Benlunar - Episode 22
Friends in Freedos
Lilian has been struggling to survive in her new surroundings. After two weeks in the city, just how far will she go to secure a meal?
The city, like a hive is teaming with life
People crawl over it like insects or parasites
It’s a place you can thrive or die in a ditch
Where you can step on the poor to get slightly more rich
When the mountains are flat and the seas are dry
The towers will stand stabbing the sky
As long as there is freedom and people in chains
Humanity dies, Freedos remains
The sharp stabbing pain in Lilian’s stomach urged her to strike. Her legs were also starting to cramp as she had been crouching in the alley for fifteen minutes now. From here she had the perfect view of the bread stall across the square. It was still early in the morning so there were plenty of fresh loafs. Their scent wafted down the alley and made her stomach practically cry out in hunger. She swallowed the saliva already wetting her mouth in anticipation of her first bite to eat in two days. She didn’t want to steal. She’d tried asking a fruit seller for a charitable apple yesterday afternoon, but he barely looked at her before pushing her face hard and causing her to fall flat on her backside into a muddy puddle. She tried not to blame him, there were so many young and hungry children in this city that if he said yes to even one, he would have been mobbed and emptied of his stock before he could say ‘you’re welcome’.
It was now or never. Lilian watched as the baker became distracted by a piece of parchment getting blown away by a sudden gust of wind. She need only stand up, navigate the crowd, grab that small loaf on the far left of the table and disappear into the mass of people. She’d walk across the square with her pride intact, and leave it a desperate thief. She thought of her mother and father but their faces disappeared in her mind, replaced quickly by another barking shout from her stomach. It was now or never. She stood up and stumbled a little before regaining full use of her legs. Her ragged and torn travelling smock clung to her skin where it was wet from kneeling on the damp alley floor. She left the shade of the alley and stepped, blinking into the sunlit square. People rushed past her left and right, she heard the shouts from various sellers and she wished that one of the voices still belonged to Mr Hayes, but him and his family had left Freedos three days ago, wishing her the best of luck and leaving her with just a few copper heads which she’d spent that night on a meal. Lilian almost stumbled as she was jostled by a young man carrying a tray of rolls,
“Mind out lass!” She heard him say, she might have apologised, but he was already swallowed up by the throng. Lilian had never seen crowds like those on Checkad Square on market day. Little flags were flying from lampposts with the heads of lynx cresting the fields of pink, white and green. A young couple stooped under a string of them before almost running headlong into Lilian, but she kept going. The one small loaf was still there, occupying her site and mind. She was close now, she could practically taste it, a quick check to see if the baker was still distracted, he was thankfully bending down to pick up the stray page. Lilian looked back and readied her hand for the task. Her hand was actually stretched out in front of her, all she had to do was lean forward and tighten her grip on the loaf. So what was stopping her?
It was a voice. A woman’s voice a few feet to her left. There was something about it. Something familiar. Lilian had been so lost and confused these past few days, she’d almost forgotten what familiarity felt like. Yet here in this alien world filled with people, poverty and power there was a glimmer of home. She couldn’t place it, but the voice put her back in Benlunar for some reason. Back on familiar streets and in front of friendly faces. It must have been a testimony to just how much she missed her home that this voice had stopped her from feeding herself. Lilian put her hand down and looked about for its source. Standing in a small group were two men and two women. They seemed to be couples that had run into each other at the market and were catching up about something or other. The subject of their conversation didn’t matter to Lilian, only the source of the familiar voice. Lilian pretended to be inspecting the bread while keeping one eye on the group. There it was again, that voice. It was soft and silky, like… like a piece of material floating on a breeze. Lilian noticed that it belonged to the short woman with dark hair and brown eyes. Although she remembered her storyteller voice, Lilian was having difficulty placing exactly how she knew her. Had she run a stall in the Benlunar market? Perhaps. Lilian gave up pretending to look at the bread and sidled up, close to the group. She couldn’t help but look at the dark haired woman, it was like remembering a dream upon waking. Both clear and faded at once. The woman was wearing a grey Summer dress, not quite the clothes of a noble, but not exactly a pauper neither. She was standing with her arm linked with her husbands. At least, Lilian assumed them to be married, they were wearing wedding bands and seemed awfully close. But she didn’t recognise the man, or his voice. He was tall and wearing a red doublet and black trousers. As Lilian skirted round the group, keeping her head low and hoping the crowd was keeping her hidden, she tried again and again to find something familiar or recognizable about the woman. Her stomach twisted again in hunger and Lilian almost bent double. For the hundredth time that day, she cursed her decision to spend her only coin on hiring the three mercenaries from the hundred. She knew that once she’d found a reliable source of food or income, she would stop regretting that decision, but in this moment, she’d rather have left the Garrow family fend for themselves and be tucking into one of the hot pork sandwiches she could smell from across the square. And then, in a sudden and beautiful moment of clarity, everything fell into place. The coin. Thought Lilian. The gold sovereign I had been given in Benlunar, it was her. SHE gave it to me that night I found the dead dog. She had been in the alleyway with… a man. But not THAT man. Lilian’s eyes widened in realisation as she narrowly dodged a group of teenage boys chasing a cloth ball one of them had kicked into the crowd. Lilian understood now why her silence had been bought at such a high price. Lilian looked back at the woman and saw that the woman was looking back at her.
