Author Romeru
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Chapter 43: Artemia's Beauty
🕑 Added 2024-11-03 07:13:25 +0000 UTC“So… you’ve never really ridden a seikrobos before?”
“Yes. I’ve never ridden animals before.”
“Even on… what do you call your planet again?”
“Earth.”
“Huh… feels like a short version of ours. And—Oh, hold on. It’s going to get bumpy!”
Contrary to what one might expect, the seikrobos do not bark, chirp, or growl—they clack. Their thick, blocky set of teeth drummed loudly each time they wanted to express something.
And with Juliet giving the animal a small nudge, the seikrobos clacked its teeth again as it picked up speed. And it is as Cyrus said the journey would be—scenic.
They have been traveling an endless sea of grass for hours on end. Julian was shocked that such a place could actually exist. He had always felt confined, caged.
Even if he couldn’t see back on Earth, he felt it. The jungle of concrete that reached the skies might make you feel like you could reach the expanse of space itself, but that was only reserved for those capable of it.
For those down below, Earth was a cage; suffocating.
But here, everything just felt so… free.
The sea of grass that was dancing with the gentle push of the wind, the small creatures that were peeking out from the swaying blades, curiously looking at them as they passed by—only bound by the rules of nature.
And every so often, they’d pass other travelers. Some nodded and waved, while most quickly hid their luggage. Some rode seikrobos like theirs, while most were on foot, tightly holding their large bags as they gave Julian and his companions a friendly nod.
“Woah…”
And at one point, a flock of wild seikrobos dashed by and ran next to them; their thick legs causing the earth to shake as they galloped effortlessly, almost gliding onto the field of grass.
Juliet glanced back at Julian, clearly amused when she saw him seemingly wanting to reach out his hand toward the wild seikrobos. “Pft… you’re acting like a child, pretty boy.”
“I get that a lot.” Julian did not mind the comment at all, even hinting a smile as the flock of seikrobos all went away into the distance, “Is it always so peaceful here?”
“No.” Juliet answered without any hesitation, “There are creatures that could eat you, kill you, or just downright play with you if you don’t follow the trail.”
“Hm.” Julian really only reacted with a sigh. Another hour passed, and they found themselves trekking close to a cliff, most probably to avoid monsters.
Below the cliff was a vast expanse of trees, once again stretching far beyond the horizon. It was a deeper shade of green than the sea of grass they previously journeyed—almost figuratively, as it seemed to represent a deeper part of Artemia. The sun was also starting to hang low, casting its warm light over the forest.
There was a faint mist veiling over it, almost as if they didn’t want Julian to see everything they held.
“Hm.” Julian felt the shift in temperature as they passed into the shadow of the cliff. A cool breeze drifted up from the valley; water, seemingly flowing from nowhere as they fell down into the thick forest.
"That’s the Forest of Taurys down there," Juliet noticed him staring at the sea of trees. "We definitely don’t want to find ourselves down there—if I remember correctly, the lowest level of the creatures down there is… 30? Craftsmen like us would need an escort to travel there if we don’t want to be food.”
“Huh.” Julian hummed.
Juliet glanced back at him once again, and when she saw how he had fully relaxed into the ride, she gently pulled the reins and stopped the seikrobos.
“Want to give riding this thing another shot?” She asked.
“...Okay.” Julian did not really refuse at all and even quickly dismounted along with Juliet. Since the other seikrobos were still filled with luggage, they decided to try it with her mount instead.
He approached slowly, his hand carefully resting on the seikrobos’ thick neck as he prepared to climb on it alone. But just as he mounted, the seikrobos suddenly took an unexpected step to the side, causing Julian to lose his balance.
“Pretty boy!?”
Unfortunately, Julian’s foot caught the reins and he was dragged away; the creature, veering so close to the end of the cliff. Fortunately, however, the seikrobos stopped before the two of them could actually fall, probably to their deaths.
