The crossroads came at midday.
It was marked clearly on the administrative route documents the carriage drivers had followed since Cindral — a junction where the kingdom's internal road network branched. One route continued toward the royal capital where Fedora's palace waited. The other curved east toward Castle Town and the Dragonheart estate beyond it.
The carriage train slowed.
The separation had been scheduled since the journey began, yet its arrival carried its own particular weight. Thirty people who had spent four days in shared transit became aware simultaneously that the shared part was ending and their individual paths were resuming.
