Marrick caught the expedition at the eastern gate with his satchel still flapping open against his hip.
Hajin held the gate open while mules shuffled past under yesterday's bundles and Marrick wheezed through half a frantic warning. Behind them, Jonas counted the morning watch two mornings after their arrival, leaving no gate unguarded once they marched off.
Marrick slapped a hand over the nearest pack's buckles before anyone could lead it outside, "My lord, wait, please!"
"You arrived two afternoons ago, three warlords died before sunset, and now you want to climb straight into an apex guardian's reach?"
"Yep," Hajin drawled, tugging the fastened pack hard enough to rock the scribe back on his heels, "and the municipal treasury stayed empty the whole time we waited, so patience clearly isn't fixing its manners."
Marrick scurried alongside him, trying to keep the town between the expedition and the mountain.
