paint was ubiquitous on windowsills, shutters, balconies, rain gutters and whatever else extended out of a featureless wall.
Are people just asking for burglaries? Katja thought to herself, but shortly after she saw the truly large houses, surrounded by tall fences with sharp spikes.
The guards were also highly visible. At first she thought she was seeing the same men circle around, but it seemed they truly were this numerous. Had their numbers recently been increased? Or had people of influence seen to it that their areas were better guarded after the demon’s rampage? Or were the infamous thieves of Farnar able to ply their trade in spite of all this opposition?
A man in worn clothing he clearly made an effort to keep clean stood on a street corner and offered protective talismans for sale. More than ten carved symbols hung around his neck and he seemed to never skip an opportunity to accost a passer-by.
“Protection, good sir! Buy protection for these evil times!” he said to a man in a tone Katja found rather exaggerated. “Ladies!” he said as they passed. “Good folk are not safe these days. Buy protection before night falls!”
I am my own protection , Katja thought but withstood the temptation to say it out loud and flash her sword.
Still, the incident got her to stop examining clothes and houses and weapons and examine the people themselves as they walked.
There was fear in Farnar City. It wasn’t obvious on every face or in every voice, but the crowds displayed the stress clearly. Eleven days had passed since the Sensing. The demon incident was fresh in people’s minds and had now had time to carry back and forth between people and settle in their minds.
Katja suddenly wondered whether ordinary people could sense the demonic atmosphere just as she did, but simply didn’t realize it.
She looked at her mentor. Asking her about it was probably little use. The woman had never been ordinary, any more than Katja herself.
What’s it like to be one of them? she thought briefly but didn’t go deeply into it. Best to check the pulse directly.
She put up a relaxed smile and accosted the nearest passing man.
“Pardon me,” she said casually. “I have just arrived in the city. Is something wrong? People seem...”
“Wrong?” the man said somewhat brusquely with an accent she had sometimes heard at the Amerstan City harbour. “War is in the air yet again. Men steal and lie and murder in the streets and all this evil has called monsters down upon us.”
He looked past her with anger Katja didn’t feel was directed at her.
“Cruelty and greed and stupidity. And innocent people suffer for it.”
He strode along and merged with stressed masses.
“Well,” Katja said to the environment. They exited the street and it seemed they had arrived.
The day’s commerce had reached its peak for today and was just starting to wane, so there were still plenty of people. Sipping houses seemed even more popular here than in Amerstan and at a glance she could see six little buildings where customers sat on stools beneath the sky with mugs in their hands.
Noting the clothing was interesting. The proportion of well-dressed people didn’t seem too dissimilar to that of Amerstan and Baldur’s City, but the clothes were even more ornate. Not only were they mostly made of coloured velvet, but also decorated with all kinds of accessories Katja didn’t even have names for. Shining buttons, silk scarves and gold jewellery were ubiquitous among those with the means.
Katja hadn’t seen such things growing up in a quarry village and couldn’t help but feel a certain awe at all this wealth. But on the other hand she found the ostentatiousness excessive, leaning towards tastelessness. Were people engaged in some sort of contest?
And on the flipside the rags in this city were even raggier than she was used to. She didn’t care for it.
“I will take your horse,” Serdra said and bobbed her head a bit towards the
Are people just asking for burglaries? Katja thought to herself, but shortly after she saw the truly large houses, surrounded by tall fences with sharp spikes.
The guards were also highly visible. At first she thought she was seeing the same men circle around, but it seemed they truly were this numerous. Had their numbers recently been increased? Or had people of influence seen to it that their areas were better guarded after the demon’s rampage? Or were the infamous thieves of Farnar able to ply their trade in spite of all this opposition?
A man in worn clothing he clearly made an effort to keep clean stood on a street corner and offered protective talismans for sale. More than ten carved symbols hung around his neck and he seemed to never skip an opportunity to accost a passer-by.
“Protection, good sir! Buy protection for these evil times!” he said to a man in a tone Katja found rather exaggerated. “Ladies!” he said as they passed. “Good folk are not safe these days. Buy protection before night falls!”
I am my own protection , Katja thought but withstood the temptation to say it out loud and flash her sword.
Still, the incident got her to stop examining clothes and houses and weapons and examine the people themselves as they walked.
There was fear in Farnar City. It wasn’t obvious on every face or in every voice, but the crowds displayed the stress clearly. Eleven days had passed since the Sensing. The demon incident was fresh in people’s minds and had now had time to carry back and forth between people and settle in their minds.
Katja suddenly wondered whether ordinary people could sense the demonic atmosphere just as she did, but simply didn’t realize it.
She looked at her mentor. Asking her about it was probably little use. The woman had never been ordinary, any more than Katja herself.
What’s it like to be one of them? she thought briefly but didn’t go deeply into it. Best to check the pulse directly.
She put up a relaxed smile and accosted the nearest passing man.
“Pardon me,” she said casually. “I have just arrived in the city. Is something wrong? People seem...”
“Wrong?” the man said somewhat brusquely with an accent she had sometimes heard at the Amerstan City harbour. “War is in the air yet again. Men steal and lie and murder in the streets and all this evil has called monsters down upon us.”
He looked past her with anger Katja didn’t feel was directed at her.
“Cruelty and greed and stupidity. And innocent people suffer for it.”
He strode along and merged with stressed masses.
“Well,” Katja said to the environment. They exited the street and it seemed they had arrived.
The day’s commerce had reached its peak for today and was just starting to wane, so there were still plenty of people. Sipping houses seemed even more popular here than in Amerstan and at a glance she could see six little buildings where customers sat on stools beneath the sky with mugs in their hands.
Noting the clothing was interesting. The proportion of well-dressed people didn’t seem too dissimilar to that of Amerstan and Baldur’s City, but the clothes were even more ornate. Not only were they mostly made of coloured velvet, but also decorated with all kinds of accessories Katja didn’t even have names for. Shining buttons, silk scarves and gold jewellery were ubiquitous among those with the means.
Katja hadn’t seen such things growing up in a quarry village and couldn’t help but feel a certain awe at all this wealth. But on the other hand she found the ostentatiousness excessive, leaning towards tastelessness. Were people engaged in some sort of contest?
And on the flipside the rags in this city were even raggier than she was used to. She didn’t care for it.
“I will take your horse,” Serdra said and bobbed her head a bit towards the
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