IV. The Flatlands: Part 2 - The City Gate

They had been walking for hours. Barton was struggling to keep himself upright, and he realized now why Marius had forced them to make camp. They had set out when Corna first began to shine in the sky, and yet Tarna’s rise had come nearly two hours ago, and they still seemed to be at least a mile or so away from the city gates. Making matter worse was the fact that their horses were now gone. After the strange arrival of the wild meggun, events seemed to spiral out of control. They ate while the meggun sat and watched them the entire time. The slept while the meggun sat and watched them the entire time. Barton even awoke to find the meggun standing right above him. It was almost as if it was protecting them. It made no sense, but at least it wasn’t eating them. They couldn’t complain about that.

Still, Barton couldn’t help but be furious when he found that their horses reigns had been chewed through in the middle of the night. He couldn’t figure out when it had happened, but it was very clear that they had been gone for quite some time. It would be of little use for them to search for their mounts, so instead they slung their packs over their shoulders, and headed out on foot. Now here they were, trying to keep a steady pace as the heat began to bare down on them, and oddly enough, ignore the meggun that was following about ten feet behind them.
“That’s it!” shouted Barton as the heat got the better of him. He turned back toward the meggun and strode over to it quickly. The creature didn’t move. It simply sat there, it’s ears perked into the air, as if confused by the boy’s manic emotions. Barton took his pack and made to sling it over when Marius’ voice stopped him.
“What’re you doing?”
“What is it look like I’m doing?” Barton answered sarcastically, “I’m taking a load-off.”
“Not on the meggun,” Marius said plainly. Barton shot a glare back at him as he dropped his pack to the ground with a thud. He breathed heavily, as the sweat was pouring down his face.
“They where the hell am I supposed to put my pack?” he finally asked. Marius shook his head almost in disbelief.
“On your back.” Barton cast his glare down to the ground, trying to withhold his anger.
“We’re almost there Barton, just suck it up,” Julien said.
“Suck it up?!” Barton shouted, “That’s a wonderful fucking idea Julien. Let’s just throw our packs over our shoulders, and keep following the murderer who tried to abandon us only yesterday. Let’s keeping walking straight for what could be a trap, while we let exhaustion beat us far down beyond any kind of fighting state. Oh, and while we’re at it, let’s all just ignore the obvious elephant in the room that is the WILD FUCKING MEGGUN WALKING BEHIND US!”
Barton seethed, as he tried to take a deep breath and control his anger. He looked away from the two of them and held out his hand for a moment. He took a long moment to compose himself before finally speaking in a hoarse whisper.
“I apologize” he said slowly, “this heat is just getting the better of me.” Marius turned away and began to walk again as he called back over his shoulder.
“Well then let’s keep up the pace and we’ll get out of the sun faster.” Barton hesitated for a moment looking at Julien. She had a look of almost pity etched across her face. Barton hated that look more than any others. He met her gaze for a moment before shouting back to Marius.
“Look, this thing set our horses free, can’t we at least put it to work?”
“Nope!” Barton struggled to control his anger.
“Why?” he shouted back. Marius finally dropped his own pack and turned back.
“I already told you,” he said attempting to be patient, “Meggun’s are intelligent creatures. You don’t ride or saddle an intelligent creature. It demeans them.” Barton swung around to look at the Meggun, that was no resting on it’s hide legs, and letting it’s tongue hang from its mouth as it was panting.
“That’s an intelligent creature!?” he shouted.
“It’s intuitive,” Marius countered.
“How can you say that?” Barton asked, “Did you have a conversation with it or something?” Marius smiled that smug smile he knew all too well and turned to Julien. Her blonde hair was waving in the breeze, and she was attempting to remain invisible in the argument between them. She was sick of being used as a weapon between them.
“Ask her,” said Marius. Barton also looked at her now too, and once again she felt as if she was on trial between the two of them.
