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A smirk pulls on Grodd’s lips. He turns his back to me, and I use the opportunity to slip into the corridor and loop around to Unach. He must see the lack of mirth on her face, for his smirk fades. “You jest.”
She gives him a cold look without answering, then starts down the corridor again, and this time I stick to her heels like a pup. I glance over my shoulder once, to see Grodd watching me, his mouth pulled into a frown, his eyes dark.
Once we reach a quiet set of stairs, I ask, “Who was that?”
“A self-important Montra. Stay away from him.” She descends, leaving no room for follow-up.
We walk for a while, always descending, passing all sorts of doors and rooms and atriums I want to know about. But Unach is a woman on a mission, and she does not give a tour, except to announce the south dock when we arrive. It opens just as the gardens did, but the mouthis much wider, the sun dimmer, and there are no guardrails. One other troll occupies the dock, a shorter troll—still a head taller than myself—thickly built and girded about with both animal skins and leather straps covered in various knives. His skin is bright as a blade of spring grass in the morning sun.
“What in the dark pits is this?” he asks when I follow Unach in.
“Council orders,” she says blandly. She sounds tired and immediately goes to an open chest full of cords, ropes, and straps. “She’s hunting with us.” She points a thumb at the troll and introduces him as Troff.
Troff lets out a belly laugh that echoes through the dock, but when Unach doesn’t join in, it piddles out to nothing. “You’re serious.” He studies me, his gaze narrow, skeptical. I’ve always been tall, especially for a woman, but under that gaze I feel a slip of a thing. A child.
“Yep. Don’t ask me why.” Unach pulls out a clump of straps and holds them toward me, as though measuring me. “Unless you want to explain?”
Both trolls stare at me. I simply shake my head. I revealed my secret to the council for self-preservation alone. I did notwantanyone else to know. Indeed, the only time my horrid abilities have ever truly benefited me was in that council room.
Cold memories slide up my neck. I push them away.
Unach silently strides over and hands me a harness, then returns to the chest to grab another. Troff already wears his, and he studies me unabashedly while Unach suits up. I try to mimic her actions with the harness, but Troff’s steady gaze makes me self-conscious. Finally, Unach comes over and untangles the thing, explaining in as few words as possible how to put it on. She assists me again, once everything is in place, only by grabbing a strap around my waist and yanking it, pulling so tight that it digs into my stomach.
“Thank you,” I murmur, but she acts as though she didn’t hear me.
Troff begins hooking ropes up to various pulleys along the walls and ceiling.
My stomach drops. “We’re going over the side, aren’t we?”
Unach rolls her eyes. “Where else do you think monsters live?”
I swallow, wondering what sorts of creatures inhabit this canyon. What sorts of creatures could be more terrifying than a troll.
I think of Grodd and shudder.
Unach shoves my shoulder and leads me to the end of the dock. For an awful second, I think she’s going to push me over, but she doesn’t, only points to the parts of the city we can see. She indicates a tunnel to the left. “That leads to the mines. East dock.” It appears to be the lowest part of the city. “Master armory. Water harvesting. We passed the tribunal, school, and infirmary on our way here. We’re on the southeast edge of Cagmar. You’ll want to get familiar with it as we move around, so you don’t get lost. If you stay with me”—she says it like it will be a chore—“you’ll always work this dock. Otherwise you’ll move to the east or west. How well can you climb?”
I haven’t had ample opportunity. None of the townships on my map are near the mountains. “Well enough,” I manage.
Unach sighs. “Troff, spot us.”
The troll readies himself as Unach secures separate ropes to herself and to me. She opens a closet on the wall, revealing a score of weapons, mostly heavy blades. Unach is already armed; she keeps her weapons in her apartment. But she selects a few blades for me and hands them over. I strap them on, following the style she and Troff use. While I’m not trained, I’ve used a knife to defend myself before.
“So we scout the monsters, and kill them?” I ask.
“If they get too close,” Troff answers, though he still looks at me with a confused expression. At least it’s not one of malice. “Alarms outside the city scare off most. Sometimes we just scare them away. Hunt the smaller ones.”
“For food?” I’ve eaten worse.
“Depends on the monster,” Unach answers. “Some are poisonous.” She steps toward the edge.
Troff adds, “We use their hides, their oil, some stuff for medicine. The large ones are too deadly to harvest.”
Unach waves for me to join her. My heart rises into my throat when I look into the depths of the canyon. Supposedly a river flows down there, but all I can see is endless black. My voice borders on a whisper when I ask, “How many are large?”
“Most of them,” Unach snaps before jumping over the ledge.
A gasp catches in my throat, but Unach has only dropped down to handholds bolted into the stone wall of the city. After ensuring that Troff is holding my rope, I carefully lower myself down after her. My arms strain, but I find footholds that bear most of my weight.
