As the sun drew lower in the sky, the couple reached the main entrance of the Ravenheart.
As they had expected, one of the Song Sisters was on duty at the gate. What they had not expected, however, was the long line to get in.
"Why are so many people outside the city gates? Most of them are mundane!"
Noble saw the people come through the Dreamgate almost every morning, but this was something else entirely.
"I think I know." Joining the back of the line, Fort tapped on the shoulder of the person in front of him. "Excuse me?"
The brown-eyed man turned around, and Noble noticed the huge gash under one eye. His cheeks looked hollow, and the pickaxe hanging by his side was bent beyond functionality.
"Do you happen to be from one of the road crews?"
"Yes, I am. It is one of the most virtuous callings to connect the citadels, and so I joined to do my part!"
Noble frowned, looking at his tattered clothes and possibly infected cheek.
"I'm Noble, and this is Fort. I hate to pry, but do they not treat you well out in the wilderness…?"
Surely the Song clan wasn't so desperate to reach Godgrave that they were pushing their workers to starvation.
The young man shook his head. "The name is Virt. And the foreman leading the construction crew treats us just fine. The pay and the rations are both good."
Fort pointed to the man's torn coat and mangled tool.
"Then…what happened?"
Virt looked down, only now seeming to be aware of his appearance. "Oh. That."
He glanced toward the horizon, presumably from whence he came. Virt continued with a deep sigh.
"We came over a canyon where we needed to build a bridge. I'm very experienced with that sort of thing, and we had already selected the narrowest spot to cover the gap. But while I was helping get the initial braces in place, something attacked from below. The thing nearly dragged me into the chasm before someone lodged an enchanted arrow in its shoulder."
"Were you able to kill it?" Noble looked at the bedraggled people in front of her. They did not seem particularly victorious.
Virt regarded his broken pickaxe.
"We could not beat it, so we had to trap it and retreat. We lost almost half our people to the carnage, and the rest of us barely escaped with our lives. We lost most of our supplies." The young awakened, gripped his stomach. "All I want to do is get my money and get to the waking world to buy all the food I can eat."
Noble shook her head. 'I want the road building stalled, but not at the expense of people's lives.'
She summoned a Memory. The small box had some dried bread and jerky that she had brought and never needed during her Nightmare. She offered it to the young man now.
Virt stuffed the food in his mouth before anyone else could see.
With his hunger momentarily quelled and his weary soul soothed, some of the color returned to his face.
"Thank you." He nodded.
"You should probably get that cheek looked at, too. It looks infected. If you mention my name to the doctor by the bridge, he will see you right away. It shouldn't delay your trip to the waking world by more than a quarter hour." Fort offered.
"Thank you doubly," Virt smiled. "You both are very kind."
Fort waved off the compliment. "It's the least we can do. You all look like you have been through a lot. Will you have to go back out once you've restocked?"
Virt shook his head again. "Our contract is up in three days anyway. The only way any of us are heading out again is if we join a new crew."
"I take it you don't plan to do that?" Noble didn't think she would be able to head back out right after such a traumatic experience.
Virt seemed to agree. "I'll try to get a job with the coordinators here. Building infrastructure is virtuous, as I said, but I think I am far more suited to designing and planning than to physical execution. The foreman said he would recommend me."
"That's wonderful!" Noble didn't want any more harm to come to the young man. "I pass by that office often on my way to leave Ravenheart. If you get the job, I'll have to stop by and congratulate you."
"You don't have to go to all that trouble on my account." Virt didn't want to be any trouble.
"It's no trouble. As I said, it is on my way, and it will do me good to know you are doing well." Noble smiled at him.
"My wife worries about everyone. It's related to one of her Abilities." Fort explained.
"Oh, then by all means stop by, if I even get the job at all." The young man tapped the broken pickaxe against his shoe before shrugging.
"I'll see you after you do," Noble nodded.
With her expanded emotional sense, she could track him down anywhere in the city, but she didn't want to creep him out with that knowledge. As he turned to get ready for his turn at the gate, Noble passed Fort half of The Other's Voice.
'Yes, attacks are becoming more frequent as the roads expand,' Fort told her before she even asked.
'Are they trying to send people to their deaths?!' Noble glanced at Virt. He was in bad shape, but he could have easily been dead like the other half of his crew.
'I'll send requests to Government Headquarters and to the Palace requesting more protection for the convoys. Perhaps some of the Legacies could step in to help. That would help keep people safe and better use the domain's resources.'
Noble understood what he meant by the last part. If clan members were out in the trenches fighting monsters to save construction workers, then they weren't colluding to plan a war. Of course, Ki Song would have to agree to the changes.
Hopefully, she would.
The sister at the gate asked Virt a few rudimentary questions, listening half heartedly as she held out the flower.
When the Memory didn't wilt, Virt was allowed to pass through the city gate. Noble felt hope swell within his chest. He finally felt a semblance of safety.
Not that anywhere was safe, but at least in Ravenheart, there were more people to mount a defense if anything should attack.
'Oh, by the way, I need you to stall for a minute or two.' Noble smiled as she floated forward for her turn.
'What?' Fort managed not to let his face show his surprise. 'I thought the goal was to get in as inconspicuously as possible.'
'It is, but I also want to get a look at that mirror. Sarai told me how it attacked the Skinwalker.' Noble explained quickly.
'And you want to know how it works? Couldn't you have told me this earlier?'
Noble hid her wince behind a cough. 'I should have, but you work better under pressure.'
'Alright, but you owe me,' Fort forced a grin.
Their time for conversing was up. They were at the gate.
The woman with the flower turned her eyes on the incoming couple. They came into sharp focus as her crimson lips curled upward.
"Welcome, travelers."