She had shut up like a good little apprentice, because she wasn’t stupid. But she hadn’t understood then and still didn’t understand why the Senior Mechanics refused to consider a different approach. It wasn’t as though the superiority of the Mechanics was artificial, something made up. The commons couldn’t do the things that Mechanics could. They needed Mechanics. That reality couldn’t be altered by treating the commons with a little dignity.
Nothing is real.
Blasted Mage. He believed some really strange things, and she would do best to forget them as soon as possible. She knew what was real and what wasn’t.
It wasn’t until she had spent a few moments studying the distant shape of a Mage crossing the road ahead of them, easy to make out because of the way the commons left a wide berth around him, that Mari realized she had been looking for a glimpse of one particular Mage. That one ahead couldn’t be him. Too short and too wide.
Why was she looking? He was in the past. Gone. Stop thinking about him. The job was ahead of her. Eyes front. Focus.
Eventually the trolley dragged its weary way to the Hall of City Government. The vast structure looming up across a broad expanse of courtyard was, outwardly at least, the grandest Mari had seen in Ringhmon, with a profusion of columns, balustrades, roof angles and balconies. The courtyard itself was sprinkled with larger-than-life statues of noble-looking individuals who literally looked down from their pedestals on those citizens who were trudging across the open area toward the big building.
Mari slung the strap of her tool kit over her shoulder and joined the stream of humanity. She glanced at some of the pedestals as she passed them, reading inscriptions which praised the persons whose statues surmounted them as “servants of the people.” If there had been another Mechanic with her, Mari would have made some comment about servants looking down on those they were supposed to be serving.
There were plenty of guards standing around, looking brutally alert. Mari paused to consider whether she wanted to worry about carrying a concealed weapon into the city hall. The pistol could be awkward if she needed to squeeze around equipment or take off her jacket to do anything. She didn’t want anyone in Ringhmon knowing she had a weapon if she could help it. Mari knelt down, pretending to adjust the lace of her boot. Bent down like that, Mari could slip her hand inside her jacket and reach her pistol without being seen. She opened a compartment on the outside of her tool kit and stuffed the pistol in, then resealed the compartment. It wasn’t a great hiding place, but no citizen of Ringhmon was going to be looking in there.
Finally reaching the steps, Mari saw her path blocked by a long line of citizens waiting to be passed by the guards. That was fine for commons. Mechanics lived by other rules, and this was one time she wasn’t the least bit unhappy about that. Mari went to one side and walked up past the entire line until she reached the entry where two soldiers in highly polished breastplates were using their authority to give randomly chosen citizens a hard time.
One of the soldiers caught sight of her out of the corner of his eye and swung her way, one hand going to the elaborate hilt of his short sword. “Hold on— ” Then he caught sight of her jacket. “Uh, yeah?”
That was the limit. These goons might be able to abuse the common folk of Ringhmon, but they wouldn’t get to play that game with her. Mari glared at the man. “Did you address me?” she asked.
He got the hint. “Yes, Lady Mechanic?”
“I have a contract with the City Fathers of Ringhmon.”
The guard turned to his companion, who made a baffled gesture. Mari tried to keep her temper at yet another set of people expressing surprise at her presence. The second guard called to someone inside the building. “Gerd, there’s a Mechanic here, says she’s got a contract.”
Gerd came out, his breastplate just as bright as the others, but carrying a Mechanic rifle as his weapon. Mari glanced at it, confirming that it was another repeating rifle. I don’t care what Guild policy is. If I ever get to Danalee I’m going to have a long talk with the Mechanics there about their choice of customers.
How many rifles has the Guild let Ringhmon buy? A city this size shouldn’t have more than a dozen.
I guess that’s where the money went that could have paid for truly impressive buildings in this city.
Gerd eyed Mari doubtfully. “A contract, you say, Lady?”
“That’s correct,” Mari said, annoyed by his skepticism. “Master Mechanic Mari of Caer Lyn.”
“Master Mechanic?” Gerd took one look at Mari’s hardening expression and apparently decided not to pursue that question. “What’s the contract for, Lady?”
“That’s between me and the City Fathers. I’m not permitted to discuss it with anyone else.”
Gerd thought about that for a moment, his brows lowered. Mari imagined she could almost see rusty wheels turning slowly inside his head. “Then it’s a matter for City Manager Polder, Lady. I’ll take you to him. But first we need to search that, Lady.” The guard pointed at her tool bag.
“This is my equipment. My tools. You don’t search it.” Everybody knew that. Commons weren’t allowed access to Mechanic tools, and commons weren’t allowed to search Mechanics.
“I’m sorry, Lady, but there are no exceptions.” Gerd puffed himself up in a routine which he must have pulled on countless common folk. “Those are the rules. No exceptions.”
Unbelievable. That attitude hadn’t developed overnight. Why had Guild Hall Supervisor Stimon, who had seemed to enjoy slapping her down, let the commons in Ringhmon develop that kind of behavior? Did he want to force a Guild intervention here? “You can make any rule you want, but I don’t have to pay any attention to it,” Mari said. “I don’t know why your city is so afraid of its own citizens, but I am a Mechanic. Has Ringhmon totally forgotten the treatment expected by members of the Mechanics Guild? Does Ringhmon wish to offend the Mechanics Guild? Shall I walk back down those steps this moment and return to my Guild Hall along with every other Mechanic in this city to await a formal apology from the City Fathers, and the payment of a large fine, for their actions toward our Guild?” Surely even Guild Hall Supervisor Stimon would back her up on this. No city could be allowed to treat Mechanics that way.
Mari was certain that she hadn’t yelled, just spoken very clearly, yet the two lesser guards and Gerd leaned back as if being subjected to a gale. Gerd, considerably paler now, nodded several times. Even a low-ranking guard supervisor had to realize what would happen to any city put under a Mechanics Guild interdict. It would forbid any repair of existing equipment, prohibit sales of new equipment, halt train shipments, and cut off all electrical power coming from the Mechanics Guild Hall. “Yes, Lady. I’ll take you and your bag to City Manager Polder.”
Mari, having made her point, nodded in agreement. Polder’s name was on her contract, so she knew he was an acceptable person to speak with. “All right.”
Out of the corner of her eye she could see the commons waiting in line doing a poor job of hiding their glee at seeing the guards dressed down. Some even seemed to be directing looks of approval at her. Master Mechanic Mari, champion of the common folk, she thought. Yeah. That’s me. The guards had deserved to get chewed out, but throwing her weight around had always left Mari with a bad taste in her mouth. She also knew that even though Gerd and his pals couldn’t touch her, after she left they could and would take out their public embarrassment on those commons. “There’s nothing you can do about that, Mari. You can’t fix everything.” How many times had Alli said those words to her?