The City of Gold (Part 1)

Chapter 8

<<<<<<Chapter 8>>>>>

     Dale and Kallin looked at each other. There was fear in their eyes. The noise grew louder. Then they saw it. A rider on horseback rounded the corner. His figure was undistinguishable at first. Dale looked closely, making sure to stay quiet. He sighed in relief. It wasn’t a Bledsworthian, rather it was an elderly man. Landon relaxed himself. His hair was sandy blond with white streaks and his chin well pointed. He was dressed in merchant clothes. His horse, laden with bags, seemed to proudly trot on the path. The orphans watched him silently as he passed by. The man was unaware of the many eyes glaring at him from the trees. Blissfully he sung a short tune under his breath.

     “We were the songs of spring,

     The beauty of the world we sing,

     Of endless light and darkness gone,

     We sang the world away with song,”

     The rider vanished behind the bending road leaving only the sound of hoofs on the ground. The noise grew quiet again. Dale could still hear the song in his head. He whistled the tune quietly to himself as he walked back to the path. The orphans gathered back into their groups and continued walking. 

     The headmaster told them that they should be there within an hours time. Time seemed to slow down and his intense hunger wasn’t helping. He tried to distract himself, but it was to no avail. He kept walking, humming the tune to himself.

     “Of endless light and darkness gone,

     We sang the world away with song.”

     The terrain was still quite forested. Large fallen oaks were the homes to countless mosses, while the living trunks swayed in the breeze. Then, quite unexpectedly he saw a change in environment. The forest opened up into a large field. The treeless expanse rose at a slight incline, making the valley look endless, the edge of it surrounded by more hills. The road continued until it reached a town. Dale saw hundreds of rooftops, compacted within the walls that bordered the village. He saw the path leading to a stone archway, the entrance to Chapton. 

     He did not know anything about Chapton, besides the fact that it would be his new home. A foreign orphanage awaited him on the other side of that wall. Dale wondered about the wall. Knowington had no wall, why should Chapton be different? He wondered if Brondel, the capital of Brondolia, was surrounded by a wall. 

     There were other roads coming from different parts of the forest, all leading to the central road which they were currently on. Dale looked to see if there were multiple entrances to the city, he could only see one. It reminded him of a fortress. There were people traveling the other roads as well. He saw horses pulling wagons and lavished carriages speeding along the path. There was a crowd of figures at the entrance, although Dale couldn’t make them out. He wondered about the wall again. 

     Jeff Stumpton sighed in relief. They had made it. Their long journey was finally paid off. He quickened his pace slightly. They we’re almost there. He looked around himself, realizing that after dropping the children at the new orphanage, he would probably never see them again. A slight melancholy struck him. He had been so focused on getting the children to their new homes that he seemed to forget that his time with the orphans was waning. He had spent so much of his time trying to help these youngsters. He second guessed himself for a moment. What if there was another way? No, it was too late, besides, there was no way he could take care of 16 children now. His home was gone, all of his wealth was in the property of the estate. The only thing left to him was his land. He would either have to sell it, or rebuild. He couldn’t imagine rebuilding at his age, so there was only one thing to do. He would sell his land and live with his younger sister. He looked towards Landon and Judy, considering where they may go. He hadn’t talked to them about it. He hadn’t spoken to either of them at all that day.