The trading station was already busy before the sun came up.
Lanterns burned along the wagon rows while merchants directed workers to load the last of their cargo. Guards moved between the vehicles, checking straps, testing weapon draws, speaking in the low tones people use when they are being practical rather than reassuring.
The predawn routine of any large caravan departure was always busy, but this morning carried something beneath the activity that was harder to name. Do not panic. Not open fear. Something quieter—a particular care being applied to ordinary tasks that suggested everyone understood the road ahead was not ordinary.
Lena Voss moved through the preparations with the efficiency of someone who had organized departures like this across fifteen years of western trade routes.
