We walked south for several days, sticking close to the mountains as they slowly receded from the sea. We stayed off the road, walking parallel to it, as close to the foot of the mountains as we could. We passed by a great lake and soon were flanked by mountains on both sides as the path finally turned east, away from the sea.
We packed light, taking simple, dried foods and easy-to-cook meals. Scavenging sticks to start fires and sleeping outside without a tent. Thankfully, I was warm this time of year with few bugs or insects to pester us at night.
After some time, I lost track of how many days we had been travelling since they all blended into each other. We woke up, packed up, walked till dark and stopped to sleep. Though it was the small moments in between, the short breaks and quiet chats that were the only parts that made it all worthwhile.
During our long walk, we talked about small things. Like home, hobbies, family, and foods we liked. I learnt about her family, how the Godis had a family member in each town, so having many children was customary for them. She was the twelfth and last chick of the current yarl, and with only seven cities, and with the inclusion of the relatives to the yarl, such as brothers and sisters, that leaves little use for additional children.
I spoke about my upbringing, how life was like for me growing up in Trident Wood as a half breed during wartime and without a father. As I spoke of it, she walked up behind me and hugged me. I had grown a lot taller in the past year, so now, rather than her chest sitting atop my head, it pressed against the back of my head.
Thinking about how much I've grown between the ages of fourteen and fifteen, a thought crossed my mind.
"When's your birthday?"
"Hmm?"
"When we first met, you said you were seventeen. So I was wondering when your birthday was since mine was not that long ago."
Her arms fell away from me as she moved to walk beside me.
"I was born late in the month of Maria. So I turn eighteen in a few weeks, I think."
"We should find a way to celebrate. Hopefully, we'll make it somewhere safe in a few weeks and can get you something special."
"Ek hefi hér nú nokkut sérligt"
"Hmm, what was that?"
"N-nothing."
"You said something embarrassing just now, didn't you?"
She walked with a slightly quicker pace as we crested the hill. She stopped and looked out. As I caught up with her, I saw the path below stretching eastward, descending between the mountains and giving way to a great valley. At the bottom of the descent was a town. Beyond that, in the far, far distant, there was a slightly different shade of green, a much darker shade that spanned the horizon. The Ironwood Forest.
The two of us stood in stunned silence at the view from up high. We could see specks in the distance that were other towns and structures that we couldn't make out in detail. To the south was a great body of water. If I knew where we were, and I'm not sure that I did, that should be the ironlake. In the shimmering silver waters, there was a small dot of land in the middle.
What we enjoyed next most of all was that the remaining part of the mountain crossing was downhill. So, we walked towards the town in the distance.
"Isn't that town on the Emperor's Walk?"
There were a few towns scattered along the long road that connected Vilta to the imperial capital in the north. It was the single longest road in history, named after the fact that the emperor would use it to travel south to Vilta. Though most of the towns were small, the one before us was massive. Compared to Trident Wood, it was at least ten or twenty times the size, though nothing compared to the enormous scale of Vilta.
"I think just passing through it should be okay. Hopefully, word about me hasn't gotten out yet."
"Yeah, it's not that big of a town either. Maybe the size o' my hometown is not a little bigger."
Was that what's considered a small town? What was my hometown then? A small village? This town in front of us looks like it could have thousands of people in it. Back home, there were no more than a few hundred. While I was pondering the scale of the town, Kona had already walked ahead, so I had to catch up.
As I jogged behind her, she turned her head back to me.
"What's the matter? Never been in a big city before?"
"Well, once for a little bit, Vilta. I was in the prison towers."
"Oh, right, war slave. I remember seeing those towers; they have them right in the middle of the city, facing north, so you only saw half of Vilta."
I wanted to shout something out, but all that came out was a choked gasp from my gaping mouth. Kona turned and laughed.
"You thought that was the whole city?"
"B-but it was massive. It's twice that big?"
"Oh, just you wait till you see the imperial capital. It makes Vilta look tiny."
"Vilta…tiny?"
Kona giggles and returns to walking downhill.
"If that's your reaction to half of Vilta, I can't wait to see what you look like seeing the wall."
The wall of the seven saints. I've heard of it, but never in my life did I think I would see it. But her she lived near it, she probably saw it frequently. Does that mean she wants to take me back north with her? All the way to the top? With a stupid grin, I had to catch up with Kona once again.
As we approached the town, I took a moment to ensure my hood was up. While adjusting it to try and hide more of my face, I noticed there was a loose bit of fabric around my neck. Tugging at it, I found I could pull it up and over my nose.
I tuned to Kona with my newly discovered face covering.
"Well?"
"Looks good. Most people will probably be looking at me, though. Oh, also, don't speak Viltin."
"Why not? I could translate."
"I've found that if you don't speak the language, people tend not to really bother you as much."
Or they shout at you with a sword as you try and climb onto their ship, is what I thought. As we approached the city wall and got closer to the gate, there were two guards stationed outside it. Watching us walk closer. As we approached, one of them stood up.
"Arrêtez. Identifiez-vous." [Stop. Identify yourself.]
I was about to speak back in Viltin out of instinct. But Kona stepped forward.