Lilian froze. She knew she had to make several important decisions in order for her to use this situation to her advantage, but her empty stomach and dry mouth were clouding her thoughts and judgements. She glanced around her quickly to find her exits, a habit she had picked up from Mr Attorcop. She had thought her closest one to be directly behind her but when she whirled round to check, she found the way to be blocked by a small crowd who had gathered to watch a colorfully dressed performer. He was currently juggling some cakes and occasionally dropping one on his face, causing the crowd to erupt in fits of laughter. Lilian might have laughed too if she was not already looking back at the woman in grey. She saw her whisper something to her husband and excuse herself from the group. Lilian almost bumped into a dark skinned woman who instinctively checked her pockets. City folk seemed to be extremely distrustful of strangers. Lilian apologised quickly and started moving back through the mass, a plan was slowly formulating in her mind, but what with navigating her way through all these people as well as trying desperately to ignore the pain in her stomach, she settled for improvising when the time came. She looked back to see the woman following her close behind. Lilian began pushing folks a little more forcefully than she would have liked. She got a few comments but it was worth it. She had to get this woman alone, then she could… Could what? Talk to her? Yes and then what? Lilian was feeling dizzy with the effort of pushing through the sea of people. One final shove and she found herself back in the alley from which she had stalked the baker. She started to run down it but suddenly felt a heavy hand fall on her shoulder. The woman’s grip was surprisingly strong, either that or Lilian wasn’t aware of just how weak she had been feeling. Lilian was whipped round and came face to face with the woman in grey. Her large brown eyes seemed worried. Lilian wanted to struggle free and run, but realised that she craved contact and conversation more than safety right now.
“Excuse me,” The woman’s tone was stern, but even then Lilian couldn’t help but wonder at the quality of her voice. “What are you doing?” Lilian didn’t know how to answer, she could only utter guttural imitation of speech.
“I… I’m…”
“Do I know you?” Lilian nodded and looked down at the woman’s hand, thankfully, she loosened her grip. Lilian looked back up at her and saw the realisation dawn in her eyes.
“You’re that girl… from Benlunar.” Lilian nodded again. The woman’s face went from smiling recognition to shock horror in a split second.
“Did you… follow me here?” Lilian curled her eyebrows in a question and shook her head. She tried to speak again but her throat was still very dry.
“What are you…? Listen.” The woman suddenly became very serious. “If you’re trying to intimidate or, or blackmail me in some way I won’t have it you hear me? My husband is just a shout away and he’ll knock some sense into you before you can…” She stopped herself mid-sentence, searching for the right words. It was clear that she was not used to threatening people. Lilian could hear the tremble in her voice as she spoke. Lilian had never felt so powerless and yet this woman was quite visibly scared of her. A thought flashed into her head. There might be a way for Lilian to use this fear to her advantage but… no. She had decided not to become a thief that day, she would be damned if she would become a blackmailer instead. Summoning all her strength, she gripped the woman’s grey dress with both hands and managed to eek out a whisper.
