The Eastern City

While standing outside the house, "Are we going to fly again to the city?" Winifred asked.

"Yes! But not directly to the city. We'll only go halfway, then walk or take a ride. You're excited to fly again, right?" Elise replied.

"Ohh, yes! I mean... ahah!" Failing to hide her excitement, Winifred replied.

"Let's go! Grab my hand!" Elise said, offering her hand to Winifred.

"Okay!" Winifred grabbed Elise's hand tightly again, and they were ready to go.

Elise started going upward in the air with Winifred. "Today we're going higher than before! Is that okay?" Elise asked.

"Ok!" Winifred replied.

After reaching the necessary height, Elise stopped. It was higher than before. Elise turned with Winifred towards the east, where the sun was rising and where she had found Winifred. Behind them, in the west, was a very tall mountain covering the entire west side. Both the north and south were covered by dense forests. Towards the east, where Winifred and Elise were looking, was an open, beautiful grassland. There was also a road coming from the mountain, crossing the grassland, and disappearing towards the horizon.

"Listen carefully, Winifred. We're going towards the east. There's a city there. Look carefully: the north and south are dense forests, and they are very dangerous. Many dangerous monsters, animals, and bandits live there, so don't go there. Also, the mountain behind us has dense forests as well. That's where our home is. Do you understand, Winifred?"

"Yes! I understand," Winifred replied, understanding Elise was starting to teach her.

"You must have found me because you were heading to the city, right?" Winifred asked, looking at Elise.

"Yes!" Elise replied.

"Okay, so let's go!" Elise said.

Elise and Winifred continued flying eastward. While flying, Elise said, "The reason we're only flying partway is that flying magic is very advanced magic. I don't want to grab attention!"

"O... okay, I understand," Winifred replied with a bit of shock.

"This is the place where I was attacked by that monster," Winifred said in a serious voice.

"Yeah! Don't worry, it's dead now," Elise said.

Elise increased her speed, quickly passing the area where the monster had attacked Winifred. Once they passed, Elise returned to her normal speed. Winifred understood why Elise did that as she looked at her.

While flying eastward, Winifred noticed that the grassland was on high ground. At the end of the grassland, the land sloped downward, connecting to the city below. In the distance, a circular-shaped city came into view.

Elise and Winifred landed near the edge of the grassland, where the slope began.

The city was circular. In the middle was a palace, surrounded by similar buildings, all enclosed by a white stone wall taller than other buildings but shorter than the palace, allowing sunlight to reach the area. Four circular walls divided the city into sections.

Inside the first circular wall was the palace area, which was small but well-protected. The second circular wall enclosed beautiful houses and impressive buildings. The third circular wall surrounded a bustling market area filled with shops and trade centers. This area was crowded with many buildings, none of which seemed to be houses. The outermost and largest circle was for the middle-class and poor residents. This area was filled with various houses and buildings and was the second most crowded area after the marketplace.

The entire city was located at the end of a valley. To the south of the city was another grassland with a river flowing through it. To the north was a deep valley with a waterfall from the river. The valley stretched eastward before turning north. Beyond the valley was another vast grassland leading to a large green mountain.

From their vantage point at the edge of the slope, the entire city and the eastern valley were visible. The sunlight illuminated the city, and the clear sky was dotted with birds flying towards the northern valley.

"It's beautiful!" Winifred said, looking at the city.

"Yeah, I know. This is my favorite spot. You can see the whole city and the eastern valley from here. I knew you'd like this view," Elise replied with a smile, also looking at the city.

"We'll walk from here. Let's go," Elise said.

"Okay!" Winifred replied.

Elise and Winifred started walking towards the city, following a road that led down the slope to the city gate.

"Winifred, I'm going to tell you about this, so listen carefully, okay?"

"O... okay," Winifred said.

"This city is part of the Amber Empire, which covers seven percent of this world," Elise said.

"What? Seven percent? That's huge!" Winifred replied.

"No... actually, the Amber Empire is one of the smallest empires in this world."

"What...! Smallest?" Winifred replied in shock.

"Yes, the smallest and bravest empire in the history of this world," Elise replied, smiling as she looked at the city.

"What? The bravest empire in history!" Winifred asked.

"Yes! The bravest empire in history," Elise replied with a smile on her face.

"I'll tell you this history later, okay?"

"Okay!" Winifred said.

"Run, Winifred! The carriage is coming; we need to catch it!" Elise grabbed Winifred's hand and started running towards the carriage.

The carriage was coming from the north side of the road, heading towards the city.

"Oh... I didn't notice there was a road from the north too," Winifred said while running with Elise.

"You were lost in the view."

"Yeah, I was."

"We made it just in time," Elise said.

[Deep breath] Winifred exhaled heavily.

The carriage turned towards the city and stopped near Elise and Winifred.

"Let's go, Winifred. Get on," Elise said.

"Okay!" Winifred replied.

Elise and Winifred sat on the carriage, which had one horse attached to it.

The back of the carriage was covered. A man was sitting at the front, controlling the carriage with the help of the horse. Inside the carriage, there was space for six people to sit comfortably. The carriage also had two windows on each side, allowing enough air to come inside. It was big in size and designed for transportation purposes.