//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: The Guard at the Bridge // Story: Princess Essenta // by Pone_Heap //------------------------------// Southward to New Friends Arc In the week since Ama joined Essenta’s company, the quartet of mares was able to cover quite a bit of ground. Ama had proved to be a jolly traveling companion, telling stories of all the things she’d done and seen. A year wandering around the continent left her with plenty of interesting things to talk about. Zyra was especially glad to chat with her. Ama had seen many of the places Zyra had only heard about in books or from her fellow mages or visiting ponies. Zyra had never been any further east than the Forbidden Forest that gave them such an interesting time. The little company had made it through much of the forest and came to a range of mountains. To the Dale folk, it was known simply as the South-Central Range, but every land called every land feature something different. It wasn’t that far south, or central, in the grand scheme of the continent, but for the Dale it was enough for the name. Unlike the jagged peaks west of the Dale or the ones Zyra recalled in the far western reaches of the continent, her old home, the mountains were relatively rounded. Rising up from the hilly lands east of them, they weren’t terribly imposing. Still, they had to decide: they could go east, around the range, sticking to the lower hills, or take a shortcut over the mountains. It was now just past mid-summer. Traveling over the mountains at the time of year would be relatively safe. The mountains were neither tall or expansive enough, nor at a high enough latitude, to keep much of a snowline, save for the topmost peaks. Unless they did something particularly stupid, an avalanche would not be their biggest concern. The problem was that every map they had either came from the Dale or was picked up along the way. The mountains before them… were not well mapped out. They decided, considering the ample ground they had covered, to rest a couple days north of the mountains. They would discuss the matter and gather up what food they could in the meantime. No matter how “mild” a mountain may have been, food could be sparse. It would really disappoint if they found themselves stuck or forced to turn around, only to run out of provisions. Zyra was looking over a couple maps, trying to piece together what little knowledge they possessed, to plan a route. Unfortunately, there was no telling how long it may take to cross the range. Going around, even with optimistic thinking, would take them up to two weeks. It was a head scratcher. Deciding to look at something more interesting, Zyra looked to her companions. She knew Ama was more than just the brawling monster many would mistake her for. Wiping out the bounty hunters was no act of skill; Ama was just powerful. But Ama, as other Mazans, trained as a warrior from the time she was a little filly. Whether a Mazan went on to be in the queensguard or farm wheat, all of them were trained to fight. Ama hadn’t pegged a life for herself, but she could probably do anything she pleased with it. Even having never met another Mazan, Zyra knew Ama was special. Her physical power was unrivaled by anypony, possibly in the world, other than a Terran. Even with her father being a Terran, she was unusually tall and strong. A few days watching Essenta, Dechaa, and Ama spar with each other had told her many things. Ama was well trained; she was probably better trained as a soldier than anypony in the Dale. The Dale wasn’t a place of weak ponies, but they were farmers, first and foremost. The Mazans were warriors, born and bred. Ama’s skill dazzled Essenta, and scared Dechaa. Ama was more than happy to explain things to the both of them. She had also become very impressed with Essenta’s skill, or willingness to win. The princess often surprised her with her seemingly bottomless bag of tricks, causing Ama to take up a strong defense and counterattack. If the girls hadn’t been training with sticks, Essenta might have been used to paint the forest red a few times. It amused Ama, who was happy to learn from Essenta. Due to Dechaa’s fighting style and magic abilities, there wasn’t much one could teach the other, but Dechaa had improved over the last week, becoming more precise with her twin short swords. Zyra had also been helping Essenta with something else… Her battle armor was coming along nicely. The smithy princess had ideas for later but cooked up something most interesting. And for her new toy, she needed a magic touch. Essenta had made two pairs of cesti. With one for each hoof, it turned her legs into potentially lethal weapons. It wasn’t just the metal giving her power. Zyra had them