9 – Ordo Caelus

  Ward had only just cleared the Proving Gate walls and was walking out onto the soaring marble pier when Haley broke free from one of the crowds and charged toward him. Her leather-clad feet slapping on the marble, her kimono-style dress flapping in the wind. She looked happy, even as she shaded her pale eyes from the bright sun. “Ward! What took you so long?”

  “What do you mean? You didn’t have to sit around and get interrogated by a one-eyed alien?”

  “One eye? Did it have worm things—” She wriggled her fingers under her chin. “—down here?”

  Ward laughed. “Yeah.”

  “That’s a babolli! They’re not from Vainglory, but they’ve been coming here for centuries. My judge was a woman named Fimeena, and she was very, very nice.”

  “She, uh, didn’t make you use a…” Ward searched his memory for the word. “A aetherometer?”

  “A what?” Haley wrinkled her brow.

  “A thing like a hemograph.”

  “Oh!” Haley shook her head. “No, but she looked at me through a big lens.” She laughed. “It made her eyes enormous. Anyway, she asked me where I was from and where I was going, and she sent me through as soon as she heard the Assembly summoned me here.”

  Ward clicked his tongue and sighed, throwing an arm over her shoulders. “Glad it went smoothly for you. Where’s True?”

  “Out on the dock. She didn’t want to leave her trunk because of…you know.”

  Ward nodded and started walking, dragging her along with him, his suitcase dangling from his free hand. He inhaled deeply. “Damn, but this air’s fresh. You think it really is, or you think my body’s just used to that stuffy air in the living ship?”

  “Oh, it’s definitely fresh.” Haley pointed ahead toward a big gap in the ornate marble railing—likely where the ferry would put its gangway down. “See her?” Ward nodded. True was sitting on her trunk, smoking her pipe. He waved an arm, and the marshal waved back, pipe in hand. “When we get there,” Haley said, “stand atop her trunk and look down toward the end of the dock. You can see the walls of Ordo Caelus. It looks…incredible.”

  “Yeah?”

  Haley nodded. “The walls are the biggest things I’ve ever seen, and True says their footings are a hundred feet under the water.”

  “Shit—” Ward pursed his lips in appreciation. “—you don’t say.” When they walked up to the marshal, True was smiling, her feet outstretched, with one boot off, exposing her flesh-and-blood foot. She wriggled her toes as she squinted up at Ward.

  “Enjoying the sun?” He asked.

  “What’s not to enjoy, big man?” She inhaled on her pipe and blew out some faintly sweet smoke.

  Ward chuckled, set his suitcase down, and stepped up on her trunk behind her, peering toward the distant end of the marble dock. Sure enough, probably a mile or two distant, he could see a white cliff rising up from the water. He squinted and realized it wasn’t a cliff. He thought they were too smooth and straight to be cliffs, and the tops were capped in gleaming bronze. It was more marble, if that was what the pier was made of—he was beginning to have some doubts. If he were a little closer, he wagered he’d be able to see people walking around up there.

  A tall, narrow gap ran down the center of the white wall, and through it, Ward could see more water and the tall masts of many ships. “A protected harbor?”

  “Aye,” True nodded. “Keeps the worst of the storms out, and if anyone were daft enough to attack the city, they’d have their fleet destroyed trying to get past yonder wall.”

  While they spoke, the ferry drew close, and Ward stepped down from the trunk. It took the big boat a good ten minutes to pull alongside the pier. Big wooden cylinders hanging from ropes buffered the ship’s hull as it rubbed against the stone dock, and, as it came to a near stop, half a dozen men and women leaped off the side to secure tie-lines. Another ten minutes later, the crowd of eager passengers was allowed aboard, and Ward followed True’s lead as she walked to the front of the boat, eschewing the inside altogether.

  “Prefer the fresh air and clear view; how about you two?” she asked as they walked along the railing.

  Ward nodded. “Definitely.” When they reached the bow of the ferry, they set their luggage down, and while True and Haley sat on the trunk, Ward leaned on the railing, happy to be on his feet after feeling cramped for so long. After another ten minutes or so, the ferry captain announced their departure, and then the big steam engines rumbled, and the ship got underway. Ward watched eagerly as they came around the enormous white-stone dock, and the view opened up.

