The Wandering Witch VOL. 2 - The Witchfolk Genocide Arc

12.2| The Kingdom of Gisnell

    To Noct's utter relief, their entrance into the kingdom had yielded no problems for him and the witch. He almost even felt a bit stupid for being nervous the whole time through. After the preliminary checks and an exchange of important papers at the front gates, handled most generously by the Snow Witch, they had been ushered inside by the gatekeepers without any sign of hesitation. Close to an hour later, both they had already entered within the walls, seeing the fresh scene of the morning toil of Gisnell before them.

   Noct gave a sigh of relief the moment they took the first step inside. A sense of joy passed over him at the thought that all those exhausting days of traveling had finally reached its end. When he tried to look at the Snow Witch's reaction beside him, the thief was not at all surprised to see the usual vacant look written on her face as she stood still, studying their new surroundings. Since the kingdom of Gisnell, unlike Uldard, was open and welcome to the Witchfolk, she did not need to cover her face with her hood anymore or act so discreet.  Noct turned away and shrugged, deciding to follow her gaze. Before he even realized it, all his anxiety had now been replaced with a spark of curiosity. It was, after all, his first foreign visit to a kingdom, considering how he had never left his own. As he studied the scene sprawled before him, the one thing that he primarily noticed about Gisnell was that the amount of people inside it was simply... bizarre. The number had increased now that he was close enough to see for himself compared to when he first saw them from the hill.

   The witch and the thief were both standing at the opening of a large cobbled-stone street that seemed to be the start of the endless number of stalls that lined the sides of the wide and enormous pathway, stretching as far as the eye could see. High bricked buildings were laden behind them, where some townspeople were looking out their windows either staring at the masses, watering their potted flowers, or screaming at something or someone down below. Flags hung from the high poles, bearing the insignia of the kingdom: a five petaled flower with a horizontal sword underneath it. Clotheslines zigzagged above them, flapping in the slight breeze and sending shadows that danced at the ground beneath it. The smell of delicious food, perfume, and wine escaped from the open taverns and bars, alluring the passersby to make a quick stop. More than dozens... no, hundreds of people were ambling around, making Noct feel slightly dizzy and excited at the same time. To him, all their chatters were one loud noise, annoying yet comforting in its own way. His heart raced in glee. Uldard had been filled with people, but certainly not as many as Gisnell. If Noct decided to squeeze into the crowd, he would disappear completely in a matter of seconds.

   He imagined that if he were still a free thief, he would have been licking his lips in anticipation. This was exactly the perfect situation for a theft. The packed crowd of people was enough for him to sneak up behind somebody, swipe away all the gold from their pockets, and then fade into the throng before the victim could even notice anything. As Noct greedily thought about it, he was already making various strategies in his mind. When he realized he had slipped into his old ways moments later, he scolded himself.

   Old habits really do tend to die hard. Snap out of it, Noct, he reprimanded.

   "... So, little miss, since we've arrived, I assume you know where we're going next?" The thief decided to quell his urges by deciding to ask this question. He tugged at his scarf, which he had once again wrapped around his neck.

   Chell blinked in response, then slowly turned to him. On instinct, he slightly leaned down to hear her, sensing that she was about to say something. In a quiet voice, she said, "... The inns."

   Noct pulled back and nodded to her. For a short moment he remembered how, five days ago, she had told him the very same thing. An uneasy feeling swept over him when he recalled how she had never gotten to go there because of what happened. He forced a thin smile, hiding the uneasiness in his thoughts. "Alright. Since we're both pretty new here, I guess we'll have to ask someone around for directions."