by Tom Burton
“Just wait until morning. Can you do that? Please, Aaron?” Thomas asks in a rush.
Aaron looks at his younger brother, his shoulders sag as he gives in to Thomas. With a silent nod, Aaron turns back to his bag. Thomas quietly returns to his bed.
The next morning, Robert wakes Thomas before dawn. Thomas checks on Aaron’s bed, and seeing that it is empty, Thomas runs outside, Robert following close behind. They pause when they get outside and see Aaron. The elder son is standing at the start of the path from the farmhouse to the road, with his bag over his shoulder. At the sound of their footsteps on the stones, Aaron turns to his father and brother.
“I’m sorry about last night,” Robert says quietly.
Momentarily surprised, Aaron hesitates but then says, “I’m sorry as well, but I still need to go.”
Robert nods slowly. “I know. I cannot say I agree with it, but you are a man now, and you need to make your own decisions,” Robert says with a small pained smile. “However, if you are going to cross the bridge, you’ll need a pass from Volgate. The only way to get a pass is to speak to the Lord of the West,” Robert suggests.
Aaron’s eyes widen. “He won’t have time for me,” he says.
“If you need to get into the Crown Lands, you don’t have much of a choice,” Robert warns.
There is an awkward moment in which both feel the other wants to say something, but nothing is said. Then Thomas runs toward Aaron and gives him a hug, his arms clutched around Aaron’s hips and lower back. Aaron rests his arms around Thomas’ shoulders and returns the embrace.
After a few moments, Aaron pulls back from Thomas and puts a hand on his shoulder. “You make sure you listen to Father,” Aaron says, as Thomas wipes away the tears in his eyes.
“He’s getting old now, so make sure you control the farm,” Aaron continues, and they both smile. Aaron squeezes the young boy’s shoulder and then lets his hand drop back to his side. He then approaches his father, and the two hug, their arms wrapped tightly around each other.
Roberts’s voice is muffled as he says, “I’ll miss you, son.” As the two let go each other, Aaron softly replies,
“I’ll miss you, too, but we will see each other again, sooner than you think.”
Robert nods at him, and Aaron smiles back. Aaron then turns and steps onto the path from his childhood home to the road that would lead him to who knows where. “Aaron!” Robert shouts from the door of the house. Aaron turns back toward his father. “Surely you’re not going on your own?” Robert calls.
Aaron smiles and shouts, “I’ve got someone in mind!”
Robert nods, his relief visible even at this distance. “Tell him I’ll look after his farm for him!” Robert quickly replies.
Aaron chuckles and waves farewell to his family, and Robert and Thomas smile back from their doorstep.
As Aaron approaches his friend’s farm, he sees Daniel minding the crops in his field. Never one to keep his eyes on his tasks, Daniel sees Aaron walking toward him in the distance, and he leaves the row he is tending to greet Aaron. “Good morning, Mr. Silver!” They both laugh, but Aaron’s smile fades quickly.
When Daniel notices this, Aaron quietly says, “Daniel, I have a proposition for you.”
“Really? Well, let’s hear it,” Daniel responds cautiously.
Aaron takes a moment, and then dives right into it. “Last night I had my usual dreams, seemingly the same, but there was even more detail. When I woke up, I had a message, from someone, telling me to get to the Capital to learn about these visions. And once I do that, I need to find this man, wherever he is.” Aaron pauses, watching Daniel’s expression change from anticipating a joke of some sort to confusion, but his eyes remain focused on Aaron.
“Now what I am asking could become dangerous. I have no idea what I am going to find at the Capital, if anything, but I need someone by my side whom I can trust. If these visions and messages are true, then I think I might find a way to save those people in my dreams.” Aaron holds his breath as he watches Daniel process what he has just said.
Daniel takes a heavy breath. “This is all a bit sudden, Aaron. It sounds like you’re asking me to leave my farm and my life for something you saw in your dreams.”
