Manuscript: Wayside, Chapter 7

When Grim awoke he found the other Finders and the boy he had named Cane had slept in. It appeared as if the rest of Caravan had completely vanished in the night. Aside from the presence of Kane, the only evidence that the encounter hadn’t been fictional was a man with his head and face covered in a yellow wrap, and a tan horse, which the man held steady by its reins. The man was bent in conversation with Osborne some fifty paces from where Grim and the rest of group now stirred from sleep.

Grim couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Osborne nodded agreement with something the man said and took from him a folded letter sealed with a bright red blob of wax. Osborne shook hands with the man and pocketed the letter. The masked man mounted his horse and cantered into the Wastes, away from the glow of Wayside. As Osborne turned to meet the stirring Finders, Grim shut his eyes and feigned that he was still asleep. When Osborne reached them, he yawned and sat up.

Grim looked around. “Hey, where’d Caravan go,” he said with what he hoped sounded like just enough surprise.

Osborne stooped and hoisted his pack as the other Finders began to stand and repack their gear. “They’re off to prepare to trade with Wayside. They didn’t bring all their number, but figured it’s been a while, and should show up with enough to satisfy the city for a while. They’re back to your world to restock.”

“My world?” Grim’s curiosity was genuine now. “You mean they can go back and forth?”

“Yeah. But don’t ask me how they do it. Haven’t the foggiest, and they’re certainly not telling.” Osborne the poked the boy Cane on the shoulder and he groaned. “Up you come, time for a little walk. Hope you’re up to it.”

Cane unglued his eyes, stretched, and sat up. He looked no worse for wear from the previous day’s adventures. In fact, the whole party looked refreshed from their experience with Caravan and even Lee whistled under his breath as he re-set his packs.

Osborne surveyed his team. “It should only be half a day or so before we reach Wayside, so let’s hoof it. I want to be home in time for tea.”

Once again they marched through the Wastes. Cane managed to keep up for the first few hours, but eventually he slowed, and Murphy had to scoop him up and carry him piggy-back for the remainder of the journey.

At last, though, Grim saw it. Wayside. The city came into view with an immediacy that Grim thought must be part of the effects of the Wastes. It lit up the black sky with countless lights on hundreds of buildings, some of which reached so high that Grim could barely make out the tops. It was an architectural behemoth; Structures piled one right next to the other, crawling over each other in every style of design and construction Grim had ever seen or imagined. The mish-mash of form was framed on the side they approached with a great wrought iron gate of arabesques and vine work. Guards stood in a pair of towers on either side of it; One manned a great spot light which pointed into the Wastes. Grim was blinded as the guard swept the light across the group.

Osborne waved at the him. “Oy, Dominick.” Osborne shouted, shielding his eyes from the light.

“Heyo, Commander Osborne. Seems you’ve had a bit of luck.” The guard extinguished the spotlight with an echoing ‘thunk’ and whistled to his counterpart on the other tower. There was a groan of metal, and the massive gate swung open to a cobble street lined with sodium street lamps. The clopping of boot-falls preceded the guard from a door to the right. Osborne stepped forward and the guard handed him a small stack of paperwork and a pen. Osborne made some checks, signed it and returned it to the guard, who saluted and returned to his post.

The group walked down the short cobbled road which soon opened into a square filled with people. Some of them looked to Grim like they had walked straight out of a story by Charles Dickens, all hats and gloves and poufy dresses, and some looked like they had just returned from a trip to a modern shopping mall. They ranged from the very young to the impossibly old, from brown-skinned to blond-haired.

There were dogs with their masters, and cats stood on trash cans and peeked out from alleyways. The smells of market food from a hundred countries permeated the air.

It was incredible, thought Grim. This was certainly the biggest city he’d ever been in, and every where he looked there was something amazing to feast his senses on. He wanted to explore every inch of the city, discover all its secrets and mysteries.

Osborne turned to the little group, interrupting Grim's fantasy. “Alright. Good work, men. Head over to the barracks and rest up a little, then meet at the fifth tolling for a short debrief. Grim and Cane, you come with me. We’ve got to schedule you both for a sharing with the Council. I’ll warn you though; it might take a few days to get to your cases, bureaucrats and all. You both ok?”