  He focused on the distant walls of Ordo Caelus and watched as the ferry slowly but surely surged its way over the deep blue waves toward the city. His intention was to see how long it took to spy out some details about what was atop that distant wall, but his attention was stolen by a school of enormous fish with silver and gold scales that glittered through the water, reflecting the sunlight. “Haley!” he called. “Check this out.”

  He pointed to the fish—easily as big as sharks—and Haley caught her breath. “They’re so pretty! True, what are they?”

  “I dunno, love. Fish?” True was leaning over the rail on Ward’s other side, and he nudged her with his elbow. “Easy! T’ain’t my fault I never learned nothing ’bout the fish in these parts.”

  Ward frowned, turning to scan the deck. Where the hell was Fitz? He hadn’t seen the man since they disembarked the living ship. “Either of you two seen Fitz?”

  Haley shook her head. “No, but he told me he had a meeting with one of the judges—a relative. I think he said an uncle, but it might have been a cousin.”

  “Figures. What about Trent?”

  “I saw your buddy. He’s inside.” True jerked her chin back toward the ferry cabin as she held a match to her pipe.

  Ward shrugged and turned to Haley. “Well, those are the only people I know who might be able to tell you what kind of fish those are. You can ask later, I guess.”

  “I will! Do you think we could catch one?”

  Ward laughed. “I wouldn’t try to catch a fish that size! More likely, he’ll eat you than the other way ’round.”

  Haley flushed as she admitted, “I’ve never fished from an ocean.”

  “Well, I have,” Ward said, “but I had much better equipment than I think you’ll find around here.” He looked at the giant white walls and reconsidered. “Actually, maybe not. Maybe they have some amazing poles in that city.”

  They were quiet for a while after that, enjoying the breeze, the sun, and the spectacular views. When they were about halfway to the wall, Ward saw he was right about the top; it was lined with what looked like great, huge ballistae, and he could see people moving about up there. When they entered the gap in the wall, he realized just how far from reality his distant perspective had been. The gap was narrow compared to the wall, but ten ferries the size of the one they rode upon could have sailed through it side by side. Craning his neck to see the top of the walls, Ward guessed they were two hundred feet high.

  “Pretty damn amazing feat of engin—” His words were stolen as he was struck dumb by the sight of the city. Just as the harbor was encircled by those massive white walls, so, too, was the sprawling city ahead of them. He could see the walls rising up miles away like distant cliffs, towering over the city. Some buildings near the center were probably as tall as that gleaming barrier, but most were dwarfed by it. The architecture of the buildings he could see varied, but one thing was consistent—almost everything was made from the same white stone and capped with copper and bronze roofs.

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  The sun reflecting off so much metal and white was blinding but glorious to behold. Ward had never seen a city so beautiful. The glass in the windows shimmered with iridescent, rainbow hues, and he wondered if it was the nature of the glass or the sun or the moisture in the air that caused it. Whatever, it gave the city a kind of magical otherworldliness. He snorted a short laugh at the thought. He was a man from modern Earth—this was otherworldly!

  “Why doesn’t it tarnish,” Haley asked.

  True looked at her quizzically. “What’s that?”

  “In Tarnish—” She giggled. “—we have copper roofs, but they usually get a green patina.”

  “Oh! Aye. The craftsfolk on Primus know a few things that ain’t made their way down to Cinder, I bet. Well, no, I know it. When I was here studying at the Citadel, I felt a right bumpkin. You’ll see some fancy folks in this city and some even fancier things. They’ve got clockwork people—did you know that?”

  Haley grabbed True’s arm in her excitement. “Truly? I read a book about one! Marshal Von Byer and his sidekick Rascal!”

  True laughed and nodded, gesturing with her pipe. “I’ve seen that one, too! Yep, Rascal was a clockwork man, weren’t he?”

  Haley nodded. “That’s right.”

  The two began to rehash their favorite moments from a book Ward had never heard of, so he tuned out and focused on the sights. The city was a stark contrast to Westview, that was for sure. He saw steam stacks billowing but no smoke stacks. The sky was blue; the air felt fresh—even the water was cleaner. He wondered where the energy came from. What were they heating the water with to make steam? Where was the sewage?

