The Glass Capital stood as a city on its plains like a giant stone circle. The walls surrounded it just like the city of Ganel as a testament to its incredible age. The Lindell River flowed south of the city and barges of people and goods ran into it. The city was split up into sections like pieces of pie. And inside those slices of pie you had other areas that were divided again. If you could see it from above the city would have looked like a large flower with petals everywhere.
Ed had taken the downtime in the cart during the heat of the day to make extra golems to sell at Ursals shop in the southern district. They needed to raise the gold for their merchant's license just in case. Ed had plenty of gold saved up. Coins had been still coming into his bag like an allowance and they had raised money on the way into the city by selling small goods and minstrel shows. They hadn't made a fortune but anyone else would have considered it a reasonable livelihood.
The road leading to the north gate normally traveled in a southwest direction until you got to the last hill before the city. At the bottom of the hill, the merchant road went from 2 carts wide to more than 8 carts wide. This was to allow caravans to park outside of town with plenty of space to make sure there was always a way to get to the gate quickly for smaller caravans.
Only a few caravans were parked outside the city at this time of year. The harvest in the southern lands had already happened. It was coming up on the worst of winter in the north and they were leaving the summer here. The fall planting was already started and root vegetables would come by caravan and barge in another month or two.
Ed, Rennish, and Ashra made their way to the north gate quietly, the tarp over their little carriage flapped in the wind silently. They wanted less commotion than their last gate crossing. Each time they entered town trouble seemed to follow. Either god, or the church, or even bandits seemed to eye them for some reason.
At the gate, a guard stood with a poleaxe. He had leather armor and cloth pants to help cut out the heat of the day. An awning had been set up to kill the heat of the day but on a windless day like this, it only helped so much.
"State your business." The guard said as he walked towards the gate. Ed had been eyeing for a taxman to come to the cart but none showed.
"We have a delivery from the Taxmen at Northern Gate. We have business with the merchants guild also." Rennish said, holding out the packet that they had received when the crate had been loaded.
The Guard looked at it and undid the leather straps. The trifold paper was pulled out and the guard read through it slowly to make sure it was authentic. "Let me see it." He said slapping the cart.
Ed jumped off the edge and walked to the back. He pulled the edges of the canvas tarp back and exposed the box. It bore the logo of the Northern Gate city and only small bags and boxes sat around it. They had traveled light and their load for Ursal's stores was in the lockboxes under the cart.
"Okay, take this load inside the gate. Turn right just inside and follow the wall. You will see the taxmen stable. A porter will take it from there and verify it's seal." He said as he walked towards the front. "How long do you plan to stay?"
Ed piped up, "Not long, we have a business back in the north to attend to." Rennish looked at him knowing the lie. Ed was being more calculated than normal. He was still not comfortable in cities given the history they had lately.
"Okay move along." The guard handed back the packet and waved at the cart. Ed walked beside the cart while Rennish drove it through.
The northernmost slice of the city is populated by the Fay and Sprite peoples. These Demi-humans would look like gnomes or trolls to most people, also the few Mole Demi's lived here also. They felt at ease with these peoples because they preferred quiet underground houses and the mole and vole people were very solitary.
The Taxmen's stable was a building painted black, with the most imposing gold-painted emblem on it that Ed had ever seen. It screamed despair and business. He wasn't sure if it was a calculated move or not but the effect was chilling enough to deter people who didn't have business here. A small porter came out of the building when they pulled up outside and demanded their paperwork.
An inspection of the paperwork was met with a grunt and the porter whistled to some unseen workforce inside the barn.
At least a dozen small men in leatherwork clothes popped out of every dark space and rushed towards the cart. Ashra screamed in surprise when they seemed to swarm the back. They had hammers and tools and carefully removed the retaining metal straps from the box that had been bolted down the whole trip there.
It took less than 5 minutes of frenzied activity before they were hauling it off the cart and back towards the building. They sat it down just inside the entrance to the stable. The first man reached over and put his hand on the top of the box and chanted something under his breath.
Ed was amazed when the top glowed a gold color and then the wood disappeared. It was sealed magically, which wasn't unusual. The part that caught him off guard was that he had been next to this contraption and never felt the power. To hide it that well was a skill he needed. It might also play into the cure for her condition.
