Prelude: The Sign of Fire   As far as canalside inns went, the Sign of Fire was among the oldest, and the most reputable. The foundation stones had been laid, or so the legends went, in the days of the Deepness, the deep dark days before the Lord Ruler himself had slain the evil and ascended to divinity. Prelans and nobles alike tarried at the Sign of Fire, partaking of the house fare and the wine before their journey led them ever onwards, down the winding waterways towards Tathingdwe