The Wine-house of Liyung was... repulsive. Emilia decided, as she surveyed the space, following behind Nai as her servant led the way into the room. Straw littered the floor- not necesarily a good sign, as straw was usually used to cover up smells of vomit, or other detritus, which Emilia could absolutely smell in the space.

  At the far side of the room, past simple square tables, and relatively few seated men, the keeper of the winehouse was organizing ceramic jars on the far side of the room. Emilia recognised the symbols for different kinds of rice-wine, marked by color to indicate more floral, fruity, or savory tastes, as well as some wines made from other fruits more prominently displayed, and doubtlessly more expenseive.

  Nai sat at the counter, somehow both perfectly poised and somehow thoroughly intimidating.

  Emilia chose to stand next to her, one hand resting lightly on her Piandao, just in case something unexpected were to happen.

  "We're here looking for a man." Nai snapped. catching the owner's attention. He glanced at the two women, appartently ready to turn away, until he saw the seal of Langshen on Emila's shoulder.

  He swallowed audibly.

  "What man are you looking for?"

  "A foreigner." Nai barked. "Avalonian, we hear. According to the people of this town, he drinks here often."

  The man relaxed - a little.

  "Ah, yes - he's known around here. One of the few whose still willing to go out into the trees , as a result, he's one of the few who still has a bit of money to burn."

  "He's a worker then?" Emilia asked, keeping her voice low, and calm, as she tried to appraise the man behind the counter.

  "Yeah - under the latest overseer. A man from Goka, if i had to guess. Overseer has a bit of foreigner mixed in, if you understand what I mean."

  Emilia fought a scowl.

  "They both drink here?"

  "No - the Overseer doesn't waste his time here. Stays at home when he's not working. No one's really learned much about him - just that he's strict, and reports to the foreman."

  Emilia nodded.

  "What time does the Avalonian come to drink?" Nai snapped.

  "Now." A voice boomed behind them, and Emilia turned. Her eyes widened as a man stepped through the door, setting a leather hat on a hook by the entrance. He stood nearly a head taller than the other men in the room, with bright green eyes, and, as they had been told, hair the color of wheat before it is cut. He crossed the space, each footfall sounding through the room before he took a seat next to Emilia, leaning against the counter with a grin.

  Emilia tried not to flinch, and she felt Nai bristling next to her.

  "So tell me..." The man said, his accent thicker even than Emilia was expecting, although he spoke the language of Yosae without too much trouble, "Why are two pretty girls asking after me this late on a fall day? Hm? I haven't filled my bed yet tonight, if you're looking to give the foreigner a try. I hear most find it quite enjoyable."

  Nai bristled, to the point that Emilia was worried she would try to kill the man there and then, before he turned to the owner.

  "D'karo. Strong." He tossed a handful of bronze coins onto the counter. "You know what I like."

  The owner said nothing, simply nodding, before he pulled a black ceramic bottle off of the shelf behind him, and poured two surprisingly large cups of the strong alcoholic drink for the large Avalonian.

  He turned back to the pair, eyes roaming over their attire. Emilia cringed.

  "Gauging by the attire..." He lifted one of the cups and took a sip. "You are from Langshen." he pointed to Nai. "Secretary, or servant of some kind. Assasin maybe? That would be fun." He grinned, and Emilia's heart stopped at the momentary malice that radiated off of the man for a brief instant. He turned to Emilia, frowning as he examined her. "You... I don't know. Are you some kind of musician? Minstrel? A special class of harlot perhaps?"

  Emilia blushed, and next to her, Nai was fuming.

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  "You will show the spirit guide the proper respect she deserves." Nai hissed.

  The man cocked his head to the side, long blond hair drifting with the motion.

  "Oh? You are a kind of spirit-whisperer? Fascinating." He took another drink. "All the spirit whisperer's I've met were... surprisingly stuffy. Weak too."

  He showed his teeth again, setting off alarm bells.

  "Where have you been, Carrow?" the owner snuck in a comment. "Haven't seen you for the past couple days."

  The Avalonian, Carrow, apparently, shrugged, turning away from the women at his side.

  "You know me, bit of cutting, bit of waiting for the foreman to be less of a coward so I can do more cutting, the usual."

  The owner said nothing, merely nodding as he cleaned a cup, and set it back on it's place on his shelf. A girl - likely the owner's daughter, brought cups back from the tables, which the owner began cleaning.

  "Have you been in Liyung long?" Emilia asked. Internally, she was praying desperately for guidance. She had never been the best at reading people. That fact aside, she still wasn't sure, even if the man in front of her was guilty, how she was supposed to reconcile that guilt with the guardian spirit of Liyung.

