The city by the water
By day, the canals carry rushed, practical duck traffic. At sundown, neon signs flicker on and moonlight breaks across the water. Glass towers catch the last light; later, bridge musicians, vendors, gondolas and a night market keep the city awake.
The Golden Crumb
A small waterside café built into an old boathouse, with a flickering sign and a menu of Brioche Bites and Artisan Corn Crusts. Valentino’s first solo client meets him here. Later, Belladonna arrives in a plain blue cloak, and a waiter fills her upturned crown with breadsticks.
The canal bend
Doña Candela keeps a lantern burning beside the canal. Her shop has candles and rosemary; its visitors bring questions that are harder to light. In her first story, a request for a love spell becomes an invitation to make one honest choice.
The road from the North Marsh
Valentino’s old home is a pond of morning fog, whispering reeds and elders. A heatwave dries half the pond and sends him downstream. The city gives his gift for listening a trade; the marsh remains part of what he remembers.