“He’s right,” she said, hesitantly showing the bandaged arm that covered the tattoo, “it saw this, and it stopped mid attack.” Barton swallowed hard, knowing how close they were now to having their cover blown. He shook his head at Julien, while she dropped her eyes to the ground, and he looked back at the meggun, who was now staring straight at them, with a smile smeared across its face and its head cocked to the side.
“So,” Marius said chuckling, “do you want to tell me what that’s all about?” He let his challenge hang there over Barton, matching his intense gaze.
“Not particularly,” Barton spat back.
“Well then,” Marius said, slinging his pack back over his shoulder, “what do you say we keep moving.” Barton begrudgingly did the same and all three continued their trek, each keeping their distance from one another.
“It’s an outdated tradition you know,” Barton said. Marius took a large step, trying to reach over one of the larger cracks in the ground.
“What’s that?” he called back as he stared down into the abyss below.
“The journeymen tradition,” Barton said as he followed step over the same crack, “megguns have been tamed for years. They’re used as mounts all over Orphan. It doesn’t make you noble, it just makes you behind the times.”
“Hm,” Marius mused as he wiped the sweat from his forehead, “Well if my people are so low on nobility, then what’s stopping me from just leaving you out here?”
“Because we’re paying you,” Barton said as he ripped off a piece of wheat brag.
“You’re paying me to get you to the Capitol,” Marius said, “Not insult my culture. So if you’d like to keep the deal, I’d suggest you follow the guidelines.”
The trio continued to march onward for another two hours, with the suns baring down on them the entire time. The journey was mostly silent save for some groaning and complaining from Barton. By the time they reached the gates, their water had all but dried up. Sweat was pouring from them, and even Marius was having trouble breathing. All the while the meggun simply trotted behind them happily. Every now and then it’d seem to get the scent of something and take off running after it. It was only a few minutes however until it would come running back and resume following them. Marius couldn’t be sure, but he thought it was protecting them.
As they reached the gates Marius dropped his bag to the ground as Barton and Julien collapsed on either side of him. They all breathed heavily as Marius called out a greeting to the guard.
“Ho there!” The guard stuck his head over the top of the wall, and was soon joined by five more spread across the top of the gate. They all trained their arrows onto the group below, and the message became immediately clear. A small door at the center of the massive gates swung open, and a man walked out, flanked by three men on either side. They were all armed to the teeth, and Marius got the message quick. The most decorated man strode right up to him.
“Joiun Bern. Sergeant of the Port Guard.” the man said introducing himself.
“Marius, of Lik ku’uan.”
“A journeyman,” Joiun stated questioningly, “what business do you have in Rafe.” The sergeant immediately looked down at Barton and Julien, clearly directing the question toward them.
“We mean no trouble,” Marius said, “We don’t bring it, we’re not looking for it. What say we leave our business to ourselves, eh?” Joiun looked at him with an intense stare.
“Is that thing tamed?” Joiun asked, pointing to the meggun that was still standing about ten feet behind them. Marius turned to look at it, and chuckled to himself.
“I have no idea,” he answered as he turned back. Joiun looked at him with great confusion.
“It’s not yours?” he asked. Marius laughed.
“You’d think so, wouldn’t you.” Joiun remained stoic, refusing to acknowledge the joke. 
“Last time I let a journeymen behind these walls, I had a great deal of trouble.”
“Well,” said Marius patiently, “I may be a journeyman, but I’m a different journeyman. We’re just looking to resupply, then we’ll be out of here before you even noticed we’ve arrived. Karry?” The sergeant took a deep breath, before turning back to his archers. He nodded and the men lowered their bows. He took a step toward Marius and got very close to his face.
“I have a perfect memory for faces. Don’t give me a reason to remember yours.”
With that Joiun and his guards moved back and into the open doorway. Barton and Julien remained on the ground for a moment. They breathed heavily in unison, unsure of whether or not their interaction had been a success.
Finally they heard the loud screech of the massive gates as they slowly swung open.
Rafe welcomed them.

To be continued...