ToP Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Bruised Conversation

Ivin endures daily beatings from Hidreng priests in his cell at the Tower of Markuun, his body bruised but unshackled after ten days, left with minimal food and a chamber pot. Contemplating a trapdoor in the ceiling as a faint hope for escape, he futilely attempts to reach it with a stool and bucket, only to shatter the stool in frustration. To his shock, Meliu appears, having infiltrated the tower disguised as a merchant’s daughter, her lilac scent a stark contrast to his grim reality. She heals his aches with Light and Life prayers, easing his pain but warning of Light’s deceptive strength. Revealing her plan to fake his escape, Meliu boosts him to the tower’s roof, where they find a trapdoor and rope. She cuts the rope, tying one end below to simulate his descent, intending to hide him until the search subsides, then walk out the main gate. As they wait for the priests’ evening visit, Meliu recounts the Inster battle: Sedut’s intervention, the Silone’s eastward flight, and a Hidreng pursuit halted by Solineus and two Edan, one killing a priest from a half-horizon with a peacock-fletched arrow, securing Edan protection. Solineus now journeys to the Touched to fulfill their bargain, leaving Ivin stunned by the Edan’s precision and Meliu’s audacity. Sharing clothes and hair dye, Meliu prepares to disguise him, while Ivin, still processing his rescue, offers to share sparse knowledge of the Touched, their conversation blending relief with the looming challenge of evading Bdein’s guards in a city hostile to their kind.

• ToP Chapter 27 — Scented Waters
• ToP Chapter 29 — Hissing Tundra
• Trail of Pyres - Main Chapter Listing