Kal was more than a little pissed off. Though he wasn't a prisoner, having an armed escort when taking his first step onto Ikuno's homeland felt like a slap in the face.
The mage tried to distract himself by checking out his first Azumbahan city. The people had the same skin tone, features, and language as the merchants he bought his Boots of the Traveler from on the way to Lantaris, but that was expected from Ikuno's descriptions.
Their clothing caught his eye. Both men and women wore a brown or blue robe over light shirts and pants or skirts. The women's robes had larger, flowing cuffs at the end of their sleeves, while the men's were a little more conservative. Wealthier men either wore a loose robe with another robe-vest garment over the top that sported very pointy shoulders or a suit of ornate and expensive-looking leather armor.
Four men carried on a litter with gossamer curtains that did little to hide the noblewoman inside. Her clothing's cut matched the style of the commoners' but was made from shimmering pink silk and with bright red, pink, and orange flowers. She noticed Kal first and sat up on her litter, her face taking on a sultry look. A moment later, she saw Kashka walking beside him. The woman's expression turned to disgust before flicking open a paper fan and holding it in front of her face.
"Her loss. More for me," whispered Kashka once they were out of earshot.
Despite his dour mood, Kal caught himself smiling.
Aside from the slight differences in architecture, clothing styles, and new spices used by the food vendors, Kal realized that Kuji was just like any other city. It had the same blacksmiths, tailors, bakers, and herbalists he saw in Carriston, Lantaris, Fazal, and Calfera.
The mage felt the soft touch of Kashka's thoughts across the bond and grunted in reluctant agreement. Their situation was ruining his experience. If they weren't under guard, then he might have a more positive view of the city.
They walked for the better part of an hour before leaving the city's houses behind. A lush, green forest grew on either side of the road that took them to the castle wall. Kal noticed the forest stop just before the stone fortification. A wall wouldn't do much good if you could climb a tree and jump over it. When they passed beyond the forest, Kal and Kashka discovered it was more than a break in the trees. A handful of paces from either side of the road stood a low wall barely knee high. On the other side, it dropped straight down into a wide moat with high, sheer walls. Kashka also brought to his attention the two large steel troughs covered with oilskin mounted above the gate. Kal believed the troughs were likely filled with oil and had some means of creating a fire beneath them. The low walls would keep the searing liquid directed into the path of any attackers, while slits in the wall around the moat allowed archers to pick off those trying to get away from the oil.
A couple of bored-looking guards stood beside a large open gate made of a richly-colored redwood. Their escort nodded toward the men in acknowledgment before continuing past. The area inside appeared to be forest at first but quickly gave way to an immaculate garden and orchard with many plants Kal had only seen in drawings.
A small army of servants tended to the trees and plants. Some carefully measured and manicured the branches and leaves from the tops of ladders, while those on the ground plucked off dead leaves or flower buds and dealt with any bugs or weeds. Kal had seen numerous orchards and gardens in his travels but none where the owner paid this degree of attention to the plants.
The smooth stone road snaked back and forth across the grounds, ascending shallow ramps with each pass until it reached the castle proper on the far side. Kal groaned. Most of the walk through the city had been uphill, but unlike Kashka, Kal spent a fair amount of the past weeks in bed. Admittedly, sex was good exercise and fun as well, but his legs were sore, and he didn't know how the guards might react if he used his stamina rune.
On the far side of the palace grounds stood another thicker wall with a more robust gate. After passing through, they followed the winding stone path up several steps into the castle. The Azumbahan people had a very different version of a castle from what Kal had seen in the past. It more closely resembled a tall, thick tower that grew smaller with each new level. Though the height made it difficult to judge its size as they approached, Kal guessed the topmost level to be about the size of Telsin's Inn. Several smaller buildings of the same style had been built into the main tower, while others were connected by partially enclosed breezeways. Wooden panels meant to protect from attack or bad weather were held up by poles and allowed Kal and Kashka to see the castle staff making their way back and forth between the buildings.
The castle appeared to be made mostly of wood. The choice of building material made little sense to Kal. With the threat of flaming arrows and magic-users, there had to be some enchantment on the structure protecting it from fire.
As they ascended the last few steps, they passed under another of the metal, oilskin-covered troughs. At the top of the stairs, Kal looked over to see a metal vent beneath the trough, confirming his assumption the metal basins were for heating oil or something similar to repel invaders.
One of the two guards at the castle door called out, "Halt! What business do these foreigners have in the castle, Hanto?"
"This man has been summoned by Counselor Miyaki, and the cat is his bodyguard," answered their escort.
"Very well," the guard replied, then looked at Kashka's clothes and bare feet, "but she will need zori and to keep her body covered. The lord's wife and concubines will not tolerate another woman parading around with her skin showing. Especially a bakeneko."
Hanto sighed. "Understood," he said, then turned and relayed the guard's words to Kal and Kashkain Common. By the disappointment in his expression and voice, mage and assassin guessed he had enjoyed the occasional glimpse of Kashka's body.
The cat-girl flipped her hood up and held her cloak together in the front. The garment's enchantment held the seams together but not so strongly that she couldn't tug it apart at a moment's notice. She claimed wearing the cloak this way boosted its invisibility-like powers. If that were true, then Kal doubted the lord's wife or concubines had any chance of seeing the cat at the moment.
As they stepped inside, Hanto directed their attention to racks full of thong sandals made of woven bamboo. Jagi and some of the Reaver's former servants spoke highly of the plant as a wood substitute. By stripping bamboo fibers, they could make long sturdy cords comparable in strength to hemp ropes. Anika's manservant also mentioned this miracle plant grows extremely fast and suggested the arachne trade for some shoots and start farming it as soon as possible. Anika left the details up to Jagi, only adding that he made sure to plant them outside any potential excavation areas.
After only hearing about bamboo, Kal found it interesting to see sandals made from it. Kashka donned the footwear, and the mage chuckled as he realized the hats, baskets, and a plethora of other items he saw coming through Kuji had all been made from the same fibers.
Kashka wiggled her toes. "These are actually quite comfortable."
Their escort swallowed hard as he stared at her feet. "P-Perhaps it would be best if you wore one of these," he said, lifting the bottom hem of his garment to show his feet covered in a split-toed sock.
"Why?" she asked, genuinely confused.
"Prostitutes show their feet when trying to attract customers."
"But in the city I saw plenty of women wearing sandals while barefoot."
"Those were peasants. You are the bodyguard of a magic-user and noble, not a peasant."
