Both trolls stare at me. I simply shake my head. I revealed my secret to the council for self-preservation alone. I did not want anyone else to know. Indeed, the only time my horrid abilities have ever truly benefited me was in that council room.
Cold memories slide up my neck. I push them away.
Unach silently strides over and hands me a harness, then returns to the chest to grab another. Troff already wears his, and he studies me unabashedly while Unach suits up. I try to mimic her actions with the harness, but Troff’s steady gaze makes me self-conscious. Finally, Unach comes over and untangles the thing, explaining in as few words as possible how to put it on. She assists me again, once everything is in place, only by grabbing a strap around my waist and yanking it, pulling so tight that it digs into my stomach.
“Thank you,” I murmur, but she acts as though she didn’t hear me.
Troff begins hooking ropes up to various pulleys along the walls and ceiling.
My stomach drops. “We’re going over the side, aren’t we?”
Unach rolls her eyes. “Where else do you think monsters live?”
I swallow, wondering what sorts of creatures inhabit this canyon. What sorts of creatures could be more terrifying than a troll.
I think of Grodd and shudder.
Unach shoves my shoulder and leads me to the end of the dock. For an awful second, I think she’s going to push me over, but she doesn’t, only points to the parts of the city we can see. She indicates a tunnel to the left. “That leads to the mines. East dock.” It appears to be the lowest part of the city. “Master armory. Water harvesting. We passed the tribunal, school, and infirmary on our way here. We’re on the southeast edge of Cagmar. You’ll want to get familiar with it as we move around, so you don’t get lost. If you stay with me”—she says it like it will be a chore—“you’ll always work this dock. Otherwise you’ll move to the east or west. How well can you climb?”
I haven’t had ample opportunity. None of the townships on my map are near the mountains. “Well enough,” I manage.
Unach sighs. “Troff, spot us.”
The troll readies himself as Unach secures separate ropes to herself and to me. She opens a closet on the wall, revealing a score of weapons, mostly heavy blades. Unach is already armed; she keeps her weapons in her apartment. But she selects a few blades for me and hands them over. I strap them on, following the style she and Troff use. While I’m not trained, I’ve used a knife to defend myself before.
“So we scout the monsters, and kill them?” I ask.
“If they get too close,” Troff answers, though he still looks at me with a confused expression. At least it’s not one of malice. “Alarms outside the city scare off most. Sometimes we just scare them away. Hunt the smaller ones.”
“For food?” I’ve eaten worse.
“Depends on the monster,” Unach answers. “Some are poisonous.” She steps toward the edge.
Troff adds, “We use their hides, their oil, some stuff for medicine. The large ones are too deadly to harvest.”
Unach waves for me to join her. My heart rises into my throat when I look into the depths of the canyon. Supposedly a river flows down there, but all I can see is endless black. My voice borders on a whisper when I ask, “How many are large?”
“Most of them,” Unach snaps before jumping over the ledge.
A gasp catches in my throat, but Unach has only dropped down to handholds bolted into the stone wall of the city. After ensuring that Troff is holding my rope, I carefully lower myself down after her. My arms strain, but I find footholds that bear most of my weight.
A cold wind rushes up, wet and smelling of mildew, as if the canyon itself breathes. Unach doesn’t mind, so I try not to. I’m slow to follow her. I’m suitably strong, but my attention flits everywhere at once, scanning the sides of the city, the canyon walls, the gorge’s depths. Looking for movement, for a shift in color, for anything. We climb, sidestep, climb, stopping occasionally at small, flat viewing stations carved out of rock. We pass by windows; Unach gives me little time to peer in, though the enormous drop below me mutes my curiosity.
My hand slips once, and I nearly let go. When I grasp the handhold again, I stay there for a long time, hugging the city like a long-lost lover.
“If you slip, you’ll fall, but Troff will pull you back in.” She gives me a narrow look before moving on. But in her eyes, I can almost read, Though it would be better if he didn’t.
Chapter 3