Deepwoods (Book 1) by Honor Raconteur Page B

that could be learned about Lirah’s party and it was time to
go.
     
     

 

Fortified with a hot breakfast, steaming tea, and a good
night’s rest, they took to the road once more. Leaving the isle took a matter
of minutes, as it didn’t have any real width to it, just length, and then they
stepped onto the second half of the Grey Bridges. The whole party let out a
sigh of relief when they felt the warm wind flow over them. The air still had a
distinct chill to it, but it didn’t even compare to the wind-cutting,
bone-rattling cold of before.
    They crossed the bridge without incident, sometimes nodding
or saying friendly hellos with the people that passed them on the other side.
With fairer weather, the traffic on the bridge picked up considerably as people
tried to take advantage and get to their own destinations.
    Siobhan kept an eye on Denney as they went. The girl had
never been comfortable in Quigg, despite it being her hometown. Or maybe it was
because of it. Wynngaard and Teherani both had interesting opinions about
half-bloods, and Denney usually ran into trouble at some point when they passed
through the city. The closer they got, the more openly she stuck herself to
Conli. He put an arm around her shoulder, comforting, but also in a clearly
protective mood.
    She caught Wolf and Tran’s eyes, inclining her head toward
Denney. They nodded in grim understanding, accepting her silent order to keep
an eye on her.
    Still, the day passed pleasantly enough, and by late
afternoon, they arrived in the thriving, bustling, and sometimes dangerous city
of Quigg.
    Quigg had never been designed or organized in any way as it
was constructed. People had added on streets, neighborhoods and whole markets
wherever they felt a need to have one. People who had been born and raised in
the city still got lost in it, or so the rumors said. Anyone going to Wynngaard
had one of two options: find a ship and sail there yourself or go through Quigg.
Sometimes people had stopped there instead of continuing on, and the city
reflected the very diverse cultures it housed. Every possible style of
architecture, masonry, and signs could be seen as soon as the guild stepped
through the main gates. Siobhan flinched from it a little, overwhelmed by the
clash of scents, voices speaking loudly in different languages, and the press
of bodies wearing every possible style of clothing.
    She could tell it unnerved the men, too, being surrounded
and jostled on all sides by pedestrians and other travelers. They immediately
formed ranks around the cart, Wolf guarding the back, Fei the middle, and Tran
coming ahead to ride alongside her. Raising her voice to be heard over the din,
she said to him, “Is it my imagination, or is this place more crowded than it
was last year?”
    Tran grimaced agreement.
    Sylvie stood up in the cart and called, “Siobhan! Should I
go ahead and see if our regular inn has room for us?”
    Instinctively, she felt it a bad idea. Shaking her head, she
raised one hand and made a circular gesture, signaling the group to stick close
together. Siobhan just knew that if they separated in this crowd, for any
reason, they’d have a terrible time finding each other again. She especially
didn’t want any one of them going off alone—no telling what trouble they’d find
doing so.
    They blazed a path through the crowd easier as a group, but
even then their pace was slow. Siobhan couldn’t clearly remember which street
their preferred inn sat on, so Tran took the lead (bless the man’s memory) and
led them off the main thoroughfare, which took them away from that crushing
crowd. Siobhan breathed a sigh of relief to leave that noisy, somewhat smelly,
mass of people behind her.
    Tran led them confidently up another two narrow streets and
onto a wider, more appealing road that emptied into a pretty courtyard. There
lay the North Bay Inn, its doors facing the courtyard, looking different than
the last time she’d laid eyes on it. Strange,