With one more right, William would be out of Vesuvic, the hell hole he had lived in for the past fourteen cycles. That was if the map in his hand was to be believed. And he had paid too good a coin for it not to - more than any sane man should. Then again, that he was using the Catacombs showed that he was far from being sane.
The tunnels were quite large and spacious. The pathways were wide and the ceiling; high, unlike the work of modern masons. Not that the street gangs of Vesuvic had enough coin for a construction this big. As long as the goods and whores can be transported using them, they didn't care about the disrepair of them. Only wooden scaffolds were available for supporting the broken pillars and risky ceilings, and those too where the integrity of the structure was the weakest.
These caverns were old, decidedly ancient, and had been under the city for as long as one could remember. The beautiful relieves carved in the widest of tunnels told them to be dug out during the Old Town's establishment. And the grandness of them spoke of the awakened hands that build them.
In the past, these caverns were used by the townsfolk to hide during the winter. The brutal season saw food shortages, death from cold and invasion from the tribes to the north. The caverns warded off the worst of it, offering respite from the cold and wind and a place to hide and store food.
There were still many that died during those harsh months who were buried in these caves. Which gave these winding tunnels the name of the Catacombs. Since the creation of the Vesuvic Fortress, these old practices fell out of favour. And the Catacombs out of use.
No, Willia thought, not entirely.
The Catacombs were still used to bury bodies, but instead of townsfolk, the gangs did the burial. When the Catacombs fell out of use, the street gangs and other violent elements took control of the city's underbelly. Over the cycles, bringing miners and Herr blessed awakened to create more passages in them. Making the already confusing caverns a veritable labyrinth.
But for all their comfort and history, William did not want to spend a moment more inside them than necessary.
There were numerous pathways in the Catacombs, most all human-made. It was said that one could travel anywhere inside the Old Town using these tunnels. Though the street gangs might be the only ones who know the truth behind those words. Almost every large gang had their own map of the Catacombs with different passages and pathways.
And every map was the lifeblood of the gang. William had hoped to hire a guide from them to help him traverse the tunnels, but only the higher echelons knew the tunnels enough to do that. And none of them would lower themselves to guide a lowly scribe through the Catacombs. A reduced map with only the required information was the nearest he could get, and that too required using up all his favours and most of his coin. Not to mention meeting and being threatened by the awakened of the gang.
"If the archduke's soldiers got even a whiff of this passage, you and all your loved ones would be in Najht's arms, little scribe. So you better show caution, shouldn't you."
Her words still made him shudder in fear. He could still hear the smile in her melodious voice. That the dainty lady was torturing a defector while she had told him this made the memory even more terrifying. He had taken a vow, then, that for the sake of his own self, he wouldn't get into the bad graces lady Issril, the Blood Doll.
The pathway William was following led to the hidden Smugglers Entrance near the Frozen Desert to the north. The tunnel was supposed to open near the ruin of the old watchtower, according to Ignath. And he and his employer, the Green Robed Man, Draconys, were supposed to meet near the ruins.
Moving a bit and stumbling even more, William finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Even the pain that his feet radiated wasn't enough to bring down his joy. Finally, he was about to be out of the primalforsaken Catacombs. Every step he took in them had brought anew the dread he felt. He believed with all his heart that the Catacombs were one of Laurus' tricks, no matter what the old stories said.
On the other side of the exit, Eterna ended, and the Frozen Desert began. Well, it was supposed to begin, at least. Being only a few leagues to the north of Vesuvic, both forces laid claim to it, making the piece of land, No Mans Land.
Frozen Desert was a peculiar place, with squabbling Chieftains ruling the lands and their tribes. The whole nation was ruled by a Ruling Council where the awakened made the laws and the unawakened, like William, followed. At least in Eterna, many non-awakened nobles ruled the lands. Even though all of them were blood-sucking leeches, they enforced equality between the unawakened and the awakened. William was glad that the unawakened weren't treated like playthings of the awakened as he had heard in the folktales.
