”My name is Zizal Gand, and I was sent to investigate a matter that has come to the attention of my Master.” He dusted off the old stool the woman had set out. “Now then, your tail could shed some light on what I have discovered thus far.”

“Ma friends call me Agnes, but I suppose ya know as much.” She sidled through her makeshift cleaning station and resumed her work on the fish. “A lived here all ma life. Me and Howard fished that bay for almost thirty years. We built a family, and did our best to follow Gremnall,s teachings.” She set aside the cleaned fish in a basin and reached for another. “ She is all A got. Howard passed a while back, and the older kids have families of their own.”

He thought of his own family, or what was left of it. How he wished he could go back to when it was the three of them. Go back and make different choices, ones that would keep them safe instead of filling their coffers.

“Yes, A know what ya might be thinking, but ma Jana was a wonderful surprise to us. Howard doted on her, but he got sick and then it was just me and ma little girl.” She brushed away her tears with the back of one hand and sniffed.

“When me and Howard got started, Pagis was nothing more than another fishing village on the coast. But, ten or fifteen years ago they found blood crystals in the mines east of here. Well, that did it, the place blowed up like a pufferfish what been tickled. That brang in the bandits, then them brung in the soldiers, the whores followed, and the church come to guide them all.” She finished cleaning the fishes and ambled to the edge of the dock. She hoisted up seawater and started washing away the guts and scales.

Shadows grew long and the sky became infused with red and orange from a sun retreating beyond the distant mountain. Zizal pulling his cloak close trying to hind from the wind that cooled considerably. As the temperature dropped, the waves became a violent hammer against the rocky beach.

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Agness pointed to the East guessing his thoughts, "storm's commin in. Tonight, mayhap tomorrow moring the latest."

Zizal followed her finger, but the darkening sky looked the same in all directions. He would not second guess the woman. After all, her survival hinged on reading the sky and sea. He would need to keep watch and make preparations.

Agness retrieved a lamp and lit it with a spark-stone. She held the spark-stone up for him to see. “Little thing mighty handy. When Haward bought it, A thought the thing was next to useless. All the damn thing does is spark, can't even light as a candle. But, A come to rely on the thing.” She twisted the spark stone and pointed to a small red speck, “Ya see that? Blood crystal, just a lil one.” She put her stone away and continued her work.

“As A said. Pagis is big, and lots of people come and go. So A ask the city guards to help. But all’s they want to do is watch the gates and wait til she to pass em by. So A ask, what but the boats? They tell me to talk to the harbormaster. “ She poured a generous amount of salt on each fish and laid them out in a tub.

“Now, A got to thinking. The watch don’t want to help, maybe A should ask about the city. “ she wrapped and tied close the salted fish, muttering to herself as she packed away everything including his stool. " Ya know what a found. Ma Jana weren't the only little one that went and vanished. Oh they know this already, they been told by them what told me. But the thing is, they might know and don't care. Or, they might know enough and paid for not carin'."

The enchanter offered to help with some of the things but the woman waved him away. "Like A said, A been doing this a while. A not about to be fussed over like an old boat what got too many leaks."

She loaded the tub of salted fish into a pack with shoulder straps. After all the evening's preparation were done, she looked out to sea where silvery clouds muted the moon’s pale glow. “Bring ma girl home Ms. Gand. A know yo don’t owe me or ma girl any favors. But, she needs me and A need her. Can ya find her and bring her back?” She did not face him, yet he knew she was silently weeping for her daughter.

“Yes,” he said after thinking of his own girl. “ Will do my best to bring her back to you and maybe prevent it from happening again.”

“Thank yo.” She said and shouldered her bungle. In the weak glow of the lamp, he saw her smile.