You found the merchant, or maybe he found you... whatever the case, you met with him, and he told you he could get you away from Cittá. His price, as rumored, was seven years of service... but what was seven years and freedom compared to an entire lifetime of drudgery with no way out? Of course you accepted his offer!
"We leave now," he told you, and before you could protest he hustled you aboard a horse-drawn coach full of strangers. In moments, the coach headed down the street, toward one of the many gatehouses of Cittá. You couldn't see much through the small windows of the coach, but the wooden walls past the gatehouse didn't seem usual in a city of stone. Just a few moments later, passing through another gate, the walls gave way to a great hall. The coach halted, and the merchant opened the door.
“You may come out now.”
Your fellow passengers grumbled, “How could we be out of the city? We rode less than half an hour!”
In spite of their complaints, everyone left the coach. You found yourselves in a great hall, fifty feet wide, and a hundred long. The floor is paved with flagstones, the walls are stone up to 15 feet high, and wooden walls rise another 30 feet above that, until great wooden beams form an arch that peaks 15 feet beyond that! On top of the stone walls is a balcony that runs around the entire room; with doors every ten feet all around. There is a third floor above that, also with a balcony, and again, doors every ten feet all around.
“Your attention, please! I am Pyotr, Steward of Milburn Hall. Welcome to your new home! Some of you came here of your own free will, and some of you were purchased from the prisons of Cittá, but all of you are here now. Each of you has a debt to pay, and the chance to make a new life for yourself, away from the cesspool that is the world-city, Cittá! The balconies on the second and third floors of the hall lead to the rooms where you’ll be staying. Each will hold five of you. Please find rooms, and rest… we shall feast this evening!”
After choosing your rooms, and resting, you make your way back to the main hall. You are seated on benches at tables in the hall. Your table, as with all the others, is set with a great feast of roast game, goat and vegetable stew, loaves of dark bread and flasks of ale. Servers cross the room to the kitchens constantly refilling mugs, and bringing trays of additional food as it is eaten.
As evening falls, the feast goes on, and many people leave to make their way to their rooms for the night. You, however, remain… hoping to hear what Pyotr has to say.
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