Saiyun got out of the chair to stretch his legs. Compared to the ship, the room at the inn was downright spacious, with enough room for a bed, desk, and chest of drawers. The bed was tempting, but he shook the thought of sleep out of his head. It was almost morning, and Yazwa would be there soon to replace him. Out the window, there were few people in the street. The sun was barely peeking above the horizon, too early for anyone to be up. Except of course, for the building up the street.

Candles and lanterns still blazed in the windows of the brothel, and most of the people in the street were slipping out of the place as quietly as they could. Saiyun rubbed his eyes and looked to his target, the room at the top of the brothel's tower, where a colorful variety of lanterns still shone.

Taking a breath he closed his eyes and stilled his mind. Crawling Kotack was still curled up on top of the roof, and after a moment of focus, he pushed his senses into the summon.

The dull light of early morning was sharper through Kotack's eyes, not that it did any good. The centipede was curled up in a tight circle, careful to keep any of its body from hanging over the sides. Far more important was what he could hear. He did not know the local language, but now he knew enough to know that the prostitute and her client were saying goodbye to one another.

That suited Saiyun just fine. He knew more about the trade of prostitution and the habits of the wealthy than he ever wanted to know. How could he have guessed there would be so much conversation? Or that the clients would have such specific requests?

His link to Kotack wavered, and Saiyun put the matter out of his mind. Bragging about their trade and business deals was popular pillow talk and that was turning into a great benefit.

The sound of faint scratching drifted up from below and Saiyun perked up. She was writing in her book again. He pulled his senses out of Kotack and reached for his pen. A piece of paper lay on his desk, illuminated by a guttering candle. Saiyun wrote down the man's name and frowned. From what he understood, the man was a gunsmith, or ran a factory that made guns. She had been quite interested in his business, and he had been happy to speak about it at length.

Saiyun made note of a few words he mentioned often and gave the list a quick scan. There was a definite pattern to when she wrote in the book.

Or, when the Akshi wrote.

Saiyun frowned and rubbed his temples. According to Aven, the Akshi was doing the writing. The host was illiterate, and that made the information secure for when it was dropped off to whoever would pick it up. Did that mean the Akshi was only in control during the writing? Or was it all the time? Was she doing any of this of her own free will?

Over the last few nights Saiyun had listened closely for any sign of change in her voice or mannerisms that would show when the Akshi had taken over, but he hadn't been able to pick up anything. Either it was an excellent mimic or it was just in charge all the time.

What could drive someone to let a demon into their body? Saiyun knew that they were Atemzlites, so they hadn't grown up with the same fairy tales he had. But they were Keiso Akshi, and that meant they had to bargain their way in. How desperate would you have to be to make such a deal?

Saiyun thought back to what Aven had said before they went into the apartment. That no one would care if the man inside was murdered. Was it the same for her?

A gentle knock at the door startled Saiyun out of his musings. The knock repeated as he crossed the room to open the door. Yazwa stood on the other side, yawning and stretching. "Morning," she said.

"You're early," Saiyun said, stepping out of the way to let her in and shutting the door. "You didn't have to come for my sake. I can make it another hour or two."

Yazwa took a seat on the bed and leaned her staff against the wall. "I had the last watch tonight, so I was up anyway. I wanted to bring you the news. Bill and Aven are back."

"They are?" Saiyun perked up.

"Yeah, but they didn't seem too happy. I don't think they got what they wanted," Yazwa said, looking out the window with bright golden eyes.

Saiyun looked down at his paper and frowned. Bill had been very vague about what he was after when he sailed away with Aven. Perhaps...

"Yup, still there," Yazwa sighed, looking at the brothel's tower. "Now I get to spend all day watching her sleep."

"Better than what I had to listen to," Saiyun grumbled, letting go of his connection with Kotack. The giant centipede crumbled to dirt, leaving a third summon doll on the roof. "I hope we're done with this soon. I'm running out of material to make summon dolls."

"I hope we're done soon too," Yazwa said, leaning against the wall behind the bed. "Wake Ji up when you get back for me. I tried before I left, but she wouldn't budge."

