“May this mighty shield forever protect our great civilization, and the courage of our forces destroy any who dare call us an enemy.”
[A phrase enshrined upon Chicago’s northwest gate]
[Pov Dar]
Once we left WindTrail, it was a straight path to Chicago, and off course we didn’t leave right away. There was an hour or so where we mostly had breakfast, and Emily got a chance to say goodbye to her mother and Lip for we won’t be seeing them again for possibly months. As the wagon made it’s way down the clear plains, Emily spoke with her sitting right next to me.
“Hope Mummah am otay’ whiwe am gone, feews wike a bit of a betwayaw weabin’ hew at Windtwaiw aftah ebewythin’ we’be been fwooh…”
I speak, trying to provide reassurances.
“It’s what she wouwd hab wanted. Wiff how cwazy ebewythin’ am getting, bein’ in a quiet pwace must feew gud.”
Emily gives a slight nod and I hear Aubrey speak to us in the back of the wagon.
“How am ‘ou two eben goin’ to get an awwiance wiff Chicago exactwy? Aubwey doesn’t think dey just wet anyone wawtz into gobewnment buiwdings.”
Aubrey made a fair point. I was pushing this question along as we traveled, but now that we were mere hours from Chicago I guess it now had to be answered. I think for a second, than speak.
“We’ww head to dah Motow embassy, that wouwd be ouw bestes’ bet.”
As morning turned into early afternoon, it was a pretty silent and boring trip. The only things that separated the plains were the few farming villages we saw and the occasional trader that passed us. Finally as I was looking down, deep in personal thought I felt Emily tap my shoulder and speak in a awestruck tone.
“Daw ‘ou nee’ to see dis! Wewe, hewe…”
Looking up I see the absolute behemoth over the horizon. Standing as tall as the old Imperial Place I see a giant metal and stone wall that starts at the great sea and seems to go west forever. Everyone looks just as shocked and amazed as I am, and Kri speaks looking the most shocked.
“You outsiders are insane!”
Emily speaks looking up at the structure.
“Emiwy heawd Chicago had a defensibe waww suwwoundin’ it, buh fwuffy nebah imagined somethin’ wike dis!”
the closer we got to Chicago the more impressed I became. The wall was so tall that you couldn’t even see any buildings behind it, and as we kept getting closer I noticed dozens of grooves in the wall. Most likely meaning they were walkways so wall wasn’t just one giant things of metal, but some sort of castle with possibly thousands of individual rooms inside of it, like a city in of itself…
As we finally arrived at the outward urban area of Chicago we saw a large sign.
[Outer Chicago]
[Entry into Inner Chicago for foreigners or suspicious individuals may require wagon search or questioning]
[Changelings are forbidden to enter Inner Chicago, trespassers will face hard labor or execution]
Heading to Inner Chicago I could see that the streets were large and spacious (Enough room for 2 wagons to go side by side) And the buildings were a combination of stone and wood, with us on a street that had lot’s of businesses. It was also packed, with us seeing hundreds of Chicago citizens going about there day but something was strange about it. Many looked very unhappy, with very few talking to each other. Emily seemed to have noticed this as well and spoke as we got closer and closer to the wall.
“Ebewyone wooks su tense, I wondah why?”
Finally we had reached what looked like a gate to Inner Chicago. By now we were so close to the wall that it completely blocked out the sky, and at the gate I saw around a dozen Talon knights guarding it and a large banner of the Chicago Confederation (The banner was split down it’s center with the left side being a dark green background with the hoove of a fluffy, and the right side being a white background with a talon)
As we stopped right at the gate I saw a memorial plaque that gave some interesting insight on this place.
[Here we give our thanks to those who built this magnificent structure, The shield of Chicago. Originally ordered for construction by former Grandmaster and first puffy Royal Governor Torres Kiperman. It took the combined effort of over hundred thousand and over 50 years but it had finally been finished, and the shield stands as the greatest of all great wonders of the world]
As we made it to the gate I thought we might be able to go through, as the wagon infront of us wasn’t even checked. But as it came time for us to go, a Talon knight raised his talon and spoke.
“It looks like we have some foreigners. Stop!”
I stop the wagon and the talon knight who stopped us approached with a few other knights, and once he got right next to me he spoke.
“By you’re armor I know you are a guard of the King of Motor, what are you doing coming here?”
I speak, trying my best not to draw suspicion.
“We hab impowtant business to do in dah Motow embassy, bewy impowtant.”
A Talon knight who walked to the back of the wagon speaks in complete shock.
“Commander… You’re going to have see this!”
The Talon knight who was next to be heads over to the back of the wagon and his face is one of complete shock as he sees Kri sitting in the back. The commander speaks, looking back at me.
“What!? Who!? Explain this!”
Before I had a chance to speak, Emily does.
“She comes fwom a wand faw ‘way. We nee’ to head to dah Embassy ‘cos we am on a bewy impowtant dipwomatic mission. Dewe am a fweat comin’ fwom dah east!”
The Talon knights look like they have no idea what to do, than the Commander speaks, looking at Emily.
“Say this threat… Has a name Elohim have anything to do with it?”
We do nothing for a few seconds before Kri nods slowly and the commander looks as cold as winter. Finally he speaks looking at the other knights.
“Escort this wagon to the Motor Embassy at once…”
The commander runs off and with a gesture the gate opens and I begin moving the wagon again. We enter a large tunnel going through the Shield, where at the end I can see light. As we draw near I speak looking at one of the Talon Knights next to me.
“Whewe did am commandah go?”
The Talon Knight looks at me and speaks in a neutral voice.
“Off to go inform the Grandmaster and Royal Governor, you’re Royal Guard friend just gave us the only clue in the murder of HeadPriest Goldwing.” Fin
Thank you for reading my story! As I was writing this it finally came to me that this story is going to be a lot longer than I initially thought, with I easily going to surpass the original Last Hope. But still it was nice writing this part, as finally getting to Chicago and describing The Shield of Chicago (I imagined it as something you’d see in the 7 wonders of the world) Of course constructive criticism is appreciated, and may you have a good day!