The Price of Progress

Agnes and Hektor traveled for two days on the road to Zylpolis. The journey thus far had passed without incident, though as they neared the city they saw more small bands of soldiers. These soldiers paid the two travellers no mind, but Agnes recognized the same cloaks as the men who assaulted the small boy back in River's Bend.

“That's an awful lot of fine cloth,” She thought aloud after yet another band passed.

Hektor heaved a sigh, “I know what you mean. Could go to a lot of nice quilts and coats before winter arrives.”

“And a lot of hours that could go to the fields.” Agnes added as they neared another party they passed with a simple exchange of pleasantries. A Littlefoot merchant and especially a Tumlin giving an elderly woman a ride to the next town didn't exactly evoke suspicion.

“How much further?”

“We should make it this afternoon. Your knee still bothering you?”

Agnes didn't recall ever telling the boy about her bum knee. Sweet lad must have noticed. Even if she stayed in the wagon for most of their days and there were convienent inns to sleep comfortably but cheaply, travel is hard on the body past a certain age. She pondered that this was probably a more liberating experience for her grandson Alexander and his companion Stellios, though she tried not to think about that. Hektor was already going out of his way so much that she didn't want to burden him further by moping.

“It's fine,” she finally responded after a long pause. “So what's Zylpolis like these days? It's been a long time since I've travelled this far.”

“To tell the truth, all these soldiers have me wondering how much I know.” Hektor began, shielding his eyes from the sun to examine the road ahead. “Like always, it's a big logging town. Artemis's Wood hasn't gone anywhere since I was there last at least. And I don't think you could chop that down even if you had the Giant King's whole army decide to help.”

Agnes remembered her last trip to Zylpolis, decades ago at this point. Even with the funny way time and memory has of exaggerating such things she knew what Hektor meant. Agnes herself was of the forest. The trees surrounded her small village like a comfortable blanket. She never felt afraid of a long stroll through the woods, a childhood of getting lost and finding her way back like all of the kids she knew made her develop a certain sense for travelling under a canopy. Even the patches that got so dense it always felt like nighttime. She knew the good mushrooms from the bad, which animals were dangerous and which ones acted dangerous. Skills she passed on to the village children like her elders passed on to her.

Artemis's Wood? That was something different. Zylpolis sat on the Southern edge, with the same river that gave River's Bend its name running between town and forest. The town was always built around logging operations. There was always a market for good lumber in a land full of constantly warring city-states built on rocky coastlines. Zylpolis typically never needed to cross the river to satisfy demand. Not that they could, beyond specialized operations for luxury clients.

She'd seen it. If she knew some spots where it would feel like dusk at midday back home, most of this forest seemed like the dead of night to look into. Not just trees, but heavy vines draped across them. Agnes even remembered tales of vicious, man-eating plants which she'd normally brush off but after seeing that overgrown tangle? Anything could be in a forest like that. Even compared to the deep rainforest they called oihana to the far south, Artemis's Wood felt like a place humans were meant to maintain a respectful distance from.

Such a forest is as much a guardian as it is a nightmare though, and Agnes remembered a happy town. Nice wooden houses with puffing chimneys. Market stalls lining a high street of permanent artisans like jewelers, smiths, and bakers. Performers in the taverns. The location of Zylpolis sat at a nice crossroads, so it made sense for a blend of the slightly different cultures of all of the larger city-states in the region. Several treaties had been signed using it as a neutral ground.

A long, low whistle from Hektor summed up Agnes's feelings quite well. She'd gotten lost in her own thoughts and memories longer than she'd realized, and the gates of Zylpolis were already coming into view. Their existence alone was the first sign things had changed.

“Do you remember walls, Tumlin?” She asked softly.

“No...those are new.” Hektor replied. “And not something you could put up this quickly without serious manpower. Unless there's some magic I don't know about.”

Agnes mulled over the spells she knew. Maybe one could stack the stones a little more easily with the wind, but that wouldn't be much faster than manpower at that scale. She said “Maybe if it were an earthen rampart,” mostly to herself but Hektor concurred.

“They either paid a lot for that...” Hektor trailed off as if he didn't want to consider the alternative.

Agnes, however, was not so subtle thinking back to the aggressive shakedown she'd witnessed. “Or they have prisoners picking up the slack.”

Their suspicions became a lot more realistic as they reached the city gate. A harsh voice barked “What're you visiting for?” As two more guardsmen poured over the contents of their wagon.

Hektor tried his best to keep calm, replying “Shipment to Trelle, we're just staying a night.”

The soldier looked them over for what seemed like a long time. Eyes flitting back and forth between Hektor and Agnes. Eventually he stood aside with a gruff “Fine enough, don't go causing no trouble.” and the two were soon in Zypolis proper.

Even without the scene unfolding on the other side of the gate, the city seemed to be in a rather grim state. Too clean, like many knew there would be repercussions otherwise, and there was no mirth in the streets as one would expect for midsummer. Agnes and Hektor didn't notice this at first though as their attention was drawn immedately to a scene unfolding at the foot of the watchtower inside the gate.

“Let's get a little closer,” said Agnes who was silently cursing her declining eyesight. “I think that might be...”

Hektor meant to ask what she meant, but was interrupted by the bellow of the soldier at the center of the crowd. Both assumed right away from the flourises on his uniform this was someone important, but their eyes fell on the woman who's outstretched arm he was pinning to a stump.

“Zylpolis has suffered because of a lax attitude towards degenracy, corruption, and common crime!” The well-dressed soldier called to the gathered crowd. “The road to greatness is through stomping out this filthy rot, and the only way to ensure that is swift retribution.” The crowd roared at these words, and grew wilder as the man drew a cleaver. “Our ancestors knew the way to deal with theives, what say you people of Zylpolis?” The furor of the assembled crowd made Agnes and Hektor's skin crawl.

“I thought she looked familiar,” Agnes murmured as she patted Hektor on the back. “Sorry Tumlin, but I might casue a bit of a scene here.”