27th Mayonet 5384

My feet are sore from the full day of travelling at such a slow pace today, but it has been a good day of travelling.  I'm currently writing this from the inn at the foot of the Nin Ridge that separates Neverland from Nothing and forms a natural boundary. between the two counties.  The ridge actually starts as a series of hills in Nonsense, on the Peninsula of Flying Pigs and runs south towards the mountainous regions of the heartland south of Nyteville.  Ah, but I'm way ahead of myself.

Well, last night when my candle burnt out, I believe I was talking about having caught up with my aristocratic visitor.  He had his right hand on a beast called a lion, which was golden in colour and had hair around its face such that it looked almost like the sun.  There were no such beast here in Nostalgia though, which gave me the perfect opening at a conversation.

"Good day, sir!" I called out.

The man in front stopped in his tracks.  Ick and I drew closed with him and faced him.  Up close there was nothing outstanding about him that showed that he was an aristrocrat, except perhaps for his regal stature and the beast that was beside him.  He stood tall and proud, slim built, limbs long and slender by his side.  Hair the colour of a raven's plumage, it shone as the sun reflected off the natural sheen of his hair.  His eyes stared straight ahead, unblinking and was the colour of hay that was wet.  His lips were blood red, a natural colour, not painted perhaps like some of the women in some of the less attractive parts of the big cities in the east.  He smelt slightly of damp earth, as if he had spent the night out in the countryside.

"Do I know you?" he called out.  His voice was a nice baritone, low enough to be masculine sounding, yet not too low that it's unpleasant.

"No", I said and introduced myself with my lesser known nickname and then Ick.  Curiously, Josh neither turned his head when I introduced Ick, but the lion turned his head to take a peek at Ick and then yawned.

"Are you heading to Nada?", I enquired.

"Yes, but how did you know?", Josh asked, as his face contorted to convey puzzlement.

"This is the main road to Nada", I said by way of reply.  "I hope we aren't imposing, but would you mind some company on the way to Nada?  We are headed that way ourselves.  Safety in numbers."  I said and smiled.

"How can I refuse?", the son of a Duc replied with a laugh.

And so we journey along the main road.  I tried drawing out the reason why he was in the duchy unannounced and without any guards, not even a show of ceremonial armour guards.  He must have travelled, presumably alone across the length of the empire to this remote unfashionable duchy that I govern.  However, like that are all born and raised in an aristocratic family, he answered my questions while giving nothing away.  In response to his questions, I told him I was on my way to the festival in the Wasteland of Nothing.  He seemed to accept that.

About an hour before the sun set, we reached the hamlet of Pixdust, where with much charm and persuasion, I first managed to coax both man and beast into the hamlet and then with more charm and persuasion and a little more gold than is customary, I manage to secure a stall at the stable of the Broken Arrow Inn, for the lion.

I invited Josh to join Ick and myself for a meal at the inn.  He was rather reluctant to leave his lion at first, but common courtesy demanded that he do so.  He stumbled as he crossed the threshold of the stable and I cursed myself inwardly for my insensitivity.  I took his left hand and placed it on my right shoulder and lead him to the inn, muttering phrases like "Careful now, uneven floor" or "Turn left" and such like.  So the rumours were true.  He had the ability to see through the eyes of the Lion, but was otherwise sightless.

This two-storey inn catered for the merchant traffic headed towards Nada and the west coast and it was rather well to do.  A huge fireplace decorated the southern wall of the tavern and bar on the ground floor, with a huge hunch of beef roasting above it.  The winds from the north blew through the windows on the north wall and kept this room cool in summer.  In winter the windows will be closed and the room will be heated from the fireplace.

I ordered three servings of roast beef and it was served with fried potatoes and local greens.  I also got the barmaid to wrap two servings of beef for the lion.  Josh ate with relish, indeed, it was probably his aristocratic upbringing that prevented him from losing his table manners.  It seems as if it had been a long time since he had has such a good meal.  The meal was washed down with the bitter tea that is served here in Nostalgia.  Neither Ick nor myself drink while we are on the road and I did offer to buy Josh an ale, but he refused with good grace.

We walked Josh back to the stable, to present the lion with the roast beef.  This time though, I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand, as long as Josh's hand was on my shoulder.  It seemed as if he needed less coaching on the way back.  I put it down to him having travelled the way before, although, I was not so certain if that was the full explaination.

At the stable, I tried again to persuade Josh to spend the evening with Ick and myself in the room that we have acquired for the evening, but Josh was steadfast in his decision to spend the night next to his lion.  They hay was fresh and I was sure that the lion will provide enough security for the young noble, so I didn't push the matter further.

Ah.  It was good that I was wise enough to request a second candle for tonight, else I would have to stop here.  Now that this second candle is lit, I have perhaps another half an hour to get my thoughts and memories for today onto parchment.

Today dawned dry and bright again, typical for a summer in Neverland.  We bought some bread, cheese and dried fruit from the tavern and met Josh at the stables.  He was still sleepy, and I think it was the lion that woke him up.  We hiked back onto the main road and breakfast under a shady tree beside the road.

 The pace was slow today, although a little faster than yesterday.  I wondered if Josh's boots were giving him any troubles and made a mental note to myself about it.  Well, today, I learnt that the lion was named Lionel, which I thought was rather unimaginative.  I held my tongue though.  Again the conversation was light and unsubstantial.  At one point during the day, I wondered whether he had guessed my true identity, but I decided I was probably paranoid.

We reached the foothills of the Nin Ridge mid afternoon and detoured slightly to the village of Clawse.  Again, we procured a stall for Josh and Lionel at the stable of The Travelling Sojourner, the local inn and had dinner at the tavern adjoining the inn.  Dinner wasn't as splendid as last nights, but the local sausage and snow peas with home made bread was still better than anything we have feasted on today.  Again, I ordered some sausages for Josh to bring back to Lionel.

Both times tonight when Josh had his hands on my shoulders, when I was leading him to and from dinner, the hairs at the back of my neck all stood up again.  It was most peculiar.

So here I am, in this room in The Travelling Sojourner.  Ick is asleep quietly, although, I'm sure that he would come alive at the slightest hint of a threat.  Josh is bedding with Lionel in the stable.  Tomorrow we'll tackle crossing the Nin Ridge and then across to Nothing as well.

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