Chapter 19-The Underworld

Bonta could certainly be a wonderful place, the kind he had read about so much in his favorite books. The series of archways around the fountain gave way to a forecourt which led to a circular colonnade. Suddenly Shibu found himself in the forest of the same white marble which seemed to be everywhere in Bonta. The colonnade offered an attractive way up the hill on which Bonta Castle itself sat, the building gleaming and pristine in the morning sun. The wide Vista which led through the colonnade opened onto another area for sellers and merchants of every kind. Most of them seemed to be clustered in small groups around the white stone walls of the castle itself, and it's pair of main gates both of which seem to be bigger than Shibu's entire village back home.

The warded castle walls themselves were as thick as entire houses back home, and just as tall as the oldest trees around his village. The unceasing lines of wagons, other vehicles, and groups of people mounted and on foot seem to be reduced to miniature size as they made their way up the majestic hill toward what was truly a regal castle.

Shibu's head seemed to swim at the never ending grandeur of more people, and more building than Shibu had ever imagined. He had seen engravings and woodblock prints in the pages of his books about Bonta. But all of them faded from his memory as soon as he saw the genuine sights themselves, as no page in any book seemed to do them the slightest justice.

The merchants and sellers in this area were different from those beyond the road gates below. Set higher up on the hill, these were the forgers of armor, and of melee weapons of every kind and type. All of them were renowned as being among the best in the World of the Twelve.

But nestled into the small almost forgotten spaces between the major shops within the merchant quarter, there was also a wide selection of other smaller shops which offered nearly everything imaginable in a large city. As Shibu simply stood back and took in more things than he had ever imagined from every place he'd ever read about, he found himself needing to sit down, as he grew slightly weak in the knees the more that he saw.

As the warm snack settled in, and gave him his energy back, The White City seemed to be pulling him in every direction at once.

Shibu forced himself to calm down.

No one outside of Bonta knew this city in the same way he did. He wanted to see as much of it as he had read about on so many nights before going to bed and dreaming about the place which now seemed to take him in.

But He also knew his time was limited. After the Royal Audience, he knew that he would eat again, and that he might be put to work. Both activities would be indoors, at best.

This might be his only chance to see the White City he wanted to discover so much.

Shibu drew in a deep breath of Bontarian air and sighed.

He had seen only official places. Gates, guards and sentry boxes.

He already knew that wasn't really Bonta. Shibu wanted to see how and where the average citizens of Bonta lived.

Shibu stood up from the bench, his eyes closed. He held his arm and one pointed finger above his head. Then, he spun around slowly three times, before he opened his eyes and pointed.

The Ranger in Shibu worked better than he thought. South, and slightly west of south.

As good a start as any, in a place Shibu considered to have a magic about it all its own.