The Travels of Gillus Rudiger (working title only)
an excerpt

From Chapter 1

The Outlanders have very particular customs regarding travel. In their eyes, it is bad manners to let a person go on a journey and not give them a gift. It is a well intentioned sentiment, to be certain, but it does provide some awkwardness when the traveler in question has already sent all their possessions ahead and is trying to travel light. My first stop of the day was to the Steward’s office to make arrangements for leaving the key to my room. My good friend Braiden couldn’t be found, but Livia was there to process my papers. Ol' Liv married a life-long Forest man, but he refused to become an Outlander and she refused to leave sight of the mountains. They came to an agreement and settled in Norgate some twenty years ago. When he died, she stayed and got the job at Keywood.

She had seen me coming and I had barely opened the door when she greeted me with a bear hug and big tears. “I am missing you already,” she sobbed into my tunic. For my part, I gasped, trying to catch the breath that was being constricted out of me. I tried to say something that sounded like appreciation but what came out was a noise that could have been made by an old wheezing cat.

She released me and scuttled across the room to present me with a small paper sack, tied with bright yellow ribbon. This was totally unexpected, for Livia had never been very fond of me, going so far once as to whack me with a ledger. I accepted the gift and tried not to look surprised. Livia proceeded to wipe her eyes, blow her nose and then processed my paperwork as though the past few minutes never happened. I left the office feeling confused and uncertain. If only I had taken it as an omen for what lay ahead.