WELCOME TO THE FREE CITIES!

[abraxasmods]

WELCOME TO THE FREE CITIES!

Welcome to The Free Cities! The portal exits outside the capital city of Cadens. The first impression of the city is its sheer size. It sprawls out across the landscape like a great hulking beast at rest. The wall that encircles it barely contains it, the buildings of Cadens practically bulging against its restraint.

The air here seems thicker somehow, tinged with a scent that’s acrid and smoky. Smog hangs high over the city, belched out by smokestacks that tower over the industrial district. The desert stretches out behind it, dotted with towers and dust clouds that disappear into the horizon. Multiple gates lead inside and each is staffed by soldiers in unfamiliar uniforms that wave a steady stream of people through without appearing to pay much attention. People are coming and going almost all of the time, to and from the outposts and areas of activity around the city proper. It’s difficult to tell just what’s out there beyond the impression of tall metal structures and a great deal of labor. Wagons carrying travelers to Libertas and Aquila roll out from the Travel Post outside the city wall.

Anyone who can sense magic will notice a much lower concentration here. No one will be stopped or questioned at the gate, even if the soldiers seem to take note of the fugitives from Thorne.

The activity and sheer number of citizens can be overwhelming. It’s crowded and loud and feels constantly in motion with everyone talking and yelling over each other. It’s easy to get swept up in the ever-moving throng or find oneself ducking into the mouth of a narrow alley just to breathe.

Anyone who’s willing to make their way to the northern part of the city and Portham Hall will find Prime Minister Marlo Reiner available to receive them.

Comments

[gynvael]

[ No. They wouldn't risk one of their own, someone powerful, for an experiment. It doesn't strike him until a moment later that Relena is suggesting it be one or the other. That the queen was only keeping it hidden from the citizens, not Ambrose. ]

Not that. I meant— [ He shifts, resting a hand on the table. ] Access to the Singularity is a hell of thing. I can't see the royal family wanting that to fall outside of their lineage. Not even a high ranking advisor. It'd risk the throne.

[ He's sidetrack, suddenly, by her desire to have remained in Thorne. Geralt frowns at her. How much does she expect to learn from staying with her head on the floor? ]

You'd be dead the second you stepped back on Thorne.

[sanc]

[ Relena considers this and nods. That's true. It would be a privilege to have access to it and to build within it. It would keep the royal family at an advantage. But.. ]

You're right. It's a powerful thing and it's easier to use the citizenry as fodder for perfecting the transfer and disposing of all that participated. Once it's perfected, it might end like you said, where only the top of the ruling class would have any access to it. The unlucky of the prisoners would be trapped here forever or dead.

Still, after seeing that light, I keep thinking about what exactly our making this place our playground does for them. About what Ambrose meant by us 'reenergizing' it and harnessing it. I wonder if we are fodder too. I wonder if that light is somehow being fed into this place. But there's too much that I don't know for me to really speculate. I wish I'd have had more time to speak with Oliver when we met.

[ She doesn't flinch at the statement, at least, just nodding easily again.]

I would. I'm surprised they didn't kill me then, knowing what I know now, though it's possible they left me for dead in the first place and thought no one would find me. It'd be a waste of time to really go back, but I hate moving forward without a full picture of that place. I didn't get much of one being stuck in a hole for months, you know?

[gynvael]

[ There's a small pause after Relena finishes speaking. She sounds more concerned about what the experiment means than what actually happened to her which—is worth noting. He holds the same thoughts about the Horizon: one of the reasons he didn't return until after they'd escaped. ]

Wouldn't be surprised. [ Even a source of power this strong needs to be sustained. But then, what about Ciri?

He's obviously considering several things even as she continues. The prisoners might have been kept in the dark, but the guests were, too. It's the only reason Thorne allowed them such free access to the dungeons. Because nothing they learned, nothing they were told, could be any use. And they'd be right. Geralt had two he trusted who were guests, and what they can tell him isn't much. In fact, the most significant pieces of information came from the prisoners: Himeka, from her brief encounter with the Duchess; Relena, from her trial.

Whether that's changed now is another matter. They can't know—until he can talk to Yennefer.

There are a dozen more questions he could ask about Oliver and Thorne. About the experiment that still leaves him uneasy, not because it was carried out, but because they chose a woman who seems to have least belonged in those cells. In truth, he can guess, from their conversation so far, that her assessment of the whole affair won't line up too far apart from his. Theories, mostly, with little confirmed.

Instead, it's Relena herself where his interest is beginning to form. In what he can read between the things she is and isn't saying. ] You don't want to return for retribution. [ That isn't a question. ] What are you looking for?

[sanc]

[ It's an understandable question. She is sure it probably seems crazy to take a risk that doesn't involve a direct gain. This theoretical situation would be a major risk, but not the biggest risk she's ever taken. She's not known for making decisions that have her own safety in mind.

If she did, she wouldn't have accomplished anything she had up until now.

