15
I hurried after my black-winged spy and we traversed street after street of the massive city. The farther we traveled the worse the condition of the streets became. Women of the night with sweet smiles and sad eyes stood in doorways calling out to any male who sauntered by. The men were burly folk, sailors by their harsh tans and rough hands, and many entered the homes of their brief companions for a tryst.
“This place doesn’t seem very magical. . .” I murmured as I hurried along at a pace just slightly below a scamper.
Blackbeak flew over me and slightly ahead of my strides. “The workshops of the wizards are a filthy place.”
My eyebrows shot up and I looked anew at my surroundings. They were still dingy. “These are workshops?”
“They don’t advertise their wares to just anybod
