We spent three days travelling, arriving in Green Springs on the 9th of Resplendent Water amidst a late winter rainstorm. We’d made good time and Song had even managed to fit in some hunting time along the way, claiming the forms of an owl and a rain spider. Green Springs was gearing up for a busy time for the circus always brought crowds and the luxurious hot springs which gave the village its name were being prepared for the influx of wealthy clientele. In the calm before the storm we indulged in the soothing waters for a day or so while making arrangements for Selene’s Flurry’s visit before moving on.
We reached Moonspire four days later, a large walled city of some 10,000 inhabitants. The walls were not strong defences but mostly served to define the main areas the city was split into: the Noble’s quarter, the Merchant’s guild and the Commoner’s area. The spire for which the city was named was the fourth ‘area’ and sat a few hundred yards west of the walls amongst overgrown cobbles. It was a wide, circular building reaching some ten stories high – the tallest building we’d ever seen, though to Olvir’s disappointment it didn’t reach to the moon and there was no obvious hand crank in evidence.
The city guard were in evidence but paid us no more attention than any other travellers as we passed through the busy gates. The Spire had its own guard with barracks built just outside it - they generally saw less action than those patrolling the city, though neither order carried more prestige. Moonspire was a thriving city and as we made our way to a familiar inn, the Ice Wolf, we saw a new large building had sprung up in the year since we’d visited. It was still early though the Ice Wolf was moderately busy and Song recognised Halvard, the tavern owner, and soon had room and board arranged.
After we’d washed off the dust from the road and Caelan had made sure Ariorn and the other horses were comfortable in the tavern’s stables we made our way out into the city to arrange meetings with merchants. There were two people the White Clouds usually made deals with: Jubilant Storm, a trader known to Song as she dealt in fine spices (amongst other things), and Iron Panther, well known to Olvir as he was an armourer of good repute and owner of the finest blacksmith’s outlet he’d ever visited.
They both had residences and shops within the merchant’s district which boasted two unique markets – the Prince’s market (consisting of a dozen shops and perhaps as many again of stalls, all dealing in fine items, artifacts and jewellery) and the Moon Market (which went on late into the evening, hence the name, and dealt in all manner of common, less costly things). We visited Jubilant Storm first and made an appointment to see her the following afternoon. Iron Panther’s wasn’t far either and when we arrived were immediately invited to dinner tomorrow evening… it seemed we were expected and he was looking to make a good impression. Well, we were happy to be entertained.
With our afternoon free we went to check out the tower. The spire guards were cheerful as they apologized that no, we couldn’t go in and take a look around, as it was dangerous, but they were happy to tell us tales of the tower and the apparent dangers which lurked within (not that they knew any details) and share the news that the Prince of Moonspire was in talks with a group of Scavenger Lords to mount an expedition to retrieve whatever riches might be remain within.
Up close to it we could admire its stature all the more. Even Adler’s tower hadn’t been so large. Olvir reckoned it looked to have been broken off at the top but Song and Caelan recognised familiar, if unusually styled crenellations. It seemed to sink directly into the ground which led us to suspect it continued at least in some part into the ground as well as the air, and towards the top of the tower at two different heights were what appeared to be drawbridges… Song mused, quietly, that perhaps airships could dock there.
The tower was warded against trespassers though what kind of wards had been used we didn’t know – wards were a specialty of the sorcerers of Moonspire and sorcery itself was one of the projects the Prince was investing in. The new building we’d seen, the guards told us proudly, was the Academy, built for the study and teaching of all forms of thaumaturgy. The ruling Prince of the city had declared it was to become a centre for study in the region.
It was obvious that we couldn’t just wander into the tower and look around, so with the Academy having piqued her interest Song headed that way to investigate. Olvir and Caelan had more interest in the other main attraction of the city, the Coliseum, and left her to it.
Carved in stonework above the entrance was the legend “Academy of the Stars and Moon” and the impressive facade gave way to an equally impressive, if startlingly new, entrance hall. A single bureaucrat greeted Song and went to fetch the Master of the Academy, though he was apparently engaged with something and she had to wait a little while, discovering in the intervening time the bureaucrat was hoping to study at the academy herself… but for now held a rather lowly position seeing to visitors.
