Chapter 478: A Traveler and His Wife
"Woah, what is that, a dinosaur?!" Benjamin reacted like a child at a zoo when he spotted a beast from the distance.
His eyes went wide, his mouth fell open, and he pointed with undisguised excitement at the massive creature that was grazing on the distant plains.
It was extremely massive, reaching up to 160 feet tall and bulky just like a heavy dinosaur.
Its sheer size was almost incomprehensible, a mountain of flesh and bone that dominated the landscape around it.
The ground trembled with each step it took, sending ripples through the earth that could be felt from miles away.
Its body was vast and rounded, resembling that of an anteater in its general shape, with a very long neck that extended upward like a crane and a small head perched at the top.
The head seemed almost comically small compared to the enormity of the body, a tiny capstone on a mighty pillar of life.
It was grazing on trees as if the trees were grasses.
Its long neck would bend, its small head would descend, and it would strip an entire tree of its leaves in a single, sweeping motion.
The trees that had taken decades to grow were consumed in moments, their branches and foliage disappearing into the creature’s maw like blades of grass into a hungry mouth.
The Colossal Longneck moved with a slow, deliberate grace, its massive legs carrying it across the terrain with an almost serene dignity.
"That is a Colossal Longneck, Benjamin," Heka spared the beast a glance, her voice flowing with a note of indifference that showed her familiarity to it.
She had seen such creatures before, had grown up in a world where such wonders were commonplace. "What is a... dainasou?"
"Ah, it’s something from my world." Benjamin was still stuck watching the giant, his blue eyes wide with childlike wonder, his mouth hanging open in unabashed amazement. "Really cool reptile fellas, but they were extinct before I died over there. Though I have seen quite similar things to them in this world."
They met other types of beasts as they traveled, and Benjamin toyed with amazing predators that sought to devour them in their sleep.
He would wake in the middle of the night to find a pack of razor-toothed beasts circling their camp, their eyes gleaming in the darkness, their growls low and menacing.
And instead of running or fighting, Benjamin would simply stare at their majestic form in awe, his presence so overwhelming that the predators would whimper and retreat with their tails between their legs.
It was an unintentional display of dominance that left Heka both impressed and slightly unsettled.
***
They had started entering places where they spotted humans around going about their daily lives; women with children and bowls meant to hold water in.
The landscape had shifted from the wild savannah to something more cultivated and civilized. Small huts dotted the horizon, their thatched roofs rising above the tall grass like islands in a golden sea.
The sounds of daily life drifted across the distance, the laughter of children, the chatter of women, the lowing of livestock. It was a peaceful scene, a welcome respite from the dangers of the wilds.
"Good afternoon, travelers!" One woman greeted when the duo moved to a stream to lead Maximus—Benjamin had named him—to drink water.
Her voice was warm and welcoming, carrying across the distance.
"Ah, thank you! Good afternoon to you too!" Benjamin responded, his voice bright and cheerful, his smile wide.
As Benjamin spoke back to her, Heka and the woman flinched a bit.
Heka had flinched harder, turning to look at Benjamin with surprised eyes, which were wide, her brow furrowed, as if she had just witnessed something impossible.
"Ah... Ahaha, I did not expect you to be so fluent in my mother’s tongue," the young woman giggled after she recovered, her hand coming up to cover her mouth in a gesture of surprise.
Her laughter was light and musical, with a note of delight that seemed to brighten the air around her. "And I see you are with your... wife?"
The woman had deep red hair braided and falling over one shoulder, the strands catching the afternoon light and shimmering like copper threads.
She was dressed in a slightly tribal looking garment that echoed a pale robe, with high slits that revealed glimpses of her long legs as she moved.
The fabric was light and airy, and it flowed around her form like water.
Naturally, since our author will always be our author, the lady was very fair and beautiful, with bright red eyes that sparkled with intelligence and warmth.
Her features were delicate, her skin smooth, her presence captivating in a way that appeared supernatural.
"Yes, we were trying to explore some part of the Wilds before we go to Goliathens, our destination," Benjamin happily responded, his voice flowing with the same easy warmth he always exuded.
He did not correct her assumption and deny that Heka was his wife. And Heka felt a blush spread across her cheeks at the implication.
"May I suggest you spend the night at my village? My father’s brother is the chief, and he has been looking for a way to repay the Amazons for a favor they helped us with years ago." The woman’s eyes were earnest, her smile genuine, her offer clearly born of both hospitality and gratitude.
"Hm?" Benjamin turned to look at the blushing dark-skinned lady beside him, his brow furrowing slightly with curiosity. "So you can tell she is an Amazon?"
"My, surely you jest..." The woman made a wry smile, her red eyes glinting with amusement. "With that amount of magical energy and dense presence... with the dark skin and vined tattoos... Anyone will immediately identify her as one. The Amazons are legendary throughout the Wilds, their power and their beauty known to all who dwell in these lands. Was I wrong?"
"No, no... I was wondering how you were wonderfully concealing your own magic power," Benjamin said seriously, his blue eyes narrowing slightly as he studied the woman before him. "So it’s that Amazons are the anomaly? That their power is so obvious that it makes others seem ordinary by comparison?"
The woman smiled once more. "My name is Neelei, daughter of Galt, from the Khairkhan tribe. Should I take this to mean you accept my request?"
"When a pretty lady like you is asking? I have no choice but to agree," Benjamin raised a thumb up in approval and Neelei was pleased, her smile widening at his easy acceptance. "But you don’t mind me calling you Lei, right?"
"Do as you please, Sir. Benjamin," she bowed her neck, but her back remained straight.
The gesture was one of respect, of deference, but it was also one of dignity, a recognition that she was offering hospitality as an equal, not as a supplicant.