by AC Cobble
“Keep an eye out,” drawled Fisheye. “Going to see the big country estates soon too.”
“The big country estates?” asked Ben.
“Aye, where the people like Lord Reinhold live,” explained Fisheye. “At least when they want to get away from the noise in the City. Richest place in the world they say, just north of the City. They got these big pieces of land called estates. It’s like a farm, but the only crop they have is grapes for wine making. Gentleman farming they call it. They build their big mansions and castles there of course. You’ll see.”
Before long, Ben did see. Subtly, the countryside gained a manicured look. The trees and terrain remained the same, but it was cleaner and more orderly looking. He wouldn’t have noticed if Fisheye hadn’t mentioned it. They came around a wide bend in the river and Ben saw a large manse that must have been three times the size of the Buckhorn Tavern back in Farview.
“Look,” exclaimed Ben. “I think I see the first one.”
“Pssh,” replied Fisheye. “That ain’t nothing, son. Probably some gardener’s cottage. Wait ’til we get a little closer. The City is still a two-day trip from here on land. The real money guys ain’t gonna travel that far.”
Rhys joined Ben and Fisheye at the tiller. He was using one of his wicked-looking long knives to peel a withered apple and tossing the peels overboard. Fisheye glanced at the long knife, which was clearly designed for combat and not apples, and gave a wounded grunt.
The sailors during their off time liked to get drunk on rum and play cards. They all got drunk enough that it turned into a game of chance instead of skill. Ben saw they ended up just handing silver back and forth. By the end of the voyage, a lucky one or two might end up ahead, but there were no hard feelings. Fisheye hadn’t counted on Rhys being able to handle his liquor better than the rest and lost more silver than he had on the ship. He repeatedly assured Rhys he’d be good for it as soon as they got their harbor wages. Rhys found it amusing to intimidate the poor first mate.
Fisheye swallowed uncomfortably and stuttered, “T-Telling the boy about the country estates we’ll pass. The big ones.” The little beads of sweat forming on his forehead made Ben wonder how easily he’d really be able to pay Rhys.
Rhys took a big bite of his apple and grinned at Ben.
“Why are all of the big estates on this side of the City?” asked Ben. He didn’t really care, he just wanted to break some of the tension.
“Well, rich folk like to be near other rich folk. They don’t want to be near the common class. They don’t like the way we talk,” Fisheye started to explain.
“And no one who’s halfway intelligent lives down river from a major city,” snorted Rhys. He zinged his apple core close by Fisheye’s head and into the water to make his point. He must have felt a little guilty when Fisheye cowered from the apple because he added, “Fisheye is right about what he said earlier, though. The estates are pretty impressive. Space in the City is limited, so the lords and the most successful merchants have places out here. Gives them room for their summer galas, fireworks shows, hunts, and so on.”
Rhys pointed up to another building they were approaching. “Lord Merley’s new country estate.” A white limestone-clad building close to the river was under construction. “The family’s fallen on hard times. Bet a fortune on a gold mining venture that didn’t produce any gold.”
“How do you know who’s estate that is?” asked Ben.
“It was all over the Sanctuary when we left,” replied Rhys. “Large scale miners will pay a cut to the Sanctuary to borrow a mage and they delve the ground to see where it makes sense to dig. Merley thought he had a sure thing and tried to cut some corners, but all he had was dirt. The rise and fall of these lords and merchants is half the entertainment in the City. Ask in any tavern on the island and they can tell you who’s on the way up, and who’s on the way down.”
“If he’s on the way down, how is he building a new estate?” Eyeing the swarm of workers around the structure, Ben added, “It looks pretty expensive to me.”
“Oh, I’m sure it’s expensive,” responded Rhys. “But it’s way out here. He had a larger estate closer to the City but was forced to sell. Sold the mining interest too. Any further and he’ll be laughed out of town.”
“He should be out already,” remarked an urbane voice behind them.
Ben jumped in surprise and saw Lord Reinhold had silently joined them.
