The journey back was wearing and uneventful, without much change in scenery. Lawk wondered aloud how anyone could travel the vast plains with anything other than an instinctual sense of direction. John explained how the sun and the stars could be used to navigate, and a few distinct landscape markings (every once in a while) could confirm you were on the right path. It seemed to Lawk that there were miles upon endless miles of nothing but grassy plains. Sometimes the grass was tall, even taller than him, but other times it was short. Aside from that, he only sighted some random hills, a few small patches of trees, streams, ponds, and the occasional lake, all at great distances from each other. The land just seemed empty. The differing levels of grass and other greenery made the hills difficult to discern, and the taller plants obscured the streams and ponds almost completely when viewed from a distance.
When they finally approached the city, Lawk’s mouth hung agape in wonderment. Until that point in his life, he had never seen a man-made structure larger than John and Stace’s cabin. The looming, gray, stone wall reached fifty feet in height and wrapped the entirety of the city, forming a giant octagon. Guard towers sat atop each corner, and steel entrance gates lay near each guard tower. The walls were thick enough for men to patrol the tops of it, with the added protection of parapets, and the city was quite large, covering around 10,000 acres. Lawk inquired how anyone got that much stone all the way out here in the middle of nowhere. And, John assured him there was plenty of it near the coast, where the plains turned to rocky terrain and ended in great cliffs towering above the beaches. It was an arduous journey, but a large wagon caravan could haul quite a large amount of stone in a single round trip.
The Larameans had actually devised their own extra large wagons with a series of wide, large diameter wheels below them on anywhere from 5 to 20 axles depending on the size of the cart. These carts had extra hookups for the pulling animals, which for the Larameans, who prided themselves on all things equine, was a breed of horse unique to their kingdom. The animal was a massively built steed, known as a Laramean Draft, which had been carefully bred over generations for size, strength, and durability. Fully grown they tended to stand an average of 24-26 hands tall and were packed with muscle. Just four of these magnificent creatures could pull a cart with a payload of 40-50 thousand pounds if they were pushed to their limits. But, the Larameans cared deeply for their animals, so they would always equip their carts with one to three horses more than necessary (depending on the payload), so as to not overwork them.
***
The three travelers entered easily through the third gate they passed, the guards immediately recognizing and saluting the ranger, then staring at the curious little boy with him in the saddle. It appeared as though none of them would dare question the man, until one slightly slurred voice rang out, “Hey there His Lordyship Ranger John, Sir! Good trip, I hope?”
At this, a lean, wiry looking man in his late 40’s or early 50’s, with 2 weeks of scruff and a slightly unkempt but somehow clean appearance, emerged from behind a parapet.
The ranger took it all in stride, seemingly unbothered by the lack of decorum and breach of protocol, “Yes, Guardsman Paulie. How are things in the city?”
“Oh, the usual, Sir. Nothing special.”
“Very well, carry on.”
“Yes, Sir, indeed I will.”
“Not with the drink Paulie, with the job, or another demotion may be in your future, perhaps mucking the stalls next time.” he rebuked.
The alcohol-infused guardsman simply half-smiled, gave a wobbly salute, returned to his post, tipped over his water skin, and dramatically announced to the other guardsman, “Oh no! I’ve run out of my, uhh, water, yes, my water. This simply will not do. I’ll be back, gents and gentylady. That’s right, I didn’t forget you this time, Guardlady, Mags.” He chuckled and ambled off.
The other guardsmen just sighed, shook their heads, and carried on, with the exception of Mags, who was a new recruit. Her face grew a few shades closer to the bright red of her long, braided hair, as she growled out, “Why do they let that good-for-nothing man carry on at all? Not even Ranger John, with his stern reputation, cares about the fool’s idiocy, but if one of us steps out of line, it’s immediate punishment detail, mucking stalls and guarding the stables.”
