Outskirts of Sang Bur, country of Andilir

1,487 years after the Pretian Split

802 years after the fall of the Old Gaaric Empire

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As soon as Enji had received the news, he had set out for Mountain Spirit Tavern, Irikri's payment at the theater heavy in his pocket.

The old man had arrived first despite taking the evening train from Fai, and the tavern-keeper wordlessly directed Enji to the appropriate room upstairs.

"Thank you," Enji said at the door, turning to pay her.  The price of her silence significantly lightened the purse he had received from Irikri, but she had proven that she could be trusted, and he wasn't about to risk her loyalty now.

She merely nodded and turned to go back downstairs, and Enji focused his attention on the door in front of him.

Candlelight glimmered under the doorway, and with an intake of breath, Enji cracked open the door.

The room's occupant was seated on a wooden chair beside a matching table, hunched over an upturned boot held between his knees and scraping at the bottom of it with a knife.  He looked older than when Enji had last seen him, with deeper lines on his face and more fat around his middle.

The man looked up with a grunt at the sound of the creaking hinges.  "Finally."

As soon as the door was firmly closed behind him, Enji turned and tossed the purse on the table with a thud that rattled the rickety legs. "You need to be more careful with who you refer to me, Uhi," he said.

Uhi grunted again, more focused on dislodging the pebble stuck in the sole of his boot.

"Did you know the Sylterrans have deployed their mercenaries here? I met one just a few days ago, and he seemed to know me pretty well."

That got the old man's attention. "I never sent any Sylterrans after you," he growled, straightening up from his crouch.

Enji tilted his head curiously, stepping forward. "And a Montese girl?"

"I haven't seen someone from that country in months," Uhi affirmed, setting the boot and knife down and crossing his arms. "And come to think of it, I haven't even referred someone to you directly in at least two winters."

Enji raised a brow. "Well, somehow they knew my name, and managed to convince Irikri it was a good idea to meet me. And Irikri said they were referred by you."

"Irikri?" Uhi rubbed his chin, then moved up to scratch agitatedly at the back of his head, topknot shifting at the motion. "The last customer I referred to Irikri was someone Saer Lon knew, and they weren't Sylterran or Montese. What did they want?"

Enji let out a sigh and pulled out another chair, sitting down across from the older man. "Irikri told me it was about a Pretian ring, with dragons circling a blue gem set in the middle."

"Well, that is the description they gave me. But it wasn't a Montese girl who was the customer. And I'm guessing they weren't looking for just a ring?"

Enji slowly shook his head, his smile humorless. Uhi cursed.

"They already knew your name?" the man asked, furrowing his brow. "And a Sylterran—oh."

Uhi's cheeks puffed out as he exhaled at the realization. Enji leaned an elbow on his knee, propping his chin up with a fist while waiting for the answer.

"Hintoro and his big mouth," Uhi grit out. "It was a scorpion wine transfer from Saer Lon's place."

"Who's Saer Lon?" It was the second time the man had mentioned her.

Uhi waved a hand dismissively. "Some half-drunk in Fai. Used to be a soldier for the Rebel King 'til the man nearly killed her brother. She's mostly useless, but I took pity on her and let her in on some smuggling operations, with restricted access to the rest of our network. She also takes guests in her boarding house for additional revenue, and one of them was a Sylterran who got into her wine. She isn't even supposed to have anyone over during the shipments."

"And where does Hintoro fall in all of this?" Enji pressed.

"The Sylterran said he was a jeweler, looking for rare stones, and Hintoro's face lit up like a lantern on fire." Uhi glowered at the ground. "You can imagine he was eager to suggest a referral."

Enji let out a sigh. "It still doesn't explain how Saer Lon's client switched from being Andilirish to Montese."

"Needless to say, I'll be cutting her off from our operations completely," Uhi assured. "She's proven she can't be trusted. I had my doubts anyway, given her shady past, but now it's certain."

"Not yet," Enji said, tone thoughtful. "She lives in Fai, you said?"

Eyebrow raised, Uhi slowly nodded. "Yes, why?"

"I think I'd like to pay her a visit."

Enji rose from the chair, readying to leave, and Uhi jumped to his feet, stumbling a little as his lack of a left shoe threw off his balance for a moment.

"You can't," Uhi said.

Enji turned to look back over his shoulder. "Why not?"

"You know very well why not!"

Enji turned to fully face Uhi. "You think I can't handle the situation?"

"I've kept the members of our network distant for a reason, Enji," Uhi growled, resentful at the challenge. "That way, if the Rebel King catches wind of our operations, it would only compromise a few of us. You're risking everything by going to Fai. Saer Lon won't just know your name then, she'll also know what you look like, and where specifically your rank in our operations. You'd risk trusting someone like her with that knowledge?"

"Who says I'd introduce myself as Enji?" he countered. "You said she takes in boarders at her establishment. Couldn't I just be a traveler passing by?"

Uhi gave a disbelieving chuckle. "You wouldn't be so foolish. Not after all the time and hard work you've put into getting where you are now."

"She won't expect it," Enji replied, gathering his cloak.

"And if her customers return? The very ones who wanted to see you about the 'ring'?"

Enji raised his hood, thinking back to the night at the warehouse. "Something tells me it will be some time before they return."

"You could lose everything!"

Enji froze with his back to the older man, his hand hovering over the door handle.  Finally, he turned back to flash a bitter smile.

"I already have."

~*~*~*~*~

The end!  ...of the first book.  Hahaha what have I done.

I'm really bad at dedicating chapters/thanking people but I'd like to just take a moment and thank all of you and my writing friends who've been reading and/or just providing your support.  I really appreciate you all!

Including StillWithYouJK, Thomas-LF, Amanda-Mae, ericalaurie, mariemaybren, vampy-affair, alpha_wolf_263, Amin_Isha, livinglindsey, q-t-ash, Fathii7, and lillithbooks

YOU ALL ARE THE BEST!

I've never had much patience for second drafts but there are quite a few changes I'd like to go back and make in this story, if I had all the time in the world.  As for the sequel, I'm hoping to start working on it sometime in December or January, as I'll be pretty busy with life things in October and November.  And sometime before Dec/Jan I hope to make those edits to this story, and finish Forever Green as well, so I ~only~ have 2 in-progress stories to work on (Why is my brain like this lol).  So, here's to hoping I can stick with a semi-decent writing schedule! *clinks glass*

Thank you all again and have a lovely Autumn!