The General and the City Guard

Gorum walked out past the last two doors, hearing their heavy locks clicks as the tall wooden doors slid shut. He studied the building for a moment on the outside, it’s façade hiding the seer interior well made. It was shabby for the block but nice enough not to draw complaints. It’s run down look was anything but noticeable. The seer who had made and hidden the compound had done a good job, there was no hint of the wide rooms, the libraries, the many men and women who lived inside. A blur of color caught Gorum’s eyes and he looked up, focusing on a speck of red in the sky that he thought had come from a high balcony, but his eyes were playing tricks on him, there flew a small red bird high in the sky, silhouetted in the pale gloom of the morning sky.

Gorum heard the heavy doors of the Seer House open behind him and saw Massra step away from the house, tall hat and velvetines all in place.

"Gorum, well dressed this morning." He smirked at the brown upon brown layers of cloth Gorum wore.

"Good morning Massra."

"Walk with me?" he gestured up the hill. "I have some very interesting news from a correspondent outside the city."

"I’m headed the other direction." Gorum said and walked down the hill not noticing the disappointed look on the powdered face of Massra.

Gorum walked down Mont Sarno and up the Sisters, and noticed how the air dirtied, the walks were littered and even this early in the morning, there was so much noise and clutter to the Sisters. He walked through one rude smell after another, glad that it was winter and cold or this borough would truly begin to ripen.

Gorum came to the square and watched for a moment the men within, the Guard Command of the ninth, tenth and eleventh watch of free men. Or that was what they were naming themselves last he heard. More words then they had talents.

Roughly a thousand men in the wide square, used as a market in the bounty of summer but bare in Winter. It was enormous and easily held all the city guard. The square was newly made, created by the last emperor for tactical reasons a guard had told Gorum.

"Tactical?" Gorum had asked.

"Yeah, he was a man who knew his history, it was made so army troupes could meet inside the city, in case, you know...."

"Yes, I had heard the emperor feared most his own people."

Men stood around drinking the thick red wine from long bottles. It’s acrid smell mixed with the sea of unwashed bodies before him. Gorum could not imagine how they would smell in summer. A thick line of morning fog blanketed the square and made the men seem crippled, a battalion of amputees. Three Roster guard stood at the corners of the square and called out names. Gorum walked to the ninth watch and duly yelled out his name when called. He then moved to the center of the square and waited for the demi commanders to meet him.

They came to him, hands in pockets.

"What drills we doing today?"

"More at the barricades? I like that, I think my men are just getting the hang of it."

"Not lines, not lines, don’t think of it man, they don’t work with this lot, waste of time."

Gorum held up his hands and the thirty men around him grew quiet. They had learned that much at least.