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Part III of the first chapter of my series. I hope that you all enjoy. If you'd like to see the entire story, visit my "Complete Series" Journal entry. I update this story every other day, for those who wish to read it.
The ride to the Lelantos Empire was excruciatingly long. Claude and Victor had spent the entirety of the last four hours on horseback, galloping along the paths and roads that were spread across the Yellowdale Kingdom. The city of Lelantos could be seen from the top of the hill.
Victor had insisted that at least a small company of soldiers should accompany them on their trip, just in case. At first, Claude had welcomed the challenge, but after Victor's gauntlet smacked into his back, he reluctantly stopped arguing. Now, the group of travelers were galloping down the hill, headed towards the capital of the Lelantos Empire.
The scenery around them was beautiful. The moons had risen high into the sky. One obscured the stars that resided behind it, while the other -- being much farther away -- was barely noticeable as it peaked out from behind the other. However, both shone with a mellow blue light on the grasslands before them. The path that they followed had been beaten down to just dirt, and all around them, the grass basked in the moonlight and waved freely in the wind. The river stretched into the horizon and passed beside the walled city of Lelantos. Eventually, that river opened out into the bay, which made travel to Lelantos by boat simple.
Despite the brilliant sight that surrounded the company, they continued to push on, ever vigilant. In this area, the sight of an escort usually increased the odds that a caravan could be raided. The thought process behind this included the cost of hiring an escort, which could show that the person was of nobility or high ranking.
The group did not have any wagons or freight to carry, so their probability of being raided on the road was low, which was why Victor insisted that it would be fine to bring an escort in the first place.
Despite the escort, Victor's bet held strong, and the group arrived at the gates of Lelantos within the next fifteen minutes. It had been a while since Claude had been to Lelantos, so he made sure to take in the sights as he began to pass through the gates.
The walls of the city were lined with the banners of the Empire, and the walls themselves were at least fifteen feet tall and fashioned completely of stone bricks. There were large towers that had been built at each corner of the wall. The roofs of the towers were made of layered wooden planks, and Claude could see figures standing within them. He figured that they were either archer's towers or beacon towers. They might have even been both.
The gate to the city was open. The large wooden doors were swung outward to both sides of the gate, and Claude noticed that the doors had been reinforced with large, black-iron bars. They lined the door up and down on each side. Victor nudged at him from his perch on his horse and pointed at the doors, whispering, "See those? The doors probably weigh nearly half a ton each!"
Claude nodded and continued to take in his surroundings. There was a gatehouse that was positioned on the top of the wall, but the troops that guarded the gate only stayed in the gatehouse when the gates were closed. Now, they were out and about, carrying torches and greeting visitors to the city.
The guards wandered over to Claude's company and noticed the guild's banner on the saddlebags of the horses. "Ah, the Council of Virtuous Parley. What brings you to Lelantos on this fair night?"
Claude looked down to the soldier who was questioning him. "We are here to speak with Sir Lucien Vorstalm of The Seven Swords. We have urgent financial matters to attend to."
The guard looked to the men in the guild's company and back to Claude. "I'll need your names before I can let you all through the gate. Sorry for the inconvenience, but it's a new regulation. By order of Lelantos IV himself."
Claude was puzzled. Lelantos soldiers had never asked for travelers' names before. What even could have caused a regulation such as this to come into being? He listed the company's names, and the guild was able to travel onwards.
Just past the gate spanned the city of Lelantos. It was much larger than Port Rap, but did not have unlimited access to the bay. This was a disadvantage of Lelantos, but they made up for that disadvantage by creating hundreds of farms that lined the river to the north and south. The fertile soil made for an abundance of crops, which proceeded to feed their growing economy.
Port Rap's soil was far too salty to be farmed because of its proximity to the bay, which opened out into the Emberbow Sea. The Yellowdale Kingdom did not have a river with fertile soil to farm, so trading with the Lelantos Empire was a necessity. However, the Lelantos Empire also relied on the Yellowdale Kingdom due to its lack of forests. Despite the river that flowed through the Lelantos Empire, the entirety of the country was dominated by grasslands and farmlands. In contrast, much of the heart of the Yellowdale Kingdom was covered in forests, which made trade with the Yellowdale Kingdom essential as well.
Claude did not particularly enjoy the city of Lelantos. It was far too bright for his standards. Here in Lelantos, the city was lit from head to toe by lanterns and torches, and the community was bustling night and day. Taverns were brimming with drunks, and the marketplace was overflowing with advertisements and sales. The large walls that surrounded the city trapped a majority of the light and the noise within the city, which only amplified the intensity.
Port Rap was not a walled city. It could not possibly be one. The bay's waves would eat away at the walls and weaken them. The salt in the air would embed itself into the seams and destroy the foundation of the walls. It would be an illogical operation if the city were to have walls built around it.
Despite the uncomfortable conditions, Claude carried on, leading the group through the cobblestone streets of Lelantos. Crowds parted so as not to be run over by the horses, and some paused to watch as the armored soldiers passed. Victor waved at the crowds and smiled widely at the attention.
Eventually, they reached the more formal and far less active business district of Lelantos. Here, the streets were lit with fewer lanterns and the only people bustling about were high class citizens and business owners. The streets in the business district did not have nearly as many weeds growing about. The cobblestone roads were clean and the smell of herbs were in the air.