Aaron nods and says, “Father will keep an eye on the farm for you, he promised me.” Daniel is taken aback by this, but says nothing. “Whatever we find, if anything, it’s part of an adventure, right? When we come back we can tell everyone where we’ve been, and what we’ve done!” Aaron tries to be as persuasive as possible, but he is afraid Daniel will say no. Then Daniel’s lips quirk upward on the ends, and soon the young men are smiling openly at each other.
“Well then, let’s go for it!” Daniel responds eagerly. They both laugh, and then Daniel says, “I’ll go pack a few things.” Daniel ducks into his house, and Aaron waits outside, smiling at the prospect of adventures, real adventures, with Daniel.
Before long, Daniel comes out of his house with a bag and a blanket wrapped with a string.
Aaron asks, “Are you ready?” At Daniel’s nod, Aaron says, “Let’s go then!” With excited smiles, the two friends walk down the path away from the village, heading to the south and west toward Volgate.
In the North of Neroman, the branches remain bare, the fallen leaves heaped in drifts as rain falls hard and fast, making the ground slippery. A hooded figure, Luke Snow, walks through the dead forest, stepping lightly and carefully to keep as quiet as possible. A fair way behind him, more hooded figures follow. Smaller and thinner than Luke, the orcs exert croaky groans as they attempt to keep up with Luke. At the edge of the forest, Luke crouches and puts his hand on one of the trees for balance. When the orcs catch up to him, they crouch like Luke, nearly disappearing into the shadows of the trees. Luke looks down on a small village of several buildings grouped together and surrounded by fields. He can see farmers among the plants in the field, and younger children running around laughing among the central buildings.
“Let us attack now, Luke, and show the worthless flesh what we can do to them,” one of the orcs growls.
“What do you suggest we do?” Luke replies, turning to look at the orc.
After a pause, another suggests, “Raid the village, kill everyone in there, and send one of them a message to the rest of the country.” The orc suggests.
Luke shakes his head. “We don’t do anything without the master’s orders. He told us to scout the area and report back with our findings, and we have to make sure we are not seen by anyone, understand?” Luke responds. “We have the strength to overwhelm this country, but the master wants us to wait for the right time, and that’s what we’ll do.” When there is no response from the orcs, Luke stands up again, and the orcs follow his lead once again.
“There seems to be very little protection here. Let’s move forward!” Luke orders.
“Where to now?” asks one of the orcs.
“Into the West!” Luke replies.
Back in the West, Aaron and Daniel, on their journey to the Capital, are walking down a small footpath, so narrow that they can only just fit two people on it. They are traveling through a thick forest, shining green leaves covering the entirety of the trees.
“So what are we going to do once we get to the Capital?” Daniel asks.
Aaron thinks for a moment and replies, “We’ll go in, find out where the largest library in the city is, and search for what these visions mean.”
“Because the man with lightning bolts told you to?” Daniel asks sarcastically, with a smug grin on his face.
Aaron simply looks at him, “This is not funny, Daniel. You never know what we could find there.” Daniel’s smile fades.
Daniel starts to reminisce, “Mother and I used to have walks like this. She would talk about the trees, the fields, the birds.” Daniel pauses, and Aaron looks at him with concern. “I wonder what she w
ould say to me if she were still alive….”
Aaron swiftly replies, “She’d tell you she was proud of you, and she would tell you to live your life as fully as possible, as we all should do!”
As though Daniel didn’t hear Aaron, he continues reminiscing. “She did not deserve to be treated so cruelly by him….”
Aaron attempts to comfort him, “Your father left you as a baby—he should not be in your thoughts at all because he simply does not deserve it!”
Before Daniel responds, the low rumble of galloping horses suddenly turns to thunder as soldiers wearing red armor ride past them, heading south. Two riders have their horses running fast, Aaron and Daniel immediately stop to let them past.
Daniel wonders aloud, “What are Dellmoor soldiers doing this away?”
Aaron looks at them with concern, knowing that the horses are running as fast as they can.
Aaron and Daniel walk through unending wheat fields, miles of fields behind them, and nothing but fields ahead of them. After just purchasing more food from the nearest hamlet, Daniel reveals his weary face to Aaron.
“Are you sure we are going the right way?” Daniel asks, exhausted.
