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After Kiiss's visit, Vinie and the others laid low on Nadathan and Sula's jaliboot for the next two days. Their stock of flatbread ran out, forcing Bakko and Sula to foray out into the Moaanese markets to buy more food. Vinie and Gideo had not been happy to be left behind on the boat, but Bakko rightly pointed out that of the three of them he was the least recognizable.

It wasn't until the third day that Kiiss returned. By this time everyone was so stir crazy that they could have almost welcomed the shifty art merchant. Kiiss blew into the cabin in a swirl of dusky yellow wraps and bronze jewelry. Vinie thought she brought to mind a large, rather smug canary.

"When you told us to wait here, we thought you meant for a day, not three," Sula grumbled, arms folded and fingers drumming on the thin fabric of her tunic.

Kiiss was nonplused. "My dear Easterner, you have much to learn of organization. One does not simply harbor fugitives without due preparation. Now then, how soon can you be ready to leave?"

"Leave?" Vinie asked. Her eyes still burned slightly from the bright light when Kiiss had opened the cabin door. Staying hidden inside the jaliboot had done little for her mood, or anyone else's.

"Did I stutter? Come now Vinie, you can hardly expect to conduct a rebellion when you can scarcely stick your nose outside for fear of arrest. The whole of Moaan is still in an uproar looking for the five of you. If you really are serious about this little venture of yours, you need to be closer to the rest of the world, especially the capital. I happen to have just the place for you, my dear miscreants, in Falerik."

Immediately there were protests.

"What about our boat?" Nadathan demanded.

"How will people even know to find us in Falerik?"

"Why on this good earth would we want to be closer to Amenthere? Or the haunted forest for that matter?!"

"What good will Falerik do us? The people are here, in Moaan?"

Rather than answer any of the flurry of questions being flung at her, Kiiss merely stood with her arms crossed, wearing an infuriatingly smug smile. When no further information was forthcoming, one by one the rest of them began to fall quiet. Only when the entire cabin lapsed into terse silence did Kiiss speak again.

"Your boats will be held in trust for you by my people, to use for our trade ventures so long as you are inland. Consider them collateral in exchange for my help." Before Vinie, Gideo, Nadathan, and Sula could start shouting again, she ploughed onward. "Only people whom you want to be found by will be able to seek you out in Falerik, because I will teach you how to disseminate information by 'informal channels'. You want to be closer to Amenthere because if you're going to challenge a dynasty, you need to start by learning how the larger world works. And no, staying in Moaan is not possible, not unless your goals include being arrested. Any more questions?"

"Yes," Nadathan said. "What else do you want from us that you haven't seen fit to mention yet?"

Kiiss had the gall to look insulted. "Such miserly attitudes! I think I am being more than slightly over-generous as far as you people are concerned. There is, however, one more thing. It's hardly an imposition though, seeing as it provides you with both information and a new skill set."

"Ugh, just come out and say it. What do you want?" Vinie's rather limited supply of patience was quickly burning low. Kiiss seemed to be good at burning her particular candle from both ends.

"Him."

Kiiss pointed a bejeweled finger squarely at Gideo, who had been glowering in a corner of the cabin ever since the merchant's arrival. His expression quickly changed from badly concealed irritation to open bewilderment.

"What do you think you mean; you want me?" he demanded.

"Whatever she means, the answer is no," Vinie interrupted. Even Bakko's wrinkled face was deeply screwed up in disapproval.

"Oh, calm down and get your brains out of the bunk," Kiiss giggled, clearly pleased with the effect her pronouncement had had on all of them. "To clarify, I want Gideo to accompany me back to Amenthere from Falerik once we get you all situated in your new hideout. He can pose as one of my retainers. He'll learn about the royal court, get to observe the nobility and even the royals close up, and come back with so much information to pass to you that you'll be able to order King Mahir's own breakfast for him." Now Kiiss's smile did take on a slightly salacious edge. "The added benefit being my eyes getting to enjoy more of his strapping good looks up close."

"Would you stop speaking about me as if I weren't even here?" Gideo snarled, his dark cheeks flushed hotly. "Or as if I were one of your art pieces?"

"Take it as a compliment! You are one of nature's finest pieces in my mind. Besides, if you learn to embrace your looks, you might just find them useful in Amenthere, especially in Vaelona for that matter, if you ever find yourself up there."

