Getting this far was the easy part. Kat had never had so much fun, actually. Nearly drowning was worth the thrill, the experience. She had ridden a giant snake Dragon thing all the way to a massive lake and it had been a legitimately good idea. There was nothing like it even in her wildest dreams, and oh man, Kat had some wild dreams. Things had even gone better than expected, if she was being honest with herself. Of all of the choices they could have made- to stay at their new hovel, to hunt down more hidey-holes like the ones they escaped from, or even to meander through that insane Jungle- that was by far the riskiest, and by God, it paid off.

None of them had truly considered what would happen if the plan actually worked. Sure, Gen had figured there would be some sort of fortification at the destination, but this was on a whole different level. It was well-fortified, brain-numbingly massive, and it was completely isolated from its surroundings. There was hardly even grass growing on the hill that lead to it, no thick bushes or shady trees to block crucial sight-lines from those high walls. They would stick up like a sore thumb if they tried to sneak in, and that was the problem

What if the inhabitants were hostile? They still hadn't tracked down the Crocodile Men, and no matter how much Gen insisted he didn't feel the 'eyes' on him like back at the temple, it wasn't enough. Merrilyn had seemed especially keen on at least verifying they wouldn't be murdered on sight. That complicated things. The big problem with civilization was the trappings of it, the passport checks, the questioning glances and suspicious glares. Kat had been on the receiving end more than enough, and that was with people who had known her. What would it be like to just walk up dressed like they fell out of the Stone Age?

There wasn't even a guarantee that the place was Western, with knights and kings and courts. Hell, they couldn't be sure it was compatible with what they thought of as 'civilized'. What if they walked up, forgot to signal their unending praise to the Sobek as a greeting, and got skewered for heresy? If this was some sort of fort-town and outsiders were deemed criminal as soon as they failed to identify themselves? If Humans were some sort of outlawed race, or if the place was simply Xenophobic? It was too risky.

That had led them to the hard part- waiting. They climbed from the sandy shore, hoping they were too far out to be spotted. After that, it was a mad dash from the water-side to the almost temperate forest. In the thick of it, they weren't quite so noticeable. That was the way it had to be, or at least Gen kept insisting it was. Kat had preferred the idea of scaling the fort's walls. He had said she may have a real shot of making it up, depending on how advanced this place was. When he had explained the alternative outcome- of her body being doused in eternally burning, face-melting oil, that idea had gone to the garbage bin. Or, at least, it had been relegated to plan B. Maybe even plan C.

They had found a few little roads along the woods, trailing off in various directions. Each was pointedly avoiding the Jungle they knew to be in the distance, which only made sense. They had even found a path meandering into a tunnel under the Dragon tracks. Going over the things was probably too risky, and they moved so fast that a caravan might be cut in two if it got caught unawares. It was a bit too similar to how trains were treated back home for Kat's liking. Unlike the Jungle they had left behind, animals didn't seem to congregate around the Dragon tracks. In fact, it was more like they avoided them entirely. Kat only started catching glances of creatures once they made their way towards the Keep.

Most castles and walled cities tended to have at least one primary gate, Gen had insisted. He said that trade and commerce were too important to forfeit, even if security suffered. This castle sat on a bend in the lake's edge, atop that unusually tall hill, so the back and sides were mostly inaccessible. He had estimated that there'd be primary roads into it in at least two locations, situated at diagonals with each-other. In this case, they were to the south-east and to the south-west. It had been a stupidly long trek to follow the forest's edge to the south, but when they finally got to a decent angle, Gen had been right.

The city was even more impressive from the front. The gates cut massive holes in that impossibly tall wall, ornamented with such intricate arches and sculptures that she could only describe it as "like Gothic". Merrilyn had insisted that it was, in fact, Baroque. From each of the two gates came two massive roads. On the hill, the roads were laid with shiny brick and decorative patterns, but as it neared the wilderness, it devolved to dirt, much like the trails they had seen on the trek thus far. They were wide enough that it was still impressive, especially if they didn't have vehicles to pave it out with.

Gen had a plan. He was good at those, usually, but this one was a bit of a doozy. They found a big, comfortable enough tree with solid foliage cover, and plopped down on its branches. Then, they waited. Sat and waited. He assured the two of them that a caravan of some description would pass at some point, that a city could not be so rich with no trade to speak of, and that since there was no visible fishing or farming, it was a subsidiary of some other food source. Each rang true to Kat on some level, but it didn’t make the waiting hurt less. They were to wait and see if the caravan was staffed by lizards, or if there were multiple races, or if it was human traffic.

