'Be off with you and open it privily then. You're standing between me and payingclients!'

There were none present, Hanse assured himself before he said, 'In a moment,'and thumb-nailed the brownish wax along the lip-like closure of the walnutshell. He knew Moonflower was frowning, believing that he should be moresecretive, but he also knew what he wanted to do. A gesture, merely a gesture.The scrap of extra fine leaf-paper he took out and poked, still folded, intohis sash. Pressing the shell closed and thumbing the wax into a semblance ofseal, he proffered it to the S'danzo seer who consistently proved that shewas no charlatan.

'For Mignureal,' he said, pretending shyness. 'To scent her... her clothing, orsomething?'

For a moment the flicker of a frown appeared on Moonflower's doughy face, forher big-eyed daughter was quite taken with this dangerous youth from Downwind,whose means of income was no secret. Then she smiled and accepted the scentedshell. It swiftly vanished into the vast cleavage of what she called hertreasure chest, under her shawl.

'You're such a nice boy, Hanse. I'll give it to her. Now you git, and inspectyour message. Maybe some highborn lady wants a bit of dalliance with yourhandsome self!'

The rangy young man called Shadowspawn had left her then. Smile and evenpleasant expression left his face and he swaggered like a Mrsevadan gamecock.Face and walk were part of his image, which none would dare say might stem frominsecurity. Still, Moonflower's words would not have made him smile anyhow. Hewas not handsome and knew it, as he knew that his height was no more thanaverage. The biggest thing about him was his ego - although his lips, which somethought were sensuous, were to him too full. His nickname others had given him.He did not dislike it; his mentor Cudget Swearoath had told him a nickname wasgood to have - even such a one as 'Swearoath'. Hanse was just a name;Shadowspawn was dramatic, with a romantic and rather sinister sound thatappealed to the youth.

He left Moonflower remembering how he had indeed dallied with a beauty of means.Highborn she was not, though she had been from the palace, and richly garbed.Hanse had been touched both in his ego and in his greed, by her attentions. Onlylater had he discovered that it was not truly he she was interested in. She anda fellow plotter were in the employ of someone back in Ranke -the Emperorhimself, perhaps envious or wary of Kadakithis's good looks? - who wanted todiscredit and destroy the new Prince-Governor, him they called Kitty-K-at. Theyhad elected to use Hanse in their plot; Hanse had been their dupe! - for awhile.

But that was done with, and on this later day he left Moon-flower and swaggeredalong the streets. His eyes were hooded and the weapons all too obvious on him.Some stepped off the narrow planking of the sidewalk for him, and (quietly)cursed themselves for it. Still, they would do it again. In appearance, alltucked in behind his eyes and abristle with sharp blades, he was 'about aspleasant as gout or dropsy', as a certain merchant had once described him.

Well, he was alive. Both the lovely plotter and her traitorous Hell Hound coconspirator were not. Further, Kadakithis was grateful. And now, as Hansediscovered to his astonishment back in his quarters, the Prince-Governor hadactually sent him a note!

Hanse recognized the seal and the scrawl at the bottom from other documents.Since Prince Kadakithis knew that Hanse could not read, the bit of fine papercontained not writing, but clever drawings. The Governor's seal, with a handextending from it, beckoning to a dark splotch. It was man-shaped - a shadow.Under that was an untidy jumble of (turnip slices?) with straight lines rayingup from them. Shadowspawn's frown was a momentary thing. Then he was nodding incomprehension - he hoped.

'The P-G wants me to come calling on him, and here's a promise of reward: shinycoins. He sealed up the message in the walnut shell and gave it to one of hisharem, with instructions. No one should see Hanse the thief receive a messagefrom the Prince-Governor, else Hanse's name become Plague and he be avoided thesame. So that girl found another, and passed on the walnut and a coin, with herlord's instructions: "Take this to Moonflower for Hanse."'

And she had actually done it, without prying open the shell in an attempt togain greater treasure than one coin! Well, miracles had happened before, Hansemused, gazing pensively at the strange message. Had she opened the shell, she'dlikely have discarded the note.

Or nervously pressed it back into the shell to scuttle to Moonflower with it.Maybe someone does know that Hanse received a message that shows a beckoninghand from the Rankan seal, and a pile of coin. I hope she's the quiet sort!If I knew who she is, I'd scare her into silence. But then maybe she didn't openit at all...

The point is, I hate to walk into the palace, day or night. How would that look?Me!

Besides, someone inside probably spies for someone out here, and the word wouldbe passed. Hanse just walked right up and in, and he was passed, too! Betterwatch him; maybe he's a spy for that golden-haired Rankan boy in the palace!

And so Hanse had thought on that, and begun to grin, and then to plan, and outhe went to reconnoitre and plan, and now he had broken in, all unseen andunknown, to await his summoner in the latter's own privy apartment!

And now, sitting there waiting, Hanse reflected and contemplated the more, andhis face clouded. The prickling in his arms started slowly, and grew.

Unwittingly the tool of that pretty Lirain who had so cleverly seduced or'seduced' him (with no trouble at all!), he had gained this apartment before,also by night and secretly. That time he had stolen the very symbol of Rankanpower, that wand called the Savankh. Eventually all that had turned out, andgovernor and thief reached an understanding. By way of reward, Hanse was grantedpardon for all he might have done - once he had assured the royal youth that hehad never slain. (He had, since. It afforded him little enjoyment or pride.)Hanse also came out of that painful adventure with a nice little fortune.Unfortunately it was in two saddlebags currently reposing at the bottom of awell. He hoped those saddlebags were of good leather.

Now he had broken in here twice. This time he had proven that he could enterthis apartment without help from inside or out. What then, when Kadakithis gavethought to that?

Hanse had respect for the youthful Rankan's mind. It even possessed a deviousquality. Hanse had seen and felt proof of that, when as Kadakithis's unwillingagent he had participated in the ruin of the two plotters. Bourne and Lirain.

Suppose, the frowning Hanse mused, that Kadakithis pondered and kept thinking.

There existed in Sanctuary one who could gain his chambers and thus his royaland gubernatorial self, at will. At any time, and never mind guards andsentries! Suppose that one chose to come again, as thief? - or was hired to do,as assassin? Would such a possibility not tend to prey on Kadakithis's goodmind? Might he not decide that he was less than wise to trust him called Shadowspawn, a thief and ruthless besides? Might he not go even further in histhinking, and decide - wisely, as he would see it - that all things considered,Hanse was more dangerous than valuable?

In that case, the Prince-Governor might very well conclude, he and thusSanctuary and thus Ranke were better off without such worries, such apossibility. In that event, it might occur to him that the world were better offwithout Hanse's continued presence in it. Nor would the world take heed of thetimely demise of a cocky young thief.