"Atlantis? I have never heard of that country before." Dan said. He had studied geography and although it was not his strongest suit, he could at least name all the continents and all the countries in the world. He must have missed that lesson to hang out with the goblins from his village or was in a fight.
"Atlantis is actually a city, it is too small to be considered a country but they have all the rights of any country, so it is considered a country. Although they do not have any leaders they have an army. The country functions on its own, having no king or lord of any kind. And if there is an important decision to make then the people vote on what to do and when the majority wins then their choices will be followed through with by their army." Maknan said. She was surprised by Dan who got on this carriage without even knowing where he was headed.
"Atlantis is actually quite a new country, a warlock under the orders of a greedy king tried summoning several heroes. They went to a far of place away from prying eyes and spies. Sadly they summoned an entire city. The warlock died from the strain of having summoned a city."
Dan had actually become interested in this story and listened attentively. "What about the king? Did he explain to the people what had happened and why they were summoned?"
Maknan shook her head. A gust of wind blew the smoke in front of Maknan out of the open window.
"He was crushed by the summoned city! Atlantis was conquered by the kings heir but the reign only lasted for 10 years. The atlantian's learnt magic and used the weapons from their world to take back their country. It was a bloody bath. A single city versus an alliance of three of the most powerful countries in the eastern part of the continent."
Dan took a puff from his blunt. As he looked outside he could see the the city gates as if the carriage had not moved. Truly the system was a miracle. He had gone from wearing glasses to being able to see two kilometres away.
"I'm guessing the atlantian's won?" Dan asked.
Makanan nodded her head as she smiled.
"How did you know?" She asked.
"Just a guess." Dan said as he gestured for Maknan to continue and she did.
"despite having all the odds stacked against them, they won. They gained their independence but at a terrible price. Of the 2 million original atlantian's only 100 thousand of them remained after the Great eastern war that shook up the continent and the power balance of all countries."
"100 thousand, WHEEEEEW!" Dan let out a whistle to show his astonishment. "That's a lot of bodies." he said.
"Yes but even after gaining their independence, they continuously fought of invaders. It is said that there are only approximately 5,000 atlantian's left."
'Atlantis, the people are used to invaders, I'm gonna have to see whether it will be a good city to conquer first."
Dan spent the rest of the evening listening to Maknan explain the history of Atlantis. The wars they faced, the discrimination, the support from the heroes who found a place that was the closest to their home, how they became a nation and one of the biggest trade centres in the world. He also learned how they increased in size by expanding and the hierarchy.
Hours had passed since they had got on the carriage and right now it was dusk. Dan was surprised when lights lit up on the wall. They were protected by metals so that nothing could happen to them.
Dan had fallen asleep due to the marijuana in his body. It was more intoxicating than the one he usually had. It felt like it was his first time.It was pitch black outside when Maknan woke up Dan.
"The carriage stopped it's dinner time." She said.
Dan grunted as he sat up.
"How long is it going to stay?" He asked.
"Until tommorow morning, you can either sleep inside the carriage or outside the carriage. The staff need to rest and the animals need to stretch since they were cooped up all day."
Dan closed his eyes for a few seconds before letting out a sigh and standing up. "All right then, let's go outside. I'm sweating from the heat. I want to sleep outside tonight."
Dan tipsily followed Maknan. She opened the compartment door and waited for him to come out.
"Do you need help walking?" she asked.
"Thank you but I'm good, this is just normal, I'm actually feel better than earlier. I'm coming down pleasantly." Dan said.
Dan held himself up on the wall. Maknan grabbed Dan by the hand and guided him outside.
As they were walking down the hallway of the carriage Dan stopped in front of one of the compartments. Maknan also stopped walking as Dan had just stopped walking.
Dan took a deep breath and sniffed the air.
"Is everything okay?" Maknan asked.
"Yes, I just thought I smelt some really good perfume but I really cannot tell with my blocked nose." Dan said as he started walking again. Maknan's arms were wrapped around his hand and they were walking as if they were a couple on a stroll.
"Well, I am wearing perfume, I have been since earlier." Maknan said as she smiled coyly.
Dan didn't see Maknan's smile. Had he seen it he would have completely misunderstood.
"It smells really nice." Dan muttered just lightly enough for Maknan to hear. She pretended as if she did not hear and blushed.
Dan opened the carriage and the cold air hit him. Hours of sleeping in a carriage only made him hungry and hot.
Dan breathed in the refreshing air happily. There were people outside who were in groups each talking to each other. There was a big campfire and lots of logs to sit on.
Dan thanked Maknan for her help and asked her to let go and she complied. Dan immediately went to check up on Kan.
As soon as Dan entered the animal carriage the animal caretaker was happy to see him. He almost cried tears of joy. He begged for Dan to take his dog away.
Kan had been causing one problem after the other. Whether it be almost breaking the rabbit cage or chasing the other dog's and biting them until they submitted. Kan was to much of a headache for him and he was not paid enough for this. A snake and monkey had already been killed by Kan and he could probably cover that up but if Kan staid here any longer he would unsettle the other animals.
Dan gave the man a "I told you so you dumb idiot but you chose not to listen so it's your fault" look. Dan left with Kan right beside him.
Just as Dan left the animal carriage he saw Pedro standing in front of him with the two kids beside him.
He put his hands in his pockets and nodded at Pedro. "Why didn't you tell me this carriage was headed to Atlantis?"
Pedro crossed his arms. "Why did you not ask? You really are a fool aren't you?" Those few words were actually spoken in dwarven, so that no one else could understand.
"Since you are speaking in Dwarven then I'm guessing something happened?" Charlie and Adam watched in silence wondering what on earth they were talking about.
Kan rubbed himself against Charlie's leg like a cat. Charlie squatted down and scratched Kan's back for him.
From the corner of his eye Dan saw the storage ring he bought earlier on Charlie's hand. He paid no attention to it as he continued talking to Pedro.
"Earlier on I picked up a weird scent in one of the rooms." Dan said.
"They are called compartments not rooms,"
"I don't care, did I ask you about that?"
"So what kind of scent did you find?"
"Well I picked up two distinct scents, one of which was gold." Dan said as he put up two fingers.
"So what? Gold is a normal currency, I'm pretty sure you can even smell the gold that I have in my pockets." Pedro pointed out. He didn't need Dan doing something dumb like robbing people, after all he used to hang out with goblins a lot.
"Yes but it was not just any type of gold, I could smell a curse. Now if add two and two together then that would mean-"
"Cursed gold!" Pedro exclaimed. How did normal humans have that? Was it even possible for them to acquire it? Apparently so, since someone just did.
Dan continued on as Pedro thought about how they actually got it. "Cursed gold is a sign of great misfortune, it is a beacon for destruction, Sooner or later the owner of the cursed gold will be here and it will kill everyone here, don't you think it would be better to leave before the dragon appears?"
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