The Nine Bishops
Chapter 7: Two Roads

When Mika alighted from the wagon, she was awestruck. The city was a remarkable sight. She’d never seen such a melting pot of activity, so many people engaged in so many different activities. She’d seen a crowd at a circus performance, but this felt different. The life in the streets was energizing.

Jeremiah, unaware of the scare he’d given Mika, explained that where they had stopped was the farthest that he could take her. He gave her some information about the city and suggested she go toward the central square to replace a caravan that could take her down the High Road.

Mika had a feeling the cost of such a trip would exceed her budget but thanked Jeremiah for the ride and apologized for having fallen asleep.

“Don’t worry about it. It was still nice having company on the road,” Jeremiah said, reassuringly. “Good luck with your travels, and if you ever replace yourself in Asand, don’t hesitate to stop by the Mage’s Thirst!”

Mika smiled and waved goodbye as she walked out of sight of the wagon, a little sad that it was the last time she would see him. Though she hadn’t known Ingra and Jeremiah for long, she had to admit that not all mages were as bad as she’d assumed. If only they treated the Filth the same way.

Mika had made it to Zanark faster than expected.

Her next task was to orient herself to her current location so she could replace out where the High Road was.

Walking in the busy streets of Zanark felt intimidating. Merchants, caravans, mages, and even some Filth filled the narrow streets. There were street vendors selling all sorts of unfamiliar things on every corner, from food to jewelry.

Some of the food stands had dishes completely foreign to Mika. There was produce of all varieties. Some of the foods on offer—juicy looking fruits and fresh baked cakes—were aromatic and made Mika’s mouth water, while other things—fish with blank eyes and oxtails and whole heads of pigs—looked like something out of a horror story and made Mika turn her head in disgust. She recognized most of the other goods being sold. There were stands selling dishes—plain crockery or fine china painted with floral designs—jewelry of gold and silver, some with sparkling stones that dazzled Mika’s eyes, and various tools for working wood, leather, and metal. Mika had read about almost all of these items, but seeing the abundance of them in the market was giving her sensory overload.

In addition to the strange marketed items, it seemed as though every person passing by was in a hurry. People bumped into Mika without apologizing and kept right on moving, as if they had important business to attend to. They dressed in similar fashion, but in various colors. The men wore crisp shirts with trousers cuffed to ankle-length and creased, while women wore gowns whose skirts ranged from floor length to well above the ankle, often in bright colors with fanciful sleeves and necklines. It was radically different from the simple clothing in quiet shades of brown that Mika had been accustomed to.

She was starting to feel overwhelmed and a bit dizzy. Though the streets were wide, she began to feel confined amid all these people. She looked for a place where she could escape the jostling crowds to catch a breath and at last found an alleyway she could duck into.

The momentary pause gave her an opportunity to admire the city’s beauty and Jeremiah’s description of Zanark as “the City of Bricks.” Looking more closely at the walls that rose around her, Mika noticed that every house was indeed made of brick, in a variety of colors. Zanark was reputed to be the loveliest city in Southie, and now Mika understood why. The architecture was remarkable; each brick told its own story, as they were laid unevenly, yet they fit perfectly together. The people here evidently had a flair for style. Mika, having seen brick buildings only in books, had never imagined they could be so artistic and beautiful. Normally, she’d read, bricks were used only on city halls or courthouses, but here every building was made of brick—red, yellow, orange, even green—giving each its own character.

Willing her mind away from the pleasant scenery, Mika planned her course of action. She knew she needed to buy a few things for her travels. She’d decided she would not buy provisions, since food would cost a fortune. It was better to buy a few essential survival items, such as wire and a knife, so she would be prepared to fend for herself.

She also decided to ask the merchant she bought from how to reach the central square, as she knew from her reading that that was where transport could be found in every city. Mika was still undecided on whether to take a caravan or walk; the decision would depend on the price.

Gathering up her courage, Mika returned to the crowded streets and soon found a vendor who had all the things she needed. He was an old mage with long white hair and missing teeth. He gave Mika a fair price and provided her with a lot of information about the city.

She felt lucky to have chosen him because, from what she’d observed, most of the vendors only cared about drawing the next customer after a transaction.

He pointed Mika in the right direction and told her to follow the main brick road that led straight to the city center. Mika thanked him and offered him a few more bronze for his help. Luckily for her, the man respectfully declined and wished her the best of luck. Now armed with a sense of direction, Mika made her way towards the central square.

The streets were generally paved in stone, but the path to the center of Zanark was made of a beautiful white brick. Mika followed the brick path for about half an hour until she found herself in a magnificent courtyard with a huge, intricately sculpted fountain and clock tower in the middle, surrounded by elegant buildings.

