“That’s all I know. He tracks the thief, then we get a signal and a location if we have to intervene. I don’t even know why they bother with us if they have someone like that.”

“To keep it low-key,” Jason said absently. “Who do you work for?”

“What I told you already gets me hurt,” Jacob said. “Telling you that gets me killed.”

“I know that guy,” one of the dockworkers called out.

Jason turned and flipped him a bronze spirit coin.

“Jack-Jumper Jacob,” the dockworker said. “He’s one of Dorgan’s.”

Jason didn’t know more than the basics about the Big Three. Dorgan was the quiet one, while the ambitious Ventress and the impetuous Silva worked their schemes against one another.

“Things are coming together,” Jason said absently, “but there’s a connection missing.”

“That’s enough, Asano,” a harsh voice said.

A man approached through the crowd of dockworkers. He was human, with well-made, sandy coloured clothes. Jason could sense no aura, but the workers instinctively moved out of his way. Jason was willing to bet the aura he couldn’t sense was silver.

“Your quarry has escaped,” the newcomer said, “and you’ve got all you’re getting out of these men. Time to give up and try another day, Asano.”

Jason tutted.

“She won’t be happy you had to show up in person,” he said.

The silver-ranker flinched. Jason chuckled.

“Fair enough,” Jason said. “I have somewhere else to be, anyway.”

* * *

Sophie was unconscious but alive, still on the examination table but now with a sheet over her. Jory and Donal were exhausted; Donal was sprawled in the room’s only chair while Jory was on the floor, leaning against the wall. On the floor were dozens of empty vials that Jory had used to treat Sophie, or that Donal had emptied to replenish his mana.

“It was some kind of curse,” Donal said. “Two curses, really. One was making the poison worse, while the other was adding more poison to the first curse. The curse that kept making more of the other two couldn’t be cleansed until the other curse was cleansed, and she had so much of it in her when she arrived.”

“Too bad Jason isn’t here,” Jory said. “He’d have eaten it all like it was nothing.”

“Eaten?”

“He can be a little sinister,” Jory said, “but he’s a good man.”

“I hope you still think so, after today,” Jason said from the doorway.

“Jason!” Jory said. “We could have used you here a while ago. Something happened to my friend a while ago. I don’t know what, but it was bad.”

Jory and Donal pushed themselves to their feet.

“Curses and poison,” Jason said, looking at Sophie.

Jason was decked out in his adventuring gear, spattered with blood.

“Are you chasing what did this to her?” Jory asked.

“I’m chasing her,” Jason said. “I am what did this.”