Gatton: The City of Commerce

The city of Gatton was quite the sight for Ren. With massive stone brick walls surrounding the largest perimeter of land in the south, and a prospering society that filled its walls, this was easily the most Ren’s eyes have ever had to process. Luckily, he made it through the entrance gate with no issues, though some of the guards did look at him strangely. He couldn’t blame them, it was quite the hot day and he was wearing full long sleeves to make sure all of his skin was covered. Ensuring his hood concealed his face, he pulled on it gently and slipped into a more crowded area.

“Come see for yourself all the goods from the north! Our specialty Rahkal timber-”

“Furs! Spices! Get your spices here!”

“If you’d like to do business, you’d best talk to-”

“All this for 40 pieces of silver? How about 50?”

Commerce and trade stormed the streets leading up to the central plaza, with tents, carts, and stalls set up in every space possible. Must be signs of good times. However, Ren found it mostly unpleasant. He rubbed his head, unaccustomed to the racket.

Ducking into an alleyway to try and ease his aching head, he set his sights on the city’s residential areas. The alley divided itself into smaller pathways with stairs leading into the city houses. Many residents were sitting or leaning on the railing of the stairs, comfortably chatting with each other, exchanging smiles, and gesticulating amongst themselves. Children were either sitting on top of their parents or running around excitedly.

Before Ren could excuse himself and make his way back into the cacophony of sounds, one of the townsfolk noticed him and called out. “Hey! Are you a traveler visiting town?” Ren hesitated, knowing that he should interact with as few people as possible. But the man walked up to Ren before he could make a decision and reached his arm over his shoulder, pushing him towards the rest of the townsfolk.

“Come on, don’t be shy. It’s been really busy for the past few days and we haven’t gotten a chance to talk to any travellers yet. Where do you come from? How’re you enjoying Gatton?” the man continued on with a smile.

When Ren didn’t reply, one of the other men with a smoke in his mouth laughed wholeheartedly. He looked a little older than the others, some of the hairs on his beard had started to change to a lighter color. “Eh, don’ be shy now. Hey Johle, pull down his hood so we can get a good look at the lad.”

Ren tensed up. He heard that most towns in the west were quite hospitable and friendly due to the good winds these past few years, but he hadn’t expected them to be so incredibly forward. The arm around his neck was strong and muscular, a laborer, he suspected. Taking quick glances at all the other people in front of him, he noticed some patched clothing and clearly worn-out shoes. They seemed honest and humble, at the very least.

The man, who was identified as Johle, pulled down Ren’s hood. Once it had gone down, and the sun shined its rays upon his face, he could see their eyes shoot up in surprise.

“Your skin…” one of the women whispered, bringing up a hand to cover her mouth. Her other hand was settled on a toddler who seemed to fall asleep on her lap. “Have you come all the way here from Callodora?” Ren let out the breath he was holding in. Thankfully, they drew their own conclusions about his darker complexion.

“Callodora?” The man with the smoke said. “Aye, that’s all t’way east isn’t it? How would someone from there find themselves here?”

Another man spoke up. “I wouldn’t be surprised. I remember hearing from some of the merchants a few seasons ago, that after the war, there was a massive influx of refugees from Callodora all over. A lot of them found themselves in a few of the northern cities and have been trying to build some business there.”

Johle took his arm off of Ren and pulled up both hands to silence the others. “Hey, hey, we’ve been doing nothing but talk amongst ourselves. Let the young man share. Come to think of it, I forgot to ask you for your name.” Johle laughed, putting a hand over his head while the woman rolled her eyes and grew an affectionate grin.

Suddenly all eyes were on Ren and he could feel his head tense up. He didn’t particularly like the feeling. He was supposed to be avoiding attention after all. But at least Nila made sure he was prepared. “My name is Ren, and yes, I am from where you would think. My parents happened to go central instead of north, however, leading us into Fossno.”

“The central capital? But that’s in the direction where all the attacks were coming from.” The woman remarked.

“Yes, but we had some family move up to the plains a few years ago before everything had begun. We had gone to Fossno to try and find them but to no avail. Ultimately we were chased out, and ultimately had to find refuge in Regali instead.”

“Regali, eh? They’re a good bunch,” Johle smiled, “I actually learned my craft over there. Well, I’m glad you and your family were able to find somewhere to stay, those central pricks have been on edge ever since the war.”

“Ma’be they have good reason to be on edge. That war truly was som’ing else.” The man with the smoke crossed his arms.

“Still,” the look on Johle’s face darkened, “that doesn’t give them the right to launch out a full onslaught onto innocent people. Just because the dark elves and people from Callodora have the same skin tone, doesn’t mean their attack was warranted.”

“That’s just what happens Johle, it was a preemptive measure. They were just acting on what they thought was best at the time.”

“At the cost of civilian lives?” Johle’s voice raised slightly and the two men stared down one another. Ren glanced down to see Johle’s fist curled up. Ren felt some respect well up within him, it was interesting to see how angry Johle got for the sake of a people he didn’t even know. After a few tense minutes, the woman sighed and raised up both her hands toward either party.

“Can we not do this right now, in front of our guest? I’m sure it’s a hard topic for him to hear as well, you both should be more sensitive in front of the one who was most directly affected.” After she chided them, they seemed to back off and a smile returned to Johle’s face.

“Ah, my wife is right, I’m sorry for bringing it up. I don’t know how you must feel right now, but I do hope you enjoy your stay within Gatton. We won’t keep you any longer than we have to, it’s just with how the world has been changing, especially with the growth of magic, it’s good to talk with any folks we can.” Johle put a hand on Ren’s head and ruffled his dark hair. “You know, both me and old man Elio here have sons around your age. If you come by again later, perhaps you could meet them. Until then, if you have any questions just let us know.”

Ren nodded and was about to turn around, but realized an opportunity was right in front of him. “Actually, there is one thing I would like to ask. Do you know where I can find some information in this city?”