Welcomes of the City

The rest of the distance to the carriages’ first stop was covered as smoothly as what preceded. After they had traveled about 100 miles, a coaching inn built on a crossing between the two sides of the aqueduct’s deck allowed them a good rest and meal. Reaching their third day of travel, the procession set out on the next leg of their journey, bringing them to the halfway point of the Confederal City.

The eight members of Erebos’ carriage continued to get along well, with much laughter and many memories shared during their brief time together. Jiron and Rumina got into a friendly shoving match and both almost fell out of the carriage door. Vanov and the three boys got into a heated but respectful debate on why they thought storms only occurred on the edge of the world, to which even Erebos could interject in with some insights he gathered from reading.

They all ended up conceding to Vanov’s sister, however, who turned out to have a great interest in the subject and hoped to study it academically someday. Apparently a group of artificers had conducted an experiment determining that the entire world slowly rotated, going against the prevailing opinion that the sky and stars revolved instead.

She told them the details of this experiment, which went far over everyone’s head, and elucidated the theory on how this affected the clouds. Erebos didn’t really understand how those two were connected, but he enjoyed listening to her passionate explanation.

Between the lulls in conversation, Erebos also took notice of the changing scenery. Far below the carriage to the southeast, farmland spread as far as he could see, occasionally speckled with barns and whatnot. Unlike the fields at home, however, the crops were covered with large canopies that almost entirely hid them from view.

Since his father was a farmer, Erebos already had an idea of what they were. Any plant needed to be exposed to starlight to grow, and the more it received, the faster it would mature. Despite knowing that giving crops a higher concentration of flux would cause this, farmers didn’t have a convenient means to do this until fluxcloth had become such a widespread product.

Once it did, the farming industry grabbed hold of the opportunity. For the farms that could afford setting up these canopies, their output nearly doubled or tripled, for all of the starlight that would normally fall on the ground between the crops could be directly fed to them instead.

Most of the farmers in Makrovi couldn’t quite afford the canopies, but his father had a large enough sum saved to consider the investment. For those who could, it was certainly worthwhile.

As far as he could see, all the surrounding farms had made that investment and covered their fields from view. Aside from the occasional open patch with buildings and silos, the undulate surface spread across the vast landscape as if the ground itself.

The view only changed at the extreme northeast, where a distant line of trees demarcated the border between the Odrenino and Kolchatkino Kingdoms. Whereas Odrena was mostly grassy plains, the southwestern border of Kolchatka bore thick forests and hilly terrain. The forests of Kolchatka were the densest and largest in the world, so without the aqueduct going far above them, travel would be incredibly difficult.

That thankfully wasn’t the case, and progress moved as quickly as before. Until now the route they traveled had few others pass by them going either way, but as they progressed deeper into the forest traffic became far more frequent. From passenger and mail carriages to wagons carrying logs and other commercial goods, the deck of the aqueduct became a far more lively place. They passed by villages built around lumber yards and paper mills, already showing a far higher population density than the plains Erebos was used to.

Even the relay towers had grown more frequent and complex, with taller towers routing messages to all the scattered villages. Erebos assumed that they bore brighter lights as well, because from what he heard from Rumina on the carriage’s roof, the previous section wasn’t so well lit that you could always see your surroundings. The villages and mills must have also been lit well, for everyone else commented on their quaintness and unique style as well.

At times like this Erebos couldn’t help but wonder how different his perception of the world was compared to others. Clearly visible were the endless trees stretching towards all horizons, small clearings with buildings near and far, and even the slight movements of birds fluttering between treetops. If he leaned out the window, he swore he could even see the faint outline of the Confederal City in the distance.

How much of this world was hidden from their view? While his vision could be a hindrance and his strange appearance sometimes caused awkward introductions, he wasn’t sure if he would trade it for normal sight and lose out on his view of the true expansiveness of this world.

***

As that day passed and the next neared its end, the forest began to thin out and the water channel, which had been progressively getting lower while the deck stayed level, could only be fairly heard. Erebos had previously noticed a faint outline above the aqueduct far ahead of them, and his previous assumption proved correct. The figure slowly grew in the distance, but before they got close enough to pick out details, they had all drifted to sleep.

