Chapter 4 | City Of Colors

– ◇ –

Hey there, it's a me — Zoralihn.
My parents go by the names of Irhaal, my father, and Salihn, my mother.

I considered rehearsing my new identity as an important part of both accepting what had happened and adapting to this new life I had on my hands. It was not as easy as I thought and was even uncomfortable at times. 

Sure, repeating this fact was one thing; grasping it was another story entirely. It was to be expected since I already had parents for over 30 years. If it were just about the label of parents, then I would be fine, but it went deeper than that, of course.

I knew that the parents' identities were very multifaceted, as it didn't just boil down to being related by blood. That also made gender and age irrelevant. But in my eyes, there was one thing that elevated "someone" to your rightful parent. At least one deeply caring person with unconditional love above all else.

Needless to say, I wasn't so naive to ignore that reality often looked differently. In my case, that also included the new environmental factors.

Then there was the concept of family, since I was obviously living with a lot of people who took care of me. It wouldn't be too strange to include them. They all obviously shared a deep bond of mutual trust and respect. I liked the idea of belonging to this group and considering them my second family.

In the end, only time would tell how I would feel about everyone.

My past family and I had a lot on our plates, which had led us all to drift away from each other. The chance to explain or apologize for things that I had said had been taken from me, and what was left was regret. Especially if those things were small and easy things. Well, it was an excuse, really, because I knew that even before coming here, I just put it off. I hoped I would get a different chance with these two. 

And to be clear, there was an important line that I never wanted to cross: abandoning the memories of my family. I didn't want to forget. No, I wanted to cherish them. Which might explain why it was so difficult to accept these two, but that might come with time. I suppose it's just another thing I have to get used to.

This may be a new life, but it definitely wasn't a new start.

– ◇◇ –

My train of thought was interrupted by the passing of a second rampart, clearing the view of the sturdy city walls ahead of us. I watched nervously as the caravan in front of us steadily rumbled over the paved road towards our goal.

After a long, long journey through vibrant greens, gray plateaus sprinkled with boulders, and through a snow-coated mountain valley, we now found ourselves in the flourishing lowlands, passing over bridges under a clear blue sky.

We were approaching the fortifications of my very first real city ever!

As we got closer to the front gate, I observed that my parents were excitedly shuffling in their seats. No, I'm mistaken. They were nervous and pulled up their hoods. What for, I wondered? Our caravan was slowing down.

To the left and right of the gate, as well as on top of the walls, were people wearing a set of leather armor, a metal breastplate, and open-faced helmets. Each was equipped with a sword and a round shield. They all share the same color scheme and crest of the lord they serve—unmistakably, soldiers.

The carriage ahead of us came to a complete stop. Among the people riding in the first caravan was Rae, who started talking to a moody-looking soldier with a shoulder pad, probably the one in charge here.

If I had to take a guess on what was going on, then I would say that he was explaining our business here.

Shoulder-pad-guy looked up and down our little train of caravans, and just before returning to his conversation with Rae, our eyes met. I felt a chill run down my spine. After a very long second, I felt his gaze wander upward.

But nothing happened. He turned back to Rae, who handed him a small pouch, and he waved to his comrades to let us through. Sooo, he was just waiting for the toll to be paid? Okay, I thought I was simply becoming paranoid because of the slaves we transported.

We stayed on the main road for nearly half an hour before diverging into the city's center. There was a lot of interesting stuff to look at. And I truly meant a loooot.

I could see all kinds of people, colorful stores and vendors, shops for all kinds of unknown purposes, and small as well as big building complexes, oddly-fitting together, and green parks mixed in to equalize the vibrant colors.

Tios was a thriving and gorgeous city.

We got closer to a detached and peculiar-looking five-story building with a copper roof that was half conquered by nature's caprices, presented by a typical patina green.

The more I tried to find the reason for building it this way, the stranger it got.
But it all came together after we entered through a small gate, one caravan at a time, and were greeted by about a dozen shady-looking people—but that might just be me, being needlessly prejudiced.