"Kiiss." Bakko spoke up in a warning tone. "Leave the boy alone."

Vinie was no more receptive to the suggestion. "You think we would just let you spirit Gideo off with you, straight into the hornet's nest?"

Nadathan and Sula, for their part, seemed happy enough to stay as far out of this particular argument as they could. Sula had adopted a far more possessive stance beside the bench where Nadathan sat, Vinie noticed, like a female hyena claiming her mate.

"I think you'll start thinking of the bigger picture here, FireBelly," Kiiss replied tartly. "You don't get to turn the world upside-down without making some sacrifices."

"That's rich coming from you who seems well set up to profit each step of the way."

"Do you even want my help? Honestly, I ought to just leave and let you backwater peasants fend for yourselves!"

"Alright! I agree!"

"Why don't y...what?" Vinie stopped in mid-retort. All eyes were now on Gideo, who had shouted loud enough to be heard above all the bickering. He shoved a hand back through his tangle of sweaty curls, glowering at Kiiss in an odd mix of resentment and resignation.

"I agree. You want me to come with you to Amenthere, you got me." Vinie made no protest, but Gideo held up a hand, forestalling any further arguments. "I have a condition of my own though."

"Name your price, my dear." Kiiss was all of the sudden back to her beguiling, amiable self. Gold powder shimmered on her eyelids as she batted them at Gideo.

"If I'm to be a spy, which I take it is what you're driving at, then I want to go one step further. Do you have contacts with..." Gideo paused then, ignoring Vinie's incredulous stare, "...assassins?"

For once, even Kiiss appeared caught off guard. She even glanced furtively around the cabin before answering, as if worried Gideo's words had summoned just such a person. "Are you familiar with the phrase 'kindling a star'?"

Gideo shook his head. "No."

"Ah, well, I didn't think so. Anyways, its slang for murder in a lot of places in Goran, the south not included. There may or may not be a group in Amenthere who call themselves 'Stargazers.' If you're certain, I could probably call in a favor and see that one finds you once we reach the capital."

There was an entirely new light to the way Kiiss now looked at Gideo as she spoke. Even Nadathan and Sula's prominent eyebrows had arched upwards a few degrees. Gideo just nodded, not looking at anyone else but Kiiss, not even Vinie.

"Then in that case we have a deal. We aren't splitting up until after Falerik though, yas?"

"Naturally." Kiiss adjusted the sash of her deep yellow wraps. "Gather your things and meet me at the end of the Serpent's Tunnel in an hour's time. Leave your boats as they are." Vinie and Nadathan glowered. "I give you my word; you will find them in much the same condition if you ever have need of them again."

Leaving a muddle of emotions in her wake, their merchant benefactor gathered herself and blew out of the jaliboot cabin. Even the sudden flash of sunlight from outside did little to brighten the mood.

OoOoO

It had taken far less than an hour to gather their meager possessions from both the jaliboot and the dhow. For Nadathan and Sula, leaving their keen craft was more a matter of materialism than nostalgia. For Vinie though, the thought of leaving one of her few reminders of Zaneo in the hands of Kiiss and her people was wrenching. Even walking away down the edge of the Serpent's Tunnel felt like abandoning a living thing.

True to her word, Kiiss was waiting for them at the edge of the market. No sooner had the sun touched their sandals than they were whisked into a sandalwood carriage drawn by a pair of zebras with shining gold bridles. It was stately transportation, and Bakko voiced concern about attracting attention.

"Nonsense my dear!" Kiiss had exclaimed with a dismissive wave. "I'm well known to the powers that be in Moaan, and they like me well enough to leave me to my business."

"More like you're bribing Lord Xolani and Lady Oesu," Bakko surmised.

"Only half true." With a smug grin and a wink, Kiiss had refused to reveal any further details.

That left Nadathan, Sula, Bakko, Gideo, and Vinie to ride in awkward silence with their perfumed hostess. Vinie risked a peek or two beneath the beaded curtains covering the carriage windows. Outside, Moaan was just as crowded, sunny, and lively as it had been when they first arrived almost a week ago. The sight would have entranced Vinie and demanded further people-watching, but when a quartet of city guards passed dangerously close to the carriage she quickly dropped the beaded strands back into place.

