DAY FOUR—SIX DAYS BEFORE EXECUTION

24 HOURS BEFORE THE INVASION

After paying way too much to get my gear repaired at one of the vendors Ezzie had promised was cheap, I wandered through the streets of Rivercrest, trying to bait someone into giving me a quest.

It was not going well.

Ezzie said.

I said.

I said, because it was starting to feel like I was losing the argument.

I said.

Ezzie said.

I said.

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Ezzie said.

I said, thinking of my shield, and the ability I still had to learn.

Ezzie said.

I said, as I double backed into the marketplace. There wasn’t much on offer at the early hour, and both sides of the street were lined with empty stalls.

Many of the wooden ones were in the process of being stripped for materials, and it seemed a safe assumption that the villagers were repurposing the wood with defenses in mind. I said.

Ezzie said.

I said, though Ezzie’s hopes had rang false. She was obviously trying to keep me from panicking, but she was a terrible liar; despite her android brain/circuit thing, she didn’t have much of a handle on vocal intonation, at least where interacting with humans was concerned.

I had zero doubt that Ezzie thought the dragons were going to roll right over the town, myself included, which was more than a little worrisome. But I wasn’t sure what exactly I could do about it, other than to try and get as strong as possible.

I rounded a corner and found a very displeased Trenton—the vendor who’d repaired my stuff earlier—standing upon the bare foundation where his stall used to stand.

He wore a pair of dark brown trousers beneath a blue silk shirt that had seen far, far better days, its underarms dark with sweat despite the chill of the early morning.

“Hey, I’m looking to buy some repair stones,” I said. “You got any for me?’

Trenton spat into the dirt. “Fifteen coppers a piece.”

Ezzie said.

“That’s pretty pricey,” I said. “How about six per?”

Trenton shook his head. “Sorry, they’ve been selling at fifteen. If you don’t wanna buy em, someone else will.”

Ezzie said.

“Alright, I’ll take five.” I handed over the coppers, which only left me with a little over twenty copper coins to my name.

“Pleasure,” Trenton said, as if it hadn’t been.

Ezzie said.

Ezzie said.

Ezzie said.