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A more seasoned guardsman replied, “There’s a history there, Mags. That supposed idiot used to be the King’s Right Hand Guard. Apparently, he saved the life of the royal family from an assassination attempt years back, but one of the assassins escaped and took out their frustration on his family before leaving town. He’s been a mess ever since, but the crown promised he’d always have a place among us due to his service and sacrifice. Paulie’s become somewhat of a mascot, really. He never does anything to harm the job. He actually keeps the job more interesting on the slow days, and we always have an extra guardsman, when he is on duty, to make up for his inattentiveness. It’s more of an honorary position for him than anything. And, occasionally, he’ll show up to training sober and put us all through our paces like you can’t believe. I can’t even imagine what fighting him in his prime would have been like. Those are the days you’ll learn the most about...”
The voices carried on and Lawk’s sharp hearing caught every word, even as they proceeded further inside the gate, but he tuned the conversation out at this point in favor of asking John a question to satisfy his ever present curiosity, “What is the King’s Right Hand Guard?”
John grunted, “You caught that, did you? The King has a Right Hand Guard, who is always at his side, and a Left Hand Guard, who is always in the shadows. If ever His Majesty appears in public with both his Right and Left Hand Guards, the Left is masked and in a dark mottled gray/black light leather armor and hooded cloak. This is the official uniform, which comes in handy for remaining concealed but also serves to obscure the Left’s identity.
Lawk nodded his understanding and returned his full attention to observing his surroundings. The young boy was promptly entranced by the city before him, paying no mind to all of the stares he received, for he was staring, too, at everything.
***
Only a short way inside the walls lay neatly organized sections of various crops with well laid out paths between them and many trails within each area. The crops ranged from cabbages to fruit trees. There was even a small pine forest in differing stages of growth that John informed the boy was to provide lumber for the city.
Once through these plots, the structures began. There was a plethora of stables, with corralled areas between them containing grass used for grazing, when weather or other circumstances did not permit trips outside the walls. Smaller shops and the like formed the next ring of the city. And, inside that was a ring of housing, followed by a ring of more sizable buildings, such as taverns and guild halls, as well as scattered guard barracks. The proximity of the barracks and the taverns, John explained, was a bit more than coincidence. He warned Lawk to steer clear of that area as best he could, until he was older.
The final, innermost ring consisted of larger estates, which contained their own stables and small to large plots of land, with magnificent homes at their centers. This is where John and Stace resided. Lawk was clueless as to city structure and politics at the time, but he later came to appreciate what this meant and how fortunate he was that John and Stace were the ones who found him. John, he later discovered, was the Royal Ranger. He commanded all of the rangers employed by the royal family and, on the battlefield, would rank above the generals of the army. He lived on an estate, instead of within the Keep, where the royal family would prefer he reside, because, in his words, “I’m not fancy enough to live in a luxurious castle.”
In fact, though John and Stace’s estate was larger than all the rest, their residence was much smaller. It was another log cabin, much larger than the little ones he built wherever he was ranging, but equally as rustic. His home was a long rectangular structure, with two stories and a porch wrapping its entirety. Upon entering, there was a large, open area, wherein lay a long wooden table, behind which was the kitchen. To the right of the table was a sitting area with several sofas and a fireplace, the only stone part of the cabin. And, to the left of the table was a set of stairs leading to the second floor, where the living quarters were located. There was also a rectangular gap in the center of the second floor that served to form a small balcony overlooking the first floor.
John’s barn, within which he kept his stables, as well as a large area for training with a loft overlooking the training area, was actually a great deal larger than his cabin. His estate was also the only one with its own natural spring and hardwood hammock, in addition to open areas for riding and grazing. It was truly beautiful and not at all what one would expect to find so deep within a city, not even in Laramea, which was known for its horses, its horsemanship, and its rangers.
***
Within the ring of estates was only Laramea Keep, a great stone castle reaching twice the height of the city walls and mimicking its shape. The Keep was home to the Lartiso family, the royals of Laramea, along with various people of influence and nobility and all of the king’s councilors and staff. Additionally, the entire royal guard, a thousand or so troops, resided within its walls.
After dropping Stace and Lawk at home to get settled in, John made his way to the Keep, to deliver his report in a private audience with the royal family.