imbibed with a powerful concussion magic. Whatever Essenta hit… she sent flying. Or she could be sent flying herself. Punching a rock sent her sailing backwards into a treeline, much to the amusement of Ama. Sitting down, tired out from getting tossed around by Ama, Essenta panted, “That’s… enough… for today.” Ama chuckled, “Well done, Essenta. A mare of your caliber would do my ponies proud.” With a groan, Ama sat down too. She wasn’t immune to a day of good sparring either. Dechaa, relying on magic for most of her method, was better off. She set about cooking their dinner. The day before, they came across a small merchant who traded them a nice bag of vegetables and a bag of barley for one of the many knives Essenta routinely slapped together in her shop. She could make several in an afternoon. They could pass off for masters’ work. Of course, vegetables, barley, and the spices they maintained meant barley soup. With it they had a crusty loaf of bread and fresh cheese. It was a fine meal, and all ate until content, with nothing left over. They would be able to have the same thing again the next day, having ample supply of ingredients. Sitting around the fire they had, Essenta was licking and scraping the pot they’d used for the last dregs of soup burned to the bottom. Zyra and Ama were highly amused, the Princess of the Dale going after it, face fully in the pot, like a filly licking a bowl just used for cake batter. If only her father, the king, could see her now… Dechaa frowned, “Oh, Sen… do you really need to do that? You’re a… princess after all…” Essenta grunted, cut a noisy fart, and continued with her snack. Dechaa blanched while the other two fell off their log seats, laughing hysterically. Zyra was almost in tears, “You tell her, Captain!” Ama was generally unused to such merriment but had certainly enjoyed the humor of the continent. She had trouble catching her breath. Essenta now set aside the pot, wiping her mouth in a manner most unfit for a lady, much less a princess. “Zyra… looking over the maps earlier, were you able to find much of anything? Any way through the mountains?” Zyra was able to stop laughing and pulled out one of the maps, “I’m sorry to say, Cap, but I couldn’t find a thing… And we haven’t seen anypony all day. Nopony else the last couple days was able to tell us much. Seems there’s not much reason for anypony to go from one side to the other… There’s nothing but forest, mostly uncharted, on the other side. There’s a road west of us, that starts into the mountain. I know it used to be a major trading route, but it fell into disrepair after a little mining town dried up.” Dechaa looked into the fire, having gotten over Essenta’s antics, “Just how far west would this road be… if we decided to go?” Zyra shook her head, “Three days… Three entire days to get there. And we have no idea what’s along that route. The town dried up… six years ago. There was nothing else there. All we’d find is a ghost town with a big forest south of it.” Essenta nodded, “Zyra… how many days would it take us to take the long way around? The eastern way, I mean…” Zyra looked up from the map, “Being optimistic… I’d say two weeks. The one thing the map is very clear on, is that there’s a canyon running through the hills southeast of us. I can’t find any bridges and I don’t know the canyon’s topography. We could descend into the canyon, but then we’d have to find a way back out… with no help from the map. If you’re asking me for an opinion… we must go the long way. Going into the unknown is too risky.” While the idea of the established route appealed to Essenta, with towns, cities, good food and drink… the idea of adding onto their trip bothered her. But she wasn’t the only one there. Sure, she was leading the excursion, but if she had learned one thing in her years, it was she didn’t know everything. She needed advice. It was something a good leader did… listen to her comrades. Essenta considered her oldest friend, “Dechaa? What do you think?” Dechaa looked up, with evenness, “We’ve never been through mountains, Sen… Going in blind is a bad idea. We need to go east.” Ama spoke up, “There is an old saying among the Mazans… ‘The fastest route is straight through’…” She took on a look of surprising revulsion, “The mare that said such a thing was a fool… And I was a fool to think that ‘great sage’ had ever been up a mountain. In the last winter, I became trapped in a northern mountain pass… I still do not know how I managed to stay alive… Just to save a few days… We may be a proud race, but we can be a foolish race… Thankfully, this humbled fool still breathes… We must go east.” Essenta smiled, “Very well. We’ll rest here tomorrow and then set off for the Canyon Road. I think we