Lucy Aria leaned back in the cart she was riding in and watched the dingy town draw nearer. She'd payed the travelling merchant to bring her along on his way out to the west, and he had barely said a word to her since that day. His silence unnerved her. She had been keeping one eye on him ever since they had left, and really, she had expected other people to be travelling in their company as well. For this reason, she had slept rarely and lightly on their journey and at the sight of the city, she felt great relief. 

She was unaccustomed to the heat and had taken to wearing a hat to keep the sun off her face. Really, she had never traveled out in this direction before but it was a risk she was ready to take. She had taken up fencing illegal and stolen goods in her brothel and she was already turning a good profit. If her leads led her true in Ecros, she would be adding a wider market to her business and letting herself be more known to the sort of buyers she needed. She was out here seeking a man who went by Snow, and that was all she really knew about him. Despite that, she was a business woman and she was ready to grab this opportunity by its throat.

As the cart pulled into the haphazard town, she watched buildings and people of all standings go by. When she saw an inn, she hopped off the slowly moving wagon and waved at the silent driver. Lucy hoped desperately he wouldn't be staying at the same place as she would. She pushed the wooden double doors open in front of her and greeted a room bustling with activity. People sat at tables eating lunch among friends and travelers sat spaced out around the room. She made her way to a spaced out stool at the end of the bar and ordered a cold beer from the pretty girl behind the bar. It arrived a minute later and she drank it down with great relief at the cool feeling of it entering her system after all the heat and travel she had endured. [i]I'll worry about Snow tomorrow,[/i] she decided to herself as she drank the beer. A day off would be welcome.