“I reckon so.” Aaron answers confidently “Father travelled around the domain of the West when he was younger, despite dear mother’s disapproval. However I am thankful that he taught me the direction to Volgate.”
A few steps ahead of him, Aaron scans the fields ahead of him, and eyes the lowering sun.
“We might as well settle here for the night, since there are no forests nearby for cover,” Aaron says.
Daniel drops his bag and begins to untie the bundle of sticks that he had collected throughout the day’s walk.
“I don’t think we should start a fire, Daniel,” Aaron warns. Daniel looks at him with a question in his eyes. “We could be on someone’s private land, and smoke or a fire might attract attention,” Aaron explains. Daniel grudgingly nods at Aaron’s reasoning and reties the string as he sets the wood aside.
As Daniel arranges his blanket on the ground between rows of wheat, he says, “You do realize what we are doing is crazy, right?” At Aaron’s blank look, Daniel continues, “We just left our farms, our families, our lives…but you haven’t yet explained what we are doing.”
Aaron sits up on his own blanket, looking at the ground and picking at the wheat stalks around him. “These dreams I told you about…they’ve become more explicit night after night. A city burning, turning to ash around me. Women and children, just waiting in fear, soldiers with broken swords,” Aaron says quietly.
“Dellmoor…,” Daniel whispers, and Aaron nods.
“Last night, at the end of my dream, I received a message from a man telling me to go to the Capital to find the meaning of the visions. When I have done that, I need to find him,” Aaron says.
Daniel shakes his head in disbelief, then asks, “How are we going to find one man in a huge city when we don’t know his name, age, or even what he looks like? Is he even in the city?”
“I have no idea, Daniel,” Aaron admits with a shrug. “But we can only take one step at a time.”
Daniel grunts at this, then gives a shrug of acceptance. “So, we need to go to Dellmoor. Then why are we heading to Volgate?”
“Father has told me that the West is constructing two walls on the Crown Lands border, running parallel to each other, and they are connected by a bridge. The only way we can get across is personal approval from the Lord of the West, Arthur Fuller,” Aaron explains.
“And do you think we will get approval?” Daniel asks in disbelief.
“There’s only one way to find out!” Aaron smiles tiredly.
The young farmers wake with the dawn the next morning, and they set off again. Hours after they left the field where they slept, the skies are heavy with clouds, making it difficult to track the direction of the sun’s movement. Neither mentions that they no longer are certain about which direction is east, but the sense of uneasiness between them grows. Silently wondering what time it is and what direction they are walking in, Aaron and Daniel spot a farmhouse across another field. They stop and look at each other, then back at the farm. As if on cue, Daniel’s stomach rumbles.
“Should we go?” Daniel nervously asks.
“Well, we are lost, I think,” Aaron replies. Straightening his back, Aaron slowly walks toward the house, and Daniel quickly follows. As they approach the house, a man walks out and eyes them from the porch.
Aaron leans his head in Daniel’s direction and quietly says, “Let me do the talking.” Aaron and Daniel stop at the edge of the clearing around the house, lifting up their hands in a show of peace.
The man takes a step toward them, drawing a small knife. In a threatening tone, he asks, “What do you want?”
“We are two farmers from Greyshore, and we are traveling to Volgate. We seem to have lost our way. I don’t suppose you can help us out?” Aaron asks quietly.
The man points toward his left with his knife, Daniel and Aaron nod their heads in gratitude, and walk away in that direction. Daniel mutters, “Seems like a foolish and angry fellow to me.”
Aaron turns back to the farm before it is blocked by tall stalks of wheat, and he nudges Daniel. The young men see a little girl run toward the man who pointed out the way. A woman follows the girl, and the three embrace before walking back to the farmhouse. Aaron smiles at seeing the family together, “He’s just protecting his family.”
“Ah, I see,” Daniel says, and turns to Aaron. “Do you miss them?” he asks. Aaron does not respond, simply turning and walking away from the farm. Daniel sighs quietly and follows behind him.
After a few more days of travel across open country, Aaron and Daniel finally find themselves on a man-made road. They see fellow travelers, some heading the same way and others going in the opposite direction. They take it as a signal that they are close to Volgate.