“Hm…” Julian freed his foot from the reins and casually stood up like nothing happened, patting his clothes before looking back at Juliet and Cyrus, “...These things don’t really like me.”
“You…” Juliet held her breath as she stared at the blank expression on Julian’s face, dirt still sticking to his face.
As for Cyrus, well, he was actually also slightly nervous. It’s true he wanted a thrill, but Julian falling down a cliff would be quite a short thrill, “That… that was close. Right, Chat?”
<SailorKiki: if Julian dies, I will kill you>
<iLuvUnicorns: petition to change Sword Junkie’s cameraman>
<SwordJunkieNo.1Fan: Death is afraid of the Sword Junkie!>
<PicklePirata: Common Cyrus L>
And as Cyrus’s eyes were bombarded by the chat, he could not help but stutter with his words. “W…what the!? Why are you people blaming me!?”
“Pft…” After holding her breath, Juliet let out a quiet breath of laughter as she quickly reached out to Julian. “Okay… okay—maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to try this next to a cliff. Just… ride with me for now.”
And so, with another failure, they continued on with their journey. And soon, the scenery around them shifted to a more rugged terrain; the air, growing cooler and more crisp as the trees began to stretch above their heads, completely veiling the setting sun; its rays, piercing through the leaves and casting patterns across the thick roots beneath them.
“Hm…” Julian stared at the light and shadows dancing around him, letting his eyes absorb everything they could.
The day wore on, and now they found themselves out of the tall trees and onto rocky slopes. Everything just felt new to Julian, and as the night fell, his other senses kicked in—bringing new life to everything around him.
“We should stop here for the night.”
With the darkness consuming their path forward, the group decided to pause their journey while there were still tall rocks that could serve as their walls for the night. Julian still wanted to continue as he didn’t really see any problems with the darkness, but of course… he was sharing this world with other people now.
And from the howls and growls he was hearing from the distance, well… it truly was probably best to stop traveling.
They made camp, setting up tents while Juliet distributed the supplies she had prepared.
“I’ll take first watch.” Cyrus winked at the two, “The two of you can rest.”
And as the fire crackled in the center of their camp, they each took turns on watch. Juliet did not really have any trouble falling asleep almost immediately—after all, she prepared everything. And then she also had to ride with Julian, which took a lot of toll on her physically… and maybe emotionally.
As for Julian, well… he and Cyrus had the unfair advantage of being able to instantly ‘log off’ to let their clones rest. He just had to set up an alarm for 2 hours back on Earth, and Cyrus wouldn’t even need to wake him up for his turn.
Nothing eventful really happened during his turn. But it was eventful enough for him; all the sounds he was hearing, the rustling of the leaves, the white rays of the moon dancing on the cold ground. It was… fun.
But of course, 2 hours of rest was not enough for his clone and he had to wake Juliet for her turn.
“Hm…?” Juliet wiped the saliva trailing across her chin; her bandana, slipping away from her head as she sat up, revealing her long, blonde hair which quickly flowed down her neck. She looked completely out of it as she started looking around, but as soon as she saw Julian, a sigh escaped her lips.
“Right… we were traveling.” She yawned while tying her hair and wearing her bandana again, “How… long have I been sleeping?”
“A little over 4 hours.” Julian sat on the ground, “Do you want to sleep more?”
“No…” Juliet waved her hand and scoffed, “...You go to sleep, pretty boy. You’re the one who doesn’t seem to be used to traveling.”
“Hm…” Julian smiled in response.
“But I am curious though…” Juliet once again yawned, “...You and that guy. You’re able to fully control whenever you’re returning to your… original body? How does that even work? Is it like magic? You—Oh.”
Unfortunately for Juliet, as she glanced back to Julian, he was already completely knocked out and asleep.
“Huh…” Juliet’s eyes narrowed as she leaned closer to Julian, watching his completely still expression as he slept. She reached out, carefully poking his cheek gently at first, but she increased the pressure when she realized Julian was not reacting at all.
