“So how much longer to Berq?” Tom asked after about 20 minutes walking – James was on the horse that time around.

“Not much. A 20 minute horse ride. Just on the other side of that hill.” The guard pointed at a smaller hill not too far away from them.

“How big is this thing?” Tom inquired further, and James made sure to ride close enough to overhear the entirety of the conversation.

“You’ve been to Ätherock, right? That’s a worker city. Berq is much, much smaller in terms of size, but it’s prestige all around. Only for the noble men. And the king, of course.”

James laughed. “What do you consider as noble?”

“Scientists and city representatives. Not a whole lot of people.”

Tom then remembered that he and James still have no idea about other worker cities. “City representatives? Just how many such cities like Ätherock are there?”

“You mean mining cities? Two more, but both smaller than Ätherock.”

“No, no, I mean how many cities are there total, and what is their field of work?”

“There’s six agricultural cities, a wood and metal working city which is the largest, a city devoted to the millitary and the research facilities are here in Berq. The rest is like this,” the guard raised his hands and looked around, “uninhabited.”