The Ride to Riverston
The Ride to Riverston
The Heartwood Diaries III
In-universe date: Era Nova, February--March, Year 2
Real-world date: 13 August 2026
Author: Stella Heartwood
At the break of dawn, I departed the estate with my party, composed of me, Sheriff Galloway, and Mayor Johnston.
Truth be told, it'd be my first time traveling to Riverston. All throughout my life, I had never ventured far within Coronado, only going so far as Red Cliff Lake. This was a new experience.
However, Riverston wouldn't be far, and it would only take roughly an hour or two to reach it.
We took the side roads, then the main road, before reaching Riverston. We hitched our horses just outside of town, then walked in.
The buildings were old and crooked, and It became clear to me that the town had not developed much, at all, since the original settling of Coronado. The buildings, which had clearly survived for over 100 years, had begun showing their severe age. The buildings rarely showed the original oak, with the local acacia taking up the space from patches and fixes.
We set up a meeting with the Mayor, James Glover, on the outskirts of town, underneath an Acacia tree. We arrived first, and spent our time waiting for Glover, and his party, to arrive.
An almost agonizing amount of time passed, before Glover arrived.
But, to our surprise, it was just him.
Glover took a seat.
"Well, who do I owe the occasion to?" Glover began.
It was clear he didn't know much of Demeralia, much like our knowledge of Riverston.
The Mayor replied, "Mayor of Demeralia, along with Sheriff Galloway and Councillor Heartwood."
"Ah, its been a while since I've spoke to a Demeralian, much less the mayor. I'd have never expected y'all to come visit us up here."
Glover paused, then leaned forward.
"Why have you come here?"
"As you've been aware, the Governor's position has been vacant for quite some time. Now, I don't know why, and frankly its not my position to know, but your people have been coming down south, and causing a ruckus. I don't want to start a war, which is why we need to gather, and elect a Governor."
Glover sighed, then leaned back, putting his hands in his pockets.
"Mr. Mayor, I understand you want to prevent bloodshed, but, frankly, I'm tired of having a snot nosed Governor deciding what's best for us, and telling us why we shouldn't have issues with you. You shouldn't have bothered coming here."
Glover stood up, and walked back to his horse, and quickly rode away.
We were left stunned.
We were set back to square zero.
We rode back into Demeralia, then the Heartwood Estate, that evening. We sat in the dining room, still stunned after what happened.
"What happens now?" I asked.
No reply.
It was clear that Riverston wanted no peace.
But I don't want war, and neither does the Mayor or Sheriff.
We needed to formulate a new plan, and preferably, soon.