Corrupt Light Dragon

Chapter 2: Is it a Town or a City?

A day’s walk to the nearest civilization turned out to be two days. It should have taken a day but we had to sleep in between. It certainly wasn’t because I randomly attacked Noirxus during our journey just for some spars. It was simply because we walked slowly. But at least Noirxus learned the hard way not to treat my declarations lightly. Unfortunately by the second surprise attack, he actually had to distance himself, about ten feet behind me, to feel comfortable. He matched my pace step by step like magnets of opposing poles those alchemists talked about in books. It didn’t matter if I stepped backward or forwardward, ate or slept, he was always ten feet away. Of course that also meant our journey didn’t have much conversation either since I didn’t want to shout-speak with a person ten feet away like mountain people. That’s just ridiculous.

But try to imagine a newly acquainted death looking stalker behind you, matching your every move. And he’s always there when you turn around. Isn’t he a bit…suspicious to say the least?

We continued following the trail until we met the gates of the town Noirxus described. From the outside, all I could see was a wall stretching and curving on both sides of a large gate to probably encapsulate the town. The walls looked imposing enough to be a massive fortress instead of a town.

It didn’t help that the gates were guarded by two sentinels who watched for suspicious characters. Beside a sentinel, there was a man sitting by a table that collected a few coins before writing, what I assume are names, down on a piece of paper before allowing the travelers passage through the gates. But he was only one man and there were a lot of people who wished to enter. Naturally there was a long queue and by the looks of it, Noirxus and I would have to stand out here for quite a while.

“So you said this was a town? It looks more like a city to me,” I said while taking a small step forward from behind a warrior. The snail-like pace coupled with the early morning hours was not doing any good for my nerves. I needed distraction or I might just break the law and jump over the wall. And I could really do that too if I wanted but it would mean becoming a fugitive, which is more bothersome than waiting in line.

“Is there a difference?” Noirxus asked as he took the same step forward. We were standing side by side now but Noirxus insisted on a two feet distance, saying something about insurance. I really couldn’t figure out how Noirxus’ mind works – from how he regards surprise spars to his clothing. I could understand the necessity of hiding his face but why must he wear a black cloak? He looked extremely suspicious like an assassin or a robber or a dark priest or something like Death. At least he had the guts to wear that in broad daylight, no less. His dark fashion was in complete contrast with my light, colorful travel clothes. While he was black from head to toe, my apparel was composed of a red long sleeved tunic underneath a brown and white patterned leather vest, coupled with mid-thigh black shorts and a cute pair of traveling boots. “Cities are significantly bigger than towns and sometimes towns are part of cities but honestly, I’m not sure either how big a town should be before it could be called a city,” I explained.

“So there really is no difference, just the size.”

“I said the word significant. Surely that counts as a difference!”

“So you are saying this place is significantly larger than any town you’ve seen before?” Noirxus cocked his brow.

“That is exactly what I’m saying.”

After a few more similar inane arguments to pass the time, our turn finally came.

“Name?” the admissions officer tonelessly inquired without even looking up from the parchment. I suppose that is the job of the sentries with the way they were scrutinizing us.