Two weeks passed by on their journey to the capital without much issue. The trip was relatively peaceful because any bandit with a brain would think that it was suicide to try and rob a carriage protected by one Paladin, let alone four of them, and monsters would rather congregate in areas that were distant from the main road. When they exited the forest, everything seemed calm; the only things heard were the sounds of birds slowly fading into the background by the carraige's wheels rolling on the ground and the clop of the horses that towed it. The Paladins still sat straight up with emotionless gazes through their helms. Still on high alert for the surroundings.
Inside, it was as calm as the outside. The four people inside were busy doing trivial things. Preist Benedict was busy reading a book with his glasses on. Nirra was cleaning the breech of her rifle. Ellie was feeding Mofu with garlic bread, much to the small fox's delight, and Ameria was looking outside the window, taking in the sights.
As it neared noon, sunlight was directly above their heads. The group noticed that the scenery has been nothing but open plains for a while now. They asked the preist about this, so his answer was, "We are close to our destination."
Indeed, they were close, because 40 minutes later, they saw the outline of a large city sitting just near the horizon. The city did not look anything noteworthy until they got close two hours later. Now, the small city's outline has turned out to be enormous. It was larger than anything Nirra or Ellie had seen in their lives. Cobblestone walls surrounded the city in a hexagonal manner, with each corner having an accompanying tower made of the same material. On top, they could see large spires made out of a golden material that radiate a bluish-white hue, and guards are regularly marching down the pathway on the wall in a counter-clockwise manner. Inside was a white castle with beautiful orange roofs that dwarfed the size of the wall and the guard's towers. On the roof of the caste nestles another spire, like the guard's, but it was more decorated with patters that glowed a golden light.
It was only when they got closer that they could fathom the sheer size of the walls. The towers on the corners could be comparable to a small skyscraper in Nirra's old world, and the walls are comparable to a 15-story building. The gates looked imposing with their giant size, still made out of wood, but they were reinforced with so much metal that they might as well be a steel gate. The entrance was also barricaded, with a small number of soldiers checking the carriages that wished to pass through the gate. This confirmed that the kingdom was indeed preparing for war.
Their sole carriage was able to skip the line due to it belonging to the church. The guards did not even stop them, as they just rode inside without any interference.
"Welcome to Ceres, the capital city of the Prevali Kingdom," Preist Benedict said with a smile as the twins gazed at the many interesting houses from the windows of their carriage.
Immediately, the buildings inside were a better-built version of the towns visited before. The road, lined with cobblestones, stretched as wide as it was on the main road. Buildings beside it were either made of wood or stone, sometimes a combination of both. Since they were near the entrance, and like most towns, many inns and hotels dotted the road that was in close proximity to the gate.
When they rounded a corner, they saw a massive building in the distance—not as big as the castle they saw earlier, but still relatively large. With a white, blue, and gold color palette and the emblem of the church seen on the building's southern side. Nirra and Ellie could only assume that this is the Grand Catheral, where the Grand Preist and many bishops reside.
The crowd parted in front of them as they saw the white and gold carraige speed past the Market District. Shops lined every small road and street that was in the district, and many vendors can be seen selling everything. From fruits and vegetables to tools and swords, at one point, the twins saw a small street that seemed to be only focused on things like blacksmithing. Nirra looked on in awe as she saw many smithing essentials being sold. Like an anvil, a furnace, and dozens of hammers. She even saw where they sell all kinds of metals, like the metals inside her father's forge.
'I can finally build my own forge and finish the process of making smokeless powder,' Nirra thought while she stared down at the street.
'So many swords; maybe I can get better throwing knives here' Ellie thought beside her sister, still gazing at the street.
The two snapped their stares back inside the carraige when they heard Ameria giggle. Saying things like, You two never change.
After they left the market district, they arrived at the inner wall. It was a smaller one without any large towers, but it still had a gate. Inside were stores much like the ones they passed inside the market district, but more clean and well built using bricks and wood. Again, the guards at the gate did not stop them as they entered the district.
"This is the shopping district, a separate district where nobles as well as the royal family come to visit to buy many items and accessories, even clothes," Ameria explained.
She was correct; of course, many salons, tailors, and restaurants were seen inside the very clean district. As they neared their destination, they also noticed that the volume of people inside this district was a lot less than the market district they had passed just earlier, and after a few more minutes of traveling, they had arrived at their destination. Which was the Grand Catheral of the Church of the Holy One.
