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You can scarcely believe the cleanliness of the grounds as you walk around the East Tower and look out over the northern courtyard. A pathway strewn with amber gravel extends from each external door of the palace and joins at sharp right angles the ring road that boxes King Saul's domain. The geometric topiaries you noted earlier are everywhere, sometimes standing sentinel over polished marble benches or glass-calm reflecting pools.

There are a number of outbuildings, like Fletcher's stables, that huddle in the shadows against the fortress walls, as far removed as possible from the castle itself. Knights on horseback are an occasional sight, as are carriages and carts of well-stacked lumber or casks of ale…but the more you watch, the more convinced you become that horses in Westfenster are trained to defecate outside the castle walls. You can scarcely see a sign of human or animal refuse anywhere amid the disciplined, aloof vista.

Onward