1.8 In Which the Dark Lord Goes to Town

1.8 In Which the Dark Lord Goes to Town

The sky of Ephemera was weird. During the day it was a deep purple, with stars faintly visible even when the sun was high, fading to a rosy pink all around the horizon. I had my first clear sight of this when we emerged from the khora forest, along with some more pleasant details.

Plants! I exclaimed, unable to contain my relief. There are plants!

Yes, Lord Seiji, Aster replied in the carefully neutral tone of someone whose dangerous boss is being laughably stupid.

Hey, Im not crazy. Virya dropped me right in North Watch and I havent seen anything but the khora forest. I thought that was just what everything was like here.

Oh. Well, no, khora forests arent uncommon but they are sort of unique. Most places where people live have more green plants.

Not that the plants in question were impressive specimens, being scraggly weeds and scrub bushes that started to appear along the sides of the road as it emerged from the alien overgrowth of the khora biome, and rather unassuming fields of grass to either side. I was just relieved to see more familiar green foliage, even as the rest of the scenery was actually more interesting.

There were still khora out here, but instead of growing in the wild profusion of the forest, they were in neat rows marching into the distance to either side of the road, with wide spacing between them filled with nothing but field grass. To my right were orderly domes of what looked like house-sized brain coral, complete with lazily waving fronds emerging from between the lumped folds of their hard shells; to the left rose a veritable orchard of antler-like structures that towered over three stories in height, deep gold in color and topped with flat fins from which sprouted moving tendrils. This could only mean one thing.

Soyou farm these khora things, then? What are they for?

I made it several more steps before I realized theyd both stopped. Turning around, I beheld Aster and Donon staring at me as if Id sprouted a second head.

Biribo cackled, zooming in circles above me. Guys, I really wasnt kidding! The boss is gonna need some really basic stuff explained to him.

Aster cleared her throat. Right, well Um, khora are used for everything, Lord Seiji. There are a few species thatre edible or have medicinal propertiesthe flesh inside, that isbut mostly we use the shells.

Right, so theres three kinds, Donon cut in, nodding eagerly. Akorthist is the heaviest and hardest, and comes in the biggest chunks. Its also brittle, though, so its tricky to carve without breaking it. Akorshil is softer and slightly flexible. I think the official standard for akorshil is its soft enough to hammer nails into, but you can also carve it into more complicated shapes without breaking it. And akornin is the hardest yet, but its more likely to bend than fracture if you push it too hard.

Also, akornin doesnt come from khora, Aster added. Its from the shells of animals. So, it only comes in smaller pieces, and its rarer and more expensive. The hardest to work with, as well. Basically any blades you see will be made of akornin. She pulled the greatsword from its harness, holding it up so the deep blue color gleamed in the sun. The ones not made from metal, that is, but those are pretty uncommon.

I looked back and forth at the two fields flanking the road. Sowhich is

Thosere both akorthist khora, boss, said Biribo. These are categories, not species. There are hundreds of kinds of khora; people divide them up based on what theyre used for.

SoNorth Watch is made from

The walls are akorthist blocks, he said. Akorshil is used for the beams, the floors, some of the inner supports and wall panels. And doors, stuff like that.

In other words, these people relied on crustacean-based analogues for stone, wood, and metal. Wait, why would they need a biological alternative to wood? I couldnt help noticing I hadnt seen a single tree in this alleged forest. For that matter

Why not just build with stone? Surely its more durable. North Watchs state of erosion made it look like it had been abandoned considerably longer than a hundred years.

Stone? Somehow, the two of them looked even more aghast; Donon held up his hands in a crossed gesture in front of his throat while speaking. You mean, like the ground is made of?

Ah, boss Biribo buzzed lower to speak right in my ear. You mayve noticed on the way down that Ephemera is made of archipelagos, suspended above an empty space of a planet with a fiery core far below. In basically every culture on this world, digging up the ground is a major taboo.

How do you lay foundations for buildings, then?

Aster shrugged. Nobody builds where theyd have to cut deep into the living stone, Lord Seiji. Moving dirt around is fine; you have to do that to farm, anyway. I guess its not too much of a problem as long as it doesnt go too deep. Not sure, Im not an architect. Even so, foundation-laying involves lots of prayers from priests and will often have people Blessed with Magic supervising in case something goes wrong, like if you crack the bedrock by mistake. The early stages of construction always involve a big ceremony.

Im guessing you people dont have cellars, then.

Whats a cellar?

I stared at her for a moment, processing, then turned and resumed walking. Seconds later, footsteps hastened along behind me as they caught up.

So, there are no oceans, I murmured. Where do you get your water from?

Rain, and natural springs. Those feed streams and rivers. An ocean is a source of water, then?

Hmm. Do you do much fishing?

Fishing?

I looked back at her, pantomiming casting a rod. You know, to get fish. Animals that live in the water. For food.

Aster frowned in puzzlement; it was Donon who answered in a hesitant voice. There are animals that go in the water? Some of them are edible. I know geese like to swim. Also there are predatory shellbacks that hide in streams and jump out to grab you. I never heard of anything that just lives underwater all the time.

I scrubbed at my eyes with both fists. And I dont suppose you eat any, say, grain crops that grow in the water.

Grain? From water? Aster frowned even harder. What country do you come from, Lord Seiji?

Hey, Aster. What am I looking at?

Thats Gwyllthean, Lord Seiji.

I bit back a retort, which was somewhat against my nature, but we were trying to be discreet and there was no point in hiding Biribo if I was just gonna start a fracas right in the middle of traffic.

