And so I walked down slope,

  Sun to the back, rays of hope?

  Perhaps, perhaps.

  For this journey, I consulted many maps,

  Acquiring some of which got me many slaps,

  But t'was worth the pain.

  And so, as I reached the Western Plain,

  Did it begin to rain,

  Absolutely lovely.

  For I enjoyed it verily,

  Did it most certainly,

  No sarcasm here.

  Yet criticising weather remains unfair,

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Rain here, Sun there;

  Such is the nature of life.

  I missed my wife,

  Most terribly; with pain I was rife,

  Would my children grow without me?

  The hills ended, flat land to see,

  Soldiers collecting the Lord's fee,

  In flesh and gold.

  I remembered what I was told,

  When on this mission I was sold,

  Bypass the fields and head to town.

  I recalled the thought with a frown,

  Inane paper pushers made me a clown!

  Why?

  Why, to myself did I lie?

  I thought with a sigh,

  How did I delude myself?

  A man bringing pain to himself,

  Like a fat one grabbing food off all shelfs,

  Can only be considered to be of weak reasoning.

  And as such was continuing,

  My introspection and thinking,

  I arrived on the outskirts of Alta Mirah.

  The city strangely silent, no shouts, no hurrahs,

  No shouts of a vendor, "Fair price, Sirrah";

  My spine shivered.