Chapter 397

Chapter 397: City Hall

It was snowing.

The spell of clear, fine weather had not lasted long at all before another snowfall came to Frostholm. From early morning, heavy, leaden clouds had pressed over the city-state, and a wild cold wind had blown through the streets without rest. As the time neared noon, snowflakes began to fall in thick, drifting curtains. From the Upper City to the Lower City, from every tower to every cramped alley, the whole city-state was wrapped in hazy, swirling snow.

The sudden snowfall made the streets much quieter.

The screech of a Steam Car’s brakes broke the silence of the snowy street. A dark gray car stopped at the front steps of City Hall. The door opened, and Agatha, dressed in black, stepped down and walked toward the tall and solemn building before her, a large structure whose main color was pale gray.

She raised her head and looked up at the soaring main building of City Hall. This classical structure, passed down from the age of the monarchy, still kept the imposing presence of that earlier era. Its towering pillars, arches, and rolling rooflines looked grand no matter when one saw them. Although its name had changed from “Winter King’s Court” to the “City Hall” of today, its status in the city-state had never changed.

It still stood as one of the two poles of authority in the city-state, facing the distant Silent Grand Cathedral across the city and together sheltering this city of Boiling Gold. Buildings were history books built of stone. The changing powers and people who passed through them were no more than lines of text on the pages. The Queen’s age, and the present system of Governors as well, would in the end become just another passage that history turned past.

Agatha suddenly frowned and raised a hand to pinch her temple.

She knew she had drifted off again, and like some overly sentimental poet she had started sighing over many things. She had been like this over the past two days. For no clear reason, she would slip into wild, pointless thoughts, or sink into a vague unease.

This was not a good sign. As the city-state’s Gatekeeper, her state of mind had to stay tightly controlled. “Spacing out” was something she needed to avoid as much as possible.

Footsteps came from the direction of the main door, cutting off Agatha’s thoughts. She looked up and saw a senior secretary in a deep blue coat already walking toward her.

“Lady Agatha,” the young man who served as the Governor’s aide stopped in front of her and bowed respectfully. “The Governor has been informed of your visit. He is waiting for you in the domed office.”

“Saving the formalities is fine by me,” Agatha nodded. “Lead the way.”

On the top floor of City Hall, inside a large office crowned with a rounded dome, Frostholm’s current Governor, Winston, sat behind a wide, curved desk.

He was a tall man, a little on the heavy side, wearing an impressive bright blue coat decorated with medals and sashes. The strain of managing a declining city-state seemed to have drained him. His hair had grown so thin it was on the brink of vanishing, and he had been forced to wear a curled wig to cover his scalp. When Agatha entered the domed office, the Governor was fiddling with a delicate brass machine placed on his desk.

The complex device looked like a kind of miniature model. Its tightly meshed gears and linkages were as intricate as a work of art, and under Winston’s hands it gave off crisp clicking sounds from time to time.

“I did not expect you to still have time to play with machine models amidst such busy affairs,” Agatha said from in front of the desk. “I thought the situation in the city-state would be enough to keep you fully occupied.”

“This is not a mere machine model. It is the next generation of minecart traction mechanism,” Winston replied, lifting his head with a serious expression. “It can save thirty percent in power, and is more reliable and durable than the last generation. The city’s troubles come one after another, but we cannot stop living and developing because of that.”

Agatha made no comment.

Governor Winston was deeply in love with machinery and engineering. In his twelve years as Governor, he had poured most of his energy into supporting the engineering design offices and machine works. He had ambitious plans and seemed to hope that technical breakthroughs would solve the city-state’s current difficulties, both by upgrading old facilities and by seeking new sources of economic power. But, well…

One could only say his ideas were good, his confidence was strong, and he had worked hard—but the Mortal Realm was full of obstacles.

