Follow the Aqueducts

Jess put his hand on his dagger, then shivered. If he were going to die, it might as well be at that precise moment.

"Anyone who walks into that gate will be killed immediately if he isn't a soldier. And it won't be long before the other guards get here either. Either way you'll die. I'll give you three seconds to tell me who you really are and why you're here. When your time is up, I will kill you. 1 … 2 …"

"My name is Jess. I've come here to save my friends."

""You're not fighting for them?"

"No. I'm here for what I said - and other personal reasons."

"You're no good to me then. Pray to your gods, Jess, before you die."

"What do you mean I'm no good to you?"

"If you're not here to kill Huskus -"

"Huskus is the one I'm looking for. He captured my friends."

"What friends?"

"Shelvin, a zyglot named Dainler, and a dragert named Oglethaine."

The soldier lowered his sword.

"Surely, it's not you. You can't be our deliverer."

"I don't know anything about being a deliverer, but I do know I have to try to deliver my friends. I have to get into the city."

"The only way open into the city right now is the river and I don't think the dagger darts will let you get far. I wish I could help you."

Jess considered an idea more than a little crazy but workable. "You can help me."