I could not believe my luck as I eyed the next two wagons, they were full of women! Dressed in richly coloured clothing, they all sat lazily about on large comfortable looking cushions. I had to wonder to myself if they were part of some entertainment troupe, as they were all quite young and very comely. I stretched over to pluck a blossoming flower from a passing Sunbud tree. Then with careful aim, I tossed the sweet smelling bloom into the back of the second wagon, pacifically for the attention of a young raven-haired beauty that had caught my eye. Catching the flower, the vision of loveliness blew a kiss in my direction.
I grinned as I turned to the Captain, who just frowned upon my antics.
Giving a final wave as we passed, we continued onwards towards the head of the convoy.
The leading wagon was huge! Pulled by eight horses, it was about half as large again as the ones we had just passed. Approaching from behind, the rear of the wagon’s canvas was open. I noticed then that it was laden with all manner of finery from shiny pots and pans, to richly coloured cloth and artwork. Passing the wagon, I glanced at the driver, and was astonished to find that he was one of the fattest people I had ever seen! The huge man sat fully on the driving plank dressed in outrageous clothing of purple satin; his face was so full of flesh that I could not even see where his neck started and his face began. The bloated merchant had been in the process of mopping his sweated brow with a brightly coloured handkerchief when we drew level, but he paused from his efforts to stave off the heat, to offer us a cheery wave in greeting as we passed him by.
Once free from the convoy and the six guards at its lead, we quickened our pace and soon left it far behind us.
A little further down the road, we arrived at a huge stonework gate that signalled the entrance to the open grass plain where the Capital lay. The gate was massive in its construction. Thick walls of stone stood either side of a large iron portcullis, the walls then continued outwards for a short distance until they touched the very sides of the valley itself, this created an impassable barrier save by way of the gate. As we neared archers eyed from their posts on top of the wall. Passing under the spiked portcullis, we were greeted by an armoured guard that came from a side door within the gate itself. Looking through the opening, I noticed that there were more guards stationed at the far end of the gateway.
The gate guard saluted Salford.
“What business have you at Ranak-Lore?” he asked.
The Captain took a scrolled parchment from his saddlebag and handed it to the guard.
“I have Taragon Stein to see the King at his request,” Salford spoke with the voice of authority.
The gate guard looked me up and down with curiosity before handing the scrolled documents back to Salford and waving us on through the open portcullis.
We entered the tunnel that ran under the southern gateway. I counted the walls to be ten paces thick before emerging out under another massive portcullis at its far end. I was genuinely amazed by the size and quality of the stonework that had gone into the making of the fortified gate and decided to share my feelings with Salford.
“I have heard of the Gateway to the Capital before, but I never imagined it to be this big,” I said with genuine amazement.
“Yes, an excellent piece of fortification,” commented Salford, “the King had it commissioned to be built by the Galvians. The gateways of the east and west are of similar size and construction.”
The Captain looked across to me with a puzzled expression.
“When were you last in Ranak-Lore?” he enquired.
I thought back. The last time I had been in the Capital…it must have been over three years ago. When I last said my goodbyes to Baram who decided to stay at Ranak-Lore for a more settled way of life. I smiled to myself as the image of my old friend popped into my head and wondered to myself if I would see the old bear again.
“Three years,” I answered.
The Captain thought on this….”Mmm, much has changed since then, it’s larger, and then there is the ring of Steel that the Galvians have been constructing.”
“The Ring of Steel?” I asked confused.
“Well isn't exactly made of steel, but that is what the common folk call it. It is a great stone wall that encircles the entire Capital.”
“See for yourself,” the Captain offered.
The crest of the next rise brought us into view of the magnificent Capital city of Ranak-lore. It stood majestically in the distance like a spectacular stone crown lost within a sea of lush green grass. By the Gods, it had grown! Even from this distance, it looked almost twice as big as I remembered it to be. We started on the road, which led over the grassy plain towards the Capital. The Ring of Steel the Captain had talked about was the most visible feature of the City. It looked as if some monstrous grey-coiled snake had encircled the Capital within its tight embrace. As we drew nearer, I began to see movement like ants all over one section of the wall just to the left of the main road.
“There!” pointed the Captain, “that is where the Galvians are finishing the wall.” I looked briefly but my attention was drawn to the giant stag standing before a full moon, the symbol of the King’s crest flying proudly on the flags raised high above the now visible main southern gate. Towers and spires of the City beyond stretched upwards to the heavens as they competed for the splendour that was stolen by the strong, encasing Ring of Steel. Voices could now be heard from many different conversations as we approached a stream of wagons, all filing in line to await their turn to gain entry to the south’s greatest City. Unfortunately, we had to wait in line as well, and our place just happened to be behind an open wagon that was full of turnips! After two minutes of complete boredom, and fed up with the sight ahead of me, I turned my gaze in search of more interesting scenery for my eyes to behold and found it by way of the Galvian’s construction camp.
