The night passed restlessly.

We had arrived in the city when it was at its most silent, but after what felt like one or two hours of peaceful sleep, the city quickly stirred itself to life, awakening an unsynchronized orchestra of noise.

There came everywhere the sound of hard heels hitting the cobbled pavement, blending with the rhythmic clatter of hooves and the rumble of carriage wheels and far-away bells from the many ships. Even from inside the tavern itself, came the shuffling of feet and low and polite voices, and soon the chaos from the kitchen, pots and pans clanging, the hiss of steam, and then, of course, the wonderful smell of food—fried fishes and bread.

It was the smell that finally forced Florencia and me from the comfort of our bed. It was soft there, and warm from her embrace, but we had to start the day.

When we came down for breakfast, after having a quick wash, we found Iskander and Jaxine already enjoying a hearty meal of smoked fish, oilfired, and steaming-fresh bread that smelled mouthwatering. Jace followed quickly after, looking somewhat disheveled.

We finished our meals quickly and without talking much. Jaxine was shifting around restlessly, eager to get going and not to waste another moment.

“So, what’s the plan here?” asked Iskander, shoving the last piece of toasted bread with salted butter into his mouth.

It was a funny thing, looking at Iskander, as when we had left Estalarch that one week ago, he had cleaned himself up, looking rather sophisticated even with his wild black hair. But now, after that week of travel, he had let his appearance go and looked almost as haggard as he had when we met him in Scorro. It was only his clothes that gave him the look of someone higher than that of a common worker. If I was to dress him in a shabby oilcloth, he could go without any trouble and work on a ship or the docks or a lumber mill.

Florencia kept bumping her foot against my calf under the table, maybe letting off some pent-up tension. After Iskander’s question, she said: “Let’s cross off the obvious first. I feel that we should start out by talking with the Lord Mayor first, and see what he has to tell us. We’ll go from there.”

It was as good as any other plan, and I had no objections, and neither had Iskander nor Jaxine. In fact, Jaxine didn’t really care what we decided. She was plenty content with letting us choose the course of action, and then comment on whether she liked it or not. I found it rather amusing, but Florencia was secretly annoyed and kept rolling her eyes at her many critiques.

We left the tavern at an early time. The place had no mechanical clock, so we guessed it must’ve been an hour past sunrise or so. The innholder, looking fresh and alert this time, politely explained how to get to the town hall, and bowed deeply after I generously paid for our stay.

“Please come back if you stay for longer,” the man said eagerly. “I’ll give you my best rooms and fresh sheets for you.”

Truth be told, we had no idea how long we would stay in Caffria, but my heart told me it wasn’t for too long. The city had a calm flow to it, even though the life around us was all but calm. It was, still, the largest port city in the country, and one of the largest on the entire southern coast of the continent. But there was no great struggle here that my heart would warn me against. Sure, I sensed foul ponds of energies here and there, but no deep-rooted evil.

We left our horses in the tavern stable for the time being. We thought it would be easier to navigate the streets by foot. The stablehands working there seemed to be competent, with an older gentleman commanding four male teens, all very keen to work their hardest.

The streets were packed, noisy, and colorful. We had to ask for directions many times, as the winding and serpentine roads crisscrossed in ways we could not expect, and we got lost quite a few times.

After getting lost for the third time, and we had to backtrack to a larger path, Jace’s frustration bubbled over. “Just look at this mess! This is what happens when a city grows so huge that nobody can even understand where one street goes. Nobody bothers to plan anything anymore.”

“You should come and see Raundiesnoord,” said Iskander. “Streets like these are everywhere. They have their charm once you get used to them.”

“Why would anyone want to get used to this mess,” said Jace, but more to himself. Iskander laughed, and we went ahead, slightly demoralized.

“I told you,” said Florencia. “This city is like a machine, but without a soul. I don’t like it here too much.”

“I see why...” mumbled Jace, and kicked a loose piece of gravel away.

