Blychester was four days' ride from Sonder Keep, four grueling, bone-rattling days. The duke rode at the fore of the column, flanked by the three Rockwell's, the men who bore the crest of the Rock. Five further knights made up the vanguard, all armored, and each nursed a hangover. Riding center of the band was three wagons pulled by pairs of work horses. Intermittently, every few paces, knights left and right of the wagons kept the perimeter secure. Sir Finchley, whom Edwin had learned was named Abel, brought up the rear with the remaining force of Squires and other assistants.
Lacking a horse and still nursing his wounds, Edwin had been put into the back of the middle carriage. Every Bumb in the road sent pain throughout his body. Edwin knew Hugh would be feeling much worse in the carriage ahead of him. Occasionally, he could hear the silent whimpers and groans he made with his bandaged face.
No obstacles stalled their progress; well-drilled and disciplined, the troop showed all the hallmarks of a proper, experienced fighting force. Duke Talbot brooked no laxity or lameness in his retinue, a trait Edwin found admirable.
"These men," Edwin thought, "They know what it is to be a soldier." He winced when the wheel of the carriage bounced off a rock. Edwin looked forward to learning from these men, but it was the duke himself that he looked forward to the most.
Arthur rode directly behind Edwins' litter, his duties comprised of fulfilling Edwins' every need. "What is on your mind?" Arthur asked.
Edwin watched the soft flow of the Sonder River that ran to their left. He held open a gap in the canvas that covered the carriage with a bandage wrapped around his hand. "Admiring the land." The response was short, not in an attempt to be rude to Arthur, whom Edwin had become fast friends with, but short because he didn't have much to say.
Arthur, from his stubby pony, looked odd; it was no proper horse like the others. "How's the ribs?"
"Better than your face," Edwin joked, though it wasn't true. Arthur bore a black eye from Edwin's accidental strike; unlike Edwin's ribs, it was already healing well.
The third day of travel saw them leave behind the sonder as the waterway turned east towards the Northern Sea.
As they traveled farther north, the summer heat cooled, and fertile plains and rolling hills gave way to rocky outcroppings. Few villages or dots of tiny farmsteads and hamlets were passed, and what few they did pass were more or less all fortified with ditches and walls of dirt. No herds of cattle were seen, replaced instead by hardy goats or smaller animals. Most settlements hugged the seas, living off the ocean's bounty because farmland was scarce.
Old Sam had brought Edwin a small axe for defense in case they were attacked.
"Who would attack a caravan this well-protected?" Edwin inquired after Old Sam tossed him the weapon.
Sam turned his head to his left, then to his right, scanning the increasingly large outcroppings of rocky hills. "Dunvarrians," his voice was coarse, whatever had burnt his face had not spared his vocal cords, "Their raids have grown bolder lately, if they overwhelm us, you're better off using the axe to slit your wrist." He said ominously, then galloped back to his spot up front.
"Don't worry, Edwin, I owe you remember, that means I can't let you get killed by some barbaric Dunvarrian, could I?" Arthur clutched a small crossbow loaded with its bolt
Blychester was nothing like the small dwelling of Sonder Villager. "Well, I have only seen one." Sonder Castle was barely afforded the title of Castle in honesty. Blychester was situated at the mouth of the Rust River, where the fresh water mixed with the salt water of the river. The city was divided in two by the river's estuary; south of the river was the main city. Dozens of houses crammed together haphazardly spread out from a central market of stalls and shops. To the west of the cobbled road that divided the city into four distinct districts stood a large stone church nestled against the stone walls that kept the city safe from invaders. Next to the Church was the main entrance to the city itself, a gate of steel and reinforced wood watched by two great round towers of weathered stone. Dozens of archers watched visitors and citizens alike, hidden inside the walls that were studded with arrow slits. Edwin spotted men clad in mail and bits of plate armor bearing the flag of the Talbots; they held long polearms or smaller maces and, in their other hand, shields.
From his uncomfortable bed on sacks of food in the back of the supply wagon, Edwin saw dozens of Gulls squawking and circling in the air around the far-off docks.
Opposite the city across a well-maintained bridge lay the castle of Blychester itself. Situated on the Dunvarrian side of the river, it was fortified more so than even the city. Three layers of walls honeycombed around the central keep. Six Circler towers rose high every few leagues on the walls alongside four older, squared ones. A long, deep ditch circled the outermost wall, turning the keep into a large island of stone.
Slowly, they made their way through all three layers of wall, and each gate they took was slow and cumbersome to open.
"There are so many guards, how deep do Talbot's pockets run?" Edwin asked Arthur. Men-at-arms were not as expensive as knights, but the sheer quantity of them would be running up quite a bill.
"Deep but shrinking," Arthur answered, "Blychester is where all the trade between Anlett and Dunvarra meets. But with the heightened tensions, the coming and going of merchants has slowed to a crawl."
The courtyard of the Keep was expansive, Edwin noticed arrow slits facing inwards now, and the lack of cover to be had. "A Killzone," Edwin noticed it immediately. He praised whoever had built this castle.
Eleanor had been hidden from his sight most of the journey, but only when they made camp had he managed to see her. She was helped down from her horse by one of the squires and stretched out her limbs and back. Edwin found himself engrossed in her again. He told himself to look away, but he found it ever so hard.
Eleanor, as if sensing Edwin's longing gaze, locked eyes with him. Her smile faded into a frown; she trotted off after that.