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It may have been coin, a written order, a seal, a sample, or nothing more than the merchant’s own hand resting on the table.

No evidence establishes what changed hands.

“The agent left by the southern road?” I ask.

Joran nods. “The Miou watcher followed him to a roadside shrine. A second rider met him there.”

“Description?”

“K’sheng. Older male. Gray winter cloak. He arrived from the direction of Varrus-controlled toll land.”

“Then?”

“They separated. The dark elf continued south. The K’sheng rider returned toward Lowtown.”

The pattern confirms coordination without revealing purpose.

I move to the war table and call a small map of the market into the neptherium. Violet lines form the western row, the southern entrance, the shrine road, and the two lanes surrounding the K’sheng stall.

Joran indicates the abandoned wool counter. “The scout stood here.”

The wagon crossed between that position and the narrow passage. Its route was ordinary. Delivery wagons enter through the southern gate every market morning, and the driver belongs to a Lowtown grain seller with no known Varrus connection.

“Could the obstruction have been arranged?” I ask.

“Yes. We have no evidence that it was.”

“Questioning the driver would expose our concern.”

“The road watcher can examine his next route without contact.”

I alter the map until it shows the merchant’s rear door. The Varrus agent entered after Fiona left, which suggests confirmation or payment. Yet an agent arriving afterward could also deliver unrelated instructions.

Each useful conclusion divides into two possible errors.

That is how Varrus prefers to work.

I place the report on the table.

Chaos gathers at the edge of my hand. I keep it from touching the parchment.

“The market merchant remains watched,” Joran says.

“And Nessa?”

“She returned to her stall near dusk. No one approached her before the scout’s report left.”

“Fiona?”

“She reached the stronghold with the visible guards.”

I knew that already. Through the limited connection, I felt her return as a muted pressure of unease. She spent the evening in the solarium, but I did not seek the reason behind the emotion.

Now I know Nessa lied to her and directed her toward a recently arrived seller.

That may be the demanded service.

It may also be unrelated market manipulation. The report contains no proof that the bundles, the purchase, and the meeting with Varrus’s agent are parts of the same plan.