Adventure in Ayremus

Chapter Three: Alteria City

I nodded.

I bolted out into the darkness and motioned for her to follow. Ruby glided out of the door in glee as I put my power to work, swishing my hands to slam the door shut. She turned towards me, her eyes glinting with courage and her beaming expression shining brighter than the moonlight. I headed off into the woods, with my new companion at my heels. I willed my eyes to view the ether again, and it obeyed without a hitch. The world fell away into its fluid nature, and I notice something somewhere where the ether was extremely excited. I stared at it, squinting my eyes to clear the image. I heard a gasp behind me; Ruby must have seen what I saw as well.

Moments later, we crashed into a massive clearing; we had traveled from midnight to dawn. As the first of the heavenly rays bathed the world with its colors, we noticed we had run into a camp of some sort. I dived for cover behind a few trees and bushes, a while later another swish followed as Ruby took her spot beside me, brushing off insects and mud. "Look," I whispered into her ear urgently.

Soldiers spilled out of tents in the thousands, each of them donning a similar military suit, holding up a long weapon of some sort. "Today we march onto Alteria City! May they feel the crushing power of our forces!" Thunderous cheering and chanting reverberated from the soldiers as they proceeded to line up, preparing for the march.

I felt something brush my shoulder, and I turned around. "What do you say, if we traveled to Alteria City to aid their defense. I'm sure we could reach there before they can." Her eyes pleaded with me, maybe she held something in that city dear, so I agreed. We took off into the trees, with her in the lead, crashing through the thick undergrowth until noon before I caught sight of the majestic city.

Alteria City stood proudly in the midst of a multitude of mountains, dense forests, and unstable terrain which made it look impenetrable. I stole a glance at Ruby, who marveled at the sight the same way I did. Traversing the land did not take us long, and we were swiftly stopped at the steps by the local guards. Out of the three, one of them instantly recognized me and reverently knelt down, forcing his companions to do the same as he waved us along. One of the other members protested, but I had already moved on, pulling Ruby up the steps towards the walls of the city. The guards saw me and immediately opened the gates, bowing a welcome. Ruby pulled a face at me, apparently she was frustrated that I was so widely recognized for something I don't recall.

I ignored her protests and reveled in the sight, buildings were built to be unique, although made out of the same mix of materials consisting of fine white clay and small white stones. The roofs were tiled neatly using another type of fired clay slabs which kept the rain out. The houses owned by the poor were clearly differentiated from the ones owned by richer people because the latter had their walls and roof tiles polished to a perfect shine. I reached out to touch one of the unblemished surfaces, but Ruby pulled me away, hurrying me along. The streets were alive with people of all types, they had a dreary expression plastered to all their faces. I noticed some of them pointing in my direction, so I kept my head down, following my companion as she led me through hundreds of small side paths and passageways. Finally arriving at the main castle gates, which towered over us, scarred with the past wars it had survived.

"You have returned I see." I jumped, confused about the origin of the voice. "I see things have changed, you left to get a girl companion?" The voice roared in laughter and I ignored it, shutting it out of my mind.

I was led through the great halls, decorated from floor to ceiling with vases, paintings, scrolls and various gems that were neatly arranged. After walking through what seemed like every single passageway in the castle, we came across the throne room. The king sat high atop his gold throne adorned with other gems of multiple colors, thousands of intricate carvings and paintings covered every single wall in that room. He nodded in greeting, so I returned the bow and immediately, I felt Ruby step by me, bowing as she said. "I come to bring you news, a massive army will be marching upon this city soon. May I bring him up to the tower." The king lowered his gaze and shook his head sadly.