“His property was run down and the structures will likely be demolished by the new owners,” added Reinhold. “I haven’t heard that last bit about his mining interest, though. Any fool knows there isn’t gold in the Shallock Range, but there could be iron ore. It’s close enough to Venmoor it might be worthwhile. Where did you hear he sold it? You’ve been on the road for months, right?
Rhys showed none of the surprise Ben did. He must have seen Reinhold coming. “Oh, we heard somewhere on the road. With all of the travel we’ve been doing I’m really struggling to remember who it was…”
Reinhold grimaced and flipped Rhys a shining gold coin.
“Ah, it was definitely someone from outside the City. Maybe it was a lord?”
“Come on man. It’s just a potential iron mine!” Reinhold grudgingly flipped another gold coin toward Rhys who winked at Ben.
“That’s right. It was Lord Rhymer from Northport. He’s the one who picked up the interest. It was brokered from someone in the City, but before you dig another coin out, I really don’t know who.”
“Rhymer! What is that fool doing?” Reinhold muttered to himself. He started away before quickly turning back and barking at Fisheye, “Run close to the bank when we pass. I want to see how the new wing is looking from the river.”
Rhys flipped and caught one of his new gold coins as he and Ben walked away from Fisheye and the tiller. “That’s life in the City for you. Gold and power, the only two things anyone cares about there.”
“Don’t you live in the City?” challenged Ben.
Rhys grinned and tossed the coin again. “Like I said, gold and power.”
“It can’t be all bad. The Sanctuary helps a lot of people,” said Ben.
“It’s a generalization, but I’ve found it to be more true than false. Certainly truer than other places I’ve been. And the Sanctuary only helps those who help them hold onto power. Think about Towaal in Farview. She helped that brother of yours, but it came at a price. I’m not saying there is no good in the people of the City, there is some. Just be prepared. Everyone there knows where they stand relative to everyone else. That’s all that matters for some of them. Don’t play their games if you don’t want, although that’s harder than it sounds. My advice, get good at the games and play them only when it benefits you.” Rhys smiled as he tucked the gold coin into his purse.
Ben shook his head and went to join the other young people and Saala at the bow of the vessel. He knew Rhys meant well with his warning. Maybe the City was worse than most, but the money and the power, that sounded like everywhere else he’d been.
14
The City
The rest of the country estates did not disappoint. They were grand affairs that sprawled across the hillsides and bluffs overlooking the river. Further out, they were built of limestone, granite, and other field stones. Closer to the City, they were uniformly clad in marble and intricate stonework. Ben marveled at the time and resources that went into building these massive edifices solely to house one family and only part of the time.
As Ben stood on the deck watching the buildings go by, they swept in close to one particular estate and he realized it must be Reinhold’s. A veritable army of workers were erecting a new wing just like Reinhold had stated. The scale of the place was unreal. Ben struggled to connect the overwhelming sense of wealth of the place with the fact that he was on a boat with its owner. Even after taking Alistair’s money to watch over Meghan, Ben still had more fingers than gold coins. A man like Reinhold could probably spend the rest of his natural life coun
ting and still not know how many coins he had.
“What’s the point?” Ben wondered to himself.
“That’s how they keep score,” answered a gruff voice.
Ben turned to see Captain Fishbone had come up behind him.
“I-I didn’t mean any offence to Lord Reinhold,” stammered Ben.
“Ha. Don’t worry about that. Lord Reinhold knows just as well as you and I that it’s silly. Don’t get me wrong, the lord enjoys the finer things in life, but he’s building rooms in that estate that he’ll never even see.”
“So, why does he do it?” wondered Ben. “You said it’s about keeping score. Score with the other lords and merchants?”
“Aye,” answered Fishbone. “Lord Reinhold isn’t married, doesn’t have any kids that he admits to, and spends most of his time on my boat. The only reason he keeps building on that estate is to show the other lords that he can. He builds a little, they build a little more to keep up, and he builds again. By the end of it, you have these damn big houses that no one can even use. It’s all about keeping score, showing who’s most successful or who’s the most powerful. You stop expanding one season, don’t buy a faster vessel, don’t buy your mistress a bigger diamond, and suddenly everyone thinks you stopped because you have to. You’ve played cards, right? Sometimes you gotta keep putting more money into the pot if you want to stay seated at the table.”
