Dear diary I prefer a raft. Or a canoe or any type of ship.
After we reached the top of the hill yesterday, we decided to follow its crest to keep a watch on the water elementals. The elementals, for their part, put in good work before it becomes too dark to see properly. They have already put out more than half of the wildfire.
That is my reason for concern today. Most of the fire is out, and the water elementals are working fast to eliminate the last remaining piece. Leaving the path to our location free of fire and trees, a fact that the company of horse riders is making use of right now to close in on us.
I stare while trying to think of a plan; horses are not that good on uneven terrain or in thick forests. A problem that the fire kind of resolved. If we are lucky, they can only take the horses as far as we are now and have to do the rest on foot. But that is still problematic. Even with my augmented strength, I was starting to feel the effects of a lack of sleep and starvation. Anna could not be doing much better, so they will catch up to us soon.
Now the question remains: where exactly will they catch up with us? I must make it a location where I hold an advantage. But where would that be? A small cave could work, taking advantage of the fact that we are smaller than most men and the fact that you have to only pay attention to one side. It would make the fact that we are outnumbered less of an issue. But we would be smoked out easily, and even if they did not think of that idea, my own flames would cause the same issue.
“What are you frowning about?” Anna asks as she walks up next to me and stretches out.
“That,” I say while pointing at the riders. “I was wondering how to fight those.”
“We can’t outrun them?”
“Maybe if we were well rested and well fed, but seeing how that is not the case, I estimated that they would catch up with us towards the end of the day at the latest tomorrow, depending on how easy it is to find our sent or tracks again.”
“So what do we do then? Make it difficult for them to buy as much time as possible. Set another forest fire.”
“Those are all good opinions, but I believe we should prepare for the possibility that this might turn into a fight.”
“You think that you can take them?” Anna asks, looking at me curiously
“Not unless magic is really rare.”
“It’s not common, but in such a hunting group, you would at least expect one mage.”
“Well, guess we got to run then. Are you ready to go?”
She nods. “Let’s go”
Progress is quick at first; the fact that we are on top of a hill means that we get to decent for quite a while, making use of the slope and gravity to speed us up. We reach the bottom again in no time at all and continue in a straight line further into the forest.
It is at this point that we come across another river, but this one's flow is a lot more rapid. We make sure to drink a lot of water when we stop at its edge. But this thing is still blocking our way.
“You think this is the Mandiko River,” Anna asks after I have been quiet for a while.
“The what?” I ask confused
“The Mandiko River flows through most of the country and provides it with water.”
I frown. “Does this mean that it flows this quickly through the entire country?”
“No, it splits up at Alfast, losing a lot of its momentum there as it flows to different parts of the country.”
“What is the allegiance of Alfast?”
“Neutral, the city is run by arc magus Gilford,”
“I nod. I have a very stupid idea, then”, I say, looking at her.
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“What is it?”
“You see that fallen tree over there. We drag that into the water and ride it all the way to Alfast. We will be outrunning our enemies and heading to safety simultaneously. Its only real flaw is that it would be cold.”
Anna frowns in thought. “I am not sure that reaching Alfast necessarily means safety.”
“Really, they chase you that far? Why have they been chasing you so much in the first place?”
“I am an arcane host. Magic is power here. It does not matter if you are any good at it. Having magic comes with a degree of state. Having the ability to grant that makes me valuable.”
“I see. I did not really think of that.”
“Yeah, and the fact that I am a noble is even worse. If I run free without them having any way to keep me quiet, I could ruin their reputation. So they probably feel extra motivated on top of that as well.”
“So you think going to Alfast is a bad idea?”
“My father has always warned me away from going there,” Anna says in an unsure tone.
“And was this a don’t go under any circumstance warning or if you have better option warning?” I ask, a bit curious.
“I am not sure I know what you mean.”
“Well, did your dad say that you should not go there because he does not like it or because you would be in serious danger?”
“Honestly, it looked more like my dad really hated the Arc Magus.”
