As the quartet slumbered their worthy coachman pushed the horses onward, further up the trail into the mountains and then down the carefully modulated descent of switchbacks that lead to the city that was both near and far. Eventually Hiram and Dietrich awoke and took in their first sight of the chaotic city, the distance obscuring some of the confusion and lending the whole an aura of planning that it did not deserve. To the south were the interspersed manors and farms that made up the Orchid, linked to the rest of the city by the river, the aqueduct and a trio of broad, flat boulevards and bounded by the simple stone walls of the distant farms or the gated walls of the mansions. Further north along the Rheel were the colored houses, painted roofs, and tall towers of Serin, the lots becoming smaller and the houses more densely packed until they fused with one another - that fusion marking the first boundary with Scornbul. The second boundary was when the architecture went mad, Scornbul growing and twisting upon itself so that it looked as if someone had taught ants carpentry, and this was the mound that resulted. The city became a mass of wood, impossible to distinguish one house from the next or even ascertain what streets might go where. To the west was the swamp - which they felt certain they would never, ever have cause to enter - and to the east, their avenue of approach, lay Ferrantino.
By the time they approached the gates the others had been roused for their first look at their new home with the sliver of sun still barely past midday (the Dusty Road in being set one day's ride up, rather than down the mountain). That first encounter was of a mix of smells - as the breeze blew in from the sea it was salt and the mass of humanity that was Scornbul, when it blew from inland it was of the more common smell of gardens and cattle. The crowd before them hindered movement, but their worthy coachman pressed on, trusting that the livery of the imperial coach would see them past the busy guards at the gate.
Once in the city, the street was temporarily blocked by a crowd of halfling and gnomish members of the mercantile class arguing about the disposition of a rolling wooden construction bearing dozens of plucked ducks, the purchasing gnome insisting that he had also paid for the ducks feather's while the halfling, brandishing a contract, pointing to a total lack of clause indicating the same (having no doubt already made a profit selling the down to a different vendor). Shortly thereafter they were stopped again by another such construction laden with raw fabrics wheeled through the street, followed by one bearing finished clothes.
The coachman took this time to warn them about the street vendors, and if any leaped onto the running boards with offers they didn't want to consider to simply let him know and he would take the whip to them. This made the good man appear oracular as mere seconds later one young man did just that, informing them of the best prices for rooms in the immediate surroundings if they would just follow his direction… the pitch was cut short by the sound of the crop and the good nobles lowered the shades somewhat to avoid attracting as much attention.
Even still it was a lost battle, with merchants, venders, hucksters and buskers of all sorts running up to the coach and leaping on to make offers of all kids - fabrics, foods, frolicsome companions - to those wealthy and well positioned enough to afford the nobleman's transit. The most ambitious and well prepared of these was a young man offering directions to the best hotel in Ferrantino who had possessed the foresight to bring a large metal expanding shield with which to fend off the coachman's crop. Melas was able to dissuade the man with a shove.
Still, his presence had raised a question of where to stay. This is when Lord von Eisenwald revealed to his companions that he was coming to the city to claim a family estate, a house in Serin, which ought to have space enough to house the four of them in some comfort. This was quickly agreed upon, so that when inquired as to a destination other than the Ferrantino yards they were able to provide an address with such certainty that the issue could scarcely ever have been in doubt.
A destination now determined and the crush of the crowd soon past them they were able to take in more of the view. The sound of a large crash caught their attention, and they could see that clever merchants who had warehouses by the Ferrantino gate - a less desirable position now that more of the goods came in through the docks than the road - had found a way to make use of the viaduct, carrying their goods in narrow, long boats along that elevated river and then hiring apprentices wizards to make such goods temporarily weightless with a common alteration magic so that they might float down to the ground with the gentleness of a duck's feather near the aforementioned warehouses. As evidenced by the crash, sometimes the apprentices' timing is poor. Dietrich suggested that if perhaps the apprentices were made to ride the boats down they would be more certain of their timing.
Cybele pointed out to the south the massive, intimidating construction that was the Ferrantino library - like all of Ferrnatino it was stone, but in this case a pure white marble with the classic 110 steps and 11 pillars later adopted by the old Imperial Court as being the proper design for structure of high social merit (some scholars will argue that the design originated the greensward and was mimicked from there, the age of the library, rebuilt as it was by the d'Ferranntino family with dwarvish laborers almost immediately after the city was reclaimed, stand stalwart against this theory). Hiram reminded all that the steps were made famous on the stage in the initial play of the 'Petros the Pugilist' sextet. All agreed that it was indeed a classic but felt that the middle pieces were weak (the one with Petros fighting a bare-knuckled match against a chaos beast bull man was, while a crowd pleaser, had little artistic merit), and the later ones with the aged Petros were attempting to bring pathos to a character too well defined as a glorious youth in the earlier works.
