---
"Because if he collapses before the meeting place, it will be even more embarrassing."
Bat Bat considered this and nodded gravely. "That is good logic."
Kess wished very briefly for death. Ahead of them, the camp lights came into view.
Not hidden.
That was not Mihos's style.
Displayed, but with curated restraint. A man of old blood did not need gaudy noise when wealth itself could perform the boast for him.
The camp sat on a controlled stretch of ground just off the western merchant road, where high-grade traffic passed close enough to be useful but not so close that dust and noise could insult noble temperaments. From the outside it looked like a luxury pavilion made for an heir who liked pretending he was merely traveling with taste rather than descending on a lesser city like a private court.
Silver-gray fabric reinforced with dark chaos-thread lines.
Tall anchored poles.