As I watched, I saw the huge giants busily carrying all manner of buckets and tools from the pitched tents of their camp to the wall’s edge and back again. There were even Galvians strapped to the wall itself by way of harness and rope. Casting my gaze upwards, I noticed many of them had positioned themselves on the walls top and were in the process of hauling up large flat stones by way of rope and pulley just with the strength in their arms. I was just about to return my attention back to the turnips when one of the stones slipped its bindings and came crashing downwards to the ground beneath it. One of the Galvians had seen this and proceeded to the wall’s edge. His naturally dull greyish skin shone with sweat in the light of day making him look like some huge walking statue. Judging by the size of the stone, I guessed that the Captain and I would have had some difficulty to even lift the thing off the ground! But this seemed not to concern the Galvian, as his immense size and strength meant that he was able to lift the rock and secure it back into its harness with hardly an effort at all!
I had dealings with the Galvians before of course. Renowned as incredible builders and fine weapons smiths, it was in the village of Wellspring, to the south-east, that I had first heard of their skills. Back then, I had a bag full of gold and was in dire need of updating my then battered armour. It was the friendly blacksmith of the village who advised me that he could not produce the armour that I had specified, and if I wanted such protection made, I should travel to the southern edge of the Talon mountains, and there seek the help of the Galvians. After hearing all the rumours of this strange giant race, I had been quite intrigued by his suggestion and decided to journey there in the hope of purchasing some good armour.
After several days journey, it did not take me long to find the home of the Galvians, or rather for them to find me! Resembling humans in appearance, we could have almost been distant cousins except for the fact that they are all eight feet tall, physically huge, completely bald, and have a grey dullish tint to their skin!
I immediately had second thoughts about the journey I had made after encountering four of them near the base of their mountains.
After nervously explai
ning my intentions for seeking them, I felt relieved to find a Galvian named Gram willing to make the armour I requested. Gram then led me to their home in the mountains. Being an outsider, I was not permitted to enter any of the underground dwellings but instead was allowed to wait in adequate lodgings above ground.
After taking my measurements and explaining the specifications I required, Gram then told me to return in five days time with payment by silver coins only. This did not help matters much since all I had on me was a bag of gold!
After exchanging my gold for silver in a nearby town and returning it to Gram at the appointed time, I was then pleasantly pleased to be presented with the elegant, two piece, black plated leather armour I now wore.
That was over a year and a half ago, and since then the Southern Kantarians have enjoyed increasing trade and trust of the usual cautious Galvians. Now they were building the very wall which encircled our Capital City itself, and by the looks of things, doing a damn fine job.
The line of wagons rolled forwards, and soon it was our turn to enter through the immense southern city gate which emerged out onto a large cobbled clearing. The clearing was shaped in a half semi-circle fashion and was lined with a row upon row of fine looking two storey houses that curved around the entrance in an almost continuous line thirty paces from where we now stood. Three large roads, two either side of us, and one central lead from in between these houses and far off into the City beyond. People were busily moving everywhere as the sounds of a City deafened my ears.
“No horses on the streets of Ranak-Lore!” Demanded a sweaty armoured gate guard, as he took hold of the Storm’s harness with one hand whilst having another bite of his apple with his other.
As he spoke, he continued to chew on his food. “Follow the road around to your left,” he indicated the desired direction with what was left of his apple, “it will take you to the stables, make sure you get a disc from them, and then continue your business on foot.”
“We are here at the King’s request,” Salford announced impatiently.
The guard tilted his head to one side, stopped his chewing, and regarded the Captain with new eyes. “Then after you leave your horses, follow the central road straight to the Castle. Once there, I’m sure the King will make the time to see you,” he smiled mockingly.
Captain Salford looked redder than normal and appeared to be about say something to the guard, but then must have thought better of it as he jerked his horse onto the left road.
We continued to follow the road until we arrived at the stables, and what an impressive sight they were. Row upon row of low wooden shacks lined the edge of the wall as far as my eyes could see. They must have had room for over hundreds of horses! A small army of stable-hands purposefully moved about all over the place whilst carrying out all sorts of stable related duties. Some lifted hay from carts, some swept, while others tendered the horses. The stench of horse dung was quite overpowering and the air thick with flies.
Dismounting I walked with the Captain towards a grubby boy who had just emerged from one of the nearby stables.
The boy quickly noticed us and ran to greet us.
“Take your horses for you Sirs?” he asked, whilst pulling a long piece of straw from his hair.
“I’m looking for the best here that can care for my horse,” I said to the boy
“Would you know where I could find such a person?” I moved my head to the left and right as if to search the crowd for the one I needed.
The boy’s eyes widened as he stood fully erect. I pretended not to notice as I continued with my search.
“Sir, I would care for your horses as if they were my own,” he announced with pride.
I looked down at the young lad. He stood as if he were a soldier on parade.
“See Captain, here’s the boy we seek.” Salford looked at the boy but did not seem to want to join in on my game, he just grunted in answer.
“How much to stable our horse's lad?”
“Three silver coins for each horse for one night and day,” came the reply.
I gently stroked my chin as if carefully considering his reply in thought.
