Authors: Laszlo,Jeremy
Garret
Morning came quickly, and with its coming, Garret and his companions awoke and prepared to travel the last few hours to the fortified city of Valdadore. They decided before leaving that they would let the horses again drink from the river, so they slung their packs onto their shoulders, untied their respective mounts and led them to the water. The horses drank enthusiastically for many minutes while their temporary masters waited impatiently for them to finish.
Finally, seemingly satiated, the horses lost interest in the water and the four companions mounted them and set off once again at an alarming pace towards the giant stone city.
The hours passed swiftly as they thundered down the wide, paved road. The nearer they got, the larger the city grew and they began to notice more details. There were narrow slits high up in the wall and also guards could be seen patrolling along the top. The unbelievably high towers had several windows upon each level, facing out in all directions. As the companions raced nearer, it became apparent that the city was much, much larger than they had presumed before. Being just a few miles away now, the massive stone wall surrounding it stretched as far as the eye could see, from one horizon to the other, hiding anything beyond the walls from view. It was easily twenty miles across from corner to corner on this particular side with a huge portcullis directly at its center. The sheer size of it all was enchanting to the travelers. Never had any one of them believed that man could create anything this vast or marvelous.
Still growing nearer they could now see the lines of people flowing through the opening in the massive wall. People were coming and going at a steady rate, all the while being randomly stopped and questioned by the guards at the entrance.
Not only were people on their way in and out of the city, but dozens of others could be seen off in the distance in each direction performing various yard work and landscaping tasks. This entire side of the city sat upon a vast field of manicured grass and shrubs. Occasionally a fruit tree jutted from the ground, and though it was getting late in the season, fruit still clung to the branches amidst multi-colored leaves. There were also dozens of people on ladders of varying heights painting the stone surface of the city wall with a thick white substance. This explained why the walls did not resemble those in Stone Haven.
About a mile from the city, the four companions reigned in their mounts and slowed them to a trot. Roughly half a mile ahead of them was the end of a line of people waiting patiently for entrance into the city. It moved steadily toward the massive gates, which admitted nearly all, though denied a few people seemingly at random. Carts full of wares and crops stood in the queue, along with groups of people and small herds of animals. Children darted around and through the line, all the while being fussed over and shouted at by their mothers.
Coming to the end of the line, the companions decided to dismount and lead their horses. It was easier to guide the animals amongst the people this way, and more comfortable keeping the slow, steady pace on foot. Now dismounted they could no longer see the entire length of the line, but assumed that at the current pace it should take them less than half of an hour to reach the city. They waited patiently, moving slowly and steadily ever forward. The giant walls of the city seemed to loom above them even from this distance. The closer they got, the more ominous the walls became.
Only a hundred or so feet to the gate remained, and the travelers grew impatient. From here they could see through it into the city where hundreds of people walked to and fro going about their daily tasks. Buildings could be seen including one in particular that they would need to visit. The group could see a stable just beyond the gate. It was an odd looking structure. The bottom half of its walls were made of the same gray stone that had once been quarried at Stone Haven. The upper half was built from giant logs. These were carved in such a way as to cross each other at the corners where two walls came together, and some sort of blue-gray tar was pressed between them to seal the joints. A large double door was cut into the end of the stable facing the gate, and one door was propped open, revealing a large man leaning against a post just inside it. The man wore brown leather from head to toe. His cap, smock, leggings and boots were all stitched out of animals’ hides, and all dyed a deep brown, the color of wet soil. Next to the wooden post, he was almost camouflaged. If it were not for his hands and face no one would ever have noticed him. But the man in turn had noticed Garret and his companions. Even as Garret looked at him, the man looked back, appraising either the large mounts they led, or the mounts’ leaders themselves.
Seth
It was nearly their turn to pass through the gates when Seth and his friends were forced to abruptly stop. The guards had pulled a young boy out of line and were questioning him vigorously. The boy nodded his head exaggeratedly, and flailing his hands about him wildly, answered the questions given him, gesturing oddly as he did. Seth, the closest to the commotion, could not hear the conversation clearly, but was able to make out something about a new invention, and something about increasing the length of something that would reportedly attract women. Seth shrugged to himself assuming the young boy was probably just making up whatever story came to mind in an attempt to gain entry. Seemingly finished with their questioning, the guards pointed back down the road away from the city, denying the boy entrance. His head dropped and his shoulders slumped as he turned to walk back the way he had come. Finally the line started moving again.