"Excuse me! If you don't mind my asking, who seals your boxes? We could use security like that on our travels!" Ed yelled at the tiny man currently inspecting the top of the box.
"Can't tell, trade secret. Talk to the guild. They have men who can do the same." He grunted, as he checked a manifest and rummaged through the box. Ed could see ledgers and bags of gold. He saw tools and other items. It looked as if one of his golems was inside their also.
Finally, a book was removed and dusted off by the small man. He walked back to the cart and looked up at Ed and Rennish. "Payment. Now I suggest you head to the merchant's guild and get your license." He said looking up at them across a large hooked nose.
Ed took a step down to get the book from him. It was some kind of hand bound book; Ed was afraid to open it for fear of age and damaging it. He had expected gold, well hoped for gold really. But to get out of town with no fines and bring this box here meant that he was free of the Northern Gate authorities for now.
Rennish smiled and waved, "Pleasure doing business with you." He said with only a small hint of sarcasm. Ashra spread herself out in the rear. Her legs had been tucked next to her frame for several days of travel and she was feeling cramped.
They headed towards the town center in their cart. Like I said the city is a flower. The main central area houses government and some guild halls. Certain groups of Demi's preferred theirs in other areas. The Merfolk for example liked theirs by the docks where water was plentiful but not always clean. The northern peoples kept theirs underground. The Dwarven peoples kept theirs near the wall where the cold rock felt like familiar mines and caves.
There were hotels in the center and being so close to the government should have some kind of security. As an extra measure of security Ed had gone one step further. During his daily training to hone his skills with Mana and divine energy he had brainstormed about magical instruments. Items that he created had the desired output.
Anything made by anyone else had the risk of releasing all its energy at once because Ed was like a magical short circuit. He was playing with the bag of instruments when he thought to ask for an 'Instrument of Disguise'. He had pulled out 3 cloaks. Which at first Ed thought was a joke. They had cloaks. They had fairly nice cloaks actually.
Ed had peeked into his shared tent with Ashra to see if she was asleep. He needed to so he could get something from their supplies. The result was she sat bolt upright and screamed. At first, Ed thought it was a side effect of whatever was happening to her. She yelled for Erust to come and save her. He was glad her first response was to seek him out but then he realized that he was already there.
The cloaks would give you the image of being someone else. If anyone was looking at you, even someone who knew you, they would never recognize you. Ed thought it was irony again because he was wearing someone else's face, or possibly he was Erust walking around with Ed's brain. The logic in that hurt his head when he thought about it for too long.
They checked into a hotel, Ed being the only one with the correct name. He had given false names for Rennish and Ashra as extra security. The plan was for Ed to go to the Merchants guild with his satchel and pay the price for the permanent license.
Rennish and Ashra were to go to the government building and look for a healer or divine or something to help break the magic around Ashra. They were going to stay only one night to avoid anyone possibly seeing them and then head out through the east gate in the morning through the gate to the east in the section of town that the Felis and Lupis peoples shared. With any luck they could make it out without being seen or disturbed, for once.
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Ed asked for a cart to be called for him, he had his satchel tucked under his cloak and was headed to the merchants guildhall. He needed to pay for this license and anything else that he might find useful. The trip was short by comparison to his trip through Ganel. And the merchants building was a far more common looking building than the church or the Taxmen. It was almost sterile-looking in its utilitarian nature.
The inside had a hall with benches for seating and a series of windows with clerks of various different demi races. All races were represented so that each person would have a chance to pick a person with whom they felt comfortable.
Ed walked up to the shortest line which happened to be another of the goblin race. "Business please," the goblin man said to him in a terse hoarse voice.
"I have been sent by the Taxman in Northern Gate to convert my license," Ed said and held out the packet he had been given.
The tiny man took the packet and thumbed through it. The small metal plaque that signified his rights as a merchant was inspected by the man who determined everything was in order. "Stand here." He said to Ed and jumped down from the window into and floated off somewhere into the back.
Ed waited and listened to other people lodge complaints about sales or taxes collected. It seemed like the merchants guild first and the most important job was to be a mediator. That explained the exorbitant 500 gold they wanted as a deposit. It was like a form of insurance.
At the far end of the windows was a door. It creaked open and the Goblin walked through. "You, come this way. Boss needs to see you."