“I see. Well then, I am going to respectfully ignore that problem for now, based on the fact that our life is in danger.” I say as I walk to the felt tree and start dragging it toward the river.
“Can I say that I don’t like this plan?” Anna asks in an unsure tone.
“Sure you can. You are also more than welcome to come up with a better one,” I say as I drag the tree into the water.
“But the water is cold.”
“It is, but I can at least keep us warm with the fire stuff,” I say.
“You really don’t have a better plan.”
“I promise you I wish I did.”
With some more grumbling, I get the tree into the water with Annabelle on top of it, then I jump on top of it as well, and we are off. The trip downriver is not that exciting, but it is fun in its own little way. I mean, we probably are not travelling as fast as on foot in some areas, but I have come to the amusing discovery that if I set my feet on fire, it will actually heat up the water to a bearable degree, making it more of a footbath so Anna does not have to complain about the cold that much.
“What she does complain about is the fact that neither of us released; there would be some waterfalls. Luckily, it was not the crazy high once, so it is more than fine, but getting dunked suddenly does not make her that happy. And telling her it was not that high does not seem to pacify her.
We don’t encounter any other humans on our way downstream, and after a while, we spot the giant walls of Alfast. We get off the tree and swim to the shore. Once we are on dry land, I use my fire magic to dry our clothes, giving us some semblance of convert back. Luckily, with the abundance of water, I had access to because of our trips, I got really good at setting things on fire without actually burning them, leaving our clothes dry and with a smoky scent.
We walk up to the gate, where a small line of people are getting checked by the guards. We go stand at the back of the line and wait as well, to Anna’s displeasure. Once it is our turn, I walk up to the guard.
“Names and reason for visiting?”
“My name is Traveller, that is Annabelle, and the reason for visiting is to seek refuge from rapists,” I say in a neutral tone.
The guard gives me a long look. “You know that this is no time to joke around.”
“I wish that I was joking,” I say in a serious tone.
“Really, Jenkins, what does the stone say?” the guards shouts.
“They are telling the truth,” someone else shouts back.
I raise an eyebrow. “You can tell if we are lying?” I ask, confused
“Yes, the gracious arc magus installed them to make sure the nobles could not play any funny business in his city”, the guard explains.
“Fascinating, so does that mean we are allowed in?” I ask, a bit hopeful.
“Do you have any ill intentions towards the city?”
“No, I am honestly willing to sing its praises if I get inside.”
“Good enough for me. That would be six shackles,” the guard says
“Six, what now,” I ask, a bit confused
“The toll everyone has to pay if they want to enter the city.” The guard explains.
I turned a concerned look at Anna. “Do you have some money stuffed away somewhere?”
She looks a bit ashamed at me. “No, but when my father gets here, he would be more than willing to pay double whatever toll you ask for, I am sure.” She says to the guard while showing some kind of emblem.
“Sorry, miss, but the nobles have no power here.” The guard says while looking disgusted at the token.
“What does a sword made by a dwarf apprentice fetch in the city?” I ask.
The guard gives me a stunned look. “About 100 doubles, depending on the quality.”
“Then can I use this sword as a sort of stand-in until her father shows up?” I say while taking out the sword.
“You are sure this is made by a dwarf apprentice?” the guard asks while taking the sword.
“Yes, I saw it with my own eyes. You can check on the truth devise,” I say
“Jenkins?” the guard shouts again.
“No falsehood,” Jenkins shouts back.
The guard turns back to me, “We have a deal for now, but your father better come pay double within a week, or we sell the sword.”
I nod. “Thank you,” I say as we walk inside.
“Didn’t you make that sword?” Anna asks once we are out of earshot.
“Yes, and I am an apprentice to a dwarf, so I did not lie,” I say with a smile.
“Yeah, but the way you said it made it sound like a dwarf made it.”
“It’s not my fault that they got the wrong conclusion; now, please tell me you have at least a way to get us an inn and send a message to your father?” I ask.
“Yeah, we should go to the merchant guild. We can lend some money there.”