April 24

die, distance, information, hold, take, thread, drag, salmon, chorus, pin

We had to drag Bir along to help distribute the various gifts, offerings, and bribes. Some types of information were quite dear in the Veil and lineage knowledge wasn’t always easy to come by.

The first loaves were traded to Captain Antille, Captain Ogie’s long-time friend. We spent nearly an hour in the hold before we found the two largest silver salmon.

I know; I know. I’ll owe you until I die,” I told Bir. His face was a closed fist.

“Your debt to me will easily outlive you,” Bir grumbled. He used a filthy kerchief to wipe his equally filthy hands. He’d agreed to take the fish to the Button and Pin, the proprietors being a pair of sisters who claimed Rumplestilskin as an ancestor. I didn’t believe that for a moment, but they did spin the finest thread in the Veil.

Jasmine joined me in the search for the group of Brownie-born rumored to have constructed a village of homes in train cars. We raced to the switching yard in time to hear a chorus of singing fading in the distance. We had to catch that train. We needed dandelion cloth, and we needed it now!