It seemed to take them half the day to get across the city, and they had to wade most of the way. The wind had picked up, and despite the sun, the air was cold. A plume of ash drifted up from the volcano in the harbor. They went past the walls to a place where a new inlet had formed, out beyond the East Market, or what had once been the East Market. People were getting into small boats and tenders and going out to the fleet of ships just at the edge of the deep water, all their movements chaotic. Darna took the lead and cut a swath through the crowd to a likely-looking small boat.
“We’re looking for Lerat,” Myril told one of the sailors there.
“You and everyone else. He’s over in the middle of that crowd.” The sailor pointed to a mass of shouting people grouped around a low rise in the l
