Shadows in the Smoke - 10 - Welcome to the People's Republic of Itria

"In the Republic, we greet each other like the free Citizens that we are. Clasping hands is customary, a sign of trust, friendship and equality. Where people are closer to each other, they might also embrace. Contrast this with places like the Empire, where subjects bow or curtsy, delineating their respective status with the depth of their gesture. Even a greeting is evidence of their backwards social system."

The Struggle for Freedom by Bjarne Midthun

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Ester narrowed her eyes as she looked ahead of their group. There was a dark smudge far ahead of them. A stain spreading gently into the cold, blue sky. Was there a fire ahead of them? She glanced around at the others, most of them didn't seem to have noticed, but a few were glancing up ahead too.

She pursed her lips and steered her horse close to Velxe's.

"Do you see that, Lord Velxe?" Ester pointed up ahead of them.

"See what?" He looked up from whatever had been keeping his attention, of course he hadn't been paying attention.

"The smoke! Is something on fire?"

"Oh." Velxe frowned. "That is… I wonder if…"

"That'll be Nilrava." One of the Republican soldiers, his melodious accent laced with amusement. "Just the factories, building prosperity for us all."

"The… factories?" Was he laughing at them? Ester wanted to take the question back as soon as she'd asked.

"Of course it is the factories." Velxe didn't stumble over the strange word. "I just had not expected to see the signs of them so soon."

The soldier grunted and urged his horse forward, irritated at the end to his amusement. As soon as he was out of easy earshot Ester turned to Velxe.

"What under the Throne is a factory?"

"Oh, it is…" Velxe trailed off for a second. "They make things in them, like very large workshops. I do not know all that much about it to be entirely honest. However, I do know that they burn coal to speed up production, part of why trade with the Republic can be so lucrative is the prices for some of their goods."

"They burn coal to speed up production?" Ester chewed over the idea for a couple of seconds. She really couldn't see how that would help. It probably wasn't all that important though, she was there for diplomacy and magic, not for trade. If she knew Velxe, he wouldn't be able to stand not knowing for long and then she could just get him to tell her all about it once he'd worked it out.

As they got closer, Nilrava itself started to come into view. The amount of smoke coming from there truly was odd. Velxe must have been right about the factories burning coal because Ester had seen nothing like it before. The air in Vass Karan could be a bit smoky at times from the hearths keeping homes warm when it was colder. Trevayn was much further south, so there was little need for heating. Nilrava was on a different level though.

Even from a distance, Ester could see towering chimneys spearing out of the mass of buildings, spewing black smoke into the sky. She shivered slightly, she didn't even need to reach the city to be able to taste the soot in the air. Was this how these people lived? Her mind went back to Jahangir Amini's descriptions of life in the Republic. It certainly didn't look like a 'people's paradise'. No wonder people prefered to live in the Empire.

Like the biggest cities in the Empire, Nilrava extended well beyond its walls. However, unlike some of the outlying districts of Vass Karan, Nilrava's outlying areas didn't seem to be slums. Ester and the rest of the delegation followed the road past warehouses, tenement blocks and large buildings belching smoke and echoing with grinding, mechanical sounds, presumably factories. None of them seemed to be in disrepair, but they were all black and grimy with soot.

Even outside the city walls, the road thronged with people trudging to their destinations. Few rode horses and they were, as a rule, dressed in drab greys, adorned only with the occasional slash of colour.

The Republican commonborn politely made way for the delegation, stepping aside as they passed. However, they didn't cringe back from them or seem particularly afraid. Instead, they stared up Ester and the rest as they rode by. Curiosity, and occasionally hostility, painted across their faces.

As Nilrava's walls came closer, Ester's eyes narrowed. The buildings pressed around them and even taller ones reached for the sky inside. None of them were as high as the tallest in Trevayn, but there were so many of them, each the match for anything in Vass Karan. As for the walls, they were clearly in disrepair. Where the gatehouse had been, they'd instead been demolished to create a far wider opening, allowing streams of people to enter and exit the centre of the city.

