The caravan arrived at Nightfrost that afternoon, an hour or two before dusk. We hadn’t been able to see the city through the windows, and we hadn’t passed any farms or anything on our way. Instead, mountains had seemed to grow from the ground as we traveled the road, slowly rising on either side of the carriage. The road, while wide, was finally sheltered from the wind somewhat as thickly grown trees crowded either side of it, acting as natural windbreaks. It was almost eerie, the relative quiet after spending so long listening to the wind whistle and rattle against the carriage itself.
Eventually our convoy of carriages stopped, and Ophelia and I disembarked. It was the end of our short and uneventful journey, and we thanked the caravan master for the safe travels before heading to the gates.
A monumentally tall wall surrounded the city, seamlessly pulled up from the earth and stone below. It stood at least 80 feet tall, and completely hid the city from view from the outside. It was the single largest structure I had ever seen, and I was only getting a glimpse at its curving majesty. Ice covered almost every inch of it, a thin sheet that glistened in the low light of the setting sun. Heavily dressed men and women patrolled the wall above, occasionally looking out over its edge to stare down at we lowly civilians.
“Why is it so large?” I asked as we got into the line to enter the city, quickly growing now that the convoy was emptying out its passengers. The wagons were led to a separate line, one obviously dedicated for incoming trade, but those of us who were there as just citizens or travelers made use of the common gate. There was a third gate as well, but nobody lined up there, and the guard looked bored and cold, his nose red and dripping from what I could see.
“Monsters mostly. The height is to keep them from scaling up the wall easily, and gives the guard better sightlines through the mountains.” She pointed out a couple points where the ice had been broken, revealing what I will always remember as ‘murder holes’. “Archers can fill in the middle floors of the wall and shoot out of those, or drop heavy stones down. Mages too, occasionally, though they prefer the more open space atop the wall.”
Well, that made the wall even more imposing. The idea that a hidden archer or mage could be waiting, watching, ready to kill any of us at a moment's notice through a hole only a few inches wide was freaky, and I was suddenly a lot more aware of the surroundings.
We passed through the gate eventually, Ophelia handing the gate guard a few of our silver coins as a ‘donation’ to the city guards fund. I guess that made it easier, considering neither of us had the papers that other people were handing to them.
“Bribeable guards. Wonderful.” I was starting to get an iffy feeling about the city now. If the guards responsible for who came in and out of the city were so easy to get past, what did that say for the rest of the place? And yet, I needn’t have worried. Despite my concerns, it seems that corruption was as typical a problem here as anywhere else.
The city beyond the walls was gorgeous, truly breathtaking. We stepped from the gate and into a plaza stuffed full of men and women. From the ears, I could guess that most of them were elves, but I saw a surprising mix of other races as well. Far more than the almost homogeneously human town of Maugdlin. Dwarves, short and thick with long, braided beards and hair were the second most populous people. I say short, but most were almost five feet tall, and almost all of them could easily be described as stocky. Compared to the elves, who were on average tall and lithe, it was quite the contest. I felt like I had just stepped into a city in a Tolkien book. Besides the two typical fantasy races, I saw a plethora of others. Humans came and went, as well as a tough looking reptilian race that I would just call lizard men for the moment. Those had longer mouths, and were covered in scales from head to thick, somewhat short tail.
The city itself was even more impressive. Close to the main gate, the buildings were shorter, one or two stories tall. Snow gathered on the roofs, even in the spring, and icicles hung down from rafters. I didn’t see a single gutter, and I wasn’t sure if that was because they hadn’t been invented yet, or because this place never got rain, only snow and ice. The further away from the gate, the taller the buildings seemed to become. We walked the streets together, sticking close, and I noticed that the ground rose away from the main gate, up and up. We made a direct path for the western edge of the city, using convenient stairs between buildings to avoid the main roads as those took more circuitous routes through the city to make sure carriages and wagons could be pulled through.
“How many people live here?” I asked as we walked, doing my best, and certainly failing, to memorize the layout of the city. However, the way the entire city rose the further you got from the gate meant that it would never be too difficult to get an idea as to what direction you were headed.
“About 40 thousand, according to the last census I believe.” Her tone was neutral, and just a bit stressed. Since we had arrived, she had been the counterpoint to my own open mouthed amazement. Her demeanor was stressed and on guard, having caught more than one pickpocket attempting to steal from me.
I had ignored it long enough though. The alley we were passing through led to another public staircase, and it was quiet. We had gotten far enough into a residential area that I wasn’t afraid we would be overheard. “What's up? You’ve had a bee in your bonnet since we’ve arrived.” I asked, taking a more cautious look around us myself.
“I’m worried that a-” she started, but was interrupted as a crimson haired woman dropped down suddenly from above, landing silently between us.
“Cousin!” She squealed, and brought her arms out wide, as if to take Ophelia in a bear hug.
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“Clarise, what are you doing here?” Ophelia asked, stepping back and away from both the new woman and myself. She dodged the hug artfully, and her face suddenly became impassive and impossible to read.
