Chapter 264: Two Days (1)
The eastern quarter of Bastion Nine smelled of river silt, rotting timber, and impending disaster.
It was a district built strictly for utility. It lacked the polished marble facades and pristine sweeping avenues that defined the affluent core of the city. Here, the architecture was brutally practical. Towering windowless brick warehouses loomed over narrow winding alleys. A deep sluggish canal cut through the cobblestone streets, filled with the dark runoff of industry.
And there were no soldiers.
Lord Commander Vell had spoken truthfully when he dismissed their warnings. There was no Vanguard detachment garrisoning the intersections. There were no snipers taking up positions on the warehouse roofs. There were no defensive magical arrays humming beneath the cobblestones.