It felt like ages. Not riding dragons, or hunting, or fighting catbeasts, it was the impossible task of waiting. Her thoughts wandered. How was her mother doing alone? Surely she was fine, she hadn't been taken and dropped in the wilderness like Kat herself? She bit her lip. Her mom was a strong woman in a lot of ways, but she had never specialized in the whole 'adventure' thing. Kat remembered all the awkward camp-outs, her mom desperately trying to keep up with her darling Catarina and her husband. Dad had always been so quick, so involved. He was almost more hyper than little-Kat had been. He would have a lot more luck-

Kat shook her head. Merrilyn promptly looked at her funny, so she stuck her tongue out. There would be time to think about Dad and Mom and all of the people back home once she was out of danger, in her bed, and not waiting patiently for some supposed caravan to arrive. Still, it was hard to focus. The branch wasn't quite as wide and comfortable as the ones in the Jungle had been. It dug into her tailbone a bit and made her miss Jeans just that little bit more. She had gotten away with a lot with twine and some leaves and some nappy fur, but it was no substitute for legitimate clothes.

She scowled. They hadn't really figured that part out. Gen proposed shanking the first group of friendlies to get their travel-outfits, but both she and Merrilyn had shot that idea down. That whole exchange was a little bit odd. Gen had asked Merrilyn why she objected first- possibly because she was older and possibly because she was prettier- and she had no real response. She insisted it was a bad idea. When he had asked Kat, she had simply pointed out that it wouldn't be the right thing to do, doubly if they weren't hostile. Maybe exclusively if she wasn't hostile, she admitted. Her moral code had shifted just a bit somewhere between "giant sentient crocodile serial killer" and "tribe of Gremlins that ate people". Merrilyn had promptly chimed in, agreeing.

It wasn't like Kat didn't sympathize. After Gen told her about the weird 'human powers' thing, she had been acting a bit different. Kat knew how manic she got when she was going full Adventurer, and Gen- Gen was on a whole 'nother level. Most people took medication for that. Neither of them had quite figured out what Merrilyn's special power thing was, not for lack of trying. She seemed as perplexed as they did. They could only assume that it was an augmentation to her poetry, or something. It was disappointing, to be sure, but there was a place for everyone on the team, no matter what. They had made that decision even before Merrilyn had healed up.

She had to admit, the outfit she made for Merrilyn made her look even more radiant than she had in her birthday suit. There was something to be said for strange hair and an exotic outfit, especially with her gently tanning skin. It was like she had stepped out of the pages of a comic book or something, really. Kat might not have believed she was real if they had met back at home. Kat had never been too 'into' fashion, but Merrilyn had lit a fire. She was such a perfect model, too. Merrilyn had been so pleasant to work with, all in all. A bit strange, but being captured by cannibals- twice, apparently- did that to a person. Maybe she was just 'The Nice Lady'. Kat hoped that she couldn't read minds or something. Merrilyn wasn't a big fan of 'Lady', and Kat would really step in it if she slipped up again.

It took her a moment to remember why Gen was waving at her. The Caravan, the waiting, and her magical eyes. Back in the Jungle, they had tested each of their respective sight and hearing. It wasn't an exact science, but it didn't need to be. Kat won handily, and now she was expected to follow through. Sure enough, there was a caravan trekking their way through the woods. She had to squint, but she could just make out the front of the line. Horses. At least, she thought they were horses. If they were, they were the biggest Kat had ever seen. Like, if an ox and a horse had a baby, and it was twice the size of either. If they were much bigger, she may have assumed they were just stumpy elephants. They heaved the massive load, a chain of carts and wheels. They were hooded, so she could hardly see inside, but she could see the driver.

It was a person. He looked a bit like Frankenstein, if she squinted. His outfit was impressively formal, with a black suit that contrasted strongly with his pale skin. He had broad shoulders, with a thick chest and alarmingly normal waist, like someone had transplanted a giant's upper body onto a normal guy's lower body. He had to be so topheavy, she almost felt sorry for him. Still, he seemed to be handling those giant horses fine, so maybe he had got the muscles through his occupation. That actually made sense, in a weird way. He just didn't seem quite human, no matter what. His face had strong features, more like that of a Gorilla's, with closely-set eyes, a pronounced and upturned nose, and a massive forehead that complimented his blocky chin.

It wasn't the worst thing Kat had seen, but it wasn't pleasant. Normally she might just write it off as an ugly face, but the features were so strange, and when that was combined with his bizarre musculature, he registered pretty highly on the 'not a human' scale. Still, it wasn't a lizard of any variety, so that was one point to the strange gorilla Frankenstein man. She nodded to Gen, and pointed. He nodded. Kat still didn't give the signal, though. They had waited this long, so they could wait a bit longer.

