The Last Light over the Harbour

Avar's yellow disc had already vanished beyond the coastline when Navren found himself caught between two merchants arguing over the same cargo. Lanternlight fell across damp timber and Karven's register. The men were not disputing the quantity, but when the price had been agreed: before or after the final delivery. Vayuk, his long hair tied at the nape, had come to deliver a sail with freshly repaired seams. He steadied the crate a porter was trying to carry between them. “You can keep arguing once you've cleared the passage,” he said. Tall, light-eyed Tarvi looked at the sky beyond the roofs, seeking neither favourable nor ill omens. She merely needed to know whether the wind might interfere with the next morning's work. No price was settled. Both merchants kept their arguments, and their cargo. The crate crossed the pier, which the unloaders considered more useful progress than a victory in words.