arrive at the village.
Behind us, we heard the door to our room open, and Isa stepped inside. "Why are you two still awake?" She asked softly. "Your parents specifically said you were to rest."
Varis didn't move or even acknowledge Isa, as he kept staring out the window while I turned to face her.
"I-I can't sleep," I mumbled. "I try to, but I feel too anxious."
Isa took a deep breath, came over to us, and knelt. "I understand, but you need to try."
Varis finally turned to face us. "We shouldn't even be here," he said with a huff. "We should keep moving in case those monsters show up."
Isa sighed. "Unfortunately, little soldiers like yourself get tired," she said with a gentle smile. "And tired soldiers don't march fast. Now please, let us get some rest."
I glanced at the bed Varis and I were going to share. How in the hell does she expect us to sleep after all this? Maybe if I had one of those special berries Mother gave me, I could knock myself out, but… every time I close my eyes, I still see that damn river.
I bit my lower lip, and Isa sighed once more as she looked at our expressions and said, "Come. Sit with me on my bed; I'll tell you a story." She smiled.
My head and ears perked up, and I looked at her. "A story might be nice," I said with a small smile, looking at Varis. "You want to come listen?" I asked.
My brother hesitated but then sighed and said, "Sure, why not?" He shrugged.
Isa nodded and stood before placing her clawed hands on each of our shoulders and guiding us over to her bed. She climbed up onto it and patted the spots beside her for us to crawl up into and snuggle up. I felt her fuzzy, red tail wrap around my leg.
I shivered a little as it tickled, and Isa giggled lightly as she wrapped her arms around the two of us and said, "Have I ever told you both about the time I traveled through the Wylde East?"
Both Varis and I shook our heads. "I don't even know what or where that is," I said softly.
Isa took a deep breath and said, "It is on the western continent under the United Provinces of Yankston. A beautiful land it once was, it is now unfortunately plagued by Yankie settlers because of what they call the Great Migration." She inhaled. "Yet, thankfully, long ago, back when I was fifteen cycles old, I traveled there with my closest friend, Pomni. The journey itself is a story of its own, but for now, I'll focus on the Wylde. The Wylde is much like the Heinland Forest in that the land is tied closely to the Fae Wylde, but much more so than anywhere in the world."
I blinked. "So, you went into the Fae?" I asked her.
Isa smiled and nodded. "Yes. We were on a quest for our elder. In Serelli culture, it is common for those who come of age to become what are called "seekers" and are tasked with finding the elder's dreams."
"How do you find something someone dreams about?" Varis asked.
Isa chuckled. "Well, we thankfully aren't dream-hopping. But, as I told Luna before, elders are awakened dreamers. We all have lived past lives that we don't recall, yet elders, as the name implies, become awakened and can remember every past life they once had. Namely, from dreams." She briefly explained. "And it's here that our elders dreamt of something they once saw in the Fae Wylde long ago. Pomni and I had come of age in our village, and together, we were tasked to go find it."
"What were you tasked to find?" I asked with a small, squeaky yawn escaping my lips.
Isa looked on aimlessly for a second, and I could see on her face that she was most likely reliving the moment. She then closed her eyes and said, "We were sent to a seed of Urd. A seed of life-bringing. Ever since the Rusivites came to our land, they erected great industries and cities, and my once beloved home was becoming snuffed out. Our elder told us that if we could find the seed and bring it back, planting it would revitalize our home."
"Did you ever find the seed?" I asked, and my eyes began to droop.
Is it just me, or are Isa's arms very comfortable? I thought to myself as I rested my head on her as she held me with her arm.
"Well, that would ruin the story if I told you the end," Isa whispered with a chuckle. "Pomni and I arrived in Yankston some time in late spring. As much as I don't like the Yanks, I'll give them credit in that their cities are quite fascinating in their scope. We arrived in the city of Iona, where we stocked up on supplies and hired a guide by the name of John King. An interesting fellow with a tall, wide frame and a round belly is not the typical person you'd expect to be a guide. Yet he did his job well, if not a bit slowly." She chuckled. "Though I never liked his attitude towards the natives of the Fae."
My eyes drooped, and I continued to listen, yet as Isa began to talk about the intricacies of their preparation for going into the unknown, I felt myself drifting off somewhere else, eventually. Everything went dark, and I fell asleep.
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I woke up the next morning to the sound of muffled shouting, and I jerked awake as my heart practically leaped into my throat. I rose into a sitting position and looked around the room. I saw Varis already awake and at the window, along with Isa, who was at the study brushing her hair quickly.
"Wh-what's happening?" I muttered as Varis glanced at me from the window.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
"Something's happening outside. There's a bunch of soldiers going the wrong way!"
Isa came over to us and said, "Children. Start gathering your things. We'll be heading out soon."
"But why are those soldiers going away from the fighting?" Varis asked.
Isa sighed. "I don't know Varis; now, c'mon. Get ready."
