Marrok

Chapter 5

As summer fast approached it seemed that Gommery was right and the possibility of drought was high. It hadn't rained for weeks and the dust kicked up behind the cart laden with wine kegs as it travelled along the merchant road towards the city of Treggorne.

Saul was in high spirits and eager to visit the many taverns and bathhouses in the city. Marrok remained reserved. He had been a child when he last visited the King's city and had been too young to attend court. He remembered travelling with his parents for the King's coronation and being left with other noble children to play in the courtyard gardens at the rear of the palace. Whilst other children had jumped into the cool water of the fountains and played hide and seek amongst the topiaries, he had sat alone. This time he would attend the King's court, his father staying at White Haven; pleading ill health and ageing bones preventing him from travelling so far.

As the city came into sight, they joined a procession of horses, carts, and carriages heading towards the high walls surrounding Treggorne. Marrok and Saul both drew up the cloths they had wrapped around their necks to protect them from the burning sun, to cover their faces as dust billowed around them from the mass of travellers that banded into line in readiness to pass through the city gates. The two servants who sat atop the kegs in the back of their wagon did the same.

The smell of spices, livestock, and fish carried on the warm air from the market stalls that sprawled out in front of the city walls. Traders called out to passers-by, luring them to purchase their wares and produce. Ignoring their cries, Marrok and Saul trundled through the gateway to the city. The main street was wide and cobbled. Tall buildings overlooked them on either side and cast them into shadow. Woad-dyed cloths fluttered in the warm air from windows and rooftops, signalling the people's rejoice at their King's return. There was a hum of excitement all around as the populace grew hour by hour, with more and more travellers, merchants, lords, and ladies arriving in readiness for the celebrations.

As they drew closer to the palace, the crowds began to thin out. Only those that travelled, dressed in finery or that had brought carts laden with goods, remained on the road that led to the northern outskirts of the city. The granite walls of the palace turrets glistened in the sunlight. Buildings alongside the road were now only two or three storeys high and built of good quality stone with balustrade balconies reaching out from every floor. Many had rooftop gardens, full of greenery and luxurious water features. A symbol of wealth and status in a place that suffered for its arid location and hot, dry summers.

The embellished carriages pulled off the main road in a procession of grandeur towards the golden gates of the palace. Marrok and Saul continued with the merchants and followed the road, now banked by leafy trees and smooth granite walls that carried the shadows of the horses and travellers as they passed by. The heated stench of the city was now replaced by the sweet smell of blossoms that floated in the air around them and fell like silent snowflakes upon the ground, sticking to the cartwheels as they turned and clunked upon the cobbles.

The road eventually turned towards a guarded gate where they waited their turn to unload their cargo. Marrok and Saul ensured every keg was accounted for before leaving the two men who had travelled with them to deal with the heavy work of unloading.Leaving the sweet, clean air of the more affluent part of the city, Marrok and Saul rode back towards the throng of crowds in the centre. Gommery had advised them to seek lodgings in the place known as The Fountain, near the upper city square. The building was splayed with bright blue cloths and a crowd of people were laughing and drinking on the street outside, watching a parade of dancers. The commotion nearly caused the friends to overlook the otherwise nondescript building.

Dismounting, they led their horses to the alleyway at the side of the building where a stable hand took a piece of silver as payment before taking the steeds away. Squeezing their way through the crowd that now blocked the entrance to The Fountain, they finally stumbled, hot and red-faced into the coolness of a courtyard.