“Please. I need water.” The woman looked confused at first, but then quickly understood. She took a step back and seemed to take all of Lilian in at once, suddenly she saw the desperation in her eyes. This was the girl from that little mountain town, but she was ravaged by hunger. There was a bruise under her left eye and she was thin as a rake.
“Wait here.” Lilian watched the woman disappear in a flurry of grey material. She returned moments later with a cup of water. Lilian knew enough about Freedos by now to know that fresh water this deep in the city was not cheap. She had seen an old man drink from one of the rivers on her first day, but she had known by its colour that copying him would have made her very sick. Lilian took the cup eagerly with both hands and drank deeply from it.
“Easy, slow down. You don’t want to cough it back up.” Lilian took a breath and did as she was told. It would be hard to disobey any suggestion that soothing voice spoke. Lilian tipped the last drop into her mouth and swallowed hard. It felt like swallowing a ball of air and she promptly belched loudly. Manners had disappeared with the last of Mr Hayes’s copper coins. Although the water felt wonderful, she was still struggling with a painful stomach. At least now she was able to speak.
“Thank you.” she said at last. The woman was trying not to laugh at what must have been the loudest burp she’d ever heard. At least, from a young lady. With the power of speech hers once again, Lilian was quick to defend herself.
“I didn’t follow you. I travelled here from Benlunar with my uncle. And I don’t mean you any harm.” Lilian was sticking to the plan she had made with Mr Attorcop, traveling under her false name, Amelia Botham.
“And where is your uncle now?” The woman looked around as she spoke, half expecting a man to emerge from a doorway or crate.
“We got separated on the journey. We had agreed to meet in Freedos, should that happen, but I’ve been here for nearly a week and he hasn’t been at our meeting spot nor has he left a message.” Most of this was true, Lilian tactfully left out the details of how they got split up, not wanting to relive it again. Lilian saw pity form in the woman’s eyes. She took the cup back and looked into it, thinking.
“I’m sorry to hear that. What’s your name?”
“Amelia. Amelia Botham. My uncle is called Cressido.” Lilian felt tears start to sting her eyes. Talking to someone and receiving compassion instead of contempt made her feel human. She had only been in the city a week, but she feared that without money, contacts or resources, she would end up poor and living on these streets for a lifetime. She thought of her mum and dad and felt an ache in her heart, as well as her stomach.
“Pleased to meet you Amelia, my name is Katherine. I’m sorry about raising my voice, you… you gave me a fright. You see, the man I was with just now…” Lilian saw her face turn red in the dim light of the alley. Katherine nervously picked at her nails and avoided Lilian’s eye.
“Well, it’s complicated. He’s my husband and…” Again she cut herself off. Lilian quite unconsciously felt her hands move to Katherine’s.
“Miss Katherine, I don’t know you and you don’t know me but, you’re the first person who’s spoken to me in days and… you bought me water.” Lilian thought for a second so as to pick her words carefully.
“All I’m saying is, I don’t think I could ever think badly of you. Not after the kindness you’ve shown me today. I won’t cause you any trouble, in fact, if you want I can leave you alone right n…” At that point Lilian’s right leg buckled and she fell to one knee. The wooden cup clattered away and Lilian’s vision blurred. She felt Katherine’s arms catch her and for a moment she was a child again, being picked up by her mother after falling and scraping her knee on a paving stone.
“You poor thing, look at you. This city is chewing you up. Can you walk? I know a place nearby where you can rest, look, put your arm around me and we can walk there together.” Lilian could only obey. Something about this woman’s manner told her that she could be trusted and Lilian’s body was resigning itself to that trust, no matter what Lilian’s mind would tell it. Together they walked slowly down the alley, away from the noise of the market. Lilian tried to mutter a word,
“Frtha…” Katherine bent her ear to listen but couldn’t make it out. She tried to direct this young girl down the left side street but she felt resistance in her. Her left hand was pointing to the right but Katherine knew that way to be a dead end.
“We should keep moving, you need to rest.”
