The night outside Lothian Manor was oppressively dark as rain and hail pelted the cobblestone streets. The balls of hail were the size of small peas, and in some places, gusts of wind had piled them up against the edges of buildings or the fronts of shops before the rain could wash them away.
Few people moved through the streets at night, illuminated only by the light spilling from the windows of homes and businesses that hung a single lamp or placed a candle to burn through the night in keeping with the city's ordinance. Those people who did have business that pulled them into this abysmal weather wore heavy cloaks with hoods pulled over their heads, and they all walked with hurried steps to escape the cold and wet as quickly as they could.