They hadn't noticed, of course, that the carriage turned off the oath and stopped, and they would have enjoyed a full night's rest if it wasn't for a sudden knock on the door.

Coachman: "Oi, we're at the inn so you can find yer rooms!"

His call was enough to rouse them, streaming out if the carriage yawning and rubbing their eyes. The kids from the other carriages came in a similar manner, but the staff members from the lead carriage were wide awake and giving instructions.

Staff Member: "We'll be leaving a little later than before in the morning, but you are all to stay at the inn until then. We won't have anyone wandering in the city and getting lost, so we'll be making sure everyone is accounted for."

Although this was met with groans and sighs from the crowd, Erebos thought it was a reasonable request. They weren't sightseeing, and they were on a schedule after all.

He would be lying if she said he wasn't a little disappointed, but that couldn't be helped. Wondering what Rumina's reaction would be, Erebos turned to look at her and noticed that she had gone off to talk with one of the staff. She seemed to finish her discussion, but when she started to walk back, he saw that she looked incredibly frustrated.

Erebos: "Um, is everything all righ…?"

Rumina: "..."

He trailed off when she looked into his eyes with a menacing glare, but she averted them and dropped her head.

Rumina: "It's not your fault, but they're not letting me go off on my own either. I had some business, but now you chumps are all holding me back."

Erebos hoped that he was excluded from the chumps, even if everyone else held as little responsibility for this as he did. Honestly expecting that she would be relieved to not enter the city due to her previous reactions, he let go of the previous thought and questioned her instead.

Erebos: "It sounded like you didn't take too kindly to the city before, why do you want to go in all of a sudden?"

Rumina: “I never said I wanted to go, I said I have business.”

After her curt comment, she pulled a little disc on a chain from her pocket and held it in her palm.

Rumina: “One truth for another, huh? Since I pressed you for answers a few nights ago, I-”

Jiron: “Woah, is that a pocket watch??”

Butting into the conversation, a barely-lucid Jiron perked up immediately and pointed at the disk in her hand.

Rumina: “-Uh-um, y-yeah, it is. I didn’t know you were an enthusiast.”

Attempting to hide her momentary disconcertion, her efforts proved in vain when Jiron completely ignored her and instead looked at the disc.

Jiron: “I’ve always wanted one, but no one has ever brought one to Makrovi. You don’t mind… if I take a look, do you?”

It was rare to see Jiron so earnest about something, and even Rumina didn’t want to turn him down. He took it gingerly in his hands and slowly turned it about, looking at it from every angle.

Initially confused about what a pocket watch was, Erebos finally picked up that it was some kind of miniature clock from seeing its face. Little hands were slowly turning around the intricately marked face, which seemed to even bear an inscription tightly wound around the center.

Jiron: “It even has a rock crystal face, it must look so cool in the dark! Where’d you even get this thing??”

Although Rumina looked a little sheepish at all the praise directed to her watch, she quickly assumed an air of confidence when explaining its origins.

Rumina: “It was a gift from my uncle for helping out around his shop so much, and he’s pretty much the best watchmaker in the city.”

Erebos: “I thought you lived in Makrovi, though.”

Rumina: “I said I was born in Makrovi, but I’ve lived with my uncle for most of my life.”

Not wanting to further inquire about her family situation, Erebos changed the subject to the watch’s relevance to her business.

Erebos: “Was your business going out to see your uncle?”

Rumina: “Huh, oh… yeah. I saw him on the way here, but I said that I’d visit on the way back. He’s moving shop to Torgempra soon, so this was pretty much my last chance to see him…”

Shaking off her melancholic expression, she smiled instead and looked earnestly towards Jiron.

Rumina: “It’s a shame they won’t let us out, I think you’d really like to meet him if you’re into watches and that kind of stuff. That one’s actually a unique design of his, but I can’t describe how it works in justice.”

Jiron looked disappointed for the first time since the staff had told them their restriction, and Erebos figured that he was lamenting the missed opportunity. Having been friends with Jiron for a long time, Erebos knew that he wanted to specialize in applied artificery, which took established artificery and integrated it into mechanical systems. The watch in his hands was probably a prime example of such integration, and getting deprived of meeting the craftsman responsible was doubtlessly frustrating.

Taking the watch back and frowning at Jiron’s disappointment, Rumina sighed and rubbed her chin, looking like she was about to say something. She was promptly cut off by a staff member, who was directing both workers from the stable they were in and the students.