“No.” Said Lilian, “Fritha.” That word again. Katherine didn’t understand but she seemed adamant about going towards the dark and smelly alleyway. Suddenly Katherine had reservations. Was this all a ploy to lure her away from the crowds? To take her to a secluded place where her friends were waiting to relieve her of her valuables? Katherine shook the thought away. Had city life truly made her so cynical? This girl was in trouble and she would be damned if she was going to leave her. What if this had been one of the children in her care? Would she be able to live with herself with yet another slight on her character. The two slowly moved towards the darkness, the smell of slop intensified and Katherine tried to avoid breathing through her nose. She instinctively looked up, expecting to have to dodge the contents of a full chamber pot at any moment. The young girl seemed to be gaining strength and so Katherine demanded clarity.
“Why are you taking me here?”
“Fritha. She’s my friend. I can’t leave her.” And so Katherine understood. This girl was not fully alone. She had a cat or dog to which she was showing incredible loyalty. Katherine remembered her childhood dog fondly and understood the instinct to protect it. She hoped the animal would appreciate such devotion. As they turned a corner, she saw the tall wall ahead marking the end of the passage. At its foot were several crates, a hessian sack and a rotten looking barrel. She noticed a small pile of straw and wondered if this was where the girl had been sleeping. She expected to see a small dog emerge at any moment, but she had to stop herself from screaming when she saw a rat crawl out from under one of the crates. Was THIS Amelia’s pet? It didn’t look any different to any of the city rats that plagued the city’s back streets and waterways. She was about to explain to Amelia that they couldn’t take this rat with them, the establishment she was bringing her to kept to strict codes of hygiene and they would throw them out as soon as seeing it. Katherine opened her mouth to protest when the hessian bag sprang to life and ate the rat in a swift and single bite.
A little while later, after an illuminating explanation as to the existence and nature of Feinhounds, Katherine brought Lilian to a small inn in the centre of Freedos. She had considered bringing her home but that might elicit questions that she did not quite feel like answering at this time. The inn was a cozy place that mainly housed regular visitors to the city. It was called The Greedy Goose and Katherine knew the couple who owned it. They had become friends after her frequent visits this past year. They had helped Lilian and her strange pet get up the stairs and into an empty guest room. Some vegetable soup was brought up to feed the starving girl. Lilian ate it slowly, worried that her stomach might reject it after having been empty for so long. It took all her remaining strength not to tip the entire bowl straight down her throat. After finishing and allowing Fritha to lick the bowl clean, Lilian lay back on the bed. She wanted to say thank you to Katherine, she might even have spoken the words but her eyes closed as soon as her head hit the pillow and Lilian surrendered to sleep.
Apart from her hunger, the reason sleep had come so easily was because Lilian had been avoiding sleep these past few days. She had preferred to stay awake and keep her wits about her. She had been telling herself that she needed to keep vigilant while sleeping in an alleyway, but she was in denial of the truth. Lilian had avoided sleep because of the dream. It was the same every night and it was here again now. She was back in the Hayes’ wagon. She could feel the wooden seat on her knee as she knelt to look behind her. She could hear the rumble of the wheels against the road, and she was trying desperately to shout something, but no words would leave her lips. In the retreating distance she saw Mr Attorcop, resigning himself to a grim fate, not even struggling to break free from its grip. That thing. It haunted her vision whenever she closed her eyes and it was haunting her dreams at night. It was why she hadn’t slept. She was scared of it. Scared of seeing its face again. Scared of seeing its twisted smile taunting her in the dark recesses of her dreams. Sleep was a small sacrifice to make when fighting the memory of a demon. Suddenly her dream shifted, she was approaching it now, as if the wagon was going in reverse. Its hideous head loomed ever bigger and bigger until Lilian was close enough to hear its breath. A dead and dreadful sound, like the breath of someone sick. Suddenly she was by Kilde’s bedside again, she wanted to reach out and turn him over, she wanted to speak to him, to tell him he never left her thoughts. But when he turned he was the demon, cackling and clinging to her outstretched arm.