could all do with a feather bed some night this week.” That sounded positively heavenly to them all. Deciding to enjoy themselves, they cracked open the last bottle of corn juice. Essenta had finally met a mare that could outdrink her, in Ama. Zyra and Dechaa had watched them in a mixture of amusement and horror as the two of them sucked down the previous bottle. But that night they contented themselves with song and stories. The three Dale mares had plenty of things to tell Ama about, as well. After another day of good food and rest, Essenta’s group set out. It had now been two weeks since the departure from Greendale. They all had a cheerful time on the Canyon Road. There was plenty to see, plenty to eat… This far away, Essenta was less concerned about running into trouble. They were hundreds of miles away from the Dale now. Still, she didn’t throw her name around and they covered themselves up. Apart from Ama, whatever anypony thought she might be, they looked like refugees. Considered, even Ama didn’t stand out that much. Seeing a Mazan wasn’t something a pony would see every day, but there were plenty of them that made it at least that far inland. Perhaps the most welcome event of the journey so far, was their stay in a little inn, that had hot water. They would be able to wash not only themselves, but all their gear, in comfort and toasty warmth. Other than Dechaa’s couple days of fretting, nopony had complained the whole trip, but the idea of hot baths almost had them weeping with happiness… even Ama. Then again, Ama never made any bid to hide her emotions. She was a very emotional mare, though not violently so… thankfully. Apparently, she was given a hard time when she was younger by her fellow Mazans, as the Mazans were touted as stoic ponies. She’d tested their own advertised stoicism by giving them a taste of her power, usually resulting in her aggressor running as if Hell was on her heels. Nopony bugged her about it after doing so once. The girls, having scrubbed themselves raw, lounged around in a giant tub, in perfect contentedness. Essenta couldn’t recall a time she had been happier. They had a mind to drink but would probably all drown from the level of contentedness they’d achieve. So, they settled to drink after. The inn had a pub, and they had a good house ale. Putting on their most unremarkable garments, they went down. The ale was good, Essenta and Ama sucking it down as if it was life in liquid form. Dechaa eked her way through a mug while Zyra managed to enjoy it. The cheese the innkeeper made was okay, so they had a wheel of it with a few loaves of heavy bread. Not dissatisfied with the plainness, they had a pleasant time over their meal. The pub wasn’t full, but a few ponies sat around. Not engaging anypony, Essenta and her friends listened. They heard a few things about some king’s tax rates, farm prices, the lack of labor foreseen for a grape harvest… There was nothing of any real interest to them, so after they’d had their fill of ale, bread, and cheese, they decided to go upstairs to sleep in those feather beds they’d been dreaming of since they took the Canyon Road. “You wouldn’t believe it! This merchant pony paid a bunch of unicorn masons to put it up! It only took two months to finish!” “Well, with that monster at the gatehouse, how many ponies have actually been able to cross it?!” The conversation got the company’s attention, and they stopped. Cross? A bridge, maybe? They listened. A very old looking Pegasus stallion was talking to the bartender, an Earth pony stallion Dechaa thought smelled like a dysentery patient. “In the two months it’s been open… 15 parties made it across. They were able to afford the fare. But nopony has had any luck with the gatekeeper. The first, and… well, only one to try was this freed gladiator from somewhere out east. Even with the ‘friendly’ match he was promised, that guard sent him into the forest canopy!” The girls looked to Ama. Ama thought this sounded interesting. They continued to listen. “Yep… it’s shit like this makes me glad I have wings… They’re not much anymore, but I can still fly across if I want. Sure as Hell saves me 10 days of walking, unlike you ground dwellers,” the old Pegasus cackled. “Ha, ha, old timer. I don’t need to cross any bridge. I have a deal with the fella owns it. He’s my supplier from down south.” This was enough for the company to act on. Despite Dechaa’s insistence she didn't, Essenta elected herself spokespony. “Excuse me,” Essenta slurred. “What’s this about a bridge?” The bartender looked at her oddly. Drunk refugee… “Young miss… stay away from there. I don’t know where you come from or where you’re going, but it doesn’t look like you or any of your friends can afford to pay