Rested Feet

Chapter 3 

Second day and she was already dead tired. Running through the night was not the smartest of ideas. But she could not rest. At least not yet. There were too many Cognifiends and beasts waiting on the way to use the dragon's flesh to imbue themselves with more power. She did not want to have to stop and kill any that may chance to take a bite. So, in a slight haze is within her mind she trudges onward. 

Normally a day of running without sleep would not make a knight of Zarracen's caliber tired, however her previous weeks adventure in fighting that dragon for days has her nearly on her last legs. And even if she could stop, rest would not come easy. If she studied the magical arts like some of her counterparts, she could create a barrier for rest but despite her outpouring of mana she could not form the calculations to weave magic. Not as easily as the other knights could. 

This meant she could not veer too far from the regular roads. But she also did not want to appear on the smaller roads that were mostly traveled by farmers and wrought with bandits. She has no choice but to make her way towards a high road. 

Soon enough she finds herself on the high road of Sesway. The main roadway that branches off in six directions to different regions. There were many carriages moving about on the road. And she knew she would draw attention the closer she got. Zarracen's arrival is noticed almost immediately. 

"Gah!" A person shouts. 

Schink! 

Shwip! Pop! Clang! 

The sounds of weapons being drawn. Armor clanking at the shout reaches Zarracen's ears. 

"Hah!" 

An audible groan escapes her lips as she sees the clear mercenaries staring towards her with an unsurprising amount of greed, shock, apprehension, and reverence all within the same stare. She cannot help but acknowledge that this will be another night without sleep and perhaps it'll be humans giving her issue. 

"Make way! Make way!" A woman's voice is heard. "Idiots! I said move!" 

Crack! 

"Ow!" 

Zarracen glances to the left of one of the merchant carriages towards the sounds. The carriages appear to be escorted by a group of mercenaries. She sees a woman in the process of kicking a mercenary. The woman wasn't all that tall. Though considering few women were as tall as Zarracen that wasn't much of a statement. She was easily fit which is a surprise seeing that she was clearly wearing a spelled mage cloak with a bit of a leather breast plate for her chest. 

The woman walks towards Zarracen. The closer she gets the more the knight can make her out. The woman held a simple staff likely rather expensive given the ornate engraving laid upon it to bolster spell weaving and the opal gem upon its apex to boost power. The weapons were wonderfully taken care of, no chips or damage to be seen with Zarracen's keen eyes. 

Her mage's cloak was just as well taken care of, but her boots seemed scruffy and rather damaged. Her weapon and standard gear seem to be well taken care of despite this. The men she kicked aside also held good gear. Whoever they are they cared more about their weapons than they did other menial options, meaning they were likely hunters of Cognifiends. 

Most protection mercenaries that look after merchant caravans like they are guarding care more about their defensive gear like their boots, shields and armor. The hunter's armor was in such a state likely because they tended to strike fast with quick magical attacks to bind and kill. So, their armor was usually of the cheaper yet durable kind. Mercenaries in protection groups had to last long to not be killed and make sure whatever they were protecting would be fine. Doing damage was fine and good but if you didn't survive the volleys of arrows well what would be the point? 

"Is that a real dragon?" Zarracen stares at her for a moment wondering if she should respond. This quest was no secret, but it will also be troublesome to deal with any of them. Besides the woman didn't even introduce herself. 

There were two types of mercenaries. The ones that would do anything for money and the ones that would do anything for material. Given that the woman was likely the latter if Zarracen's assumption of them being hunters is correct she must be careful. Despite being the strongest persons for miles mages were tricky. 

"I believe before asking a question of someone the polite thing to do is introduce yourself. It's no matter however, I must be going." 

Better to avoid trouble. 

"Wait! The names Prawm. Are you headed to Arthwa!?" 

Zarracen chants to herself to ignore Prawm. Ignore her. Ignore her. She glances towards the woman's mercenary group who was also carting a dead Cognifiend aside the merchant caravan. What appears to be a Fen. A large one at that. It has to be at least 10 feet. That's larger than normal. Jagged canine teeth as long as short swords were on display and its spiked ears were extremely bloody. Definitely a Fen. 

"Come on! We're both carrying precious cargo we can go together!" The Prawm says stepping forward. That's enough for Zarracen to place a blade to her throat. A drip of blood immediately graces the tip of the blade. The woman's head tilts upward, and she blinks in shock. 

"Boss!" 

"Go back to your men. I have no interest in joining a group." 

With that Zarracen keeps moving at a faster gait carting her spoils. The road is slow moving but luckily, she won't have to deal with the constant droves of monsters given the constant patrols that cleanup Cognifiends and beasts alike. Roadway security is the reason Zarracen decided to come this way in the first place for a way to rest. 

However, she's now regretting it seeing the greedy eyes upon her from those around her. If they try anything she'll just kill them. It's not like she'll be bothered to do it while carrying the emperor's prize. She sighs, realizing fully how bad of an idea this was. She prays to the Gods that none disturb her. 

She cannot move to the pace of others if she wants to reach Arthwa within the next day. She looks around to see others eyeing her dragon like it's their prize. Yes, this was not the best idea, but she could at least move at a reasonable pace surrounded by others and highway guards as well. 

Zarracen increases her speed to a light jog instead of the full sprint she moved at the previous day without rest. The highway wasn't completely filled with different carriages around the area, just a few going in out around the highway which gave her the ability to maneuver the cart the way she wished to. 