I shifted off of my bed, slipped into my boots, and was about to go over to the desk and mirror to fix my hair, but stopped when I recalled that I no longer had hair.
Well, I guess that makes things faster.
Having slept in my dress, I simply patted out the wrinkles and went over to the window to see what Varis was talking about.
It was early dawn, and the sun had yet to crest over the mountains. On the road leading into New Gessik from the direction we came, a massive convoy of wagons, trucks, striders, and stumbling soldiers on foot were quickly passing through the city. I saw men and women of all races covered in blood-stained bandages, many more hobbling by on crutches. The trucks and wagons held even more bloodied and beaten men and women.
Refugees outside shouted to the soldiers.
"Cowards!"
"You can't just run away! Stop them!"
"Don't abandon us!"
Isa grabbed me by my left hand and said, "Come. We're going to meet up with your parents." She pulled me along with Varis, who growled and grumbled.
As we stepped out into the hallway, we immediately ran into my mother and father, who were already good to go.
"If you hadn't seen it, there's a commotion outside," Father said as we grouped up and started to head towards the stairs as more sleepy people began to file out of their rooms confused.
"Aye," Isa said, "it looks like the army is pulling back even more."
We reached the stairs and began to quickly go down the steps and into the main hall, just as the front door to the tavern opened. An angry crowd along with a group of armed soldiers came pouring in, the soldiers pushing the angry people back and shouting as, in the center of this group, a well-dressed and groomed human officer marched in, a fine-sheathed saber at his side.
"Let's go around them." Father said to us, and we nodded and began to move around the far edges of the room towards the door.
"Citizens of New Gessik," the high-ranking officer said over the angry shouts from outside. "Under the orders of General Hossler, you are to join my company and evacuate with us immediately. There will be no discussion. For yours and your family's safety."
Pulling me along, my family and I shimmied our way around the soldiers as we inched our way to the door.
"What do you mean evacuate?" An akumari woman shouted from the bar. "Aren't you supposed to be fighting?"
"Yeah! Why are you all running?" A gnome said as he climbed on a table.
"I-If you're running too, does that mean they're coming?" A half-elven woman asked nervously, her eyes wide like a deer in headlights.
The high-ranking officer in the center of the room took a deep breath, yet I could see the nervousness he was trying to hide on his face. "General Hossler has decided to fall back to the right bank of the Alter River. As of now, we're prioritizing everything on defense and the safety of your lives. The Rusivites are pushing into our lands harder than we anticipated, and they are taking no prisoners. Man, woman, child, or elderly, it doesn't matter if you're a soldier or not…" He didn't finish the sentence as the entirety of the tavern fell silent.
We shifted past the soldiers just then. One of them reached out to stop us, though Father held a hand up and said, "We have wagons out back; we're leaving now." The soldier nodded and allowed us to continue.
The streets were chaotic. Soldiers rushed door to door, pounding their fists and guns against them and shouting, "The invaders are coming! You need to evacuate immediately!"
Coming down the road towards us, a column of trucks roared past us as Father guided us quickly to the side of the road. The trucks then veered off the road and into a dirt clearing beside the tavern. The doors flung open as men and women hopped off. A woman in all-white robes, with dark hair and pointed ears, hopped onto the ground and cupped her hands around her mouth.
"Quickly! Anyone who can hear this, make your way to the tavern for immediate evacuation!"
We continued around the side of the Tilted Tavern and towards the back, where the Olson's wagon train was parked, and we saw the Hautchkins and Olson families already climbing into the wagons.
Yet as we came around the corner, we spotted Peter quickly lacing his shoes. He got up and said, "Lieutenant, I see you're awake; I almost thought you were all going to sleep in!"
"I told you, corporal, I'm a former lieutenant," Father said as we rushed past Peter, who followed behind us.
We quickly rushed past the rest of the wagons and went up to the Hautchkins just as Herbert turned and said, "Oh, by the divine, you're here; it'll be cramped, but you can hop in. We're leaving right now."
Yet as we went to climb into the back of the wagon, I felt a deep, hot breath on the back of my neck, and something sharp hooked into the back of my dress and yanked me back.
I screamed as Isa and my mother whipped around as a large strider loomed over my head. I kicked and tried to unhook myself, but the thing held onto me. Mother spun around and said something angrily in draconian at the creature, and for a second it hesitated, then released me.
Stumbling forward, I turned to see a large, red, and scarred "Ruby." I said it with a blink.
The mischievous strider who had thrown a keg at me days before stood hitched to a mostly empty wagon. The strider squawked and groaned as it watched Varis and Isa climb into the wagon.
"Luna, leave it. We need to go." My mother grabbed my hand. "We have plenty of room on Olson's wagons."
"But we can't just leave her here alone." I said it hesitantly.
"Ruby can be someone else's strider now," Mother said as she picked me up and placed me on the wagon. "She can help another family."