“That sounds awful,” grunted Ben.
Fishbone shrugged. “I suppose it is awful. Awful and addicting. The most exciting game out there, if you ask Reinhold. It’s certainly not about the money at this point.”
They sailed on. Ben and Fishbone watched Reinhold’s estate disappear around a perfectly manicured emerald green bend.
The grandeur of the country estates though, even Reinhold’s, did little to prepare Ben and the other young folk for the first sight of the City itself.
The City was located in a natural basin where the Venmoor and the smaller Razen River met. It comprised a huge island in the center of the river basin but over the centuries had expanded to the banks surrounding it. Technically, the City referred to just the buildings on the island. Most used the term for the entire sprawl.
Rhys explained, “In the past, each of the little towns on the bank had its own name, but they’ve all kind of grown together now. Some of them still have their own town councils and the like. I have no idea how they keep straight which is which.”
Ben silently agreed. The ‘towns’ were the size of about one hundred Farviews all strung together in a huge circle around the water. It was impressive, if only for the size and the number of people Ben thought must be living there.
They saw the towns first and didn’t get a full view of the City until their sloop entered the river basin. The island on which it sat was huge. Ben estimated at least two leagues long and a league wide. All along the length there were massive buildings, delicate palaces, and, most striking, thin towers soaring into the air. Ben had seen nothing like it before. Some of the towers must have had the elevation of Whitehall, but where the port city was built on a mountainside, these towers reached into the sky with no support at all. Many of them looked like a strong wind could send them toppling.
As they drew closer, Ben’s breath caught. Linking the towers was a network of barely visible bridges. Some towers had numerous connections and some only had one or two. He thought that many of those bridges were fifteen or twenty stories above the ground. A few rose even higher than that. He almost had to look away as he started to pick out tiny figures making their way across the bridges.
“The sky bridges of the City,” said Rhys. “It looks crazy, but think about it. If you walk twenty stories up one of those towers, you don’t want to walk back down just to chat up your neighbor and borrow sugar. They say there are people who get up there and never come back down.”
“Oh my,” said Amelie in a quivering voice. “We have towers in Issen, but nothing like this. How is it even possible these do not fall over? Is it something the Sanctuary does with magic?”
“I’m not the person to ask about that. The masons of the City are more close-lipped than the blacksmiths in Venmoor. I do know it doesn’t have anything to do with the Sanctuary. You can’t tell from here, but The Sanctuary doesn’t have any buildings over four stories. This is all done by hand. Look.” He pointed to one squat tower near the waterfront.
Scaffolding and ropes dangled from the sides of the structure and Ben saw they were still building it. A pallet of stones lifted into the air. There was some sort of loop and rope apparatus a handful of men were using to pull it up.
“Amazing.” Amelie gasped. “I’ve seen artist renderings of what it looks like, but none of them do justice to this.”
“Why do they build them so high?” questioned Renfro. “That’s great some genius figured out they could do it, but that doesn’t mean they should do it. A serious storm or a little earthquake and this whole place is coming down.”
“Space,” replied Rhys. “Like we were talking about with the estates, space is very expensive here. Every inch of that island outside the Sanctuary grounds is built on or designated public space. You want more room, you build up, or you move out. As for the safety of it, in my time here there haven’t been any incidents. The City and some of these buildings have been around for millennia, I suspect they will be around for many more.”
“Where is the Sanctuary in all of this? Is it away from the City?” asked Ben. “I pictured it in some reclusive setting off by itself. You know, like a sanctuary…”
Rhys grinned and pointed to the north end of the island. Easy to overlook with the rest of the vista in front of them, there was a large patch of green dotted with low white buildings.
“Physically it’s not far from the rest of the City, but believe me, it sure feels it.”
