Tavin received the Reedglass packet with breakfast halfway to his mouth.
The courier had come over the eastern road in twenty-six days, changing mounts where mounts existed and walking where they did not. Her coat was stiff with dried mud below the knees. She put the packet on the receiving desk, gave Brin the route receipts and asked where she could wash before anyone asked another question.
Brin showed her.
Tavin lowered his spoon.
The outer sheet bore Eshra Daal’s mark and Orret’s name. It described an attack on a boundary worksite, a damaged bank and a defeated extraction officer being held locally. Iven had added three lines about sound timber, clean hose and the kind of fittings the Custodians could actually use.
The packet had left the morning after the attack.
Whatever happened next lay somewhere on the same long road. Tavin could not lean harder over the paper and make it arrive.
Brin returned with the courier’s empty water bottle.