And with that erudite discussion of the arts, they moved from Ferrantino to Serin, and once in Serin the roads opened to their carriage, and they made good time to the von Eisenwald house.
The house at which the coach stopped was a tastefully apportioned two- and one-half story wooden construction of the sort commonly built during the reign of Emperor Segundo 'the moderator', the 22nd, and second to last, ruler of the empire. The front yard was just the size enough for a formal duel and well kept, and the house itself appeared to be in excellent shape despite having been uninhabited since the death of Archibald Von Eisenwald some three years previous. Dietrich approached and knocked once, and after a moment the door was opened by a smartly dressed halfling in a bowler hat and waistcoat.
"Good evening, sirs, lady. I am Rudolph Eisenwald, local solicitor to the von Eisenwalds. Your appearance suggests to me that you are Dietrich von Eisenwald, but I trust you will not take it amiss if the formalities of the situation necessitate my asking for your identifications," the small man said as he ushered the four noblemen into the house. Upon seeing that all was in order he proceeded to explain the arrangements his firm had made for the new von Eisenwald arrival. To wit: all of the rooms had been cleaned and aired all of the bedrooms had been set with fresh linens; the larder had been stocked with sufficient food for a day or two, including some cured ham; the inventory of the wine cellar had been confirmed; a local day servant had been arranged and would begin work the following day. There were no night servants employed as yet, given the expense and contract obligations of hiring the dwarves for the evening work, and since there had been no set date for the new lord's arrival the firm felt that erring towards practicality in expenses was in the lord's best interest.
(Melas: I look the halfling over to see if he is concealing anything. Is he? GM: No Melas: Then I ignore him.)
Dietrich spent a few moments going over most of the papers as presented - all save a sealed letter - that confirmed the arrangements and quickly tabulating that the money the few small halfling farms outside the city still attached to this house would serve to cover the cost of taxes, salary for a servant (if the servant were full time and provided lodgings) or two (if they lived off site and worked only during the day), a stipend for an acceptable food supply that would be stretched with his companions present and a very small amount left over. That was when Rudolph presented his card and stated that if the new Lord von Eisenwald found the arrangements to date acceptable that the firm of Eisenwald, Eisenwald and Altmann would be most pleased to continue the professional relationship and could promise to provide a four hour response time to any inquiry from the Von Eisenwald estate. Seeing that the cost of the solicitor's monthly retainer would bring his income balance to a net zero Dietrich shrugged, replied that thing were indeed acceptable and presented the halfling with Lord Ambleer's letters to the four governors for delivery. The small man accepted them with precision, bowed sharply and then, with permission, took his leave.
Dietrich then slit open and read the letter; it was from Portia d'Ferrantino, head loremistress of the Ferrantino Library and scion of the line from which that quarter took its name. With both brevity and precision the letter laid out how the library had been in negotiations with the previous lord von Eisenwald concerning the donation of his library; negotiations that were not yet complete at the time of his unfortunate demise. The lady d'Ferrantino wished to introduce herself to the von Eisenwald heir with the admitted goal of re-starting those negotiations at a later date. To that end he was invited to visit the library at his convenience and arrange a time to dine with her as soon as his schedule permitted.
Melas and Cybele took it upon themselves to explore the house without delay, (Cybele: Is there a wine cellar? Melas: You beat me to it!) while Hiram watched their worthy coachman unload their luggage and deliver it - lacking any other indication of who would be lodging in which room - in the front hall before he, Hiram, glanced through the other rooms in the first floor, a task which Dietrich also undertook once he had concluded affairs with his solicitor.
The house was in excellent order, the wine cellar somewhat thinly stocked but serviceable, the veranda off of the dining room overlooking a back yard that could do with some thorough refurbishing, with a bird bath and fountain centrally located and rose bower to the right that was overgrown with the thorny stalks. The second floor held bedrooms enough for the four of them - the frontward facing bedroom with direct access to the second story porch and a tower space reachable only by a tightly wound circular stair. The backmost bedroom had a small balcony as well, and a closet that contained a concealed space for the caching of weapons, which was quickly made home to their various treasures, magical artifacts and the rescued remains. The remainder of the frontward half-story, other than the tower, naturally, held a widow's walk (from which one could, with the craning of the neck and a sufficiently advanced imagination to see through the multi-storied wooden warren that was Scornbul, make out the ocean) and long space lined with bookshelves and books, a comfortable chair and the evidence on the worn floorboards of fencing training of the von Eisenwald style.
All in all it was deemed quite acceptable by its new owner and his friends. Rather than face cooking for themselves just yet they decided to briefly explore their new neighborhood and see what sort of entertainment it might offer
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