your way across. Just take the long way around like everypony else… Or find some Pegasus to fly you across.” “Please, at least tell me where it is.” “Young miss, have your friends put you to bed. You’ve had too much… I’ve never seen any mares drink like you and the Mazan, there… As far as the bridge goes, it’s a half mile down the road. You literally can’t miss it. But don’t go fuckin’ around with it. The gatekeeper’s a Terran.” Dechaa made a move to grab Essenta, “I’m sorry about my friend. We’ll get her out of your mane.” Unlike Essenta’s profound drunkenness, he and the old stallion were wowed by Dechaa. They practically drooled. The old fellow whistled at her, "Hey, gorgeous... what do you charge for a half-and-half?" This had Dechaa backing up, a cry building in her throat. She was terrified of horny old stallions, and it was the main reason she rarely went to any pubs with Essenta. The rest of the company looked on with disgust. The two stallions laughed, and the company shepherded their intoxicated leader upstairs. After giving Dechaa some initial shit for being so demure, they crawled into their feather beds and slept about as well as any of them ever had. Essenta woke with a foul taste in her mouth. Her mind a little foggy, she dipped her head into a bucket of cold water. Yeah… that’s better. Zyra was already awake, taking inventory of their supplies. “Well, Cap, I went around a little this morning, asking what the fare was to cross the new canyon bridge. Everypony laughed at me and said I couldn’t afford it. But nopony gave me the price. I’d hate to spend most, if not all the gold we have, just to save a week-and-a-half. It’s simply not worth it… But, we do have quite a bit of money among us.” Essenta sighed, “Well, our currency is out of the question. Even this far out, I don’t want to flash it around. Hell, I bet most of the ponies around here have never even seen Dale money.” “I crunched some numbers: all in all, if we went for the pure metal, we have about six ounces of gold and… two pounds, three ounces of silver. And it goes without saying, nopony needs to know we have that kind of money. We could buy a house with that, here.” Essenta nodded, “Not terrible news…” “But we only have a few silver nuggets left… We’d have to do another extraction if we want anything more than a blackout-drunk night in the pub.” Whether Zyra was taking a poke at Essenta or not, the princess didn’t care, “Well… the bridge won’t be out of the way. We could at least check the price. Or… just maybe, we could-” Zyra rounded on her, “Don’t even say it, Cap. Fight the Terran?” “We could at least see him… try to size him up.” Zyra smiled, “Another thing I found out… the Terran’s a mare.” “A mare?!” “Yup. Apparently, she got stranded here about the time the bridge was completed. The merchant offered her a few pieces of gold to watch over it for him. Guess he’s not paying her much, but it’s more than any other pony has around here.” This had Essenta’s interest, but she shut up about it. Rousing the rest of their friends, they had a hasty breakfast downstairs and set off down the road. Essenta yawned as they paddled through town. The sun was up, the birds were singing, and the sky looked blue as blue could be blue. It didn’t take them long to see the bridge. It was incredible. The canyon at that point was only a couple hundred feet across, but it was still a marvel. They’d been looking over the canyon walls periodically, and it was more cliff than canyon wall. Small wonder nopony tried to descend. Zyra fussed as they came closer to the gatehouse, now visible, “Captain… we can see what the price is, but we are not fighting the Terran.” Essenta grumbled. Ama perked up, “Fight the Terran? We can do that?!” Zyra called back to her, walking second in the line, “That’s what the barkeep implied, but it’s a bad idea!” Dechaa spoke up, “Zyra… Are you alright? You seem… a little more wound up than you are… ever.” Zyra grabbed Essenta, stopping her roughly; she looked back to Dechaa and Ama, “Listen… we have no idea what we’re doing here. The idea of one of us getting hurt… getting… killed… just to save 10 or 11 days of travel? Don’t even think about it.” The little mage had tears in her eyes. She sniffled, looking down at her front hooves. Dechaa came up to her, hugging her. Zyra buried her face in Dechaa’s cloak, shaking. Essenta felt like a real jerk, standing there. Dechaa looked at her without accusation, or any animosity. It was Zyra’s way. After a moment, she calmed down. “I’m sorry, everypony… I don’t know what came over me.” Essenta hoofed the back of her neck, “No, I’m sorry, Zyra. I’ve just been so wrapped up in this since we might have found another way across.” Zyra wiped her eyes, “I