Staff member: “After you find your luggage, make groups of 4 and go to the main desk upstairs for a room key. All boys will be on the second floor and girls on the third.”

While their luggage was being unloaded, Erebos finally took the time to do a proper analysis of the environment. Initially thinking that this was just a coaching inn next to the aqueduct in the city, he was surprised to see that the deck of the aqueduct was still visible. Where the gap between the two lanes should have dropped off, a wooden floor was constructed for carriage space.

Finally understanding that the building around him occupied the width of the aqueduct, Erebos was amazed by the size of the structure on top of the already spectacular aqueduct. Considering that the city was probably full of similarly impressive buildings, Erebos was also a little disappointed that they couldn’t make a brief tour to do some sightseeing.

Before he could dwell on this thought for long, he saw his trunk being taken off the carriage roof and retrieved it. Following the other kids to the staircase leading upwards, he was caught on the collar by Rumina, who whispered into his ear.

Rumina: “Get the room at the end of the northeast hall. Ask for it or else.”

Shoving him off without a look back, she turned to retrieve her own luggage without another word. Not sure why she asked this of him but also not wanting to incur her wrath, he resolved to do as she said.

Along with Vanov and the other lone boy from their carriage, Erebos and Jiron headed up the stairs to the second floor. Reaching the main desk, he asked if the room at the end of the hall was still vacant, to which the receptionist affirmed and handed him the key.

Comprising about 20 rooms, the hall presumably went to the end of the building. As the group entered their room and stowed their luggage, Jiron bounded to the window and threw the curtains open, exclaiming, “Finally!”

Jiron: “I’ve been waiting for the view! Check it out!”

Intriguing the others, all four gathered by the window with Jiron and laid their eyes upon the city sprawled before them.

Erebos: “That’s incredible…”

Vanov: “I don’t believe it…”

Their attention had all been grabbed by the most dominating feature of the skyline to their left, a massive tower of similar construction to the aqueduct. Already hundreds of feet above the ground, the four hadn’t expected anything to reach higher than them, but the tower met and exceeded their elevation. It extended a few hundred feet above them, capped with a large dome set on a slightly flared base.

With how imposing the tower was, it was fair to say that the complex of buildings surrounding it were secondary in impressiveness, but even they bore the distinctive ancient construction and peculiar sloped roofs. The whole complex seemed to sit on a large hill, which certainly added to the tower’s height, but the descending tiers of modern construction radiating from the complex made the sight far more spectacular.

Presuming the ancient constructions to be the academy and the government buildings for the nation, they certainly lived up to the highest standards expected of the national capital. The buildings on the side of the hill looked to be the more exquisite and wealthy part of the city, with the decently spaced buildings and wide streets narrowing as the sprawl neared the aqueduct.

While everyone was busy ogling the buildings on the hill, Erebos followed the narrowing streets to right below the aqueduct. He had noticed that a couple canopies similar to the one’s over the fields in Odrena were suspended over some rooftops on the hill, but as the rooftops neared the aqueduct they became more and more cluttered. Even at a considerable distance from the base of the aqueduct below them, his sightline to the streets was entirely blocked by the patchwork of canopies.

Following to the right of the aqueduct, the regular buildings became more industrial, with long shafts connecting to what he would assume were water wheels built in a branch of the aqueduct’s channel. The coverage of the canopies thinned as the industrial buildings were spread much further apart, but it still wasn’t a very welcoming sight.

The more he looked into the details, the initial brilliance of the city lost its sheen as he took notice of all the less than savory areas.

Erebos: “It's a shame that so much of the city is blocked by those canopies, almost as if they’re trying to hide it.”

Jiron: “Huh, what are you talking about?”

Not sure how to respond to that question, Erebos simply pointed to the general area of the lower city, and simply said, “All around there.”

Jiron: “There’s nothing around there bro, you seeing things again?”

He put a strange inflection on those words, indicating that despite his annunciated skepticism, he was asking earnestly if there was something he couldn’t see. Lowering his voice his voice and leaning away from the other two, Erebos whispered to Jiron,

Erebos: “Half of the city is covered by those fluxcloth canopies, similar to the ones above those farms.”

