Ataraxia

∞|Chapter 10: Stride|∞

The air was chilly as it brushed across my face. The sky was bright blue, with the sun lingering brightly in the sky. It was just after noon, and all the panicked creatures were inside their houses, preparing for the moment that lay not far ahead of them. Eowin glided across the grass, heading for the direction we headed just a few hours before. We walked along the muddy path, saying nothing to each other for a few hours, until we came to the place where we had slept in the tent. Eowin glanced at the copper coloured oak tree, gazed at it for a long minute, and then looked away. She took a deep breath, and strode forward. I followed behind her intensively, staring at the design of the footprints she left behind her.

After a few hours of walking, we stopped at the side of the trail to take a break and get a bite to eat. Eowin brushed down her dress before she sat down, and muttered a sigh.

"Here," Eowin handed me a bundle of food, "For your cooperation." She joked, and opened up her own bundle

"Thanks," I said, and I carefully unfolded the leathery fabric that held the food.

Inside the clumsily-wrapped bundle, lay half a loaf of bread, some berries and lots of strange plants. I picked up the bright yellow-green plant that had white tuffs of something on it, that had a weird, soft texture to it.

"What's this?" I asked, turning the plant over in my hand.

"Oh, that's an Ojiba plant. It helps heal wounds when you eat it," Replied Eowin, "The other plants in there are mostly for replenishing energy."

I nodded at her response, and picked up another one of the strange plants. I bit into a bright blue one, and felt energy run through my veins. Within seconds, I had felt like I had run a marathon and swam across an ocean.

"Wow!" I exclaimed, standing up and stretching my arms, "I feel like my entire body can run across the entire land without stopping."

Eowin looked up from her meal, and smiled.

We then hit the road again, now advancing in a quick stride due to the new energy that inhabited us. Within a few hours, we saw the edge of Uden peek above the horizon. The village was surrounded by a giant wall, ascending to easily 120 feet. The large gate in the distance was heavily armoured, with no guards outside keeping watch.

"It's farther away than it looks," chuckled Eowin, "I need to take another break, sorry, my old self can't carry on as well as you can," and with that, Eowin sat on the grassy edge of the path, and took a gulp of water from her canteen.

I sat beside her, gazing at the view of the huge village that lay ahead of us. Out of nowhere, a small chupacabra leaped onto the path, staring at Eowin and I intensively. I quietly reached into Eowin's bag and brought out a piece of bread. I beckoned the animal over, clicking my tongue and holding out the dry piece of bread out to the creature. The chupacabra froze in front of us, staring at the piece of bread that was in between my fingers, and gazed up to my face. After a moment or so, the chupacabra trotted over, cautioned my presence, and sniffed the food. I didn't take long for the animal to snatch the food out of my grasp, almost biting my fingers in the process, and gulp down the bread whole. The animal sniffed my hands and the ground, searching for more food. I patted the chupacabra's head, and stood up.

"Alright, animal affection time is over, let's go," I laughed and picked up the frail animal in my arms, "This little guy probably hasn't had food in days."

"We can bring it to Uden, I'm sure they restocked on meat from yesterday." Said Eowin, standing up and brushing the dirt off of her dress.

I went into Eowin's bag and grabbed a large piece of cloth and wrapped the animal with the rough material.

We started heading towards Uden, talking about its history and landscape along the way. When we came to the large, iron door, we gazed intensively at its size, and banged the door. It took a while before someone heard our knock, and came to open the door. A medium-sized male elf answered the awaiting call. He had long chocolate-brown hair and had a black bandana strapped across his forehead.

"Hm?" was his response.

Eowin took a step forward, handed me her bag, and rubbed her palms together, and cleared her throat,

"I'm Eowin, from Alfhiem, and this is Ash," she gestured a hand to me, "I have a message for Darius."

The man looked at the chupacabra that was relaxingly resting in my arms,

"Sure thing."

He let us through, and closed the gate behind us. The scenery in Uden was beautiful, much nicer than you would expect to see from the outside. The trees were shading creatures who rested in the shade, the water was a dark, musky blue that reflected the beam of the sun. My feet pattered against the stone path on the ground, which let off heat from the sun. I glanced back at Eowin, and she nodded. I carefully placed the chupacabra down on the ground and watched it scurry away. I dropped Eowin's bag and walked over to the water. I reached my hand in its cold temperature, and let the water flow between my fingers. It was all relaxing until a kelpie emerged from the water. I startled back in freight, raising my hand in front of my face to protect myself from harm. The creature looked down at me, and laughed. I heard Eowin laughing in the background, snorting as she fell to the ground, rolling over. I gazed down in embarrassment, until a cold hand rested on the top of my head. I looked up to find the kelpie smiling in apology, and trotted across the stoned path, waving farewell.

"What was that?!" Laughed Eowin, still clutching her stomach when I reached her, "Your face was priceless!"

I pouted at the ground, looked back to Eowin and crossed my arms.

"Okay, okay. I'll stop laughing now."

We laughed for a moment, picked up the bag, and started walking down the path into the village. We passed houses that looked like endangered dungeons, but safely held the inhabitants. The houses were a dark grey, and looked like burned sheet metal. The creatures that livened up the street wore dark clothes, most dressed in black. I gazed around, letting the sight sink in. I spotted an Uden angel caring for a limping kludde that wobbled on the side of the street. The dimly lit blue flame around its neck showed weakness and pain. The angel cast healing magic on the poor creature, and in seconds, it was in full health. The kludde scurried away in surprise as Eowin walked over to the angel. Clearing her throat, she bowed down to her when we reached 6 feet of her. After a moment, Eowin peeked out from under her hair and muttered,

"Long time no see, Alleaesa."