Grim and Cane nodded. Grim was disappointed that he would have to delay his exploration of the city, and a little annoyed that the matter of testifying his past had to keep butting in, but the city was too captivating for him to complain about having to go anywhere in it.

The Finders said their goodbyes to boys. Murphy punched Grim in the arm one last time and suggested that were he ever down to the Garment district that Grim should give him a shout. Lee and Prith wished both of them luck in finding their families. They shook Grim’s hand and he muttered his thanks, then they drifted their separate ways.

* * *

Osborne led Grim and Cane down so many roads over the next few minutes that Grim wondered how he managed to keep direction straight at all in the mad city layout.

“Well, we call that Tower there, the big one with the columns, the center of town; though I’m not so sure it’s actually the center anymore. The city’s certainly not growing outward anymore though, so I guess it’s as good a landmark as any.”

“Why not grow out?” Cane asked, looking up at the vast gray tower.

“Can’t,” Osborne replied. “The protection that surrounds the city runs to the gates and no further. Since we don’t know who made said protections, we can’t likely ask them to stretch them out a bit to make room for an expanding population. So we’ve been building upward for a while now.”

“Seems kind of...crazy-looking,” said Cane as he eyed a Mediterranean building, which was modified and expanded on so much it appeared that it couldn’t possibly support its own weight.

“It's brilliant,” Grim rebutted.

Osborne shrugged. “We work with what we’ve got. And what we've got is usually whatever Caravan trades with us.”

At last they came to a large white building, an old Roman forum-house that gave off that sort of pretentious majesty that Grim thought always seemed to radiate from old buildings. It, at least, did not have the three or four other buildings vying for its airspace that all the surrounding structures shared.

The three proceeded up the stone steps and through a large relief-covered door.

The lobby of the building was less auspicious. It was airy and stone-floored, and a bespectacled woman rifled through papers at a lone oak desk on the far end. Light from high windows augmented the pallid glow of her Tiffany desk lamp. Osborne and the two boys appended themselves to a small group, seated in wooden chairs against the wall.

“Sign in, please,” the secretary said without looking up. The room echoed as she stamped a paper and added it to a one of the piles on the desk. As Osborne approached, she pushed a registry toward him, which he scribbled in. As his pen finished the last letter of his name, she yanked the book away.

Osborne walked back to the boys. “Shouldn't be long.” He smiled. “Seems like a slow day.” Osborne sat with a grunt.

“Mr. And Mrs. Lacroix.” The secretary announced. A large man in an olive suit and an equally large woman in polka dot pants galumphed forward.

Grim rubbed his nose. The lady next to him wore a strong scent, like old roses; It agitated his nostrils and Cane and Osborne didn't appear to notice. He wrinkled his nose and stood up.

“That's a very interesting...plant...over there, don't you think, Cane?”

Cane looked up.

“We should go check it out. Osborne'll keep our place in line, won't you?” Grim walked off towards the interesting plant.

Cane looked up at Osborne, who shrugged at him and he scurried to join Grim at the other end of the room.

Mr. And Mrs. Lacroix walked through a pair of double-doors behind the secretary that Grim hadn't noticed before. “Miss Margot.” The secretary monotoned, and a woman in a yellow sun-dress, clutching a parasole like an officer's sword, stood and approached the desk.

“Sorry,” Grim whispered to Cane as he walked up. “I'm antsy. I can't believe we're stuck in a line while the city is right out there, practically begging to be explored.” Grim cracked his knuckles.

Cane screwed up his brow. “Don't you want to go home?”

“Well. Eventually, I guess. What's the rush?” Grim poked at the leathery leaves of the interesting plant.

Cane licked his lips. “Aren't your parents going to miss you? I'm sure mine will.”

Grim rolled his eyes.

“Commander Osborne,” the secretary announced as the woman in the yellow sundress retreated with tiny clopping steps, out of the building.

Grim and Cane looked on as Osborne approached the desk. He and the secretary craned over paperwork together.