Circled around the fountain were wagons and carriages offered for hire by various travel companies, each with a sign bearing a slogan and advertising their services. As Mika approached, a chorus of mages called out, hawking transport to particular destinations. Most were offering travel to either the east or north by way of the High Road.

Mika also noticed that here in the center of Zanark there were only mages. She’d seen Filth on the outskirts of the city, but as she looked about, she didn’t see even one in the central square. Mika didn’t have the innate ability all mages had to distinguish Filth from mages, yet she was beginning to notice differences in what the attire and behavior that set them apart.

The Filth never sported the colorful clothes favored by mages. They wore simple attire, typically dirtied by the work they did. In a crowd, the Filth actually dodged people, avoiding contact with anyone even in the most crowded streets. Finally, mages looked directly at Mika, as opposed to avoiding eye contact with Filth. Most of them gave her an odd look, most likely because she stood out in her worn-out clothes. But Filth, she noticed, were outright ignored.

That Filth seemed to be outright avoiding the center seemed odd to her, but she decided that perhaps it was forbidden—or at least uncomfortable—for them to walk openly in that part of the city.

As Mika turned her attention to the touts shouting from the travel company wagons, she realized the prices to travel Home were far beyond what she could afford. The cheapest she heard was ten silver. Mika had known it would be expensive, but she hadn’t expected it to cost so much.

Feeling defeated, she decided it was best to start on her way to the High Road by foot. It was already late afternoon, and she wanted to be able to make camp on the High Road before the sun went down. Zanark lay along the Saccatom River, which ran southwest to northeast. The High Road started just north of the city, reached by way of a bridge. Getting to the road would take roughly two hours if she moved quickly.

Mika made her way down the busy streets in the direction the vendor had recommended. For a while, she wondered if she was going in circles, but at last the streets began to feel less cramped, and she realized she had reached the outskirts of the city. Breathing a bit easier, Mika began to notice posters on the walls of the buildings, advertising everything from concerts to wanted-criminal signs. She perused them idly as she walked by until she spotted one that caught her up short. It was labeled Third-class Hunter’s contract. While there were no portraits on the parchment, it had descriptions. The poster read: “Wanted: One middle-aged male, one teenage girl. Wanted for the murder of six mages. Extremely lethal. May be in any city in the South Quadrant. Report any sightings to your local Hunters office.”

The contract did not provide many details about Mika and her uncle, but it gave her a moment of panic. The Hunters were still looking for them, and they already had spread the word across Southie. Mika couldn’t tell from the contract how much the Hunters knew about her, but they were on the right track.

Suddenly, she wasn’t sure about her course of action. Taking the High Road suddenly felt like a huge risk. But she didn’t want to waste time dithering, so she hurried on while she thought more carefully about her plan.

Mika already had the essentials to get started on her trip. There would be places to eat and rest on the High Road, so she didn’t need much, but she was prepared for anything. The key thing was to conserve her coin so it would last the whole trip.

With a sigh of relief, Mika came at last to the bridge that marked the exit from Zanark. There were still many people, but no longer bustling crowds. At the opposite end of the bridge, she noticed an informal fork in the road.

The official road, known as the High Road, would quickly rise into a massive bridge. The High Road led directly Home. Reserved for mages, it was considered the safest passage to all of the eastern and northern towns and cities. The elevated road, built centuries ago by some of history’s best stone mages, spanned almost a hundred miles, soaring above the Seemosian wilderness as high as half a mile up. Built onto the bridge were plenty of inns for the convenience of travelers. It carried various means of transport and was policed by mage authorities who kept the peace.

Below the bridge lay dense forests, swamps, and plenty of Filth travelers, whose only option was the Low Road. There was a visible fork in the road at the bridge from Zanark only because of heavy travel. Over the years, Filth travelers had pounded the earth into their own dirt road, one that was easily spotted. Mages avoided the Low Road because of its dangers. It was not a formal road by any means, since it was not on any map, but it was said that one could make one’s way Home simply by following the dirt path.

Though Mika’s uncle had advised her to take the High Road, the Hunter’s contract had planted a seed of doubt. Mika was beginning to think the Hunters knew exactly who they were looking for. On a public path saturated with mages, she would be a walking target, with nowhere to escape if she was caught.

It was time to make a difficult choice. The High Road was a high-risk, high-reward route. If she took the High Road, she would make it Home quickly and supposedly safely. Mika knew she might be overthinking the possibility of being in the Hunters’ sights. And traveling the Low Road alone was dangerous, too. There would be thieves and bandits, not to mention harsh traveling conditions. It was unpredictable. Mika had heard stories of perfectly safe travel on this road, and terrible stories of misfortune.

She closed her eyes and weighed her uncle’s advice against her own gut feeling. In coming days, she would come to wonder whether she’d made the right decision. But at this point, good and bad things were about to come to her no matter which path she chose to take. At least that’s what Mika told herself when she decided to travel the Low Road.