Our Destiny: Bearers of the Dagger

Melwaith, Part 2

Veyron didn't look anything like the people in Aston's village. They wore simple leather and fur clothes. This man wore proper robes and tailored trousers. His belt and boots were finely made with silver and silk. And that cloak was not like their shabby fur skins. It was custom made with beautiful filigree and fastened with a golden broach.

Who was this man?

Michelle had been staring at him ever since they had returned to the trail. She felt kind of bad. She was so curious about the 'scholar' she hadn't helped the others pack away the camp or get ready for the road. And even now when they were marching single file to the east, Michelle could barely keep her eyes off him.

Veyron was a very handsome man, but there was more to it than that. He had this strange, mysterious quality about him. His eyes were beautiful and terrifying. And the way he spoke had such eloquence and understanding. Without a doubt, the most interesting person Michelle had ever met.

Plus, there were all those bangs and explosions they heard in the forest. He must have caused those, right?

'Do you have powers?' she asked scholar.

'Powers?' he repeated.

'Can you shoot fire?'

Veyron chuckled to himself. He didn't actually answer but that was an answer in itself. Now she was more curious about him.

The trees were thinning now with the trail stretching wider through the forest. The group didn't feel quite so wary of their surroundings. Plus, the ground felt firmer and even now. Michelle took it to be a good omen.

'This is a road,' Sophie agreed.

Malik laughed. 'I'm not holding my breath for a bus to come down here.'

'Neither am I,' said Nick.

'I'd settle for a carriage,' groaned Chris, stretching his aching feet. They had been walking for a day now.

'Is this the road to Melwaith?' Charlie asked their scholar.

'That's correct,' Veyron nodded. 'The road leads westwards across the Freelands to the gates of the city.'

City. The word reverberated around Michelle's head. She had a hundred different ideas of what Melwaith might be. A medieval fortress? A decadent metropolis? Maybe the ruins of a post-industrial settlement left to squalor? It was impossible to know for certain. You couldn't make any assumptions about this place. It just kept surprising you.

'How big is it?' said Steve.

'It's large,' Veyron told them. 'The biggest settlement in the Freelands. Thousands of people live there.'

Thousands.

But were they like the scholar? Were they mystical looking monks with cloaks and swords? Or were like Aston's village, medieval peasants trying to farm the land? Could they be something else?

Her answer came on the road. The group spotted a figure approaching. It was a middle-aged man in a long cloak, carrying a large leather rucksack on his back. Not too strange maybe, but he wore a great cockle hat with a brim as wide as it was tall. It was so big, it looked ridiculous. And with every step his robe jingled. Was he carrying coins? Or chains?

'Nice hat,' Chris grinned.

The man paid no notice to the group as he hobbled past but all of them watched him with curious eyes. There was definitely something off about him. The air felt almost warm in his presence. Michelle thought so anyway.