A few of the merchants seem - approving. She is something close to a familiar figure in a sea of imperialistic foreigners (which is, in many ways, the nicest way to describe the Archadians).

One - a woman somewhere in her forties, dressed in more muted colours than the other merchants - approaches, giving Nataliya a warm smile.

"I never feel comfortable at events run by the consulates. When Vayne was still consul, you sometimes wouldn't see soldiers there, but every consul before and since has insisted on having at least a dozen."