Free Web NovelChapter 51: Outskirts Of Lumiel
The hard journey across the outskirts of Lumiel is finally beginning but the problem now is the dragon above. It is actively looking for any potential threats to Lumiel it seems, but we can mask our intentions.
So that’s exactly what we did as we started to cross. There is plenty of ground to cover going forward but all of this is completely doable.
"So we just have to make sure not to come across as a threat?" Morrigan asks with a bit of confusion.
"Yes. It is likely just a really powerful guard for the capital since no one will really be able to oppose a dragon," I respond with a serious tone.
"Wow, you make it sound real easy," Lia chimes in with a sarcastic tone.
"It is if you don’t think about anything. Just focus on making it close to the capital first," I say with confidence.
I may not know everything about dragons but I do know enough to make this call. Just make sure we don’t come across as a threat and everything will work out completely fine.
That is all we can hope for as we walk through along the rough path. It actually doesn’t look that bad once you get out here though.
Even with the distant towers and the dragon flying overhead, it doesn’t really feel like anything is a problem.
[A Half Hour Has Passed]
Everything has been going quite smooth if I do say so myself, but I do feel like there is more to this. The girls have been making small talk the entire walk so far which is nice since it distracts everyone.
As I go to speak I hear someone approaching from behind us, actually it sounds more like a–
Rushing past me before coming to a complete stop seems to be some sort of transportation vehicle. It has four wheels on it like a wagon but it isn’t exactly a wagon...
"I knew we’d see the car eventually but I didn’t think it would be this soon," Lia speaks up with some excitement.
A man leans over the small window and looks back at us.
"I take it you are all heading into Lumiel?" He questions with a curious look on his face.
"Of course. You got quite the way to get there," I respond while observing the "car."
I’ve never seen or heard of this car thing before; my mother never even mentioned such a thing when educating me on everything.
It is definitely a newer way of transportation but I didn’t think it would replace a wagon. I did still see wagons and carriages back in Ariel.
The only new thing I saw during my time there was the airships that they had up above the capital.
Everything else was kind of what I already know about.
"Yes it is quite nice. Not a lot of people have been able to buy such a thing. Just be careful getting to the gates from here, the dragon is quite a pain sometimes," He says before taking off.
We all watch as he takes off in the car, it really is interesting to see how it works. No horses are pulling it along and it seems to run on something completely new.
The speed is questionable for it since I still think a carriage might be faster. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
"At least we got to see something nice before continuing on," Amelia says with excitement still in her voice.
"Yeah it was nice to see a car after hearing so many rumors," Lia replies with some awe in her voice.
I’m glad everyone enjoyed the sight but now it is back to avoiding the threat above us. Definitely was a good distraction to keep our minds clear.
As we continue on I notice the towers are a lot closer now which means we hit the halfway point. The capital isn’t much further but there still is the problem of how to enter.
The gates are bound to be pretty strict with war currently raging throughout the lands... Even though they caused it in the first place.
"Maybe we can be merchants," Morrigan says with confidence.
"Merchants?" I question.
"Yes! We can pose as merchants. We’ll be let in without any problems then," Morrigan answers as a smile forms on her face.
Posing as merchants isn’t a bad idea but we don’t have anything we can "sell" in this current scenario. I’m sure they’d want to know what we have and they would probably have to make sure it isn’t a threat to the capital.
A check before heading inside is kind of standard but did Ariel give us much hassle? I think Lia got us in with some sort of excuse during that time too.
Something about a quest. I’m remembering it all quite clearly now.
"What are we going to say we are selling?" Lia questions with a curious tone.
"That is a good question. I might be able to find a way to use ’fake’ artifacts," Morrigan answers while scratching her chin.
"Would they buy it?" I question while stopping for a moment.
"Guards aren’t always the smartest so I’d say they should," Morrigan answers with a bit of confidence.
With that our new plan could work if we are lucky enough, but it all depends on how believable everything is that we tell them. Our intentions also have to seem genuine when we do begin talking to them.
Flap! Flap! Flap!
The wings flap directly above us for a few moments before passing. I look up and notice it went back to one of the towers.
Currently it is just sitting on the one tower while it watches everything, but it doesn’t seem to be suspicious of us. Though... Its eyes are definitely watching us quite closely.
After a bit more walking I can finally see the bridge to go across to the gates. Surprisingly there is a bit of a line going across the whole damn bridge.
Lumiel is a lot more popular than I expected but I don’t think that’ll be a problem for us... If anything this might work to our advantage. Lots of people means it’ll be easier to hide our intentions and they won’t think too much about us.
What would draw so many people here? Refugees? No, it might be other merchants or maybe something in the capital is worth coming here for.
"Dante you look surprised by the amount of people that are at the bridge," Amelia speaks up while taking notice of my expression.
"I didn’t know Lumiel was so popular," I respond while observing everything.
"My father used to say that Lumiel is the best place on the continent to go to for business. It is a merchants paradise here," Amelia says while staring at the distant capital.
"Merchant paradise huh? I guess it’ll work in our favor to say we are merchants," I reply while putting my hands behind my head.
Posing as merchants isn’t far off after all which is great. I’ll look forward to getting into this place... It’ll just be what happens after is the problem.
Hunters won’t take long to notice a vampire like me, especially after the effects of the artifact. My eyes will give me away in a matter of seconds.
Just depends if they are looking for one or not. I doubt they’d expect one to come to Lumiel since it is definitely talked about as the #1 place for hunters to reside at.
Home base as it is stated. Just not a lot of vampires even remain after all the years of slaughter.
[Finally at the Bridge]
The bridge doesn’t really match the actual look of the capital since it is kind of rough and rugged while the walls look kind of black with some nice shine to them.
I can’t complain though since I do get to see the water from up here and it is kind of nice to see. The smell is a completely different story since I’ve been dealing with it since we entered the outskirts.
"The water is so pretty," Amelia says quietly while looking over the ledge.
"It really is," Lia agrees as she also looks at the water.
All of us enjoy the view of the water as we get into this like across the bridge. Up ahead I do notice that some people are trying our plan though.
"We’re merchants," The man says while looking at the guards.
"What are you selling?" The guard questions with a serious tone.
I can’t really hear what the man says but the guards don’t seem to be having it and reject their entry. It doesn’t look like it ends in any serious consequences but you can’t get in.
They also might’ve lacked confidence in the plan at hand which is something we don’t have a problem with. I think all of us are confident in what we are trying to do here.
"I have a backup plan if this doesn’t work Dante," Morrigan whispers to me.
"What is it?" I question while keeping my voice down.
"We’ll just hitch a ride, hehe," Morrigan answers with a small chuckle.
