25

What are you going to do with tiny cheese wheels all day? You don’t know how long you’ll be out looking for information or how wet you’re going to get. No matter how much Maevaris enjoys her spa days, she’s unlikely to appreciate soggy, squashed cheeses out of your back pocket.

But there’s only so long you can stand around in one place before people start to notice—and, in this case, the person who notices first is Hermelin.

“Please,” he says. “Your lurking is not welcome. It discourages the customers.”

“It’s a free market,” you say, but not very forcefully. The last thing you want is to alienate someone who is not only a potential ally to the Shadow Dragons, but also the person who sells the most delicious cheese in the city.

“Perhaps,” he suggests, “you should find somewhere else to be.”

You decide to take Hermelin’s advice.

• To ask the candlehops, turn to page 26.
• To buy a paper, turn to page 31.
• To go somewhere else, turn to page 40.