Just as the sun had begun to rise, clamorous footsteps rang out through the dimly lit forest. Their source was the engine running along the tracks that pierced through the forest, sounding out alongside a cloud of dust each time one of its eight massive legs hit the ground.
“We’ve made it this far already...”
Rocking back and forth in the passenger car, the girl had been absentmindedly staring up at the sky as dawn broke through. The Trailmarcher she was riding in had been traveling through the night and was set to arrive at the terminal station in the morning. Judging from the look of the sky, their destination would be coming into view any minute.
Just as the girl was thinking about this, the horizon stretched open before her as the Trailmarcher exited the forest. The next thing she saw was the massive guard wall that surrounded the city. The vehicle’s brakes let out a piercing shriek as it slowed down, puffs of steam erupting from each of its sections.
The station was right in front of them once they were past the wall, and the girl’s long Trailmarcher journey finally came to an end. This was Front-Edge City, the southernmost frontier at the farthest reaches of the Kingdom of Ogdenn and the terminus of the Kingdom’s Trail.
“He’s out there somewhere in this city.”
By the time the steam hanging overhead had dissipated, passengers had begun to exit the vehicle in scattered groups. Once the majority of the passengers had disembarked, the girl made her descent out of the Trailmarcher and into the station.
There were all sorts of reasons people visited this area, but the majority of the individuals on the first arrival of the day were merchants. Surrounded by weary men, the girl seemed to be quite out of place.
Her clothes were simple at first glance, but actually well tailored. She had long red hair, beneath which she’d stiffened the expression on her still rather childlike face.
“I’ll do my very best, mother!”
With her mind made up and her suitcase in her hands, the girl stepped forward, only for her surroundings to suddenly grow dark.
“Outta the way!”
“Huh?”
Startled by the sudden shout, the girl looked up, only for her vision to be engulfed by a massive shipping crate.