Grim turned back to Cane. “Don't you want to see what this world is about? Did you ever imagine that a place like this could even exist?”

“I think,” Cane frowned. “I think I'd like to go home, where ever it is.”

Grim contracted. Cane put his hands in his pockets and kicked at the ground. Neither spoke again until Osborne returned, waving a pair of papers.

“Looks like tomorrow's the day” Osborne said with a grin. “I'm supposed to take you to the Viccars until then.”

Grim imagined the Viccars was some kind of church. Why not, he thought. It seemed as interesting a place as any to start exploring.

“More walking?” Cane bemoaned, and they were off once again.

* * *

The Viccars turned out to be a middle-aged couple, the proprietors of the Wayside Home for Lost Children, a byzantine structure that looked half schoolhouse and half dormitory. Elizabeth and Ambrose Viccars met the boys at the front steps of the building, as if expecting their arrival. Elizabeth was thin and blond with a plain, matronly face and thin lips. Ambrose sported a trimmed black mustache and beard, and had the bearing of a statesman, despite the soiled gardening clothes he wore. They were all smiles and hugs and pats on the shoulders for Grim and Cane, and welcomed them into their home for as long as was necessary -- until the boys were safely back with their families. Until then, Elizabeth Viccars hoped, the boys would call this place their home, and if anything was needed, they should just ask her or her husband and they would do their best to oblige.

Osborne said goodbye to both boys, and promised to be back in the morning to escort them to their Council appointment. He waved at the Viccars, adding a “mind yourself” for Grim, who smirked in response. Osborne turned and walked down the path back to the city, rehoisting his rifle as he went.

“Now,” Mrs. Viccars clapped her hands in emphasis, “let me show you to the boy's dormitory.” They left Mr. Viccars at the front steps and entered the home.

As they walked down the main hallway, with its large leaded windows overlooking the city on one side and a manicured courtyard on the other, Mrs. Viccars described the current residents of the Orphanage. They currently numbered only seven, new guests not withstanding.

“There are three boys and two girls, currently. The girl's dormitory is in the east wing. The boys in the west.” Mrs. Viccars's footsteps echoed in the hall, and Cane tried to keep in step. Grim keep a short distance behind them. “We're pretty sure Noura is going to locate Benjamin Wallace's family within the week though. Dear boy has been here for nearly two months. I'm sure his family is at wit's end.”

Grim looked out the windows. A girl and a boy, both quite young, were playing some sort of game on the green. They took turns holding their hands out, while the other tried to slap them before they could move out of the way. They were laughing.

“Here we are.” Mrs. Viccars sang as they reached a pair of double doors midway down the hall.

“Um, e-excuse me, ma'am?” Grim stammered. “Sorry, but is there anyone at the orphanage that's, you know, older? Like me?”

“Oh.” Mrs. Viccars placed an finger to her lips. “Well, I wouldn't worry about it too much, dear. With any luck, you shant be here long enough for it to matter.” Mrs. Viccars smiled softly and proceeded to open the door.

The room was large and lined with the same big windows as the hallway, the bottoms of which almost touched the old wooden floor. A stone fireplace sat at the far end, opposite the doors, and the room was lined with old poster beds in various states of tidiness; A few them were lived in, their sheets folded by hurried hands, but most had the neat appearance of disuse. The room smelled to Grim like sandalwood and fresh laundry.

“Cane, you'll be there, by the fireplace, and we'll put Grim here next to you. Will that be alright?” Mrs. Viccars folded her hands, her face a near-permanent smile of warmth and welcome. Grim thanked her for her hospitality and Cane echoed the sentiment.

“You're welcome, dears. I'll be along later to freshen your linens and get you some sleep things. For now, why not head out into the green? I think I see Rupert and Maggie out there. If I don't see you, Dinner is at the sixth toll.” Mrs. Viccars hummed as she exited the room and Grim thought some of the light left with her.

Cane was eager to join the other children, and Grim followed, deciding it was better to be outside then alone in the empty dorm room. They retraced their steps, back down the hall and out into the courtyard and soon came across a collection of children. They were no longer playing their game, but chatting in a bunch with their heads down. Another boy had joined the two that Grim had earlier seen and he seemed a little older than the others, though still not as old as Grim. He looked up as Grim and Cane approached.