A protest rose in Saiyun's mind, but he quickly squashed it. Entering a lady's sleeping chamber alone was something that was just not done. Ji didn't care. Yazwawa didn't care. No one on the ship cared except him. "I'll see what I can do. Maybe now that Aven's back she can start training again. She's been so listless since he and Bill left.”

Yazwa's eyebrows knitted together, like she was looking at something far away. "Yeah. Just do what you can."

"See you next shift," Saiyun said, slipping out the door.

The walk back to the harbor was a peaceful one. It was either much too early or much too late for anyone to be up, so the streets were empty of their usual frantic traffic. He tapped the list folded up in his pocket as he walked, certain the pattern meant something. When he made it back to the ship Batro was tending to the fireplace, trying to get the coals from last night to reignite. "Good morning. Are Aven and Bill back?"

Batro blew on the coals and fed tiny twigs into them. "Yup," he said between breaths.

"Are they still awake?" he asked, looking around the empty deck. "I want to ask them something."

"Well, unless they went to bed together in Bill's cabin I think they're still up," Batro said, grinning as a tiny flame sputtered to life.

"Thank you," Saiyun said, pulling the list out of his pocket. He walked over the cabin doors and knocked gently. "Bill? Aven?"

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"What?" came a grumpy, muffled voice from inside.

"Yazwa said you didn't find what you were looking for," Saiyun said louder. "But I think I might know something that could help."

After a moment Bill pulled the door open. Saiyun couldn't help but notice how tired he looked. "Do you?" he asked, stepping aside. "Well, I'll try anything at this point."

Saiyun stepped into the cabin. Lit lanterns hung from the ceiling, casting light down on the table in the middle of the room. A map of the Raoin Sea was spread out on it, corners anchored down by books. Aven peered down at it, gently pushing silver coins across the map. "Hello Aven," Saiyun said, walking up to the table.

Aven didn't take his eyes off the map, only offering a mumble in response.

"So," Bill said, tugging the paper out of Saiyun's hands and unfolding it. "What do you have for me?"

"It might not be anything," Saiyun said quickly, suddenly feeling silly for bringing such a little thing up. "But while I've been watching the Akshi I've noticed she writes in a little book after certain clients take their leave."

"Makes sense," Bill said, scanning the page. "But we already knew she was a spy."

"Well yes, of course. But there's a pattern. Look," Saiyun said, pointing at the list. "She only ever writes down information about people who make weapons or gunpowder. Whenever those topics come up she encourages her clients to talk about it more. It must be important to her. Well, to the Akshi."

Bill sighed and handed the list back. "Good work, but it doesn't help."

"There's more," Saiyn said, setting the list down on the table. "I checked with the notes we got from the apartment. Those hosts were concerned with the same things. Weapons and gunpowder. The man keeps track of the amount of ships in the harbor, but there are enough references to shipments of gunpowder going out that I think it's significant. The woman was keeping track of the families who own the factories that make them. She made notes on sales and who owned what. There's nothing on how much anything costs, just how much of it there is. I think this spy ring is wholly concerned with the amount of gunpowder and other weapons in Adoti."

Aven looked up with a scowl. "Great. But that doesn't tell us anything useful."

"It might," Saiyun scowled back. "If we know what they want to know, we can use it to find out what they intend to do."

"Did you read that in the Great Martial Texts?" Aven scoffed.

Saiyun bristled. "I did. It was from a section on how to counter scouts and spies. 'If you know what your enemy covets, you can predict his every move. Blind his scouts and you will surprise him every time.' It's applicable."

"Wait," Bill said, holding up one calloused hand. "Wait wait wait."

"What?" Aven asked.

A light danced in Bills eyes and a smile grew under his beard. "Do you know who really hates surprises? Merchants."

Saiyun blinked. "I suppose? I mean, it makes sense but I don't think that has anything to do with the Akshi."

Bill turned his gaze to Aven. "Imagine you're a merchant and you're going to make a big sale. So big you have to make a stockpile. But while that stockpile is sitting there it's not making you any money."

"You'd want to know exactly when the sale would be," Aven said, eyes going wide. "And you'd want it in writing."

