"In the name of the Forgotten Ones!" he gasped, peering over his shoulder.

Yago groaned, then rolled onto his back and began to look around the dusty corridor. "Hey," he said, "I made it "

Something struck the tenement wall behind Atreus. He looked back to see a guard standing in the window opposite, accepting a fresh dagger from one of his fellows.

"We're not out of the city yet," Atreus said, grabbing the basket from Rishi's hands and spinning around, holding it up before him. "Yago, will you get going?"

As the ogre rolled to his knees, Rishi slipped past and led the way down the hall. Atreus backed after them, holding the basket up like a shield. This did not prevent the angry guard from hurling several more daggers through the window. The knives were hardly balanced for throwing, but one managed to lodge itself in the basket and another tumbled past perilously close to Yago's back.. At last, Rishi turned a corner and ducked down a stairwell, and Atreus finally had time to take note of the foreign sounds and smells of the building. From behind every door came melodic Maran jabber. The upper floors, used primarily for residences, smelled-perhaps even stank-of exotic cooking spices. Every now and then the trio had to squeeze past a small group of Mar coming up the stairs. The men clapped at Yago and stared at Atreus's face with open hostility. The women retreated to the landing below and let them pass, blushing and averting their eyes. The children gasped in open awe of Yago's size, then hissed and clapped their hands to ward off Atreus and his "wickedness." By the time the trio reached the ground floor, Atreus felt happy to have grown up among the Shield-breakers. At least Yago's sons and nephews had considered his unfortunate looks nothing worse than an excuse to start a good fight.