Lilian awoke with a jolt. The window in her room was ajar and the breeze was causing her sweat covered body to shiver. She looked about, not understanding where she was for a few seconds before the memory of being taken here came back to her. It was dark. Lilian got off the bed to go and shut the window, Fritha looked up from the carpet on the floor, checking to see if they were leaving or if she could go back to sleep. Lilian stroked her ears as she walked past. She could hear sounds of voices coming from the streets of Freedos before the thunk of the window muffled them into silence. No matter the hour, Freedos never seemed to fall completely silent. Despite having eaten before going to sleep, Lilian felt another familiar pang of hunger. She felt it as she turned to look around the room and happened to notice the plate of buns on the table by the door. She smiled at Katherine’s kindness and, seeing as she didn’t feel like going back to sleep, decided to eat one. She hopped back onto the bed and pushed the pillow against the headboard so that she could sit up comfortably. Fritha, noticing that food was being consumed, got up and came close to Lilian. Sitting up on the bed meant that they were nearly eye to eye, so trying to ignore her was practically impossible. Not that Lilian was trying that hard. Smiling, she ripped the bun in half and held it out for Fritha to grab gently and wolf down in a couple of seconds before turning back to watch Lilian eating hers. Lilian smiled and patted the mattress beside her. Fritha took the suggestion with palpable pleasure. The mattress buckled and bent with her weight and Lilian had to shift to make space for her to lie down. Once settled, Lilian stroked her ears while she ate the bun. It felt so good to eat, Lilian felt her mind start to work once again, now that it was able to focus on other things rather than where her next meal was going to come from. What was she going to do if Mr Attorcop never came to Freedos? Go back to Benlunar? Maybe. Something held her back from this cause of action. Going back now would seem like admitting some kind of defeat, besides, she didn’t think Mr Attorcop would be beaten so easily and now that Lilian had an ally in the city, she had an advantage against the trials of survival. She finished the bun and reached under the bed for her pack. She had managed to grab it from the alley along with Fritha before coming to this inn. She wanted to take stock of any other advantages she might have for her mission to find Mr Attorcop. Fritha’s breathing slowed down and her fur began rippling through a cycle of dull colours as she fell asleep. Lilian pulled the tag on the draw string and reached inside her pack. She brought out a change of clothes, an empty water skin, a bag of sour berries and her old boots from Benlunar. She placed the items out on the bed in front of her and marvelled at just how little she owned. Lilian didn’t mind, she quite liked the idea of being able to pack up her worldly belongings at a moment’s notice and steal into the night for an adventure. She reached down inside the bag once more to the very bottom. She felt a small pile of grit and sand brush against her fingers before landing on what she sought. Slowly, she pulled out the folded cloth containing Kissandra’s knife. She placed it on the bed in front of her and carefully unwrapped the blade. It was still sharp as a razor and the snake’s eyes seemed to twinkle in the dim light. It wasn’t much but surely there must be something in this sorry pile that could be of some use. Lilian glanced out of the window, a candle had been lit in a room across the street from hers. Another light sleeper. She thought about the thousands of citizens that were asleep in the city at this moment.
She remembered arriving here the morning after leaving Mr Attorcop. She had been too anxious to appreciate the beauty of the city. The whole thing was built on the side of a hill. The locals referred to it as a mountain, but Lilian laughed at that description. Compared to the peaks around Benlunar, Freedos was built on little more than a hillock. You could get from the bottom of it to the top in a couple of hours, not that she had visited the top. That was where the palace was, along with the houses of the other noble families. They were seldom seen down here, preferring to sequester themselves from the middle and lower hill folk. Mr Hayes had said that from the top you could see the ocean and that after rain the city smelt of salt. It must not have rained in some time, thought Lilian, because all she ever smelt was slop and stale beer. The hill had apparently been a volcano once, but these days only fresh water erupted from its peak. The water trickled along man made gutters and through the homes of the nobles before falling down the hillside, collecting into five rivers. Most of these were used as natural sewers which meant that by the time the water reached the base of the hill it smelt awful and was practically poisonous. The citizens of Freedos used the rivers to travel, to trade, to power mills and much more. Everyone benefited from them in some way: nobles, traders, paupers, beggars and assassins.