Saiyun looked back and forth between them. "What do you mean? What are you talking about?" The mood in the cabin had changed from dour to hopeful in a heartbeat.

Bill pointed at Saiyun. "What merchants came up the most? What families?"

"Um," Saiyun said, looking down at the list. "The Manja family. I asked around, they're the biggest gunpowder merchants in town. Their name came up a lot."

"Good," Bill said, clapping his hands together. "Excellent. We'll need to pay the Manjas a visit, and lucky for us, we have the perfect in. A customs official from Channan Harbor and the daughter of a prominent family from Ibscaal. They won't be able to resist."

Saiyun stared at Bill, trying to follow what he was saying. "Wait...what? What do you mean? How are Yazwa and I supposed to help? What did this tell you? Are the Akshi after the gunpowder?"

"All in good time," Bill said, clapping his hands down on Saiyun's shoulders. "I've said it before and I'll say it again. You are the best bad decision ever made on this ship."

-

Aven tried to tune out Bill and Saiyun's chattering as he looked down at the map. Of course. Of course, how hadn't he thought of that? If Azun's fleet was sailing south to make huge purchases of gunpowder and guns, they'd need to make sure it would all be there when the fleet arrived. The Akshi were making sure the merchants stuck to their side of the bargain. Bill was right; if the merchants were going to hold onto that much of their stock, they'd want assurances of when the sale would be. And merchants always wanted everything in writing. Somewhere in Adoti there was a contract that said when the fleet was expected to show up. All he had to do was get to it.

Aven was very good at that.

His mind was racing so much that he almost didn't notice Saiyun and Bill start to leave. "Saiyun, wait!" he called. "I need to ask you something"

Saiyun stopped, looking out the door at the roaring cookfire. "What is it?"

"It's about the Akshi," Aven said. "While I was with the Vathlanri, someone told me that I might be able to purge an Akshi with Purification magic."

"You could?" Saiyun asked, walking back to the table. "That changes everything. We could just drive it out of her body."

Aven nodded. "Yeah. I need to ask Tsen about it, but I have nothing to trade. I know he's interested in that Red Manual I pulled off of Azun's ship. I'll owe you if you let me use one."

"Don't bother with the favor," Saiyun said, shaking his head. "Just tell him he can have a summon in exchange for what you need to know."

"Are...you sure?" Aven asked.

"This is too important to play the Favor Game. Just get what you need to know out of Tsen," Saiyun said, turning away, but then stopping. "But if you have to, then do me a favor and go wake up Ji."

Aven blinked. "What? Why?"

"I think she missed you," Saiyun said with a shrug. "She's been listless since you left. Wake her up and figure out when you're going to spar again. That might cheer her up. Do that and consider us even."

"Fine," Aven said, marveling at how someone could be so bad at playing the Favor Game. He would have done that anyway. Aven hurried down the stairs into the ship's hold. After he talked to Ji he'd go and endure Tsen. If he pushed hard enough, Tsen would probably agree to a one to one trade. Hopefully. Aven grabbed the white sailcloth that surrounded Ji and Yazwa's hammocks and pulled it aside. "Hey, Ji."

Aven froze.

Ji lay fast asleep in her hammock, slowly rocked back and forth by the motion of the ship. The morning light from the porthole illuminated her body, making her long black hair shine. Her tail hung over the side of the hammock, gently twitching. Her short robe clung to her curves and left her bare legs to be kissed by the morning light. The look on her face was peaceful, and Aven couldn't stop himself from staring.

She'd missed him.

He tried to say something, but no words would come out. Why? He just had to wake her up. It wasn't hard. He'd done it before. Clearing his throat didn't make a sound. Taking a step towards her didn't work because his feet were rooted to the ground. Out of nowhere the image of Chata laying her head on Utosa's lap forced his way to the front of his mind. Aven's face got hot and he stumbled backwards, letting the curtain fall back into place.

Tsen was the priority. Talk to Tsen first and then deal with...then talk to Ji. That's why he was having trouble. His priorities were out of order. Aven turned on his heel and hurried to the other end of the ship, eager to see the cranky old man for the first time.