I turn around in my seat, “Alexis! And yours?”
“Willem,” he waves in goodbye and runs back to the little girl.
I smile and ride up next to Holis, thinking of how much Willem looks like Yara.
Our group continues down the road and leaves the village behind, riding into the thick forest of Fumagalli by mid-morning. The trees stand tall and gloomy with their branches hovering over us and swaying with the breeze, and every now and then I catch myself looking up and searching for a giveaway to the hidden city I know rests above. Everything looks as it should, a testament to it’s perfect stealth, yet at one point I think I see a glint of something shimmering high in the canopies. When I tilt my head to peer closer, the only thing I spot is a small opening in the trees where the sunlight falls down. The hidden city is hidden all too well.
Eventually the Black Forest begins to thin and the cool breeze becomes stronger even as more sunlight makes its way to us on the ground. I can tell that we’re nearing the edge of the forest when the trees become narrow, their trunks losing their denseness and allowing hints of flat, tan landscape to be seen far up ahead. We ride towards that sight of barren land until the forest completely thins out and only two final trees grace the Great Road at each side. Large banners of green are affixed to those trees with the Kingdom of Disce emblem waving proudly in the wind, their colors alerting any travelers of the entry to the Black Forest and one of the Four Kingdoms of the Old World.
My eyes go wide when we ride into the Bulwark Plains.Everything, and I mean everything, no matter where I look, is just flat, yellow grasslands and dead plains. And I’m not even sure if grasslands is the right word to describe it. Nothing about the ground below us resembles the green grass I’m so accustomed to in Disce. It’s not lush, nor does it have any capacity to flourish into something better. The whole area is just dead. A vast expanse of dried out land that has no trees or bushes or any signs of wildlife, just something that goes on forever in a desolate manner. If it wasn’t for the wide road of brown dirt and gravel in front of us, I would surely become lost.
“Not much to look at,” Cal grumbles from his seat.
“I don’t like how out in the open we are,” Holis replies as his brother nods silently in agreement.
I don’t like it either.
The land is completely open and flat, with the blue sky going on and on with no end in sight. There’s a few rolling hills out in the distance, but they’re not tall enough to shield our group from anyone else riding by. Surely if there were nomads or groups from the Riverlands that the Master Informer keeps hinting at, they’d be able to see us from a distance. So what’s to stop them from engaging with our group? And more so, what kind of engagement would that be? The last time a group of nomads attacked Disce it almost landed our two Kingdoms in the middle of a war.
The thought sends a twist of guilt in my gut.
Ancients,I’m useless out here.
Completely and utterly useless.
If any nefarious group decides to attack us, I can’t be of help.
The thought is depressing, and for the first time in my life, I find myself wishing that I was skilled with a life or death weapon and could defend myself and others properly. Sure, I could probably take down a stranger with my smaller dagger, my aim is pretty good and could more than likely pierce that person in a fatal area on their body. I could probably even try to get my hands on an extra bow and engage in that way, though my aim is still a bit faulty to count on. But truly, and if I’m being completely honest with myself, I know I won’t be able to provide any support to our group if we are attacked on this open road. I’m still not even comfortable with my new, larger dagger, the one that Cal wants me to use in close combat.
The realization hits me like a heavy blow. If something did happen, I’d just have hide behind the men and Alanna and let them protect me.
Fucking Ancients.
I scowl at the Bulwark Plains with a new apprehension.
I hate feeing this way. I hate that I feel so vulnerable.
We continue down the dirt road in silence with our small group of four still bringing up the rear. When the sun finally breaks midday, Keane leads our group off the road and slows Ash, signaling a break for all. It isn’t until we’re riding into our small camp that my eyes roam over the group of men in front of us as another small realization hits me hard.
“What do we do for our private needs?” I whisper to Cal.
At home we had the forests for cover. Out here we have nothing.
Cal gives me a glance and spots my nervousness, his sigh loud.
“Its times like these I’m glad I was born male.”
“Cal,” I hiss at him, slapping his shoulder, “this is serious.”
“I know,” he chuckles softly.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t laugh.”
“And yet you still are,” I scowl, trying to keep my voice down.
“I suspect you’ll have to take a walk with Alanna,” he sighs, “though you should move a bit farther down the plains and out of sight from the group.”
“Ancients,” I grumble.