  He certainly wasn’t going to complain that the city’s gutters weren’t dumping into the ocean like Westview, but he was curious about the difference in technological advances. Did things trickle down through the Vainglory worlds, or was certain tech held back and embargoed to keep the capital world special?

  When the ferry found its berth beside another large, steam-powered vessel, the passengers were quickly ushered off the ship, no doubt so the captain could make another run. The docks and piers in the city were made of more mundane stuff—wood—but they were in good repair, and though the smell of fish and seaweed was ever-present, it wasn’t overpowering, and there wasn’t any stench of rot.

  Ward saw copper-helmed city guards patrolling, and he heard them shout at more than one ship’s crew to clear the pathway and straighten up their cargo. It seemed that whoever the dockmaster was, he or she had a much higher standard than in other cities Ward had visited, including back home.

  “Listen, you two,” True said as they moved away from the piers and across a red-cobbled road that angled steeply toward town. “I’ve got lodging at the Citadel, being a marshal and all. You ought to make yer way to Garden Gate Square. There are about four good hotels right there, and I’d think any one of ’em would suit you just fine. Still, if you want to make my life a little easier, I’d appreciate you staying at the Argent Key.”

  “Why will that make your life easier?” Haley asked.

  Ward answered, “So she can find us without wandering around the square asking every hotel manager if we’re there.”

  True tapped the side of her head. “Always using that big noodle of years, ain’t ya, Ward?” Ward snorted, and Haley giggled. “Anyway, the Key’s a good place. I stayed there when I first came here ’afore my recruit quarters were arranged at the Citadel. More importantly, you don’t have to worry about paying—not ’til after the Assembly sees you. Your room and board up to that time will be reimbursed.”

  “Oh?” Ward’s eyebrow shot up.

  “That’s right, big man—all you can eat on the Assembly’s glory.” She cleared her throat, moving a little closer to avoid a man hauling a big pack laden with two wicker barrels nearly overflowing with tiny, glistening fish. “Anyway, I’ll find out when our hearing will be, and then I’ll come by to give you the word. ’Til then, you should probably stay out of trouble.” She grinned and winked, reaching out to chuck Haley’s chin. “Keep an eye on old wolf-man here, would ya?”

  Ward sighed, shaking his head. “All right, all right. You sure you don’t need help with that trunk?”

  “Nope, gonna get a cab here. You ought to, too.”

  Ward nodded, looking up and down the street. The taxis were easy to spot, regardless of whether they were a steam vehicle, a clockwork vehicle, or—and this was new to him—a vehicle that looked like clockwork but had glowing amber crystals mounted near the wheel hubs. They were all marked with a bright yellow circle painted on the doors with a stylized black C at its center.

  True stood one foot onto the cobbled road and waved down a cab. Ward was about to help her hoist her trunk onto the luggage rack, but the driver leaped out and did it before he could get there. She waved from the cab’s window after clambering in. “See you soon!”

  “Bye, True!” Haley called.

  Ward mimicked True’s move to hail a cab and grinned when one with glowing crystals on the wheels pulled up, nearly silent but for the squeaking of the axle springs. The driver climbed out and tried to take Ward’s suitcase, but he waved him off. “I got it.”

  “Right, sir!” The man pulled the door open, and Haley climbed in.

  Before following her, Ward asked, “What are those crystals on the wheels? Do they power your vehicle?”

  “New to Primus, eh? Yes, sir, those are power stones. Wizards make ’em.” He shrugged and nodded toward the door, and Ward let him off the hook, saving his further questions for someone who wasn’t trying to make a living. He pushed his suitcase in beside Haley, then climbed in, taking the seat opposite her. “Where to, sir?” the driver asked through the window.

  “The…” Ward had already blanked the name of the inn.

  Haley saved him, “The Argent Key.”

  “Right away, folks.” The man leaped onto his driving seat, and the cab began to trundle forward, bouncing on its springs as it traversed the cobbled road.

