After eating lunch at the posting station town, we continued east in our high-speed coaches. Aryaka’s main highway had a system of post towns which assisted travelers. A royal high-speed coach could move pretty fast, given the opportunity to change its eight horses at a big enough posting station. And, being a main highway, it was well maintained.
The border station finally came into view. We’d gotten here surprisingly quickly, as it was still around four o’clock. As we arrived at the border town, Chief Jörd came out to greet us.
“Oh, Floortje! You’re a day early.”
“We come to decisions quickly here in Aryaka,” I replied.
“Chief Jörd! Welcome to Aryaka,” said King Arvi, climbing out of the coach behind me.
“Apologies for not going through customs, Your Majesty. We’ve finally opened the Magic Train railway your son Jonas was involved with.”
“Let us make this experimental track extraterritorial—or better yet, let us make this whole town a concession: a symbol of friendship between Aryaka and the Dwarven Great Caves,” suggested the king.
“Good thinking! It would improve our trade too.”
A concession was a trade town located within a government’s territory, but not subject to its customs or taxes. Many of them were port towns, but the more prosperous such a place became, the more it attracted the bad elements which would make them unsafe. With this town being inland, however, perhaps it would be easier to manage.
“Let us stay here for the night and head to the Dwarven Great Caves tomorrow, shall we?”
“Why wait? Let us be off at once, Your Majesty! We will be in our lands by midnight.”
“Surely you jest! Is it that fast?!”
“Any countries connected by this railway are now much closer to each other. We dwarves are going to be neighbors with Aryakans!”
We entered the premises of the station as we listened to the dwarven chief. Steam rising out of its pipes, the Trailblazer had a great many dwarves performing maintenance on it.
“Hey, wrap it up soon, we’re taking a night train back!”
“Yes, sir!” replied the dwarven engineers.
The sight of a crowd of dwarves organically servicing the Magic Train was soul-stirring. They always looked great when working on something, being this world’s most technologically advanced race.
“So this is the Magic Train? What a splendid design!”
“Actually riding it feels good too, father.”
“Good, good.”
The mizuchi came walking from the direction of the town.
“I’m coming with you, boy.”
“You’re still here, granny? Go back to your lake!” replied Phalaris.
“Oh, come now, I wouldn’t want to miss your display of strength. You don’t mind me coming, do you, Your Majesty?”
“Uh... And who might you be?”
“An old dragon who lives in a mountain lake. A mizuchi, Your Majesty,” she replied.
“Well, well—a dragon! How many centuries has it been since you last became acquainted with a king of our line?”
“I was acquainted with a king several generations before you, but he must be dead by now, surely.”
“A love story between an ancient dragon and King Sanjika is a famous dragon legend. Would you happen to know anything about it?”
“Ah, yes, that brings back memories. Sanjika was so defiant in his courtship... ’Tis so tragic how quickly humans perish.”
King Sanjika had lived roughly five hundred years prior to this day, if memory served me correctly. As I contemplated the length of dragons’ life spans, I wondered whether a day would come when Phalaris would think of us, gone by then, with nostalgia.
The train was now facing the way it had come from. Did the dwarves have a railway turntable or something similar?
“Lady Floortje! You’re coming back?”
“We’re leading our troops, Mamiana.”
“You’re heading to the Town of Yggdrasil where those demons and monsters have holed up, right? Can I come with you?”
“If you like. I’ll introduce an elven rikishi to you on the way.”
“An elven rikishi! They do sumo too? I never thought elves would be into it!”
“His name is Boorman; he’s a swordsman-turned-rikishi. We’ll be able to see him on our way.”
“I cannot wait! Also, would you mind giving me some sumo training while we march, whenever you have time?”
“You’re a keen one, aren’t you? Gladly. Let’s train together later.”
I hadn’t been able to train much during my escape, but I looked forward to training together with everyone from now on. Yustin and Clifton had already wasted no time in teaching Mamiana all sorts of things.
With a blow of its steam whistle, the Magic Train seemed to be good to go. We entered the first-class car. Its high-quality furnishings were relaxing, and the leather-covered seats were comfortable to sit on. The windows opened to a magnificent, picturesque view of the sun setting over the eastern Aryakan farmlands.
The Magic Train chugged to life, beginning to move. King Arvi, Yustin, and Clifton were all glued to the windows like children, watching the scenery, which appeared so gorgeous when viewed from a train window. The train picked up speed as it passed through the evening countryside.
“This feels like a fresh experience since we couldn’t relax last time. Right, Your Highness?”
“You’re right. Almost as soon as we got on, the Demon Lord showed up on his own Magic Train and we ended up doing sumo. Let’s take it easy this time,” said the prince, giving me a gentle smile.
Journeys were so nice. I felt like the two of us had grown closer together. Dosukoi, dosukoi!
