At dawn, a spread of sails appeared on the horizon beyond Gem Bay.
Annan gazed toward Gemstone City, whose outline was beginning to take shape, and the Long Wall under construction to the north.
New Origin One docked at Gemstone City's rough temporary Harbor. As soon as Annan stepped ashore, the children there offered him flowers. Cathy and both Joans were among them.
"Whose idea was this?" Annan found himself holding several bouquets.
"Sister Leila's."
Looking up, Cathy could see nothing but flowers.
If anyone else had been behind it, Annan would have complained. But Leila... He was glad his Second Sister had finally found something to do besides fishing.
"Where did these flowers come from?"
"We picked them in the Flower Room!" Little Joan said, bouncing on her feet.
The Flower Room was the Gemstone City garden designed by Eli Gravel. It was hard to say he hadn't modeled it on the Montreal Golden Family's Palace Garden.
If he remembered right, Old Zoran was the Flower Room's head gardener. Finding this many flowers picked might make the old man so angry his bad leg healed...
Annan handed the flowers to a nearby Cavalry soldier, sent the children off to play on the Sandy Beach, then left the Harbor alone and followed the paved road toward the City Lord's Mansion.
Most of the buildings completed in Gemstone City so far served practical purposes, such as the library, tavern, and shops.
Eli Gravel had spent months designing them. They combined elven lightness with human elegance, while their layered roofs retained a Northern Frontier style. Living in a city made up of houses like these would be wonderful.
But as Annan approached the City Lord's Mansion, his steps grew heavier...
The City Lord's Mansion was built in another style. Dark masonry gave