She looked around, trying to take in as much as she could. Was this why the Republic wanted to avoid conflict with the Empire? They weren't even capable of properly defending their capital. Had their nation fallen so far since they overthrew their king? Or was she being naive? She looked up at the towering chimneys belching smoke into the sky and winced as a piercing whistle cut through the air. Were they now so confident in their cannons and Arcanists that they thought they didn't need walls anymore? It wasn't a pleasant thought. After a moment Ester urged her horse towards Sir Jahangir, he'd written about the Republic, she could ask him if none of the Republican soldiers were close enough to hear.

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The soldiers led the delegation down one of Nilrava's main thoroughfares, parting crowds of Republicans before them until they arrived in a huge square in front of a palace. It was as grand as any Great House's seat, but like the rest of Nilrava, blackened and stained with the pollution that permeated the air. In fact, it felt like the only things in Nilrava that were clean were the gigantic flags hanging from the palace walls bearing the Republic's crest - a hammer over a cogwheel, of all things.

Ester pursed her lips as she looked it over. That sort of grandeur didn't quite fit with the grim life of the average Republican that Sir Jahangir had been describing to her.

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"The former Royal Palace," he whispered to Ester as they crossed the square towards it. "After the traitors overthrew King Tobin, they kept him and his family imprisoned there for a while, but since then they have made it their seat of government. Now their Central Committee enjoys finery while their people suffer."

"What happened to his family?" Ester matched Sir Jahangir's low tone. Of course they'd executed their king, she already knew that. She grimaced at the thought. At least it was unthinkable that the same thing could happen in the Empire. Her Eternal Majesty's subjects were well led and loyal.

He shrugged. "I do not know. Perhaps it will be something I can find out for my book on the Republic. They pride themselves on applying their justice fairly to all, but the way they treated their nobleborn, even after they had defeated them puts the lie to that." He frowned and glanced around. "Just remember, they will be listening to whatever we say and they will be doing their best to make themselves look better than they are. Her Eternal Majesty wishes for peace and so we must be polite, but we should never forget what we are dealing with here."

Ester bit her lip as she nodded. She'd already known she'd need to be careful here, but Sir Jahangir only made her more sure of it.

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As the door closed behind her, Ester let herself sag slightly. She was already tired after the long journey and the last few hours had been a whirlwind. They were led into the palace, had their baggage taken, offered refreshments and then led to their rooms to rest.

They were all being accommodated within the Royal Palace, or the Palace of the Revolution as it was apparently now called. Ester grimaced to herself at the ridiculous name, although she'd carefully not shown her distaste to the servant who'd enthusiastically explained it to her as he led her through the place's corridors. He'd certainly been more talkative than his equivalent in the Empire!

Ester looked around suspiciously before making her way further in. Her room, no rooms - there was more than one, were huge. Almost bigger than her house in Vass Karan in fact, let alone the tiny little cabin she'd had on the Karan Queen.

The rooms were furnished comfortably with a bed, chairs, writing desk and various tables and wardrobes, but not to the level of luxury she'd imagined might grace guest rooms at a royal palace. But then, given what the Republicans had done, it wasn't a royal palace anymore.

Ester shrugged to herself. It hardly mattered, it was much nicer than she needed and it was a pleasant surprise that she'd been given such nice accommodation.

Now, before she unpacked, she needed to take some precautions. Sir Vitaly had told her to learn what she could about Republican magic. He'd also said to try not to give much away about the Empire's own secrets. No doubt the Republicans would be trying to find out as much as they could too. She'd read enough stories about spies and their adventures to be sure of that, even if she was hardly one herself.

Luckily, she'd used the long journey to Nilrava to work on some ideas that she'd had for how to deal with Republican treachery.

"Alkiev jel'mar'ai'gefasinn al'ellende dol'ellende'fa hoarkaban." As Ester intoned the words she focused her mind and spread her hands apart, rotating her palms open. She focused hard, it was a tricky spell and even with practice she hadn't been able to get the number of words down.

Her vision flickered as the magic washed over her, the room dimming to her eyes. Slowly, she turned on the spot, running her eyes over the whole room. There was nothing, other than little flickers of ambient magic. That was, nothing until she turned to face the bed. There was a glowing, blue bar under it.

