75th of Spring, 515 A.V.
As always, the smell was the first thing he noticed when walking out the door. A combination of odious stenches that were capable of being tasted if not smelled. Kynier scrunched his nose in displeasure as he forced the flimsy door to his new home in what they called the Sunset Quarters shut. Ever since he got off the boat five days ago, he had only been able to escape he smell by being close to an indoor fire. For a time, he had considered the aroma of living in Syliras to be bad. Sunberth was far worse.
It was less crowded than the city of knights, but the amount of filth just lying around was boggling. The scent of the sea air mixed with the grimy smell of human body odor, stagnant water, overflowed latrines, decaying bodies, and for some reason a hint of ash. Kynier hoped that he was going to be able to adjust to the smell of the city, otherwise, his time here was going to be very brief. A sigh escaped his lips. He thought that, but something in him said that he wouldn’t really leave. The first question that had come to his mind was, where would he go?
Twisting the key, the door’s lock clicked into place. He started heading west towards where he had found the markets yesterday. Their selections were a bit limited, but today he was hoping to find something specific. After having spent a vast quantity of his wealth on securing a private residence for himself, the next logical thing to do was go about finding a steady source of income. For now, he had enough to get him through to the end of the next season, maybe even the one after as well if he were to scrimp. Before he did that, he wanted to acquire a map of the city to help become more familiar with its layout.
Whether it was just from being in the different environment or now, Kynier felt on edge at all times when walking the streets. A hand instinctively rested on the hilt of his cold iron short sword, the only tangible reminder of a time from two lives ago. Each time a person glanced at him, Kynier sensed a rising tension. One that only dissipated once their gaze turned away and they moved on. His time alone in the wilds had a similar feeling. A sensation of being surrounded by predators.
After a few bells of walking, Kynier found himself at a river. From what he gathered, it was one of two that ran through the city. And where they were connected was supposed to be somewhere further north? A glance to the left and right to get his bearings reaffirmed the thought. Yes, it was north of where he was. A place they called the Seaside Markets were supposed to be where the shorter river deviated from the other. Keeping the river within his sight, he ventured north for another bell.
A cacophony of voices arose as he drew nearer as he approached the markets. People hawked their wares to every person that passed by. Kynier did not walk very far in before he looked down at his feet. It felt as though he were stepping in mud, and his inspection confirmed that. The ground of the whole area was damp, and the support beams of the stalls were unusually high. There were also catwalks taking specific routes over people’s heads for seemingly no purpose. Kynier wandered over to a stall, one with a dirty-blonde young woman tending the merchandise.
“Excuse me,” he said to get her attention. The woman turned to look at him with a reserved smile. “Uh… this may seem like an imbecilic question, but what are the catwalks for?” His finger pointed at them despite how clear it must have been what he was talking about. The woman smiled nervously at him with almond colored eyes.
“You’re obviously visiting the market for the first time,” she said with a soft laugh. “That’s for when the tide comes in. People raise their stalls above the flood waters, and the catwalks are for the customers to be able to move from one vendor to the next if they don’t wish to hire someone with a boat to take them.” Kynier looked back at the raised walkways and imagined the place with highwater.
“If its that much effort to have a stall here, they why haven’t the markets been set up somewhere else?” Kynier looked back at the woman who was looking at him with an intrigued expression. As though it were a question, she had thought of herself a long time ago but had since adjusted to how things were.
“Because,” she said with a sly smile and a slight turn of her head, “we’re ‘stubborn ‘berthers’.”
little filler words
It was less crowded than the city of knights, but the amount of filth just lying around was boggling. The scent of the sea air mixed with the grimy smell of human body odor, stagnant water, overflowed latrines, decaying bodies, and for some reason a hint of ash. Kynier hoped that he was going to be able to adjust to the smell of the city, otherwise, his time here was going to be very brief. A sigh escaped his lips. He thought that, but something in him said that he wouldn’t really leave. The first question that had come to his mind was, where would he go?
Twisting the key, the door’s lock clicked into place. He started heading west towards where he had found the markets yesterday. Their selections were a bit limited, but today he was hoping to find something specific. After having spent a vast quantity of his wealth on securing a private residence for himself, the next logical thing to do was go about finding a steady source of income. For now, he had enough to get him through to the end of the next season, maybe even the one after as well if he were to scrimp. Before he did that, he wanted to acquire a map of the city to help become more familiar with its layout.
Whether it was just from being in the different environment or now, Kynier felt on edge at all times when walking the streets. A hand instinctively rested on the hilt of his cold iron short sword, the only tangible reminder of a time from two lives ago. Each time a person glanced at him, Kynier sensed a rising tension. One that only dissipated once their gaze turned away and they moved on. His time alone in the wilds had a similar feeling. A sensation of being surrounded by predators.
After a few bells of walking, Kynier found himself at a river. From what he gathered, it was one of two that ran through the city. And where they were connected was supposed to be somewhere further north? A glance to the left and right to get his bearings reaffirmed the thought. Yes, it was north of where he was. A place they called the Seaside Markets were supposed to be where the shorter river deviated from the other. Keeping the river within his sight, he ventured north for another bell.
A cacophony of voices arose as he drew nearer as he approached the markets. People hawked their wares to every person that passed by. Kynier did not walk very far in before he looked down at his feet. It felt as though he were stepping in mud, and his inspection confirmed that. The ground of the whole area was damp, and the support beams of the stalls were unusually high. There were also catwalks taking specific routes over people’s heads for seemingly no purpose. Kynier wandered over to a stall, one with a dirty-blonde young woman tending the merchandise.
“Excuse me,” he said to get her attention. The woman turned to look at him with a reserved smile. “Uh… this may seem like an imbecilic question, but what are the catwalks for?” His finger pointed at them despite how clear it must have been what he was talking about. The woman smiled nervously at him with almond colored eyes.
“You’re obviously visiting the market for the first time,” she said with a soft laugh. “That’s for when the tide comes in. People raise their stalls above the flood waters, and the catwalks are for the customers to be able to move from one vendor to the next if they don’t wish to hire someone with a boat to take them.” Kynier looked back at the raised walkways and imagined the place with highwater.
“If its that much effort to have a stall here, they why haven’t the markets been set up somewhere else?” Kynier looked back at the woman who was looking at him with an intrigued expression. As though it were a question, she had thought of herself a long time ago but had since adjusted to how things were.
“Because,” she said with a sly smile and a slight turn of her head, “we’re ‘stubborn ‘berthers’.”
little filler words
Image Credit goes to Gossamer!