The buildings were not nearly as cheaply made as the cottages and shacks that were scattered around the other parts of the city. Here, the buildings had layered, wooden roofs, such as the ones on the towers that lined the walls. This was in stark comparison to the other buildings, which were mostly thatched with straw. The walls of the buildings were made of crushed stones and formed a more compact, tougher material than the normal stone bricks.
As they trotted along, the company followed the streets up small stairs, steadily rising to the heart of the city. Eventually, the cobblestone streets opened up into a circular plaza. There was a fountain that stood in the center of the area. The water flowed off from the layered design at the heart of the fountain. It resembled several upside-down plates that were stacked on top of each other.
From this area, they could see the city below them. They were roughly at the same height as the walls that surrounded the city, and the sight was breathtaking. The lights from the torches flickered to and fro as people moved about.
From here, they could also see the Imperial Palace on the opposite side of the fountain. There was a stone wall that was about seven feet high that was created to keep out the normal citizens. A guard was positioned by the wall every twenty feet or so. Directly in adjacent to the fountain was a large iron gate that served as the entrance to the Palace.
The group dismounted from their horses and one of the guards greeted them and took their horses to the stables, which were positioned to the left of the fountain. Another guard let a small troop to the guild members. "What business have you with the Imperial Palace?"
Claude answered firmly, crossing an arm across his stomach as he bowed in greeting to the guard. "I am Claude Faute, Guildmaster of the Council of Virtuous Parley in the Yellowstone Kingdom. We are here to seek a conference with Sir Lucien Vorstalm of The Seven Swords. He should be expecting us."
"Wait here, and I will confirm your arrival with Sir Lucien." The guard wandered off, passing through the gate and turning to the left a short distance into the Palace grounds. He had left the other guards with the group.
A short while later, the guard returned and bowed low to the guild members. "I apologize for the inconvenience. If you would follow me, I will bring you to The Seven Swords' Guild Hall." The guard turned back to the gate and the group passed through as two other guards held the gate open, proceeding to close it and lock it once the group had passed through completely.
Claude stepped steadily behind the guard, taking in the visuals of the Palace grounds. There were gardens all around him, and the stone-slab paths were lit with elegant lanterns. The air here was clear and smelled of flowers. Bushes lined the paths and above the bushes were more gardens that had been raised to about chest-height. A gorgeous array of decorative flowers covered the cleanly cut grass of the gardens.
They had taken the same left as the guard had previously, and in the distance, they saw a large building. It was a beautiful building that resembled an inn. However, the building was completely built of white stone. The building had several balconies that were supported by large columns. The entire structure was split half by a bridge that crossed over the main path. It connected the two halves with a hallway, and from their spot on the path, the group could see the windows of the bridged hallway. They were elegantly shaped, with tendrils of stone lining the corners.
The guard stopped them at the foot of the bridge and asked them to wait. "I will inform Sir Lucien of your arrival." He stepped off to the building on the left and entered a door beneath the bridge. He returned a few moments later and instructed the group to enter the building.
Claude led the guild members into the left half of the building and he took in the familiar sights of The Seven Swords' guild hall. This was the entrance hall, and it was splendidly decorated with beautiful, white furniture and a fireplace. The white walls were lined with paintings whose frames were trimmed with gold and silver.
The fireplace was lit and a figure was sitting by it in an armchair, delicately poking at the wood with a long iron rod. As they entered, he set the rod down and stood to face the guild members. His silver hair fell to his ears and his silver eyes. He wore an elegant black royal coat whose buttons were also silver. His shirt beneath was snow-white, and he wore gloves that matched it.
His voice was deep, but incredibly soft when he spoke. "My guests from the Yellowdale Kingdom, please, make yourself at home! For, we have much to discuss." His smile was sincere as he bowed to the visitors.
Claude crossed his arms and nodded at the man. "Sir Lucien Vorstalm of The Seven Swords, it is good to see you again. I'm sure you will hear us out, as we have made the long and arduous trip here, all the way from Port Rap in just one night on horseback."
Lucien closed his eyes and nodded with his smile still intact. "Indeed. You all must be exhausted. Might I bring you refreshments?"
All of the members were anxiously awaiting Claude to agree, but Claude dismissed the offer, much to their disappointment. "That won't be necessary. This is an urgent matter, and we have only a few hours left to act on it."
Lucien scoffed slightly, "Well, how urgent could a matter be that you would decline food? I don't remember you ever doing that when you were a child, you know."
At this, Claude furrowed his brow and began to rant. "Just because you weaseled your way into the royal family doesn't mean you get to pity me, you know. I swear, it's like this every time we meet. 'Prince' Lucien is so great. He's everything the Lelantos family could have ever wanted. Meanwhile, Claude, here, is working his fingers to the bone just to keep his guild alive!"
Lucien laughed aloud at Claude's outburst. "You never change, brother." He attempted to contain himself, but failed and began laughing even harder.
Claude was not impressed. "Let's just get this over with," he said to his group with a mumble. "I'd rather my brother not pity me any more than he has to."
 Ty-Harukii · Fri Jun 30, 2017 @ 08:44pm · 0 Comments |
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