Only when Kiiss became distracted by a question from Sula did Vinie poke Gideo to get his attention. Gideo jumped slightly, making Bakko shoot him a sideways look on the other side of the carriage seat.

"What was that all about, asking after assassins?" Vinie whispered.

"Vinie, I've been thinking about where this course might take us. You have to admit, having someone who can both gather information and act on it inside the palace can only be a good thing."

"Gather information yas, but you're no killer, Gideo."

Gideo's lips twitched slightly, and he rubbed his forearm. Vinie was aware then just how much bigger and broader around than hers his arms were. The tattooed seals on his bicep rippled across lean muscle as if riding waves. Seemingly following her thoughts, Gideo leaned in to whisper back.

"As much as I hate to admit, Kiiss is right about finding value in what I have. If I can use my face to make people want me close to them, then I should also be ready to use my hands to take advantage of that."

"That's crazy! We can make southern independence happen without-"

"Without anyone getting killed? Vinie, King Mahir isn't going to just let the south walk away from the rest of Goran. Kiiss knows it, I know it, and surely you know it too by now." Leaning back in his seat, Gideo wiped the sweat from the stifling heat of the carriage from his neck. "I just want to be ready if the need, or the chance arises."

Uncomfortable silence even deeper than before lapsed between the people in Kiiss's carriage. It came as a welcome relief when after nearly two hours of winding through tightly packed Moaanese streets they finally reached their destination.

"We're here," Kiiss declared.

"And where is here?" Sula had taken out her barbed knife during the long ride to sharpen, and still had it out on her lap. She drummed her square-cut nails on the hilt, warningly.

"The northern gates of Moaan. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a favor to extract from the guard on duty."

With no further explanation Kiiss exited the carriage, leaving the five of them to wait and wonder. Nadathan broke the quiet with a dry chuckle.

"I've known merchants in the East, but none like her. More like a black-market crime eimir, she is!"

"Are we entirely sure that she isn't?" Vinie replied.

"We aren't sure of anything that she says." Bakko lifted a window screen to check outside. "This is a leap of faith we're taking here, and we'll all be lucky to come out of it in one piece."

"Where was that caution earlier?" Gideo grumbled.

"The same place as your principles," snapped Vinie, still in a churlish mood over their whispered exchange.

"She's comin' back!" Bakko interrupted whatever Gideo might have tried to say in his defense. Sure enough, less than a moment later Kiiss opened the carriage door to climb back in next to Sula and Nadathan.

"Well?" Nadathan asked.

"Well what?"

"Did you-"

Nadathan's inquiry was answered when the carriage lurched into motion once again. There was a shadow as they passed beneath the northern city gate. Then they were out in the open with nothing on either side but lush hills covered with a thick green carpet of rainforest. The sound of birds echoed all around, and the scent of jungle filled their nostrils. After the fresh ocean breezes of Utunma and the sweaty, spicy aroma of Moaan, it was yet another completely new experience for Vinie.

It occurred to her just how little she really knew of the wider world beyond southern Goran. If Moaan had seemed a foreign, exciting place to her naïve eyes, what could the rest of the kingdom possibly contain? Even more importantly, what sort of people would they encounter? Would they find more allies for their cause, like Nadathan and Sula? More shady characters like Kiiss? Would they even speak in the same tongues, or act in ways which Vinie could understand? After hearing Gideo literally ask to be sought out by murderers, Vinie wasn't even sure she completely understood her own closest companions.

With nothing else to do but dwell on these uncertainties, Vinie propped an elbow up against the frame of the carriage window and watched the jungle outside roll by.

A low humming reached Vinie's ears from the other side of the carriage seat. Where had she last heard that song? Now alert, she looked away from the window to find her Bakko likewise enraptured with the rolling green landscape outside. Bakko's posture mirrored her own. He was singing to himself an old sea-faring song about a sunken palace. Memories of being sung to sleep by that very song after her mum had died came back to Vinie unbidden. Unaware that he was now being watched, Bakko continued to hum, his voice as rich as it had ever been even while resonating within his shrunken frame.

Comforted, Vinie smiled despite herself. No matter where she went or what happened, at least she had her dad with her. A flash of color flew by the carriage window, and she was immediately drawn to follow the flight of a bright red parrot. Very, very quietly, Vinie began to hum too.

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