The Long River came into view first. Skana was standing in the wagon and stretching her legs when she saw it. “Gods above…” She whispered, her arms stretched out overhead and she was about to bring them down, but the sight of the sea of endless blue stretching out toward the far horizon was enough to cause her to freeze. Cresting the low hill she caught sight of the way the river wound toward the distance, though Laylan wasn’t yet in view, it wasn’t hard to conclude that it wouldn’t be long.
“How wide is that…?” She asked, without even thinking of whom she was speaking to, nor even glancing to see if anyone was near enough to ask at all. The sun struck the clear blue of the rushing water and created a sheen of pure white in places so that it was as if the river itself was one of light.
Elsewhere she could clearly see the vibrant blue water reflecting the sky above, and the drifting clouds that floated through the air, and such was the state of the water that the river reflected the clouds like a mirror, making it appear that there was a sky above and a sky below.
“I don’t know exactly, but it would take you about two hours to walk across it if you had a spell to let you do that. Or so I heard from a magic caster who actually did it once.” Skana looked down to see that it was Micah who addressed her, disbelief etched on her face, she looked from him to the impossible body of water that stretched far, far out of view.
“You’re telling the truth, you’re not lying?” She asked and brought her left hand up to her forehead and held it out level to block the sun from her eyes. “It’s… I’ve never seen anything like this…”
“Unless you lived by the Long River, I doubt you have. Some say it stretches all the way from the other side of the continent, and then straight through to the other.” Micah answered, and Skana could only whistle.
“Impressive, I know. From what some of the merchant apprentices tell me though, it stops at the Undercity Lake, then goes underground, and comes out beyond the city and runs all the way to the world ocean.” Micah whistled, “My former family had an estate that was at the corner of where a tributary met the long river, I don’t know if it actually goes all the way to the other end of the continent, but if you wait by the water long enough, you see strange things float by sometimes.”
“Strange things?” Her curiosity piqued, she ripped her eyes away from the scenery to focus on the fine featured face of the magic caster.
“Tree logs from trees that don’t exist anywhere I’ve ever ridden, and I’ve been as far east as the border with the Devor Empire in the far north. Bones from animals or monsters that I don’t recognize. Once a broken piece of wood washed up that was carved into the shape of a dragon’s head. Goodness knows where that came from.”
This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
“What like a little toy?” Skana asked, “Some rich kid probably lost it.”
He shook his head, “No, bigger. The carved head was the size of my whole body, it looked like the bow of a boat. But I don’t know of anyone anywhere that makes boats like that, and I’ve been all over the far coast.”
“Wow…” Skana tried to picture it, and the waters of the river became all the more enticing, mysterious… her feet ached to walk again, to put the ground beneath them, and while she thought about what Micah said, it hit her what she’d left behind.
‘With the bandits I could come and go as I pleased. After the war and everything, I could do whatever I wanted… after Lady Jadara gives me armor and weapons and buys a horse for me to ride… no, I don’t think she’ll let me just walk away. I traded away complete freedom without even thinking about it.’ She cleared her throat and sat back down, diminishing her view of the landscape.
It was enough to make her ask the magic caster, “So… about life here. I get that people aren’t all really happy with me right now. But if I say, settle in alright? What’s life like for you all? And what will it be for me?”
“When we don’t have a current contract?” He asked, and Skana gave a tiny, anxious nod in return.
“We ride where Lady Jadara tells us to, stopping only to take care of what we have to, we sleep where she tells us to, and when we stop in a city she draws our pay and supplies. We send out riders ahead to other cities to see if there is trouble to be found with war or monsters or brigands like you. If the riders return or send a message with an offer or a notice of a possible job, we leave. If they don’t, we layover outside the city and get a little vacation. If by vacation you mean,” he smirked a little, “drill and drill and more drill followed by an evening of drill. Or in my case, magic study to try to raise my skills to be more useful. Then after that, we might drill some more, and get an actual day off once a week.”
Skana was deathly quiet when she took that in, and sensing her discomfort, Micah inched his dark horse a little closer to the wagon and leaned over a little, resting his arm on the side of the wagon and drumming his fingers. “Then,” his voice took on an almost threatening tone, “there’s the actual fighting. When we get a job, because everybody here is distantly descended from the gods, we’re put in the most dangerous places. Usually right in the center, or at the front of the column on a march to take the charge. Even if we weren’t, we’re nothing more than cast off sons and daughters, half-breed nobles, not only does nobody give a shit if we die, most of the people behind us would feel better if we did.”
Skana’s face went pale, and for a moment Micah was almost pensive, “You know, in that respect, you might just fit right in.” He let out a deep, bitter laugh, “Welcome to the bottom level of hell, Skana. Stick with it, and you might just learn to love it here, or you’d better, or it really will be a nightmare led by a demoness in human form.”
He straightened up, and though he said a bit more, Skana heard none of it.
She barely noticed when he rode off, and barely felt the passage of time before they came into sight of the city walls the following day.