lift area, they mounted their horses and rode off.
“They look like an advance scout party,” Hobart said. “There must be an early caravan coming.”
“You may be right,” Giorge said. “That light blue jerkin is typical of the Western Kingdoms. They’ve got a plant there that creates dyes of that color. I wonder why they’re coming early.”
“It doesn’t matter, does it?” Ortis said. “Or are you planning to guard another one this year?”
“No need,” Giorge laughed, patting the pouch inside his tunic. “We have plenty.”
The passengers who were afoot scampered onto the platform and kept going. When it appeared the last one had gotten off, the guards looked in, nodded, and gestured for those waiting to board the lift to enter. When it was their turn, Giorge and one of Ortis headed to the open-air balcony while Hobart and the other two Ortis joined Angus in the enclosed section. It was a large area, much larger than he had expected, since there were two tiers. The bottom was for the riders, and the top barely had enough room for Hobart to keep from bumping his head. The top tier was well-lit by large openings in the ceiling that let in ample sunlight, and a bench ringed the thirty foot square walls, providing plenty of sitting room. Even after the last passenger had boarded, there was still plenty of room left, but they closed the doors and, less than a minute later, began moving up at the same plodding pace.
“They must have passengers waiting up top,” Hobart said. “Maybe that caravan is already here. Normally they wouldn’t raise the lift until the whole thing was full.”
There was a clicking sound coming from the corners, as if someone was clacking together two metal bars.
“What’s that sound?” Angus asked, tensing despite the fact that the lift had no doubt been used daily for years.
“That is another safety feature,” Ortis said. “It’s a brake system in case the ropes break. There’s a gear system involved, and that clicking happens with it moves from one notch to the next. The notches are arced like a cat’s claw, and they only go in one direction. If they try to go in the opposite direction, the gears catch and hold each other in place. As long as the pulley gears don’t break, it will hold us in place if the ropes give out.”
“I’ve never heard of that happening,” Hobart added. “There really is nothing to worry about.”
“I know,” Angus said, not quite convinced.
“Angus,” Hobart interrupted. “We’ll stop at Hedreth’s long enough to stow our gear and get rooms. After that, we’re going to drop off Teffles’ body and go to the Wizards’ School. The Temple of Muff isn’t on The Rim. We’ll have to get directions to it.”
“And a hand cart,” Ortis said. “I am not carrying this body into the city.”
Hobart nodded. “Easy enough to accomplish,” he said. “There are always carts for rent near the lift area.”
“Do we have to ride a lift down on the other side?” Angus asked, feeling a slight turning in his stomach. It wasn’t quite nauseating, but it was the queasy beginnings of it.
“No,” Hobart said. “There is a ramp and a stair on each wall. They go in opposite directions. We won’t know which one we’ll need to use until we know where the Temple of Muff is.”
“The cart….”
“If the temple is close to the stairwell, I’ll carry Teffles. He isn’t that heavy,” Hobart said.
“No,” Ortis agreed. “But the herbs are wearing off.”
Hobart shrugged. “I’ve smelled worse.”
“I know,” Ortis said, his orange eyes twinkling. “I was there when you did.”
Angus rolled his eyes and snickered.
“Oof,” Hobart said. “It wasn’t my fault, now was it?”
Ortis shrugged. “Nevertheless, I would prefer not to have to deal with this stench.”
“All right,” Hobart said. “Hand cart, Hedreth’s, the Temple of Muff, and the Wizards’ School. Is there anywhere else we need to stop tonight?”
“Giorge says he isn’t staying at Hedreth’s,” Ortis said. “His contacts prefer lodgings that are not so close to the army.”
Hobart nodded. “I thought as much. Tell him he has to pay for it himself.”
“He knows.”
“How quiet is Hedreth’s?” Angus asked, a sudden vision of drunken soldiers badly singing bawdy songs came to mind. “I might want to join him.”
“It’s not too bad,” Ortis said. “You should be able to sleep well enough.”
“It’s not sleep I’m concerned about,” Angus said. “I will be spending much of the next few weeks in deep concentration. Unwanted disruptions could be dangerous.”
