Chapter Six
The guards gave the slightest of looks as he rode through the city gate. They were probably too young to remember the last time the city had needed to defend itself.
Off in the distance, he could see the five mage towers. Beyond that, the keep, with its imposing black walls, peered down on the city with a reassuring dominance.
A hauler pulled a cart filled with garbage down the street. They were the hardest working and least appreciated citizens. Nobody talked to them, but the streets were clean because each night they came out under cover of darkness and toiled until sunrise.
Marl acknowledged the poor sod pulling his load by way of a nod. He flipped him a copper coin. “Can you tell me where to find the Dancing Daisy?”
“Aye, governor, it’s on the other side of the city, i
