WW Chapter 61: Journey’s End (Patreon)

Despite feeling childish for feeling that way, Ezra’s stomach twisted with anxiety through the morning of traveling towards Brayton. Each step seemed to fall heavily on the ground, and every kilometer that passed seemed to be longer than the last. Even so, true to what Chloe had said, they were still about two hours until midday when the walls of the Duchy’s capital came into view.

The walls of his hometown were sizable—about two and a half meters tall and made of nearly solid stone. What he heard was that the stone walls of any walled city were made by traveling sorcerers, and, considering how smooth the ones in Villy were, Ezra had no reason to doubt that. Until just recently, those walls were effectively impassable for him. Between guards manning them and the difficulty he would have in climbing them, it was an undeniable, unalterable division between the poor in the slums and the rich inside.

Now, as an Adept, he could pretty easily call on the strength of his inner world to jump most of the way over those walls without any issue. If he was pushing himself, now that he’d had two more weeks of practice in traversing under the influence of his aura, he could probably jump entirely over the wall without touching it. That wall that had seemed insurmountable was now a barrier, but not one he would struggle to deal with.

Looking forward, Ezra saw just how small his world had been until now.

Brayton had no slums outside of its walls, at least, its external walls. Around the outside of the city that stood in the valley between two mountains, walls that would dwarf those in Villy stood proudly, and he could see from a distance that they were wide enough to have people walking two by two the entire way around. The walls sported… were they called crenellations or parapets? Those were both words that Chloe had mentioned in the past weeks that he couldn’t remember the difference between. Anyways, the walls were obviously built to withstand much stronger punishment than those he was familiar with. Soldiers patrolled and strode back and forth, with massive gates patterning the walls and being the only locations to enter the city.

“We’ll be circling to the eastern wall,” Chloe spoke and pulled him from his thoughts as Ezra slowed down to take in the view. “There we’ll have to pass through a few security checkpoints to get to the Duke, and it’s connected to a more rugged path. There should be less traffic.”

“You’re one of the Duke’s immediate subordinates,” Ezra said, raising his eyebrow at her. “Shouldn’t you just be able to walk in?”

“Yes, but—” she started to explain her rationale, but instead she asked, “Why do you think I think we should do it this way?”

Ezra pinched the bridge of his nose, cursing at himself for having opened himself up to this question. Then, he started to try to think his way through her question and come to the same conclusion that she had.

“Nobody likes waiting in line,” he said aloud, his boots thumping on the heavily compressed dirt. “And everybody gets pissed off when they feel like somebody else is getting something that they should get too. Like when some slum rat sees somebody else get charity when they deserve it just as much. Even if they don’t do anything about it, they’ll grumble and bitch and moan behind closed doors if nothing else. If we start telling people who complain that it’s all right because you’re the Duke’s soldier, they’re going to see if maybe they’re important enough to get the same treatment that you’re getting. So, your choice is going to a less populated entrance and not pushing past dozens of disgruntled merchants to do it. Because the other option is just to piss off even more people.”

“That’s about right,” Chloe nodded. “Also, the fact that it’s a less traveled road means that the people who are coming through there are less likely to be merchants in general, who are generally insufferable when it comes to getting into the place they’re trying to trade at anyways. Finally, the western gate gives easier access to the garrison.”

They continued to have brief conversation from then on, but, with their destination in sight, neither of them wanted to travel slowly until they were forced to wait in line. Though they approached on a road and started to see some traffic as they went, Chloe led the pair into a dried-out wash that led towards the gate she had mentioned they should go through.

With aura pushing them both, Ezra couldn’t help but remember the difference in how she moved compared to how he did. The stones under Chloe’s feet carried her forward, while meter-high boulders in her path simply grabbed her feet and carried her up, her speed never dropping. For him, as he had learned better and better to do, he followed the erratic, surging speed of the winds. From one steady foothold to the next, he jumped, the air cushioning his landing and carrying him further than any regular human would have been able to.

In only a few short minutes, the pair ran several kilometers through rugged terrain until they got to a relatively sheer, switchback-ridden path down from the mountains and towards the city.

“Why is the city down here instead up higher?” Ezra asked as the pair hustled down the slope.

“Nearly impossible to build on a mountaintop,” Chloe said. “There might be plenty of stone around, but finding a stable, flat area to build on is difficult enough, but adding to that the necessity of getting materials up to the top of the mountains? Not worth the effort. Plus, the purpose of having a fortress city in a valley is because an enemy force can’t get through the valley without fighting through the city, and passage through the mountains is so difficult that fielding an entire army through it is so taxing on supply lines and the troops themselves that it isn’t worth it for any sizable force.”

“I’ve never really thought of being in charge of taking care of an army,” Ezra said, stealing a glance up at the mountain peaks as he continued on the path downward. “Sounds like a pain in the ass to have to plan all that.”

Chloe laughed and nodded knowingly. “Logistics are the most tiresome, the most frustrating, and the most important part of standing in leadership of an army. A general might be the greatest mind to look at a battlefield on the continent, but if he can’t keep his troops fed, he’ll have no troops to field. Any commander is, at the absolute worst, professional with their quartermasters. Most desperately attempt to win the loyalty and affection of a good quartermaster.”