Jiron looked back at the window and strained his eyes, letting out a “huh” as if he had noticed something.

Jiron: “Those canopies pretty much absorb all starlight, so there’s nothing to reflect and see. I’m guessing people built them over all the poorer parts so they could gather up all the wasted flux. Wouldn’t want to cover up all the nice parts, hah.”

Despite his laugh at the end, his voice trailed off in a perturbed manner. After the others took notice of the same thing, they were all less eager to praise the view and decided to rest instead. Since they were told that they’d be leaving later than usual in the morning, they were all happy to sleep in for a change.

***

That had been the hope, at least, until Erebos felt someone shaking his arm far earlier than anticipated. Slowly opening his eyes, he saw the form of someone who wasn’t supposed to be either awake or present.

Rumina: “Wake up, idiot. And don’t make a sound either.”

Confusion spreading across his face, Erebos slowly sat up and looked around the room. Jiron was already standing and fully dressed, pressing his lips together and holding his finger up to them. Regaining his cognition, he wanted to question them about whatever was going on, but she thrust her finger against his lips and angrily whispered,

Rumina: “Shut up and get dressed.”

Jiron tossed his traveling clothes onto the bed they had been sharing, to which Erebos clambered out of and put on his overclothes. He wasn’t really in position to be questioning them if they’d keep shushing him, but he already knew what awful plan they had brewed.

Rumina checked to see if the other two were asleep in their bed and slowly made her way to the window. Carefully swinging it open, she vaulted the sill and quietly stepped onto something on the other side. She gestured towards them to follow, and Jiron did the same as she stepped aside. They both expectantly looked at Erebos, who still remained by the bed.

Wanting nothing to do with their plan of sneaking out, he shook his head with a dismayed expression. Weighing the consequences of just getting the plan foiled by a staff member here, he sat in thought for a moment while Rumina climbed back in.

He expected a threat or provocation, but received a grasp of the hand and a soft, “Please, we need you to come,” instead.

Caving to her plea and stuffing their pillows under the sheets to resemble them sleeping, Erebos accompanied Rumina back to the window. He figured that both of them had a sincere enough reason to sneak out and neither of them were complete fools, they probably had a decent enough plan that involved him as well. He wasn’t sure if the possible consequences justified not wanting to disappoint them, but it was too late to back out now.

Stepping over the windowsill, Erebos found that the foothold was the stone wall wrapping around the first floor, giving them a short but easy climb to the aqueduct below. He hadn’t taken much notice before, but the deck of the aqueduct started to slope downwards and leveled off about half a mile out, presumably to lower itself near the current height of the water channel.

They descended from the wall onto a platform built in between the sloping lanes of the deck, suspended by thick ropes and with support posts attached to each corner. They reached all the way down to the new level of the deck about 200 feet below, and Erebos noticed that the platform wasn’t rigidly attached to the posts either.

Rumina probably guessed his confusion and whispered an explanation into his ear.

Rumina: “It’s a hoist, they let out the ropes and the whole platform goes down. Find us some boxes that we can hide behind, cause it's pitch black out here.”

He found a few large crates that would hide them from someone’s view standing near the building and guided Rumina and Jiron behind them. She told them they usually lowered the hoist whenever they finished loading it to capacity, which they had just done. Any minute a worker would inspect the load and send it down, which would be the determinant for their success or failure. Even if they were found at the bottom, the workers there wouldn’t be on the lookout for kids sneaking out.

And just as she had said, a worker came out a door leading to the platform, waving around a rod similar to Rumina’s light. Making his way around the edge of the platform, he would’ve found the stowaways if not for stopping short of the outer edge and concluding that everything was in order. A few moments after he returned inside, the hoist gave a slight bounce and started its descent. Leaning her back against a crate, Rumina gave a heavy sigh and stretched her arms.

Rumina: “That wouldn’t have been so difficult if it wasn’t for those others who got caught.”

His first time hearing about this, Erebos let out a “wha…?” as Rumina pointlessly shushed him again.

Rumina: "Some other chumps got caught sneaking out, so they made it a bit tougher for us. We would've snuck to the stairs, but they started taking shifts as lookouts. I guess they didn't expect us to go as far as this, though."

"This was definitely too far," thought Erebos, who had been reluctant from the beginning. He started working through the implications of their plan, and he realized that he might get in trouble before they even made it to the Capital.

