- Approach
- The western road from Rillford
- Traffic
- Foot travellers, riders, light carts and freight
- Questions
- Name, origin, purpose, load, animals and weapons
- Beyond the gate
- Stables, toll houses, warehouses, inns and vendors
Before the walls
The road becomes part of Lysara before the walls begin. Estates, farms, worker quarters, retaining stone and thickening traffic announce the capital by degrees. Wagons carrying wine or grain share the approach with riders, livestock, handcarts and people who have walked much of the way.
Near the gate, movement separates. Freight cannot be inspected like a lone traveller, and animals cannot be left to block a passage while a question is argued.
Foot, rider, light cart or freight.
Name, origin and purpose.
Goods, fees and animals.
Inspection before the lower wards.
The red cord
A carried weapon does not always need to be surrendered. Once declared and inspected, it may be secured with a narrow red cord around the hilt. The cord makes the condition visible: the weapon is carried, but not ready for casual use.
Drawing without cause attracts the City Watch. The system is simple enough to understand at a glance and practical enough to avoid disarming every lawful traveller entering a large working city.
Inside the gate
Procedure gives way to commerce without becoming quiet. Stables and toll houses absorb animals and payment. Warehouses and vendors catch goods and travellers before they reach the bridges. Inns stand where people who misjudged the day's distance need them most.
From here the city opens eastward: market traffic first, the river ahead, and the rising stone of Lysara beyond it.