The Northeast Rert District
The stench hit me first.
Woodsmoke mixed with waste, clinging to the air like a curse. The Northeast Rert District sprawled before us—mud buildings with sagging roofs, crooked walls that looked ready to collapse at the first strong wind.
Home sweet home for my Zott brothers and sisters.
The moment Joseph stepped into their territory, everything changed.
*Click.*
Like a switch had been flipped. Every eye turned toward us. Squinting suspicion. Open hostility. Cold, calculating curiosity.
Even I felt the pressure, and I wasn't their target.
Joseph kept his usual mask of calm, but I caught the tells—hands trembling slightly, smile stretched just a fraction too wide. His eyes darted left and right, scanning faces.
Looking for something. Or someone.
Then he stopped dead.
A deep breath in. Long exhale. Something shifted in his expression—subtle, but I'd been watching him long enough to notice.
