The third measure gathered all six of them in the courtyard.
A dozen Ossarans waited there as well, most of them unfamiliar. They stood in a loose circle, speaking quietly among themselves, cords and tokens visible at wrists, belts, and shoulders. The arrangement felt formal, though no one had explained what was being heard or what part the outsiders were expected to play in it.
Calder sat beyond the circle.
He watched rather than presided, which Isole took to mean the measure belonged to someone else today.
The introductions took time. Isole's grasp of the language had improved, but too many names, roles, and relationships arrived at once for her to hold them all cleanly. Vane stopped trying to follow every word and watched the room instead.
One detail kept drawing his eye.
An older woman stood near the edge of the gathering with a single knot set apart from the rest of her cord.
The same pattern Sennet wore.