Seth watched as the boy approached, his face to the ground, grumbling to himself about the technology-ignorant guards. Then he looked up. Seth, unprepared for the sight, stood slack-jawed, staring at the small figure passing by him. It was not a young boy as he had believed. He was indeed the height and scrawny build of a young boy of eight or nine, but his fingers were thin, his knuckles swollen. Looking up from the miniature man’s hands, Seth was amazed to see his face. It was as wrinkled as a grape left to dry in the sun, with shrunken, withered lips that were an odd shade of purple. The man’s cheeks were weary and the skin clung loosely to the bone beneath. Also the small man’s eyes sat deep in their sockets surrounded completely by a vast ring of wrinkled flesh. Seth was shocked at the revelation. The tiny man that had passed him was extremely old, and extremely odd. He appeared entirely too small, entirely too old, yet bounced down the road as if he were the child Seth had previously thought him to be. Perhaps it was some disease that had shrunk the man, or maybe he was just a freak of nature.
Garret
The quartet of travelers had their turn at the gate where the guards simply nodded to them in approval, and so without so much as a pause, the four continued to the stable just ahead. The street was crowded, but people cleared the way for Garret and his companions, not wanting to be trampled by their large steeds. His focus on the building before them, Garret had yet to look at the vast city he now was immersed in. Stopping outside the stable, he passed the reins of his horse to his brother then entered the building alone. The man clad in the brown leather still leaned, as before, against the wooden post just within the building. Nodding to Garret as he entered, the man shifted his weight off the beam and stood waiting for Garret to speak.
“Hello,” Garret greeted the man. “We rented four horses from Paldoon’s Hold, and were told we could return them here.”
“Indeed ye may, lad, but first do ye have something for me?” the large man responded with a deep accent of the like Garret had never heard.
“Oh yes, I had forgotten,” Garret admitted. “Here you go.” He pulled the small parchment from his coin purse and handed it to the man.
The man unfolded the small paper, breaking the wax seal, and read it swiftly. Finished with the paper he again folded it as it had been before and stuffed it into a pouch on his belt.
“Let’s get the beasts in their stalls before we complete our transaction, if ye don’t mind.” The man was already heading for the door.
Garret followed him and watched him take the reins of the horse that had been Garret’s mount. Asking the others to follow him, he led the beast back through the door. They walked down the length of the long building, passing stall after stall containing horses of various breeds and sizes. He led them to the far end of the building where a dozen or more stalls stood empty and clean. Releasing one horse into each stall, he closed the wooden gates behind the animals and latched them securely in place. Turning to face the travelers the man smiled before he spoke.
“Well now, that was easy,” he said, still smiling. “Sometimes they likes to put up a bit of a fight before you locks them up. So then, let me get ye deposit ‘ere.”
Reaching into another pouch upon his belt the man sifted through it with his fingers and brought forth a fistful of coins. Peering into his own palm he pushed the coins around, counting them. Dropping several back into his pouch, he held his hand out for the group.
“Fifteen silver be ye deposit for all the beasts ye rented. Now if me knows the way of things in this world, then I’d be a-guessing fifteen doesn’t split too evenly between four peoples. Be that as it may, I also be guessing the pretty lady likes to shop and so I gives the money to her.”
The man offered the coins to Sara, who accepted them graciously, not having expected to receive anything in return for the horses. Accepting thanks from each of the travelers, the man led them back across the long building to the door through which they had entered. Garret was excited to be able to finally explore the city.
Seth
Seth, about to exit the stable behind his twin, paused and turned to once again face the stable master.
“Sir, would you be so kind as to point us to an inn?” Seth asked.
“Certainly I could, but first I need to be knowing what services it is ye will be wanting at an inn before I points ye to one,” the man replied.
“It would be nice to be near a market, as well as able to bathe and wash our clothes,” Seth told him.
“Ah then, ye’ll be needing to visit The King’s Herald, it be one of the finest inns in the city, but it be a bit pricey too.”
