Secrets of the Swords, Book 1

Chapter 30: The Sights of Sang Bur

"Do you have family in Sang Bur?" Suthe asked Nem Koel as they disembarked the train and wove through the crowds navigating the station in Andilir's capital. Saer Lon, after much persuasion, had roused from her nap, and was now leading the trio to wherever it was that they were supposed to go next.

"Well, one of my aunts is a nun in the Eilan Monastery," Nem Koel began, swiftly sidestepping a man carrying a bag so large that it hindered his view of anyone in front of him. "Most of my family is in the trade business and lives on the border of Montmyth, but she isn't fond of so much travel, so she moved up here."

"A monastery?" Suthe echoed, only half-paying attention as she glanced over her shoulder for at least the fourth time. She was still uneasy after running into a member of the Montesian Board of Advisors, and felt as though she could still feel Anede's eyes watching her from somewhere in the crowd. But her cautionary survey resulted in nothing but distracting her from her immediate surroundings, and Nem Koel had to grab her by the arm and pull her out of the way as a stranger carrying a raven in a large bird cage barreled past, right where Suthe had been standing moments before.

"Yeah, it's in the far northwest of the city," Nem Koel continued breezily. "They do a lot of training there, so they don't go out much."

Pushing down the unease in her stomach, Suthe bit her lip and forced herself to pay more attention to the conversation. "Training?"

Nem Koel broke into a grin. "Yeah, for fighting! She actually inspired me to join the military, because her routines looked so cool I wanted to learn too—just not as a nun. Their faction follows the lessons of the three-winged Green Serpent."

"Three wings? How does that work?" Suthe frowned, trying to imagine the placement of the odd wing.

Nem Koel held up her hand and flapped it back and forth. "The third wing's in the middle of the other two, and alternates sides, of course. I guess you aren't familiar with the Mil-chi religion, and the realm of beasts?"

"The only serpents I know of are the packs of giant sand serpents that live in the desert," Suthe said, shaking her head. "Supposedly they're distantly related to the dragons that roamed during the Pretian Kingdom. They're quite destructive."

They stepped outside of the train station, and Suthe blinked to adjust to the brighter light. Immediately, she noticed how different the city was from Fai—rather than old, chipped buildings with faded paint, the houses and shops in Sang Bur were painted in a clean white, with tiles in glossy blues and greens. The buildings here were never higher than two stories, unlike the towering structures in the mountain city, and as a result the capital had an overall open, breezy feel to it. Window shutters in colors matching their rooftop tiles were hooked open to let in sunlight, and unlit square lanterns framed in colorful fabric swayed at intervals along the stone-paved streets.

Saer Lon stopped for a moment, looking back at the two girls behind her before muttering something in Shun Dwo to Nem Koel. The trainee turned to Suthe and translated.

"She says we should drop off our bags at the inn and then plan for our meeting with this Irikri person," the girl explained. "General Yenh acted as Saer Lon's client back in Fai, but since she couldn't come on this trip, you're going to have to act as the customer now instead."

Suthe's eyes widened, all thoughts of warrior nuns wiped from her mind at the announcement. "I thought you were going to do that!" she exclaimed.

Nem Koel snorted. "I don't think they'd believe that I'm looking for some fancy jewelery," she said, holding out her arms to show off her shabby tunic and baggy trousers. "I look like someone they'd want to hide the jewelry from."