Gateway Worlds

Re-creation/Renaming - 2

Three days later Maria felt no closer to an answer. She'd succeeded in gathering information, but answers to her present dilemmas still alluded her. One thing, however, was immensely clear: once she 'belonged' to one of these bosses, there was no opportunity to change alliances. Even those who were obviously terrified of their boss seemed to accept this notion without hesitation. No one spoke directly of these restrictions, but she had managed to get the sense of foreboding during a few of her conversations.

She moved carefully from her hiding place, yet another blackened building, and approached the first vendor. Jupiter's insignia graced the man's shirt. The image of a small roll gave this man away as an authorized food vendor.

Pulling hard earned, badly minted coins from her waist purse, the woman stepped forward, "Can I get a roll?"

The vendor glanced toward her currency, noting the mark of his boss, and huffed, as if annoyed that he was being asked to fulfill his role.

Maria didn't bother to react. Three days of working jobs no one else would take had given her just enough money for an early meal, and she wasn't going to let his attitude mar the event. She also forced herself to ignore the gawking man on the ground next to the stall.

The vendor turned back with a smashed version of the normal morning meal. Maria frowned at the crushed food but accepted it without a word. She'd balked at her treatment the first day, but it didn't take long to realize that no boss meant no leverage. 'Dolers' brokered deals for work and food, without them, she took what she was given and was grateful for it. In Darius' area, the vendors wouldn't even sell to her.

As she took her first bite, she glared toward the gawking man, "What's wrong?"

"You stink." He wasn't shy in his reply, "We don't want your money. Get a boss." The vendor nodded his agreement, waving her away from his booth.

Maria felt affronted despite herself, "They won't let me in the baths."

"Stop being prideful." The vendor turned his full attention on her, "You're not better than the rest of us, so you should stop pretending you are."

"I never suggested that I was," Maria forced herself to take a bite and swallow before continuing in a milder tone, "I simply said I don't want to be beholden to anyone."

"Then maybe you should head out into the forest and look for a watering hole." The second joined in the conversation, "There are a lot of Wilds who do that. Survive out there, away from the rest of us, if you're going to refuse to follow the rules of decent society."

"I have no desire to be a Wild." Maria shook her head, "I'm headed to the Wall eventually. I'll figure out a way to get them to accept me."

Both men scoffed, "You have a better chance to be accepted by the Wilds than by the Walled. At least the Wilds will ignore your stench. They might even be willing to teach you a thing or two about survival outside of civilization. I can tell you right now that the only thing the Walled will do to you is laugh. You have nothing to offer them that they'd want."

"What gives you that impression? You assume I'm as useless as the rest of you simply because I stink?" Her free hand found it's way to her hip in an imitation of her mother's irate pose. She forced herself to drop the limb back to her side.

"No, we assume you're useless because you're too young to know much. The only ones allowed in with the Walled are people who know something. People who had degrees back home, and strong careers. They don't want simple laborers like us."

Maria didn't bother to mention that she had both, it would fall on deaf ears here. "They've got to have some sort of lower labor pools. Not everyone can have an office job." Her temper was rising, as was her voice. Everyone in the outer city considered those closed in by the wall to be something high and mighty. The dividing line went beyond the physical presence of the fortification.

The second man scoffed, "Well then, be on your way. No one here will stop you from trying, in fact, we're glad to be rid of you and your stench."

Huffing, Maria turned away from the pair and headed further down the street. It was time for her to move on anyway if she really wanted to maintain her goal of reaching the wall anytime soon. Besides trying to create a more comfortable life for herself, she still had to find Shaw's elusive police officer. Even after only three days, it was easy to see that a police officer would have been crucified in the outer cities; he had to be inside the wall.

Maria sighed as she moved. Spending most of the day working, aside from the three hour stretch to avoid the scalding heat of the mid-day suns, left her with only a little travel time. Night was not a time to be out and roaming. Ribbons had been right, and Maria had no intention of finding out exactly what this world's night life consisted of. From the few facts she had gleaned thus far, there was an entirely different group of bosses that ruled the nights and they weren't the type to be messed with.

So far her movement had carried her slowly inland. Her initial view had made the outer cities seem small, and in comparison with the landscape beyond the wall, they were, but it was still almost a full day's travel to get from one edge of a main boss's area to the next.

Maria considered heading for the Wilds her second day here. They chose a life outside the outer citys' walls, and lived off the land, but getting near the outer wall was almost as difficult as getting near the inner one. Several bosses had taken it upon themselves to patrol the walls in search of Wilds or newcomers. Both of these groups constituted fair game for claims and provided either labor or entertainment. Although Maria had managed to avoid that fate once, there was no guarantee that she would be able to do it again. Until she was either acknowledged as part of someone's group, or a boss in her own right, she was up for grabs as far as anyone in this place was concerned. The worst part was that those who didn't make a choice to come on their own could often be marked and forced into one of the groups. The brand made sure that everyone knew who she belonged to; avoiding that fate was her first and foremost priority.

It was said that the markings were saved for those who truly irritated their bosses, but Maria was just as sure that it could be used on the innocent; there were no external regulation, and once marked, the people were considered pariahs unless they had their boss' note of approval to work.