Radeon did not bring the people all the way out.
He dropped them halfway down Wordsworth Shortspires, far enough that you could still see the violence if you squinted, and far enough that a frightened mind could tell itself it was already safe.
Cairnlight Barterhold sat at the center of the four. Ledgegrove Bazaar lay to the west. Wordsworth Shortspires ran south. Spendworth Hills rose to the east. Silvertoll Summits held the north.
Complaints stayed scarce for a simple reason. Silvertoll Summits charged too much at the gate.
One silver coin, as the name promised. The ones who could afford that price swallowed their words, and the ones who could not never got close enough to shout.
Then the wagons began to move in patterns that looked random.
Some slowed and stopped to tend the wolf pretend-horses. Some positioned themselves along the walls of Cairnlight Barterhold, as if wanting the turmoil clearer.
