She wore her usual legion-style pajamas, and with nothing else to do but wait, she began cleaning up. She had just recreated her scroll pyramid when someone knocked on the door. Pulling it open, she found three men, all strangers. The foremost, and heaviest, was the most refined. He alone was freshly shaved, his large cheeks still a bit pink from razor burn, lending him that repugnant pig’s skin appearance. Nearly bald, he grew what hair he did have and worked it into a swirl like a wig. “Good morning, Your Highness!” he said with enthusiasm and enough volume to make her wince. He was also a hand-talker, as was evident from the way he added a ten-digit flourish to the standard greeting. “My name is Helino. I am Master Architect to the emperor.” He turned with a broad sweep of his arm that nearly slapped the man behind him. “And this is our Imperial Engineer, Orvis, and our Master Builder, Ekles. We are here at the emperor’s request to take you on a tour of potential sites for your new . . . ah . . . building.”

She smiled and nodded.

“We have a cart waiting,” Helino pointed out as sweat glistened on his upper lip, his whole face a bit shiny, as if he were a fish freshly plucked from a river.

“A cart?” she said. “I’d prefer to travel by horse.”

“I understand, Your Highness, but . . . well, Orvis here gets sick on horseback, and we do have a good many tools we are bringing with us in order to survey the areas.”

“That’s fine. I can still ride along with you.”

“But we also hope to discuss some details and go over maps and such, and that will be impossible with you mounted. But don’t worry. The cart will be quite comfortable.”

Helino presented her with a massive smile. The other two remained silent, watching her. Orvis the Engineer was a thin man with a long face. He, too, suffered hair loss but accepted his fate by shaving his head. Ekles the Master Builder was a stocky, muscular fellow with a thick neck and a boxer’s chin. Being younger by at least a decade, he sported a short crop that bristled. All of them were dressed in tunics, the sort popular among wealthy tradesmen, but these were nondescript and completely unadorned with any personalization. They wore no necklaces, bracelets, or rings—although Helino showed a white band where a ring had been, and Ekles had a bare patch where a wide wrist guard had been routinely worn. Helino’s tunic was pristine white, while the other two shared shirts that were dull blue. One thing Farilane was certain of: The clothes were new.