In the battle between two legs and four, they find themselves on the back foot from the beginning.
The burdenless horses gallop wildly as the giant bird flies further and further, leaving exhausted Bessmert and Yenisei far behind.
Yenisei: pants
Yenisei: Madam ...
Their stamina slips away faster than it did before on the plains.
Their actions become increasingly labored, and their steps slow to a plodding halt.
Bessmert: Are we going upstream?
Bessmert: If we are, he must be taking his preys back to his nest. Is-Is there a forest there?
Yenisei: I'm sorry, Madam. I can't ... I can't think right now.
Yenisei: I can't see ... anything. Only ... stars ...
Yenisei: exhales
The girl suddenly realizes that she can no longer pull Bessmert along.
With her energy dwindling, the sudden pause only leaves her more flustered.
Yenisei: Huh?
Yenisei: Why ... pants ... Why stop?
Yenisei: pants
Bessmert: ...
Bessmert: I hear horses, right in front of us.
Bessmert: And people.
And not just people.
The clamor of commerce, a melody in the trundling of carriages, rolling wheels on the ground, and the sound of footsteps on the soil and stones soon follow ...
No matter what lies ahead ...
Bessmert: No. It's not a forest.
Yenisei: There are walls and people ... I-I don't understand. Wait ... Could it be ...
Hard city walls made of earth and stone, and a soaring gate tower, the likes of which they have never seen before, encompass the bustling town and the vivid figures within.
The gate is opened wide. Pedestrians pass under it, as guards wearing silver armor stand at the entrance to the city.
Yenisei: Emm, is it ... a supply station?
Yenisei: No, no ...
Yenisei: Where ... Where on earth are we?!
Bessmert: Child, please tell me where we are.
Bessmert: I can't hear the rustling of the sand rice anymore, but there are other noises. I'm thinking ... is this a settlement?
The girl shakes her head, failing to answer Bessmert's question.
Having never seen such a place before, she is naturally apprehensive of all that stands before her.
Yenisei: No. At least it doesn't look like one. Not like any towns or villages we've seen.
Yenisei: I-I think I'm seeing another illusion. I see a desert, some plants, and a wooden pavilion on the yellow walls.
Yenisei: The roof of the pavilion looks like bird wings, and the people down the walls are quite different from us ...
Bessmert: Walls and people, right? Only a city has walls around it. I also hear those noises. It's not an illusion.
Yenisei: No, you don't understand. Those yellow walls and the gates don't look real at all!
Yenisei: I've never seen any buildings like this. A pavilion on the stone walls with four pointy tips around the roof. They seem to be flying in the mid-air ...
Bessmert: Perhaps it's just a foreign architectural style.
Yenisei: Besides, we couldn't have gone far enough to reach a city, unless ... unless it's a fake one.
Yenisei: We must not go there rashly.
Bessmert: We've lost track of the giant bird and the others long before we heard the noises of this city. The last thing I can recall is that the flapping of the huge wings disappeared in the south.
The girl tightly clasps Bessmert's sleeve, realizing that things are sliding in a direction beyond her control.
Bessmert: The city wall before you is also to the south, is it not?
Bessmert quietly turns her face toward Yenisei. Even though the girl knows her eyes are covered by fabric and are unable to see a thing, this gesture still possesses the power of a gaze.
A kind of soothing, stable, but at the same time questioning power.
Yenisei: Madam ... you are doing it again. You never listen to me.
Bessmert: Child, we are standing in the right place.
Bessmert: Behind these walls, our teammates might be suffering due to my misjudgment.
Yenisei pauses a brief moment, before she makes up her mind.
Yenisei: The gate is open. I can see the people in the city.
Yenisei: But there are guards patrolling around. They are holding some spear-like weapons, and the one in the front looks ...
Yenisei: Quite different from us.
Yenisei: I don't think they understand our language, even if we ask them to let us in ... Remember those herders? Almost impossible to communicate with them without an interpreter!
Bessmert: Hope our "travel documents" can get us through that gate.
