"Good day. Where might the two of you be heading?" The guard that stopped Noah and Thomas at the southern bridge had a stoutly figure and a round rosy face. His orange whiskers fanned up and down as he spoke, mouth animating every word beyond anything Noah had ever seen before. He found it hard not to stare like a child who had been let out of the house for the first time.
"Windgrad. Trying to reach it long before the real cold sets in." Thomas spoke the words through a broad smile and ended them with a knowing laugh. The guard nodded, returning the smile, and looked down at a ledger he carried.
"Understand that, indeed I do. Water along the southern split of the old Bluehead tends to drift down the mountain air, something fierce." He nodded his head up the river towards the east, and to the distant mountain ranges running north and south along the border of Tovoran, walling the region off from the outside world. They stood sharp and snowy, their image hazed from the great distance from where the bridge crossed the Bluehead.
"Now, what reason would you two fine gentlemen have to go all the way up the Welfs Cliff all the way to Windgrad?" He took up a quill, anticipating an answer.
"Yes, well, a bit of a tragedy that one." Noah looked to Thomas, feeling unsure of their position on what should be said.
"And do you always speak for your elders, son?" The guard looked up from the page, a disapproving look at Noah speaking up. "Judging by the looks of the two of you, I'd say he was the master of a town. And judging by his name it would be the town of Wesgrave, just a day's journey north." Noah, impressed and a bit concerned at how much a simple guard knew of just the look and name, lowered his head, and apologized. The realization that he might be a bit more out of his element than anticipated wafted over him as his face turned a shade redder.
"He meant no harm." Thomas's good natured smile never left, and indeed grew bigger at seeing the interaction take place. "Just a bit inexperienced in the ways beyond his own home. However, what he says is in fact the truth." Thomas explained to the guard that the farms surrounding the town were attacked by some strange type of wolf pack, leaving the victims who survived infected by their wounds with something they had not seen before. In fact, they had to quarantine the whole town just to make sure that nothing of the disease spread beyond their own people.
"Our hopes are that we might find medical skills within the city of Windgrad that could help us country folk in this time of need."
The guard, looking very saddened by the tale, perked up with fear at the mention of a quarantine. He then quickly scribbled something in his ledger.
"Terrible thing that. Well, I won't keep you from your mission. Best of luck to the both of ye." He began to turn away, only to stop. "Oh, eh, the crossing is one copper." He held out a hand to them.
"Of course." Thomas looked over at Noah and spoke to him in a tone a father might when scolding his child. "I think, for talking out of turn, you should pay our way over the Bluehead." Noah noted a glint in his eye. With a tightness in his jaw, he reached into the coin purse at his side and gave the man a single copper.
"Here you are, sir."
"My thanks to you, young man. Hope this helps to teach you a bit more about how to behave in these matters." He stepped back and waved them on. The rope barring the both sides of the lengthy bridge were lowered, and the horses left the dirt road and trotted upon the oak planks.
Noah looked about at the structure. It had fine decorations carved along the tall railings that raised and lowered in wave like patterns as they stretched along the bridge. At the four corners were peaked towers of the same design. He noticed, through their narrow slots, archers within each of them, looking down as the riders moved along.
Under their watchful eyes, he felt his nerve leave him and looked off to the east to avoid their gaze. Miles away, down from the mountains, the Bluehead ran across the country until far to the west it finally reached the sea. Its perfect blue current dazzling in the sun that had finally shown itself after driving away the storm clouds. It gurgled and splashed around the bridge's foundations, making a sound of thirst quenching draft poured over chopped ice. From the top of its water, the chilly fall winds bounced up and slapped against his face, leaving him with the scent of frost from the distant mountains.
The scenery struck him like a babe seeing daylight for the first time. Only a short journey from home and already he had been shocked by what he was seeing. It overwhelmed him, and he turned to speak to his companion, but stopped.
The look upon Thomas's face had changed. No longer was the smile and laughter of the man from moments before. Now his face held no look other than sharp narrow determination.
"Are- are you alright?"
"Don't speak to anyone unless I tell you to, understand?" He did not turn to acknowledge Noah. Only keeping his vision in the distance.
"I understand." Noah looked back at the guard, who stood flipping through his book. "They don't seem too bad. Rather like us."
"I don't care how someone seems to you. All it takes is one soldier writing down our names and any suspicious story to go along with it about a man named Giles, and suddenly we are being stopped at the checkpoints and detained for questioning." The thought had never once occurred to Noah. It made his heart rate faster.
