Chapter 16 - Carriage Ride

"Greetings! My name is Airey." I greeted the 3 dwarves and 4 beastkin properly. I did not really know much about etiquette in Vando, but I figured a polite introduction would be a good start. I kept a light smile on my face. Growing up in Michigan, my mother had trained me to always greet people politely with a generous smile.

"Aie, we are glad to meet you! The name is Dossil Flinthead." Dossil responded with an enthusiastic response. He even returned the smile. Dossil had relaxed a bit more and was now speaking with a much thicker Dwarven accent. I was pleased to see that handshakes were a normal practice in Vando.

I turned my attention to the other greetings in the group. Cedric and Danika were apparently first cousins in the same family. When they mentioned the name Shatterfall, I was given the impression that it was some kind of special last name in the Dwarven Kingdom. I decided to nod along and try to show respect. Both of the cousins spoke more like nobility than Dossil with refined language and a very proper greeting from each of them. It was Danika Shatterfall that assured me that we would be transported into the capital city Malduhr. We were apparently two days out from the city.

Riding in a carriage was a new experience for me. While I never lived a posh life, I had never camped or slept on the floor. Nor was I ever accustomed to the constant bumping of riding in a carriage drawn by horses. It took a bit more time getting to know Lilly, Midnight, Pepper, and Poppy. The four of them were a bit more wary of strangers and seemed to keep more of a distance. Once they had recovered sufficiently, two of the beastkin would always insist on taking turns leading the horses. It did not take long to determine that Pepper and Poppy were sibling catkin. After a day's worth of journeying, the two of them started to ask more questions. Both were of the curious type. I'm just glad that curiosity didn't kill that catkin.

I tried my best in trying to respond to the many inquiries, but it became quite challenging after a time. I did not mind being honest with them about my origins, but I wanted to first find out how people felt about travelers from another world. I had enough foresight to know that there was a possibility that some would consider me to be an alien invader while others may welcome a new culture wholeheartedly. I had a good feeling about the dwarves, but it was still wise to be cautious. This was the first city I would experience in Vando. The last thing I wanted to do was set off with a bad impression! Right?

Poppy the female catkin asked a ton of questions about Bliss. Since I haven't known her long, I didn't have many answers. Apparently, there were many tales about Guardian Flowkra and how they can even change form like dryads. Dryads and Flowkra are considered close cousins in the plant creature category. Beastkin had a generally high level of respect for plant creatures. Since they tended to grow up close to the forest, it was more common for Beastkin to grow with them. Poppy continued to explain that treehouses were very common in Beastkin villages. When she explained that I turned the conversation to the cliché idea that elves would normally live in tree villages. The Beastkin agreed that it is still possible to find an elven tree village but it is much more common to see them living closer to civilization. Dwarves were phenomenal in their art of crafting, building, and developing technologies. The world of architecture and engineering, however, rested in the hands of the capable elves. Elven designs for city building, airship construction, light clothing design, and communication amulets are unmatched.

It astounded me that different nations had such strong niche markets. When I considered how nations on Earth cooperated, there was still export and import of materials. However, every nation still did their utmost to function independently with their own homemade materials and goods. On Vando, it appeared that dwarves were relied on for tools, weapons, armor, seafood, and crafting designs. Humans were also relied on for many types of foodstuffs including grains, vegetables, and fruits as well as certain chemicals, paints, and cattle. Beastkin, although closer to nature, they were still big exporters of lumber, wool, various animal meats, and unique fruits only found in the jungle.

This was all a great education for me. The import/export system in Vando was incredible. Any kind of void storage had only been heard of in stories by heroes from hundreds of years ago. This is why my fellow passengers kept asking me about where I had the gold clovers hidden. Dossil did not believe I had kept such pristine flowers in my pockets. He also noted that I had no bag of any kind for carrying supplies. He also noted that the flying rocks I used in battle did not seem to come from a skill or power that he knew of. I was really tempted to reveal my Storage Vision to him when he returned to the subject many times. I can say I was on the verge of spilling the beans when under pressure for this information.

What prevented me from revealing the truth was the silent stare that I continually received from Midnight, the black wolfkin. He still had a mistrust of me and stared me down like I was a threat. When I asked him questions about his background, I only got a "yes" or "no" answer. There was obviously a lot to unravel in Midnight's story. Even after two days of traveling, I'm not sure if I earned his trust. He may have been acting overly cautious, but I sensed something deeper. Perhaps a distrust of humans in general? I couldn't be sure. I continued to smile and respond to any question I felt comfortable with.

Bliss continued to bounce on my lap as we rolled along the unkept road. I had long gotten accustomed to her shrill cries of joy. And it appeared that the other passengers were pleased to hear it as well. On a few occasions, a carriage wheel would get caught in a deep rut or pothole and we would have to get out of the carriage and lift it out of the hole. On one such occasion, when we were within a few hours of the Dwarven Kingdom, we stepped outside to again free the carriage from a large hole in the roadway. It was then that we realized that our carriage was surrounded. Arrows flew in the air. Our group prepared to defend themselves.