The temperature rose as they walked, and with it, the frequency with which they saw people out and about: a woman, probably a housewife, depositing trash in the street; an aging man probably on his way to work; and so on. Inside an eatery, a man who seemed to be its owner set about preparing for the day ahead. Gabriele saw merchants, too, carrying stock to such establishments. The food situation was doubtless bad, but Quinta’s people didn’t seem to be entirely dependent on rations.
Klaus turned a corner but stopped soon afterwards.
“Let’s take a detour.”
They returned to the avenue. After a while the view to the left opened up. There was a round, open space, some kind of plaza. It was vast. At the far side was a particularly grand building made of stone. A large wooden scaffolding covered its facade, perhaps for repairs on its outer wall.
And yet, there, in front of the scaffolding…
“What the hell is─”
“The district hall. That woman controls it now.”
“No, I mean!”
“Need me to spell it out?”
No, I suppose not.
There was no mistaking it. It couldn’t be anything else.
“Titan…”
There, in the center of the plaza, kneeled an unwashed, naked, and chubby man. Standing upright he would measure over five meters tall. Heavy chains spreading outwards in a radial pattern were wrapped around his neck, chest, belly, arms, wrists, and legs. Pulled tight and reflecting the pale morning light, the chains disappeared into machines that resembled tiny water mills. The apparatuses were bolted securely into the ground. There were twenty, maybe thirty of them in total.
A few heads short of ten soldiers, each carrying a rifle, stood around the perimeter.
“What is it doing here?” Gabriele’s voice came out in a croak.
“Apparently that woman captured it.”
Klaus was as blunt as ever. He didn’t appear the slightest bit startled. Perhaps it was only normal, but he seemed fully accustomed to the outlandish spectacle.
“When you say ‘that woman,’ you mean that woman? The Garrison soldier.”
“Yes.”
“When did she…catch it?”
“Not long after Quinta’s isolation. Less than a month.”
“You hear stories now and then that such-and-such a place caught a Titan. Still, it’s the first time I’ve seen one for real.”
“Threw me too, first time I saw it.”
“But keeping it here…it’s dangerous. What if a child ventured too close by mistake? Say, is it on purpose? For people to vent their frustration, stoning it and that kind of thing?”
“Actually, it’s the other way around.”
“Other way? To keep them frustrated?”
“You’re getting warmer. It’s the same rationale as the Night Harvest.”
“The same…”
“Doesn’t seeing it scare you?”
The Titan hadn’t budged the whole time. A few dozen chains held it tight. It could twitch but that was all. Only its eyes moved occasionally, while steam rose from its nose and mouth. The Titans had a body temperature that was incomparably higher than a human’s.
“Of course it does. I’d be surprised to find anyone who felt fine.”
“Agreed.”
Klaus didn’t seem particularly afraid. But he wasn’t the type to lie or joke around. Maybe he was just bad at letting his emotions show.
“By putting that here─where everyone can see it─she’s making sure the people of Quinta never forget their dread of the Titans. At the same time, she’s reminding them that only the soldiers are capable of killing it.”
“I see.”
It was true─no civilians would be able to kill the Titan. Only the troops, with their training, were capable of that. They had special-purpose blades and knew how to gorge out its weak spot.
Gabriele swallowed. “So it’s to issue a threat? ‘Go against us and we’ll set the Titan free…open the gate… We’re the only ones who can protect you when that happens.’”
“Essentially. It’s crude, but effective.” Klaus turned around.
Gabriele stood there for a moment, entranced by the Titan, then hurried off after Klaus.
He decided it was true, that Rita Iglehaut─this woman who was in charge of Quinta─had a gift for intimidation. Who else would think to utilize something so horrific, so shocking and nightmarish, as a “proximate deterrent”?
They left the avenue to join a street lined on either side with private residences and two-story businesses. Many of these were brick. They continued for a while until they came upon a stone building, its entrance noticeably larger than the others, to the left. The doors had been left open. The majority of the pedestrians were drawn in through them.
Led by Klaus, Gabriele followed after them.
A roomy corridor ran straight down the center of the space, with a patchwork of vendors set up at either side. Various goods were on display, including edibles, tobacco, liquor, garments, tableware, even furniture. Most of the stalls were still in the process of getting ready, but the ones that served food were already in business. Throngs of people stood examining the various commodities. In front of a cafe of sorts were simple chairs on which sat men holding cups of tea.
“A bazaar, huh?”
Gabriele had heard there were many covered markets in Quinta, but this had to be a particularly large one.
Klaus worked his way deeper inside, skillfully navigating a path through the flow of people and the characteristic aromas of tobaccos and spices.
“Don’t get separated.”
“Uh huh…”
Gabriele nearly collided with a man pushing a cart packed with garments and hurried out of the way.
“I thought Quinta was isolated. Where’s all this stuff coming from?”
“Some of it is made in Quinta, some is what people had in stock. Some of it might be stolen goods. Half of Quinta’s population left, after all.”
“Makes sense. You can just rob an empty house…”
“You can. If you’re happy to die, that is,” jeered Klaus.
He entered an inconspicuous shop, almost buried among the other businesses, located on the right at the end of a cul de sac. Old books lay in countless piles to either side of the doorway. It seemed to be a bookstore.
The inside was long and narrow, and down the center and against both walls were tall shelves, all of them crammed with books. The air carried their telltale dry smell. Gabriele took one at random and started to browse the pages.
“I trust you’ll be careful with that, son.”
Gabriele jumped at the closeness of the voice. Next to the entrance was a book-laden desk, behind which sat an aging man in glasses.
“Do take care not to drop or tear it.”
“R-Right.”
Was he the owner? As far as bookstores were concerned, trade didn’t necessarily dwindle on account of Quinta’s isolation.
“At the end.”
Klaus strode past the shelves with unwavering steps. Gabriele peered down and saw an open corner at the back. Great numbers of books were piled directly on the floor. The impression they gave wasn’t unlike a series of leaning towers. Although they looked ready to collapse, they somehow held stable. Among them, several men and women sat in a circle on stools. A few of them he’d met outside Quinta. They’d arrived before Gabriele and Klaus, presumably while they’d been examining the odious monster in the plaza.
“Is this him?” a young man seated near the wall spoke up.
He had closely cropped hair and a stubbly beard of around the same length. His forehead, on the broad side, lent him a somehow troubled expression. He was probably Gabriele’s age. His right hand, splinted, was suspended by a piece of cloth─treatment for a broken bone. While he bore the outward resemblance of a working man, the way he carried himself hinted at refinement. Perhaps he came from a background of money or power─possibly both. Gabriele couldn’t guess what might have brought about his fall.
Klaus tutted. “Stupid question. Who else would I bring here?”
“Of course. My mistake,” the young man apologized, but didn’t seem at all piqued. He seemed inured to Klaus’ personality and attitude.
The young man looked Gabriele in the eye.
“It’s good to meet you. My name is Mathias Kramer. I happen to represent this group.”
His tone was gentle.