Yes, I got that, thank you, I replied with admirable patience. Leaving aside how theres no way in hell this was built without deep foundations Why does it go from being built like a normal city towhatever the hell is going on with that big building in the middle?

She glanced at me, then around. Nobody was walking close or looking at us, but she still lowered her voice. Probably for the best; it wouldnt do to broadcast to all and sundry that Lord Seiji didnt understand how anything worked.

The section of the city outside the walls is the poorest district, my lord. I almost snapped at her that time, but it turned out she wasnt stopping, just pausing to gather her thoughts, and continued before I could find something sufficiently spiteful to say. Traditional Fflyr architecture emphasizes using the least individual pieces of akorthist and akorshil possible. The reasons arewell, complicated, Ill explain it in more detail sometime if youre interested. So basically, people down in the Gutters just build out of whatever bricks and planks they can get. As you go higher up toward the palace, the people get richer and so they can afford to buy and transport larger pieces of natural akorthist, and pay architects to design around whatever big chunks they obtain. So those buildings end up shaped more like the natural khora. Basically, the richer a buildings owners are, the more organic itll look.

Huh. Made sense; the palace really did look like something that had grown naturally, or been shaped by wind and rain. And now that I squinted, even from this distance it looked like the walls were single huge chunks of pale blue akorthist, connected by the red columns. That would help explain their odd shape. And in fact, they werent quite as regular as city walls in historical illustrations, varying slightly in height along the battlements.

I continued studying Gwyllthean as we drew closer, noting more interesting features. Some tufts of greenery were visible poking up between buildings in the uppermost tier, even a couple in the middle section. Trees, finally? Also, I hadnt initially noticed as the color of the walls obscured it, but there was a lot of flowing water. In several spots it actually cascaded over lips in the upper ring of walls; from the lower ones it came out of tall grates cut into their bases. I couldnt see what manner of canals cut through the poor district, though there were three visible rivers snaking away from Gwyllthean. Evidently the major water source in this area was in the city itself, apparently up in the highest, middle section. That plus the defensible shape of the hill explained its location. Also why the poor district was apparently called the Gutters.

Aster cleared her throat and shifted to walk closer to me again before speaking in the same soft tone as before. So, Lord Seiji, I hope Im not being presumptuous and please dont think Im challenging you. I didnt want to give that impression, but were almost there, and I cant help

Just spit it out, woman. Im not going to punish anybody for asking reasonable questions, that would be insane.

She gave me a loaded look. Your definition of insanity is common practice for nobles in this country, my lord. But thank you, if you dont mind What exactly do you intend to do in Gwyllthean? I could probably be more helpful if I knew what your plan was.

Wellthat actually was putting me on the spot.There was the concern that I barely knew either of the people following me and wasnt willing to reveal my full plans to them just yet, but that dilemma was made much easier by the fact that I had no plans to speak of, just a selection of half-baked ideas.

I dont know if youve picked this up from context, but I am not from around here.

Ive had that impression, my lord, she said solemnly.

I also glanced around, discreetly, making sure there was no one nearby. A merchant wagon train was lumbering past on the opposite side of the road; the noise of the wheels and animals made a nice cover. By here I mean Ephemera.

Aster gave me a surprised look, but not as surprised as I might have expected. Oh. Its true, then?

That depends on what it is.

That Heroes and Dark Lords are called from another world? There havent been any since before I was born, and I dont think ever in this country, so at this point theres just myth and rumor

Well, its certainly true this time. So to answer your question I want to get a look around.

Thats She frowned quizzically. Thats it?

Thats it. I need to understandwhat Im working with. Everything. Politics, economics. Military. What commoners lives are like. More other subjects than I can even think of to name. Before I can make concrete plans, I need to understand whats happening here, how this country works and how I can operate within and against it. And I dont have time to dawdle. Itll be my ass if Virya gets bored waiting for me to do something. Not to mention the Hero is out there, and I wouldnt put it past that dumbass to let himself get manipulated into murdering me even if all I do is walk around petting puppies and feeding orphans.

I see, she murmured. Wellthere are some things I can show you, of course, and explain. Theres a lot I dont know, but some things I imagine could be useful. You should see the Kings Guild, to begin with. I also need to stop there at some point soon. With your permission, my lord.

I gave her a sidelong look, considering.

Why are you so willing to help, Aster? Just gratitude that I saved you from the bandits?

You didnt save me from the bandits, she said softly. You gave me the power to save myself from them. That makes all the difference in the world. Aside from the fact that I only keep my Blessing if I work for you? I wont deny I have reservations, Lord Seiji. Everything Ive been taught since I was old enough to hear it makes Virya and her Dark Lords out to be the very essence of evil. Destruction, suffering, all of that.

She trailed off, frowning ahead into the distance in deep thought.

But? I prompted after a moment.

But, Aster agreed, having met you, and having thought about how Fflyr Dlemathlys already works Maybe Im rushing to conclusions, but I cant help wondering if you wouldnt actually be better than the way things are now. Im already pretty sure you wouldnt be worse.

Hm. Its that bad, huh?

Her expression darkened further. If youre not a noble, or at least rich? And a man, to boot? It isnt great.

Its a pretty shit country, Lord Seiji, Donon agreed from behind us, not troubling to moderate his voice. Why, the nobles

We both turned to glare at him and he broke off, eyes going wide. Then he glanced furtively about. Fortunately we were somewhat distant from any pedestrians, but one of the armored guards riding along the tail end of the passing merchant caravan gave Donon an amused look and shook his head.

Also, I amended my stated agenda, lets try to avoid getting ourselves arrested, murdered, or otherwise inconvenienced by the powers that be, yeah?

A muffled but clearly derisive noise emerged from inside Asters jacket.