She bent down, retrieving her lost shoe and then straightened. "Are all the streets like this?" she called out.

"No," responded the carriage driver, "the richer parts have cobblestones, but you asked to be dropped at the gates of Draybourne. I can take you to an inn within the city, but it'll cost you more."

"Never mind," she replied, cognizant of her limited funds, "I'll find it myself."

"As you will," the driver responded, flicking his reins. The carriage rolled off, leaving Natalia staring at the intimidating city walls beyond. It was warm here, much warmer than back home. The air was thick with damp, most likely a result of the heavy rain that so recently had fallen. The gates of the city were close by, clearly visible beyond the drawbridge.

She struggled to walk through the mud. It clung to her legs, and she felt as though the very ground was resisting her efforts to move. Slowly, she made progress, hampered by the shoes in one hand and the hem of her dress in the other, desperate to avoid the same fate as her footwear.

Finally, Natalia felt the wood of the drawbridge beneath her feet and let her hem fall. She had been watching the ground carefully as she moved, but now, her footing secure, she glanced up to see a guard at the other end. He nodded at her in greeting and waved her through, a wry smile on his face as he spotted her muddy shoes in hand.

She moved through the archway to enter the city itself, the feel of cold stones beneath her feet a welcome change from the clinging mud. She made her way down the street, her eyes glancing briefly back to the gate, still nervous that she might be followed. The guards there had turned their attention to others, and she mentally scolded herself that she was being paranoid.

The streets of Draybourne were very similar to Karslev, lined by multi-storied buildings with thatched or tiled roofs. The majority here were built of brick or stone, but the occasional wooden construction could be seen, a rarity back home. The main difference was the width of the streets, for, in Karslev, they were much broader. The narrow streets of Draybourne, in contrast, felt constricting, causing her a sense of unease.

One of her fellow travellers on the last coach ride had recommended a place to stay called the Green Leaves. Looking for directions, she stopped briefly at a baker's, and they were most accommodating. Shortly thereafter, she found herself in front of a respectable-looking inn.

She entered to see a well-appointed dining area where several customers sat at tables, eating their mid-day meals and filling the room with their quiet conversations. As she stood, taking it all in, a young woman approached her, obviously one of the servers.

"May I help you, Miss?" she politely enquired.