Ezra smiled, thinking of Yoran. Though he’d been saved from some of the worst of the conditioning drills, he’d still practiced alongside the rest of the squad and worked hard when he wasn’t working with his apprenticeship. Everybody had liked and been kind to him, regardless of if that was because of his position or just because of his personality.

That was one of the last thoughts he had before they grew closer to the walls of the fortress city. The path they followed was narrow, maybe only enough for a laden donkey to be able to pass, and the difficulty of the passage was obvious as the traffic was effectively nonexistent on this side. Only two small groups stood in front of the pair, and, seeing the staffing on this gate, Chloe looked at Ezra with an obvious look in her eye.

“Yeah, let’s wait,” he muttered back, speaking to make sure that he understood the subtle question she’d been trying to ask.

Fortunately, it seemed that he understood her, and she happily settled into the line behind the five people ahead. One group was a pair of two men. One wore a heavy cloak and had an unstrung bow in his right hand, while the other had a large backpack and a smile on his round, bearded face. The other group was three people, one middle-aged woman, a girl who appeared to be her barely adolescent daughter and the father of the family, who wore a heavy fur coat. The mother was in the process of speaking with the guards.

“We’re here to visit my son,” she explained patiently. “He’s been in an apprenticeship with the metalworker Jason for two years. He sent us a letter recently that he’s found a girl he wants to marry, so we’re wanting to meet her.”

“And this passport here says that you’re from a small town,” the guard said, glancing at the unfolded, thick parchment he was holding.

“Yes,” she said with a nod. “That’s where we live now, though my Elias here met me rather fortuitously about twenty years ago. I was out gathering some wild rosemary when I happened to find myself surrounded by a small pack of wolves. Elias, wonderful hunter that he is, had been tracking them to drive them away and saved my life. And with an introduction like that, how could I help but fall in love!”

She told the story with a broad smile, and Elias, though he didn’t say anything, looked to have heard the story dozens, if not hundreds of times. He smiled, and when the guard glanced at him, he nodded once in solidarity with his wife.

“Well, welcome back,” the guard said, handing the passport back. “Thank you for keeping your information up to date, and if there’s anything that you need, you should know where to look for it.”

“Oh, of course,” the mother said, taking her passport and then grabbing both members of her family by the hands and striding forward, walking right into the city.

Two guards were at the entrance, and the same one that had just let in the family seemed to be the one in charge of interviews. When the heavily laden man and his escort stepped forward next, the interviewer smiled.

“Welcome. Going off of the state of your backpack, I would say—I’m sorry, if you would give me just one moment.”

He cut himself off and peered around the two men to lock eyes with Chloe. He then glanced at her chest, seeing the small coat of arms that confirmed that she was, apparently, who he thought she was.

“Commander Chloe,” he said, straightening up as his smile became stiffer, “what can I do for you?”

At his words, the merchant and his escort looked back at the two people behind them. They glanced Ezra’s way as they walked closer, but, even though they seemed like heavily armed people, had only spared them a second glance and a nod before refocusing on the path that led into the city.

“I’m just returning from a quick mission,” Chloe said. “I’m sorry for interrupting your inspection. Please, feel free to continue working with these two gentlemen.”

“No, please, go right ahead,” the merchant said, stepping to the side to allow the soldiers to step forward. “A mere delay of one or two minutes is far from enough to be even considered an inconvenience.”

“Then thank you for your generosity,” Chloe said, inclining her head. Ezra hesitated, but did the same. Then Chloe stepped forward and smiled at the guard and his companion, who stopped leaning against the wall to stand at attention with his hand almost shaking on the spear haft he held.

“I must apologize, I don’t know you. Your names?”

“Lars Tanner, ma’am,” he answered, snapping off a quick salute.

“Calvin Cooper.”

“Thank you,” Chloe said, repeating both names to the men. “I apologize for not having learned your names. I will strive to remember them when next we encounter each other, but if I do happen to forget your names, please attempt to take no offense.”

“Oh, no, we would never—” Lars said, glancing at Calvin and seeming to not know what to say.

Chloe saved them and gestured for Ezra to come forward.

“Please, conduct any inspections that you need to. It’s no offense for two men employed by the Duke to be doing their assigned jobs.”

Ezra shrugged off his backpack and placed it on the small table that sat there while the two guards looked at each other in what was an obvious attempt to decide who was going to do what. Calvin ended up being the one who was willing to do what she said and step forward.

The ensuing search was quick but thorough, and, considering how few items Ezra actually carried, was completed before long. Then, as he was indicated to take his things back, Ezra shrugged his pack back on and looked at the two guards for the next instruction.

“Please, come on in. Welcome home,” Lars said, gesturing for the two to walk forward.

Chloe gave her thanks and pulled a large silver out of her pocket before stepping towards the merchant and placing it in his hand and closing his fingers over it.

“Thank you for allowing our expedited entry,” the Pseudo-Knight said to the man before turning on her heel and walking into the city.

Ezra nodded a greeting to the people that he left behind as he followed her path into the city. Despite his resolutions not to do so, he couldn’t help but gape and stare all around at the city as he could finally see inside.