Ryn of Avonside

The next day, the sky turned on us and a light drizzle swept the plains as we trekked along beside the river. Those of us from the Order were mostly fine — our armour was waterproof — but the Avonsiders only had standard raincoats, so their pants and shoes got soaked.

We passed the time going over words and phrases of Ghraial that we learned during the evenings in my grove. The non-mages had a normal enough time with the whole language thing, but Eilian and I rapidly began to pick it up. It was honestly uncanny how good we were at absorbing language, whether written or spoken.

By the third day of intermittent rain, the dirt road that followed the river became more and more muddy. We saw only one other travelling party heading back towards Neub — a farmer and his son on a wagon. They eyed us with extreme suspicion as we passed one another.

Gosh, but this region was empty. Supposedly, we were in a grand and ancient empire that had existed in some form for a thousand years. You wouldn’t know it out here, though. Out here, the grass ruled.

In fact, it was only on the evening of our fifth day out of Neub that we came across another settlement. It was an outlying farm for the next town. The sturdy round cottage was surrounded by trees and a small number of crop fields, along with a much larger pasture where sheep were happily grazing.

More farms like that one followed, until the plains had been beaten back by this little oasis of civilization. At the heart of all the little farmsteads, we found Agoshin, the first town that the original scouting party had discovered. It was larger than Neub, and had a more pronounced imperial presence.

The buildings on the outskirts were still the same round ones we recognised as being from the Reti culture, but as we entered town, the buildings changed shape. Still constructed using local riverside or mountain timber, plus clay or lime, they gained straight edges and tiled roofing.

Our entry into the town didn't go unnoticed. Guards wearing the standard orange and grey-blue leather and scale armour of the Ghraiga military watched us warily as we progressed through the unwalled town. Even the guards in the nest of a tall lookout tower leaned out to watch as we arrived in the central square.

“So… what are we going to do in this town, Dr. Ross?” I asked, eyeing the suspicious guards as much as they were us.

The older man seemed uncertain. “I believe… we should make contact with whoever is in charge?”

I nodded and after surveying the scene, pointed at the closest pair of guards, then motioned for them to approach. I tried not to enjoy the way the colour drained from their faces. The power that mages held with their very presence was disturbingly intoxicating.

“Lady Mages,” the older, more confident of the two soldiers said in heavily accented Anve when they reached normal conversational range. “How can we be of service… and, ah, we believe regulations require that we point you to the magistrate’s office.”

“That's exactly what we wanted to know, actually,” I said, attempting to sound as calm and mild-mannered as possible. “If it's okay, can you show us the way? Thanks.”

The two men exchanged wordless looks, then nodded and gestured for us to follow them.

They led us out towards the opposite side of town, and even at a distance it became clear which building was our destination. Rising three stories higher than any other building was a well crafted wooden fort, complete with a large ditch surrounding it.

Out the front, a long wooden drawbridge rested across the ditch. The thick, oiled ropes were slack currently, but they definitely looked up to the task of raising the bridge if the fort were attacked.

The Ghraiga military flag fluttered overhead on one of the two towers that made up the gatehouse, while the other had… wait, was that an aquila? The head of the metal eagle sculpture that sat atop a pole wasn't totally right, but it really did seem like a roman legion’s aquila. Curious, I waved a hand and cast my lensing spell to get a better look.

Ah, it wasn't an eagle, but it definitely resembled the aquila of a roman legion. Instead of the eagle that the word would imply was on top of the pole, however, was a bird with long, graceful horns, and a much meaner looking beak. Whatever this bird was, it didn't exist back on Earth.

“Ross,” I said in English, looking back at the man. “That's a battle standard up there. Looks like a Roman legion’s aquila, but the bird is alien. I think we might have a hint as to one of the cultural influences for the empire.”

“Romans…” he said, trailing off as a frown creased his brow. “Ominous. Their armour doesn't look particularly Roman, though.”

“It's been two thousand years, give or take,” I shrugged. “It's amazing that even the tradition of an aquila has survived. I wonder how old the empire is, actually.”

Deciding not to wait for an answer, I called to our escort in Anve, “Excuse me, I'm curious. How long has the empire existed for?”

The guards exchanged another look, and this time it was the younger one who dropped back and answered. “Ah… in its current form, slightly over two hundred years.”

“What happened two hundred years ago?” Dr. Ross asked.

“Well, great Ghrai blessed the Emperor Qar with the skill and courage needed to reunify the great lineages, of course,” he said, puffing his chest out a little. “The sun on my uniform symbolises his rise! It is his symbol.”

“I see,” I nodded, pretending to be impressed. “Thanks, dude. We're not from around here, obviously, and I didn't know much about the history of the empire.”