“Advances in technology will let us upgrade the mining facilities at a cost we can bear, and more practical new machines can be exported to other city-states. Frostholm cannot live forever just by selling Boiling Gold,” Winston went on when he noticed the Gatekeeper’s flat reaction. He could not help talking more. “The Boiling Gold mines are Frostholm’s foundation, but a pillar built on a single industry is far too fragile…”

“I am not an official in economics or technology,” Agatha had to remind him gently.

“Oh, right, I forgot myself,” Winston said, lifting a hand. He set the machine model aside and looked up at Agatha. “Then let us talk business. Lady Agatha, you seem to have something to say about the exploration work in the Second Waterway?”

“The exploration unit ran into trouble under the connecting shaft in Central District Two,” Agatha said directly. “That passage is close to the bottom of the Boiling Gold mines. Some of its side pipes show signs of having been modified, but the gate leading to the next connected section is sealed. I ordered the exploration unit that they may use force to break through obstacles in the Second Waterway. But my people reported that they saw City Hall’s lead seals and a plaque on that gate.”

“…City Hall’s lead seals and a plaque?” Winston clearly froze for a moment. The surprise on his face did not look fake. “Are you sure?”

Agatha studied the Governor’s expression. Only after a long moment did she say softly: “It seems you truly know nothing about it.”

“That’s a Second Waterway that’s been abandoned for half a century. The last time it was in service was in the age when Frostholm’s Queen ruled this city-state!” Winston threw up his hands, his expression a bit exaggerated. “Even if there are lead seals and plaques down there, they should be from the Queen’s era. How could there be things left behind by City Hall? Lady Agatha, do you think I secretly sealed that gate myself? What would be the point? To store treasure deep underground?”

“You really do not have any reason to do that,” Agatha nodded lightly. “If you actually wanted to hide some treasure, any other place in the city would be more reliable than the Second Waterway in a runaway state.”

“I would rather not hear you seriously spin out that sort of idea,” Winston waved a hand, but his face had already grown solemn. “Isn’t there a date or the name of the person in charge on that plaque? A proper plaque should have that. You should be able to tell very easily who locked that gate.”

“Sadly, all the writing has been corroded beyond recognition. Both the plaque and the lead seals have suffered very serious corrosion. In fact even the gate itself has become unusually fragile. We suspect the acidic environment of the strata near the mines accelerated the aging of the metal,” Agatha shook her head. “We can only be sure that the gate really was locked by City Hall. The Queen’s era would never have used seals of that type.”

Winston stood up. His expression showed a hint of irritation as he paced back and forth behind the wide curved desk. After a long time, he finally stopped and muttered: “If it really was left behind by City Hall, then it must have been a long time ago. It might even have been the very first, or the second city government after the end of the Queen’s era…”

“It seems your predecessors did not pass all their records on to their successors,” Agatha said.

“Or the chaos of those early days caused some of the records to be lost or destroyed,” Winston waved his hand. “But no matter what, it is not normal for there to be a section sealed by City Hall’s order in the depths beneath the very center of the city, and for that section to be part of the Second Waterway. Lady Agatha, we must find out the truth of this.”

“Of course. That is my duty,” Agatha nodded. Her expression relaxed a little. “I did not get the answer I wanted, but having your support is enough. The exploration will continue. I will find out as soon as possible what lies behind that gate. If there is any new progress, the Church will share it with City Hall at once.”

“That will be best,” Winston nodded.

The atmosphere in the domed office loosened a little.

“Then I will not stay and trouble you further,” Agatha said. “There are still many matters in the Second Waterway that I need to oversee in person.”

She exchanged polite farewells with the Governor, then turned and left the domed office.

The Gatekeeper’s figure vanished from the room. Only the sound of the Gatekeeper’s cane and her heels striking the floor slowly faded away. Winston waited a long moment before letting out a soft breath. Then he frowned in puzzlement.

“…Lady Agatha didn’t use the Ashen Wind to travel today…” The slightly overweight middle-aged Governor lifted his head and looked toward the direction Agatha had left. He murmured to himself: “So she can actually walk in and out through the front door like a normal person?”