Lilian’s eyes fell back on Kissandras knife. She had been hired in Freedos. Lilian wondered what she might do to get this weapon back. Would enlisting Kissandra be more helpful than the knife itself though? Thought Lilian. A tricky question. Lilian picked it up and examined it closely. The handle fascinated her endlessly. It must have been made by an extremely talented smith. The scales made for a great grip and when viewed from the right angle the tail seemed to extend as far as a grass snake’s entire body. At first Lilian thought that all the scales were the same, but she noticed one was actually indented as opposed to raised like the others. Impossible to see at a glance. Lilain ran her thumb over the indented scale just to get a feel for why it might be there. It couldn’t be a mistake, this thing was far too expertly crafted. Perhaps it had fallen off? No… the scales were not stuck on, they were carved into a single metal piece. Just then, as she moved her thumb over and around the indented scale, the one above it seemed to move ever so slightly. Strange. Thought Lilian. Is it coming loose? She began working it, pushing and pulling it from different angles. To her delight the scale actually glided down and slotted perfectly into the empty space beneath it. When she brought it all the way in she heard a small click and a line appeared at the base of the snake’s head. Pulling it slowly and carefully made the line grow bigger and Lilian found that she could separate the handle from the blade to reveal a hole in the top of the handle. The thing was actually hollow! She peered into it. Lilian had to narrow her eyes to see into the darkness. Was something in there? She tipped the handle over the bed. And then, as if from nowhere something fell out. It fell from the chasm, from a memory of another time and another place. A small bottle. Glass with a metal stopper. The bottle, or more accurately, vial contained a substance. A liquid that glowed bright white. Suddenly, Lilian’s room was bathed in this light. A colour and beauty from an unmistakable source. This vile contained the light of the moon. Lilian was now wide awake. She breathed out slowly and whispered the word filling her head.
“Essence”.
The next day Katherine came back to The Greedy Goose to check on Lilian, by that point Lilian had hidden the vile back in the dagger and tucked everything back into her pack. Her mind raced with the possibilities of what she might be able to achieve with an entire vile of lunar essence, but Mr Attorcop’s stern warnings along with the image of him pointing to the bottom of Benlunar mountain kept her from trying anything. Lilian had managed to go back to sleep and even though she had the same dream as before, she felt somehow less fearful this time around.
“What are you going to do today?” Katherine asked as the two of them tucked into a hearty breakfast, provided by the inn. Lilian chewed and swallowed a mouthful of bacon before answering her.
“I’ve been thinking about that. Firstly, I want to say, thank you. You’ve shown me a kindness I cannot hope to repay any time soon.” Katherine smiled.
“That’s quite alright Amelia. I’m sure you would have done the same for me.” Lilian nodded emphatically. “Besides, more time with this one is all I need right now.” Katherine was holding Fritha’s big head in her hands and bringing her nose to touch hers. She had become quite enamoured with Fritha since being shocked by her sudden appearance in the alley. Lilian smiled, happy to see Fritha getting to play with someone new again. Her large tail whipped and wagged, striking Lilian’s leg under the table as it did.
“I promise I will pay you back somehow.” Lilian continued after swallowing a bit of fat fried potato, “as for today my uncle did mention that there was someone in Freedos whom he knew. A friend I suppose. Or a colleague. His name is Cromwell Attorcop.” Katherine ruffled Fritha’s floppy ears as she thought on the name.
“I’m afraid I’ve never heard of him. Do you know what kind of work he does? The districts of Freedos are separated roughly by industry, we could ask around.” Lilian thought about what to answer.
“I’m not sure. Maybe politics? Is that a district?” Katherine’s brow furrowed and she glanced at a vacant looking Fritha before answering.
“Good politics or… bad politics.” Lilian laughed as she remembered everything about Mr Attorcop all at once.
“Bad politics.” This gave Katherine pause for thought.
“Well, I suppose we could try Dracow.”
“Great!” Said Lilian, shovelling a fresh fork of egg into her mouth, “How do I get to Dracow?”
“Oh no, you’re not going there alone. I’m coming with you. Dracow is… unsavoury.” Lilian was still new to Freedos and so did not know which areas were best to avoid. She recalled the bandits that had threatened the farmer and thought better of exploring the dodgier parts of the city alone.
“We can bring Fritha!” Katherine smiled at the suggestion and looked back at Fritha’s big dopey face.