The caravan huffed along at a snail's pace. Every step brought more cart over her horizon, bringing another cloth roof into view. Maybe they could steal their way in using one of those? It'd be risky, though, since they couldn't know what was inside. What if this was the odd-world equivalent of a taxi? They might not take kindly to hitchhikers, let alone ones dressed like tribesmen. Tribespeople. Eventually, she spotted a green head peek out from the fore-most of the long line of carts.

This was the first thing that Kat didn't have to guesstimate. It was a Goblin, through and through. It had those sharp ears, distinctly green skin, a mouth full of teeth filed to points, and that scrunched up little face. She had though the 'Gremlins' before were the best she could hope for as far as "Goblin-things" went, but this could have been ripped straight from a D&D book. Not that she had read any. Still, it was refreshing to see something so familiar in this foreign world. Even if it was 'familiar' in the sense of 'something consigned to fantasy back home'. There were a lot of nasty stories about goblins, but this satisfied the conditions for plan C.

She signaled Gen, using the simple hand signals they had practiced back in the catbeast den. He nodded, finally looking back at the caravan, then scrambling down the tree. At this point, the caravan was probably close enough for them to be spotted. Merrilyn followed suit. Kat had no such luxury- she was on a tree on the opposite side of the road. So she leapt, running across the branch Gen had been on only moments before, and doing her best slide down the trunk. She made it just in time. The coachman was looking at them, head slightly askew, and his lips were moving. The action was exaggerated, so it might have been for their benefit as much as the people in the cart.

The goblin's head shot out of the curtains once more, this time to look down at them. They were no more than thirty meters away, now. The creature was inquisitive, but as they sat still, it seemed to relax, even if just a bit. All three of their little group was kneeling and sitting as respectfully as possible, a gesture that Merrilyn had estimated to be as universal as they could hope for. They waited, kneeling patiently, and the caravan grew ever nearer. Finally, the goblin shouted at them. It wasn't in a language they understood. Gen sighed, nodding gently. That made things harder. Why couldn't they all speak English, like in the movies?

Gen stood, and the goblin stopped yelling out at them. It frowned, intent on him once more. He did gesture after gesture, hoping to get the point across. The ASL sign for 'mute', Merrilyn had studied sign-language in high school, wrapping his hands around his neck, zipping his lips, pantomiming making sounds without anything coming out, and finally, just speaking. In English. Kat hadn't had the heart to tell him that it would probably be simpler to just start with the English bit. The goblin seemed to get the idea. He grinned, disappearing back into the hooded carriage-cart. The caravan kept moving, and that was that. No one tried to murder them.

The carts kept moving, until they had practically reached their group little. Kat and Merrilyn both hopped to their feet, ready to get a move on. They'd want to get to the gates before the caravan to get a clue on how they could gain access to a city that spoke a language they didn't even know. Just as they started to leave, though, the wheels all ground to a halt. It was a strange sensation, the sudden absence of sound. They had almost become used to the rumbling of the caravan in the little time it had been rolling along towards them. Now, though, it was silent. The goblin was hanging out of the carriage once more, shouting at them, and beckoning with his arms.

That was unexpected. None of the plans they had cooked up actually had the merchants giving them a ride into the city.

Still, it was too much to look a gift horse in the mouth. Things were going alright, and they seemed civil enough. It wouldn't be good to lose out on opportunities because they were too terrified of the locals, especially if they hoped to get acquainted with them. It was this, or Jungle life. Kat wasn't sure she wanted another go on the Dragon train, no matter how much fun it was. So they filed towards the caravan once more, all three of them. The goblin had drawn the curtain, giving them a view inside. It was the first plush thing they had seen in ages, one and all, with pristine red cushions and seats. There was even a flap in the tarp overhead that could be drawn for a sun-roof or a vent, if need be. It was like a luxury car, and Kat wanted on. She hoped he wouldn't be too offended at the smell of dried lake-water and stop them when they got too close.

Boarding was easy. There was a little wooden ladder- perhaps built for littler people than they were, but it held up alright- and the carts weren't too high up to begin with. The goblin was all smiles, up until the point Gen tried to take a seat on the rear chairs. Then it hurriedly tried to stop him, and pulled him away, and then it was all smiles again. No sitting on the fancy chair. Drat. It made sense, though. They were lucky enough to have a ride, and it would be wrong to befoul it right after boarding. It spoke a bit more, but when it saw that they really couldn't understand, it gave up. The goblin shouted to the coachman, closed the door-curtain, and plunked itself down on the fancy cloth seats. Then, they were off once more.

It was strange to sit on the ground, just under a tiny little creature. By all measures they should dwarf it, but in raw elevation, it had taken the lead. It reminded Kat of a little kid in a high chair and she had to quash that thought to avoid laughing. They had to be as respectful as humanly possible. It was just- so unusual. This wasn't the sort of situation she would have even considered 'on the table'. Hitch-hiking with Frankenstein and a goblin and sitting criss-cross apple-sauce with a poet and a guy who fancied himself a General on the floor of their fancy carriage. Where had her life gone, really?

