The Border City Ord 1

Win and Calliope walk along a road in silence. Win has no intention of making conversation with her, and without stopping, or at least slowing down, Calliope can’t communicate with him at all. The sun begins to set. Win slows as he watches it. Soon enough, the sun has set. Win starts walking off the road proper, slightly into the plains.

“Let’s rest here for the night.”

Calliope follows him. Win raises one arm slightly and the ground begins to shake. Walls of dirt grow out from the ground and solidify around the two of them. Win points at the air in the center of the makeshift shelter. A small ball of light appears. Now with light, Calliope begins to write in her notebook.

“Where are we going?” Win gestures in the empty space in front of him, a map of light appearing before him. He points at one line made of light.

“This line is the road we’re on now. If we follow it to the end we’ll end up here.” Win traces a path to a glowing dot on the map. “This is the city of Ord. It’s a good place to plan for going into the neighboring country.”

“Why are we leaving the kingdom?”

“I can’t stay. That’s all.”

“Is that really all?” Marcus flashes through Win’s mind.

“That’s all. You’ll get on my nerves asking so many questions. Let’s just sleep.” Win snuffs out his magical lights, leaving them in the darkness.

The next morning, Win lowers the walls back into the ground. He sits around thinking about the future until Calliope awakes. Once she’s stirred, Win starts walking, not even giving her a chance to talk to him. They walk all through the day. Just as night begins to set in, Win spots the sturdy stone walls nestled within the valley, the fortress that serves as the one safe passage through the surrounding mountains. Although Win might have otherwise stopped to rest, with their destination so close he decides they should keep walking on. Aside from that, if it is possible to enter in the night, Win would prefer that. He knows no other path to the Pacaster Kingdom, but he can not allow himself to be found out here. Ord, as an important bastion, has close ties to the Lufian family.

Win and Calliope approach the large wooden gate set within the stone. Two guards, equipped with armor bearing the symbol of the Lufian family, a sword and shield that themselves bear a heart upon them, stand on either side of the gate. They raise their spears in unison as Win and Calliope draw closer.

“Halt! Identify yourselves!” Win stops where he stands and raises his arms before answering.

“My name is Win, and this is Calliope. We seek entrance to Ord. If necessary I possess identification from the guild.”

“Alright, come and show it then.” Win and Calliope walk up to the soldiers. Win pulls out the small trinket he was given at the guild and hands it to the guard he was speaking to.

“Here it is, sir.” The guard looks it over.

“Aye, it seems authentic. What about her?” He jerks his head towards Calliope.

“My apologies, sir. I forgot to have her register before we departed.”

“Well, that’s not much of an issue. She can enter the city, all we need is a small payment.”

“How much, sir?”

“Just two silver pieces.” Win pulls a pouch out from within his cloak, then takes two coins from it.

“Here it is, sir.” The guard nods and puts the coins in a pouch of his own. He and the other guard then push open the large doors.

“Welcome to Ord. Please, enjoy your time here. And make sure to register at the guild.” Win and Calliope start to walk through the gate.

“Yes sir, thank you, sir.” As the wooden doors shut heavily behind them, Win turns to Calliope. “We need to find an inn for the next few nights. Tell me if you see one that seems good.”

Win and Calliope begin to walk through the mostly deserted streets. Several times Calliope points out an inn that has light spilling out to the street, but each time Win denies it. He never gives his reason, though it’s always the sounds of people he can hear within. Eventually, Win finds an inn without much noise inside. They walk inside to find it mostly empty. There are only two people, both inside the dining area of the inn.

One of them, a large and muscular old man with a sword sloppily hung on his shoulder, sits at a table, drinking away. The other, a scrawny man wearing glasses with short, well-kept hair, stands right beside the table, seeming worried. The scrawny man notices Win and Calliope enter.

“Ah, I’ll be right with you.” Win answers him.

“If it’s alright, may we have a meal?” The man looks over at the man at the table, then back at Win and Calliope.

“Yes, that’s just fine, take a seat and I’ll bring it right out to you.” Win takes a seat close to the drinking man, and Calliope follows him. Soon after, the man returns with a simple stew, then goes back to looking after the old man.

“Thank you, sir.” Win takes a bite of the food, then returns to talking. “Sir, do you have two rooms available that we may stay in for the next several days?” The man didn’t seem to expect a question so soon.

“Yes, indeed I do. How many days do you two intend to stay?” Win considers the process he’ll have to go through to pass through the border.

“Perhaps a week.”

“Altogether that would be two silver pieces, meals included.” Win bursts out laughing as he hands over the two silver coins.

“Pardon my outburst, sir. It’s just that it costs the same to get one person inside the city without registering to the guild. What a damnable thing borders are.” The old man suddenly begins to talk.

“Feh! Nothing this city needs protection from is coming from that pansy kingdom across the border!”

Win and Calliope continue to eat in silence after the man’s sudden outburst. The old man continues to drink while they eat, not saying another word.