Chapter Two: The Beginning of a Long Journey

That night Baelisk packed a few weeks worth of provisions, and the next day he rode out. With not much more than a wave goodbye, he started west toward the Mahnjuan city of Catcring, which was about week’s ride away. I hope he is willing to come, thought Baelisk as he rode, otherwise I'll be doing all of this by myself.

Baelisk rode across the fields of the sunlit valley without mishap. The days were pleasant, but long, and the nights were cold in the shadow of the Crest Mountains to the north. After a long week of riding through field and forest, Baelisk finally reached the city of Catcring.

Baelisk rode up to the city gates. There, two slender Mahnjuan guards stood watch. Baelisk hailed them, and seeing that the Tatarian was no threat, the guards returned the hail and opened the gates for him to pass.

Baelisk stepped out onto the busy main street of Catcring. All around him, he could hear the familiar bustle of city life. Children running around, chasing each other, trying to steal fruit from the grocer, who always slapped them on the bottom with a stick to drive them away. Couples walking along the sides of the streets, browsing merchants' booths. Crowds of men gathering together and talking about adventures that they would never really get around to having, or never really had, or weren't as exciting as they made them sound, while their wives were bragging about how adventurous their husbands were, and exclaiming over the beauty and price of rare Westlandish silks.

It wasn't very long before Baelisk found what he was looking for. As he turned a corner, he saw an impressive looking citadel, built from white marble and almost seeming to shine with supernatural brilliance in the sunlight. Baelisk dismounted, tied his catamog's reins to a post, and went inside.