Spring was blooming and the afternoon sun beat down on their back. The rain was gone. Much to Jano’s relief, there were no more signs of Topoclaws. The huge hills which had tracked their journey on either side were now scattered with hundreds of small trees covered in radiant pink blossoms. From a distance, the small fruit gathering next to the blossoms looked like eyes watching the group. Their steeds swallowed the terrain with almost no effort whatsoever. They had finally reached a solid paved road, rather than just packed dirt. It was apparently an old trade route between Goshnia, Molinia, the Freelands and the rest of the lands to their west. It was cracked and broken but at least it was relatively flat and progress had been fast. At least it seemed that way to Jano, who’s only experience of travel had been the escape from the city.

It mustn't have seemed that way to Gryff who continued to do nothing but complain. Dariea had flat out stopped listening, but Robin seemed to have taken it upon herself to argue with him.

“So why are the Chaos-Shapers forces in Goshnia?” Jano asked Dariea.

“They’re a peacekeeping force. They were invited there after years of disorder.”

“Peacekeeping? Bah, they’re mercenaries. Why do you think they’re there? They’re getting paid!” Gryff shouted.

Dariea looked at the fire prince, there was nothing but contempt in her gaze. “Obviously. I think he meant why are they there from the perspective of Goshnia”

Jano felt awkward, but he wanted to know the answer so he went on. “Hrmph” he coughed, trying to dispel the tension. “Sorry I did mean how bad do things have to be to invite another army into your lands?” Jano asked, careful not to look at Gryff.

Dariea shifted in the saddle of her mount. The Gippie had shown almost no resistance to its new rider, much to Gryff’s chagrin. “Essentially they had a queen who ruled for fifty years. Then when she died, there were a series of battles for succession. Her descendants manipulated, killed and maimed each other every chance they got. Their current queen had the foresight to make deals with other kingdoms and part of that was the Chaos-Shapers lending them their martial expertise to keep the peace.”

“But doesn’t it create more disorder by relying on another army to maintain peace?” He asked.

Dariea smiled. “Very perceptive. The Chaos-Shaper’s are not allowed by convention to have their army on home soil. So they make a great deal of money by hiring them out to other kingdoms as mercenaries or as a free company. It is not uncommon to hire soldiers but they don’t usually stay in one place for as long as they have here.”

Jano thought for a moment. Despite being part of an empire, Qursa was so insular that it surprised him just how connected other sovereign kingdoms could be. It seemed ridiculous in retrospect.

“And now we’re going to retrieve them, won’t that open up Goshnia to more strife?”

“Perhaps, we just have to trust that they used their time wisely.” Dariea said nothing further. The paved road started to become more consistent and the surface was smoother. They passed two massive stone towers on either side of the path. A giant wooden gate lay open. There were a couple of guards surveying their group, but they seemed happy that they posed little threat. “If not, they can always hire the army back after we have settled our business.”

The surrounding hills began to thin out and become smaller. They had been such huge figures the entire journey that it seemed odd without their presence. The road began to open up before them. Now Jano was able to see into the distance, where civilisation began to spring up out of nowhere. Rows upon rows of trees and wandering plants were set out before them on either side of the road. All blossoms were various shades of pink, purple and red which raked the horizon. The sea of colour was almost unbelievable, Jano hadn’t seen anything even remotely similar. The air smelled fresh. It was hard to believe that this place was the site of such unrest. There were houses just behind the trees.

“So this is Goshnia?” He asked as he surveyed the fauna in the distance.

“This is just one of its orchards. Believe it or not, it used to be even bigger. They have begun to rebuild after years of struggle, but the first few harvests have been promising and have added some much needed legitimacy to the queen’s rule. Plus the wine is fantastic.”

—-

Jano sneezed as they were surrounded by the trees. He surprised himself and nearly lost his balance on his Gippie. Gathering himself, he noted the smile on Dariea’s face.

“Now I didn’t want you to fall. But I can’t guarantee I wouldn’t have laughed if you had.” She said.

They continued on the road and slowly other traffic started to build up from different routes which converged on the same path. Carts piled high with fruit and large wooden crates headed on in front of their group. Supplies were coming fast the other way. There was nothing pulling the carts, yet they moved quickly as though they were on a preset path.

The trees became more sparse and were replaced by small groups of houses, with large swathes of land. People gathered in ever greater numbers. Further on Jano saw a market being held. A furious din of people buying and selling their daily wares. Jano smiled, it was nice to know that no matter where he was, there were always some similarities across people.

“Most are traders, farmers or pickers. But as the population expanded, other businesses opened even this far out. They supply many merchants who transport their goods far and wide on the well worn trade routes.” Dariea said to the whole group this time. “It looks like business is booming.”

Some took a second look at the outsiders but most paid them almost no attention as they busily went about their business. A few soldiers in black uniforms and masks stood at equal distances apart. They had small curved blades slung at their sides, but they looked relaxed. Nothing like the highly strung guards in Qursa.

The houses spread out the further they got into Goshnia. It resembled home vaguely he thought, but the buildings were made of wood rather than stone. The white walls looked thin but beautiful and it had none of the dullness of stone. In the distance, he could see brilliant white walls which towered over the houses.