"Ha." Ester bounced on her toes. She knew it! Of course they were going to try to catch her with something.

She nearly stopped right then to go and investigate, but no. That would be foolish. She made herself finish her circle first, so that she'd covered the whole room. By the time she released the spell, she could already feel the start of a headache tightening its grip on her.

That wasn't going to discourage her though. Not after she'd already outwitted the Republicans!

Ester hurried over to the bed and looked it over. It had been under the bed, whatever it was. Probably a Schema of some sort, a tincture wouldn't have been as bright and she couldn't see any reason why someone would leave a tincture there anyway. Was it a spying device? An assassination attempt? Some kind of subtle mind-altering Schema?

Ester hesitated and then got down onto the floor, at least it was spotlessly clean, before lying on her back and slithering her way under the bed.

With a thought she conjured light, illuminating the underside of the bed with its harsh glow. Wooden boards supporting the mattress. Dust. More boards. There.

Ester's eyes landed on a small gold plaque attached to one of the wooden boards. Tiny runes were carved into it with impressive delicacy, too small to easily read. With a sigh she used her feet to push herself further under the bed and moved her light closer.

She quickly ran her eyes over the runes. Fire… moderators… alignment with cold…

Ester's face heated and she was suddenly glad that no one had seen her delight at catching out the Republicans. She hadn't seen anything exactly like it in a Schema and some of the arrangements of runes were rather odd, but she was fairly sure that its purpose was to heat the bed if the temperature in the room fell below a certain level.

With an irritated huff, she started trying to work out how to pull herself out from under the bed. It was at that point that someone knocked on the door.

Ester immediately started squirming, trying to work her way out from under the bed as quickly as she could. It wasn't as easy as she'd expected. With a frustrated growl she managed to start wiggling her way out as the knocking came again.

A moment later she heard the door open, followed by a gasp and the sound of feet hurrying. Who was this? Why had they thought they could just come in when she hadn't answered? What if she'd been indecent!

"Are you alright?" A woman's voice came from above her, speaking in the melodious accent of the Republicans. "Do you need help?"

At least it was a woman. She might have died of embarrassment at being caught like this by a man.

"I am fine." Ester couldn't quite keep the bite out of her voice. "Thank you. Just give me a moment."

It got easier as more of her emerged from under the bed. Why had they given her such a big bed anyway?

She could hear the woman shifting awkwardly from foot to foot as she pulled herself out.

When she finally extracted herself from under the bed, it left Ester lying on her back looking up at a tall, blonde woman, dressed in browns and greys with the symbol of an open palm embroidered on her breast.

"Who exactly are you and what are you doing in my room?" Ester started to pick herself up off the floor.

The woman looked down at Ester as she climbed to her feet, without any change in the expression on her pale face. "I am sorry, when you did not answer the door I thought I should check that all was well. I apologise for interrupting you in your… activities." She certainly didn't sound particularly sorry. "I am Citizen Ina. The Central Committee has assigned me to be your assistant while you are in Nilrava. I hope that will be agreeable, Mage Mazar."

"My assistant?" What was that meant to be?

"Indeed, I will ensure that your rooms are clean, monitor your appointments and generally assist you."

"Oh!" That at least made sense. Finally, she'd no longer be the only person without a servant in the whole delegation. "Like my maid."

The moment the words left Ester's lips she knew she'd made a mistake. A scowl flashed across Ina's face.

"No!" She snapped. "We do not labour in service in the Republic, I am a citizen like everyone else. Do not try to bring your backwards ways with you while you are here!"

Ester took a small step back at the woman's angry tone.

"I…" No servant would ever have spoken to her like that in the Empire. She would never have spoken to a nobleborn like that, before she gained her Charter. She wasn't sure she would even now. "I apologise Ina, uh, Citizen Ina. I meant no offense. I was just trying to understand."

The woman's face softened, a hair. "Apology accepted. I understand that you are used to things being done differently in the Empire, but I would appreciate it if you could remember you are not in the Empire now."

"Of course, of course." Ester winced internally. She'd regretted not bringing a servant and now she had one who berated her like she was the servant. What was wrong with her life?!

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