It wasn't long before those that she had met behind them were part of the shadows of the horizon behind her. Expertly avoiding the slower moving caravans was difficult to say the least. However, soon enough she turned down the fork that went to Arthwa. Arriving at this fork she stepped off the magically protected highway and ran parallel to it. With this she was able to increase the speed of her trek. 

It's the type of movement that's looked down upon but is not specifically outlawed against. The highway is meant to protect you with magic with concentration of the magic inlaid into the cobbled stone pathway and the gem towers that acted like guideposts on the side. It formed a barrier, one that Zarracen is no longer protected by. 

She's fine not being protected by the barrier of course, especially if she could sprint past the crowd. Honestly, perhaps she could quit the knights after this and just become a porter. She's strong enough to run across most parts of this empire without having to worry about dying. Not many could say that they are separate from the emperor's ranks. 

Which is also another reason why the guards on the road didn't attempt to bother her. 

Zarracen looks towards the road and finds the perfect spot to fade back in. Night would fall soon. But it looks like she should be able to get to Arthwa before nightfall. She fades back into the traffic and slows her pace enough to rest and her tattered boots would be less destroyed. 

Hours pass and she arrives at the checkpoint into the city. Several carts and people were ahead of her. She moves out of the line with dragon in tow and orders people to make way. 

"You can't just cut ahead!" A random man shouts only to be silenced by not only her armor bearing the Grand Knight of Valor but the giant dead dragon behind her. 

Zarracen didn't even have to bring her glare into play. She marches forward with a few people stumbling out of her way. Carriages move and the road practically parts at this point for her to move through. 

She approaches the city gates where the guards were checking to make sure any forbidden goods would not enter or criminals. The guards at the gate straightened up upon her approach. Their mouths were agape, eyes shining as they stared at her and her prize. 

"Halt!" One of them barks coming out of his trance. He starts forward a rank on his guard uniform. He was no knight, but her eyes could tell he could use aura. And from the deference the other men had with them watching her like a hawk now he is somewhat respected. 

"This is a caravan for the Star of Ixmtaraza bringing White Dragon of Arcus to Illuvia." 

"Galt Zarracen?" He then questions once she says this. His eyes roam her armor disbelief in his eyes. They land on her insignia, and he nods. 

"Let er through!" He barks his orders, and the men step aside. "Lake! Come escort Galt Zarracen to an area where she can rest." 

That was less trouble than she expected. Though, she figures it's the power given to her by her rank and the dead dragon behind her that makes them not want to trouble her. She passes through the gates ignoring the frustrated glares of the common folk who likely waited hours to pass through the gates and into the city. 

"Where's the closest yard?" She asks the man escorting her. 

"Is over there by the knight yard is likely the biggest one that can hold that beauty," he informs. 

The gesture he makes is towards the left of them. Zarracen's eyes follows it looking about the city as she does. Arthwa has not changed much. It still has bustling streets that were crowded with teleportation towers spattered here and there with what looked to be carriages and single travelers alike waiting to enter. 

In between them were open yards with small houses or shops in the area. Where Lake pointed was one such yard that was hard to see through the throng of people and peddlers on the streets. The distance is not long, and her body relaxes. Soon, she will be able to rest and with a knight barracks nearby she will have adequate guards to watch over the beast while she slumbers. 

The trip was short and to the point with the guardsmen clearing an easy path as she steers the cart. 

"Lake, go inside and bring me the commanding officer here," she orders. 

Lake bows his head with a look of worry on his face. Hopefully, she does not have to deal with an ass of a knight. Though, the order is full of them. So, with her luck she will. 

A man stumbles out looking haggard. His hands up in a move of greeting. He bows at the waist to her in greeting. He was shivering in fear. Face pale. The portruding ears wiggling a little beneath his short head of orange hair. The man was a Fealt. Although having a Fealt as a knight is not rare, having one so far from their territory or not under a Duke at most or a Marquess at least is odd to say the least. 

The highest-ranking nobility of Arthwa is merely a viscount. Oddness aside this man was clearly not the commanding officer here. His armor denoted two XX strikes on it showing that he was merely a Knight of 2nd class. He was no commander as one would at least have to be a Captain to oversee a city's barracks. 

"Where is your Knight Captain?" Zarracen questions. 

"Apologies Galt Zarracen it appears that our Knight Captain was summoned to see the Lord," he says now standing straight up. 

"Fine. Get me a yard and new boots. Enough for high-speed foot travel to Illuvia. I'll also need food, guards, and a bath for the night." 

"Of course, Galt. He bows again and runs off." 

With Zarracen appearing to be settled, Lake is dismissed to assume his regular duties. The Knight of Valor lets the handle of the cart down and stretches. She looks around to find a few knights having stopped their training in the yard to look her way. She stares at them all of whom look away when they realize she was watching them back. 

"Milady we've got a yard for ya!" the Fealt shouts as he comes back into view. His behavior and tone take an entirely different course. 

"Where at?" 

"The sub barrack training yard. There's a bath and everything there. We don't have any squires so the place empty and you can rest there without worry. The knights have been advised not to bother you any. Though, unlikely to listen. They might wanna hear some stories." 

The Fealt says all this in a hurried breath. Zarracen smirks at him and his pale face flushes. He murmurs for her to follow him and they move through the wide alleyway to the sub barracks. Most noble ranked would take offense to such a place but this is exactly what she wants. 

A yard big enough to hold the dragon. A place to bathe, eat and rest. Knights set around to not bother her. 

Yes, this is perfect.