Gays and Dragons

Chapter 9 - On The Road Again

"Maddie, how long till we get to our next destination? I guess Lera is tired already. They have been walking for hours." Chrys asked and I looked at the map for the hundredth time.

It says here that we just have to follow this road and we will see an intersection. Like, how freaking long is this road?

"I don't know. We still didn't see an intersection. And, yeah, you're right. They need to drink some water, but I can't find any swamp nearby." I replied to him as I also noticed that the horses are panting and sweating.

Well, Chrys named his horse Lera and he said that is from the last syllable of his name, Ler. So, I named mine Reo. Still, it's a part of my name.

Then, we kept on going until we heard the sound of flowing water. I guess that's a river. We should stop and let these creatures freshen up.

So, I halted Reo, and Chrys' horse almost bumped on my horse's butt.

"Hey, what's the matter?" He let out and I drove Reo to go to where the source of the sound came from.

"There should be a river nearby! Come on, they need to drink!" I yelled and he just followed behind us.

—-

We walked again for hours and it's almost sunset now and there are still no signs of any intersection. I hope that this map is not bluffing. It's just so strange that we haven't seen any person or even a house along the way. It's just grasslands and forests.

Then, we stopped in our tracks as we heard something like horses running and people talking.

I told Chrys that we need to hide in some bushes to see if who were they. What if they're gangsters or bad people? We should be cautious since we don't know anything about this shitty place that we don't have any idea where on earth is this.

"What are they wearing?" Chrys whispered as we saw the source of the noises.

We hid behind some bushes and observed the three people that have passed with two horses. They're wearing some kind of armor and they have swords. See? What if they are crazy people and will do bad things to us.

"I don't know. Maybe they're going to a costume party." I uttered and we went back to the road as soon as they were far enough from us.

We didn't dare to ask them since they are armed. We don't know if they're pirates too. Well, I guess those are just in the ocean. But they might be just going to a party.

"Or they are the warriors of Sadonia. What do you think?" He asked while grinning and I just gave him a middle finger. Couldn't he just get enough with that?

"Come on, Maddie! What if we really are somewhere very far from our home and from our time? Wouldn't it be so exciting? The adventures of Chrysler Hale and Carreon Maddison, the Heroes of Sadonia. They will defeat the evil dragon and be famous. They will build a statue of us with our horses." He babbled full of emotions and I just looked at him amusingly.

I peeled the banana on my hand and threw the peelings to him.

"Hey! What was that for?" He exclaimed as he was hit on his chest.

"That's for always making me reminded of those witches. We need to get back to the city fast before the sun will set." I stated and I made Reo ran.

Damn, I've always been dreaming of riding a running horse, but we're not that rich and this is just a dream come true for me. Maybe those witches aren't that crazy at all.

"And... speaking of witches." He uttered and we made our horses stopped from running.

It's the intersection from the map. I looked at it and it says here that we need to take the one on the left. It is where we could find Vina's house, she's the Witch of the East and Tessa's sister.

"We should go left, right?" He asked and he's ready to take the road.

And, why the heck would we go to a witch's house?

"We go right," I asserted and went to the one opposite from what they told us.

"What? They said we need to go left." He retorted and I just stared at him.

"They said left is the way to another witch's house and not the city. And, we need to get to the city and not to a witch's house. But if you want to go to that road, go on. I won't force you to go with me. I wanna go home because I really missed my bed." I explained to him and he just nodded his head slowly.

"No, I'll go with you. I wanna go home too and charge my phone." He replied and just as I guessed. He can't do anything since he's too afraid to go on his own.

———

The sun has finally set and we haven't seen any sign of the city. It's so dark and the crickets are the only sound that we can hear. There is also no house or anything at all. I think we are lost.

"Maddie? I guess we should go back and follow what they told us." He stated and we stopped in our tracks.

We can't see anything and we didn't know where we are heading.

"No. We should keep going." I let out sternly and I'm going to go where my instinct leads me. Maybe it's just in the next kilometers.

We kept walking until we are about to trek an elevated landform, and I guess it's a small hill.

And, as we reach the top, we can see a group of faint lights. There could be houses down there, and it is just about a mile away.

"Do you see what I see, Chrys?" I asked him.

"Yeah. It doesn't look like a city to me, but at least there are houses. We need to get there." He answered and we went down with our horses.

---

They really are houses. I think this is a village and they don’t have electricity. There are lots of houses and some people are walking around.

"What is this village? They don't have electricity? And look at what clothes they're wearing, Maddie." Chrys let out as he has observed.

And, he's right, those people are wearing clothes just like Tessa.

Everything is very strange around here. Everything is very old-fashioned. Could they be telling the truth? No, it's not possible. Maybe there is a blackout.

"Yeah, you're right. But let's go ask somebody if they have a motel or an inn around here." I told him and I went down from Reo's back.

We saw a man sitting outside his house while smoking a cigar. I guess that's what it is.

"Uh, excuse me, Mister. What is the name of this village?" I asked him and he was startled to see us.

He looked at us strangely and stood up.

"This is the village of Tehori in the kingdom of Sadonia." He answered and dropped his cigar and stepped on it. Well, I just missed smoking. I have not smoked for two days now.

And, Sadonia again? What's wrong with people around here?

I just shook the thought of that name of the place and asked him if there's an inn around here.

"Okay. Uh, is there any traveler's inn around here in your village?" I asked him and he pointed to the house across the street.

"Thank you so much." I thanked him and we walked to the house that he pointed to.

"Maddie, I swear. These Sadonia things are freaking the hell out of me. I'm actually effin worried. What if it's all true?" He stated while rubbing his arms.

Me too, I am creeped out with this whole thing. And, I don't know what to believe anymore, or it is just us going crazy too?

"No. Maybe it's just… Well, I don't know." I don't know what to say and to think anymore.

This place is creepy and looked like the one we saw in old-themed movies. They have no electricity, the clothes they wear, their food, the things they use, the design of their houses, and whatnot.

---

We walked inside the inn and leaving our horses outside by the post. And at the counter, there's a man in his fifties that is wearing old-time clothes too.

"Um, excuse us, Sir! Do you have any vacant rooms?" I asked him and he looked at us like how the man earlier stared at us. We should be the ones to look at them like that.

"Yes. Ten gold coins for every room." He sated with his very low voice.

Did he say gold coins? What's that?

Chrys and I looked at each other, and then, I asked for some money from him.

"We have twenty dollars. Can we get two rooms?" I let out and handed him the bills.

He examined it by looking at it in front and back. Did he never see any dollar bills before?

"Is this some kind of special paper?" He asked curiously.

How dare he say our money is a special paper? What is wrong with this man?

"What? No, it's the currency of the United States of America. What's the matter with you people? Are you uncivilized?" I ranted since he handed the money back and shaking his head 'no'.

"Where is that place? And, that is not money. This is money." He contended and showed us gold coins with no figures in them. It's just plainly flattened gold. Now, this is going weirder and weirder.

"What? No, that is just gold and you need to sell that to have money. This is money, Old Man." Chrys started and I guess he's annoyed now. Like, who wouldn't?

"Go, and take your money with you. Nobody accepts that here in Sadonia." He let out and shooed us away.

How dare he? What really is this Sadonia place that they kept on mentioning?

We walked outside while frowning, and clearly, we don't know what else to do. Then, we took our horses with us as we walked to the street. We don't know where we should go now.

"I'm starting to believe the witches, Maddie," Chrys stated out of nowhere and we stopped in our tracks.

A deep sigh escaped from my mouth, and no, this is not real at all. There could be somebody that can get us back to the city.