by AC Cobble
“Of course Amelie. Of course we can be friends.” He didn’t know what else to say.
“That is why I came to talk to you. I need your help and I am asking for it as a friend. Saala is in my father’s employ and he will train me with the sword if I ask. I am certain I can convince Rhys as well. When we get to The City though, both of them will eventually leave. That is what they do. I would like it if you stayed. I can set you up with a business and we can practice the sword together. Because of my birth, I will be treated differently at the Sanctuary and with Meredith gone, I have no one else to turn to.”
“I, I hadn’t thought about what I’d do once we got there,” stammered Ben.
“Do you need time to think?” she asked.
“No.” He really hadn’t decided what he would do once they arrived in The City. At the start of the journey, he’d planned on returning to Farview. But now, the thought of making that trip back alone and rejoining life in the small town where nothing ever really changed didn’t seem very appealing. Compared to living in The City and being fiends with a Lady, what was he thinking? “I’ll stay if you’re sure you want me to.”
“Good,” she said and placed a hand on his arm.
Shortly after lunch Lady Towaal called everyone together for a quick meeting on the deck.
“We’ll be in The City in a week according to Reinhold,” she began. “I’ve asked him to push hard down the river and no stops. I don’t want another incident like we had with Rishram. After signing the Conclave agreement, the risk is too great for Amelie. When we arrive, Amelie and Meghan will begin training immediately at the Sanctuary. Rhys, you know what to do and who to check in with. The rest of you are free to remain or go as you please. If you remain, I’m sure Rhys can recommend some places to stay in The City.”
“I think I’ll stay for a bit,” Ben said to an encouraging smile from Amelie. He ignored Meghan’s bitter look. She wasn’t happy about the Ilyena thing.
“I as well,” added Saala, “at least until I know Amelie is secure and I get further instructions from Issen.”
Lady Towaal scowled, “there is no doubt about security once we make the Sanctuary but suit yourself. It’s your time.”
“I’ll stay too!” exclaimed Renfro before glancing around the group sheepishly. “I don’t really have anywhere else to go.”
That evening, they got back to practicing Rhys’ Ohms. It was difficult on the ship but they could do the first Ohm which required the least amount of balance and skill. It felt good after the long pause they’d taken in Sineook Valley. Ben missed the stretching exercises and felt more energized once they’d finished but he was glad they hadn’t done it in front of Rishram.
Afterwards, the young people sat near the bow of the ship, enjoying the breeze and watching the sun set over the countryside as they passed.
“So, what will you do in The City, Renfro?” asked Meghan. She had been pointedly ignoring Ben since they’d left Kirksbane. Sisterly affection came with sisterly disapproval.
“Oh, I don’t know. Find a trade I suppose. Is there much fishing around there? The City sounds grand and for me it’s just as good as anywhere. Fabrizo is the only place I’ve known and I can’t go back there.”
“Oh, I don’t know about fishing. It’s on a river, isn’t it?”
Renfro glumly looked down at his feet, “yeah, I guess it is. Since I was a little one, it was go to sea or join the thieves. Not sure what else I can do.”
“Maybe Ben will hire you at this new brewery he’s starting?” smirked Meghan. Ben enjoyed Renfro’s company but his work ethic was questionable at best – Renfro was probably the last person he’d consider asking for help with a business. She meant it more as a barb for Ben than a knock on Renfro. She was always kind to Renfro.
Luckily, Renfro didn’t pick up on the subtext. “Oh really! That would be great! Ben, we could be partners together.”
Ben raised an eyebrow.
“Well, you could be the senior partner of course. Since you know about brewing already and I’d just be starting.”
“I think that would be wonderful,” chimed in Meghan.
“Sure Renfro, we can see how it goes when we get to The City.” Ben hoped the idea of how hard the work will be to start a new business in a new city would eventually creep into Renfro’s thoughts and he’d drop it. A change of subject seemed best for now though, “Amelie and Meghan, how about you? Are you excited to begin at the Sanctuary?”
“I think so. Maybe,” hedged Meghan.
“Lady Towaal has been explaining some of the training regimen,” added Amelie. “It sounds… challenging.”
Meghan sighed, “there is a great deal of study involved and successive tests of willpower. I’m sure Lady Towaal is exaggerating to mentally prepare us, but yes, challenging. I think that’s the right word.”
“Lord Reinhold also said something to Amelie that worried us a little. He said it when he first heard we were joining.” The two girls shared a glance, “he said; ‘The Sanctuary, who would commit two decades of apprenticeship just to become the Veil’s stooge? There are shorter paths to power, girl.’ I’m sure he didn’t mean it like it sounded.”
Ben blanched, “surely not.”
Lord Reinhold kept to himself aside from the occasional discussion with his Captain or Lady Towaal. He and Towaal’s communication was strained. It seemed she was paying him a very large amount of gold to get them to The City quickly and they weren’t moving quick enough for her. They would not remain friends after this journey.
Ben was able to gather that while Reinhold was a landed Lord, his primary business was various merchant banking interests up and down the Venmoor River. He spent most of his time on the river sloop checking up on things.
Ben watched him stalk around the deck peering intently at the countryside as they passed. He constantly mumbled under his breath and from what Ben could overhear, seemed to be tallying figures in his head. Unlike the merchants Ben was familiar with who had wagons or ships heaped with goods, Reinhold dealt in coin.