Rumina: "Hey, as long as we're back on time, they've got nothing to complain about. Just say the scary third year made you do it and you'll probably get off the hook."

Though tempting, Erebos didn't consider outing a friend as an option and resolved to stick through with the plan. They'd nearly made it to the lower deck already, and according to Rumina they shouldn't have to worry about being caught there.

As the elevator touched down to the ground, another worker came to inspect the cargo. What Erebos and the others realized far too late was that this worker actually checked all around the crates like he was supposed to, so they had to think of a way to explain their presence.

Erebos had an unusually quick idea which needed to be out into practice immediately.

Worker: "We weren't supposed to have any passengers on this lift, who are you all and what are you doing here?"

Erebos: "I'm s-sorry, sir… They didn't want me going own the stairs, so they told us to take the hoist down."

Putting on a helpless and innocent act, Erebos feigned blindness and uneasily stood up. He bowed deeply at a subtly skewed angle to the worker, putting forth a convincing display.

Worker: "Ha-oh, this is your family, then? Well, move along and call ahead next time.”

Waving them off and turning away, the worker was fully convinced. Not wanting to try their luck, Rumina bowed deeply along with Jiron and walked off guiding Erebos by the hand. They entered a building similar to the inn they snuck out of, except for a deck built onto the left side hanging over the aqueduct. Moving through the first floor onto this deck, they stopped at a sturdy looking tower with some kind of pulley system. Three ropes stretched from the pulleys to similar towers, leading all the way to another platform on the side of the hill. Wondering what this contraption was, Erebos looked to Rumina who seemingly had an explanation prepared.

Rumina: “You’ve never seen one of these before, but I don’t blame you. It was supposed to be a new, efficient form of transport for the city but they dropped it for some reason. They kept this one around for tourists, but it goes right to where my uncle is, so we might as well use it.”

After pulling a cord attached to the side of the tower, they waited a few minutes as the two lower ropes started to wind towards them. Watching a large bucket approach slowly, it hung on a centered rope above it and was pulled along by the two others attached to its bottom corners. Rumina unlatched the door as it came to a stop, and there was only enough seating for four.

Tugging on the cord again, the bucket started its jittery conveyance to the other platform. After experiencing the swinging, uncomfortable ride over the long fall below them and the limited capacity of the bucket, it wasn’t hard to guess why this system didn’t catch on. Regardless of that, Jiron was obviously enthusiastic, looking at all the details of its operation.

Jiron: “So there's a water wheel under the aqueduct’s platform that drives the whole thing, right? Why didn’t this thing catch on, it's so cool! And what’s it called, anyways?”

Rumina: “Heh, I’m glad you like it. It’s called the Ropeway, and I think most people are pretty scared to ride on it.”

Jiron made it obvious he wasn’t satisfied with that explanation by frowning and letting out a “tsch,” but Erebos understood not wanting to dangle above a high drop in a bucket like this. He was far more concerned with the city itself, peering down into the much closer layer of canopies covering the lower city. Crowded streets between tightly packed buildings could be glimpsed between the gaps, already indicating from the density that it was a poorer area.

Erebos: “Why is half of the city covered up like this?”

Mumbling that question to Rumina sitting across from him, she followed his gaze with a scowl.

Rumina: “Well, there’s two appropriate explanations for that, and the people who own the canopies want you to think that it's just to collect otherwise wasted starlight. But if you ask anyone besides them, it's also because they don’t want the slums ruining their beautiful city view. Easier for them to just cover it up and pretend it's not there, right?”

Her last sentence was steeped in sarcasm, and Erebos could tell that it was something she also took issue with. Propping up her chin with her hands, she sighed and looked off into the sky.

Rumina: “I grew up here and have plenty of fond memories, but it’s stuff like that that really upsets me. You know that neither the city government nor Kings’ Council will do anything about it, so you have to just sit and watch.”

She shut her eyes for a moment, but sat straight back up and resumed a calm expression.

Rumina: “But that’s not what we’re here for, right? Even if the people running this place are awful, my uncle has nothing to do with it, so let's just do what we’re here for and head back.”

Even though she shrouded her last words with a smile, Erebos could still hear the echo of sadness in her voice.