Kaya invited them over with a tilt of her head.
"Let's talk on the other side," she said casually, the neem stick now tucked between her fingers.
Abhaya nodded, then glanced behind at her group. With a second nod, wordlessly, they began to follow—silent, watchful.
Kaya led them through the narrow path that curved past nikala beastmen's hut. Just beyond that, in front of the hut, sat a wide, flat stone slab carved out for sitting—simple, solid, and just isolated enough. Probably the only place decent enough for a proper talk in this half-settled land.
She stopped there, turning slightly to make sure the others followed.
As Abhaya and her group rounded the corner of the hut, their eyes widened a little. Before this, they had only seen the twin huts at the edge of the shore—modest, silent structures. But now… now they saw the other side.