Before Amelie stopped him, Ben considered asking Reinhold for a loan to start a business for himself in The City.
“That’s not his kind of business Ben. Men like him, they think on a grand scale. He’s not a money lender like you would know. He’s out here looking to see if there’s a bad wheat crop in one area then he’ll buy up all the rest of the wheat elsewhere or have it imported in. He’s not going to loan money to an individual for a business. He’s going to finance a money lender who will do the hard work of collecting loans for him. Men like him, they wait for situations like this with Argren’s Alliance. He will buy goods to support the war effort and swoop in and buy land or other war spoils on the cheap afterwards. Besides, you know I will give you the money to get started. You don’t need to worry about doing business with some chiseling lender.”
“I know you said that Amelie, but I feel bad taking money from you.”
“Don’t think about it as taking then. We can make it a loan or an investment. Really, I trust you’ll do well for me and I don’t want you to have to get tied up with lenders. Many of them are unsavory people.”
After that, Ben watched Reinhold with a certain fascination. Alistair Pinewood used similar tactics on a smaller scale in Farview. Men like these, they only cared about the gold. Ben had never understood Alistair and his desire to always have more. He wondered if Lord Reinhold was motivated by the same things.
One afternoon, Rhys caught him watching Reinhold.
“Thinking about getting into merchant banking?” quipped Rhys.
“No, just wondering what makes the man tick. How does someone like that only care about having more gold and more power? If I had all of the resources he does I would help people. A man like him could change the world and make it better, or at least a part of it.”
“It isn’t always as simple as that. He’s helping us after all, isn’t he?”
“Only because Lady Towaal paid him,” re
plied Ben.
“Sometimes paid help is the best help. And changing the world, well, when this war between the Alliance and the Coalition breaks out, people like Lord Reinhold will be the first ones there with medical supplies, food and other things people need. The Lords and Ladies have other concerns and are looking at a different picture. Don’t get me wrong, you pay him, pay a very high price maybe, but when the need is the greatest, it’s men like him who will be there. Trust me, when you’re on the front lines and you’re starving, you’d don’t really care how much the food costs, you just know you need it.”
Ben shrugged uncomfortably. He hadn’t thought about it like that.
Rhys continued, “those locks around Kirksbane? If it wasn’t for men like Reinhold, they wouldn’t be there. You don’t have to like it, but it’s worth understanding. Things happen and progress is made when there’s profit at the end of it. Making grand speeches, fighting off the bad guys and giving alms to the poor isn’t the only way to change the world. Something to think about.”
Rhys pointed down river to a grey cloud hanging low on the horizon. “Speaking of which, we’re coming up on the town of Venmoor. How do you think a brewer boy from the country knows all about this roughneck former bandit town on the other side of the continent? The people here found a new and better way to make steel, and in their way, they changed the world.”
Venmoor had the earmarks of a former roughneck town just like Rhys described. As they glided past, Ben could see squat stone buildings spreading out from the river. Dark smoke was belching out of many of the buildings where the famous forges of Venmoor produced the steel the town was so famous for. The art of forming the extra strong Venmoor steel was a closely guarded secret of the Blacksmith’s Guild. The stories were full of tales of the length the Blacksmith’s went to keep that secret.
In addition to the forges, there was a sturdy looking keep built up on a low rise. The sprawl of one and two story stone buildings scattered around it had little organization Ben could see. He’d heard all the buildings in Venmoor were stone due to fire risk.
In the distance, there was huge structure carved into the side of a hill. Ben craned his neck to see and thought there were hundreds or even thousands of seats built up around a flat space at the bottom. From the river, he couldn’t tell what it was for.
“What is that?” he asked Rhys, pointing towards the large structure.
“Venmoor’s College Arena. They have one of the more famous Colleges of the Sword and that’s where the students show off. There are regular competitions, examinations and what not. Of course, the most attended are trials to become a Blademaster. Most of the students are high born and fail the test - which makes it popular with the common folk,” Rhys shrugged, “the King built it years and years ago when they first created Venmoor steel. They needed a place to demonstrate the superior quality. They keep it up now because the competitions lead to some pretty lively wagering and the King takes his cut.”
Other than the College Arena and the forges, the town itself was unexciting after seeing Fabrizo and Whitehall. It was just as large but it didn’t hold the romance the other two did. Venmoor was about industry. They passed under a series of ugly looking bridges then drifted downriver away from town. Maybe another time he thought.
More tributaries joined the river and it widened south of Venmoor. The barges still cluttered the waterway but other vessels began to join them.
The barges hung close to the shoreline where on one side they were pulled up river by horse power. There was a well-worn path that dray horses slowly plodded along. Long ropes were tied to the empty barges and a lone man would be stationed at the tiller to keep the shallow drafted ships from butting against the bank. On the other bank, the loaded barges floated down at the speed of the current with just a few bargemen on board to steer and keep watch over the goods.
In the center of the river were wind powered vessels or rowboats. Fisheye, the first mate, explained that the closer to The City they got, the more of the smaller rowboats they would see.
“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. 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, “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 coming up on. “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. Any tavern you walk into 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 aroun
d the structure Ben added, “it looks pretty expensive to me.”
“Oh, I’m sure it’s expensive. 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,” chirped an urbane voice. 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. I haven’t heard that last bit about his mining interest. 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 towards 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. Before you dig another coin out, I really don’t know who.”
“Rhymer! What is that fool doing?” Reinhold muttered to himself and 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.”