[Envinyatar]

Veryadan

Veryadan spread a delicately thin layer of parchment over the map he’d placed on the table, securing it with four small, round, sand-packed leather weights. The dark, thick lines and letters he’d used on the original showed through clearly enough, and he took out his quill and ink, quickly sketching in a rough outline of the areas and a hasty scribble of each place name. Taking his place at the top of the map, he asked the two other Rangers to stand opposite him.

‘Now show us, if you will, where the attacks have been reported – and what sort of attack it was, and when each occurred if you have that information. I’ll mark them in as you go along, and we’ll see if any pattern emerges.

The room was hushed save for the murmurings of the two Rangers as they conferred with one another. A finger would then reach out to tap the parchment lightly. Veryadan marked each with a small ‘X’, then put a few abbreviated notes alongside each . . .