Benjamin Ashwood by AC Cobble Page B

silver
marks, and unless the price of ribbon was very different in Fabrizo, far more
than he would need.  From Amelie’s grin, he realized she knew that as well and
probably knew he had very little of his own coin to spend.  He bowed his thanks
and caught Meghan’s eye.  She looked more than a little jealous.
    He
winked at her and exclaimed, “enjoy your studies girls!”
     
    The
prospect of spending the entire day exploring a city like Fabrizo couldn’t
wait, so he dashed up to his room to gather his money pouch and sword then
swept out of the inn without stopping for breakfast.
    He
was overwhelmed with everything he saw and had barely registered the street
outside of the inn the night before.  He found in the early morning sunlight
that it was filled with wall to wall buildings painted in a rainbow of
different pastels.  Many of the buildings were accented with extensive, bright
tile work.  They were all about three or four stories and the first levels were
packed with a wide variety of shops.  There were narrow staircases in between
many of the shops and he surmised they must lead to the upper levels where
people lived.
    The
streets were teeming with early morning traffic and he saw people running the
same types of errands they would do in Farview this time of day.  There were
women carrying wicker baskets filled with produce, workmen pushing wheeled
carts and proprietors outside the shops calling out their wares.  Most of them
were dressed in the style of Fabrizo, loose trousers and billowing shirts which
must have been more comfortable in the heat and humidity.  There were a few
people on the street who were foreigners like him, but none seemed too out of
place.
    He
was tempted to stop in some of the more interesting looking shops along the
street but he was more excited to explore the city itself.  He picked a
direction he thought was the opposite of how they came in and started off.
    At
the end of the street he found a stone bridge spanning a broad canal.  He
paused at the top of the bridge and saw that the waterways were just as busy as
the streets.  There were several small boats darting about and a few barges. 
All of the buildings had pilings or docks on the water where the boats could
tie up.  Right by the bridge there was a trio of workmen unloading heavy
looking sacks from one of the barges into a shop that must have been a bakery
judging by the delicious smell.  Though it was almost overpowered from the
scent of saltwater, fish and refuse.
    Seabirds
flew overhead, their calls competing with the shouts from the workmen and
underlying it all was the constant lap of water as waves splashed against the
buildings.  Ben was intoxicated by the mix of sights, sounds and scents that
washed over him.
    He
spent several long minutes paused on the bridge overlooking the water then kept
on deeper into the city.  The place was a confusing maze of canals, bridges and
streets.  Some were broad enough for three or four wagons to pass abreast and
some were so narrow he had to turn sideways to pass through.  He was lost
within minutes but he thought he remembered the way to the inn from the large
palace the night before, so he wasn’t worried.
    He
found there was some sense of organization in that several of the streets
seemed to have their own specialties.  There was one street filled with gem
cutters, several with different types of blown glass, and other streets for
tailors, herbalists, cobblers, furniture makers and so on.  One street that
made him pause was the armorers.
    Suits
of chain mail, scale mail, helmets, greaves, maces, axes, spears, knives and
more types of swords than he ever imagined were displayed all along the
street.  Each shop opened up with more goods inside.  Ben slowed his walk and
his eyes greedily lingered over some of the finer looking weaponry, but he knew
there was nothing along here he’d be able to afford.
    In
his dreams he often imagined himself heavily armed and