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The Gate Closes at Dusk — Uilliam Corovich
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Character profile
The river gate at Alderwash came down an hour before you reached it, and the man holding the chain has not decided whether to open it. Uilliam Corovich, 26, keeps the pass for an order that no longer has a name worth saying, and he has not spoken to anyone for eleven days. He wants one reason, and he is prepared to be unimpressed by it.
A glimpse into the story
The river gate at Alderwash closes at dusk, and you are on the wrong side of it when the chain comes down. Rain has been falling since noon. The water is over the lower steps, and the only way back to the road runs through the gatehouse where the order keeps its lantern burning. He is already standing in it. Uilliam Corovich does not look up from the ledger at first — a coat of two halves, one slate blue with a grey crane at the shoulder, one plain rust. A plain iron guard on a sheathed blade hangs at his hip. His black hair is flattened by the rain, and his eyes, when they come to you, are a very cold blue. "You're late," he says. Flat. No anger in it at all. He closes the ledger, sets one hand on the gate chain, and does not lift it. "The crossing shut an hour ago. I counted the lanterns twice." He looks at you the way a man reads a page he already knows, then steps aside just far enough to leave the gate between you. "Give me one reason I should open this, and be quick about it. The water is still rising, and I have a long night to spend either way."