Arrive at Imian

The next morning, Shairi and Maeran set out for Imian. Shairi set a hard pace, with Queiss riding in her back and Maeran struggling to keep up. By early afternoon, they could see the city’s walls on the horizon.

They past through the gates without any incident beyond the leers of the guards. Shairi was stunned by the bustling chaos beyond. She’d never seen so many people in one place before. The crowds heaved with men and women, all going about their business. Imian was mostly a human city but here and there she saw members of other races.

She looked at the crowds, a tiny segment of the city itself, and licked her dry lips. “One day,” she whispered to herself, “I’m going rule all this!”

“What was that?” Maeran asked beside her.

Shairi shook her head. “Nothing. So, what now?”

“Well,” Maeran said, “I was planning to go back to the bard’s college. You’re welcome to come too. Or you could meet me there later.”

Shairi considered. The city was full of opportunities. She could see the way the city sloped down to the open sea, which stretched out to the horizon broken only by white sails of ships coming to trade at Imian’s famous Docklands. That area of the city would be rife with business opportunities, from making quick coin by blowing sailors to trying to working for the merchant concerns to trying to break into Imian’s clannish thief guilds.

On the other hand, to the right of the Docklands she could see the graceful towers that marked the Magicians’ District. The sight made her pulse quicken. There, she would find the opportunity to gain magical power – or at least to have the wretched sealing removed from her cunt.

Of course, she could accept Maeran’s invitation. At the bards college, she could probably get a free meal and a bed. And the bards were famed for their wide information net and their adventurous spirit – there’d be plenty of opportunities there.