Letting our horses stay at the stable seemed like a good idea at the time. We made our way through and onto the massive main boulevard of Caffria, edged by a row of tall trees growing, but our destination seemed to stretch infinitely into the distance, almost as if moving away with each step we took. I even saw it, the wide, triangular-shaped roof of orange where the Lord Mayor made his work. Jaxine had been complaining rather soon after leaving the tavern that we should’ve turned back and gathered our horses. And as the hours dragged on, and midday was approaching, I began to agree with her as well.

But the hours did pass, and my boots dug into my heels and the landwind from the north slowly turned more towards the deep-blue ocean. Overhead, everywhere that we could see, were countless birds—seagulls and the smaller shoregliders—that dove and soared along the skies.

When the wind had finally changed its direction, now coming from the almost snakelike bay, where yellow and ruddy beaches lines the coastline, the sharp bite of the late-autumn wind lessened. From the south came a warm breath of fresh air, smelling of seaweeds, and almost felt like spring had come, and the grim cold was a faraway memory.

On the main boulevard, we spoke very little, as there was too much noise around us from all the comings and goings of the townspeople. I had it harder than the others, as I still had not gathered my new abilities under my command yet. The noise was sometimes so overwhelming that I stumbled forward only guided by Florencia’s grasp on my arm. My thoughts and emotions were drowned out by those of others, and many times I found myself thinking thoughts that were not my own.

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“Did I tie that noose right?” “I gotta check up on that manifold again.” “D’we have enough firewood for the week?”

I wondered whether Florencia or Jace ever had that happen as well.

Then, later, clouds appeared in the sky, thick and puffy, and the wind grew in strength.

Finally, we reached the gates of the town hall.

It was a building with many stories, towering above us in its grandeur, and built in the triangular-shaped piece of land where the Varda and Vardurran met, right in the innermost heart of Caffria. From here, I could see both the deep blue ocean far, far off in the distance, and the mighty rivers on our sides.

A company of guards stood before us, donned in uniforms of seagrey and gold, with the proud and old heraldry of Caffria—a gull with outspread wings sitting in a boat—sewn onto the breast of their dull cloaks. Florencia asked to enter the building, but the main guard, some corporal, said we needed to wait here, and he disappeared inside without a second word.

We waited. Jaxine grew more impatient as time stretched on. Florencia turned to me, rolled her eyes again, and stepped away. But I found myself empathizing with Jaxine. We had walked for many miles, with the sun beaming down on us, and with the almost unbearable noise that stopped not for a moment, and now we had to just wait. It was at least understandable that Jaxine felt even more strained. She made for quite a show, stomping along the ironbar fence and gesticulating wildly with her arms, but in the end, she calmed down and sat down beside Iskander.

I remembered Florencia said in the morning, right before we came downstairs, that Jaxine was probably hoping to find this Grasd Vranik here, in Caffria. But she would be massively disappointed to learn that our journey to find the man would not come to an end anytime soon. I had to agree with her in that, at least, but I was more forgiving of Jaxine’s outbursts than Florencia was.

Then, the doors opened, and out came a smaller man, dressed in long robes of satin black, with a dark cloth skullcap. He held his hands in his wide sleeves and had an inquisitive look on his face.

“Hmm… Yes?” The man’s response was casual and dismissive, but then his gaze swept over the five of us. He quickly assessed the finer details—the quality of our coats, the shine on our boots, except for Iskander’s, and, of course, the noticeable presence of three formidable swords. “Um, greetings, honored travelers? I am the personal assistant and secretary to Lord Mayor Vico Fiandconis, baron of Caffria. How may I help?”

“Corso was right, back in the capital,” said Florencia psychically. “With one glimpse, he judged us to be above the common people.”

“We’re looking for an audience with the Lord Mayor,” I said, trying to match my tone of voice to that of Corso.

“Ah, I see,” said the secretary. “And concerning what business?” His tone was careful.

“The business of Veneiea,” I said, thinking quickly. I wanted to see whether I could gain entry without showing Pitties’ mark.

“Veneiea—” mumbled the man, and ran his fingers through his greying, but thick hair. He then looked down and noticed the residual mud on Iskander’s boots, and changed his tone immediately. “I’m sorry, my lord Fiandconis is currently held up, but I’ll look. Please wait.”

