The Walled Cities

Chapter 1

Pffffff!

Exhaling heavily, I took a painful step up the mountain path. Hearing the cry of a raptor I looked to the sky, briefly glimpsing a hawk making its way along the ridge line in the distance. It like me was making its lonely way to some other place. Unlike me though, it had the wind to aid it in its journey. Wind either blew into me slowing my progress, or from behind forcing me to step carefully. Even though I knew there was a profit to be made from this trip, it did not make it any easier.

Despite the fact that trading with the Walled City of Notredram has always been my most profitable trade than any other trading I did during the year, my legs did not enjoy making the trip. At least I had decided to come now and not later in the season, as winter was only a few months away. Being caught in a storm in the mountains was the last thing I wanted, and without snowshoes or my winter gear sore legs would be the least of my problems.

Hiking up the small road with my weighted down pack for a total of five miles and an elevation change of two thousand feet was not a normal days work. I was by no means overweight or unfit, yet even the older traders and merchants who traded with Notredram or any other of the Walled Cities would agree that getting to them was not for the weak. Painful as the hike was, I knew that it would soon be over and the return trip down this same path was much easier.

High above the bountiful forests and endless plains, Notredram was cut off from most resources, getting by on what they could harvest from the mountain streams, combined with their agriculture and livestock. It did not help that they never sent anyone out unless it was an emergency.

My goods I had to trade would not help much in the way of sustenance, as I carried only some scrap metal and a dozen or so animal skins. They were fine fur that could be made into warm winter clothing. Winter was only a few months away and would hit the mountains long before it reached the valleys and then the plains and forests below. However cold it got in the low lands, one could be sure that it was far colder up here. Furs were a necessity in clothing for the long winters in the mountains thus they always carried a fair value.

Reminded of the hefty sum of goods I carried, I doubled my efforts as I struggled up the last stretch of the badly maintained mountain road. Sliding my feet on protruding and loose rocks as I clambered up the lip of the slope, I grit my teeth at every tiny misbalance. The people of Notredram really needed to fix the road if they hoped anyone to get to them this spring. Rain storms were devastating up here in the mountains, always changing the landscape. No trader would make the trip if it meant breaking a leg just to get up here.

Reaching the lip of the slope, I stopped to take in the sight before me. Notredram had not changed in the season since I had last visited. The spiraling towers and houses that made up the first few rows were magnificent, though I did not care for such things. Originally built with grey stone, the towers were now covered with a greenish brown moss near their peaks. Most of the houses were moss free, and their red brown roofs made the city seem ablaze as the sun reflected off them.