"I am Kona Godi, daughter to the yarl of the fjordlands. Do you have anyone who speaks imperial?"
The guard who was standing turned to the sitting guard.
"Parlait-elle l'impérial?" [Did she speak Imperial?]
"Oui. La capitaine de la garde parle un peu. Si elle parle l'impérial, laissez-la entrer. Elle est probablement une noble ou quelque chose comme ça." [Yes. The captain of the guard speaks a little. If she speaks Imperial, let her in. She's probably a noble or something like that.]
"Une noble ? Elle est énorme. Quel genre de noble a cette apparence?" [A noblewoman? She's huge. What kind of noblewoman looks like that?]
Kona's blank stare and what the guards were saying almost caused me to chuckle, but I held it in and kept my head down, hiding half behind Kona's frame. If I laughed, they would know I understood them.
"Eh bien, d'où vient-elle ? Savez-vous comment poser cette question en impérial?" [Well, where does she come from? Do you know how to ask that question in Imperial?]
The standing guard turned back to us and stepped closer to Kona, his eyes darted around for a moment, trying to think of the words.
"Where… from?"
"Fjordlands"
The guard turned to the other and shrugged, shaking his head. The sitting guard just waved his hand in dismissal.
"Il suffit d'ouvrir la porte." [Just open the gate]
The gate to the town opened from the inside, being pushed open by two more guards. As we walked past them and into the city, the one sitting gave us a smile and a wave.
"Bienvenue à Hemwick" [Welcome to Hemwick]
We walked through the town, following the road we had entered on. It went straight for a while, but eventually met with another running the other way at its end. The road before us was in the middle of the town. It was far wider than any other roads we had walked past. Along the roads were merchant stalls, dozens if not a hundred or so. The road was so wide that merchants' stalls could be on either side of the road, and you could still fit two or three wagons between them. This road must be the Emperor's Walk.
Directly across from where our road ended was a massive three-floor-tall inn. We looked down the road in either direction. There were not many people about, and all of the stalls were either closed or in the process of closing for the day.
We both knew we needed to stock up on some supplies before leaving town, and now we had to wait until tomorrow to do so. So, we both walked towards the inn.
We entered through the front door and were bombarded with noise. The entire first floor of the building was nothing but a tavern that was near full capacity. There had to have been at least forty people, maybe more. As we entered, a few stopped what they were doing and looked our way. As Kona walked towards the front counter, more and more people looked. Soon, the whole tavern was silent and staring.
"Bonjour. Comment puis-je vous aider?" [Hello. How can I help you?]
An older woman at the counter stood, cleaning out a tankard with a rag as she spoke to Kona.
"Sorry, do you or anyone else speak Imperial. We're looking for a room to stay the night."
"220 Franks per bed per night. 360 if you want a room to yourself. 400 for a double bed."
"Not too bad."
"Yep"
Kona removed her travelpack from her back and reached into it, rummaging around and pulling out a coin pouch, taking out four 100 frank coins, and placing them on the counter.
"One double bed in a private room, please."
The old woman snatched the four coins and placed a key atop the counter.
"Top floor, room number is on the key."
Kona grabbed the key and handed it to me as she picked up her pack and put it on her back again. Looking at the key, there was a number engraved on the stem of it. It simply read 'One'.
By the time our translation was over, the tavern had slowly resumed its noisy chatter as interest in staring at Kona faded; now everyone was taking to each other about her. They spoke in Viltin and were talking about her, knowing she couldn't understand. As we walked towards the stairs, I overheard people talking about her size, muscles, figure, hair, breasts, ass and so on. It kind of pissed me off.
We walked up the two flights of stairs, and the noisy sounds from below already started to fade. We emerged at the start of a long hallway of doors and walked down, looking at each one. The doors were marked with a number, each number descending as we went on. The final door at the far end of the hallway read 'one'.
We entered. It was a surprisingly large room with a single double-sized bed. There were large windows and even a small balcony. This room seemed quite luxurious for only 400 franks. I walked over towards the large windows that the bed faced and looked out onto the balcony at the sprawling rooftops below.
A loud thud rang out behind me as Kona dropped the travel pack on the floor. I took mine off as well and placed it on the floor by the door. Moving Kona's one there as well. While I was doing that, Kona flopped onto the bed and let out a sigh of contentment.
I pulled the mask from my face and pulled the coat off over my head. As I did, Kona looked towards me with a smile.
"There he is."
She sat up and patted the bed next to her for me to sit.
As I sat on the bed, I felt as if I was sinking into it. Kona smiled at my reaction.
"Have you never been in a bed this soft before?"
I shook my head and lay down on the bed. It felt as if I was lying on top of a cloud.
"This is sooooo soft. It's kind of weird."
"Well, if you need something a bit firmer to sleep you, you can always lie on me."
"I kind of like how soft it is, but it's hard to turn down an invitation like that."
Kona blushed softly and looked away. Seeing that made me smile. It was enjoyable seeing someone so big and strong looking vulnerable like that. I found it cute.
As we settled into the room, we debated going back downstairs to drink, but we needed to save the money. Instead, we stayed in the room and enjoyed each other's company instead and of course, the softness of the bed.