The Devout also helped, he knew. The shrines are the Primals' gifts to the world, and if the Devine Council saw all their creations to be equal, who are we to behave differently. William had read Custodian Blackfyre's words in many books, a saying which the Devout lived by. But his time under the archduke's employ had made him vary of the clergy and their machinations.
The Crown and the Ruling Council had had hostilities for as long as one could remember. The skirmishes during winter could even be considered a time immemorial tradition, as they happened due to the savages invading from the north. The conflicts were the cause of the establishment of a forward garrison in Old Town. The small fortification was the beginning of the Vesuvic Fortress, the shield of the north.
Throughout history, though, Eterna had always held the advantage in these conflicts through better-trained knights, better resources. And, if the books in Archduke Lovare's study were to be believed, through being civilized over the savage tribes.
According to the Devout, the tribes of the Frozen Desert were the destined enemies of Eterna. Another agenda of the clergy, William was pretty sure.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
If one asked the priests, Frozen Desert had formed during the battle between Orus and Najht during the Era of Primals. And the remnants of Najht's followers founded the Tribes. The priests sang of the glorious Era of Primals when the Primals roamed the lands in wanderlust, and their curiosity brought life to the world.
In those long past days, wherever the Primals encountered each other during their travels, they battled for supremacy. William remembered what the old priest, Alorus Warnel, had taught him and all the other village children.
Each breath gave life, and each battle causing extinction.
Though most battles were not anywhere near the mortal land, the ripples still managed to have drastic effects. The only one near enough to the mortal plane was this one. And that too created this scar on the world, a place where even Herr's mercy was in short supply.
It was no wonder that the tribes were harsh - they were living in a harsh environment with little food and resources.
There was probably more to the tale, but the roaming minstrels hadn't cared to elaborate. Stories of Primals might be epics, but they didn't attract listeners as those of love and heartbreak would, William presumed. If the tale would have been of Laurus' tricks or spouse-stealing, then every bard throughout the land would have been singing about it. And every maiden swooning to hear it.
And William hadn't cared about it enough to ask the Devout about it. And it seemed the archduke shared Williams sentiments by the lack of books on it in the fortress' library.
Irrespective of the peculiarity behind the Frozen Desert's origins, the tribes residing there were a thorn in Eterna's side. And here William was about to step into the enemy lands.
Between the two nations, the only constant was the rampant conflicts and the shield of the north. Though considering the fortress a constant should be wrong. It predated Eterna and was established by the Crown during the warring states era before the Untrads defeated the other contenders and established Eterna.
Throughout the cycles, Old Town grew in size and importance, later joining up with the New Town, created around the stronghold, and forming the fortress city that could be seen now.
Just a few more steps, William thought while nervously thumbing the gold coin in his hand, and he will get enough gold to present his suit for the hand of his beloved.
The Shield City, for all its renown, felt a bit lacklustre to William. Far too crowded and chaotic, and with no safety to speak of. With gangs ruling the streets, only those they protected were safe, and that too, only from themselves. A person needed to pay an additional fee to be protected from others.
The guards were bought, and murders, mugging, and gang wars a daily occurrence. And with Archduke Lovare ruling the city, William knew that the common folk would not get any respite.
The only reason he had for being in Vesuvic, other than his job, was Trina, for no one else was closer to his heart.
Her family owned the Honey Suckle, a tavern near the heart of Old Town. It was a frequent hangout of the mercenaries and soldiers in the city. And it was also where he had first met her.
He hoped to present his suit to Trina’s family, and gold would give it far more weight than silver ever could. Even though he and Trina had promised to be with each other under Laurus’ gaze, William meant to make it formal with this suit. For even though the Primal favoured eloping, he knew that Trina would not.