It wasn’t too long before the Master put in an appearance, introducing himself as Iaki of Crossing’s Point. Adjourning to his office he made sure to talk to Song about her own credentials, seeking to establish she knew as much as she’d claimed about Thaumaturgy. It wasn’t a test she was going to fail. The Academy, he told her, was small but growing and already had teaching Masters of Warding, Geomancy and the Art of the Dead (the last being taught by Master Iaki, who had skills in several areas but knew well the arts in practice at Crossing’s Point). There were several junior tutors and student numbers were growing all the time with the investment of the Prince, who owned the Academy and who’d also stand to make money as and when it turned a profit.
Song wasn’t planning on being in Moonspire long enough to study, much to her disappointment, though offered her services should students wish to learn a specific Alchemical procedure. The Academy was also keen to buy her wares, saving her time on making deals and courting customers. Bidding farewell to Master Iaki after an interesting afternoon she made arrangements to return in a few days to discuss such things further.
Meanwhile, Olvir and Caelan were pursuing less cerebral things. The Coliseum was a huge, squat building dominating the local scenery and stood as one of the main attractions (if not the main attraction) in the city, holding twice weekly fights between slaves or fighters sponsored by Moonspire’s nobles. As Olvir and Caelan walked in, the place seemed to echo to them through the ages. Olvir recalled how an arena could be built far grander; not simply on one level but with many-tiered staging, enough to accommodate all of Moonspire… a stadium fallen many centuries past.
Exploring the arena, which was open for people to walk around in, they were approached by an attendant who talked about the shows and invited them to come along for the performance that evening. They declined his offer to go and talk to the fighting slaves (for a price) but made their way down to the arena floor intent on a little battle of their own. Turning to look back at the entrance memories resurfaced in both of times long past in which they’d fought in arenas such as this against huge beasts, Essence flowing in brilliant ribbons around them as they harnessed immense power and were worshipped and adored, revered by thousands. It made them feel somewhat small compared to what they had been… but filled with the potential to do even greater things.
Their practice fight wasn’t the epic battle of dreams but an opportunity to test each other’s strength. Caelan claimed the upper hand as Olvir deliberately tried not to wrestle the slender Solar to the ground, and the match went on a while. When they’d both eaten enough dust they made their way back to the Ice Wolf where they met up with Song, just returned from the Academy via the Moonspire. It had occurred to her she might be able to see the wards laid on the tower even though she couldn’t determine what they’d do, and taking to the air in her small antshrike form discovered each point of entry to the tower, including a hitherto unseen door on the top of the tower, had a ward laid across it. She explained what she’d seen and a chance to perhaps find out a little more. Together they made their way once more to the Moonspire where Song flew up to the top of the tower, shifted into spider form and crawled down the wall to slip inside through an arrow slit – too small for anyone to have thought to ward it.
The room she found inside was stripped bare, as were the other rooms on the top level. A strange caged passageway joined the floors and she used it to crawl down and explore the other floors which were all akin to the top one. They mostly seemed to be storage spaces, aside from the floors which had a drawbridge. The ground floor was entirely covered in a ward which she avoided and returned to Olvir and Caelan to share the uninteresting revelations.
We made our way back to the Ice Wolf for a hearty meal before venturing out to the coliseum for the evening’s entertainment. Olvir and Caelan were both keen to see what kind of show would be put on and since we had the jade, bought ourselves good seats for the evening. As it turned out we were relatively near the Prince’s box and had a good view when he put in an appearance as well as seeing the action in the coliseum. The first fight, to warm up the audience was the bloodiest – a group of five prisoners sentenced to death for various unpleasant crimes, all of which were read out in stentorian tones as they were pushed into the arena with a couple of knives thrown in with them for good measure. Then the doors around the arena floor were winched open and the dogs were let out. Savage and hungry, the beasts set upon the prisoners who were already fighting each other for the meagre weapons and the result was brutal, bloody and inevitable. One, who managed to hold out longest, was rewarded with his life, though as a slave in the arena pits. None of us wanted to dwell on what sort of life that would be – or for how long he’d last.
