World Leapers Book I: The Forest

The City

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"The city of Castilla is one noisy, seething, feeding frenzy." Tink brushed away a short merchant woman in a scarf, who was waving her products – an array of colorful socks – at his face. "A machine for extracting your money, minute by minute, hour by hour."

Although it was dark by now, Terran, walking beside Theodor the donkey, could clearly see inside most of the shops, which were still lit and bustling with crowds. People were scattered throughout the torch lit streets, creating a murmur of shouting, selling, eating, laughing, dancing, and walking. Sitting atop Theodor, River, still looking a bit sleepy, grinned with amusement as the woman in the scarf kept waving her collection of socks in front of Tink's face.

As they moved farther up the streets from the port, the city transformed. Dirty, wooden huts like Wisp's were eventually replaced by larger stone houses, with small grassy yards and trees. Merchant tents pitched along rough cobblestone roads were replaced by well-built shops lining smoother, paved roads. The people changed too. Bedraggled sailors and suspicious shadows in the night were replaced by loud and colorful merchants, rich folk riding noble horses down the road, and even soldiers in red cloaks and silver-plated armor.

Terran's head swiveled as a group of these torch-bearing soldiers marched past them, ignoring the presence of an elf, a donkey, and two boys. The soldiers were much dirtier than others they'd seen so far. Some were bleeding. One was being carried on a stretcher while screaming in pain, his face cut open and one hand completely missing. His legs looked black and flaking and burnt. The soldiers were bellowing at the people in the road to move to the side as they charged through, up the slightly sloping road.

Meanwhile, River was distracted. His attention had been drawn to a small bookstore very near to where they were slowly passing. The store seemed closed and unoccupied, but the window was lit by a street torch, and he could see an enormous, flat parchment map displayed on stands in the window. He narrowed his eyes and looked at it from the street. He could see an island. Arctan. An ocean. The Charbydian Sea. Mainland. Geweald. The port, walls, a city. Castilla. And beyond that, many other places he hadn't yet heard Tink or Wisp mention. Valley Domain. Mountain Domain. Orera. Elven Village. Below the map, in very large letters, was one word: Arbore. Arbore.

"Arbore." From atop Theodor, he read the inscription aloud in a sleepy voice.

"Yes, Arbore." Tink raised his voice over the sound of the several small, shouting boys who had run out into the street to follow the soldiers. "This arena that we play upon, all domains, all provinces, all lands from Arctan to Geweald to Orera and beyond the mountains...it is all Arbore." He waved his hands in a wide circle as they passed an alley where a group of guffawing old men were hunched over a board, rolling dice across a table. Their table sat in front of the open door to a tavern, where more raucousness was coming from inside.

Tink stopped and stared at the old men, then listened for a moment to the laughter coming from the tavern. He frowned. "Not much has changed since I departed Castilla. Some domains of Arbore are armed to the teeth, fighting the Hordes each day. But here in Castilla, as you can see, most citizens are blissfully unaware of the carnage that creeps closer each day with every passing moment. They trust the Crown. They trust the rough sea and the thick forest. They think they are protected by homes and walls and soldiers with swords."

Terran thought again of the burnt, screaming soldier with no hand. The tired, frightened faces of the other soldiers. The sea monster in the waters behind them. He wondered how so many could feel so safe here.