“Shh,” said the boy thrusting out his palm. “Don't make any loud noises. Mags reckons she's caught a pixie and don't want to frighten it.”

Cane and Grim looked at each other, then back at the tangle of children.

“You want to see it?” said the boy and waved a hand at the other girl, who raised her head. Her hands were cupped to the ground, creating a makeshift prison for the alleged pixie. Two were grinning at their hidden treasure. Only the littlest boy, who wore a grave look, unfitting of his age, and crossed his hands over her chest in defiance.

“Stop it, Mags” he proclaimed, and stomped his foot with consternation.

“Oh hush it, Rupert. You're such a prude.” exclaimed the girl Mags without moving. Rupert stuck out his tongue and marched off. He plopped down dramatically next to a gnarly oak tree.

“It's really a pixie?” Cane wore the wide-eyed look of a young boy about to have a hundred bedtime stories confirmed, and scurried up to Mags, bending to his hands and knees for a closer look.

“Yes,” Mags said, her eyes twinkling. “But I don't want it to get away, so get down real close so you can take a peek.”

Grim scowled. “Cane...”

It was too late. Cane had bent so close his nose was practically on the grass, and as soon as he had, Mags opened her hands, and a great slimy toad leapt from her grip and into Cane's awaiting face. Cane jumped back, yelping in surprise as the muddy creature scrambled up his nose and into his hair. It unleashed a throaty croak, then dove for the safety of a nearby bush.

Cane landed on his backside in the grass, eyes closed, face covered in frog slime and mud. Mags and the boy rolled with laughter while Rupert looked on in disgust.

Grim almost laughed himself, but the modicum of loyalty he had for Cane outweighed the humor of his gullibility at the hands of the orphanage children, and Grim bent down to help him. “That wasn't very nice,” he muttered.

The eldest boy recovered from his hysterics and stood up with a happy sigh. “Oh wow, sorry, sorry. All in good fun, really.” He extended a hand for Cane to grasp. Cane did so, and the boy pulled him to his feet. “I'm Ben Wallace. That's Maggie and the little pouty one is Rupert.”

Rupert stuck his tongue out again and turned away from the group. The Ben and Mags stood by the newcomers, full of apologies between chuckles. Grim didn't know what to think of them.

“Were you in the Wastelands long?” The boy called Ben said with a sharky grin.

Cane rubbed his muddy eyes. “Can't remember. Mr. Osborne and them were really nice though.”

“Commander Osborne,” corrected Ben Wallace. “You're lucky they got to you so quick then. Even if you can't remember your name at least you can still walk and talk and all.”

“He'll remember soon enough,” Grim muttered.

Ben Wallace shrugged. “Anyway. Welcome to the Viccars. Afraid I won't have time to get to know you rookies too well though. Mrs. Vics says they've found my family. Lot of us got lost on a boat trip down the Amazon two months ago and everyone just resurfaced in San Paolo. I'm the only one that wound up here.”

“Ah, what a shame.” Grim said in mock disappointment.

Ben Wallace cleared his throat. “Yeah, well. Who are you guys, then?”

“That's Cane and I'm Grim,” Grim replied, but did not offer a hand.

“We're all pleased to meet you,” said Maggie, “truly.”

“Have you all been here very long? You all seem to be friends.” Cane was wringing his fingers.

“Not really,” replied Rupert. “Ben's been here the longest. Mags and I got here around the same time, about three weeks ago, I guess.”

“Oh.” Cane breathed his relief.

The clang of a vast bell echoed through the courtyard and repeated its performance five times. Ben and Mags led Cane into the building, and Rupert followed behind.

Grim sighed. Tomorrow, after he dealt with the pesky council meeting, he'd talk Osborne into letting him go off and see the city. That would cheer him up. He looked up at the black velvet sky and the shining towers, wondering what tomorrow's adventure would uncover, then he followed the rest of the children into the Orphanage for dinner.