Chapter 51 Stunning Good Looks,

  After a mere six days in Sapphirestone, Isaac and Lenna were ready to move on. They weren’t quite in a rush but there was a lot to see before they would return home to Safeharbor. The pair had decided to join a small caravan headed to Port Vespera which was only three days away by wagon. Port Vespera was a city that had only existed for around a hundred and fifty years, making it noticeably newer than Sapphirestone, despite being closer to the capital. Their trip would take them almost due north for its entirety and would give them a good look at something they had missed on their trip to the glimmering port city.

  From the top of Sapphirestone’s walls, if one was so inclined to look outward instead of inward, one would be able to see Mt. Henhopsha. The mountain in question was probably named after a dragon, but no one was exactly sure when the mountain had been named, or why it had been given a draconic name. The mountain was not very tall as far as mountains were concerned, even so, it was still around seven thousand feet higher than the surrounding area. The dense forest canopy and myriad of other events going on during the pair’s journey to Sapphirestone had prevented them from getting a good look at it. Their trip to Port Vespera would take them along the base of the mountain for two and a half of their three days of travel.

  Mt. Henhopsha was a mountain that had acted as both a barrier to be overcome and a blessing to the Kingdom of Altia. Mt. Henhopsha’s place near the sea meant that it was the opposing edge of the stone bowl that Altia was built in. On the side of the sea there was Mt. Henhopsha and on the side of the ‘bowl’ there was the Altian Mountain Range. There was another mountain range farther to the north but that had only recently come under Altian control. To the south there was a large forest that was steadily being chipped and cut away at, as Altia expanded more and more into what they often referred to as ‘the frontier’. Between the Altian Mountain Range and Mt. Henhopsha there was a forest, a forest that Isaac and Lenna had traveled through on their way to Sapphirestone. That forest was where most of the kingdom’s timber was harvested. The incredibly high density of animal and plant life in said forest meant that a trip around Mt. Henhopsha was necessary just to get to the dwarven fortress located at her base.

  If the duo were so inclined, they probably could have made it to the capital in about two weeks on foot. That would have required them to force their way through the dense forest that grew in Mt. Henhopsha’s shadow however and that would be no easy endeavor, nor would it be a fun one.

  Isaac and Lenna were getting settled into the lead wagon of their newest caravan just as the sun was starting to rise. They had already said their goodbyes and it was once again time to relax and watch the world pass them by at the speed of a mild walk.

  Their new caravan was an eclectic mix of characters. There were low scaled merchants with wagons loaded with Bottomless Boxes that were packed with fruits and wines from Sapphirestone, a trio of bards that kept that caravan’s spirits high, two families that were moving from Sapphirestone to Port Vespera, and last but not least, a wagon with its own private escort that brought sapphire tiles for the lord of Port Vespera’s manor’s roof. In total, there were seven wagons with two men on horseback and five ride-a-longs, not counting the family of three and the family of five. The caravan was intimidating to raid due to the large list of creatures, seven drivers, four guards, eight passengers, and sixteen horses in total, at least on the surface. If anyone didn’t know about Isaac and Lenna personally, then it actually made a pretty tempting target. With only four people to protect the entire caravan it would normally be a very raidable target but a target that was hard to entirely capture due to its size.

  “I am almost sad to leave such a beautiful city.” Lenna commented as they rolled out through the main gate.

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  “Agreed.” Isaac replied. “But I was getting bored.”

  “We could have tried out their orchestral hall.” Lenna offered.

  “Yeah, but it wouldn’t have been the same.” He countered. “I actually miss the old beat up piano back home.”

  Lenna chuckled. “I miss the violin as well.” She agreed. “At least we know how to fish now. That old fisherman seemed far too excited to teach us.”

  Isaac laughed. “It’s the same everywhere, old people with too much time on their hands and a passion for whatever they’re doing will always be excited to teach it.”

  Lenna tilted her hand back and forth in a so-so gesture. “Not so much in drow territory. Most old elves just get irritated when you bother them. It is such a problem that some of the best creators are forced to take on apprentices by imperial decree.” She explained. “The dwarves are much more family oriented so they don’t have the same problem, usually.”

  “What about the gnomish population?” Isaac wondered.

  “Gnomes do not seem to care as long as they can work around you. It is common for many of them to have apprentices that they have never looked in the eye. They will often respond when queried but otherwise ignore onlookers.” Lenna informed him. “I think the one thing that elves, dwarves, and gnome creators all have in common is that none of them voluntarily sleep.”

  Isaac chuckled. “I can see that. ‘Sleep is for the weak until you sleep for a week.’” He replied.

  “Where did you hear that saying?” Lenna wondered.

  Isaac shrugged and then made the mistake of trying to figure out the answer to her inquiry. Isaac hissed in pain and grabbed the side of his head. “Well, that answers that.” He grunted out.

  “Indeed.” Lenna agreed.

  Isaac took a drink of water and then seemed to realize something. He flicked shadows towards Lenna’s face and then covered his own mouth with them as well. “Where did the girls say they were when they were kidnapped again?” He asked her.

  “Port Vespera.” Lenna replied with a frown. “Exactly where we are going.”

  “The port city that is closest to the Isle of Sissario, where the CSC headquarters is.” Isaac continued.

  “You know, if we had never met Mary, Madeline, and Margaret, we probably would have missed this entire adventure.” Lenna brought to light.

  “Yeah, probably. We would’ve stayed in Sapphirestone for a little while and then moved on. We might have ended up causing a fuss anyway, with how Arthur kept trying to send us away, but we would’ve had less of a reason too. At the very least, we probably would’ve left after we took the kids to the temple.” Isaac theorized.

  Lenna nodded along with him. “A lot of people are going to indirectly owe those girls for being so darn cute.”

  “What?” Isaac questioned. “Is that why you were so dead set on saving them?”

  “You cannot look at Margaret and not tell me that she is not absolutely adorable. That little one in chains was too much for me to bear.” Lenna said almost defensively. “I still would have insisted on freeing them even if there wasn’t someone so adorable with them, but I am not sure if I would have bothered to hear their entire story. I would have most likely been fine with just giving them some gold and sending them on their way, or turning them over to Sir Michael. That would’ve put Sir Michael on the slavery case and it would have spread from there, though much more slowly.”

  “Adorableness…” Isaac trailed off. “And here I thought I was your biggest weakness.” He pouted.

  Lenna rolled her eyes. “Oh you are still my biggest weakness, though maybe not for the reasons you think.” She countered.

  “And what reasons might those be?” He questioned her.

  “Oh, you know, reasons.” She replied and turned away to gaze at the dense trees that lined the road they had taken to the city. Dense trees that they had thought were just a part of the forest until they had been informed that they were in fact just densely grown orchards. Apparently the orchards were grown so tightly to allow predators to move in. The predators would then eat the birds before the birds could eat too much of the fruit, but not before they could eat a good number of bugs.

  Isaac narrowed his eyes on her for a moment before they widened with realization. “It’s my stunning good looks, I always knew my perfect figure had an effect on you.” He said with total seriousness. Lenna did not answer either way.