Some stepped off the narrow planking of the sidewalk for him, and (quietly)
cursed themselves for it. Still, they would do it again. In appearance, all
tucked in behind his eyes and abristle with sharp blades, he was ‘about as
pleasant as gout or dropsy’, as a certain merchant had once described him.
Well, he was alive. Both the lovely plotter and her traitorous Hell Hound co
conspirator were not. Further, Kadakithis was grateful. And now, as Hanse
discovered to his astonishment back in his quarters, the Prince-Governor had
actually sent him a note!
Hanse recognized the seal and the scrawl at the bottom from other documents.
Since Prince Kadakithis knew that Hanse could not read, the bit of fine paper
contained not writing, but clever drawings. The Governor’s seal, with a hand
extending from it, beckoning to a dark splotch. It was man-shaped – a shadow.
Under that was an untidy jumble of (turnip slices?) with straight lines raying
up from them. Shadowspawn’s frown was a momentary thing. Then he was nodding in
comprehension – he hoped.
‘The P-G wants me to come calling on him, and here’s a promise of reward: shiny
coins. He sealed up the message in the walnut shell and gave it to one of his
harem, with instructions. No one should see Hanse the thief receive a message
from the Prince-Governor, else Hanse’s name become Plague and he be avoided the
same. So that girl found another, and passed on the walnut and a coin, with her
lord’s instructions: “Take this to Moonflower for Hanse.”‘
And she had actually done it, without prying open the shell in an attempt to