WINDED

The Mapmaker’s Guild.  That was where they’d sent her. “If anyone in this city knows where your home is, girl, it’s them. You’ll find their headquarters up on the Hillock, near the Duke’s castle. It’s on the western side, so you’ll have to go around the castle to get there.”  Fenn was nearing the boundary now between the Hillock and the rest of the city, and she spied another short stone stair much like the one she’d been thrown off that morning. Through the moderate foot traffic she caught a glimpse of red—a pair of guardsmen standing at the bottom...

“Wenn! You’re grimy, dear! And what are all those cuts on your face?” Fenn looked left and right, but she wasn’t mistaken. Jinny was talking to her. She raised a dirty hand to the raw skin of her face and neck. “I—my name is Fenn, not Wenn.”  Fenn peered over her shoulder, seeking support from Old Moll over the shoulders of the men and woman crowded in behind her, but the old woman was gone.  “Fenn, is it now? But last time you told us it was Wenn.” Fenn spun. “Last time? We’ve met?” “Of course, dear. Don’t you remember?”...

Fenn stumbled out the door and back into the morning sunlight. She couldn’t believe the priest, who’d defended her only moments earlier, had turned on her so quickly.  What happened? Why is he so sensitive to questions about the Beast?  His story didn’t entirely make sense, either.  How did he know how big the Beast was if he was sleeping when it came? And she still wasn’t entirely convinced that any living creature would want to eat a key. Blessed or not. She had never heard of this Dario individual. Perhaps the priest had made him up.  I ought to...

“What goes on here?” It was one of the guards, calling out from the doorway. Fenn angled her neck to look, but the priest’s hand was still clamped around her shoulder. She squirmed sideways and managed to slip free.  The red-trimmed guardsmen had stern expressions on their faces and their hands resting on the hilts of their swords. Swords which, so far, at least, remained in their sheaths.  “We’ve had complaints about that one.” “She’s been disturbing the peace.”  Fenn took a step forward. “Disturbing the—? I haven’t done anything! I was only looking for—” The guard raised his voice...

The sun rose and the city rose with it. Old maids threw open shutters, emptied the contents of their chamber pots into the street and shook out their sheets. Hawkers emerged to cry their wares. Shopkeeps unlocked their doors and readied for business. Cart-horses drew jouncing wooden wagons across the sodden earth, and the narrow thoroughfares began to fill with people. Smoke rose from the chimney of the baker, who’d already been at work for hours, and the blacksmith fired up his forge. The sky was clear, except for a few stray wisps of cloud. It promised to be a...