“Uh… yes, my pleasure, Lady Mage,” he said, stepping quickly to rejoin his comrade.

They led us through the gate and into a courtyard where a number of buildings were laid out in neat rows. Helpful signs in Ghraial pointed to various facilities, but I could only read one word in like, twenty.

Eventually, we arrived at a building partially set against, and into, the outer wall. One of the guards knocked, then stepped back to wait.

It didn't take long for the door to open, revealing a dark skinned man with a balding and greying head. He wore heavy brown robes with a blue shawl covering his shoulders.

“Yes?” He asked in Ghraial brusquely, before his gaze fell on Eilian and I, and he straightened, eyes widening. “Oh! Lady Mages! Ah… how may I be of service?”

I shrugged and switched us to Anve because while I could understand most of what he said, I didn't have a hope of speaking it. “Apparently we had to come see you, so you tell us.”

“Ah, yes…” he coughed, then for a moment he very visibly dredged through his memories while he stumbled over the swap in language. “Ah! Yes, I'm required to note the names of any mages who pass through.”

“Ryn of Avonside,” I said, pointing to myself. Then I jerked a thumb at my friend. “Eilian the Golden.”

“Thank you, thank you,” he said, pulling a notebook and pencil from his robes. He noted the names down, then glanced up again and tentatively asked, “And if I may… where do you intend to go?”

“The capital,” I said.

He noted that down too. “Good, good… ah, is there anything else?”

I glanced at Dr. Ross. “Professor?”

The older man considered the magistrate, then the soldiers and the fort. He held silent for a couple of seconds, thinking, then said, “You may also want to note that the mages were part of a squad of Knights from the Order of Eleos.”

Oh. We weren't going to talk about Avonside here? Interesting.

The magistrate frowned. “The… Order of Eleos?”

The younger guard cleared his throat. “I heard a rumour in the taberna about them, sir. Word is they gravely wounded Lord Fennimore and fought a steel one.”

“Oh,” the old man said, considering the non-mages in the group with a little more respect and interest. Of course, then he noticed how much magitech they were wielding and wearing, and his eyes widened slightly.

“They are escorting us,” said Dr. Ross, motioning to himself and his aids. “We're a diplomatic mission from a minor nation over the mountains, called Avonside.”

The magistrate nodded. “I see. I shall note this down too, thank you. If you have no further business here, you are welcome to go about your day. Oh, and your kind cooperation is…” he glanced at Eilian and me, “Greatly appreciated.”

With that, we left the fort, bid farewell to the guards, and headed back for the centre of the small town. As we did, Dr. Ross shook his head ruefully. “Every time we pass a Ring native who recognises you both as mages, I begin to understand just how lucky we were that it was you who found that fruit, Ryn. I heard stories from the battle with the robots, but they seemed so fantastical…”

Jenna snorted. “They're understated, if anything. I was there at the battle. Ryn practically ripped one of the big ones in half with her mind. Eilian was jumping around and cutting things up with her magic sword, too.”

Embarrassed, I shooed us towards the inn, or taberna as the guard had called it. There were apparently two in town. One at the central square, and one down by the small docks. We opted for the latter. Hopefully, we could buy passage on a river barge there.

Inside the taberna, we found a fairly clean, calm taproom with a few river sailors and a couple of locals. Everyone did the usual double-take as two mages and their heavily armed friends entered, but we ignored them and approached the bar to get a drink.

I spent a couple of minutes listening as the conversation in the room tentatively started back up. Except, of course, all the talk was about us now, and they didn't know I was amplifying my own hearing to listen in.

Grace's hand fell gently onto my arm, and I turned to gaze into her grey-green eyes. Leaning over, she murmured into my ear, “You're scaring the locals.”

“What else is new?” I replied softly, turning my head so we were nose to nose.

Her eyelids grew hooded, and her mouth hung open slightly for a second, then two. With a wry smile, she replied, “Dunno. I probably could've said something witty, but it's difficult to think with your lips so close.”

My heart thumped eagerly in my ears. This was… gosh. Flirting with your girlfriend all teasing-like was very fun. “Are we going to make out in this taberna full of frightened locals — in front of our team?”@@novelbin@@

She laughed and pulled away. “We'll wait until tonight, I think.”

Eilian cleared her throat. The look she was giving us… there were a lot of emotions in her eyes — sadness, amusement, and a sort of friendly pride. “So, seeing as those two are distracted by each other, I'm going to go and see about booking us passage. Ryn, can I have some stones? I've never really turned my talents towards making money…”

“Damned vagrant,” I said with a roll of my eyes.