[Legolas]

Ydalon

"You know how it goes, highness," the youngster said, a little ways down the road. "You rent a big room, like, so we can talk in peace and the men arrange free lodging someplace else and the women get their own place an' kick you out. Now I'm just little but you're not making it easy for me."

He stripped the leaves off a bough in passing.

"I told you 'bout the boroughmaster before, no? Well, turns out that he wasn't in town and neither were most of his trusted guardsmen. I don't know if it's flight or murder or he's been reassigned but I do know the new power's with those Lords of Vision. You've all seen them spreading faith by that bridge, plain highway robbery with a bit o' divine justification, and those what don't buy it can get a pike in the leg or some arrow to the chest.
"I'm not saying there's no good lords, like, but here in the Outlands they get scarce."

He hopped along for a few steps, sling swaying dangerously as he peeled a pebble or a small chunk of wood from his old right boot.

"Now I'm sure you heard all those prophecies and all so I won't go boring people with those, but you see why there's no place for thugs and murderers and power-hungry fools what go around warping the teachings of the Master, not now and not when he returns neither."

He smiled, showing his teeth.

"If you thought Talryr was a mess now, it's real tidy an' liveable compared to what'd happen if those people stayed in power. That star storm was a little warning, left plenty of buildings standing. Those fires, that's people seeing they need to get rid of the rot, yes?"


"Now with a bit of luck, if we don't go too fast, they'll hear of it down in Veridan before we get there and they won't need another demonstration."