"Today marks the tenth day since Daknis left Coldwater Port."
Shade sighed as he read the newspaper on Friday morning. He basked in the early Sun, ate breakfast and petted the cat, while imagining as best he could the efforts Daknis, concealing his identity, had made to reach Tobesk safely.
After breakfast, the construction crew arrived on time to continue the renovations. Shade locked the second-floor door and had originally planned to sort through his books in the basement, but unexpectedly, a visitor came calling.
It was not a client, but Shade's friend, Captain Rades. Standing in Saint Derain Square, he looked up in surprise at the workers on the roof of No. 6 and hesitated to enter.
Only after he saw Shade through the 1st Floor window, carrying a stack of books and arranging the bookcase, did he knock on the glass, asking whether this was a good time to visit.
Captain Rades had come for two reasons. First, he wanted to tell Shade that on the first weekend of next month, he would be taking a steam train to the front lines. The notice had already arrived, and recently the captain had been packing his luggage and saying farewell to his friends in Tobesk.
He would be heading once again to the southern front, Wind Arising Path in the Northern Foothills of Sikar Mountain, where he would serve as a brave captain of the Royal Army, guarding the border and proving his loyalty and courage.
The captain's second reason for visiting concerned the item Shade had failed to find during his first visit to the captain's rented apartment. It had now been found.
The two spoke in the 1st Floor living room. Since the walls had just been repainted, the furniture was still stored in the basement. Shade