  "Not long, not for me anyway." The man chuckled. "I won't be staying long either. Too much to do, understand?"

  He leaned towards her suddenly, and Emilia had her sword half drawn, Nai's daggers fully unsheathed, drawing a sadistic chuckle from the man before them.

  "Feisty... I can approve of that." Nai scowled, not even trying to mask the disgust.

  Emilia felt a flicker from her goddess, and she grasped onto it, as she met eyes with the foreigner.

  "I think I'll be seeing you girls around." He sneered, downing his second cup in a single swallow, ignoring the burn that had to be searing down his throat, as he set the cup upside down on the counter. "As good as usual, Manu-Hau. I'll be back tomorrow evening."

  He smiled at Emilia. for a moment, she could have sworn his face flickered for a moment, becoming more skeletal, for the briefest of instances, his hand on the counter seeming... twisted, wrong.

  The image was gone as quickly as it had arrived, leaving a normal, if repulsive, man who walked out of the room.

  "Good luck, Spirit Guide."

  He turned to her in the doorway, grinning again.

  "I think you are going to be very busy soon."

  He left.

  Emilia met Nai's gaze.

  This man was not the one who had burnt down her village, was not the necromancer who had been destroying lives across Yosae.

  Why did she feel like she had met him before?

  There was no mirth, in Liyung. That's what stood out the most to Emilia, as she sat, again, at the foot of the statue of Meili'Yeostli as night fell over the town. No songs, no dances in the square. No lanterns lit.

  She could see the life this town used to have. She could see that one corner of the square seemed set aside for music, could practically read the ghosts of dances in the dust. Empty. Cold. A single man on a horse rode slowly around the edge of town, lighting the spirit-lamps to fend of the enraged spirits, to prevent them from passing the spirit stones as twilight faded. Stars began to appear, overhead, as the moon drifted by, waxing slowly towards full.

  Nai was at the other side of the square. Buying some simple vegetables.

  Emilia couldn't help but think of how much she missed the maitz of her hometown, or of how desperately she wanted a meal of steamed roots, buttered and salted, as she had learned to do up in the mountains, once she had started living in the shrine to La Catrina.

  She couldn't shake the oppressive fog, that seemed to settle over the town. The swirling miasma of death and loss that swept through the streets.

  A tear fell from her cheek, as the chill of autumn slowly faded into the true cold of night. She didn't want to play, but she forced her fingers to caress the strings, forced the bone pick to strike out a slow tune, tried to weave the sadness of the town into the notes. No magic, not tonight. She had nothing she wished to pray for right now she just... needed to take the sadness of this town, and put it somewhere that wasn't inside her.

  Nai met her at the corner.

  "It's been a busy day, Spirit guide. We should discuss what we've found at the house that has been provided for us."

  Emilia nodded, following her maidservant back to the cottage they had been assigned. They had a new pair of guards, with actual weapons this time, as it would seem the Jiak had determined their protection to be worth the effort. It was still clear as day that the guards were just normal men from the town, given weapons, but Emilia appreciated the gesture.

  She nodded to them.

  "Thank you." She told the guard on the left, the one who seemed most alert. "We won't be leaving our residence tonight, I trust the watch will be maintained?"

  The guard nodded, eyes softening as he saw the expression on her face.

  "Yes. We will ensure someone stays here, Lady Yun."

  Emilia nodded, stepped through the door, and closed it behind her. Nai was already starting a fire, the teapot hung from the hearth, the vegetables quickly cut and entering a pot over the flames.

  Emilia sat down, on the bed, having learned from the previous night.

  "I don't even know where to begin." She whispered.

  Nai sighed.

  "This has quickly spiraled into a much larger conspiracy than I was expecting. I don't know if the Juyt'layi was aware of the scope of the problem or not, but... it is now very much our problem to deal with."

  Emilia pulled her knees up to her chest.

  "I've never... had to deal with someone angering the spirits on purpose." she whispered. "They... they operate under rules, you know. La'Catrina taught them to me, as part of my training, once my parents had died."

  Nai hesitated.

  "Must be nice."

  "What?"

  "Having a god listen to you. That must be nice."

  "Did you... have a god once?"

  Nai hesitated, stirring their simple stew, checking the temperature of the tea.

  "My family did."

  She offered Emilia a cup of tea.

  "It doesn't seem that he cared about us very much."

  They ate, quickly, and quietly.

  "Sleep." Nai told her. "While there are guards, I trust this town as much as I trust Lord Langhsen. I will wake you, and you will need to watch over me as I sleep."

  Emilia nodded, and let dreams claim her.