So green, Nina thought to herself as her gaze drifted across the land that was spread out below her. Thick like heavy brush strokes of paint, gigantic swathes of grassland stretched away to the horizon. Besides a few sparse forests and the city that she saw in the distance, the varying patchwork of green filled her vision as though a blanket had been draped over the earth.
“Zaffre’s Moat,” Reina said as she eased beside her. It still amazed her how good Reina was at maneuvering through the air with hardly any visible motions, but she guessed that the amount of practice she’d had was just as impressive. She had tried to flick her foot to slide against the wind before, but it seemed that even her small movements ended up with spectacularly ungraceful results.
Nina could see that the city in the distance was quite literally surrounded by a moat - three of them in fact. There were two inner moats which surrounded the grey city walls, and then an outer moat which surrounded the walled farmland around it. The fact that the rings of blue were so easily visible from their vantage point led her to believe that they would be impressive features up close.
“Zaffre is the only city on the plate,” Reina continued with a twinge of annoyance on her face as Trim changed the song. “Any other settlements on the plate are forbidden, and the Royal Guard has systematically searched the entire plate and destroyed all shafts to Areinis besides the three in the city.”
“You can destroy them?”
“Apparently so,” Reina shrugged. “Fill them up, cover them over, I don’t know what they did but it seemed to work. Either way, most of the people at Zaffre’s are not very fond of people from the plates above.”
“It’s hard not to be skeptical when it could start raining prisoners at any time,” Jade laughed as she passed them headfirst, spiraling around loosely as Aline shot after her. Were they playing tag?
“Don’t worry, it’s not a problem,” Reina said as she leaned backwards, lazing against the wind that rushed around them. “They’re familiar with us.”
Do they know that we’re bringing contraband in? Nina thought as her eyes flicked over to one of Svanda’s bulging pockets. Either they didn’t, or there was some kind of corruption going on. Neither of them were scenarios that Nina was particularly comfortable with either.
Apparently the city was a no fly zone. As a result, the group descended on the outskirts of the larger moat that surrounded the farmland, where Nina finally began to grasp just how large the city was. As if it were something out of a medieval tale, the city was comprised almost entirely of wood and grey stone, towering walls crisscrossing the city and wrapping around an imposing castle which sat at the centre. In a ring around the castle grounds were large stone mansions complete with a variety of gardens, lakes, and plazas – the homes of the nobility. In a further ring around them was a collection of buildings and houses that strongly reminded her of paintings she had seen of medieval towns.
“There are three factions on Zaffre’s,” Reina explained as she judged the distance between themselves and the ground. “The Royal Family in the centre controls the city through the nobility and the Royal Guard, but their power is kept in check by the Farmer’s League and the Merchant Guild. The relationships between the three are complex, and it’s difficult to avoid picking a side.”
Nina observed the farms that surrounded the city. Unlike the circular wall that ran around the city, the wall that surrounded the farmland was octagonal, the area inside walled into eight equal portions. Together they formed a wheel of colour around the city, as a variety of grains, fruits, and vegetables were grown in large plots. Two of the areas on the far side seemed to be dedicated to livestock.
“This is... huge,” Nina said as the city began to block out her sight of the farms on the far side. Even though they were still descending, the city now seemed far in the distance, the tall stone walls that surrounded each area stretching away from them for kilometers. The group stopped their conversations as Trim flicked her stereo off, their feet touching down on the grass below after they coasted the final few meters.
“The land around the city provides everything they need,” Reina said as she looked up at the gate they had landed near. “Although they do have a moving lumber camp to provide timber and a quarry somewhere, almost everything is constructed from stone.”
“A lot of it,” Jade smiled as they moved towards the gate. She wasn’t lying either - Nina guessed that the wall surrounding the farmland was at least five or six meters tall. A wide stone arch with a drawbridge sat at the meeting point of the two areas they had landed beside, the wooden bridge currently retracted. Nina turned around and looked behind her to see an endless field of grass in every direction, the land flat without a hint of elevation. After they had been on the move constantly since they had dropped into the badlands, Nina welcomed the change of pace.
It was idyllic, to a certain extent. The sky was blue, the rolling fields were green like what she would see on a postcard, and the air was clean. It wasn’t cold, but the gentle breeze was cool enough for Nina to smile as the scent of the grain crops on the other side of the wall reached her nose. She brushed a strand of hair over her ear as she listened to the gentle movement in the moat below, wondering where the water was from. If it wasn’t for the fact that they were carrying pulse weapons and had quite literally dropped from the sky, Nina would have almost thought that they had gone back in time.
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Until the crackle of a loudspeaker switching on interrupted her thoughts, that was.
