~~~~
I carefully steered my boat through
the murky waters of the Fillet Market's canal. The pungent stench of rotten
meat permeated the air with a visible fog. The large "fleshboats"
clogged most of the waterway, their contents often spilled off their sides into
the waters below. I did my best to avoid the showers of flesh and "meat,"
but the passage was so cramped I could only delay the inevitable. No amount of cleansings
from a priest would make me feel clean now. I steeled myself, I was almost
there. Once I dropped off my precious cargo, I would be one step closer to
escape from this foul district.
After I squeezed my small vessel
between two large fleshboats, I exited out into a wider section of the canal. However,
it was surrounded by rickety, wooden catwalks. Thankfully I would no longer
have to deal with fleshboat for a while. There were too many of these catwalks
for those oversized boats to navigate. My little dingy on the other hand could nimbly
slip through this area with ease. This was to my benefit because even without
the fleshboats I didn't want to linger in this area either.
I hastily sailed beneath the network
of catwalks, not once did I dare to lock eyes with any of the local inhabitants.
Even then I still felt their gaze along my back, it provoked more than a little
concern. I shook my head and reminded myself of my mission. I pushed forward
with even greater speed and made it through the area unmolested.
The canal began to narrow, while the
surrounding buildings began to grow in size, which meant my destination was
near. Several muscled men and women stood along the edges of the waterway, each
armed to the teeth. Most of them gave me some shifty looks, but I paid them no
mind. The band of muscle-bound individuals grew thinner while the terrain grew
more uneven and sloped upwards. I neared the end of the canal and pulled my
boat to the side. I wasn't at my destination yet, I needed to deliver the rest
on foot, but it wasn't far. I tied my boat to a cleat near the end of the
waterway and picked up my cargo. It was stored in a medium sized chest, but it
was very heavy. I trudged my way up the street towards my destination.
I was nearly there and hadn't run
into serious trouble yet. Sure I was filthy from those fleshboats, but that
wouldn't affect my delivery. The ring of a bell stopped me in my tracks as my
heart slowed to a crawl. I turned in the direction of the noise and confirmed
my fear. There was a man in a dirty, blood-red robe and hood. His body was
obscured beneath the robe, but I could still see his hands and parts of his
face. His hands were boney and raw, and his face was twisted and malformed as
though it were made of clay.
"Bring out your dead and
unwanted," he waved the bell in his hand again. I tried to move away, but
I made the mistake of locking eyes with him for a brief second. "Ah, you
there sir-" He began, but I dashed away before he could continue. Despite
my best efforts, my cargo slowed me down enough that he caught up to me quickly.
"No please wait, sir, let me offer you my services. You look like you
could use some physical 'adjustments' in certain places," the robed man
stroked my arms.
I shook my head and put more
distance between him and me, but he refused to take a hint.
"Are you worried because of my
face?" the robed man asked, "Don't be, this wasn't done by me, it was
one of my foolish colleagues. We threw him in the canal afterward." I
ignored his story and kept up my pace, but he didn't stop. "Come now sir,
you look like you're suffering from some nasty afflictions, just look at all
the gunk stuck to you. I can fix that-" Mercifully, he was stopped by one
of the burly men from before.
"What are you doing this far uptown?"
The armed man asked.
"I'm just offering my services
to this fine gentleman over here," the robed man answered while I backed
away further.
"I'm sure you were," the
large man nodded as he gripped the other man's arm tightly, "you're coming
with me, freak."
"What I have done nothing
wrong," the robed man affirmed.
"Oh we'll see about that,"
the burly man chuckled as he dragged the disfigured man away. I ignored the
robed man's fate and just moved towards my destination. What would happen to him
next, I had a pretty good idea, but I didn't care I had my own hide to watch
out for.
With no further delay, I finally
reached my destination, it was a modest building at the foot of a hill. From
here I got a decent view of the town as it climbed up into the mountainside. The
upper districts glistened in the sunlight, untouched by the gunk and fog that
consumed the area around me. I quickly entered the building and dropped off my
cargo. The person behind the desk took a peek at the contents nodded and slapped
a few gold coins in my hand. I left the building and returned to my boat, the
robed man was nowhere in sight.
I untied my boat and began my trip
back down the canal. Just a few more trips and I'll be out of the rotten
district. I probably won't make it to the upper districts, but anywhere is
better than here. As I passed through the canal again, I caught a glance of the
rest of the mountainside. It surrounded the Fillet Market on almost all sides,
except for the north which bordered the sea, and a small part of the east. They
say there are two ways out of the Fillet Market, on a fleshboat, or on a toll
road. The latter is my only real option. There is that path to the east, but no
one considers that an option. I'd rather leave on a fleshboat than go through
there. I gripped my money tightly and assured myself of my future freedom as I
continued home.
~~~~
Why is it called the Fillet Market? Well I'd call it the Meat Market, but that'd be a little to on the nose.This is another story I wrote based on one of my setting ideas. World building is a favorite hobby of mine and the Fillet Market was part of a city I recently created. The basic idea was a fantasy world city built on the water (like Venice, Italy), but part of the city is raised into a mountainside.
The Fillet Market is part of the city's seedy underbelly, and as described in the story, it is locked between the mountains and the ocean. The idea of the story was someone is trapped in this section of the city, not by obligation or society, but by the geography. Our nameless protagonist is a unique case in the Fillet Market. As implied by the story he has little money and is kind of an outsider, despite the fact that he lives there. Most people don't have a hard time leaving the Fillet Market, but again our protagonist is a unique case. He is trapped there by his own choices, but not by his own will (if that makes sense).
Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy
~~~~
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