Morning light crossed the table maps through cracked shutters while Hajin pushed himself upright from the complaining bench.
Wheels struck the southern road outside, followed by shouted orders and the scrape of barriers across the town gate.
Juna sharpened her glaive beside the window while Ash sat on the floor turning a low-grade core through his fingers.
Loccy caught him whenever a blink-step carried him toward the door, working like a woman keeping a ball of lightning inside a cup.
"The caravan arrived before the gate crew finished breakfast, and its outriders are closing the side streets behind them," Juna said.
She said it without looking up from the whetstone, and her ear stayed angled toward the door the whole time.
"Seliza wants the town to see her guards before she asks for gold," Hajin replied. "The Flints want every witness to understand the road is already contested."
