"He personally picked off four of us in the boat before the other mutineers took up the same game and began showering us with arrows." Staso touched his cheeks. "But this was one of Yu Mao's. I know it. It knocked me into the bottom of the boat and that was the only reason I survived. When I woke, I was lying under dead men. Sow was gone. Brin and Yu Mao had left us for the birds."

Tycho's eyes were drawn tight and focused on Staso. Li had a feeling he was committing the whole story to memory, the better for a retelling later. "What did you do?" asked the bard.

"What any man with the will to survive would do," said Staso. "I broke the shaft of Yu Mao's arrow and pulled the pieces out of my cheeks. I pushed the dead weight of my former mates overboard. And I rowed. I rowed until my hands were blistered, then I bound them up, and I rowed some more. Sharks followed my boat for a day and I thank Umberlee that nothing worse found me. Maybe the captain's spirit was watching over me, too, because I hit the coast of Altumbel the next day. As soon as I set foot on dry land, I swore that I would never take to the sea again. But a man's got to eat, and thieving's the only trade I know. The Stitched Man was too well known, though. And whether the captain's curse was real or not, I didn't want word that I was alive getting back to Sow." His eyes drifted, and he shuddered. "I may not fear death now, but when I came ashore, I feared Yu Mao more than anything in this world or the next."

"So you took the identity of the Hooded," guessed Li. "And Yu Mao's swords?"

"Sold them to that idiot Jacerryl Dantakain for enough gold to get me started. When word spread at the end of the winter that Sow hadn't been sighted in several ten-days, I was happier than a clam. I even started to wonder if the captain's curse really had come to pass-until Brin walked into town with his herd of pigs."

Li tilted his head. "He'd escaped the curse?" Staso just shrugged.

"I don't even know if there was a curse. Yu Mao might have been right. Brin's dagger might have killed the captain before her magic was finished. Ships vanish frequently enough without being cursed."

"Maybe there was a curse, maybe there wasn't," suggested Tycho. "Tales I've heard always make curses out to be fickle things and someone who is frightened enough of a curse might just take it seriously. The captain of Sow wished that the sea take Brin like the pig he is." He gave his crooked smile. "Brin's never far from at least one pig. Whether the curse is real or not, Brin thinks he's found a way around it-surround himself with pigs and the sea won't find him. Whatever happened to Sow, Brin survived. Maybe there were pigs around when he did."

Staso glowered. "That's insane."

"No one has accused Brin of sanity lately."

"I hope he's sane enough to answer one question for me," growled Li. His hand tightened on the sword hilt. "You tell a good story," he told Staso, "and all I can do is apologize for what Yu Mao did. But I still need to know what happened to him."

The scarred man shook his head. "I only know what I saw that last night on Sow and what I've heard since-or what I haven't heard. There's been no word of Yu Mao, alive or dead."

Breath hissed between Li's teeth, and he caught Tycho's eye. The bard grimaced and Li knew that they were thinking the same thing: they had answers, but not enough.

They still needed to go back to Brin.

Li looked back to Staso and flicked the sword tip a little closer to him. "The beljurils that Jacerryl Dantakain sold you yesterday. Where are they?"

Staso tipped his head toward a big chest in the corner of the room. Tycho scrambled for it, but Li stopped him with a hiss. He glanced at Staso's interpreter. "Let her open it," he suggested.

The young woman's eyes, wide from the telling of her master's tale, shrank and she shook her head sharply. Li slipped the sword up against Staso's neck. "If the chest is trapped," he said, "you should tell her how to disarm it." Staso's mouth twisted and he said something softly to the young woman. She nodded desperately. Tycho freed her from her silken bonds and, one hand near his dagger, led her to the chest. Trembling fingers touched and slid, not along the obvious latch, but across the sides of the chest's lid. Hidden catches clicked. Hands still shaking slightly, the young woman twisted the front latch and lifted the lid.

Nothing happened. She gasped and relaxed, deep breaths wracking her body, but she reached inside just deep enough to produce a small velvet bag. Tycho glanced into the chest as well. "Your dao is here, too, Li!" He snatched out the weapon and clipped it awkwardly to his belt. "Bind me, there's a lot of other-"

"Don't take anything else, Tycho. We're not the thieves here."

The bard swore softly, but stepped away from the chest, prodding Staso's young woman ahead of him. He tugged open the bag and spilled a tiny handful of gems into his palm. His face lit up. "They're all here."

"Good." Li began to rise.

A sudden yell from the stairs below interrupted him. "Hooded! Hooded!" Footsteps started up.

Li froze, sword still at Staso's neck. Tycho thought faster than he did. He spun the young woman around to face the stairs. "Stop him!" he hissed.

Startled, she spat out imperiously, "Don't come up!" Tycho prodded her and she added, "What is it?"

The unseen man on the stairs seemed taken aback by the orders from above. "I… I just came in with news and found the others trapped! It was Tycho-he must have escaped. Are you all right?"

Tycho's gaze darted to Li. The Shou grimaced. It had only been a matter of time! Tycho whispered hastily to Staso's interpreter. "I'm fine!" she called down. Her eyes were wide with shock and fear, and it seemed she relayed Tycho's words purely out of instinct. "Tycho must have gotten out!"

"Dilla says she didn't see him or his Shou friend come through the shop."

Tycho clenched his jaw. "Li?" he hissed.

"Li?" Staso's interpreter repeated out loud.

"Hooded?" asked the man on the stairs, Tycho winced and poked the young woman. She squeaked.

"Stall him!" Li said softly. He grabbed Staso's fallen hood with his free hand and tossed it to the scarred man. "Get that back on." At the stairs, Tycho whispered to the young woman-she called down to the man below to deliver his news.

The answer that came back wasn't good. "There's fire in dockside. A tavern called the Wench's Ease."

Tycho stiffened. Li's stomach tightened. An accident? It didn't seem likely. He hauled Staso to his feet, sword close to his neck. The long blade was awkward so close, and he would have dropped it for a dagger if he could have. "Tie her again," he told Tycho. "Fast." As the bard grabbed for the long piece of silk and looped it quickly around the interpreter's wrists, Li thrust Staso over to the head of the stairs. The man below-a guard even younger than the interpreter, it seemed-looked up and alarm spread across his face.

"Get off the stairs," Li ordered him. He said it slowly and clearly, making sure the young man understood every word-and that he ctrald see the sword at the Hooded's throat. "We're coming down. Keep all your men back!"

The man nodded. He stepped down the stairs backward and vanished. Li heard him yelling.

Staso snarled something out, a long threat. Li growled back at him, pulling the sword closer, but he just kept babbling harshly. Tycho gave the interpreter a shake. "What's he saying?"

The young woman swallowed. "Even if you get out, do you think I'm going to let this pass? You've threatened me. You've made me look weak in front of my men. You know my identity. You-"

"That's enough," said Li. He tightened his grip on Staso. "You listen to me," he said over the hooded man's unintelligible threats. "We're not going to tell anyone who you are. I gave you back your hood, didn't I? Keep peace with us and your identity stays a secret. Come after us or try to kill us, and his magic-" He nodded to Tycho. "-will whisper your secret and word of your hideout to every person in Spandeliyon. Including Brin. I'm sure he'd like to see you again."