“Did you register that weapon at customs, sirrah? Carrying an unlicensed weapon will earn you a steep fine and a sleep or two in lockup.”
Jiao Tu shrugged out of the grip of the paw on his shoulder and whirled around. An older he-goat stood before him, his fur a grizzled grey and black. He wore a dark tunic with a stiff red collar and carried a bronze-clad baton in his belt, both markers of a member of the city guard. The lagomorph smiled wide as he recognized him.
“Constable Joeng! They still let you wear that uniform?”
“My lieutenant let me put it on just special on account of the sword-wielding ruffian rumored to be loose in the city. I suspected it was you at once.”
The goat laughed, and the two clasped forearms. Then the constable looked over at Jiao Tu’s companions. “Traveling with a musician and a dancer? You’ve come up in the world, my friend.”
The tigress laughed her musical laugh. “Jiao Tu, I never knew you had such respectable acquaintances in the city.” She inclined her head to the goat. “Honored to meet you, sirrah.”
Joeng blinked, his slit-pupiled eyes widening and then bowed from the waist. “Lady Karvari then, if I’m not mistaken. I had heard that your beauty was only equal to your courtesy, but I had no idea.” The dancer laughed again, and the goat coughed into a paw, the insides of his ears flushing.
“I’m Farrah,” the mousling spoke up from behind the others. “Jiao Tu’s apprentice.”
The constable looked from Farrah to Jiao Tu and back again. “My deepest condolences, miss,” he said at last, a twinkle in his eyes. The mousling put a paw over her mouth, repressing a giggle. It was the lagomorph’s turn to cough into a paw.
“As pleasant as it is to see you, Joeng, I find myself wondering whether it is merely happenstance that you have found us at the gate or perhaps a…professional concern.”
The goat-kin looked from side to side and did not meet Jiao Tu’s eyes as he responded. “I know that you believe in happenstance even less than I do, Jiao Tu. When the rumors began to fly about the…out of the normal disasters on the water, I knew you would appear sooner or later.”
The lagomorph cleared his throat. “As much as I dislike to disillusion you, Joeng, I am here strictly to escort the Lady Karvari and her accompanist across the Middlesea. Nothing more.”
The goat-kin licked the pad of his nose contemplatively before responding. “I believe you, Jiao Tu, but you have to look at things from the perspective of my lieutenant. There’s the strange things happening to the shipping. A new crop of priests fresh from the Schola are building their reputations by preaching fiery sermons of divine retribution to the Children of the Builders. And then you show up.”
Joeng spread his paws in a gesture expressing his inability to act in any other fashion. “The guard don’t want any more trouble than we already have, and, friend, trouble follows you like stink on a Reclamations drone.”
The lagomorph forced his face into a smile, though there was no amusement in his eyes. “Ask any of my companions, Constable. I am here for the purpose I have stated. Nothing more. Though I appreciate you speaking to me personally about the matter rather than letting another handle it. If the city guard is watching me during my time here, I much prefer to hear so from a friend.”
The goat-kin again coughed into a paw. “Officially, I told you no such thing, of course, but we do have a history, you and I. But consider yourself forewarned, my friend: the guard captain is just looking for an excuse to remove any trouble from the streets he can.”
Jiao Tu bowed to Joeng. “I thank you, my friend, for your kindness. As I have indicated, after some brief business on this side of the sea, my companions and I will be gone.”
The constable nodded. “Perhaps when things have calmed down and you pass this way again, we can meet in that tea house you are so strangely fond of.”
The hint of a true smile curled on the lagomorph’s lips. “Count on it. I shall even buy the first round.”
The goat-kin chuckled, and the two again clasped forearms. He then disappeared into the streets of the city.
“So, Jiao Tu…” Farrah could not keep the smirk off her face. “It seems you have a reputation.”
“That should be, ‘It seems you have a reputation, Master.’” The lagomorph turned to Karvari. “It seems in our best interest to not spend too much time in Lesser Middlesea. Have you already arranged passage across the water, my dancer, or do we need to find an agent?”
Jiao Tu could not help but notice the look Veena gave the tigress at his question, though if she felt his look, she said nothing about it.
“I have a…standing arrangement with a certain company. This way…”
Jiao Tu’s Endeavour 