“Pft.” She soft giggled as Julian didn’t even stir at all, finding his deep sleep both amusing… and a little scary. She continued to poke Julian’s face, but her fingers brushed a little lower, accidentally grazing his lips.
“O… oh…” She quickly pulled back, her cheeks slightly flushed as she moved away from Julian, “You’re… really out cold, huh?”
Unbeknownst to her, however, Cyrus was actually awake... and even whispering to the Chat about what was happening. He wasn't going to waste such dramatic material go to waste, after all.
And soon, morning came again and the world began to wake along with Julian and Cyrus. None of them really talked as they began packing again and continued on with their journey. The 2nd day was quieter, the only sound being uttered was the steady rhythm of the seikrobos’ steps.
Julian, Juliet, and even Cyrus had settled into a peaceful, and comfortable silence. And very soon, the rocky paths became narrower… smoother as they moved between two plateaus.
Julian once again tried to see if he could ride the seikrobos, but he once again found himself being dragged across the sharp rocks. Suffice it to say, everyone found it amusing. And so, once again, Juliet just found herself in silence as she felt Julian’s arms around her.
This silence, however, did not last long this time as suddenly, a massive tree stretched across their narrow path, blocking their way entirely.
“Oh, wow…” Cyrus was the first to react, a small smile crawling onto his face. “This isn’t deliberate or suspicious at all.”
Without warning, he suddenly leaped from his seikrobos—almost soaring through the air—as he latched himself onto the tall walls of the plateau beside them.
“Alright, Chat… wake up, wake up!” Cyrus called out, his voice bright with excitement as he alerted the chat. “You don’t wanna miss this.”
“Pretty boy… let’s go down.” Juliet whispered as she and Julian also dismounted; her eyes, scanning the narrow path as she carefully moved to the other seikrobos and pulled out her war axe. She kept her grip ready, scanning the large boulders around them.
As for Julian, well—he just stood there with his head tilted to the side.
“I hear… twelve people.” Julian muttered, his voice steady and calm. “No. Not people… animals?”
“Not exactly,” Juliet replied, tightening her grip on the axe as her eyes narrowed, her voice taut. “There’s really only one creature that lurks around here in this area—Fautyrs. They’re nasty creatures, Julian… stay on guard.”
As soon as she spoke, shadowed figures began to emerge from behind the boulders, their skin blending into the rocks and earth. Their heads resembled those of goats, with hollow, dark eyes and twisted horns spiraling backward. They had human-like torsos covered in coarse, matted fur, while their legs were thick and shaped like a horse’s, ending in cracked hooves that sank heavily into the ground.
Julian’s first thought was that they might be Gnarfolks because of the horns, but he remembered what Cyrus had told him—Gnarfolks have tails, and these creatures didn’t.
The Fautyrs crept closer, their dark eyes fixed on the group, twisted mouths curling into sinister grins that showed yellowed, sharp teeth.
“Ku… kuku… people… so small group…”
“Hm?” Julian’s eyes widened as he caught their muttering. He quickly turned back to Juliet with a hint of confusion. “They… talk? They’re people?”
“If you can call it talking,” Juliet muttered, her stance tense. “And no… they eat people, Julian.”
“They eat people…” Julian echoed as he carefully moved closer to Juliet, grabbing his shortsword and shield from the seikrobos. A slow, dangerous smile formed on his face.
“...Then that means we’re free to kill all of them.”
[LAST CHAPTER] <-----> [NEXT CHAPTER]
AUTHOR NOTES
Artemia seems like a nice place, though. So filled with life, so... RPG. I want to live there T_T But knowing me, I won't have Julian's luck and be killed by the Order.
Peaceful chapters like this are nice... but it's time for mayhem and bloodshed!
Sword Junkie!!!
Also, please do consider giving the book a positive review on Royalroad. We... were already kicked out of top 10 T_T.
Comments
Manpapper
Thanks for the chapter
