of the more respectable establishments. No fighting’s allowed, and everyone’s required to keep his shirt on.”
I smiled nervously as a group of drunken men jostled past. “That makes me feel so much better.”
I’d never seen such a motley crowd of men. Merchants, gamblers, soldiers, and even a monk or two. About a third were A’landan, a good number were Agorian, and a few, I noticed with a gulp, looked like Balardans—barbarians who’d been fighting A’landi for years. They had helped the shansen in his campaign against Emperor Khanujin.
Edan pointed at a man drinking alone in the corner. “Best leather merchant in town. Go talk to him. You need to make a pair of shoes.” He touched my shoulder and leaned closer. “A bargaining tip—don’t smile so much. You do it when you’re nervous, but these merchants will just think you’re a dolt.”
I frowned at him. “Where are you going?”
“Silk merchants,” Edan said, heading toward a group of men playing cards.
I grunted—I’d far rather haggle with the silk sellers.
“Chess?” the leather merchant asked when I stopped at his table. He was already preparing the pieces for his next game.
I scratched at a mosquito bite on my arm and ignored the offer to play. Chess had always been Finlei’s game, not mine—but I wasn’t terrible. In fact, in all of Port Kamalan, Finlei was the only one who could beat me.
I put on my fiercest haggling expression. “I was told you have leather to sell.”
“This is a drinking house, boy,” replied the merchant. He had a face like his goods—tough, with many creases. “If you’re not here to play, I’m not in the mood for business.”
I took the stool across from him. It was like old times. Usually merchants who ended up in Port Kamalan were too tired to be difficult, but I’d dealt with the worst of them. “How about a game, then? If I win, you’ll give me a swath of your best leather. Free of charge.”
“There must be sand in your eyes.” The merchant laughed and took another swig of his wine. He reminded me of Longhai, but I could see that behind his friendly drawl he was out to cheat me. “I never mix business with pleasure.”
“Even for this?” I took out my pouch of jens from the palace and loosened the opening just enough for the merchant to see what was inside.
His eyes widened. “That’s enough to buy twenty swaths of leather, boy.”
“Oh, would you prefer to sell now?”
He stared at my pouch greedily. “Not a chance.”
Good. I’ll get a free swath of leather. And prove to Edan I’m a better haggler than he is. “You start.”
While he made his move, I studied my side of the board. Chess was a battle of two armies; capturing the opponent’s general meant victory. Finlei had been a master, and the only way to beat him was to make him think he was winning until the very end—when he couldn’t breach the defenses I’d constructed around my general.
The strategy worked. It was a close game, but I beat the merchant tidily. Trying not to swagger with pride, I rolled my newly acquired swath of leather under my arm and went to find Edan.
The drinking house had grown even more crowded. Everywhere, men shouted “More food! More drink!” at the serving boys, who juggled gourds of wine and bowls of steaming noodles, and men who were already drunk shouted too, reciting bad poetry louder than it ought to have been heard. But as I threaded through the chaos, a familiar laugh cut through the din of several men gambling behind a bamboo screen.
My heart jumped wildly in my chest. Norbu?
A straw hat obscured his hair, and he wore a robe far coarser than the ones he’d donned in the palace, but I would recognize that silhouette—and that laugh—anywhere.
His heavy-lidded gaze fixed upon me, and I glanced away quickly, but not fast enough. Norbu caught me staring. His eyes lifted slightly, and his mouth curled into a sneer, one that raised goose bumps on my arms.
He whispered something to the Balardans next to him before slipping out of the gambling room. My heart hammering, I tried to follow. But by the time I’d squeezed through the crowd, Norbu had vanished.
And I had found Edan—or rather, heard him. He was in the back, his long legs splayed across the carpet, laughing and drinking and playing cards with the silk merchants. I stalked toward him, but Edan pretended not to see