Ed stepped back from the window and sighed. 'Here we go again. I can't go into town without getting messed with somehow." He followed the small man through the entry and back a hallway that made Ed shiver a bit. It reminded him of the wooden version of the Northern Gate guardhouse. He was seated at another bench near a door and told to wait.
Thirty minutes later a door opened. It was opened by a Demi-Human he had never seen before. The man had feathers. The bird peoples were rare, and by rare I mean worshipped as gods rare. This man was of the Raven Class of Demi-humans who were one of the few common ones because of their amazing intelligence. They also made excellent businessmen because of their desire to collect things. Most of the other races had died off during the great war and only a few handfuls of the Eagle, Harpy and owl folks still lived.
"Erust, sit please." The man said. His jet black feathers shone even in the low light of the room. The face and body were birdlike, his feet were of a bird and his wings had long fingers at the edges where the wing bent. It was like having a conversation with a full-sized crow, and slightly unsettled Ed because Ravens and crows were considered portents of doom based on old superstitions. Seeing him for the first time he could see how that might be something leftover from that war.
"Are you aware what the Brass Collector is?" The raven said perching behind the desk.
"No sir, I am a simple merchant from the northlands trying to make a living. This is my first trip south as I have just married into the Lynx Felis-ine clan." Ed said, trying to give just enough information to explain himself.
"Interesting. Humans and Felis-ine, Have you met the village elder yet? I really would love to know how that goes." The raven said looking at Ed with one eye and then swiveling his head to look at him from the other.
"No sir, but I can send you a letter and inform you if you'd like. So what is a Brass Collector?"
"Yes, this is a merchants coin given to people who travel across both lands. Most humans don't travel south and most demi's don't travel north. Normally this requires a huge deposit of gold to ensure the merchant and purchase you back in the event of a ransom. Or pay off your loads in the event of bandits. What did you do to acquire such a coin as this as your Merchants token?"
"That I am aware of nothing. I was given it by the Taxman to bring here to set up my account. The only thing that happened was that we were attacked in the market place. I was accused of slave trading because of my wife."
The raven nodded and looked at the coin. "Well sign your name here on this form and name your company. Your merchants' fees and licenses are paid for by the guild. List your home office down and I will make sure that your forms are ready for inspection."
Ed sighed another hiccup. "We are caravaners. We have no home office. It's just the three of us in the company. A friend, my wife and I."
The raven looked at Ed again with a cocked head. "Interesting, do you have a home?"
"Yes, in the border between lands we have a house near an Oasis but its nearly impossible to find. Can you simply hold the paperwork for me?"
"As you wish. Here is your Brass Collector back. Do not loose this. You see these coins date back to the days of antiquity and state that the person is a merchant of the gods. There are few that still worship the god of collection, Golliad, openly but merchants love any advantage they can get. Even if it means they must speak to the divine occasionally."
Ed understood finally. If Golliad was involved this was probably his scheme. The question became was he involved in the even with Ashra. Ed wasn't sure if he could call him from the southern lands or not. The thought was intriguing.
"Thank you," Ed said. He reached into his satchel in his lap and tucked it into the pocket where his coin purse lay. The satchel currently weighed in at about 15lbs because the 500 pieces of gold were stashed inside. He wanted to stand up and leave but had not yet been asked to do so.
"Excuse me,," Ed said. "Do you have mages who deal in sealing magic or divine sealing?"
"We have our own mages to do so and we can loan one out to you. We will not unseal something unless it is owned by you." The raven looked at him with his other eye this time. The fact that he switched his head around so much was unnerving to Ed.
"Oh, thank you." Ed said, "Do you need anything else from me?"
The raven made a small noise and the feathers in his chest, neck, and head slowly furled and unfurled up and down. "No, I guess not. Please return before your first year is up to pick up your forms. You should come to tell me about the meeting with the Felis people.
Ed excused himself. The raven man called in another small goblin man. "Follow him until he leaves. Make sure he is not bothered but also don't let him interfere. Having humans with our tokens is a dangerous thing."
Ed was contemplating how to get ahold of Golliad. Ed had searched for divine power and was looking at auras for any sign of the divine. Nothing was showing up. The city was as if it made intentionally devoid of any divine interference. Even the ghosts left his place alone.