She goes quiet for a long moment, trying to think of the best way to explain herself to this man. So far, many of the people she's met here are warriors and survivalists. People in war time or living through strife had to be. She can look around her and understand the privilege of her motivations. ]

I have to live in this world. For now... this place is where I exist, and if that's the case, I want to understand the people here. Oliver spoke of desperation. I want to understand the depths of that for the people in Thorne. There's no forgiving what the mages and the queen have done, but if there is one thing I've learned during my time navigating politics in war time... it's that the only way to make meaningful change or sound decisions is understanding the hearts of others. Their motivations. Their fears and hopes.

We know the core of it from Ambrose's standpoint, but what does the situation with the Singularity mean to the people actually living in Thorne? I haven't met them and I know first hand how often the leaders of a country have no interest in what their people really want or even need, because they're too focused on their own gain. It's not uncommon that they don't represent the nature of their people at all. Often times, people outside of power and aristocracy just want to live in peace and to have security.

This is all hypothetical, for now. I know I can't go back any time soon - it'd be a waste of time and I'd gain nothing at this point, but at some point... I do want to go there and learn as much as I can about that place and the people living in it.

[gynvael]

[ Rarely one to interrupt, Geralt says nothing while she talks. She's different from most he's met: not because she wants better, but because she's the first person he's spoken to who's brought up the common folk of Thorne. It's the one thing Geralt's been trying to find out—the reason why he'd asked Estinien what the people of Hayle were like.

He doesn't give much of a damn about what Thorne wants; his presumption, always, is that it boils down to power. Its people are another matter. If they care about the Singularity, if they've been brought to desperation, then it means Thorne has convinced them the Singularity will solve their problems, that it's worth giving up their lives for in bullshit experiments. Worth sending their children to war over. ]

Peace is temporary. So is change. Meaningful or otherwise. [ It isn't said unkindly, though there's no effort to be gentle, either. ] But I think you know that. And I think there are times when that's enough.

[ She's right: he is a survivor. And if there's one thing he's learned, it's that there are no real survivors in war. It's only that he knows some kind of conflict is inevitable: if not the Singularity, it'll be something else. But that doesn't mean he believes it impossible to stave off. For tensions to ease, for awhile, before another fire is lit. Right now, those tensions make it a hell of a headache to do anything about returning home. The last thing he needs is war breaking loose while he's still trying to figure out what the fuck he's supposed to do about Ciri's Elder Blood. When he has people he's trying to protect, in a world where he's only beginning to find his footing. ]

You can't return to Thorne. Doesn't mean the people of Thorne can't come to you. Solvunn claims they're neutral territory. They must have trade routes.

[sanc]

[ Relena nods when he speaks, laying her hand against her chest and curling her fingers. She thinks of the last Christmas and how everything had nearly fallen apart. She thinks about the mass death that was one wrong decision away from occurring. So much risk had to be taken just to persist in peace.

It was at that time she'd realized she'd been running from important parts of her new reality. War was easy. Peace was difficult and ephemeral. ]

I do... it's all very fragile. It only takes a few bad actors to bring it all down. But I guess I still want to try, no matter where I am.

[ She doesn't have nearly the same privilege or status to throw around to make significant change or betterment here, but she wants to do what's within her reach, at least. This place is falling apart and her own world might go with it. It's all woven together, so for her, this place needs saving, too.

Even if she still fears Ambrose's words: That she might be among the arbiters that could bring its final collapse. ]

A good point. I'm still getting used to a world like this... we don't really have trade routes in the same way at this anymore where I'm from. It'll likely take some trust building, but I can start from there. Thank you.

[gynvael]

[ The silence lapses between them while he considers her words. If she moves to fill it, she might get a vague acknowledgement, but it's clear he's working through something he isn't yet saying. In the end, he decides not to say it at all: that if anything will cause the fall of these worlds, if anything will destroy the sphere as they know it, it will be the doing of those in power.

Instead, he turns his attention to one last thing that's been circling the back of his mind, but which he's put aside until now: ] Did Oliver ever tell you how he was able to breach Thorne so effortlessly? Or who he is?

[ Either Thorne isn't as powerful as they think believe they are, or Oliver is hiding something. Or both. Mysterious benefactors are low on his list of people he trusts. Something has to be in it for them, him and the other mage that came with him. ]

[sanc]

[ Relena lets the silence settle between them, patient as ever. If he has more questions, she's sure he'll ask when he's figure out just how he wants to ask. She's the guest here, after all. ]

I think it has something to do with his connection to the Singularity. He said he's the first and last disciple of it. I'm not sure what that means, but I know he brought me back to the dungeons through a portal. He didn't tell me how he did it, though, I'm sorry. Magic is a bit beyond me and time was limited.

[gynvael]

[ His eyes grow sharp. The last disciple is ominous at best. Relena is right, though; he doesn't expect her to know anymore, either. She's told him enough. He nods, accepting her answer as it stands. The information, however minimal, is worth remembering. It tells him precisely one thing: the newly summoned are not the only ones who may have access to what the Singularity, or the Horizon, grants them. ]

You've said plenty. [ He indicates the door: not a dismissal, but just so she knows she doesn't have to be here all day answering his questions, if she's got places to be. ]

If you remember anything else, let me know.