We was outside of the Royal Army headquarters when Jade arrived with the king. The Generals was arguing over something that don't seem to be at all important. As Jade came closer to me I realized that she also had on a Royal Army red cloak that stopped at the waist.
King Arpo addressed the Generals to settle down and continue their dispute some other time. He then ordered some soldiers to get something and they came back about five minutes later.
The king made a gesture with his hand for us to follow him. We walked down the marble deserted upper streets to the deserted dirty lower streets.
King Arpo stopped at the gate and order one of the guards to go do something. After a while he came back. The gigantic gates creaked as they start to open. Outside was two of the carts we came in. If I remembered correctly Zenal said they were called Dune Riders.
The guards started packing the things they were holding into the carts. Arpo turned away and wondered around for a second before talking.
"I'm sorry that I cannot come with you two on your journey. But I will lend you these soldiers of mine and some materials. I wish you a save passage."
The King walked up to us and whispered, "Please return this land to what it once was. You two are the chosen one after all." He had a looked of hope in his eyes.
I don't know what he meant about "returning the land to what it once was" but Jade told him that we'll do it. The king bowed his head and went forward to hug us. He then backed off and rub a tear drop off his cheeks.
"Have a save trip young Generals," Zeral said as we climbed aboard the cart.
He leaned in to whisper to me. "Not many people out there like us, so good luck."
He backed up towards the other three Generals. The cart started moving as we sat down. Each cart seemed like it can only hold up to four people and some supplies.
The carts accelerated at an amazing speed leaving the city behind as a memory. It didn't take long before it started to fade away from my eye sights. I decided to take it easy and rest as the hot wind blows against my face.
"How do these things work?" I asked the soldier sitting in front of me.
He looked at me bizarrely then answered my question. "Well under these carts is a metal that matches the same magnetic pole as sand. Since it has the same magnetic pole, that causes it to hover above the ground and the wind pushes the cart. Since it hovers above the ground it's easier to move, so sometimes it can go up to an imaginable speed if there's strong winds."
"How about if the wind is blowing the opposite direction you're going?" Jasmine asked.
Both of the soldiers started to laugh. I don't know what about that question was so funny. If the carts do move because of the wind then knowing when to leave is all about determining the direction and speed the wind is blowing, but somehow these guys found it funny as if the direction of the wind didn't matter.
'It doesn't matter which way the wind is blowing," the soldier said. "Because on top of every cart is a pole that sucks in incoming wind and blows it against the sail. Didn't you learn this in school?"
These soldiers was dumber than they look if they couldn't tell by our clothes that we're not from here. No wonder everyone in this land thinks Clover is so smart.
The King is an old fool who believed in fairy tales. The "Strongest" warriors known as the Five Generals are a bunch of over-hyped men who don't look like they can do much except for talking and debating over pointless topics. The soldiers all look strong but they seem to be lacking a brain. Honestly everything about this country was making me feel uneasy. And the worst thing about it all is that a shadow-- could very well be the same shadow we know, told the king about our arrival two days before it even happened. Something about all of this wasn't adding up.
***
It felt as if hours passed since we entered the carts. The sun looked like it was finally about to set. Now that I think about it we couldn't have spent more than ten hours in this land. When we arrived here it looked like it was probably noon.
After about a feel miles more I started to spot a small town in the distance. It was so small that we could've easily miss it if there was strong wind blowing. "Looks like we'll be stopping here," one of the soldiers announced.
The other soldiers climbed up and brought the sail down. The carts started slowing down before coming to a complete halt. One of the soldiers pushed the carts until we reached the middle of the deserted town.
Judging by the small clay huts and that there was nobody outside means that this is probably a poor village.
"I hate this poor ass place," one of the soldiers spat in disgust. The other soldiers also made some disrespectful comments about this small village then started laughing in unison.
"Funny you say that," I replied to them. "I thought we did a loop and ended back in Zenal."
The soldiers snarled as Jade laughed.
"Take the materials off the carts!" I ordered just to see if they would actually listen or not. They paused for a second, took a look at my cloak then started unloading the materials off the cart.