“Damn, it’s so fast!” exclaimed Phalaris.
“You fly faster, don’t you?” asked Clifton.
“That’s not the same.”
Clifton, regrettably, lacked an appreciation for the aesthetics of it.
We enjoyed our laid-back night trip. Since it was an experimental track, there was unfortunately no dining car, so I had to make do with a light meal of a ham sandwich made at the border town and wine.
“Man, trains are fun. Hey, Chief, when are you gonna have these running regularly?” asked Phalaris, beaming.
“Somewhere around fall, kid.”
“That’s great! I wanna ride it when the sun’s up next time.”
Phalaris was right: a night ride on a train was atmospheric, but also boring since you couldn’t see much outside.
The Trailblazer’s wheels rumbled as it passed through tunnels and over bridges, and eventually arrived at the Dwarven Great Caves station after a four-hour trip. Truly a mind-blowing speed.
“Stay at the state guest house for the night. We’ll march tomorrow—tonight, though, let’s drink!”
“I like that idea,” replied King Arvi.
“I shall join you,” added the fairy king.
These three sure liked their dinner parties.
“Just give us food, please. We’ll eat, take a bath, then go to bed.”
“Come on, yokozuna Floortje, let’s drink!” lamented Chief Jörd.
“There’s no guarantee we won’t have bouts during tomorrow’s march. And so, we have to get some sleep, but those politically inclined can drink and make merry as much as they please.”
Drinking and eating together is, at the end of the day, proper diplomacy. It’s not all about benefits and logic with people, and that includes politics. However, sumo wrestlers have nothing to do with such things. If we don’t sleep properly, our bodies won’t move the way we want them to.
Though the dinner party surely wasn’t prearranged, it was no less lavish for it—even if “lavish” meant a table almost full of heavy meat dishes. The three leaders drank alcohol together with the mizuchi and made a lot of noise. The rest of us retreated to our bedrooms early, however, so I didn’t know how their feast went afterwards.
“Let’s march on the village of Hufton tomorrow.” As she brushed my hair after our baths, Adela started talking military matters.
“Why there?”
“Our enemies probably don’t expect us to be back so quickly. And we can mount a defense in Hufton if need be.”
“You’re right. I just hope we don’t inconvenience the elven elders.”
“They share the responsibility for these events as citizens of the country, so I don’t think that’s something you should be concerned with.”
Perhaps. Maybe they were responsible, after creating a form of government typically used by short-lived races despite being a long-lived race.
“It’s probably fine, anyway. We have a high elf with us,” spoke Adela.
“That flirt—I mean, Ulupano—is a high elf, right? They’re said to be akin to demigods, possessing infinite life spans. Though he certainly doesn’t look the part.”
“Elves are a pretty complicated race.”
There were a great number of mysteries pertaining to the elven lands—but how did this maid know so much? I could never figure her out. Also, if that flirt was a high elf, why was he able to take the form of a fenrir? And why was he such a shallow flirt despite having such a long life span? Truly a mystery.
My night at the state guest house was a quiet one. It was too bad I couldn’t tell day from night in the place, although Adela woke me up in the morning. I got dressed and went to the dining hall, and found that breakfast had already been prepared. The two kings had yet to arrive.
“Chief Jörd, where are my king and that flirt of a fairy king?”
“Drank themselves unconscious, those two. King Arvi sure drinks a lot for a human.”
If he had drunk so much even a dwarf said he “drank a lot,” perhaps there was no hope of seeing him today. Or so I thought, until the king showed up—wobbling on his feet with dark circles under his eyes.
“Are you all right, father?”
“I-It was a merry occasion, so we had too much, son. But don’t worry, it’ll pass soon enough.”
“Don’t overdo it. You’re not young anymore.”
“A-As you say, Floortje.”
The flirt showed up next. He wasn’t in nearly as bad a shape—he seemed to just be a sleepyhead.
“Good morning, everyone. I see the ladies are as beautiful as ever.”
A shallow flirt as always.
The dwarven breakfast was incredible. It was the standard ham and eggs, bread, and soup—but the ham was thick. Still, it tasted great.
“This is delicious, right, Floortje? Despite how thick it is,” said the prince.
“Agreed. It’s good ham.”
“No spilling your food, boy,” chided the mizuchi.
“Oh, give me a break!”
“Looks like you need to be taught some manners.”
Heh heh. It’s almost as though she’s Phalaris’s mother. Maybe it was the sense of camaraderie they had, stemming from their both being dragons.
Yustin and Clifton had evidently both left the party early too, as they looked all right. You can’t call yourself a rikishi without taking proper care of your health every day.
“I’ll give you five thousand dwarven warriors for now. That should be enough to fend off any demons or monsters who stand in your way, provided their numbers aren’t overwhelming.”
“My gratitude, Chief Jörd,” replied King Arvi.