He turned, went inside again, and scurried away.

I could hear his hurried steps far inside the massive town hall and even sensed him going to the second floor. We stayed outside on this cloudy and windbound day, flanked on both sides by the town hall guard, who held a pair of eyes on us for the entire time. On any other day, or circumstance, this would’ve been quite close to a perfect day, but we had a long journey behind us and an even greater one ahead. None of us wanted to linger and wait for too long.

It was a good thing that the secretary didn’t take too long to return, this time slower, but still in a hurry in his step.

“My apologies, honored visitors,” said he. “But the Lord Mayor is currently held up in a meeting with the admiral and the marshal. They are discussing matters that are too important to interrupt at the time being. But if you wish to wait until dinnertime, they should be done by then. Or, if you wish, I can pass on a message to our lordship?”

“That won’t be necessary,” I said. “We will come back later, then. But we have to talk to him.”

Knowing that he had to deal with us later today again, his face strained, and he scratched his stubbled chin. Then, he bowed and after some polite words about the weather and the wind, he left. He didn’t even ask why we needed to talk to him, nor even our names.

“That’s it?” said Jaxine, again in anger. “Show him the thing.”

“That wouldn’t have helped us,” I said.

“Actually, I don’t think he would’ve recognized Pitties’ Mark for what it was,” said Florencia rather calmly to Jaxine, who instead gained another level of frustration.

“Then what now?” she whined.

“We have many options,” I said. “We should talk with the city guard captain. What was his name?”

“Captain Ugo Leze,” said Florencia casually.

“Yes. To see whether Ugo Leze has some information about Vranik or anything strange that would give us a lead. And also give him the message from the men from Veneiea,” I said. “Or we could stop by the church of Iscia like the high priestess said—”

“Also,” interrupted Jace, having conquered his frustration over the labyrinthine streets. “If we stopped by a library, we might find someone who recognizes the language from the note we found. There’s bound to be someone who can point us in the right direction.”

“I would forget that piece of trash,” said Iskander.

“No,” said Jace rather forcefully. “I don’t think I will.” And Iskander simply shrugged.

Having too many options was better than a lack of them, I guessed, and I agreed with Jace. If we had the opportunity, we should at least translate the note.

Florencia went back and asked for directions to the guard’s barracks, the church of Iscia where someone called Catia Zyla was giving aid to the survivors of Veneiea, and the main library of Caffria. With a touch of charm and subtle flirting, a young, bright-eyed guardsman willingly shared the best route for us to follow.

It was a stroke of luck for us that all three locations were rather close to each other and that we could visit them all today. But that would mean even more walking.

And with no disagreement, we went back onto the large boulevard and turned quickly to the right.

Soon we were walking right along the quayside. We passed ships of all kinds, narrow and wide, long and short. Most had a shallow keel, meant to navigate the rivers easily, but there were also a few massive sailships, with many masts, unloading crates, and barrels of fish. The ships we passed had sails of white and yellow, and red and orange, and some were sapphire-blue, edged with gold. And the flags that were waving in the wind were those of Lith and Lienor, and those of Valden, and one on the other side of the great Vardurran, was a single flag from the mighty Evilebp.

But not I, or Iskander or Jaxine, were prepared for what soon came into view—the Ironworks Arch Bridge. The route we were on, walking along the Vardurran, had taken us to one of the greatest marvels or architecture in the southern provinces. A massive, arched thing it was, of roseate marble and black iron, that connected the two sides of the city, over the massive river. It must’ve been well over a mile long, eight lanes wide and a generously spacious for pedestrians. And guarded at both entrances were a pair of brass statues of captains of old, holding their sabers aimed high.

As we crossed it, alongside countless others, who were either out on a stroll, or had business across it, Jace said it was probably the largest structure of its kind, in the southern kingdoms. How such a massive structure could even have been built, and by what kind of sorcery I could not tell. Secretly I hoped that Florencia and I could come back here and enjoy its sight without the heavy worries before we had to leave.