Not too long after, Anki returned with the information. Nua appreciated his speed, certain that if he was only a bit slower, she would drift off into sleep on the crates. After all, she was unaccustomed to rising with the birds, and the anticipation did not get to her yet. There were, Anki has said, two merchant booths that allowed the opportunity for pilfering. One of them, led by a lanky middle-aged Vedan, sprawled nearby the auction area, closer to the traffic, noise, and overall chaos. It was one of the largest shops, composed of several linked stands, and very busy. It stocked merchandise from the saltwater river delta, all kinds of it, dried flatfish and rainbow bass, smoked red razorfish, juicy eyeball fish and whole cured juvenile dragons, even octopi which Nua was not too fond of for their gummy taste (she feasted once on a fried octopus found in the trash bin nearby the marketplace - it filled the stomach, at least). The blue-skinned nonhuman was the obvious boss of the whole enterprise, but he alone was not enough to keep such a large business going. Plenty of human helpers scurried about, selling, assisting, packing, and carrying, while the Vedan dealt orders, his voice loud and his four arms in constant frantic motion.

Anki pointed at a pile of empty crates located a little bit too close to one of the stands. A good spot to hide, with the stand itself in a straight line with one of the entrances to the hall. On display, it had a container full of flatfish, each the size of two Nua's hands, complete with a head sporting both eyes on the same side.

"The only thing you need to do", he said, "Is to wait until the opportunity presents itself, the clerk turns his back and there are no vigiles about, watching. I will guard your back for them.”

"Sure thing. Tell me when it's safe.”

Nua hid behind the boxes and waited. People passed by and the clerk, a bald Azurian, pale like the fish he was selling, exchanged goods. Soon, her legs began cramping. She changed position a little, to prevent them from going numb. She forced herself to wait. Before, Anki went on and on about patience. She was going to prove to him that she had it when it mattered.

A fancy lady came about, with ochre-dyed hair, wrapped in a pink cotton stola and palla* adorned with blue fringe. She spent quite a bit of time haggling with the merchant, then the guy packed her a large piece of thick, fat smoked razorfish, with telltale red skin and buttery white meat that, as Nua imagined, would melt on your tongue. The lady called it a troncon. Nua would like to call it dinner. The lady was not done yet. She engaged in a longer exchange with the clerk, and they both turned to a crate filled with live crabs.

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The razorfish, conveniently wrapped in waxed bamboo paper, rested on the edge of the flatfish container.

Nua looked around. Anki was not in sight. What is he doing, she wondered. Such an occasion will not come twice! I should wait for a signal. But do I need to? There are no mercenaries or vigiles about. But Anki is not here, and he told me he’d guard my back. Maybe he noticed something important? Or maybe he’s just a lazy, spoiled king who would not recognize a treasure in front of him.

She entertained this internal dialogue for a while. First with a strong conviction of waiting for Anki’s sign, then with her supply of will rapidly dwindling. The razorfish just lay there, while the lady seemed intent on buying every pricey delicacy the merchant had in store.

If I don’t get it, thought Nua half-seriously, the rats soon will.

She looked around once again. No one was watching. Slowly, she straightened her legs, then went for it.

She only managed to hear an alarmed “Nua, not yet!” and catch the package, then all hell broke loose. Two armed men appeared as if from thin air and started towards her. The lady shrieked as if stabbed with a sword. The clerk exclaimed several words inappropriate for the lady.

Nua bolted.

At once, she understood what has happened. The vigiles were standing behind the column, minding their own business. They were not visible from her perspective, as she wasn’t from theirs – until she jumped from behind the crate. Anki, who circled around the perimeter as promised, had noticed them before and kept watch to figure out when they’ll be moving out.

She screwed up so bad!

Nua ran along the passage. The guards followed. She jumped from one crate to another, trying to throw the pursuit off. Instead, she made a barrel bump into a stall, and an avalanche of silvery pickled fish followed. More angry shouts were heard, as Nua tried to make it to the entrance.

Another patrol was in sight in front of her.

Crap, crap, crap!

She pressed the package against her chest, then took a sharp turn. She heard one of the vigiles cursing her ancestors back to the ninth generation, as he slipped on the scattered merchandise. She heard Anki directing her steps – left, no, right, they’re right behind you! She was out of the fish area, but still not out of danger. She avoided bumping into a thick butcher, bounced from a cartwheel full of sugarloaves, then slid under a camel. Someone shouted something about their cabbages.

An entrance presented itself before her, and she ran as fast as her legs allowed, her fright overriding the budding exhaustion. Before her eyes, dark spots were already appearing.

And so, with the vision blurred, accompanied by Anki’s panicked warnings, she came to a head with a completely random patrol just outside the hall.

The vigile caught her by the arm.

“I swear, Balbinus,” he turned to his companion. “They are getting bolder and bolder by the day.”