In the distance, past through the many pines and thick bushes, traveling on the wide dirt road which split the forest into two distinct halves, they can see a carriage in red and black colours. It was bigger than any other they had ever seen, dwarfing cars and rivaling trucks in size. The horses which pulled this behemoth of a vehicle were abnormally large themselves. At the back of the carriage was a banner. Full red with a black lotus in the middle.
“ Hey, Mira, what is that lotus in the banner?” Andrew asks.
“ That is the symbol of the Red Empire. During the First War, the man who founded our Empire had this as his coat of arms. When the first Human Empire was divided, he kept that crest as a reminder of his past. Later on, it got passed down as our national symbol.” She says, trying her best not to bore him with too many details.
Only after the carriage had come a lot closer, could they finally make out the people that accompanied it. At least six of them were at the front, handling the bridles. While movement could be seen on the inside as well.
It stops right in front of them, and one of the riders gets down and greets them.
" Hello, lady Mira. It seems that you are doing well." the man greets her with a bow.
He is wearing a red shirt with black leather pants. He also wears a light leather vest on top of his shirt. He has black hair. Andrew must admit. He is the first normal looking person that he has seen in the last hours.
Mira greets him back with a small bow herself.
" My name is Arben. And I will be your transporter for the day." he says with a smile, as at the same time making a signal with his hand. Some people in heavy iron armor come off the carriage and go to the camp. They go inside the tents and come out carrying much stuff, such as chest and colourful rocks. Three of them were caring a huge red stone, that was attached to a golden base.
“ What are they doing?” Ivan asks Mira.
“ What does it look like? They are getting the things from the camp. Like personal belongings, the communication stone and such.” she says with a bit of anger behind her voice.
But Ivan understands their logic. They are in an internal war, not just with the monsters, but with each other as well. So, they can't afford to lose any valuables. That's why they are ripping this place. However, he also understands Mira's anger. This is like slapping her in the face with her failure. Her failure as a leader, that ended with so many people getting killed.
When every last valuable thing was collected inside the carriage, the armored men retire back inside, with them soon following.
The inside of the carriage is no different than the outside. It definitely doesn't look like a carriage at all. It looks like a moving house, more than anything. The walls are thin, built out of light polished wood. Two windows on each side, letting light fall inside the cabin. As well as many other decorations, such as huge silk curtains on the wall and paintings. Along with a red carpet on the floor. At one side it also had a small table with many chairs around it.
Inside there with them, were also some women in maid outfits. Alex was excited to see them. They were polishing the iron armors that they had seen before.
Andrew was looking around trying to find the men that were wearing them only minutes earlier. But he couldn't. Where could these huge people disappear? As he was thinking that, he slowly notices that no one had left the carriage, and these women never came down either. Could it be, that they were behind those armors?
As to answer his question Arben speaks. He had left the front and joined them at the back.
" These women are maids. Following me to clean the various valuables that we collect and to help injured soldiers, that we might pick up. As for the armors you saw earlier, there was no one inside there. It was my magic."
“ You can make armors move?”
“ Yes. Although they are not as effective in combat, they are more than enough for moving heavy objects. But it takes too long to make one. So that's why I have these maids cleaning and polishing them.”
“ Ohh. So there are abilities like that also.”
“ Lady Mira.” the man named Arben speaks. “ I heard what happened to your squad. Allow me to express my sadness at this tragic event.”
Mira looks at him with cold eyes. People of his kind always disgusted her. But there must be someone to do their job. She thanks him for his words.
The rest of the journey is mostly silent. There was an air of awkwardness that prevented everyone from saying a word. All except Alex, who was happily flirting with the maids, while they were doing their job.
Andrew and Ivan had both taken their chairs next to the window, where they sat, watching the outside world.
It was beautiful. Fields of endless grass, smoke coming from behind the hills, that Mira reassured them were fires burning inside the villager's homes. Forests with all kinds of trees and colours. Farms, where people were working, growing crops and feeding their animals. It was all so simple, but yet so beautiful. There was pretty much no technology present. But the same thing couldn't be said about magic. Clouds, pouring rain above some farms, and only above them. Their world couldn't be more different, and yet, they were so similar. Both changing their natural environment to suit their needs. It is the human nature, he told himself.
But the beautiful scenery soon gave its place to a disturbing one. Burnt fields all around them, not a single plant was to be seen. Small craters all over the land. They look at Mira for explanations.
“ This was a battlefield. The land was completely destroyed, and with our current situation, we have neither the time, not the necessary equipment to fix it. Besides, we have so much unused land. We can make do without this small part.” she says looking away from the window.
Ivan and Andrew both retreat from the window. They don't want to see a destroyed land.
“ This world has more to it than we thought.” Ivan declares.
“ I agree with you.”
Sometime later Mira tells them.
“ Hey. Everyone.”
They all turn to her to see what she wanted.
“ We have arrived.” she says with a smile.
And with those words, all three of them went to the window to see outside.