Exiting the Smugglers Entrance, William took in the icy clear sky. The Frozen Desert had its barbaric charm. With sparse trees, crisp air and plains as far as the eye can see, the region could easily become a part of any nobles summer retreat or hunting lodge. Only the tribes were keeping the high lords from these lands.
The ruins were easy to spot. The building might have been a watchtower before wars and time had had their turn. Whatever remained was only a husk of its previous self. Looking around, William could tell that the scavengers had pried away any salvageable parts and whatever remained was not worth the effort to remove. It was here William was ordered to come, to complete his end of the bargain.
Moving about, William looked around for Draconys, he was feeling jittery and wanted to be on his way as fast as possible. Not finding him anywhere nearby, he gathered his courage and decided to move a little farther out to a clearing near the ruin. The trees around were sparse, but one could still hide in the meagre forest if one wanted. A little further down the clearing, he found the man he was looking for, who, upon seeing William motioned for him to follow. William was not foolish enough to comply. He knew the dangers of what he was doing and had brought along with him a dagger to defend himself. Feeling around in his left pocket to find it, Willam held the pommel to reassure himself. The right inner pocket held the sheets that the man wanted.
He had met the Green-Robed Man at the Honey Suckle, where they had struck a deal. All for a tidy sum of fifty gold coins, William had to make notes of the Lord's schedule, guard shift changes along with their positions, and pass it along to the man. That he had gotten five of that upfront sweetened the deal even more. The task was easy enough for him, as, one of Archduke Lovare’s scribe, he had the permissions required to enter most of the rooms, even the Archduke’s study and library. That he wanted vengeance against the archduke made it easier to commit treason.
For, yes, it was treason. Making a play at the archduke's life would be trivial if the details in these sheets were known. William had deduced that the Green Robed Man was an agent of the chieftain of any of the tribes. This ruin being so near to the Smugglers Entrance further solidified his deduction. Having no love lost for the archduke, William jumped on the opportunity of making more gold than most peasants made in their lives. After presenting his suit, he and Trina would hastily move from the city before the storm hit, he had decided.
William still remembered his parents dying in the famine, since the Archduke was too selfish to sell the grains from the estate’s granaries its denizens. He would get a far greater price by hoarding and then price gouging the other lords. That the serfs died with no food was of no consequence. He should thank Fortuna's blessing, for he had gone to live with his uncle and learn scribal duties from him.
Even that William had to work for the Archduke grated on his nerves. William was a serf, and serfs were their lord's property. If he tried to move to any other lordship, it would be taken as desertion to the Archduke, not that any lord would employ a serf of another. The only way to stop being a serf was to get taken in by any of the Orders, paying Fjornicus, or marrying a free citizen, or awaken, but that was even more unlikely.
The Green-Robed Man moved towards William, his hand extended, probably asking for the parchments.
“Payment first,” was William's curt reply.
The man nodded and brought out two things from his travelling pack, in his dark-skinned hands. A cloth bag, which probably held coins, and a wineskin.
“Let's have a drink to celebrate our cooperation. ”, He suggested.
It was the first time William saw the man's hand. The Green Robed Man tended to keep himself covered. His dark skin a sign that he wasn't a Tribesman. And making William question his earlier deduction. It did not matter to William whether he was dealing with the tribes or the lords, with both being equally dangerous.
William snorted as if he would fall for that. He quickly exchanged the papers for the money and decided to be on his way. Only the dark man drinking from the same wineskin put him at ease. That and his parched throat. There would be no creeks on the way back, and William would only be able to quench his thirst after getting back to the city.
Sighing, William took the wineskin and drank out of it. The wine was flowery, one which would be preferred by the lords, with a spicy aftertaste. William decided to enjoy the delicacy while it lasted. After making sure that the payment was correct and the gold real, William turned to make his way back through the dark catacombs to the city.
It was after reaching somewhere around halfway to his destination, that he started feeling a little faint, and sleepy. Trying to move towards the wall for support, he fell, and the Catacombs gained another body.