First, it was a kind of patchwork. Whatever was just needed at the moment was simply inserted somewhere and somehow into the base structure.
Second, the old octagonal building has been reduced to its pillars, stairs, and outer walls, and the inner enclosure was turned into a kind of garden and storage area. And despite the four carriages, there was still plenty of room here. Although this area was still covered, plenty of sunlight filtered in through the spacing of the beams.

A look inside revealed that this building consisted of seven segments (or eight if you count the entrance gate), divided into four sections with different purposes, all connected by the center.

Starting clockwise with the entrance, the gate:
A solitary section served as a small store and, as far as I could tell, as an entryway solely for people.
The following section resembled a living room; it was well equipped for food processing and contained everything needed on a daily basis, such as large tables, a large stove, and so on.
The penultimate area seemed to be a parking space, a stable, and a makeshift storage room. Along the wall was also the staircase that led to the upper floors.
The final section, with by far the highest ceiling, was a workshop for all sorts of things, like, uh, I don't know. But there was an anvil. So I will go with metal. Yeah, metalworks.

Of course, I had already heard the name of this structure, as it was our new home: the so-called ”Stag Bastion.”

– ◇◇◇ –

Rae was the first one to act, and he jumped down from his carriage and hugged someone with an impressive beard, both laughing boisterously. I could indeed see many faces lighting up. It was a reunion of friends who hadn't seen each other in many years.

"Finally! My arse is as flat as a board! "he said, arching his back.

"Tonight, we will get shitface-drunk! "he exclaimed, rubbing his hands together in anticipation, accompanied by many cheers.

And thus, everybody got moving to unload the caravans, save for one.
The carraige with the slaves was handled a bit differently. They were forced out of the cramped space they had to live in for months and lined up against a wall, still in chains.

It was the only time I could get a better look at them, but the curiosity also came with a lot of discomfort. I didn't know to what extent slaverey went and what was behind it in this world, but that it was not a good thing for the enslaved person was certain beyond doubt. 

None looked healthy, were not at all glad we arrived and were looking around with fearful eyes. They were human men and women around 20 years old, and one child who was unable to stand. I was pretty sure that there were more children, so why was there only one?

However, one slave stood out to me, though. She was a cowering blonde woman with rabbit features, like long fluffy ears that were laid back, and two protruding front teeth. She was the second member of the Beast Race I had seen so far.

They were stripped naked, then washed roughly with cold water and given new rags to put on. Lastly, they were fed soup and dry bread before getting pushed back into the cleaned carriage. And that was the last I saw of them. The plan was to bring them to the impatiently waiting customer, who wanted his goods as early as possible, so it better ought to be done by today.

Channy and her escort set off to complete their task. 

Apparently, beastfolks were not significantly more valuable than humans, except in rare cases and for a certain customer who was apparently willing to pay a lot for their kind.

There was also a premium if she was a virgin, but that had been taken away from her on our journey, much to my disgust. This was also the point at which I regretted my nosiness.

All in all, this was a tough pill to swallow. Were we… were we the baddies here? Or was it just...? No, these were good people, there must be a simple explanation... Still, my opinion of the group went down by a notch.

– ◇◇◇◇ –

Channy and company came back in the evening, looking pleased to have successfully done business. The carriage was now empty.

As promised by Rae, the open space in the middle of the bastion was converted into a large party area with tables, beer casks that were brought in by Brand, and all sorts of simple food. And also just as promised was Rae the first one who got shitface-drunk!

”Uh, I can't feel my hands anymore, hey Channy, can I feel yours?” He slurs with a mischievous smirk.

Without a moment's hesitation, she retorted, "I will give that all the consideration it deserves." in his general direction and walked in the complete opposite.

"I'm going to check out the rooms, you guys comin’?" she asked my mother, still carrying me, who agreed and followed her up.

I already mentioned the stairs that led upstairs; that was where everybody slept. It was separated into small rooms with windows facing inwards or outwards, or in some cases, even both, and had enough space for three people to sleep in, with some extra space for your belongings.

If anyone has found the bathroom or restroom, please let me know because I haven't. They sure hid it well.