“What do you expect we’ll see when we get there?” Aaron asks.
“Something more civilized than what we are used to!” Daniel says excitedly. “But as long as there is some ale, who am I to complain?” Daniel smiles broadly, and Aaron laughs. Soon the young men can see Volgate in the distance as they top a small hill. They stop and stand in awe of the high wooden walls surrounding the town, seeming to stretch for miles around the densely packed buildings. As they get closer, they spot archers on the walls. Daniel watches the men with bows in fascination the entire way to the town’s gate. As they approach the town, merging with the handful of other travelers entering Volgate, they see that the gate is wide open. Two soldiers stand on either side of the gate, but they seem relaxed as they smile and nod at the travelers. The soldiers greet Aaron and Daniel in the same way, and the boys repeat the gesture as they enter Volgate.
Once Aaron and Daniel are inside the walls, they stop and stare for a moment. They are surprised to see that everything they know from their tiny village of Greyshore can be found here in Volgate, only on a larger, denser scale. They see taverns on every street corner, blacksmiths, and market stalls lining the narrow streets. The two walk around the town, absorbing everything within it. As they walk past what must have been the twentieth tavern, Daniel looks in through the window and says, “I could do with an ale!”
Aaron gently pulls Daniel away, saying, “We will stay the night. Once we find Lord Fuller and get his approval to pass over the bridge, then we can properly enjoy a few drinks before we set off again.”
Daniel sighs and nods in mock sadness. As the two continue exploring the town, they spot a building towering over all the rest. As they walk around it, they notice that it is oval in shape, and they can hear cheering coming from within.
“What’s in there?” Aaron wonders aloud. Daniel just shrugs his shoulders, and the two wander on.
Aaron and Daniel soon find themselves in a large open space, filled from ed
ge to edge with market stalls. Some are open to the blue sky above, others have canvas tops fluttering in the light breeze. Aaron lingers at a stall with clothing, while Daniel stands in front of a stall selling ornate knives. Aaron is almost immediately accosted by the clothing vendor.
“You there!” she says. “You look like a man who needs a new look!”
“Nothing would more likely ruin my day,” Aaron wittily replies, but the woman is far from impressed. “I was wondering if you could tell me where I can find the Lord,” Aaron says.
The Market Trader eyes him intently, then asks, “Our Lord of the West?”
At Aaron’s nod, she points toward the oval building they had just walked past, the cheering crowds still audible in the marketplace.
“He’s there, in the arena, at the moment,” she says.
Aaron graciously thanks her, and he then gives her a copper coin for her time. The trader smiles with gratitude. Aaron tugs at Daniel’s sleeve, breaking his concentration on the shining blades, and he explains that Lord Fuller is in the arena.
As they begin to walk toward the Arena, Daniel points out, “We don’t know what this man looks like.”
“We can ask around.” Aaron replies as the two young men walk through an unguarded entrance to the building. As the two climb a narrow stairwell illuminated by daylight falling from the end of the steps, the chanting and cheering grow louder. As they come through another archway at the top of the steps, they stop abruptly in surprise. The arena is packed with men, women, and even children, all of them watching two warriors fighting on the sandy surface at the center of the arena. The fighters only have wooden weapons and their bare hands. They have no helmets or armor, just a tunic of some light fabric, perhaps wool or linen. Daniel notices people approaching men walking around the arena, presumably taking bets for the winner of the fight.
Aaron and Daniel cast their gaze around the arena, trying to spot anyone who resembles nobility. Daniel suddenly points to a small box in the main stand of the arena, opposite where they are located. “Over there!” Daniel shouts, trying to be heard over the loud screaming of the crowd surrounding them. Aaron follows Daniel’s finger and nods. They begin to make their way around the arena in attempt to approach the box. As the two walk around the arena, Daniel turns his head often to watch the fight below. The two gladiators have broken their wooden weapons, and they are now fighting with their bare hands. Intimidated by the naked aggression of the two warriors and of the crowd, Daniel turns back to focus on Aaron.