Darkwater Crossing was bigger than I had imagined. Much bigger. Perhaps it was because all the human endeavor I had seen on this continent seemed dwarfed by the immensity of jungle and landscape around it. Darkwater looked like a vast stone which had been split by the dark tannin rich waters of the river in its final united effort before it split into the silvery fingers of the delta that stretched out to the sea. It climbed from the bustling docks into ancient stone buildings, many of which existed only as the base for later construction of plaster and stucko. In the poorer areas the roofs were layered leaves while the wealthier areas sported tiles of dark greenish clay. Here and there, the original construction survived, rearing graceful domes and arches towards the sky. Strangely, this made it seem like the whole city was a construction site, where the newer structures were merely the scaffolding that would any day be removed to reveal the city in its restored glory.

There was an odd contrast in the people two, everywhere people were seen at work: stevedores loaded barges with timber and spices,  cooks sataeed questionable joints of meat in thick aromatic sauces, wagons loaded with provisions clattered across the stone streets but there was a lethargy also. Housewives with colorful kerchiefs slumped in the shaded alcoves of their doorways while the swapped gossip with their neighbors, vintners in wine stained aprons fanned themselves with straw hats, toughs in leather jerkins diced in the relative shade of alley mouths. Everyone seemed more interested in staying out of the tropical heat, and where they couldn't picked at their work with only desultory enthusiasm. 

I strode down the central boulevard, leading the Prostates by virtue of being uninjured but giving the impression I was somehow in command. Several of the toughs eyed me speculatively but either it was too hot to bother me, or the hard bitten Prostates dissuaded them. I reached the councilor's office, a large domed building that might once of have been a temple, and was met by a pair of slovenly looking guards. It took only a moment for the Councilor to appear. He was a neat looking man in late middle age. I got the impression he had once been handsome and athletic, but heat and age had dried him out into a sinewy armature of his former glory.

"My Lady?" he asked in a cultured voice that mostly hid his surprise.

"I have soldiers who need medical treatment," I told him imperiously, then softened it with a smile.

"Plus I'm told I can find a bath somewhere around here."