"Bu-but we just got her!" I whined.
"I know sweetie, but we don't have time to lug around three wagons. Now get in." Mother said, and I blinked and looked at Ruby, who groaned and shook her head before hanging disappointedly. Goddammit, we just got her. I pouted but didn't resist as my mother climbed into the wagon.
"Alright, we aren't waiting!" Olson shouted from the front wagon. "We're moving now!"
As I crawled within the wagon over to Varis, who sat across from Avdol and beside Mila, I wiggled myself in beside him and looked back at Ruby as our wagon lurched forward and began to move.
Yet I didn't get to see her for long due to the wagon turning and rounding the corner of the tavern. We hit the main road and soon were on the highway, moving alongside the military convoy.
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Yet the ride did not go so smoothly.
"Stay off to the side! Make way!" A halfling shouted as he leaned out of a truck. "Civilians are to make way!" Our wagons lurched and moved partially off the road as we went up the mountain; the highway was not large enough to fit us all as the military convoy continued steaming along.
I could hear Olson and his family cursing as we were forced to stop. "There's no fucking way our wagon can move; the trees are too dense, Mr. Hautchkins!" He shouted back to Herbert, who was controlling the wagon we were in.
"We can walk," my father said. "We have no idea how long it'll take the soldiers to finish filing through."
"With all due respect, Mr. Ashflow, but are you insane? Khannatore is over a month away on foot." Olson said with a sigh.
"My family and I aren't going to Khannatore; Johanneson is only about a week or so away on foot." Father said as he shifted his legs in the wagon, we were all so crammed into here, like a pack of sardines.
"About twelve days," Herbert said from over his shoulder.
"Even then," Mother added, "if the soldiers are rushing out of here like this, that only means the enemy isn't far."
"Aye, I agree with Mrs. Ashflow." Peter said. "We could wait these guys out and keep moving, but it might be best to rush along on foot. There is no way we can share these mountain paths with these guys. And even then, if there's a hold-up ahead, we're stuck anyway."
"If we're careful," Isa added. "We could even climb down the Duskland mountains. I know a few paths, but the…" She looked at me and Varis and Herbert's children. "The children may have difficulty, but it would cut much of our time down."
"But what about the striders?" Olson gestured to his animals. "Can't we take Darlene and Newo?"
"You can if you want," Father said. "But how are we going to lug around their feed and water without the wagons? It'd be best if we let them off on their own. The girls can survive better off without us, and who knows they might follow us."
There was a brief silence before suddenly Olson threw his arms up in the air. "Blasted all!" Olson cursed and shouted before falling quiet as the sound of a distant, yet scarily close explosion echoed from the direction of New Gessik. An eruption of gunfire soon followed the cracks of rifles, and the swooshing sounds of magic made me shiver as goosebumps began to form along my arms and I gulped.
"How in the hell are they chasing so fast?" Father muttered under his breath. "This is about to turn into a fighting retreat; we need to go." Father got up and gestured for us. "C'mon kids, off; we're moving on foot."
"Mr. Ashflow, what're you doing?" Olson blurted, the dwarf seemingly confused and afraid.
"I appreciate you letting us come along, Mr. Olson, but it seems things have changed." Father said as he helped Varis, and I hopped off along with my mother and Isa. Even Peter chose to come along with us. "My family and I will go on foot, and I implore you to do the same."
I followed behind my father and turned to see Isa loading what looked to be a few bags, which she passed to Peter. I looked back up and saw Mr. Hautchkins look at his wife, who nodded, and soon he, along with his family, began to disembark as well.
Olson looked more confused. "Herbert, what're you doing? Aren't you coming with us still?"
"Fozek," Herbert said, referring to Olson by his first name. "You should come with us. Leave the wagon behind. You can hear them, can't you?" He gestured to the sound of battle. "They'll be on us in hours, probably sooner if we keep waiting."
The stubborn dwarf looked to his wife and two boys, along with the goods packed in his wagon. With a sigh, he cursed once more. "Blasted… Alright, you string beans, grab what you can, and let's go!"
Father took my right hand in his and began to tug me along the road as the military convoy rolled by. I looked back and watched as Isa and Herbert unhitched the striders, letting the creatures go free as they then began to follow behind us.
I felt my father squeeze my hand tighter, and I looked up and saw a grimace on his face.
I can't imagine how he feels. With the fear and anxiety etched on his face, I could see him trying to stay strong.
"It'll be okay, Papa," I said to him, and immediately his face hardened as he pulled on his strong look again, and he smiled down at me.
"I know," he said. He was acting tough.
Trying to act strong myself, I smiled and said, "We can think of this as like a nature walk!"
Father laughed softly and said, "Yeah. Nature walk."
So we left the wagons and excess goods behind. Having taken what we could, we began our ascent up the Duskland mountains, hoping to widen the ever-shortening berth between us and the invading force.