The Non-Human Society

Chapter Seventy One - Renn - Nation of the Blind

      The large building was... a little plain.

Vim and I were walking towards what he had called a checkpoint. The entrance into the Nation of the Blind.

It was the first building in several days that I've seen... and honestly I was disappointed. It was three stories high, yet looked... unfinished, somehow.

There were a few people around it. Two men in leather armor with swords on their waists stood off the road near a field. They were in a heated discussion about something. Not too far from them was a pair of spotted horses, most likely theirs. They were letting them eat the grass.

Off in the distance, was what looked to be a large wagon. I could just barely make out the four people around it, but not much else. It looked like they were getting ready to leave, heading our way into the lands Vim and I had come from.

"Why's there just one building out here?" I asked. It was so odd... there wasn't anything else. The land here was mostly flat, and covered in thick grass. I could see for quite a distance, and saw no other buildings. Not even cabins. The land around here wasn't even being used as farmland. Most of it was covered in grass, while the rest was a mixture of rocky dirt and weeds.

"It's something of an inn. We can get something to eat and rest there," Vim explained.

"Oh. Someone's business then. Why did you call it a checkpoint?" I asked.

"Because it's not a business. It's a small barracks for this nation. To let them monitor their border," he said.

"Is that who those men were?" I asked, glancing back at the two leather strapped men. They hadn't even looked at us.

"Yes."

"Poor guards. Maybe they are blind," I said.

Vim chuckled but didn't say anything. Maybe he agreed with me.

"You said this was a powerful nation?" I asked.

"One of the greatest in this corner of the world, yes," Vim said.

"Doesn't look it," I said honestly.

"Nothing is as it first appears," he said.

Drawing closer to the wagon, I realized the people near it were all women. They wore typical travelers clothing, and... were surprisingly young looking. The oldest looked similar in age to Vim. Or at least, the age he appeared to be. The youngest still had baby fat around her cheeks.

The four of them stared at us as we passed, and the youngest bowed their head in greeting. I waved back, and wondered how common an all female group was. As far as I was aware, it was very rare. Nearly unheard of.

Passing the group and their wagon, I looked around for maybe another of their members. Surely they weren't alone?

Yet no one else here looked a part of their group. Only one man was here, and he was sitting on the porch that led into the building. He was whittling away at some kind of small wooden item.

"No one seems any different," I whispered.

"Why would they?" he asked.

"It's a different nation isn't it?" I asked.

Vim frowned, and then paused for a moment. After he considered something, he nodded. "It is. But humans are humans. You need to go a lot farther to meet people that different. One day you'll see," he said.

"Hm," I nodded. I intended to.

"Also... they are a little different. You probably haven't noticed but their ears are a little different. Maybe you're more cultured than I thought," Vim said.