“Of course. But who could be scared of such a beautiful creature, hm?” Lilian smiled and thought that now was the perfect time for Fritha to show off the trick they had been working on for the past few days.
“Fritha! Terrify!”
An hour later Lilian and Katherine were walking through the dark and cobbled streets of Dracow. They walked past dusty shop windows displaying barely legal goods. Rings that slipped onto knuckles to double ones punching power, dust that supposedly blinded any eye that it touched, one man even whispered that he would be happy to hurt anyone they wished for a small fee as the ladies walked past him. Leading the way and parting the crowd was Fritha. Hackled black fur making her seem even bigger than she already was, her teeth were slightly lengthened and constantly exposed, dripping sticky drool onto the mucky cobbles. She would snap at anyone who came too close and one man even dropped the box he was carrying when she surprised him from behind, sending it crashing to the floor, its contents presumably smashing on impact. Fritha’s coat was black and brown and clumped in places into dirty patches. She was a fearful site and although she drew a lot of attention, few dared approach them. Katherine was on the edge of giggling the entire time, watching grown men jump and squeal out of her way was an empowering feeling. She guided them to a small shop, the owner of which had once sold her a bag with a false bottom. He didn’t know anyone called Cromwell Attorcop but he directed them to a woman on the edge of the Dracow district who apparently ran an underground printing press. Lilian was keen to see it in action and so was disappointed when they got there and found only a small room with some political pamphlets and a few books for sale. While Katherine chatted with the owner Lilian wondered if one of the bookshelves concealed a secret entrance. Whilst looking around, she fed Fritha a sour berry for keeping up the excellent work. Katherine walked over to them after a few minutes.
“Apparently this Mr Attorcop works in an attic space in Ziedmont, we can get there in 20 or so minutes, I have the address.” Lilian smiled at the positive progress but knew that they wouldn’t find anything when they got there. Still, she thought, perhaps I can find a way in later and stay there while I wait for him. Once they left Dracow, Lilian whispered a command to Fritha and watched as she shifted into her shaggy dog look. This would draw a little less attention while they navigated the waterways and little bridges to get to Ziedmont. They crossed over several little rivers and Katherine explained why the water in them were all different colours.
“They each run through different districts. This one is purple because up there is the cloth market. They dye the fabrics in the river and it turns it this funny colour. It’s mostly this grey purple but I’ve seen it be bright green, even orange once. The river on the other side of Ziedmont is yellow, always. That’s because the district above that is the spice market. Spices dropped on the floor end up in the river and they turn it that bright colour.” Lilian listened as they walked, fascinated by city life. Benlunar felt so different. Even going to an area where they might be in danger felt strange. She had always wandered Benlunar alone and without fear. She learned that Katherine wasn’t actually from Benlunar, she was from a small town near the coast but had come to the city to work as the governess to a wealthy noble family.
Finally they reached the attic space where Mr Attorcop supposedly worked.
“Well, I suppose this is goodbye.” said Lilian as she turned to Katherine.
“Aren’t you going to knock on the door?” she replied. Lilian had been so sure of not finding anyone home that she had forgotten to pretend to find that out for herself.
“Oh, yes of course.” She turned and wrapped on the small wooden door. The building was old but well kept. All the houses in Ziedmont were of modest size and relatively clean. Katherine had explained that this was a clever place to situate a business as Ziedmont was one of the few places frequented by both the rich and poor. They had had to walk a decent distance uphill and so the view was quite good. Lilian made a show of waiting and was about to turn and say goodbye to Katherine when the door surprisingly opened. Lilian almost leapt back in shock. Standing in the doorframe was a small man with messy black hair and the beginnings of a patchy beard flecked with grey. He wore a stained grey shirt and smelt as though he had not washed in several days. Lilian was too surprised to say anything and so he spoke.
“Can I help you?” His voice was high pitched and raspy. Lilian was still too taken aback to answer him and so Katherine stepped forward.
“Er yes, hello. We’re looking for someone by the name of Cromwell Attorcop.” And then the man said the last thing Lilian had expected him, or anyone to say.
“Yes. I’m Cromwell Attorcop.”