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shadow on the horizon with thin clouds rising above it. As she neared, she recognized a trail of smoke off in the distance. A town—had to be.
    She was miles away from home and had never traveled this far across the grasslands before. At least the town in the distance gave her a tangible direction. A small smile spread across her face. Maybe she could find an inn and stay the night. The thought of sleeping on the cold ground again was not very appealing. It had been frosty the last few nights, and she had been forced to cover herself with her saddle blanket. Ugh, the smell.... Now she stank like horse sweat. Even worse, she was almost out of rations. She would need to refill her bags at a few trade stores.
    She continued forward, pushing her horse at a slow canter. The afternoon stretched on. Toward sunset, the town became fully visible on the grassy plain, a circular colony with tall wooden walls and wide, flat rooftops.
    She reached the front gates a few minutes later. Her horse slowed to a walk, and she approached the entrance curiously, uncertain of what she might find. Tassels and bells hung from the wooden archway, clinking dully in the light breeze, small emblems of the Goddess. She had seen similar charms on barn doors and storefronts. One guard stood on either side of the tall gates, dressed in heavy steel armor. They nodded as she passed.
    Sora stopped when she was just inside the gate, glancing back at the guards, who had already returned to scanning the fields: two grimy, pimply young men. From their expensive-looking armor, she guessed they were King's soldiers, probably recruited from local farms. She decided to try her luck— what could it hurt?
    "Excuse me,” she asked politely, “I was wondering if you’ve seen a man pass through here recently. Maybe you'd remember? He's about so tall, black hair, green eyes, wears dark colors....?"
    The guards turned to look at her in surprise. One of them, a sunburned redhead with giant splotches of freckles across his nose, scratched under his helmet. “You talkin' about the Ravens?” he asked. “Aye, we caught a few. I think there was one that kind of matched that description....”
    Sora's eyes widened, curious. “Ravens?” she echoed. “Like... birds?”
    The other guard choked out a derisive laugh. He had straw-colored hair and a stern, serious face, too gaunt to be handsome. “No, miss. As in outlaws and thieves. The Ravens are a notorious group of bandits in these parts.”
    “More like pigeons, really!” The freckled one added with a wide grin. “Or crows. They hop around in people's trash and take whatever's shiny.”
    “Quiet, Don,” the blond guard said coldly. “The Ravens are lawless, bloodthirsty criminals, no doubt about it.”
    Sora mulled the words over in her head. Lawless, bloodthirsty criminals. Her companions weren't the most respectable types... but the thought of them hiding out in the tall grass and then attacking caravans made her want to laugh. And they certainly wouldn't have been caught by a pair of acne-covered farm boys....
    “We arrested the pair just last night,” the blond guard continued. “Fools tried to steal from the town treasury. Now they're locked up in the cells. Just who is this person you're looking for, anyway?”
    Their eyes narrowed suspiciously, but Sora didn't answer immediately. Instead, she looked down the well-worn streets, at the hard-packed dirt and empty vendor stalls. She experienced a moment of horror as a brood of hens hobbled into view, their beaks black and splotchy, feathers missing from their wings. No one else was in sight. The town was eerily quiet.
    Then she frowned. “Oh, an old friend, I don't know if he's a bandit, though. He's been... eh... missing for quite a few months. Think I could take a look?”
    The freckled soldier raised an eyebrow. “A look at the prisoners?”
    “Yes,” she nodded. From their wary expressions, she realized how strange she must sound; they must not get a