“Good,” I said. “Care well for the horses, and if you do, my friend here has a large money bag that he often likes to share with those who please him.”
I could feel the Captain's eyes upon me as I imagined his frown.
“You can count on me sir!” said the boy who then saluted the Captain. “You’re going to need these…”
He then took two small discs from a pouch at his belt and handed one to each of us. On one side of mine was a picture of a horse, on the other was the number ten.
The boy began to lead the horses away.
“Have my horse ready to leave by the morning’s sun,” called the Captain
The young stable boy turned and gave a nod before leading our mounts into a nearby stable, a large number ten and eleven were stencilled into the wooden framework above the entrance.
Once our horses had been stabled, we set off at a walk into the City.
I could hardly believe how much of it had changed since the last time I was here. As we walked along the now cobbled streets of Ranak-Lore, I began to notice all sorts of new alterations. First of all was the overall size of the City. It had expanded in every direction including upwards! And the brick and clay houses with their thatched roofs that lined the streets seemed to be in direct competition with those of their neighbour’s, regarding visible beauty and grandeur. There were hanging baskets of fresh flowers in colourful arrangements outside many of the homes. Doors to some of the buildings even had fine carvings etched into their wood. I noticed a particularly interesting sculpture of a vine that crept up the side of one particular timber door, only to have the neighbouring house go one better with an incredible engraved stallion that filled the whole of the door itself. Other houses had more subtle carvings to their doors but most generally seemed to be following this trend. A good number of the houses where we walked were painted white; they even had their timber support beams showing through to the outside walls. I thought this a little odd and imagined what my uncle Darack would have thought of all this. Brass bells of varying sizes hung near to the entrances, and most windows were curtained with fine lace. Looking to the ground, I could not even see any sign of garbage! There were not even any bodies to be seen in the multitude of side alleys, sleeping or otherwise! I was quite bemused by all the changes, and to be honest a little disorientated.
“They have been busy,” I commented as I studied a particularly large three-storied house that seemed to want to stand out from all those around it… and succeeded.
The Captain nodded. “This is the richer western side of the City,” he said whilst moving aside to let a young woman carrying a basket of eggs pass him by. The woman turned and smiled as she acknowledged the courtesy.
“It is near to the markets and also the stables,” continued Salford “and the southern main exit is not far from here. Many of these houses are owned by merchants or nobles, or any of those who can afford their high price.”
Looking around, it was all a bit too clean and comfortable for my liking. I felt a little out of place walking in the western district, and most of the local residents did not help to persuade me otherwise. Richly clothed people stepped out of my path and even eyed me with disdain. Two finely dressed women turned and whispered at my approach, their eyes followed my every movement before they joined together to giggle in unison. I was not sure whether it was my appearance that amused them or my looks that pleased them? I caught sight of myself in a passing window. I suppose I could do with a bath and shave. I lifted my arm and smelt the underneath, not bad, after all, the last wash I had time for, had been at the Governor's residence. The armour I wore looked as if it could do with a clean, and the leather needed oiling again, but apart from that…
What was I thinking! I had been in Ranak-Lore for barely an hour, and already I was trying to fit in. I straightened my back and carri
ed on down the street, this time with more self-respect.
After a few more streets and one wrong turning, with the Captain muttering something about not remembering the alleyway being there before, we finally arrived at the large central street that would take us to the Castle of the King.
Walking north up the main avenue, I was aware that the dwellings on the eastern side of the road more closely resembled the Ranak-Lore that I knew. Made from solid wooden timbers, the two storied houses were packed tightly together. Here and there were the occasional brick and clay buildings, similar to the ones we had just passed, these stood dotted around next to the timber constructions, making it look like some kind of infection was taking place from within all that wood. Also, the streets on the eastern side were just made from the earth and covered in sand, not cobbled like those of their richer western cousins.
Taverns and shops lined the busy central street where we walked. The shops all had fancy signs hanging from poles, which depicted what sort of goods could be expected to be purchased from within. I counted fruit shops, clothes shops, shops that sold meats, and even a shoe shop among their number. This last shop had a fine selection of boots on display, which nearly made me stop myself when I noticed a particularly nice, reasonably priced pair for the offering. But looking down at the ones I wore I decided against it, they were still good for some miles yet!
As we walked, the fresh smell of recently cooked bread filled my nostrils, a sure sign that the next shop was a bakery, and next to that was a weaponsmith. Now, THIS was my kind of store! It had all manner of killing, crushing, and slicing weapons displayed for all within its windows. It even had a full suit of armoured plate mail standing erect and awaiting its new owner outside its door.
I made a mental note to visit this shop before I left the City.
People hurried everywhere like frightened rabbits making for their boltholes as they darted from one store entrance to another whilst carrying parcels of all shapes and sizes. Most I noticed were women with many a grumbling man in tow. Children seemed to be en-mass as well, many played carefree in the street, but most just seemed to be adept a getting in the way of the adults, much to their annoyance.
Taragon Stein: The Search For The Soul Crystal Page 6