Seeker (The Source Chronicles Book 1) by MJ Blehart

knife drawn, and looked apprehensive.  Andim was the last to come out, leaving the torch inside.  Some light came into the alley from the windows above.  The rain continued, but was not as heavy as it had been. 
    Lyrra-Sharron had not been inside the capital city of the Kingdom since she had struck out from it two years ago.  The alley stank of rotted foodstuffs and other garbage, but the rain that reached them did cleanse things somewhat. 
    Everything was more or less as she remembered it.
    The merchants came forward.  “Are we ready to proceed?” asked one with obvious apprehension.
    She ignored his discomfort, and gave an affirmative gesture.  “Lead on, my lords.”
    Kurr Vangam and Max Parcall showed the way, moving east towards the street.  They pulled their cloaks more tightly about them.  The rest followed in small clusters, close enough to not lose one another, but distant enough to not seem like a single group.
    The party came to the nearest street, which was lit by tall, encased lanterns.  Small pipes ran underground in most of the city, and at night oil would be channeled through.  Each district of the city had a noble overseer, who would be sure at sunset to ignite the lanterns.  It was a very efficient way to keep the city out of the dark.
    The capital was new.  Gara-Sharron had only been built two hundred years ago by King Gara-Loros Anduin.  Its predecessor, also in this place, had been invaded and demolished by the King of Medaelia. 
    It had been a bloody war, and was the result of several smaller houses taking up arms against the King, which the Medaelians took advantage of.  Gara-Loros, after the burning of the capital, was finally able to convince the nobles to cease their petty war, and with their renewed support led an army into Medaelia, capturing its capital, Penkira.
    A treaty eventually had been worked out, after months of negotiations.  Gara-Loros withdrew his troops, taking with him an eighth of his eastern neighbor’s territory, and the title Second Prince of Medaelia. 
    He had gone on to spend the rest of his life overseeing the reconstruction of the capital, and after his death it was named for him.
    Gara-Sharron was laid out more-or-less along a grid.  It was circular and walled, split by several small canals that ran throughout.  Recognizing that these canals could not be kept clean, potable water was brought into the city via aqueduct from mountains in the north and west.  Gara-Sharron was divided into fifteen districts, each overseen by a Baron-Administrator.  Order was maintained by Royal Guardsmen, Sharron Army soldiers, and an independent Constabulary. 
    To the west, the circle was broken.  The municipality was on uneven terrain, and the west end backed up against the beginning of the western mountain range.  Rising above the capital itself stood the royal palace, a small city within.  Separately walled, the palace was virtually impregnable.  But then, no army had made it very far within the borders of the Kingdom of Sharron proper since the time of King Gara-Loros Anduin.
    The northern district, Gara-North, was almost entirely residences.  Industry labored in the south, making armor and weapons for the military, carving stone and preparing wood for construction, turning wheat into flour, and so forth.  Merchants sold their wares all over the metropolis, but were centered around the markets in the East and Center.  The Bureaucracy, aristocracy, and courts were in the West, near the palace. 
    It was only about two hours past sunset, the merchants and laborers were returning home to families and supper.  At this time of night, most guards were centered on the labor areas, where they could keep an eye on things as the various businesses were closed for the night.  In a few hours, they’d shift back here, to protect the sleeping citizens.  This was the safest time to go about the community unnoticed.
    As they moved away from the outer wall, Lyrra-Sharron