GAME

Ras-Niss twitches his wrist and the porcelain cup at his place flips upright. He seizes the bottle and pours well. Takes a sip, swishes, and smiles. "Good red" he opines. "Now, for Osan: he's a captain of caravan guards, fairly new to the city and hanging about like a wealthy man, measuring out his most recent pay. Has a pet leopard that showed up singed this morning, but Osan hasn't a scratch. Telling some story about the leopard chasing a lizard into a campfire."

"Over in the Shantymaze," says Ras-Niss. "Heard he has a nicer place in there." He pauses. "Some of the people I talked to, said a cat-eyed woman had been asking after him a few days back."