“That’s fine. Could you direct us to it?” Seth asked.
“Indeed I will. Just follow the main road ye came in on, straight toward the center of the city. ‘Bout seventeen roads ye will cross when ye comes to the market. Past the market four more streets be The King’s Herald on the left of the street. Just look for the steam, ye can’t miss it,” he told the group, and without waiting for a reply, he turned and walked back across the building.
Seth went out to join his companions and had barely stepped through the threshold when Sara grabbed his hand and entwined their fingers. She smiled at him, obviously happy to once again be able to hold his hand as they traveled. Seth smiled in return and kissed her forehead lightly before telling his companions he knew where they could stay the night. Holding Sara’s hand firmly within his own so as not to lose her in the crowd, Seth turned to lead them through the masses of people toward the inn.
The group weaved in and out of the milling masses of people near the city gate, taking in the sights around them. Seth was astonished to note that not every person in the city was human, as were all of his companions. Sara mentioned that she had met a few members of the other races of men, and Ashton stated that he had read about them all, but none of them could have imagined this. There were short stocky dwarves, tall, incredibly thin elves, small childlike gnomes, and even a few people that must have been cross-breeds.
The city was brighter now than it had been when they arrived, the sun finally high enough in the sky to shine its light over the massive walls surrounding the city. Guiding his band of friends, Seth walked down the street, his mouth occasionally dropping open in astonishment. The street climbed ever slowly uphill, and as he followed it he noticed a pattern to the streets that intersected it. All were evenly spaced, crossing the one they followed at regular intervals. Seth found it peculiar that each street they crossed seemed to bring them to a different style of building, as if each section of the city had been built in ever older fashions the further they progressed towards the center. Counting the streets as they traversed the city, Seth walked in silence and enjoyed the scenery. The further they traveled into the city, the fewer people there were crowding the streets which made it much easier to walk, a fact that made Seth quite happy.
Looking back it appeared that the buildings behind them were built shorter and shorter as they went toward the outer wall. However, this was an illusion caused by the road climbing steadily, forever upwards. As they continued to travel up the road the buildings became more and more lavish. Here they were painted with murals depicting different times and stone statues adorned them. All four travelers gawked at the beautiful structures, having never seen such elegance before. Seth hoped that one day he could afford a home as beautiful as the ones here. One that he and Sara could enjoy together.
As they climbed the street further, they noticed yet another change in the architecture. Where before the buildings were elaborate nor beautiful, now just the opposite was true. Replacing the elegant structures were plain buildings, built out of necessity. Most of them had signs above the doors, and windows filled with displays of various wares. They had reached the beginning of the market area of the city and none could help but to peer into stalls and windows as they passed. Noticing another intersecting street ahead, Seth marked it as the seventeenth they would cross. Walking down the side of the street, Seth watched as his friends peered into each shop they passed, trying to make mental notes of the locations of any they might want to visit later.
The market was an expansive portion of Valdadore consisting of nine of the city sections split by roads, and there was no telling how far it carried on down each side street. People bustled about here, darting into and out of shops on either side of the road. In some places carts stood in the street and were either being loaded or unloaded. The shops of the city came in various shapes and sizes and even different colors, just like the people who inhabited it. Most of the people they could see now were human, though even the humans showed much variation. Some were pale and creamy looking, like Sara, others were more of a tan color like the twins and Ashton, and yet others were darker still ranging from shades of pale brown to a color as dark and rich as to look almost black.
The market ended abruptly without warning and was replaced by rows and rows of small homes. Each home was identical to the next except for the varying colors in which they had been painted. These houses were all built close together, so close in fact that there were even homes behind the homes on the street. Looking between them, there were more just like them as far as the eye could see to the left and right of the road. The masses of identical homes spanned the length between two of the intersecting streets, and then once again the group traveled amongst lavishly painted and decorative houses and offices. The more upscale buildings here lasted for three more intersections, and took them all the way to the section where Seth and his friends found the inn.
