The World Which Is

Chapter 29

"Welcome to Toronto," Herbert announces as the road breaks out of the trees and fields of wheat open up before us. A lot of fields. There's a rough circle around Court of two kilometers that's all farms. Here, it goes as far as the eye can see. Where the horizon is filled with trees back home, this is filled with golden stalks.

"How many people are in Toronto?" I ask in awe. Court has a few thousands.

"System if I know," he replies with a chuckle.

"And they need all of this?" Most of this has to be for trade. Back home, farmers keep some for themselves to sell at the market. I don't know how much; that's never been an aspect I cared about.

"I guess they do."

"If you're impressed," Daz says, saddling up to us, "you need to take a tour around the periphery of the city. Really see how many of these there are."

"You mean there's more of them?"

He laughs. "A lot more. We're at least five kay from Toronto proper, and it's like this all around it."

"Five kilometers of farms, around the entire city." I can't keep the awe out of my voice.

"On the land, at least," Sasha says.

"No." George joins us. "On the water too. There are hydroponic fields for some of the hardier vegetables."

"I didn't know you could grow them on water."

He laughs. "I figure what you don't know about growing food it vast."

I nod, then realize the others have joined us instead of walking along the carts.

"We're within Toronto's civilized zone now," Herbert said.

"Been in it for a while, actually," Max adds. "But this close, the chances of monsters appearing are basically nill."

"Unless Chuck's involved," Daz comments, and I look at Herbert for an explanation.

"Chuck is..." He searches for a while. "Bad luck, in a way, when it comes to monsters."

"Or amazing luck," Daz adds. "If you look at it the right way."

Herbert nods. "Chuck draws them closer somehow. No one knows why. When I asked him, he said he didn't either."

"But do you believe him?" Max asks.

"I do," Daz says, then he gives the archer a pointed look when he opens his mouth to comment.

"How ever you look at it," Herbert says. "What happens is that his caravan is attacked by monsters disproportionately more often than any others."

"We haven't gone one back and forth on any trip since I've been here," Sasha says, "without an attack like the one we had."

"But we were in the wilds," I point out. "Those will happen."

"We're never in the true wilds on a road," Herbert says. "It's simple existence reduces the wilderness on each side enough what should poke its muzzle out of the trees shouldn't be tougher than a lever three or four Stoger, and not in the numbers we had to fight them."

"But they came from deeper. We heard the trees fall, saw the path they made. Even with the road, the wilds are going to be higher there, right?"

"Yes, but they should be staying there. Monsters don't travel out of their zones."

"Unless Chuck's involved," Max says.

"No," I say. "Court is attacked by monsters at least twice a year."