The World Which Is

Chapter 45

The next morning's travel is quiet.

Still no buff from a good night's sleep. When I asked Brandon what I'd have to do to get it over breakfast, he replied I'd have to invest in a much better quality bed, as well is a magical tent, since it isn't just the bed that governs getting those buffs.

Helen didn't say anything then, or after. I think our discussion unsettled her. Like she can't understand how I'm not interested in becoming famous. How being a 'lowly' guard is enough for me. I guess growing up in a city like Toronto, instead of a tightly knit community like Court, leads to different expectations out of life.

After a few hours, Brandon goes from heading mostly westward to entirely south.

"Is there a problem?" I ask him. Like me, he has the Direction Sense ability, but he's been to Detroit before. So where I get nothing when I think of that city, he knows exactly in what direction it is. Just like if I think of Court, I can turn to face it and know that if I walk in that direction, I'll eventually find myself there.

For him to change direction means he's noticed something.

"We're getting close to the Nation of the People," he replies.

"Are they people we want to avoid?"

He looks at me in surprise. "No. They're fine people. Only get pissy if you get bossy with them. They have history of being pushed around by those in power before the System, so they don't take well to anyone who tries now that they're able to be their own people again. The problem is that the trade road passes through their town, and there's a market."

"Which means my picture and the amount Xander is will to pay for my journal will have circulated."

"Yeah. Like I said, the People are nice enough folks. But it's a town, and there's no way to know who there won't be like the others."

"You'd know about that," Helen says, in a sharp tone.

Brandon closes his eyes and grinds his teeth. And for a moment, I think that after the morning of peace, this will make him blow up. But he lets out a breath and gives me a 'you know I'm doing this for you, right?' look. I give him an encouraging smile in return, and he rolls his eyes.

"We'll reach the road well east of the town. We might have to wait for a gap between caravans, but then we can cross unnoticed and go the long way around."

The road comes into view with the sun high, so we have lunch under the cover of the forest while the caravan passes. Once we can't see them, and there isn't another one approaching, we run across and lose ourselves among the trees.

The forest quickly turns into marshland, and we're all soaked to the knees, with Helen being wet and dirty from tripping. It takes a solid glare on my part to keep Brandon from commenting while Silver helps her. When we reach a river, she dunks herself under as we cross it, then changes into a dry set of clothing without slowing us.

As the sun reaches the horizon, we top a steep hill, and I stop as I see the town of... was it really called 'The Nation of the People'? Or did they just think of it as a nation and not a town? In the distance.

Regardless, it is a sight.

It's big. I mean really big. I can't see the wood palisade as it winds around and away in nothing resembling a circle. The most striking element after that is how... empty it looks. Oh, there are buildings, and a good number of them, but there is so much space between them. There are clusters here and there. But otherwise it's a lone building with plenty of space before another. There might be small fields here and there, next to some houses, but that seems to be an exception.