Missing Elements (The Lament Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

notes on it, which backfired on her a little,
since the woman actually smiled and nodded, eager to have it all done, it
looked like. Even if some Apprentice was going to be in charge of
overseeing the idea.
    "That's right. I know it
normally couldn't be done, but I heard from my daughter that The Sorrow was
going to be putting in there in four days. This time of year we generally don't
ship chemicals, because of the cost, but if it's possible to get a good rate,
say... no more than a fifteen percent agenting fee? It would really aid the
O'Brien dyers." There was a sly look on her face, which Pran could read,
but not understand.
    This then, was a woman trying to
pull a fast one. Probably on the price, but there might well be something else
going on there too. Given that Pran was looking for spies and traitors, or at
least was supposed to be getting Guardian Clark into place to do that kind of
thing, it could mean something big was taking place on her very first morning
there.
    Looking back at the woman, she
shrugged.
    "Where, exactly, is O'Brien
then? Up in the mountains, where no one will want to go? Buried under six feet
of snow already and out of reach?" It was a guess, but the woman scowled
and looked away from her.
    Caught in the act, or close
enough for guilt to show.
    "Nothing that bad. It's a
small town, near the southern coast. Only about six hundred miles from
Gladstone, mind. Not too far of a trip, but there's nearly no reason for anyone
to go that far out of their way this time of year, most of the time. This is a
long shot, but they do such wonderful things with alpaca fiber. Most can't get
it to take good color, but they have a secret trick for it. Brilliant blues and
greens can be brought forth, but only if they have the right base chemicals to
start with." There was a bit of a defeated look on her face then. "I
tried to ply the High Councilor of the Airship section earlier, but he was
rather gruff with me. We rather have a history of not getting along now.
Once... Well, that doesn't get the dyes shipped, does it? Since then I've been
going around trying to find someone that can help push him into action, but
nothing has worked yet. I almost thought Willet, over in medical, was going to
work it out, but that went nowhere . There's need of a Doctor in that
area for the winter, certainly, but nothing at all pressing enough for a
special trip."
    Pran started writing, and was
doing that when the next woman came in. This one was almost certainly Clarice,
she realized, having on good makeup, and a gown that was made mainly of purple
and lavender lace. It left a lot of her chest showing, but that had been
powdered and blended too, so it matched the skin above it. She was very attractive looking, which fit the descriptions Pran had heard.
    Of course, she also seemed
incredibly baffled at the moment, and showed it, with a bit of dramatic chest
clutching.
    "I..." She looked at
the other woman, who smiled and explained for her.
    "Bard Clarice! Your new Apprentice
here was just helping me. I need to move some dyes, but that dolt Jacques told
me that it won't be happening by air. Just to spite me, of course. It's
rather important however. Originally it was supposed to come in the fall, but
we had a disruption and most of the overland routes are closing down already.
Can you help?"
    Over acting or not, the woman
used the time provided by Brenna Times talking to look around. She checked out
the woodstove first, and noticed the pot on it. Then her eyes hit the chair
that had been pulled out and the lute on the low table not too far away. It was
taken in a glance, but when she finished she gave the woman a brief nod.
    "I'll have Pran check into
that for you?" Before the woman could look crestfallen, the other woman
turned and smiled at her. It was warm, but not overdone. Like they'd actually
met before, or something. "You know Captain Jacques personally, don't you
Pran?"
    She smiled herself then, since it
probably wasn't just a