The docks of the City seemed pedestrian compared to the rest of the place. They didn’t have the hulking war galleys and merchant ships that populated Whitehall’s harbor. There were personal river craft and other small vessels. The barges they’d seen on the river must tie up elsewhere. Still, it was a place bustling with activity and First Mate Fisheye did an impressive job steering them past the clutter and dropping sail before a small pilot skiff darted out to meet them.
The pilot eyed Lord Reinhold’s colors then tossed up a heavy rope which Reinhold’s crew expertly looped around the hawsers. A handful of men leaned hard on the oars in the pilot skiff and started inching them toward Lord Reinhold’s open dock.
Lady Towaal appeared from below with Amelie and Meghan in tow. “Rhys,” she ordered, “show the boys some lodging and report before nightfall. No carousing!”
Rhys winked at Ben and mock bowed toward Towaal, which elicited an indelicate snort and eye roll from her.
“At your command, my lady.”
Amelie stepped over to Ben and waved Saala close. “Lady Towaal says we’re confined to the grounds during the first few months of training but usually Newday is a free day. She says you can come visit us in the Sanctuary’s parks. We won’t be able to do much sword training there, but maybe that can come later. After we obtain enough rank that we’re not green Initiates, we’re allowed off the grounds on the free days so I can come visit you. Here,” she said, and passed Ben and Saala each a small pouch. “Your pay, Saala, for another three months. I know you plan to stay for a while, but I want you to have this now in case we don’t see each other for a bit. Ben, hopefully that is enough seed money to start your business. Face time is limited, but you’re allowed to write, so I expect regular updates on my investment!”
Her bittersweet grin told Ben she wasn’t serious about her investment. He saw she already was missing the time they’d spent together. He felt it as well.
“Of course, Amelie. I’ll come every Newday, and write you plenty. I can’t wait until you can get out and we can explore the city together.”
“Watch out for him will you?” a watery eyed Amelie asked Saala.
The goodbyes were interrupted when the sloop nudged up against the dock and Lord Reinhold’s men slid a narrow gangplank down. A brisk Lady Towaal was the first one on the gangplank. She gestured for Amelie and Meghan to follow. A quick peck on the cheek from each girl for Ben and rushed hugs for the other men and they were off.
The men lifted their few belongings to follow but were stopped by Lord Reinhold.
“Rhys,” said Lord Reinhold as he glanced to where Lady Towaal was vanishing into the crowds around the dock, “I’d offer you a position, but I suspect you’re already well compensated by the mages. I have work for a man of your talents. If the Veil ever lets you off the leash for some part-time work, I can make it worth your while. In addition to the gold you got earlier, I have many other special items a man like you would find useful. You too,” he said to Saala. “If you get bored watching Lord Gregor’s daughter, I can find you something more interesting.”
Rhys grinned. “Well, we both love a challenge, of course, and I’m sure you’d be a great boss, but like you say, we’re already happily employed.”
Reinhold shrugged. “Employed now doesn’t mean employed tomorrow. It’s an open offer. Good luck.” He nodded curtly and stalked off toward his cabin.
“What? No job offer for me?” Renfro chuckled.
Rhys gave him a light shove and said, “Come on. Let’s go see The City.”
What had looked from a distance like a disorganized jumble of soaring towers, grand arenas, and palaces was actually well delineated in clean grids when they saw it up close. Broad tree lined avenues were laid out neatly and small parks dotted the major intersections.
Rhys talked as they moved along the smoothly-paved streets. “Long ago, before even the current Veil can remember, this entire island was owned by the Sanctuary. They must have realized over time that it made sense to have staff and services nearby, so they sold off pieces, but still retain leadership of everything on the island. They kept a lot of open public space. They collect all of the taxes on the island and pay for the maintenance. It’s all planned and managed from within the Sanctuary.” He breathed in deep. “You’ll notice it’s the greenest and cleanest city you’ve ever been. I have a lot of problems with the way the Sanctuary does its business, but I’ve got to admit, they know how to run a place.”