They came across a huge wall, that continued as far as their eyes could see. It wasn't only big in length, but in height as well. It was at least 30 meters high. Throughout the wall, there were huge banners, all with the same symbol as their carriage's.
The road now was full of life. Carriages of different sizes and shapes, come and go, flooding the gates. They also saw some guards standing on the side, watching everyone's movements.
The carriage reaches the entrance to the wall. It is a gigantic, 15 meters height iron door with some gold parts on it as well. It had an unusually dark colour, with many weird red painted symbols on it. Many people, as well as other smaller carriages, are passing through the gate. Many guards stationed there, checking whoever enters the city. They were all wearing the same uniform. A chainmail armor with black leather pants, along with a redshirt above. They had a circling pointy helmet. At their chest was the symbol of the Red Empire.
When their carriage arrives at the gate, it is immediately stopped. Arben opens the door and gets off.
“ Ohh. If it isn't sir Arben. What brings you to our city this time?” one of the guards asks him.
“ I was ordered to bring back lady Mira. Now if you excuse me, I have a delivery to make.”
he says pointing at Mira.
The guard looks at him with a slit disgust. But he can't deny him passage. He steps aside and lets the carriage pass.
“ I see you are familiar with the guards.” Mira tells him.
" Oh yes. I most certainly am. Let's just say some things happened between us. But don't worry. It is nothing that will affect the empire." he says.
Mira doesn't like this guy. He is just an image. Hiding something rotten beneath. But she can't do anything about it now.
Ivan was also getting the same feeling, so he goes to Mira and asks her.
“ Do you know this guy? He seems fishy.”
“ Yes. You should better stay away from him. He is bad news.”
“ In what sense? Who is he?” Ivan wants to know.
But Mira won't answer him. Giving up, he goes once again to the window.
The inside of the city is as spectacular as its outside. There is a huge stone-paved road, that begins from the entrance of the city and goes on further inside. The city is built on a huge plain. So almost no part of the city lays above the rest. All but one edifice. It looked like a gigantic castle. It was in the middle of the city, but it was still visible from the entrance, which was quite far away. It had a dark gray colour and looked like it was made out of stone. Similar to the wall, it had banners with the Red Empire's symbol on them.
The road seemed to head right to it. Left and right of the main road, there were shops, stalls and many other facilities.
People going by the streets, doing their jobs. Some were carrying big sacks on their shoulders, others building the foundations for future buildings. Merchants were selling their stuff at their shops and stalls.
There were also smaller dirt roads that lead from the main one, deeper into the city, where the residential area was, Mira informed them. In these roads, they could see children playing, while grown-ups were working. At some point, they saw a mother pulling water out of a well, with her child helping her.
“ You have a water system installed?” Ivan asks her.
“ Yes. Water is gathered from near rivers and lakes. Goes to the palace first where it gets cleaned. Then it is released into our underground water system. It fills the wells in each territory and provides our citizens with fresh water.” Mira says proudly.
“ Why don't you just use magic to make water?” He asks her, still looking by the window.
" We actually already do that. There is just too much population to take care of if we only used one of the two ways."
“ How many are there?”
“ 100 thousand people.”
“ That doesn't sound much.” Andrew, who was listening to their conversation, speaks his mind.
“ But it is big. Very big to be precise, unless they have any apartment blocks laying around.” Ivan tells him.
“ It is quite big indeed. It is our capital after all.”
“ Your capital? Why didn't you say that in the first place?”
" Because what difference would it make?"
She is right. It doesn't.
" It seems that the sirs are unfamiliar with our magnificent city. Then let me tell you." The man called Arben says. " This is the Red Empire's capital. The city of Prinop." he says showing them with a swing of his hand the city outside.
The carriage goes all the way to the front of the palace. It is even bigger than it looked like from afar. There were many guards stationed at the entrance. But these were different than the ones at the gate. Their armors looked the same, but they had a strange air around them, that made Andrew chill.
" These are imperial guards you know. Their duty is to protect the emperor. So they are bound to be far more powerful than the other guards. But don't be fooled. They aren't so great. Despite what they say." Mira exclaims.
“ Ohh lady Mira. That's a rude thing to say. These people were chosen to become imperial guards, because of their power.” Arben steps in.
“ If they are as powerful as you say, why aren't they in the army? Why didn't they become imperial officers, instead of guards?” she says with a grin.
" The emperor's decision making isn't something you shouldn't even dare to judge, my dear."
Andrew steps in their fight.
“ I am very sorry to break in like that, but sir Arben. We are very tired from our fight the previous day. Would you please stop fighting with lady Mira.” he says.
Arben lets go. He apologises for his behavior and steps back.
They go around the palace, still following the main road. They were told that the palace was at the city's center. Left and right where the residential areas and the market areas. Behind the palace was the military area, as well as the industrial area. That's where they were heading. It was for Mira to give a more detailed report, for them to treat their injuries, and to learn more about their abilities from the test Mira told them. And as Arben was saying, to also deliver the goods.
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