I guess being a General wasn't all that bad, but this felt like school again. The group of followers, obeying my every command. I guess something never change no matter where you go. Leaders will always be leaders, and followers will always be followers.
After they placed the crates on the floor and opened it with their swords, I took a look inside. Inside of the crates were: two huge closed jar, some blankets, something that looked like lotion, packages of food—mostly dry berries and meat.
My stomach started to growl once I seen the food. With the things that happened lately I forgot I was hungry. I took a seat on one of the crates and reached into another one, full of food. I pulled out something that looked like an over-size chicken leg.
"What is this?" I held up the chicken-leg for the soldiers to see.
"That's the leg of a Blue Barry Beast," one of the soldiers replied. "It's a rare creature that looks like a lion but has the eye of a basilisk. Their meat is really good. I can't believe the king packed such high noble food."
Right now my stomach didn't care what it was. The smell was making my mouth water, it smelled like pork roast and honey sickle. I took a bite into it and it felt like I was eating both sweet and sour chicken and fried chicken at the same time. It was like nothing I ever tasted.
"You need to try this," I said with a mouthful. Jade took it right out of my hand and took a huge bite. I never ever seen her eat like that.
"What?" she said trying to talk with a mouthful. I couldn't help but laughed. Jade face turned red as she turned around in embarrassment.
"Stop laughing at me dammit, she said. "You didn't exactly look all that when you was eating also."
One of the soldiers stepped forward and took out his sword. He pointed it at something in front of us. I turned around to spot a little boy about six or seven coming our way. He was very thin, and looked like he hadn't ate a decent meal in his life.
"You guys don't look like the Dung Beetles," the little boy said, his body was so thin and fragile that you could see his ribs. "Who are you?"
Jade walked toward the little boy and kneeled down. She offered him the meat in her hand. He looked at it delightfully, grabbed it, and then ran back into a house at the end of the street. Before he made it to the entrance I seen an arm reached out to hug him before pulling him inside.
People started coming out of the houses on the street. All of them looked frail and tired, their eyes sullen as, their bodies resembling that of a skeleton. They were all wearing rags and beat up sandals.
An old man about sixty years old with a cane stepped forward. He eyed us closely before speaking.
"I'm surprised that two little kids such as yourself became a General in the Royal Army," he coughed. "But I am grateful that you helped one of us out. You are invited to stay in our little village for the time being."
"Thank you," Jade said. "We appreciate it. I am Jade Moon and this is Jack Star."
"Hey," I said waving my hand. Then going back into the crate to find something else to eat.
Jade untied a string around her waist, and connected to that string was a small red pouch. She opened the pouch and took out four small silver coins and a single gold one. She handed it to the old man.
"Is this enough for two huts? If not then we'll take one."
The old man eyed the money. He coughed into his hands before speaking. "I'm sorry but this is too much. Please, one silver will do."
"Oh no, you can keep it." Jade responded. "Please, we don't really need it that much."
"I'm sorry to say that we only have one open hut available but if you'd like you can share a hut with one of us."
The little boy that Jade give food to came up. "Please can she stay with us, mama please?"
"Sure why not," his mom said. She was a young woman about thirty-five years old. Her brown hair was in a bun. And she was wearing a light blue ragged dress like most of the woman outside. She was so thinned I could see the bone on her face.
"Excuse me General," one of the soldiers whispered in my ear. "The Trip to Aurora takes about three days, I don't think we have time for a rest."
Three days? Is it really that far away? The sun was beginning to set and I can tell that soon it was going to be night. I don't know anything about this land to know if it's save or not to travel at night. And besides, Jade becomes really stubborn when she chooses to help somebody out, so leaving is not an option.
"I think I'll stay in this village for the night." I said to the soldier. "You have no idea how Jade can turn when she set her mind on something."
I reached into the crate and grabbed a pouch full of coins. I reached in and grabbed about three silver coins, two gold coins, and one bronze coin. "Go back to Zenal and go grab one men outfit and one woman outfit, if there's change get some food for the villagers.