Unkarra Gate (1st draft)

Chapter 21.1

Ezara had left the house early in the morning, before anyone was awake to ask her any questions. It was raining heavily, which covered up most of the noise of her leaving the house as she crept out. A hooded poncho kept the rain off of her as she stepped outside; it also helped cover her up and hid her knives. She wore her mother's scarf underneath for extra warmth, wrapped in a Geberran style that warmed much more than just the neck, and could hide half her face. Her leather boots splashed through the puddles and mud on the way into town the whole way there. Only in town were the streets paved with bricks, but this was in fact the first city Ezara had ever seen with such paving. It no longer held much fascination for her, but welcome footing nonetheless.

There were always people walking the streets in Marpport. She wandered with them, watching everyone, from deliveries of food to boatmen stumbling back to the docks after spending the night who-knew-where. It was still early, and she stepped inside a restaurant where she took a quiet seat and ate a bit of breakfast. Then it was back to wandering, and watching.

While watching from the market near the docks (which had a good view of them all, being a bit higher up), the group of men stood out to her obviously. Firstly, the man was big, and dressed very ostentatiously. Second, he was followed by four other big men, and they all dressed alike, in green and black leather garments. They all wore hoods in the rain, and seemed undeterred in their business. As she watched, they went to many different spots on the docks, speaking with many people. It looked like he was paying out money to people, even from afar.

When the group left the docks, she followed discretely, watching what they were doing. For hours she followed them, and spent sometimes waiting outside buildings she didn't really know the purposes of. The men followed him everywhere, and they went to a lot of places. When they made it to the market, they stopped and spoke with her market friend who had sold her the knives. He ran a kiosk, but a nice one that had a covered area to look at his weapons stock at leisure.

She entered his little kiosk a minute after she left, and as she was still hooded, her friend didn't recognize her.

"Hello, looking for a finely crafted blade?" he asked; it was his usual greeting, the one he had used on their first meeting, when she had been.

Ezara dropped the hood, and looked up at her friend, pulling down her scarf at the same time. "Hi Artino, I've got some questions."

"Oh, hi Ezara. It's suddenly a busy day. I was considering packing up and heading home. What can I help you with? I heard that something happened out at the dock market yesterday. Was that your Uncle? Rumour was that it was him."

Ezara nodded. "Yeah, Bo was attacked. But I had questions about those guys that just visited. Who were they, and what did they want, mostly." She leaned on the counter with both elbows

Artinos face screwed itself up in all ways possible, the way it would when he needed to think hard. "Why are you interested in them? What, was it those guys that attacked Bogrel? But I heard it was just a failed mugging. But, did he really do what they say?"

"Well, who were those guys?" she asked, her tone reflecting her lack of patience.

"He's a rich merchant from Pavancia. He's spreading word about an expedition, and he's looking for a lot of men. He's offering good pay, but looking for a long commitment." Artino held up his hands and shrugged in response to the venomous look he was getting from Ezara. "Hey, that's all that he said, I turned him away. I'd rather not go get killed in some expedition and don't know anyone who would either."

"OK, thanks," Ezara said as she raised her scarf and lowered her hood, but Artino stopped her.

"Hey, you can't just go yet, You have to tell me what I want to know, that's how these kind of things work here in Unkarra, you know. The rivers ship both ways. What does that guy have to do with you?" He asked.