The Bloodbaths
Crixus Oraan is a water artesan, an engineer who builds aqueducts and piping for bathhouses and mansions in the empire of Rond. His guild has entrusted him with a large sum of gold, but in a misguided effort to win enough to buy a lavish house for his new fiancé Kharrina, he loses the guild's gold in a card game. In this first volume of the Aqua Pura Trilogy, Crixus finds employment with the Lamiae of Nistru, a cruel society where those at the top bathe in the lifeblood of those at the bottom. Will his conscience allow him to finish the job?
Approx. 108,270 words.
They could have all saved thousands of sestrices by contributing to the repair and upgrade of the main aqueduct, and thereby won the hearts of the local population. Instead, they brought their snobbishness with them, so Restia would become an outlying suburb of Greater Rond. Their money--and elitism--would put local laborers to work for years. At least the local economy would pick everyone up, to some small degree.
The cart and donkey stood untouched. Lawlessness had not yet found Restia, aside for the docks. That would change with the new road.
The thought caused Crixus a pang of regret as they loaded the cart and watered the donkey. He would never experience life in Restia as it had been--as Kharrina had experienced it.
He flipped his sestric to Stamm, who caught it and winked. It would be spent on ale before nightfall. Thinking of Kharrina's wry smile, Crixus led the donkey back into town.
2. The Future
The rest of the afternoon sped by in a b
