The Broken Song

Chapter Twenty

— Upper Town, Kiverryn, Iskendryn —

Something was wrong. It was nothing she could see or touch. There was nothing she could point to in order to validate her suspicions. It was intangible, a feeling of having been somewhere long enough to know the very heartbeat of the city. Lulu and Idelle had visited Kiverryn often in their travels. It was a place to rest, a place to have fun, a place where they had learned and grown from their very first journey. In some ways, it was a second home. She knew it like the back of her hand, knew the sounds, the smells, the sights, the very way the people of Kiverryn lived. She knew everything about this city.

And something was very, very wrong.

Lulu stood apart from the crowd, concealed by the angle of the market stalls and the colorful cloths hanging throughout the open-air space. The Painted Market was the busiest in Kiverryn. Largely food, one could tour all of Andavaran's cuisine just by sampling the market. On the outer rim were more practical goods, clothes, groceries, books, furniture. But, the heart of the market was food, and it was one of Lulu's favorite places. It was so loud one could barely hear themselves think at times, the chatter and various musical entertainments filling the air as prominently as the wondrous smells themselves.

She had sampled every stall at least twice, and those she favored, she visited every time they were in the city. The people of Kiverryn gathered here, one of the few places where rich and poor would dare to mix. She knew most of the important figures personally, which was why she found it exceedingly odd that Master Gibbs, an elderly gentleman with a persistent, violent cough was shuffling around his stand with a focused expression, but he wasn't wheezing, he wasn't pausing to breathe between orders, and there was absolutely no cough whatsoever.

Her eyes trailed from his bread stand to her favorite pastries. Mistress Lucan, a young woman, only a few years older than her, with her young son at her side, who was assisting with preparations on a few last-minute items. Outwardly, there seemed nothing wrong, but there were no smiles on their faces like normal and there was something about the way they were moving. No, it wasn't their movement, was it? They were doing repetitive tasks, nothing more. So, what was it about this scene that struck her the wrong way? Her brow furrowed, and she took another bite of her spicy bread.

"Can you sense any magic?" Lulu asked as Idelle returned to her side with a new jar of a special spice blend she loved. Idelle looked at her quizzically. She pointed to the two vendors. "On them. Is something wrong with them? I can't put my finger on it, but something...just feels wrong..."

"I can't sense anything, no, but if this sorceress is as powerful as Ori claims, then she might be able to hide her spells."

Lulu hummed lowly in her throat. "Something's just not...right. Damnit. Let's walk. Maybe inspiration will strike."

Linking arms with her friend, the two women made their way through the market as they had done so dozens of times before. They passed the soup, the sandwiches, the pastries, the chocolate, and even the oddly placed candle store, which was directly next to the cheese. The conflicting smells were certainly...interesting and made her want to buy neither product.

"So, what'd you get from the locals, then?" Lulu asked as Idelle stole a sizeable piece of her bread for herself.

Idelle kept her voice low as they walked. Though Lulu had a rather substantial bounty on her head from kidnapping Lady Teressa, this was, by no means, their first foray into dangerous territory. They had bounties from Kiverryn before, but also from Avarra, Pelyos, Esktier, The Black Gathering, and beyond to many other worlds. The best place to hide was in plain sight they knew, but they had to keep their wits about themselves, which meant drawing no unwanted attention.