Beta Town North District Harbor.
On a narrow old street outside the Forest Goods Market.
This was one of the oldest streets in the North District. The bluestone paving had long since darkened, riddled with pits of every size, while slick green moss crept through the cracks.
On the inner side of the street stood storefronts of varying heights. Dampness had stripped much of the plaster from their walls, exposing pale gray mortar beneath. On the outer side ran a row of low railings, beyond which lay a flood-control embankment. Beneath it, the waters of the Silent River flowed soundlessly past, like a sheet of translucent green glass.
It was early morning, and few pedestrians walked the old street. Because it lay so close to the water, a light mist still hung over it, making it seem all the more empty and desolate. Aside from patrolling wizards, every passerby hurried along.
Yet amid that desolation and haste, a young married woman slowly pushed a baby carriage down the street.
She was around twenty, with glossy black hair at her temples and fair skin. She wore wooden clogs and a loose black kimono with long trailing sleeves—a rare sight, since one seldom saw a witch dressed so elegantly walking through such a shabby old street in the North District.
The carriage's little wheels bumped over the potholes with a clatter, mingling with the creak of the witch's wooden clogs and carrying far through the morning mist.
Around the corner, a drunk nursing a hangover staggered out of the fog, clutching a bottle of Siren Rum.
He hummed a chaotic tune no one could understand, occasionally tipping back his head to gulp down mouthfuls of the fiery liquor. Then he stared with bleary eyes, reddened by revelry and drink, at the world