Hobb, Robin - The Farseer 03 - Assassin's Quest by Hobb Robin

Author:Hobb, Robin [Hobb, Robin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2012-03-31T12:26:47+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY

Jhaampe

JHAAMPE, THE CAPITAL city of the Mountain Kingdom, is older thanBuckkeep, just as the ruling line of the Mountain Kingdom is older than thehouse of Farseer. As a city, Jhaampe is as far removed in style from thefortress city of Buckkeep as the Farseer monarchs are different from thephilosopher guides of the Sacrifice lineage that rules the Mountains.

There is no permanent city such as we know. There are few permanentbuildings. Instead, along the carefully planned and garden-bordered roadsare spaces where the nomadic folk of the Mountains may come and go. Thereis a designated space for the market, but the merchants migrate in aprocession that parallels that of the seasons. A score of tents may springup overnight and their inhabitants swell the population of Jhaampe for aweek or a month, only to disappear without a trace when their visiting andtrading is over. Jhaampe is an ever-changing city of tents populated by thevigorous outdoor-dwelling folk of the mountains.

The homes of the ruling family and the companions that choose to stayyear-round with them are not at all like our castles and halls. Instead,their dwellings center around great trees, living still, their trunks andbranches patiently trained over scores of years to provide a framework forthe building. This living structure is then draped with a fabric woven oftree-bark fibers and reinforced with a latticework. Thus the walls can take on the gently curving shapes of a tulip bud or the dome of an egg. A claycoating is spread over the fabric layer and this in turn is painted with ashiny resinous paint in the bright hues the mountain folk enjoy. Some aredecorated with fanciful creatures or patterns but most are left simple.Purples and yellows predominate, so that to come upon the city growing inthe shade of the great mountain trees is like coming upon a patch of crocusin springtime.

About these homes and at the intersections of the roads in this nomadic "city" are the gardens. Each is unique. One may center around an unusuallyshaped stump or an arrangement of stones or a graceful bit of wood. Theymay contain fragrant herbs or bright flowers or any combination of plants.One notable one has at its heart a bubbling spring of steaming water. Heregrow plants with fleshy leaves and exotically scented flowers, denizens ofsome warmer clime brought here to delight the Mountain dwellers with theirmystery. Often visitors leave gifts in the gardens when they depart, awooden carving or a graceful pot or perhaps merely an arrangement of brightpebbles. The gardens belong to no one, and all tend them.

At Jhaampe can also be found hot springs, some of water that can scalda man, others merely a gently bubbling warmth. These have been confined,both as public baths and as a source of heat in some of the smallerdwellings. In every building; in every garden, at every turn the visitorfinds the austere beauty and simplicity of color and form that are theMountain ideal. The overall impression that one carries away is oftranquillity and joy in the natural world. The chosen simplicity of lifethere may lead the visitor to question his own choice in life.

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