Two weeks passed by on their journey to the capital without much issue. The trip was relatively peaceful because any bandit with a brain would think that it was suicide to try and rob a carriage protected by one Paladin, let alone four of them, and monsters would rather congregate in areas that were distant from the main road. When they exited the forest, everything seemed calm; the only things heard were the sounds of birds slowly fading into the background by the carraige's wheels rolling on the ground and the clop of the horses that towed it. The Paladins still sat straight up with emotionless gazes through their helms. Still on high alert for the surroundings.
Inside, it was as calm as the outside. The four people inside were busy doing trivial things. Preist Benedict was busy reading a book with his glasses on. Nirra was cleaning the breech of her rifle. Ellie was feeding Mofu with garlic bread, much to the small fox's delight, and Ameria was looking outside the window, taking in the sights.
As it neared noon, sunlight was directly above their heads. The group noticed that the scenery has been nothing but open plains for a while now. They asked the preist about this, so his answer was, "We are close to our destination."
Indeed, they were close, because 40 minutes later, they saw the outline of a large city sitting just near the horizon. The city did not look anything noteworthy until they got close two hours later. Now, the small city's outline has turned out to be enormous. It was larger than anything Nirra or Ellie had seen in their lives. Cobblestone walls surrounded the city in a hexagonal manner, with each corner having an accompanying tower made of the same material. On top, they could see large spires made out of a golden material that radiate a bluish-white hue, and guards are regularly marching down the pathway on the wall in a counter-clockwise manner. Inside was a white castle with beautiful orange roofs that dwarfed the size of the wall and the guard's towers. On the roof of the caste nestles another spire, like the guard's, but it was more decorated with patters that glowed a golden light.
It was only when they got closer that they could fathom the sheer size of the walls. The towers on the corners could be comparable to a small skyscraper in Nirra's old world, and the walls are comparable to a 15-story building. The gates looked imposing with their giant size, still made out of wood, but they were reinforced with so much metal that they might as well be a steel gate. The entrance was also barricaded, with a small number of soldiers checking the carriages that wished to pass through the gate. This confirmed that the kingdom was indeed preparing for war.
Their sole carriage was able to skip the line due to it belonging to the church. The guards did not even stop them, as they just rode inside without any interference.
"Welcome to Ceres, the capital city of the Prevali Kingdom," Preist Benedict said with a smile as the twins gazed at the many interesting houses from the windows of their carriage.
Immediately, the buildings inside were a better-built version of the towns visited before. The road, lined with cobblestones, stretched as wide as it was on the main road. Buildings beside it were either made of wood or stone, sometimes a combination of both. Since they were near the entrance, and like most towns, many inns and hotels dotted the road that was in close proximity to the gate.
When they rounded a corner, they saw a massive building in the distance—not as big as the castle they saw earlier, but still relatively large. With a white, blue, and gold color palette and the emblem of the church seen on the building's southern side. Nirra and Ellie could only assume that this is the Grand Catheral, where the Grand Preist and many bishops reside.
The crowd parted in front of them as they saw the white and gold carraige speed past the Market District. Shops lined every small road and street that was in the district, and many vendors can be seen selling everything. From fruits and vegetables to tools and swords, at one point, the twins saw a small street that seemed to be only focused on things like blacksmithing. Nirra looked on in awe as she saw many smithing essentials being sold. Like an anvil, a furnace, and dozens of hammers. She even saw where they sell all kinds of metals, like the metals inside her father's forge.
'I can finally build my own forge and finish the process of making smokeless powder,' Nirra thought while she stared down at the street.
'So many swords; maybe I can get better throwing knives here' Ellie thought beside her sister, still gazing at the street.
The two snapped their stares back inside the carraige when they heard Ameria giggle. Saying things like, You two never change.
After they left the market district, they arrived at the inner wall. It was a smaller one without any large towers, but it still had a gate. Inside were stores much like the ones they passed inside the market district, but more clean and well built using bricks and wood. Again, the guards at the gate did not stop them as they entered the district.
"This is the shopping district, a separate district where nobles as well as the royal family come to visit to buy many items and accessories, even clothes," Ameria explained.
She was correct; of course, many salons, tailors, and restaurants were seen inside the very clean district. As they neared their destination, they also noticed that the volume of people inside this district was a lot less than the market district they had passed just earlier, and after a few more minutes of traveling, they had arrived at their destination. Which was the Grand Catheral of the Church of the Holy One.