The evening’s entertainment continued with a couple of fights between up and coming arena names who were learning the tricks of entertaining an audience while doling out punishment to their opponents and the victors even earned themselves some cheers. Then it was on to the main event: a fight between trained slaves of the Prince’s stables and a group belonging to a man named Vagn Leifssen, a rich merchant with a reputation as the premier slave trader in Moonspire.
The Prince stepped forward to open the fight and we got a good look at him: a powerfully built man who carried a wide staff that looked to be made of diamond. He held it aloft and it swirled with Essence as he announced that it a week’s time the coliseum would play host to a grand tournament. All were welcome to participate.
Caelan and Song’s eyes were drawn the hooded figure standing behind him. As the Prince entered his box the figure hadn’t shown the same subservience as his other companions and we wondered who’d hold such authority. As the fading light caught his face we saw the face under the hood was reptilian – not human at all – and we realized this must be Kashlyk Ashak, god of the coliseum. Song had heard of him and knew that he hadn’t always been god of the place – at least, if he had, the city must have changed a great deal. The Moonspire beyond the gates suggested perhaps that was the case, though gods could and did change their purview from time to time.
The premier event was an even match and the slaves fought well. There were deaths on both sides, the merchant lost a fighter and the Prince lost two, but Leifsson won the match and as he celebrated, the Prince congratulated him – disappointed with his own loss but happy to congratulate the victor. As the crowds dispersed and we made our way back to the Ice Wolf Song and Calean asked Olvir if he was interested in entering the Tournament that had been announced. He was understandably unsure as to how wrestling would stand up against blades and just how the fights would be organized but it was evident the thought had crossed his mind as well. The next day he went to the Prince’s stables where Kirkor the overseer set him up in a few fights with some of his men to see just how much of his talk was just that. He found out soon enough that Olvir was more fight that talk as he took down the men set against him and Kirkor suggested he think seriously about entering.
We’d spoken the previous night about what to do regarding the spire. While we could breach the wards, they would at the very least be likely to alert people to our presence. Song had suggested talking to the Prince and negotiating our passage, and so it was that as Olvir thought he might be able to find a way to talk to him through the fighting stables, Song and Caelan opted for the more bureaucratic route. While Olvir was doing battle, they attended the palace where they spoke to one of the Prince’s public secretaries, Thrand Birchome, who (after they’d convinced him of their worth and sincerity) explained he could arrange for a brief audience with the Prince at the regular public gatherings he held. There they’d be able to put to him a request for a private audience. It was adequate to their needs and thanking the secretary they headed back to meet Olvir at the tavern. That afternoon’s appointment with Jubilant Storm was approaching.
Jubilant Storm turned out to be a striking woman with raven-black feathers for hair. Trying not to pay too much attention to her appearance we accepted refreshments and sat down to talk business. She offered the same deal as last year – 25 talents of silver – which we knew to be a fair price. We talked over details though Song explained it would be bad form for us to agree a deal straight away when we had been invited to see Iron Panther... but at the very mention of his name Jubilant Storm reacted with disgust. Evidently there was no love lost between the two traders and Song tried as best she could to mend the situation, shifting conversation to more mundane things. As we left, Olvir expressed his enjoyment of her buns (apparently hamster-stuffed buns were a delicacy he was quite happy to develop a taste for.)
We had a couple of hours so amused ourselves looking around Iron Panther’s armoury. The goods on sale were magnificent examples of craftsmanship and far beyond our means – still, we had jade weaponry, so we could hardly complain. Heading off to our evening engagement we found Iron Panther to be an excellent host who made us feel welcome and never mentioned business once over dinner. He was a tall, broad shouldered man with flame-red hair which seemed almost to flicker into different shades in the light. We talked about the Moonspire and he mentioned the Scavenger Lords who were currently negotiating with the Prince for access to the Spire. He knew of a couple of them: the Daughter of the Amber Moon and the Child of Copper and Ivory. We absorbed the information and talked of the more mundane news we had of the road and eventually, replete, we retired to discuss the circus. Negotiations were amiable but intense: but it became clear his desire for prestige was considerable and we agreed a price of 31 talents of silver. It would mean a loss for him, but he’d get what he wanted (and snub Jubilant Storm as part of the bargain, we suspected). Nevertheless it was a good deal for the circus and we went away happy that Selene’s Flurry would profit well from Moonspire this year.