45
From the high window Captain Mont had an expansive view of the western side of the city. Stacks of buildings huddled together as if for warmth, then wide open courtyards scattered about, as though some long forgotten giant had stamped its way across the city, flattening everything in its wandering path.
Each open area was teeming with people, and every day the high city gates opened to allow more to stream through. It couldn’t go on. Even though each day they miraculously found more space for the new arrivals, every new face meant less food and shelter for those already here. Every new face piled more pressure on to a city already reaching breaking point.
Or perhaps it had already boiled over, and he just hadn’t been able to read the signs.
A knock on the door snapped Captain Mont o
