Spanner whispered in Maya’s ear harshly, “Bow your head!”, but it was too late. The hierarch tilted back his and stared for a moment before addressing Maya.
“You girl, with the bag. Come here.” Before Maya could respond, Spanner was already on her feet. “I’m sorry Lord Justice, she’s new to the city, from out of town, didn’t know. It’s my fault really, should have-“ The hierarch waved his hand to silence Spanner. “Sit down woman before I have your pass. Girl, come here.” Maya rushed a panicked glance at Spanner, who winced, then nodded as she sat back down. Maya stood, and cautiously approached. She clutched her bag straps tight, and finally lowered her head.
As she got close, she dared to look back up again, but the hierarch wasn’t looking at her face. “Your bag there, where did you get it? Is it what I think it is?”
Maya froze. If this hierarch knew what it was, surely this was game over. Despite this, nothing but the truth, or at least part of it could leave Maya’s lips. “My grandfather gave it to me, when he died.” The man twisted his pointed beard, and looked Maya over. “New to the city, that’s one way to put it. Right, find another bag to put that one inside of, keep it with you. Keeps your hands in your pockets, they’re another give away, better yet get Misvan gloves. What’s your name?”
“Maya.”
“Well, Maya from-“ He cocked an eyebrow and almost grinned, “-out of town, I’ll be keeping an eye on you. Stay out of trouble.” The other hierarch pulled a small stone disc from inside her robes and held it out for Maya to take, as the first continued to speak. “I won’t press you any further, for now, but if you find yourself in need of a Justice, come to us first. Now go and sit with your friend.”
Maya accepted the token, and backed away slowly, before turning and rushing to her seat beside Spanner. Before she’d even reached her bench, the two hierarchs had resumed their conversation, albeit in slightly more hushed tones. Spanner glared at Maya as she sat, “So, he knows?!”
Maya nodded, “I think so, but he seemed nice?” Spanner stifled a scoff and shook her head, “Justice hierarchs are many things, nice is not one of them. Do take the advice, though. We’ll get you some gloves, and a satchel to put your bag in. We’ll have to watch our backs. If one hierarch has spotted you so easily, we’d best avoid any others. ”
“But why, if it was such a big deal, surely he wouldn’t just let me go?”
“I’ll be honest, I’m not sure why he has, I thought we were done for. Odds are he knows you’re being looked for, and definitely that a Terran in Nurba is out of the ordinary. Although if the hierarchs are anything like the city guard, they’ll be hating the fact the Fylguard are weaselling their way into Nurba. Maybe they won’t give you up, even if he does know they want ya. Either way, we should probably be more careful. Keep your fingers together for now, if you can, people won’t notice the lack of webbing.”
As Spanner finished speaking, the carriage door was pulled shut by one of the platform attendants, and they jerked into motion. Then, as the carriage pulled free of the platform, the noise of the river below became increasingly apparent to Maya. The small box of seats rushing through a dark tunnel was very reminiscent of the underground trains from home. The notion of familiarity however, did not last long. The carriage quickly emerged from the dark tunnel of the platform and shot out over the rushing water of the Gouge. Suspended from a chain that spanned the radius of the city, the carriage headed with a pace towards the centre. Maya stared out across the foamy expanse to see dozens of other carriages doing exactly the same.
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As with all public transport Maya had experienced in the past, the novelty wore off relatively quickly. People came and went in the six stops before their destination, and it was those people that Maya found much more fascinating than the engineering marvel she was riding. She watched as passengers went about their lives, oblivious to the momentous experience she was herself living. They laughed, argued, sulked, and smiled, all while maintaining precisely no interest in Maya and her companion. As if intent on not letting Maya forget she was out of place, the two hierarchs periodically glanced over and caught her eye. The intimidating pair rode all the way the centre, but quickly disappeared upon their arrival.
It didn’t take long for the quick change to the northeasterly spoke to once again help Maya feel less significant. Spanner barged them through crowds and gates until they reached the relative safety of a carriage and awaited their departure. As the carriage eventually pulled away Spanner turned to Maya with a serious expression.
“Right, two ways we can do this. Alchemist first, and I can leave you there while I go do my stuff. Or my work first and you come with me. It’ll be boring though, I’m measuring up a shop fitting. I figure I’d offer though, in case you’d rather not be left alone?”
“Erm, if that’s ok? I don’t really know what to ask the alchemist anyway.”
“Well how about, ‘Excuse me mister, I wanna be a hazemaker. Can you help?’”
Maya grinned, “Of course, simple.”
“It is, or at least it can be. Why make it more complicated? You want something. Its a reasonable want, that you can’t achieve on your own. So you ask for help. My livelihood depends on people asking for help, ain’t nothing wrong with it. Fact of the matter is, almost everyone’s livelihood, rely on somebody else needing help. At least normal people anyway. I don’t understand why people struggle with it. Worst case scenario, he can’t help.”
“But what if he reports me to the Fylguard?”
“For what? Look, I know fluff face is all paranoid. And to be fair, its understandable, the way people treat his lot. Most people however, don’t care. They’re too busy living their own life. People here don’t like the Fylguard, see em as a threat. It’d take some special kind of snot-nosed Nurban, to hand you over to them, and even then they’d have to know they were looking for ya. Kid, is it a good idea to not go flashing around the fact your Terran and have a magic bag? Probably. Does that mean you don’t trust anyone at all? No. You ain’t getting anywhere on your own, and there’s only so much I can do for ya.”
The brutal sense of Spanner’s words filtered through Maya’s mind, but did little to allay her concerns. “If it’s all the same, I’d still rather come with you.” Spanner nodded, and resumed staring out out of the carriage at the passing waters.
The second half of their journey felt quicker, and Maya quickly acclimated to the comings and goings of people at each stop along the way. The crowds mirrored the first half, becoming more and more sparse as they drifted away from the centre, and the pair soon reached their stop.
As Maya and Spanner emerged from the platform steps, onto the streets of Amethyst Village, Maya was hit with her first indication that this was not the same as Gomin. The road itself gleamed in the sunlight. Instead of cobblestones, it was flat cream coloured flagstones arranged in delicate patterns. The buildings had flowers and colourfully painted fronts. The passersby stood tall, and walked slowly, and once again, Maya felt out of place. Spanner smirked, seeing Maya’s eyes darting about. “Bit different, eh?”
“Just a bit. I take it this is where the money is?”
“It is indeed. My work here lets keep my prices down for the work I do in other places. These people, whether they know it or not, have paid for more than a few repairs in Gomin, Troust, even Moen. Some people think they’re a bit snobby, but they ain’t bad. Just lucky, and although it might not seem like it all the time, most of em do know it.”
“So where are we headed?”
Spanner lifted her hand and pointed along the street at a huge white tower that dominated the local skyline. The suns glare made it hard to look at, which only added to the spectacle.
“Sixth floor, a new jeweller is setting up shop. I did some work for him when he started out in Troust. He’s done well for himself and wanted someone he trusts. Let’s go.”