At the end of the streets of the Governor's Special District, the gate of the star-shaped bastion gleamed gray-white in the afternoon sun.
Carriages passed in and out through the gate one after another, their wheels rumbling dully over the stone paving. The horses snorted, and the clatter of their iron shoes carried into the distance on the sea breeze.
Well-dressed gentlemen emerged from the carriages. Some had servants holding parasols over them, while others covered their faces with handkerchiefs against the rising dust as they headed in groups toward the courtyard beside the fortress.
The courtyard outside the fortress was considerably more spacious than it appeared from outside. A temporary long table stood in its center, covered with dark red velvet.
Several rows of benches stood behind the long table, already more than half filled with bidders, men dressed in coats and robes of various colors.
The afternoon sun beat down on the courtyard without a scrap of shade. The gentlemen in their heavy clothes took out folded handkerchiefs to wipe the sweat from their temples and necks. Some had already impatiently undone their top collar buttons, constantly cursing the inefficiency of the Governor's Mansion officials.
More than a dozen armored guards patrolled the courtyard, doing their best to maintain order. Their commanding officer occasionally called out to the crowd, trying to soothe the people growing irritable in the heat and assuring them that the open-air auction proceedings would begin shortly.
Renato sat toward the left of the front row of benches. With his powerful constitution, this little bit of sunlight barely affected him.
The Swordsman merely gazed into the distance in boredom, his eyes sweeping over every face in the courtyard, taking them in one by one.
He had not brought Selina. The Sea Elf's Flamberge Greatsword was