"When the cities sank and the waters had calmed again, some members of the Isles travelled to them and left memorials to remember the millions that were lost." Captain Kelly responded to Rosie, his tone one of sadness, "That is a cross placed on top of one of the few towers that still stands, even if it is under the sea, home now to the sea creatures rather than us."
"I bet it is beautiful down there." Jessica commented from beside Dom, as they all watched the cross as the sailors around them ran around and changed the direction of the sails.
"It is." Captain Kelly agreed, "Hopefully one day you get to visit some of the sunken cities, most are destroyed and nothing but rubble, but some of them still have some of the majestic grandeur of the past."
Dom watched as the crew continued to work around them, the ship slowly changing direction and heading more westward now. A group of Seals swam beside the ship and above them white seagulls cawed at the thought of food that may be left in the ships wake.
"We should be arriving in less than thirty minutes." Captain Kelly announced, before heading off elsewhere on the ship to prepare some of his things. Dom and the group had been told to leave their clothes on the ship as they would be packed up and shipped to their accommodation with their personal belongings. Dom didn't know where his would go however, as he was only staying here for a few days before heading to Central University back on the mainland.
...
Time soon passed and the occasional relics from the past had made way for the first signs of proper land. In the distance was a towering fort that was based on a small island full of lush green farmland. It's walls were high and made of grey stone, with several black figures spread across the ramparts.
"That is the Eighty Eighth peak I believe." Stephen explained to the group, "My brother mentioned the mighty Fort that defends the entrance to the mainland. It is full of fierce members of the Peaks who decided to stay here after completing their studies, rather than heading home or to future careers."
"It sounds like a serious place." Dom agreed as they passed the Fort, the ships crew almost silent as they did so.
The Yacht then went south slightly, following the curve of the island, before heading west again where there was a small watch tower on a low cliff, they headed inland north of the watch tower, surrounded on both sides now of land. The crew began to work faster now, lowering some of the sails and preparing the ship for it's final stage, the pace slowing so that it could dock safely.
The area around them was now more built up, with both stone and wooden houses jotted across the waters edge. Further back was green farmland and additional Watch Towers, which Steven explained would all be manned by members of the Eighty Eighth Peak.
A small boat approached them, it's sides were rubber and the crew onboard seemed relaxed as they approached the much larger Yacht. It came to a slow as it approached the Shepherd, with some of the crew of the Shepherd throwing ropes down to the smaller boat, the sails now all being pulled down. The crew onboard the smaller boat tied the ropes to their boat, before turning it and pulling the Shepherd towards the small harbour in front of them.
Dom noticed that the harbour had a couple of merchant ships already docked, but otherwise the harbour was empty, with a group of guards in black suits waiting for their arrival at the edge of where they were docking. The small boat brought them alongside, before passing the ropes to some dockworkers who were also waiting nearby.
....
They had soon disembarked and began walking in to the town of Rothwell, a Pub was open nearby and some drunken locals were loudly discussing something outside of it. Dom felt it was rather early to be drinking alcohol, but he didn't know the culture of the Isles of Britainy. One of the locals pointed towards Dom's group and the others followed the direction that he was pointing at and waved jovially towards Dom and the others.
The guards that met them in Maubeuge were now flanking them as they walked through Rothwell, with the additional guards that met them at the dock. Lady Howard was also flanked by four female guards, who were dressed the same as the others. Captain Kelly led from the front as they passed through the Town, now passing some shops that were selling a variety of different local foods, such as cheeses, breads and ales. Dom was walking slightly behind Captain Kelly with Stephen, Rosie and Jessica. Roger had fallen back slightly in the group as he was taking notes on his notepad about the things he was seeing.
The locals were quiet as they passed, showing smiles and giving the group plenty of space. Dom felt quite welcomed and the town of Rothwell seemed a pleasant place, he hoped the rest of the Isles of Britainy were like this. They passed a small Café where an overweight woman with a white apron on, was handing a plate of cooked sausages, bacon and eggs to a similarly overweight man who was sat on a table outside, reading from a newspaper.
"Aggie, it says they are raising the taxes again." The overweight Man said to the overweight Woman.
"They are always raising the taxes." She replied as she put the plate down loudly, "You need to stop reading that paper, it's always full of rubbish! You only buy that one for the pictures of the topless Women!"
"Well, it's better to look at them than at you!" The Man replied sharply, before instantly regretting his words. Captain Kelly and the group almost came to a stop after listening to the brave and stupid man's comment. The Woman turned and looked towards the group, her anger disappearing and a smile on her face.
"More Heroes to join the Peaks I see!" She said kindly, before turning to the man. "My only advice, don't get as fat as him, he used to be on the Peaks, now he is the size of one!"
