Chapter 43: Chapter 39 – A Strange Dream

"History recorded cases of gods choosing their champions mostly by testimony from the clergy, and the few champions who publicly admitted to their status. The vast majority of champions however, chose anonymity, and to this day little is known of the champions that never publicized themselves." - Serdus Maximus, Scholar of Theology

 

From where she and Ergan Zauz parted ways, Cal headed south-west, where her route avoided most cities in Ezram and only crossed a couple of small villages, as she felt no desire to tarry overlong in the kingdom. Her trek through the wilderness of Ezram also saved her a good bit of time since it was a straight route towards her next destination, the dwarven nation of Knallzog in south-western Alcidea.

 

The third-largest dwarven nation in the world (just behind the Kingdom Down Under in southeastern Alcidea and the Hassid Caliphate in northern Ur-Teros), Knallzog had stood as a nation longer than the vast majority of its neighbors, with only the Clangeddin Empire in central Alcidea and the orcish lands to match its history. The coalition of city-states, Ezram kingdom, and even Paradise are younger newcomers in comparison.

 

After a week and a half of uneventful travel, Cal found herself in the tripartite border between Ezram kingdom, Coalition of City-States, and Knallzog. The contrast between the three nations were obvious at a glance. From the Ezram kingdom side where she came, only a few poor villages were visible, and the so-called fort by the border was weathered and in disrepair, the soldiers stationed there lax and undisciplined.

 

On the City States's side, a prosperous trading city known as Dvergarder stood near the border, where many traders passed through it in their journey to and from Knallzog. The city itself has high walls, and clearly designed as a fort city at first, despite its current role as a trade hub. Cal stopped there briefly to send a letter to Paradise addressed to Aideen.

 

Knallzog on the other hand, built a grand citadel atop a small hill on their side of the border. The citadel itself clearly built for war, despite the plentiful merchant traffic that passed through it. From what Cal had heard, the Citadel of Arsgant had a thriving city built beneath the citadel itself, and she chose to make it her first stop in Knallzog.

 

At the entrance of the citadel, Cal saw that the dwarves did not take their security lightly - whether this was due to the recent cultist activity in Ezram or just how they normally do things she does not know -, and a pair of dwarven guards, their faces hidden under their full-faced helmets, greeted every traveller that wished to enter the city in a stern but polite manner.

 

Since she entered the citadel without any real issue, Cal was quite surprised to see that the dwarves dressed much more conservatively in their own lands. Typically, dwarves that lived in non-dwarven nations chose to wear clothing or ornaments such that they would make their gender easier to identify as a courtesy to their hosts. Dwarves in their own lands does not bother with that, and Cal found herself completely unable to tell the gender of nine out of ten dwarves she ran into.

 

She also saw some sights that made her stare in wonderment, like when she ran into a dwarven lady who cradled her infant child. To Cal's surprise, the dwarven infant already started to grow a stubbly beard, and instead of milk or fruit juices as is common, the bottle clutched in the baby's hands was filled with mead. She politely asked the dwarven mother while she played with the child about it, and the explanations that dwarves did not lactate for their young, and that mead is the common drink for dwarven babies - although some warrior families supposedly prefer stout ales for their young -, definitely made her realize what it felt to be on the other side of a culture shock.

 

Since the lands of Knallzog were mostly rather barren and not very suitable for the cultivation of grains, their staple food were potatoes instead, which grew just fine in the relatively barren land, with several varieties developed to grow fine even in the subterranean cities of the dwarves. Cal found herself quite enamored with a popular local snack where thick wedges of the tuber were deep fried in hot oils until their surface crisps, and served with a sauce emulsified from eggs, vinegar, and oil.

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To her surprise, the undercity beneath the citadel - of which there were three levels, with the lowest level used for the underground farms of the dwarves, and the uppermost level used as the commercial district - proved to be a bright place, with plates enchanted to emit light strategically placed so as to allow visitors from other races to travel unhindered. In the evenings the plates would be kept on but dimmed, to simulate the cycle of day and night.

 

Since she arrived at the citadel not long before sundown, Cal decided to look for an inn first and foremost. To look around the city and shop a bit can wait until the next day, since she planned to stay for at least a week anyway, the time needed for a reply from paradise delivered via carrier bird to reach Dvergarder.

 

The inn she chose clearly was built with travellers in mind, as the building has notably taller ceiling compared to most others she passed by, and she paid in advance for a week's stay. She also gave a try at the innkeeper's cooking and found herself pleasantly surprised. The fare was simple, merely two large spuds baked until tender, then mashed together with some salt and butter, served with crumpled crispy bits of fried fatty meat and a dollop of sour cream. It also proved very filling, and delightful in taste. The dwarven ale served with it was strong, with a crisp, refreshing flavor behind its hint of bitterness, and also met with her approval.

 

Cal had laid down on her bed - quite a large bed, more than large enough for her to stretch fully in fact - with a satisfied belly and had just fallen asleep when she found herself in the midst of a strange dream.

 

In the dream, she felt like her form was ethereal, more a suggestion of her existence than her actual body, and all around her, she saw figures seated around in a circle. Figures who to her sight seemed to each embody an element of the world, twenty-one in number. The figures were all blurred and vague, and she could not make out any of their features, but for some reason she felt certain that the figure that represented water had just waved its hand at her. A gesture that was followed by the impression of rolled eyes from some and amusement from others.

 

Cal felt as if she was a specimen on display, and the figures observed her from every angle, though some notably did so only perfunctorily compared to others. After what felt like an eternity, she felt their sights retreat, and what felt like satisfaction and approval from most of the figures.

 

She still had no idea what was going on when another figure, this one massive compared to twenty-one around her, appeared from above. The massive figure was of a green hue, and for some reason she felt as it if had just thanked her, before she felt herself descend. This time she was certain at least two of the twenty-one figures waved her goodbye as she felt her consciousness sink into a blissful night's sleep.

 

When Cal woke up the next morning, she only had vague recollections of the dream she had, but felt oddly refreshed for some reason, like a gentle spring breeze blew on her despite it being the height of summertime.

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