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She noticed the subtle frown on his face He saw it register in her eyes "Let’s go a little farther," Hettie suggested quietly "I don’t like being exposed on the hill like this Let’s go down to the woods before it gets too dark" She stood and offered hi the swell of difficult e his moods now When he wanted to banter When he wished for silence He gripped her hand and let her pull hi the pack around her shoulder As they started down the hill, side by side, he felt her hand graze his Part of hirip like a rope to save hiainst that part of himself, the part that felt reassured by her presence He needed to clear his hts and e like inside hi afternoon, Paedrin and Hettie studied the port city for a long while Froe point within the woods, they learned what they could fro place Paedrin had seen He had been impressed by the mountain towers of the Cruithne in Alkire Silvandom, of course, had a special place in his heart with its majestic trees and stone-fashioned ho civilization sprawled atop an island lake from end to end Havenrook, on the other hand, was a painfulthat if he did, he would school the entire city in a lesson of pain Yet he knew, by his Bhikhu training, that even scourging the city would not assuage his guilt

Lydi was a cityships and a patchwork maze of docks and harbors There were no warehouses or inns or taverns, yet the ships becas, the surplus of unused vessels had becoe The streets were the docks So and steps erected to provide entrances Most hung with signs, featuring whether it was an inn, or a smithy, or a stable

The population of Lydi, it seemed, had dwindled over the years Derelict ships were everywhere, with no signs of life at all During the ti, only four or five ships approached, all from the north, and docked in the harbor There were peopleabout in the town, but it seealleons that had crossed the wide seas Others were more humble vessels, only one ulls, of course, flitting above the town Gulls were plentiful in Kenatos as well Paedrin rubbed his chin, staring at the city

"What have you noticed?" he asked Hettie

"The woods have been cleared on purpose," she said thoughtfully "They don’t want to be approached unawares I iine they have lookouts all around the periee ones and s dangerously I doubt anyone lives there My advice would be to approach after dusk where it would be difficult to spot us colanced at him "I would look to find a Vaettir first A Bhikhu would be my first choice if we could find one"

"Because…?"

"Because they would be the most honest in their intentions If we are hunted by the Arch-Rike, they would try to arrest us quickly No games We’d knohere we stood They would also be the ones most likely to know of the Shatalin tes as well What surprises me most is what I do not see Very few people co The place seeood word for it The city has a strange feeling, doesn’t it? It isn’t lively, like Havenrook It feels…depressed" She hesitated at the word and he knehy

Paedrin stared at the city "I agree It does not feel like a flourishing town It is decaying So therefore, I propose we do the opposite of what you say We enter the city now, in daylight We enter a tavern or place to eat Try to be gone before dusk It ets htfall I don’t want to wait out here any longer Let’s go If we don’t learn about Shatalin quickly, we leave and rabbed his arm "I don’t think that would be wise"