Man. What a kick to the testicles.
Today we arrived at a city by the name of Desert's Edge. It's apparently the last major population center before arriving in the desert that's been our destination all this time, and, unlike the other cities we've stumbled across in our journey, it has no wall. I guess they have less trouble in general 'round these parts. Our stocks dwindling and our boredom piqued (if boredom can be piqued), we decided to give the place a once-over.
I'm still in rough shape. I may be awake and largely alert, but the bump on my head still hurts like hell. Especially in the cold of the night. The pain makes me woozy, the wooziness makes me stumble, and stumbling is plain bad. I had to rely on Fynn to help me through the streets of Desert's Edge, and, given that he's quite powerful, he had no trouble lugging me around. At points he was practically cradling me in his arms as we went from shop to shop.
(Speaking of Fynn, that kid has gotten big. Must be eight feet tall now, easily the largest of any of us. His head's scraping the Dauphine's ceilings. That may become problematic if he decides to keep growing...)
Desert's Edge is a nice enough spot, I suppose. It's largely a merchant's paradise, somewhat similar to Trademore, though the merchants are more practical. Where Trademore's dudes sold action figures and decorative glassware and silly clothes, the people of Desert's Edge sell shovels and weapons and tents specifically tailored for desert travel. From what we hear the western wastes are quite harsh, though there are enough natural resources (cactuses, sand worms, surface mineral deposits, etc) to make travel through them a worthy enterprise.
This fact is not the kick in the testicles. The kick came when I got my first look at the populace.
Every day since Fynn was born I was forced to compare him to... y'know... Edmund. Call me racist if you want, but when you know so few people with chocolate skin you're bound to compare 'em. Castle LongGone was completely white before Ed showed up, and Villeinville was no better. So when I look at Fynn, I think of Ed. Just a bit. It's inevitable, and sad.
I, uh, may also think of Bora. But... well, I guess she was a different kind of chocolate. More like pure black. Sooo... we'll... we'll just leave her outta this.
Desert's Edge consists largely of two species: humans and snake people. The snake people are either a deep orange or a dusty brown, and frankly I couldn't care less about their colouring. The humans, though... they're all... well, they're chocolate-coloured. It's a city of Eds. And yes, I know, they all look different, and some aren't as chocolate as others, and some are old and some are young, and some are men and women and maybe something else, but... for just a brief second, when I first see each one...
They're all Ed.
And that makes me real sad.
We're sticking 'round town for a while. Doc's departure from life has us convinced that we can take it easy for at least the rest of the week, and given that we're about to enter one of the harshest landscapes on the planet I think we need the time off. Let's just pray Grayson and June don't show up to ruin our fun. Haven't seen him in a while...
Sincerely,
Dragomir the Wanderer
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