Chapter 20 Alpha's Chamber

• Clara
• We wound our way slowly up the twisted stairwell with stone buildings, stores, and marketplace stalls infesting every step. The stone steps were massive, and hundreds of werewolves stepped down and up in a great mass of bodies. A cacophony of noise assailed my ears: werewolves barking, heckling, laughing, and bargaining all at the same time. I couldn't easily discern rank by scent, as perfumes, spices, sugars, and of course the burning stench of pipe smoke filled the oddly warm air.
• Sweat beaded down my back. The time was the autumn's harvest, but Khordon burned me like a midsummer's day. Werewolves held lacy parasols over their head to shield their heads from the unrelenting sun. Part of me thought these prissy Khordonian werewolves looked ridiculous, but another part of me wanted my own parasol to hide away from Diantha's rival, Soliere the sun.