“Stay here a second.” Dariea said as she dismounted her Gippie and headed over to a Chaos-Shaper.

“This place is amazing!” Robin shouted, drawing the attention of a few citizens. “The fruit trees, the vines and all the colour! I want to live here.”

“Good. Molinia could do with one less of the windy folk around.” Gryff laughed. It must have been an inside joke as when he realised nobody else was laughing, he went back to being in a grump.

“What’s the matter with you?” Jano asked. “This trip can’t be that bad for you.”

He barely even looked at Jano. “I just want to get back as soon as possible. Away from this pointless place.”

“Stop sulking. This place is amazing, you would think that the future leader of the Berserker Fire clan would be more open to potential trade partners.” Robin replied, the scorn wasn’t well hidden.

It was then that Jano realised why Robin had been sent along on the journey. He had thought it was odd that they wanted to send someone on what seemed like such a simple mission, to fetch the army. It was a trade mission, wrapped up as something else. No wonder Robin was so enthusiastic. It didn’t explain Gryff’s sudden change in behaviour however, and Jano made a note to explore that further.

Dariea hopped back onto her Gippie, the lizard nuzzling into her as she brushed past its head. It looked at her with almost adoration in its eyes. Jano didn’t know the creatures very well, but it seemed like it really liked her.

“Follow the soldier. They’re going to take us to Commander Guinen, the person in charge of the entire army.”

The soldier took a position in front of the group and they started to match through the bustling streets. The escort meant they drew more attention. They moved much slower with the escort, which gave them the opportunity to look around them as the city was starting to unravel before them. The smell of hot food drifted down. A delicious mix of several spiced smells mixed together. Jano managed to peer into one of the buildings. In it there were dozens of people sitting around tables and a chef was stretching out huge round pieces of bread. Another chef would take the stretched out bread and fill it with a delicious looking golden filling. They were then placed into huge sizzling skillets before being served. Watching it made Jano’s stomach rumble.

They passed through the rest of the outer part of Goshnia. It was much more peaceful than Jano had expected, given that there had been so many issues in their recent past. Soon they reached the city walls. As they passed through, it didn’t seem that they were ever shut. Sitting on either side of the wooden gates were huge pink statues. They were of humongous creatures, with snarling faces and angular wings enveloping its body. Their deep fuschia eyes seemed to track them as they walked through the gates.

Inside of the city walls, the houses got bigger. They were still made of the same light construction materials as those outside; it seemed strange to Jano, it was nowhere near as strong as stone. Still, it looked so intricate. There was so much greenery. Gardens were everywhere. By the side of the main paths were thin waterways and they seemed to feed the estates directly. The trickling sound of the waterways were instantly calming.

The paths were a pristine white stone and there were several people sweeping and cleaning the streets. They turned down an exceptionally wide road. It was just as bright as the others and thin logs arched over it, creating a long tunnel.

“The Queen’s Road.” Dariea smiled as she said it. “That’s the Paper Palace at the end.” It looked magnificent. The palace was made of thick white wood similar in colour to the other buildings, but more brilliant. It didn’t loom over the rest of the city, as the one in Qursa did; instead it shone in the sunshine. It was the only building which lay at the end of the road and it was imposing in its grandeur, rather than its size.

The soldier took a left off the Queen’s Road which Jano wasn’t expecting. Surprisingly, they were surrounded by the dark uniforms and masks of the Chaos-Shapers. A spiralling mansion displayed the symbol and banners of Molinia. The mansion was strafed by several large barrack style attachments. A small contingent of soldiers were waiting for them.

“Dariea!?” A gruff voice called from the front. A man stepped forward.

“Ah Guinen. You’ve gotten smaller I see.” She replied.

She dismounted and walked forward to meet the Commander and they embraced warmly. If the Commander had gotten any smaller, Jano couldn’t have imagined what he used to look like. He was a hulking figure of a man, thick around the waist and with long black hair.

“Don’t be ridiculous! Come on in. Come on in. You’ll have to introduce me to your friends.” He shouted.

Jano looked at the others. Robin was already dismounting, she had her trademark smile and seemed eager to get away from her ragtag traveling companions. Gryff was almost the polar opposite. He seemed to have shrunk a little as though trying to hide his face. Jano decided to follow Robin’s lead. He was growing so used to being out of his depths at this point, that he was used to following whoever seemed the most competent at that particular moment.

The soldiers gathered the Gippies expertly and though the fire prince didn’t exactly look happy to be among the Chaos-Shapers army, he certainly looked relieved to be off the creature. Guinen and Dariea were already walking into the mansion.

“Ah I’m so happy we’re here. I can’t wait to explore.” Robin squealed.

“I don’t know how long we’re going to be here for? I thought we were here to formally ask the army to return?” Jano replied.

“Well of course. Look around you! It’s going to take at least a week to pack this place down. You are allowed to have a bit of fun, you know.” She was so clearly excited that Jano didn’t feel like he should argue back. He was tired of constantly being on the move after all.

The mansion was relatively sparsely decorated, which Jano was realising was clearly a cultural choice of the Chaos-Shapers more generally. Though he thought that Robin may have been a little overzealous with her predictions on timescales.