The King’s Herald was a beautiful building, and that was the understatement of the century. The front of it consisted of a sprawling porch from one end to the other. Looking about, Seth could see that the roof to the porch was held in place by a dozen massive stone columns carved to display royal persons who once inhabited the city in scenes of glory. The inn itself was made from the same stone that had made Stone Haven and the wall surrounding Valdadore. Like the wall, it had been painted white and glistened in the sun. Several tall windows made with colored panes of glass depicting a royal family stood upon the front wall of the inn. The building with its columns and the windows climbed three stories into the air before being trapped under a roof clad in baked clay segments. The group stood in front of the inn, awe on their faces, momentarily lost in their own thoughts.
A loud whooshing sound followed by a hollow whistling startled the companions from their reverie. Looking around to locate the sound they were once again mystified. Steam erupted from the mouths and nostrils of every man and beast depicted upon the stone pillars. The steam hung ominously about the front of the building coating the pillars in moisture. Within seconds the hollow billowing ceased and once again they stood in amazement.
“Whoa!” Garret cried.
The rest of Seth’s companions nodded in agreement without so much as an attempt to look away from the decorated facade when they did. They stood for long moments once more taking in all the meticulous details of the magnificent building. It was Sara who took the first step. Giving Seth’s hand a gentle squeeze, she led him up to the door of the inn, and looking back, assured herself that Garret and Ashton had decided to follow.
Being a gentleman Seth pulled the massive, decoratively carved door open, allowing Sara to go in before him. Entering the building, Seth released the door allowing it to swing closed behind them. Looking around it was apparent that this inn was like no other they had visited. Beyond the main entrance was a small lobby. The floor here was made of polished marble tiles. Each of the tiles was inlaid with gold filigree in symbols of some foreign language. The walls were painted brightly and lacquered to give a rich shine. Directly in front of them, across the lobby, was a tall counter also made of polished marble. The room was crafted sparing no expense and it showed. It was the most lavish room Seth could recall ever seeing, and wondered if it had an equal anywhere else in Valdadore.
Not wanting to be noticed gawking, Seth led Sara to the counter. At this time no one was attending, but this allowed the companions to look around a moment longer. Behind the counter was a wall hiding what lay behind, but muted humming sounds came from somewhere in that direction. To their right they could see a lavish dining hall. The room was filled with large wooden tables stained a deep russet color and polished to a gleaming shine. Upon each table rested a silk cloth protecting the table’s surface from scratches. Upon each cloth were two sconces with candles, and a vase of freshly cut flowers. The same polished floor they stood upon now carried through the dining room, and the walls were decorated in interlocking wooden planks that spanned from the floor to the ceiling. These planks were stained in various shades of honey and brown creating a striped pattern around the room. These too were polished to a shine.
To the left of where they stood now was a large seating area, a common room of sorts. Here the walls allowed the bare stone to show, and each wall contained several small fireplaces. Each of them showed slight signs of use so it was apparent they were not for decoration. Around each fireplace upholstered chairs and benches rested forming dozens of cozy conversation areas where visitors could relax and talk with other travelers or their companions. The floor here was the same marble as the rest of the building, and though not as formal as the other rooms, this room was no less luxurious.
Waiting several minutes to allow everyone to look around, Seth decided it was time to see if they could afford such accommodations. Reading the sign on the counter Seth quickly followed its instructions and pulled on a cord that hung from the ceiling which he hadn’t noticed before. Tugging it, Seth could feel it give, and releasing it emitted a deep resounding dong, dong, dong. From somewhere higher in the building, the bell rang and reverberated through the stone walls to be heard throughout the entire structure.
Immediately from somewhere beyond the wall in front of them, they heard a door swing open and then closed again. Footsteps clicked across the marble floor and around the wall from the dining hall a woman appeared. She was tall and slender, and wrapped in an elegant silk gown that clung to the curves of her body like a lover. No detail was left to the imagination and it was apparent that the woman, though appearing delicate, had a distinctive tone to her muscles. She smiled to them as she rounded the corner showing her flawless white teeth. She had a pretty smile, one that both welcomed them and made them feel at ease. As she stepped behind the counter, she began to speak.
“Welcome to The King’s Herald. I am Sasha, the inn’s director. In anticipation of the celebration of The Choosing ceremony we have temporarily cut our rates to better accommodate those that have traveled from afar to attend. We still have several rooms available if you should like to stay,” she stated with rehearsed perfection.