The only other thing he could think of was to retrieve the amulet that still lay hidden in the stable yard and find a buyer for it. He saw no reason why he couldn’t turn the amulet into enough girlies to support Mam and Mari and attend Wien House too.

No reason except Lucius, who’d told him to keep it out of the Bayars’ hands.

But he wouldn’t need to take it back to the Bayars. He knew lots of dealers from his previous life as a thief. He could sell it in Southbridge Market. What were the chances that the Bayars would ever go to Southbridge? They never had before.

He chose not to listen to the voice in his head that said that it wasn’t his to sell. That said, if he sold it in Fellsmarch it might still make its way back to the previous owners.

Anyway, he’d had nothing but bad luck since he’d picked the amulet up off the ground on the slopes of Hanalea. Maybe this was a chance to change his luck and improve his fortune.

The idea grew in his mind, until he became convinced that he had no choice.

He decided to leave for the city in the late afternoon, reasoning that he could arrive there under cover of darkness when the guard changed. He’d go straight to Ragmarket and fetch the amulet. He could be back in Southbridge when the markets opened and be on his way up Hanalea while the bluejackets were still wiping sleep from their eyes.

He slid his money pouch under his shirt, next to his skin. He’d made a little money working for Willo and running errands in camp for anyone who’d pay. Not near enough. He wrapped some smoked trout and flat bread in a napkin and tucked it into his carry bag. Finally he pulled a cap over his pale hair, hoping it would make him stand out less and not more, and it was cool in the mountains. In the Vale the weather would be warm, but when people described him, they always said, “The fair-headed one.”

There was little traffic on the trail into Fellsmarch at that time of day, mostly hunters and traders on their way home. He made a wide circle around Lucius’s place, not wanting to run into the old man. Han hadn’t seen Lucius since the day he’d found him mourning Han’s tragic death. Han wondered if Lucius had got another boy to take his place. That stung a little.

He passed through the city gate just at dusk with a crowd of acolytes from the local temple, all about his age. They’d been gathering blackberries on the slopes of Hanalea.