Calla Westyn arrived at Millbridge eleven days after departing the capital, the journey taking longer than the direct distance suggested because the eastern road through the Meren valley was not available for traffic that came from the north, which meant her carriage had traveled the western route to the valley's southern entrance and approached Millbridge from below, adding three days to the journey and giving her three days longer than she had expected to read the briefing documents a second time and think about what she was walking into.
She was a woman in her middle years, compact and precise in the way that people were precise who had spent their careers in rooms where the difference between the word you chose and the word you did not choose determined outcomes that affected people who were not in the room.