“Why, sister sent me of course! She told me our little cousin had come back to town, and with a man in tow!” The woman, Clarise, turned to face me, giving me a full view of her for the first time. And damn. I mean… Damn. Clarise was a beauty of the ages. Nearly six feet tall, her head came up just under my nose. Her hair and eyes were the same blood red crimson as Ophelia’s, but her face was more defined. A small, pointed nose that was ever so slightly upturned. Full, pouty lips stained red with some kind of makeup. Her long ears were pierced several times over, with studs, hoops, and even dangling jewels decorating her. She had the body of a pin-up model, dressed in a tight red dress that stopped just above her ankles. Her feet were bare though, and almost perfect as well. That struck me as quite odd, considering the bitter cold and the roughness of the roads.
“My lady.” I said simply, and bowed, pulling off my oversized hat as I did so. I kept my eyes on her feet, watching for even the smallest shift in body weight.
“Ah. Ophelia already taught you proper manners, did she?” The woman giggled coquettishly and turned away from me, so I rose. “You’ve started training your pet quite well! Sister will be so happy to hear it!” She took a few steps towards Ophelia and leaned in, whispering something in her ear.
Whatever it was, Ophelia was not happy to hear it. Her face paled, going a shade whiter than I thought living beings could go, and her lips instantly turned tight, pressing together into a sharp line.
“Give cousin Eliza my greetings please, Clarise. And let her know I’ll come by tomorrow.” Ophelia’s voice was like ice itself, cold and sharp. Whatever the other woman had said, it had flicked a button, hard.
“I shall cousin! So wonderful to see you again! I’m really glad you made it back!” Clarise turned and gave me a wink, her lips pouting out in a way that made my heart beat. “And you, darling boy, do come say hello as well! I’m certain Sister would be very interested to meet you!”
Clarise disappeared as quickly as she had come. One moment she was between us, the next she crouched down and jumped, her feet leaving a puff of dirt in their wake as she disappeared onto the roofs above. I never heard a footstep from her the entire time.
“What the hell was that?” I asked after a moment, once Ophelia seemed to have regained some of her composure.
“That was Clarise, my cousin, and younger sister of the current head of the house, Eliza.” She answered, face still pale. “It seems that Eliza wishes to meet you. Her last personal attendant seems to have passed away in a fatal accident, and she is looking for a replacement.”
“A replacement? I thought that your family treated personal attendants as more than servants or slaves. What kind of attitude is that?” I was getting a little upset, feeling like this conversation was about to go into unpleasant territory.
“My family, the Eilif’s do. But Clarise’s family, the Tellus branch, sees them as tools to be disposed of once they prove to no longer be useful. She likely drained her last one dry once she grew bored of him.” She reached over to me and grabbed my arm. “We need to go, now.”
“And she wants me?” I asked, still confused. But I let her drag me away.
“I doubt it's you specifically. She just wants someone, and she knows I wouldn’t come back with anything typical with the position my family is in. So you being here interests her for that reason alone. Now hurry. It's not safe here anymore.”
I wasn’t sure what she meant, but I followed her anyway. We beat a quick path up the west side of the city, moving more quickly than before, rising higher and higher. The tightly packed buildings started to become more ornate, with more space between them. Eventually, we came to a gated community that pressed up against the wall of the city. The guards, spotting Ophelia’s red hair, let her through without a word.
Seven enormous homes sat in the gated area. Three lined each side of the road, growing progressively more ornate the further down they went. The last and final home sat at the end of the road, giving the same impression as someone sitting at the head of a table. Each manor had a winter approximation of a lawn, decorated in native plants and winter rose bushes that bloomed even in the freezing cold.
We stopped at the first one on the left, and Ophelia quickly rushed us towards it, knocking on the door several times. “Lena! Lena open the door, it's Ophelia!” she shouted, and we both heard footsteps running towards the door suddenly.
It shot inward, and a small, mini Ophelia launched herself out of the doorway. Tiny arms wrapped around the elf and squeezed tight as a girl who couldn’t have been older than 12 gripped Ophelia. “Fi-Fi!” She yelled, giggling happily as she wrapped her legs around Ophelia as well, hanging off my companion like a spidermonkey.
“Lena!” Ophelia finally relaxed, hugging her sister tightly against her before setting her down. She quickly ushered Lena and I inside and shut the door behind us. I heard it lock as she turned a heavy deadbolt.
“Who’s this?” Lena asked, pointing at me. Big, red, inquisitive eyes stared up at me, and I just stared back for a moment before bowing to her as well.
“My lady! I am Niles Thatcher, Ophelia’s attendant. Pleasure to meet you.” I used the greetings Ophelia had coached me on, and clutched my hat in my hand so it wouldn’t fall to the floor.
“Ohhhhhhhhhh.” Lena gave Ophelia a knowing look before she turned and bolted off. “Daddy! Ophelia’s home, and she brought a BOY with her!!!!” The young girl was gone, out of sight but certainly not out of hearing.
Ophelia turned and gave me an apologetic smile. “Sorry about her. Its been a few months now, and I’m sure she’s missed me as much as I’ve missed her.”
“Nah, don’t worry about it. I always wanted a younger sibling actually. Its kinda cute.” I smiled at Ophelia, but we both went a bit wide eyed as heavy footsteps resounded through the building, getting closer.
“Your sister is back already?” I could hear a deep, masculine voice rumbling through the house, and the footsteps only grew closer, each one seeming to shake the entire house to the foundation. “And what’s this about a boy?” He sounded pretty damn angry, and the house shook even more.
Well shit.