The city of Keb’kres looked not unlike Maykren, though it was not built upon a major river delta. Instead of the buildings dotting islands and then dispersing where water ran, the buildings of Keb’kres made way for groves of trees, small forested hills, and the occasional meandering stream. From the harbour, the city looked more like a collection of villages than a great settlement, but Aralim knew the truth from his time in Numa’nakres—Keb’kres was a major trading port on Trader’s Bay, and among the oldest cities ruled by Tag’na’s Empire.
As Aralim and his friends disembarked from their transport galley, one of the deck hands stood from the mooring on which he had been working. The bearded Numa man tipped his head to them. “Welcome travellers. Blessings of the Great Fisher to you.”
Aralim smiled. “Thank you. Do you have any advice on how travellers might enjoy your city best?”
“Enjoy it?” the man asked, furrowing his unkempt eyebrows. “Like tourism? Or festivities?”
“I’m just wanting to get to know the city,” Aralim explained.
“Well…most of us work in the harbour. Others in the timber yards or markets.”
Aralim tapped his lantern staff. “In the harbour? I lived in a fishing town once upon a time. People move from the harbour to the tavern in the evening, I take it?”
“Of course!” The deck worker was grinning now—this was his expertise. “Look for the Claw and Tail along the waterfront.” He gave Aralim a wink and said, “To—how’d you put it?—enjoy the city.”
“I’d say the first pint is on me,” Aralim said, “but I haven’t got much coin on me these days.” He started to move along the dock again.
“Blessings!” the man called as a farewell.
Once they got off the docks, they crossed a busy courtyard where merchants and cargo haulers trafficked all manner of wagons, handcarts, and pack mules. It took a while to cross, but as they started through a small grove of trees toward the next district of sorts, Aralim asked Nill and Miresh: “Shall we take a walk through town? See the sights?”
“Of course!” Miresh piped, and Narr moved along behind her with as much approval as he ever displayed. Nill nodded and followed.
Master Velad’na, despite carrying his weighty pack of tomes, offered, “I believe the Great Gardens are a popular attraction.”
“Perhaps Miresh can find a kapok tree to move,” Aralim said, smiling.
“Ah, Rattar’s classic trick,” Velad’na replied with a chuckle. “Trust me—he could not repeat it anywhere but his sanctum.”
Aralim frowned. “Because of his familiarity with that specific tree?”
“Indeed,” the magician said. He paused as they passed through a throng of merchants and noisy hagglers. “It was just beyond a sapling when he began his training there.”
“He’s studied it all his life,” Miresh added, with a nod.
“Then you have lots of time,” Aralim said, laughing.
“I don’t know that spending the next hundred years in the Great Gardens of Keb’kres would be an effective way along the Path for me…” Miresh considered, but she was still playing along with the joke. Then she grinned. “But watch this!”
Aralim stopped walking to watch, while Velad’na blinked with minor irritation.
Miresh turned so her shoulder would be emphasized. The angular design of the reed cat tattoo faced Aralim—and then its open eye began to blur. After a minute, the blur had finally resolved into clearly defined artwork again. The cat had closed one eye. Then the blur reappeared—until the reed cat had opened its eye once more.
Seeing the tattoo made to wink, Master Velad’na groaned and walked ahead.
Miresh, however, was beaming with pride. “If it’s familiarity that makes magic easier—I’m trying to focus on those things that will always be familiar to me. Like…me! My body.”
Aralim chuckled. “I’m worried that I’ll be your next step,” he teased. He kept walking, though didn’t hurry—he felt no need to catch up to the impatient Master.
“Right now, it’s mostly limited to the ink under my skin…planning to get any tattoos?” she asked, giggling.
With a tilt of his head, Aralim replied, “I’m not sure they’d suit me as well…maybe a cup of tea on the back of my hand?” He glanced at Nill.
Nill grinned. “That might be charming,” she said with a wink.
Aralim snorted and kept walking. Velad’na led them to the Great Gardens, weaving through the various subdivisions of Keb’kres. Half the city seemed like a garden to Aralim—it was beautiful. The copses of trees that speckled the city were all well-kept and had been curated with vines and flowers. Of course, once the group reached the actual Great Gardens, the earlier groves seemed bland by comparison. Here there were a hundred layers of waterworks—various fountains trickling down into basins that fed the next fountain, and so on. The masonry—though clad in vines—showed sculptures of various faces and spirit-like creatures. Aralim wondered if these predated the belief in the Great Spirits.
Above all the fountains grew dozens of different types of trees. In the first layer were two kapok trees, draping their roots about the area and looming over a hundred feet overhead. The next layers showed various trees of lesser heights—all with different leaves. Some had wide leaves, some small. Some had a blue or white tint to their leaves, others remained a vibrant jungle green. Upon the next layer were splashes of colour completely unlike the last. They found pink and white leaves on the short trees here, and even one with small yellow petals. The final layer of the Gardens produced all manner of berry- and fruit-bearing trees—the shortest ones. Due to the design of the tiers, these trees sat as high above Keb’kres as the kapok trees that grew from the first level.
After their rather claustrophobic days on the ship—which had been a far cry from the spacious coupled barges—the gardens and the scattered layout of the city were a relief. Aralim caught himself thinking about the openness of the space, only to realize that he had used to live aboard such claustrophobic ships. It seemed like a lifetime ago.
Near the Great Gardens, they found an inn called the Wayward Stead. Aralim and Nill—smiling all the time—told Miresh she could have her own room this time. Narr usually slept on a stool in front of whichever room contained Miresh regardless, while the Aura and Master Velad’na shared a third accommodation.
Tonight, however, Nill wouldn’t have a room to herself—and to Aralim’s surprise, she did have a tattoo, usually hidden at her hip.