Susannah’s pantry was running low. She had brought over all her ingredients from Swamptown, and had no idea where to get more in the city.

She ran an establishment that served food and drink.

The problem could not be more obvious.

If she did not have things to sell, she would not make money, the most important thing in the world.

It was time to gather some information.

As time and time had proved again, the best way to do that was simple. A walk across the street easy. Hitting two birds with one stone, as she needed to inform him of Charmony’s employment, and also ask what in the name of silverspitting werewolves was going on with the people he sent her for interviews, without giving away that he had likely told her and she had zoned out.

It was time to talk to Karulk.

As soon as she was finished unpacking the last of her boxes.

She needed to report her business to the city or county and get a cleanliness exam too. Probably should have done that before she started selling food. Oh well. Legal trouble could be fought off.

“Are you, uh, do you... I thought you were leaving?”

“I’m double checking there is no dust in the corners.”

There was no dust in the corners. Her kitchen was immaculate, because a person could only get food poisoning once and if they still decided to have a hazardous space they had no empathy for their fellow mortals or were a total idiot. Which was not mutually exclusive. Or inclusive.

“You have already checked? And been checking? Look, if you don’t trust that I can run things alone on my second day I get it, it’s totally fine, I was expecting it really, but, like, you don’t need to lie?” Charmony’s voice turned slightly squeaky at the end.

“No, no, I have,” only a little bit of, “faith. In you.”

Susannah looked around for something else to do, that wasn’t likely to make Charmony panic. There was only one thing left, and it was going to talk to Karulk.

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Curses.

“I’ll be off then. Good luck.”

“Wait, what, no, no, you can stay! Please? I’m not rea--!”

But she was already walking out the door.

It was a bright day. The sun was shining, like it had any right to be in a good mood, great ball of gas that it was. There was no cloud in the sky with the nerve to block it.

All of the plants that were climbing out of Karulk’s windows looked to be in marvelous health. Susannah valiently did not shake her fist at them.

Jungles were not, conventionally, small. They were, however, very crowded. It might have been Susannah’s mood, but today Karulk’s shop felt claustrophobia inducing.

And she had lived in the woods for a number of years.

She strode to the front of the room. Karulk was at the counter, poking a clay pot. He stared into it in a way similar to the Secrets of the Universe in Cups society did to mugs and tea leaves.

Susannah did not feel bad about disturbing him. With the way his eyebrows were crossing, it might very well be for his own good. Or the pots.

“Karulk?”

“Hello.” He did not look up. This was very ominous to her. “I apologise for the impoliteness, Susannah.” Some of the ominousness went away. “I am having an argument.”

“With the pot?”

“Yes.”

The ominousness came back, doubled from before.

“Okay. Do you happen to know where I could find a bulk food ordering comapny?”

“Not off the top of my head, no. Perhaps you could ask Frolly?”

“It seemed like the sort of thing you would know.”

“I know many small, local stands and markets that sell personal farmers, but I don’t think that’s what you’re after.” His hand clenched around the pot. He leaned his face closer to its soil and breathed deeply.

“It isn’t. Thanks anyway.”

“Come by anytime. Say, did you end up recruiting anybody?”

“I hired a nice young man by name of Charmony...” Susannah wracked her head for his last name but came up blank, despite reading it several times only yesterday on various employment forms.

“Wonderful.”

Karulk was certainly going to say more, but Susannah took advantage of the gap in his speech made by his drawling accent to say, “I need to get going. Food orders are best done early in the day.”

“Last I checked it was almost noon?” Karulk finally looked away from the pot, up to the ceiling, presumably somehow checking the time by doing that. His head then snapped back to the pot. She assumed he glared.

“And the day continues towards its inevitable death. Goodbye.”

Susannah turned on her heel and walked away, like a normal person, at a normal person speed. Finding out what was going on with all those people was surely not all that important. Her curiosity was not worth trying to continue that conversation, anyhow.