“Please state your identity, origin, and affiliation. Failure to do so will result in arrest.”
“Arrest generally means execution,” Jade whispered to Nina. “They just don’t tell you that.”
“The Cloud Orchestra, Luem, Inin Estate,” Reina replied, quite loudly as her voice traveled across the moat. Nina guessed it was around ten meters wide, did the drawbridge extend somehow?
“Please wait.”
Nina thought that the response would be timely, but judging by the reaction of everyone else it seemed that it wouldn’t be the case. Trim and Svanda both lay back on the grass, while Jade and Aline moved to sit at the edge of the moat, their feet dangling down above the water that was swirling around a few meters below them. Saela, as silent as ever, simply sat where she had been standing, while Reina folded her arms and continued to stare blankly at the drawbridge.
“There won’t be quarantine?” Nina asked as she sat between Svanda and Trim.
“There would be if we were associated with the farmers or the merchants,” Trim yawned. “But the Royal Guard isn’t going to ask any questions because we’re with the Royal Faction.”
“It only makes sense to stop contraband getting in if it isn’t on your side of the fence,” Svanda added. “Well, isn’t on your side of the wall in this case.”
Nina sighed as she lay back on the grass, matching Svanda and Trim as the three of them stared at the cloudless sky. “You don’t feel bad that they might use the abysswort seeds to poison someone?”
“Not really,” Svanda said as she pat the rifle she had put down beside her. “People don’t feel bad when they sell someone a weapon, isn’t it the same? What they do with it is their business, not mine.”
Nina paused in thought as she listened to Jade complain about getting grass stains on her dress before returning her attention to the sky. “You don’t poison someone in self-defense,” she said before turning her head to see that Svanda had her eyes closed, but a smile had appeared at the corner of her lips.
“Hmm, I guess so,” she mused. “But still, it doesn’t bother me. I don’t need to know what happens. Doing stuff like this is just part of our job, a job that I happen to like quite a bit.”
“You could always go and work for Julia,” Trim smiled as she examined the scowl on Svanda’s face. “I’m sure she would quite literally welcome you with open arms.” She laughed until her gaze flicked over to Reina, the cold expression she received in response causing her to flop back down on the grass with a sigh.
“Work is work, Julia is Julia,” Svanda replied. “It also happens to be my business, not yours. Why don’t you worry about your own relationships?”
“Like I have the time,” Trim sighed as she pushed herself up before climbing to her feet. “Maybe I’ll get married to Reina so I can be your boss too.”
“A woman?” Svanda raised an eyebrow as she looked up with a smile. “I don’t think anyone is going to believe that.”
“And I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to decline,” Reina said as she walked over before turning her attention back to the drawbridge. “They’re here.”
Nina’s attention focused on the drawbridge as the rumble of a mechanism rang out across the moat. Stepping back from the edge, the group fanned out around the bank as the bridge began to lower. A hinge in at the top of the bridge revealed itself as the bridge unfolded, a second half of the platform folding outward to reveal the stone archway behind it. Waiting on the other side stood two guards in neat green uniforms, gold buttons and chains complimenting the gold helmets that they wore. While each carried a long pike against their shoulder, Nina guessed that they were only for appearances as their rifle straps were clearly visible.
“At least they brought two this time,” Aline said, not referring to the guards, but the two carriages that sat behind them. Black with silver trimmings, they also reminded Nina of something that should have been left in the past. Although there were no horses to draw them, each carriage had a seat at the front which was manned by a driver in a black suit. Stenciled into the side of each carriage was an intricate silver design, ININ written in flowery text at the centre.
Nina watched on as the drawbridge’s descent was completed, the edge of the unfolded form settling on the grass before them.
“Welcome to Zaffre, members of The Cloud Orchestra,” one of the carriage drivers said as the group strolled across the bridge. “The count has been expecting you.”
“It’s always nice to spend time here,” Reina smiled as they stepped onto land. “Thank you for the timely reception.”
The driver nodded before waving his hand at the other carriage before gesturing in the direction of his own. “Please get comfortable while we transport you to the estate.”
“Not like there’s much scenery to look at unless you like stone walls,” Jade sighed as she unceremoniously opened the door to the closer carriage before stepping up and disappearing behind the curtain. Aline followed her, while Nina noted that Saela followed Reina into lead carriage.
Watching as Saela stepped up into the lead carriage, Nina moved towards the closer carriage in response. Stepping up and pushing her way past the curtain, she perched herself on the long leather seat that sat opposite Jade and Aline.
“I thought you would want to have a chat with Saela,” Jade smirked.
Nina sighed, not bothering to hide the deadpan expression on her face. It looked as though it was going to be a long trip after all.