“Well,” Hobart said. “The common room will be louder than Fenbrooke’s Inn, but your room should be quiet enough. Just ask for one in the basement far from the common room.”
“Yes,” Ortis agreed. “If you found the stables appealing, you’ll be quite comfortable in one of those rooms. They are notched into the wall in the same way as the stables are. Hedreth uses them for storage, but he’s bound to have a few empty ones this time of year. He replenishes his supplies as the caravans pass through.”
“It won’t be furnished, though,” Hobart mused. “Knowing Hedreth, he’ll charge you for moving the furnishings from one of the other rooms into it.”
“I don’t mind,” Angus said. “If it gives me solitude and silence, I will be happy to pay for it.”
“I’ll talk to him about it,” Hobart said. “Since you’re under the protection of my banner, I’m sure he will make allowances. But you may not be able to stay in there for long if the caravans are coming early.”
“Perhaps he can store the goods in the room I would have taken?” Angus suggested.
“Ha!” Hobart said. “Knowing him, he’ll rent that one out too! And with the caravans, there is always someone in need of a room.”
“No point worrying about it,” Ortis said. “We’ll find out when we get there.”
“Right,” Hobart said. “First things first, and the first thing we need to do is get a cart. We’ll worry about Hedreth after that.”
“How far is it to Hedreth’s Inn?” Angus asked as the lift came to a stop.
“About half a mile,” Hobart said. “The area immediately around the lift’s entry point is like the waiting area down below. The marketplace for travelers is next, and the inns are just beyond it. If you want other services, they’re arranged around The Rim in strategic places. If it isn’t there—like those libraries you want to visit—you have to get permission to go into the city proper.”
“They’re ready to open the doors,” Giorge said. “The guard said there’s a caravan waiting, and they want us to hurry. It’s a small one; they’re trying to capitalize on the market before it’s saturated.”
Hobart nodded, watching the passengers line up at the stairs to the first tier. When it began to move, he reached down for the saddlebags he was carrying. Angus followed suit, stepping in line behind him. Ortis picked up Teffles’ body and joined them a few paces behind.
Hobart led them out of the lift and past the waiting throng of the caravan—mostly pack animals and riders—until they reached the edge of the crowd. He led them to the railing on top of the inner wall and said, “Well Angus, there it is: Hellsbreath.”
Angus stepped up to the wall and looked out over the city. In the center was a smoke-colored granite spire that rose almost as high as the walls. At the top of the spire was a circular walkway with three blue-robed wizards on it, one facing him, and the other two facing east and west. He assumed there was a fourth opposite him, facing south, but the spire tip was blocking his view. As his gaze went down, the spire broadened and became a complex cluster of buildings that spread out to form a tight circle at its base. The Wizards’ School, Angus noted. Hobart said it would be easy to find.
The Wizards’ School was ringed by gardens, and fanning out beyond them was a grid of streets arranged in perfect squares. Within each square there were small buildings with wooden roofs and
a few stone ones of larger size that seemed to blend into the granite background of the cobblestones. The largest buildings were near the city walls, many of them using that barrier for stability. Some of the large buildings were clearly temples, judging by the ostentatious display of icons in front of them or on their roofs, and he wondered if one of them was the Temple of Muff.
The walls were far from the smooth, mortared barrier he had seen in Wyrmwood; these had stairs and ramps leading up from the city or down from The Rim, most of them only went part of the way, and all of them were lined with cave-like openings. Some of these caves were covered with a drape or wood partition, and he pointed at one and asked, “What’s that?”
Hobart looked and shrugged. “It could be a shop of some sort,” he said. “Or someone’s home. The walls are riddled with them.”
“Doesn’t that weaken their integrity?” Angus asked.
“Not enough to worry about,” Hobart said. “The walls aren’t really here for protection against an army of invaders; they’re here in case the magic keeping the volcanoes at bay fails. When they built them, they expected the population to grow and planned for the expansion. The Wizards’ School draws a lot of people to the city, both the ones who study there and the ones seeking the protection it offers. Most of those openings only go back about ten feet or so; the rest is a façade. A lot of the people who live in them are newcomers trying to survive.”
“All right,” Angus said. “That’s the Wizards’ School, and