The main gate to Pax is known as the Forest Gate. It is usually manned by two bored looking guards of the Pax Honestus, the legion formed to keep order in the new outpost. Apart from the usual farm traffic that comes to and fro on a regular basis, most new arrivals come through the portal and the gate guards have little to do save stare into the nearby forest. Paths from the gate lead down into the forest and the River Clearwater.
The most notable thing apparent to new arrivals is not the gate or guards but rather the long, high, elegant walls of the town. The Wall (Pax) has an air of balance and grace to it, despite the fact that it also looked sturdy enough to withstand whole armies - and its design was somehow foreign to the eyes - unlike everything else in Pax, which was simple and functional and the very opposite of beautiful, the wall was built to some completely different standard. As if it had been plucked from elsewhere, from another city, and simply plonked here without thought. Or as if it had always been here, in spirit.
The dapper looking Sergeant Caverton often tends the gate. He is assisted by Private Jarren Youngblood
The early afternoon sun shone down, filtered by the forest canopy above. Tink could hear faint birdsong in the distance, and the occasional rustle of wildlife in the underbrush off on either side of the path. He always enjoyed summer time in the mountains, a brief respite from the snow and winds. Summer in Pax, however, was apparently a bit warmer than Tink was used to -- he had shed his tunic early in the day and the shade in the forest was keeping the temperature quite pleasant. Back home he'd still be wearing his tunic, especially in the shade!
The light gradually grew brighter as the trees thinned out. Tink urged his pony to pick up the pace a touch, "Come on Lazy, we're almost there!" He was getting excited at the prospect of reaching Pax Balthasar, though his excitement was flavored with a hint of apprehension -- Tink was just about out of food and his meagre supply of coin was dwindling fast. He continued chattering to his pony as they left the forest and approached the gate to Pax Balthasar.
"It's about time too, don't you think? I'll be happy for a bed to sleep on, a roof that doesn't leak, and maybe even a meal I didn't have to cook for myself. Not that your meals are cooked anyways, but you know what I mean. Or at least you would know what I meant if you could understand what I was saying..."
As they came closer to the guards at the Forest Gate, Tink smiled brightly at the older guard, and started talking...
"Hi, my name is Tink, but you can call me Tink. I'm from Khan! Well, I was born in Khan, and I grew up in Khan too, have you ever been to Khan? Maybe you met my Dad, his name is Dinkum, but anyways, I'm coming from Killem'toh, that's where I went after Khan, I was apprenticed to Frederick Hailstish, he's an astronomer, and he lives in a little cabin up on top of the mountain there, though he spends most of his time on the observing platform, rather than in his cabin. Have you been? It's amazing! You can see all kinds of crazy things in the sky, things I never knew existed, do you know what a Nebula is? I do! Well, really, actually, I don't know what it is, but I know what it looks like! I've seen it! I drew a picture of it once, but Frederick threw it in the fire and made me do it again. And again. And again. And that wasn't much fun, but I did it anyways, but looking for new things in the telescope was much more fun than drawing pictures of the same stupid thing over and over again. But anyways, that's what I was doing in Killem'toh but I'm not in Killem'toh anymore, I'm on my way to Pax Balthasar! Actually, I suppose I've arrived at Pax Balthasar, this is Pax Balthasar isn't it? That's what my map says it should be, want to see?"
At this point Tink paused to take a breath, and began fishing around in his saddlebag, looking for his map.