Princes Street Gardens
Calder watched them arrive at the bridge and cross into the Gardens. Their run to the statue was exposed across wide lawns and Punnr stood out clearly, She strained her eyes for any foreign movement in the shrubs. A well placed foe could take him out with an arrow from any number of positions.
The rough sleepers had spotted them and some had phones and were starting to film, but it couldn’t be helped. Blurry online footage was the least of the Horde’s worries, even if the watching world knew this to be the start of the Raids and a good piece of filming might make the national news.
Most shoppers struggling along Princes Street will barely spare a glance over the buses to the swathes of green running along the south side. These are East and West Princes Street Gardens and, beyond them, the Old Town seems to burst onto its hilltop. They were created when stinking, polluted Nor' Loch was finally drained in the 1770s and now separate the Old and New Towns.
In the summer they are packed with picnicking tourists and in the Christmas weeks they are ablaze with festive light and the scents of spiced drinks. But after dark in the quieter winter months, they are a world away from the bustle of the shops and it takes a brave soul to venture down the slope to their lower depths.
A perfect arena for ambushes; for hidden eyes and the silent strike of an arrow. When the Raiding Season finally arrives, these Gardens provide Punnr and Calder with their first potential encounter with the enemy.
The Genius of Architecture