  Suddenly, Grace was sitting beside Haley, groaning melodramatically, as she exclaimed, “Finally! I thought I was going to go mad riding around in your head! I’ve got so many questions! Haley, you won’t believe what Ward’s third bloodline is!”

  “Hey!” Ward frowned, folding his arms. “What if I didn’t want to bother Haley with that?”

  Grace waved a hand dismissively. “She can take it. It’s dreadmarked, Haley. How does that sound?”

  Haley’s eyes flew wide, and she stared at Ward. “When did you find that out?”

  “Back there.” He jerked his head toward the ocean.

  “Is that what took so long?”

  “Part of it,” Grace replied. “He also intimidated the judge, so he put Ward through the wringer.”

  “I did not!” Ward leaned forward, scowling.

  “See? That’s the face he had on.”

  “Ward!” Haley sighed. “You have to learn to control that temper! It’ll make people want to either avoid you or cause trouble for you if you’re always—”

  “I said I wasn’t intimidating! Grace, quit bullshitting.”

  “I’m sorry, sweetie, but it’s true. Maybe you don’t realize you’re doing it, but you were practically growling in that room, and your face was all twisted up like that, brows down, lip curled—I’m sure they were watching somehow while you were waiting for the judge. That’s why they sent the ‘High Arbiter’ to interview you.”

  Ward opened his mouth to argue but stopped himself. Maybe she had a point. He had been feeling pretty impatient and irritated while wandering through those hallways. He sighed and leaned back in his seat. “Whatever.”

  “Anyway,” Grace said, turning to Haley. “He doesn’t know anything about the bloodline, but the arbiter told him he has to get checked out every month to prove he’s not, you know, waking it up.”

  “But why? What will happen to you, Ward?” Haley looked worried now, which was exactly what Ward had been trying to avoid.

  “Relax, kid. I’ll find some books or other information about it. We’re in the city with the best library, right? Besides, I don’t intend to wake it up, so we’re all good.”

  “It’s a beautiful city, isn’t it?” Grace asked, all too willing to change the subject now that she’d thrown Ward under the bus.

  “Very.” Haley sighed, and a shadow flitted across her eyes.

  “What is it?” Grace asked, leaning closer.

  “Nothing. It’s just… Well, my brother and I always daydreamed about coming here. He would have loved to see the city from the ferry as we steamed into the harbor.”

  “Oh, gosh!” Grace looked pained as she tried to grasp Haley’s hand and failed, as usual. She looked at Ward, and he grunted, leaning forward to take Haley’s small, hot hand.

  “I’m sorry, kid.”

  She squeezed his hand. “I know. Me too. Still, he’d be proud of me, wouldn’t he?”

  “Damn right,” Ward agreed, and Grace nodded emphatically.

  Haley smiled, rubbing the back of her hand under her eye. “I’m lucky to have you two.”

  “Nah—” Ward smiled, squeezing her hand again. “—we’re the lucky ones.”

  When they reached the Garden Gate Square, Ward could see where it got its name. A great fountain burbled at the center of the square, and as the cab moved around it, aiming for a tall, stately building on the other side, Ward saw that one corner of the square was dominated by a massive bronze gate that was utterly decked in green ivy vines. A building beside the gate had a sign that read, “Garden Gate Challenge Authority.”

  “Do you see that?” Grace asked.

  “Well, if you’re seeing it—”

  “I mean, did you notice that?” she asked, surprisingly willing to shrug off Ward’s smartass reply.

  Haley leaned close, following Ward’s gaze. “A challenge?” she asked.

  Ward nodded. “Looks like it. A garden, huh? Wonder what that’s all about.”

  Grace laughed. “Well, after you get done with the assembly, you should talk to Fitz. Aren’t you eager to find out?”

  As they spoke, the cab came to a halt, and Ward waited while Haley slipped out. Grace had, of course, disappeared before he could answer her, but he supposed he would have agreed. It was interesting—the idea of a garden challenge—and he’d be lying if a little surge of excitement hadn’t run through him when he’d realized what it was. Nodding to himself, acknowledging that he was now, fundamentally, an adventurer, he slipped out of the cab to start the next chapter of his strange but pretty damn entertaining life in the Vainglory System.