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Past shrines whittled from driftwood under the strings of blue and white lanterns that had been hung up for choosing they her prisoner stared at it all in silence. The dark obscured his features, but she tapped the flat of her blade on his head, forcing him to lower it all the while she kept him as far away from the others as she could. She had an idea of how to isolate him. An artificial island clung to the cape, it was called erissima and it was something of a curiosity to the locals. The trading posts had been constructed to house a handful of merchants and scholars from the free state of mentendon, along with the lucastree who were on the other side of the cape.

The mens alone had been granted permission to continue trading in psyche after the island had been closed to the world arisima. That was where she would take. The outsider. The torchlit bridge to the trading post was guarded by armed sentries. Few cycanese had permission to enter and she was not one of them.

The only other way past the fence was the landing gate which opened once a year to receive goods from the mentis ships. Tane led the outsider to the canal. She could not sneak him into orissima herself, but she knew a woman who could someone who would know exactly where in the trading post to hide him. It had been a long time since mcclay’s ruse had received a visitor. He was rationing himself, a little wine, a trickle of his paltry allowance when a knot came at the door.

Wine was one of his few remaining pleasures in the world and he had been immersed in breathing in its aroma savouring that golden moment before the first taste. Now, an interruption of course, with a sigh he uprooted himself, grumbling at the sudden throb in his ankle gout, was back once more to vex him. Another knock! Oh, do shut up. He muttered rain drummed on the roof, as he groped for his cane plum rain.

The seikonese called it at this time of year when the air hung thick and damp as a cloud and fruit swelled on the trees. He limped across the mats cursing under his breath and opened the door a fraction of an inch standing in the darkness outside was a woman. Dark hair fell to her waist and she wore a robe patterned with salt flowers. Rain alone could not have made her as wet as she was good evening. Learn it dr roos, she said nicholas raised his eyebrows.

I strongly dislike visitors at this hour or any hour. He ought to bow, but he had no reason to impress this stranger. How do you know my name? I was told it. No further explanation was forthcoming.

I have one of your countrymen with me. He will stay with you tonight and i will collect him tomorrow. At sunset, one of my countrymen, his visitor, turned her head a little a silhouette parted ways with a nearby tree smugglers, delivered him to psyche. The woman said i will take him to the honored governor tomorrow when the figure came into the light from his house. Necklace turned cold, a golden-haired man just as drenched as the woman was standing on his threshold, a man.

He had never seen an erisima. Twenty people lived in the trading post, he knew every one of their faces and names and no mentorships would arrive with newcomers until later in the season. Somehow these two had entered unseen, no necklace, stared saint woman. Are you trying to involve me in a smuggling operation? He fumbled for the door.

I cannot hide a trespasser if anyone knew one night one night a year, our heads will be sliced from our shoulders regardless good evening, as he made to shut the door. The woman jammed her elbow into the gap. If you do this, she said now so close that necklace could feel her breath. You will be rewarded with silver as much of it as you can carry necklace ruse. Hesitated silva was tempting.

He had played one too many drunken games of cards with the sentinels and owed them more than he was likely to make in a lifetime. So far he had stored their threats with the promise of jewels from the next cementist shipment, but he knew well that when it came there wouldn’t be a single, wretched jewel on board, not for the likes of him. His younger self urged him to accept the proposal. If only for the sake of excitement before his older wiser self could intervene, the woman moved away. I will return tomorrow night.

She said, do not let him be seen. Wait. He hissed after her furious, who are you. She was already gone with a glance down the street and a growl of frustration nicholas dragged the frightened looking man into his house. This was madness.

If his neighbors realized he was harboring a trespasser, he would be hauled before a very angry warlord, who was not known for his mercy. Yet here neclaise was

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