The Little One and the Leviathan

Abstract

The Blue Street owed its name to the sapphire fumes of opium and calm-fruit coming out of the pipes of glass hookahs. The buildings were colourful and winding, and everybody seemed to be high or drunk. Or both. Violence was almost unheard of, as the guilds of thieves kept a close eye on everything, well aware that blood would only draw in the city guard, giving the trade council the reason to jump up on their feet and begin preaching about the decay of civil virtue, of which Silktown, of course, had none. “Does Oak know we’re leaving?”“Only Crow and Blackbird know,” he smirked. “So, it’s only a matter of time when all the crew, together every drunkard in the docks, finds out.” “Don’t you trust our brothers?”“Crow I trust, I trust Blackbird too, but I trust his love for mead more.”“Who taught you to be so vicious?”“Why, you, of course.”“You couldn’t have learned anything nice from me, could you?” Needle looked at her with a hint of gentleness and curiosity. “Only the bad stuff?”“Like what?”