Stephen began laughing, but was elbowed quickly by Rosie. Whilst Dom himself was enjoying the jovial and friendly atmosphere of the town. They soon left the couple and continued walking, soon leaving the busy centre and passing an old Church. Dom hadn't seen many Churches, as most religions had faded in the Western Kingdoms, but there were still some people that held their beliefs close to their hearts.
"We will be collected by some of the Peak's vehicles, before travelling to the west through the bridge of Bedworth, towards the ancient city of Birmingham where we will meet with the rest of the group of new students that have arrived over the last few days." Captain Kelly explained to the group, pulling Dom from his thoughts. "We will then head north to Buxton, where the Ninetieth Peak is based, this is a very ancient Town and is where we will hold the welcoming event."
They soon approached a large car park, which stood out in the built up town where all of the buildings were squeezed together, behind the first few streets were lots of farmland and one large car park. At the entrance to the car park was a watch tower, with two men dressed similarly to the guards waiting for them.
The two guards saluted Captain Kelly, before directing him towards a selection of small coaches that were waiting for them. Their drivers dressed similarly to Dom's driver Brian Thorn from the day before. Each coach seemed ancient and hadn't been replaced in at least the last fifteen years. The coaches were clean, but there was obvious ware and tear.
"Please get on the coaches and we shall depart shortly." Captain Kelly asked politely, a stark difference from the Yacht of Annabel Howard that they had travelled here on. She didn't get on a coach, instead she had a chauffeur driven limousine waiting for her and her guards.
Dom made his way on to the coach, sitting in a slightly worn window seat, with Stephen and his large frame squeezing beside him. The coach could comfortably seat around sixteen people, but a lot of those joining the Peaks were tall and muscular, so the seats were quite tight.
....
The initial part of the drive had been bumpy to say the least, the road from Rothwell to the Bridge of Bedford was old and large parts of it were either cobble or dust tracks. Large parts of the land around them had been more farmland, with the occasional Watch Tower or small Village. They had drove past several more Pubs, Churches and Café's. Dom had expected this to have been more built up and invested in like the areas in the Western Kingdom that Dom had lived. Stephen had explained to him that this was on purpose, as any enemy that invaded would struggle in the same terrain, where as the Peaks and the locals to the Isles of Britainy could traverse this land easily. Supposedly the centre of the Isles of Britainy was similar to the Western Kingdoms, and didn't feel as abandoned as this road.
The approach to the Bridge of Bedford had been an interesting experience, they had drove past a large contingent of horses pulling carriages, and had to queue to get across the single track bridge. The carriages were cylindrical and made from wood, painted in a large number of colours. Their drivers had all been muscular men, with beards of reds, browns and blacks. In the back of them, their families travelled as they made their way to their destination. Once they had passed these travellers after crossing the bridge, Dom was surprised to see that the road in front of them was well made and smooth, the constant frustrating bouncing drive now becoming much more enjoyable.
"We should be at Birmingham in just under an hour." Captain Kelly had announced from the front, most of the guards had joined the second Coach that was following them closely behind. Annabel's Limousine was further behind, Dom had expected that some of those that saw them pass would comment on the luxury of the Limousine, but there seemed to be a lot of respect for the group from all that they passed. "We have to travel south, before coming north again due to the Kingsbury Lake."
The journey from the Bridge of Bedford to Birmingham had been quicker than he had expected, travelling through some more built up towns, with larger populations than anything he had seen so far since arriving on the Isles. It felt more like being back in the Western Kingdoms, with the architecture being more familiar.
The city itself was huge, bigger than anything Dom had experienced before. There were looping roads and tunnels that surrounded it, both a way for vehicles to travel around, but also so they could be reused as a defensive line if it was ever invaded. It was a combination of old and new, with ancient buildings such as a giant Cathedral on one side that was over seven hundred years old, with newer white buildings beside them. In the past this city had been full of giant towers, but those that hadn't fallen had been demolished and replaced with buildings of a much smaller scope. The city seemed to go on for ever, and Stephen had explained that it was over eight square miles in total, with direct access to the Kingsbury Lake via the Parkway River.
The small convoy pulled in to another Car Park, where more coaches, some much larger than the ones they had travelled on, were waiting for them. Dom counted that if they were all full, there must be at least four hundred people waiting for them. Some Coaches were ready to go, where as others had large groups of people dressed in the similar black surrounding them in conversation. Dom saw that most people had the blue stripe on their outfit similar to Stephen, where as a handful had red ones like Dom.
"We shall take a short break here, before travelling north to Buxton." Captain Kelly announced, much to the relief of the travellers who wanted to stretch their cramped legs.