Chapter 4: Fastal ip Fornen
There was an irregular lump lying on the walkway in front of her door as a drenched Jade arrived home, her feet slurping where she had dug in some of the paving stones to trip a stranger on the path. The gloomy downpour and the night darkness obscured the shape, making it impossible to recognize. Jade slowed her pace and quickly checked that her knives were loose in their forearm sheaths. When her nerves were this shot, any tiny deviation from the ordinary was a cause for alarm. She stepped up to the curb, glad for the textured boot soles that gripped even the slick granite blocks. Silent as any drop of the falling mist, she advanced, watching for the possible baiters of this attention trap.
The shape didn’t move as she approached. She recognized the shape jus
