Linley and the others arrived in Decker County City half a month early.
The city was small, with three streets running east to west and two alleys running north to south. From the hillside north of the city, one could see clear across it. Linley chose a courtyard less than a street away from the rendezvous point. It was small, with three adobe rooms and a weed-choked inner yard, but its location was good-over the courtyard wall and through two narrow alleys lay the back door of that courtyard.
Sessler was not picky about lodgings. He had spent more time in the Undead Realm than in the human world and was content with somewhere that sheltered him from wind and rain. He emptied the Bone Staff, bone powder, and Rune Stones he had brought out of his Space Ring, covering half the courtyard with them. Bebe perched on the wall to keep watch, while Haeru dozed in the gateway.
For the first three days, Linley did nothing. He slept during the day and climbed onto the roof across from the courtyard at night, lying there watching the street. He watched who came and went, when the guards changed shifts, and when the nearby dogs barked and fell silent. He committed it all to memory as though memorizing a magic incantation, not daring to miss a single word.
On the fourth night, he finally saw the party.
Six people, five horses, and one carriage. The carriage was sheathed in iron, its axles weighed down heavily, and its wheel ruts were more than twice as deep as those of an ordinary carriage. At the head walked a man with short, silvery-white hair. He was not tall, but his steps were steady, each stride exactly the same length. He wore no standard Church