know, Cap. Still… we might as well see what the fare is.” This surprised them, but they exchanged nods and kept walking. Soon, they were at the entrance to the bridge. Dechaa gawked at the way across, “Do you have any idea how much gold this must have cost to build?!” “With materials and labor, it cost about 1.3 tons of gold. That’s 41,600 ounces,” the voice was almost cheerful and… very ladylike. The company jumped at it, though. Turning around, they found themselves facing a heavily armored pony. Behind the facemask, they couldn’t make out the eyes. The figure poked an armored hoof at the ground, “Oh, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to scare you. I suppose you might've guessed, but I’m the gatekeeper.” It was the voice they’d just heard. Essenta sized her up. Even with the armor, she could tell this mare was taller than her. She wasn’t nearly as big as Ama, perhaps the top of her head on level with Essenta’s ear tips. And Essenta was very average in height. The armor looked immensely heavy, but the mare couldn’t have been any bulkier than Essenta or Dechaa. But all Essenta could come up with was, “1.3 tons of gold?” The Terran giggled; it sounded weirder than shit coming out of that terrifying suit of armor, “I know! It’s hard to believe anypony could just throw around that kind of money! Most keepers of any royal coffers would be proud of that.” Zyra whistled; it was hard to even imagine that much gold. Essenta walked forward, “Please, do tell: what is the fare for my party of four to cross the bridge?” The Terran spoke, “Four ounces of gold apiece.” Essenta reeled at the idea. That was insane. Zyra actually laughed, “No, really… How much would it be to cross?” The Terran hoofed the ground again, rather sheepishly, speaking in an almost meek voice, “I… just told you. It would be a pound of gold for all of you to cross… or its equivalent in silver. Please... don’t ask me to do the math in my head...” Essenta was aghast, “Why did this peckerwood merchant build such a thing?! It’s no wonder hardly anypony’s crossed this thing! How would he even make his money back?!” The Terran tilted her head at Essenta’s outburst, “I know it’s a lot, but there’s no need for hysterics… It makes no sense to me, either, but he pays me to guard it.” Crunching the numbers in her head, Essenta realized even if they pulled out all the silver they possessed, with the gold, it would only be worth… seven-and-a-half ounces of gold. They weren’t paying their way across. The Terran shifted in her armor, “Oh, it’s hot in here… Well… you could try your luck at besting me in a sparring match… I… don’t know if you’d want to try, though.” Essenta looked upon the armored Terran, and found she felt pity for her. To be so far away from home. The Terrans weren’t known for living in the west, and it was a fair guess this was the case with her. “Tell me, gatekeeper, what’s your name?” The Terran chuckled, “While you’ve impressed me as an interesting mare, I… I’m too embarrassed to tell you my name.” Essenta did a take. What a strange thing to say! “I, uh… kinda ran away from home a couple years ago. Well… not really ‘ran away’. I thought I’d go see the world. I was tired of ponies telling me I was no good. Then I got stuck out here. This job paid more than picking fruit, so here I am! Another week or two, and the merchant can find a new stooge. I’m going home. I can finally afford to leave, then. Still, I’d… rather just go on as anonymous.” Essenta felt a stronger pity for this mare, but at least she could go home soon. Despite knowing they’d never cross paths again, she felt obligated to do something. “Gatekeeper. My name is Essenta, the First Princess of the Dale. We’re on a journey of our own. I wish you the best fortune and safe travels.” The Terran seemed taken aback, “Wow… Princess Essenta Dale. I’ve heard of you…” Essenta realized she may have just made a grave error, and so did her friends, But… “The jungles down south are most treacherous. I wish you good fortune and safe travels. Thank you for your kindness.” With that, Essenta turned to her group, “Let’s go, everypony. If we move now, we should be able to make that town Zyra showed us on the map.” They began to walk away… except for Ama. Dechaa turned, “Ama?” Essenta and Zyra looked back too. Ama stood, an eager look on her face. She eyed the Terran, a visceral grin creeping across her lips. “Zyra… I am so very sorry. I know you do not wish to see this… I say the same to you, Dechaa. And Essenta, I ask your forgiveness. You may not be my princess, but you are my friend… and my leader.” Ama dropped her gear and unsheathed her greatsword. The ball-and-chain on her back leg jingled. “There is no way I will pass up a chance to fight with a Terran…”