He nodded to hear that it was no longer in use, a slight easing of the muscles in his neck and shoulders at the information, though his expression remained neutral. Whether it was truly a relic of the past or whether Lena was simply not aware of when it fulfilled its purpose, he preferred to believe the former. Sohalia, at least, would never have condoned such flagrant cruelty. Of that he was certain. What the current ruler might use it for... was a thought he would rather not contemplate too closely.
But want and need were two different tides. And so he asked his second question, withholding any conclusions of his own until Lena could answer from the experience of one who lived in the city.
No, she said, and Hadama tilted his head thoughtfully, turning to look at her at last. "Mmh. I would agree." That capital rather than corporeal punishment seemed more the new style. But at least not wielded against normal citizens, however unenthusiastic they were about current politics. There was a seed of concern rather than relief there, one that he did not fully understand yet. Perhaps the more he saw of Stormbreak, the more it would grow until he could make sense of it.
"Thank you. I do not think we need to linger. May we stop by your skyport on the way to the Silk Houses? I have never arrived the traditional way," he admitted, turning from the spectacle of the Needle and beginning to walk away from its silent, shining threat.
But want and need were two different tides. And so he asked his second question, withholding any conclusions of his own until Lena could answer from the experience of one who lived in the city.
No, she said, and Hadama tilted his head thoughtfully, turning to look at her at last. "Mmh. I would agree." That capital rather than corporeal punishment seemed more the new style. But at least not wielded against normal citizens, however unenthusiastic they were about current politics. There was a seed of concern rather than relief there, one that he did not fully understand yet. Perhaps the more he saw of Stormbreak, the more it would grow until he could make sense of it.
"Thank you. I do not think we need to linger. May we stop by your skyport on the way to the Silk Houses? I have never arrived the traditional way," he admitted, turning from the spectacle of the Needle and beginning to walk away from its silent, shining threat.