The ride seemed to last forever. The goblin just sat and stared at them, smiling, and for their part, they smiled and stared back. To be more accurate, they stared away from the goblin's face, since that could be taken as a sign of challenge, and they mostly stared 'near' the goblin. The little creature had an astonishing amount of patience. It just sat there and stared at them, content to just look. Kat supposed that was a natural consequence of life on the road before phones or even just the good old-fashioned Gameboy. Maybe she could drum up funds introducing the new world to roadtrip games? If she coined '99 Bottles of Beer' and it caught on, she was pretty sure that her name would be on wanted lists by the end of the week, so perhaps not.

The gentle thudding and smiling goblin made the experience just a bit surreal. Kat found her thoughts wandering, her alertness dulling in favor of more contemplative thought. Why were they here? What would they find on the other side? Why was the Goblin even helping them along? Was it a trap? She thought over each one, and her meandering continued up to the point that the caravan started really climbing the hill. Kat wasn't feeling right. More accurately, she was feeling a bit more lucid then she usually did, but in light of everything she went through, that wasn't necessarily a good thing.

"Gen," she whispered, poking at him. Then she remembered that the Goblin didn't speak their language, so she just spoke aloud. "Gen, I'm not feeling very… Adventurer-y?" She was struggling to find the right words. Gen had always been so certain of "The General", but Kat had never felt so different when she had to fight or run. The boy was looking at her, now, worry playing out on his face. "I'm feeling entirely too normal, myself. Is it the cart?" He asked, mulling it over.

Kat thought back, shaking her head. "I can't speak for you, but I felt 'normal' up until the ride really got underway."

The goblin was focused on them, now, but he didn't seem too upset about their chattering. Kat had to cringe a bit. She would be suspicious if a bunch of hitch-hikers started talking to each-other in a language she couldn't understand.

Merrilyn turned to them, finally breaking away from her musing. "Didn't you say something about 'turf'?" That seemed to make sense- they were approaching a city that they did not build, did not live in, and did not have any real reason to stake claim on. What if their 'mode' was linked to how much control of the territory they had? You couldn't just walk up to a place and call it your home, even back on earth. That raised questions, though. The one that caught Kat's interest the most was that of who judged what land belonged to whom. Then she forgot she cared about that because she tipped onto her back. The caravan was climbing the hill, and it had reached the steepest point. The hooves were stamping down on those marvelous bricks, and she could hear them struggling to heave their load up the hill. The sensation reminded Kat a bit of a roller coaster cresting the first big hill- she hoped there wouldn't be a drop, though. They didn't even have seat-belts.

The trip through the gate was surprisingly easy. Humanoids were on guard duty. They looked an awful lot like the coachman of the caravan, especially in the face. They each had different muscle-groups accentuated, though. The coachman's massive upper body qualified him for his position, but the guards both had incredibly and excessively muscled legs and glutes. Honestly, Kat had to figure their kicks were more lethal than the swords they carried. Whatever they were, they weren't perfectly human. Strange face aside, muscles really don't specialize that way. Kat, of anyone, would know. She had been wearing her legs out for days now, but they weren't elephantine like the guards' were. Kat decided to refer to the race as 'Roiders for the time being.

Their first real view of the city came when the goblin pulled the curtains back. People, none of which were human, lined the streets in burlap-tent bazaars and small wooden shops just aside from the wide road they were entering on. Kat thought they may have stopped to offload some of the carts, since the markets were so close to the gate, but they kept going. It was about what she would have expected from a medieval city right to the point that they got to the bridge. The bridge was stone and huge, like a modern thoroughfare, and more importantly, it was over a massive pit. Kat had seen quarries before, but this was something else- and smack dab in the middle of the city. It was awe-inspiring, and maybe a bit uncomfortable, considering just how close they were to that massive drop. Adventurer or no, she still wanted to give bungee jumping it a shot sometime. Did they have bungee cords in the Dark Ages?

The caravan finally halted when they reached a little station in the middle of the bridge. It had a number of pulleys and gears and boxes with cages, which Kat realized were actually elevators, albeit primitive ones. The goblin yelled up to the coachmen for a bit, and he grunted an affirmation- was that an affirmation?- back to it. Then, the goblin hopped out of the carriage. It beckoned, intent, and they each followed suit. How could the little creature walk? Kat's legs felt like Jello. The caravan started moving once more, and the goblin walked over to one of the many boxes swinging over that massive abyss, and he looked at them expectantly. They were expected to follow a goblin into a pre-electricity elevator and descend into a massive pit with no context or explanation.

Was this really such a good idea?