"I didn't realize."
"Keep this running through your head, you don't know a thing about this world. Repeat it as a personal prayer." They rode on, crossing the bridge and entering the grasslands once more. Dead fields of golden straw and scare crows spread about on either side of the road, and ever in the distance, an amber forest, beyond which stood a great black cliff face reaching up beyond the horizon. Even at such a great distance where all other things shrunk to degraded size, the Welfs Cliff kept its imposing size. Starting from the mountains, it ran East to West through the bottom of Tovoran, until it began to slope downwards into the sea. Though this remained beyond Noah's vision.
For the remainder of the day they rode on, not speaking a word between themselves. By the time the sun had fallen and the stars revealed themselves, they finally reached the wood's edge. Under the outstretched canopy, they made a passable fire for the two of them.
Noah wrapped a thick blanket he had brought with him, a parting gift from Avice. The old woman had come to the guard's shack to wish him a safe journey, only to find that the foolish boy had only packed a change of clothes and a cloak. She took him about the town, helping him find the things a journey of this type would require, all the while huffing and puffing about how he was far too sheltered of a boy.
He watched the embers float up into the leaves above, dancing about and casting a glow upon their already radiant color to dance with the fire's shadows. The branches took up only half of the night sky, the other half being crafted of shimmering galaxies far above in the darkness. Such a simple thing radiated within him as an experience of a lifetime.
Thomas simply worked at keeping the fire alive, not acknowledging the world about or his companion across from him. However, Noah noted the grip he held on the large sword he kept across his lap. He also spotted the pattern of the older man's eyes looking up at the sound of any distant animal noises from the fields. Never a look of fear, but rather that of a cat waiting to pounce upon opportunity.
"What do you think you'll find?" Thomas started at the question and looked over to Noah as if forgetting his presence since the bridge, until that very moment.
"What?"
"At Windgrad. What exactly are we going there for?" Thomas fully came back to the world, and relaxed a bit, stoking the fire.
"Answers. Connections."
"Connections with what?"
"Look, I don't expect you to understand much of what is happening right now, but I need you to at least pretend like you do. Can you do that?" Noah, pulled his knees to his chest, and looked away.
"I was just wanting to know."
"Clearly, and it hurts me beyond anything that you can't seem to work out on your own." The words came out bitter. Noah snapped his head over to look at the man, his brow narrowing.
"I know you told that guard there was a disease spreading in our town so that he would tell others and they would be less likely to search Wesgrave first if they start looking for Giles." Thomas huffed, unimpressed with hearing what he deemed the obvious. Noah continued. "I also know that we are working against time, and that we are simply counting down the days until someone finally connects the dots to us and what we are doing." He picked up a small rock and tossed it into the fire, sending up hundreds of embers, finally getting Thomas's attention. "The only thing I want to know is what in the hells we are even hoping to find there, other than two fools who are waiting out their days to be questioned as they are the only two in the world who know of this assassination plot." The flames died down, and the two watched each other over its low glow in the silence. "Thomas, I know that I am just an ignorant youth, in your eyes. I won't pretend to be something like you or Elias were. Although, I wish I was. Truly I do. But I am not. I just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, and now I am paying the price for it. So please, please, just give me a fighting chance. Just tell me what we are looking for."
Thomas felt a shame come over himself from how he had spoken only moments ago. He had not realized how intense his bitterness had grown since reading the journal back at Wesgrave. Now, having such an honest response back from this young man, he felt as though he had been slapped in the face by reality.
"Connections." Noah sighed and went to speak again, only to be cut off. "Connections between the creature and Giles." He began stoking the fire again.
"What connection could they have?"
"I have no real idea yet. However, the fact that they both show up on my doorstep at the same time. No, I don't believe this is just chance." He looked deep into the low flames. "Have you ever heard of a creature like this in all of your life? Anything at all?"
"I have to say, no. When I first heard of it, I thought it sounded like something right out of the hundred scrolls. Absolutely fantastical stuff."
"Yes, so did I. But, here it is, all the same." He looked up at Noah again. "What I hope to find are the answers to what that thing is, and hopefully, who hired our assassin."
"Well, I understand the second thing. But, why would you hope to find the answers to the creature in Windgrad?" Thomas leaned towards his companion, eyes flickering in the orange glow. Noah felt his skin crawl at the look the older man gave him.
"Because, I believe I have seen it before." Noah swallowed hard, his throat scratchy and dry.
"Where?"
"Sewn onto the royal tapestry hanging within Windgrad palace."