Chapter 16
In the setting sun, I became aware of the river off in the distance and realized that the city was built along a shore. By following the water’s flow in the correct direction, I could possibly arrive at the stream that trickled through Naudiz. I didn’t risk looking for a map because I had to get out of the city while I could.
The alley where I was hiding led into a maze of side streets, roads, and smaller, darker alleys. I moved like a chess piece, willing method over emotion and heading toward the water. The city was designed in blocks, with the main streets numbered in binaries and the cross streets with ideographs I didn’t understand.
Eventually, I came to a district that had street names—Elm, Jasper, Peony, and Windsor. The cobblestone lanes and shuttered stone buildings,
