ToP Chapter 34

Chapter Thirty-Four: Sinister Suspicions

Meliu luxuriates in the opulent comforts of Bdein’s Raspberry District, sharing a lavish room with Ivin Choerkin, who is recovering from injuries. Despite the cozy surroundings, Meliu grapples with guilt over possibly causing the deaths of a shopkeeper and his daughter through an accidental poisoning, a secret she conceals from Ivin. The city’s streets reveal a growing pestilence, with bodies marked by boils and swollen tongues carted away, fueling Meliu’s fears of a deadly disease like the Rot. Seeking escape, she secures passage to Gomjon on the Archer’s Eye, a boat owned by Loduma Ar-Bdein, a man linked to Bdein’s ousted ruling family, whom Ivin recalls from childhood as part of a failed rebellion. Loduma warns of an "ill wind" in Bdein, urging haste, and offers Meliu and Ivin his cabin for the journey, which is crewed by volatile Thonian sailors. As they settle in, sipping potent Thonian whiskey, Meliu’s unease grows, torn between the boat’s promise of escape and the risks posed by the crew and her own dark secrets. Ivin, sensing her distress, offers quiet support, but Meliu remains haunted by her past actions and the looming threat of discovery, navigating a city and a river fraught with danger, deception, and the specter of disease.

• ToP Chapter 33 — One World Twice
• ToP Chapter 35 — Shower of Stars
• Trail of Pyres - Main Chapter Listing