I knew that traveling in a large procession like we were, the going would be slow. But the fact that it took us nearly a week, on our nice paved road, just to get to the river crossing, was surprising. Normally it would take less than three days, if you rode hard along the path. Even faster if you were one of the foxie, gifted with real speed skills.
At least it was a pleasant trip. We spent the majority of the days making our slow progress, breaking only in the evening when we set up camp for the night and ate. It was a livly, and surprisingly well organized, endevor. I hardly had to do a thing except sit on Kishi's back and chat.
It did give me time to question Margund and the others for more information concerning the other races we were going to meet at this summit. We may have a library at the estate but it was still rather empty, especial for anything covering politics and the like.
"I know that the harpies live in Talon's Pass, but how do they live there?" I had asked at one point. "Is it like the goblin city? Built into the side of the land formation?"
"Hmmm." Thought Margund, his rohgek on one side of me and Lagdon's on the other. "Sort of. Though not exactly. They do have a city of sorts carved into the side of the mountain, but their race is more migratory than ours. They are constantly traveling from one side of the gorge to the other, hunting other monsters there. Normally they do not live this side of the Pass, this time of the year."
"Why not?"
"From what I understand, it is because the hunting is not as abundant this side of the mountains during the winter months. On the other side it is mainly plains lands and rolling hills with many monsters that are less... er, carnivorous. For the most part, the Eastern side of our Forest of Monsters is much less violent than this one."
That was a weird thought. Mostly because of the fact that I had become so desensitized to just how 'carnivorous' it was here. I almost argued with the goblin king that it wasn't all that bad here. But if I looked at it objectively, that wasn't really true.
There were the foxes and the goblins here, that, until just recently, were basically at war. Add to that the fact that the west had many monsters like the Ursa that were highly aggressive. All of these monsters were fighting over dwindling resources just to survive. And that isn't even accounting for the large chunk of the west that was filled with the Dark.
"It is the mountains them selves that are the most dangerous in our nation. Though, I would not call the East 'tame' either Brother." Lagdon added, eyes scanning either side of the road for danger. Draxly and Brillum were doing the same just ahead of us.
"I agree about the mountains." Margund nodded. "Its the home of the Ogre clan, after all. Since the decline of our race, we haven't had too much contact with the ogres. They are very insular and self important."
At that I laughed. "And goblins aren't?"
"She has a point." Brixie called over her shoulder with a teasing smile. She was just ahead of the two foxie with the pretty healer, Luxana, at her side. The two had been spending much of this trip chatting.
"I guess I can not argue that..." Sighed Margund with good humor. He turned back to me. "The Ogres are probably the strongest of the superior races that live in this nation. Though, with our evolution to hobgoblins, the gap is not quite as large between us, I think."
"That sounds intense." I had seen ogres described in many different ways in my old world, but I couldn't think of any description that is kind and welcoming.
"They are about as big as a hobgoblin, but their skin colors are many and varied, seemingly not affected by lineage. But they have horns, that are. Every child inherits the horns of their maternal line. They are also a matriarchal race, each clan led by a female. Usually the strongest, determined by fights to the death."
That sounded intense, indeed. Go girl power?
"Their clans are spread around the mountains to the east, while we goblins lived mostly on the largest mountain and a few small villages to the west side of the range."
"And what about the plains on the other side of the mountains?" Lagdon had said they were tame, but he is a psychopath of power and training... not sure I could trust his determination on what was and was not tame. I was pretty sure that that hobgoblin thought a dang volcano was tame.
"There are many dangerous monsters there, but not really large groups of them from what I understand."
"I don't understand."
"There are a lot of large groups of lesser, or mid ranked, monsters like there are here." Explained Margund, adjusting his reins. "You will not run into a heard of dangerous creatures. But there are several powerful, individual monsters, that would be bad to disturb. It is why there is only one race of superior monsters that tend to call it home."
They must be a scary strong race... I was beginning to wonder if the goblins former assertion that they were the strongest and closest race to Aeros back in the day really meant that they were just the race that sucked up to the old dragon the most? The Harpies had been here since before Aeros, and were already evolved to the highest rank of their line, and then there were the ogres, who sounded like they were the most fearsome. How scary were these plains dwellers?
Margund chuckled. "It is not as scary as you think. Indeed, of all the races that call this nation home, they are the most docile."
"Who are they?" I asked, curiosity peeked.
"They are called the Equestrians."
"Wait, horses?"
Margund laughed. "Yes, though many of the race a very proud and would not appreciate being called 'horses'."
"Oh... I will keep that in mind."
"Like us foxes-" Brixie chimed in. "They are a small clan. And they are mostly non-confrontational."
Margund nodded. "In total, there may be less than a thousand of them. but they are the most diversly evolved race of us all. The bulk of them are Sterna: an equestrian rase of elementals. Their pelts and magical power determined by what element they are. You will find Sterna that can bend the earth, command the winds, and even call forth fire."
"That sounds amazing." I said, imagining beautiful horses casting magical spells.
"They are the most magically inclined of the superior races here." Said Lagdon. "The Goblane can't even compare when it coms to elemental magics."
"I am looking forward to meeting them." I said with a smile. "But, you said that most were Sterna. What are the others?"
"There are a few of the Sterna who have managed to evolve beyond the race. I have heard Nord speak of Pegasus, unicorns, and even hippocampi that live in lakes and rivers."
Wow, this all sounded like a little girls dream. I lived a goodly chunk of my life in a single room, but even I fantasized about having a pony or meeting a freaking unicorn as a kid! And it would be nice to meet a monster race that was less inclined to eat people for a change...
"It sounds like it is going to be an interesting group of people heading for Talon's Pass then." I observed, getting more excited.
Margund laughed again. "Yes, I suppose you could say that."
We eventually made it to the bridge. It was still crudely built, as the goblins had their hands full with the road and estate and didn't have time to make it pretty before the winter set in. At least it looked sturdy, built with wood and large stones, stretching over the narrowest part of the river. I was told that, come the spring melts, it may be flooded and impassible for a couple weeks.
For now it provided a steely grey break to the otherwise white world.
The monsters waisted no time setting up camp, pitching tents and getting the Rohgek fed and watered. Mean while, I decided to explore. After the first couple days of trying to help and being shut down, I just gave up.
But, I was not alone, of course. Lagdon, my ever present shadow, and Draxly were with me. But they were not all. I was surprised by Luxana asking if she could come walking with me this time.
She had been cheerful and pleasant throughout the trip, but also a little nervous and shy around me. It often took some time for monsters new to the estate to get used to me. I guess they expected me to be some kind of aloof godly being at first. But once they see me trip over my own two feet a couple times, they tend to loosen up and treat me normally.
Actually, most treat me like a little princess. Did I really have such a sweet and innocent air about me? Still, I preferred the coddling to the avoidance.
Today, I decided to stick to the edge of the river, following it upstream a little and enjoying the sounds of running water. It wasn't the same as the rumble of the waterfall back home, but it was comforting and made me smile.
I had best enjoy the easy travel we had while I could. Starting tomorrow, our procession would be leaving the paved road and the journey would be a little rougher. Still, the thought of meeting all those races kept me motivated for the more hectic half of our path forward.