The Walled Cities

Chapter 13

Four days of walking passed quickly. Our first day was spent in the Deep Woods which were already vibrant in color. Near the end of the first day, I spotted a clump of Blue Star Flower along with Purple Horsetail. Both could only be found in the Deep Woods, and each plant was worth twenty dollars on average. Seeing how I wanted some to be around to propagate, Kaelyn and I only took twenty of the plants.

Our next three days were less fruitful. Yesterday we had reached the Coastal Plains, a strip of land full of grass and countless streams. Unlike the Deep Woods, the Coastal Plains were full of farmsteads and fishing villages. Despite wanting to give Kaelyn the best view of the Outlands as I was able, our path did not take us near any of them.

While I led Kaelyn to believe that the path we were taking was the shortest route, other motives drove me. Four days of walking and building shelters had eliminated any fat content Kaelyn might have had before. This thinning slight as it was had made her already apparent beauty even more so. While I had every intention of waiting until Spring to tell her about my feelings, I was not just going to let other men get a chance with her. Some might call me selfish, but Cassiel had said that Kaelyn  was not emotionally stable. There was no way I was letting my trade partner be chased by boys and men. Her beauty would no doubt draw attention but whether or not I was hers romantically, she was my partner and I would protect her.

Thinking about her beauty reminded me that Kaelyn wanted to buy a knife from the merchants in the city. When we had last talked about it Kaelyn had stated that she wanted a specific one. All of her time spent in the the Walled Cities had me doubting that she knew a good quality knife. Before we got to the city, I wanted to make sure that Kaelyn had a reasonable idea of what was a good knife for the work she would be doing daily with it.

"The herbs we have been carrying these last few days should be enough for you to buy a good knife. Have you thought much on the design that you want?" I commented casually.

Keeping her attention on the trail ahead of her, Kaelyn replied, "Yes actually I have. I have seen the cleaver of a knife you carry. While I have seen the advantages of such a knife, I will be looking for something smaller."

Thinking about the work I was able to do with my knife, cutting wood for the fire, cleaning game animals, and building shelters, I wondered what she was thinking. Trappers needed a good sturdy blade, and this talk worried me that Kaelyn wanted something small and delicate. Surely she knew better than that, but perhaps not.

Explaining my concern I asked, "So you are looking for something smaller than mine but still able to do most of the everyday tasks. It does not have to be as heavy as mine, but a twig of a knife is useless."

Glaring at me Kaelyn replied angrily, "I know what qualities are needed in a knife. Have I not shown that I have some sense of mind these last four days."

Accepting her anger I thought back to the last four days. Kaelyn had made significant progress regarding fire making, and navigating by the stars. Though fire making was more important than navigating by the stars, star navigation was one of the hardest skills to learn. Yet in four days Kaelyn had shown significant progress and I was confident that she could to a point navigate by night. Still this did not mean that she knew what made a good knife or any tool for that matter.

Fighting about a knife when we were not even in the Columbia yet was pointless. Added to this that I did not actually enjoy fighting will Kaelyn brought the conversation to a close. Judging from her silence, I had pushed Kaelyn to far and for now it was best to leave her alone. Rather than try to talk, I cast a look around.

No matter where I looked, tall green grass grew. Streams the width of my feet flowed quietly past us heading for ocean. I had not noticed it before but unlike the smells of the Deep Woods full of decaying leaves and clean water, the air smelled of sea salt. Sea salt meant that we were near the ocean and based off the distance we had traveled the last four days, the Port City of Columbia was near.

Not five minutes later, the city came into view. Columbia was similar to Notredram and the other Walled Cities in many ways. High walls of sandstone surrounded the city and I knew that a series of heavy logs blocked the port entrance from unknown ships. Firearms were prohibited but no one really checked or enforced it much. So many people roamed the streets armed that robberies and all other crimes were more deadly than they were worth. Then again Columbia served as one of the major port cities and housed tens of thousands of dollars worth or pelts, crops, and other goods throughout much of the year. Much of this was loaded onto ships which traveled to other ports along the seaboard or across the great stretch of water known as the Atlantic. Once I had considered joining one of the ship crews, but the life was not for me.

Kaelyn having never seen a port city or the ocean for that matter stopped and stared at the city. While I wanted to keep going, there was no harm in allowing her a few minutes to take in the sight. Having lived her whole life in Notredram, she had never seen the ocean. Standing next to here I allowed myself a moment to feel the gentle sea breeze blow across my face. Up till now I had never allowed myself such luxuries, but with Kaelyn things were different. Different did not mean smart as the sounds of footsteps across the sand reached my ears.