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]

[ That's the idea. Last man standing. Skilled handling is only half the picture, and straightforward to teach; the more difficult part is learning not to hesitate, and something tells him Amos has that well internalized. Geralt doesn't cross swords with anyone he isn't willing to kill. That's truthfully what it comes down to. He had that lesson early on, too.

Probably not a lesson meant for a child, but. No one's quite been in a position to tell him that.

Wry amusement tilts his lips. ] You'd need to come home with me and meet the old man for better.

[ Whoever that old man may be to him, Geralt leaves it unsaid. For all the easy confidence in how he speaks of his skill, there's a distinct lack of pride. It's a simple fact: a majority were not raised as he was nor do they possess a full century of experience doing one job and one job only. Though he imagines more than a handful out there somewhere could best him when it comes down to it. They'd just not be human.

Either way, Amos can consider himself one of exactly two students Geralt's ever taken on in his long life, and the first who isn't literally his ward. ]

[baltimores]

[ Amos meets that amusement, matches it, though probably for a much different reason. The old man's Geralt's Lydia, he figures, and picturing Lydia with a sword is kinda funny. Now that Amos is holding one in his hands, he can see himself learning to wield one. Lydia, though? Or anyone from Baltimore, really? It'd be a total mismatch. So of course he'd be the one ending up learning.

Fits him well enough, he figures, as someone who was actually able to escape. He's already been marked as different. If he'd grown up in the Belt, maybe he would've grown up to be normal. Instead he grew up in Baltimore, learned things as a child he shouldn't have known until he was an adult, and now he and Geralt get along real well. It's all kinda funny. ]

Guess I'll just have to make do.

[ He sets the sword back down, resting it on the table. Maybe he'll be able to find a one back in Solvunn, get his real body used to the idea, translate whatever it is Geralt ends up teaching him here to the real world. Make it instinct. That part wouldn't be new. ]

Hey, thanks. Looks like wandering around here — [ the Horizon — ] has its advantages after all. Didn't know if I'd see you again, but that turned out alright.

[ Or, you know. They're friends. Better yet, Amos is pretty sure Geralt is someone he can count on if everything goes to hell, and as much as he's looking for someone to tether his own busted moral compass to, it's kinda nice to know he's got that side of things covered now.

Not entirely sure what it says about him, that he's found a brother in arms before anyone else, but not like that's something that's ever really bothered him before. ]

[gynvael]

[ The air between them has always been one of relative ease, but now it's particularly so. He decides not to examine it too deeply. The matter is always complicated with him; as slow as he is to trust, there's something to be said for the rare simplicity that comes with having someone he considers reliable but not especially close. There's enough distance between them that it's comfortable.

And the sword does suit Amos somehow. He'll do just fine with it.

A tip of his head acknowledges the thanks. He can admit it's good to find people again—people he's been wondering about in the back of his mind, after the chaos of that day. ]

If the sheep sheering ever grows dull, you know where to find me.

[ Here or, if any future mysterious portals open up, in the Free Cities—either way, it's clear Amos' company can be slotted under the generally welcome category. ]