There weren’t many of the gifted in the lower merchants’ section, but Braben had decided long ago that he preferred the company of more ordinary people. He could have run a tavern two or three times the size in the upper merchants’ portion of the city and amassed a fortune, but in addition to a partial gift of helps, Braben possessed a love for simple things and plain-spoken people. Thankfully, that included me. In his tavern the fire was lit, the food was good, and his family surrounded their patrons with tales and laughter. Walking into his inn for most of his customers was like walking into a second home. For me it was like walking into my first. I put the thought aside, holding my hopeful return to Braben’s in the near future as a reward for exposing the plot against Laidir. The sun touched the tops of the peaks to the west as I trudged my way uphill back to the king’s tor. My shift had officially ended two hours ago. Most of my acquaintances within the city watch would be drifting toward mugs of ale and games of bones.
