Long before we reached the town of Belio itself, the evidence of the sea was everywhere: rolling sand dunes shifted into carved cliffs full of verdant vegetation and an occasional waterfall; a delightfully chill breeze kissed my skin, even during mid-day; vast clouds filled the sky, and the air carried a wet tang. Sand tracks gave way to muddy roads of dark soil, which gave way to cobbled roads. At last, we crested a hill, and the vast expanse of Casilan's oceans spread out before us.

The city of Belio itself laid along a narrow inlet from the ocean, surrounded by stout walls. We were spotted fairly early by the guards mounting the walls, and greeted before them by a customs bureaucrat. Sensing where the leadership in the caravan rested, he headed for Tasha.

"Initiate of the dark arts," he said respectfully, bowing over a practised "I am honoured" on his hands. "I am charged to examine all caravans entering and exiting the township of Belio. May I have your statement of intent, and declaration of cargo?"

"I am Tasha Emerald River," she said, dismounting and landing lightly on the pavement with the grace of a bird. "I travel with my lady's maid and a contingent of mercenary guards to make a delivery at the Xien wharf. We carry assorted Tear Stone tools to be shipped around the continent." After all I'd seen so far, the small lie didn't really surprise me any more.

He nodded respectfully, but none of us were surprised that there was a "but" involved, from the pained look on his face. The bureaucrat shook his head almost imperceptibly and spoke in a quieter voice.

"We've had disturbing reports from the Relian capital regarding a, ah, potential plot in Belio involving quantities of Tear Stone. We have, ah, been instructed to check all cargo entering and leaving the, ah, city."

He seemed apologetic, but Tasha's eyes sparkled dangerously, the gold of her irises catching the sun.

"D... do I look like a criminal to you?" she responded coolly, incongruously tripping over her words. That could be useful to me; did this one stutter when nervous? "Sensitive tools, as in sensitive to sunlight and open air. I have contacts in the capital as well and I wouldn't want them to hear that their tools were delayed for ghosts of plots."

"No, Initiate of the Flame, no, you don't, and you wouldn't," he responded nervously, swallowing, apparently considering his job. "Very well." He bowed again over "good luck and safe journeys" and then gestured us through the gate.

But I saw Tasha let out a tense breath once we had passed into the city.

Belio, being a port town, was verdant beyond belief for the inlanders in our crew. Clean cobbles and pavement replaced dirty and dusty streets. Thinly walled buildings, often made of wood and white stucco, and with many windows and breeze-ways, crowded the streets. Vines and flowers were abundant throughout the city. Wide boulevards lined with trees meandered through the hilly terrain. Fountains gushed continuously with a display of water wealth that bordered on the obscene.

We finally stopped at a small inn called The Dancing Mage, a little way into Belio. Tasha swung down from her mount and turned to us.

"Nilo, Keia, I want your assistance today while making the delivery. Meet Astra and myself back here at the inn around 16th. We'll proceed at that time to the wharf."

Nilo and I bowed, and we headed off to see a bit of the town in the hours until the delivery.

I wondered, idly, if this wharf to which we were delivering was involved in the terrorist group HQ was tracking. The one I was apparently in the midst of. I was pleased that I seemed to have gained some trust in the group, but something was nagging at the edges of my intuition, never a comfortable feeling.

Something didn't add up. I need to keep an eye out.

"So!" Nilo said suddenly, and I jumped a little, pulled back from my anxious thoughts. "Err, sorry," he continued. "How about we take a look at that architecture I mentioned before? And then we can get some lunch."

"Sure," I replied, trying to brush off my nervousness as we walked away, arm in arm. "I was just wondering why they wanted us in particular."

"Huh? Oh, to come to the wharf?" Nilo asked me. "I dunno, I'm an old hand, and I guess they were impressed with your skills? That part of town can be a little rough sometimes."

Hmm.

I walked around the Stately Quarter of Belio with Nilo, gawking at the mountains they called buildings. From this high up on a hillside, the many boats in the harbour were silent but still animated, as they made ready to voyage out over the Casilan Sea. Most of the hustle and bustle around us had been left back where we came from.

He regaled me with tales of what had changed since he grew up in Belio, and how many things had not changed.

"See here," he said, stopping in front of one building. "This is the Centre for Art History. It's clearly old, and in a very different style than the main part of town."

"Huh, you're right," I replied. "This would look more in place at the Starlight Monastery in the mountains than a coastal town."

I looked over at him to see his eyebrow slightly raised.

"Monastery, huh? Was it Starlight, then?"

I shook my head and cursed my sloppiness inside, again. Of course it wasn't the Starlight Monastery that I trained at. I really didn't want him thinking about it and questioning me innocently.

"Hah, not that easy," I replied as lightly as I could, walking off to end the conversation.

Most of the buildings in Belio, the parts that were more loudly inhabited, were clean, white stucco, and clearly not designed for cold. The art history building loomed over us. Its giant pillars and walls looked carved out of a hillside, and its doors must have taken a whole tree to build.

I'd never thought much about it on earlier visits to Belio, but wood that size would still be a hot commodity in this area. There wasn't that much forest to spare, even on the coast. Where had it come from?

"But here's the real kicker!" Nilo exclaimed, pointing to some squiggles chiselled into the stone, brushing the dirt from their grooves.

I raised an eyebrow at him.

"It's writing!" he continued. "But no language anyone has ever known. Cool, huh?"

He's right, I thought, I've never seen writing quite like this before, and that's very unlikely.

Something deep and frightening seemed to stare at me from a chasm of the unknown, like a shadow from a beast overhead, passing so quickly it might've been one's imagination.

What did we really know about the history of this planet of ours? Could we really be so sure in our stewardship of it?

Although... I thought someone in HQ was studying something sort of like this? I shook my head to clear my thoughts and stay focused.

Nilo was back to grinning. "I'm tellin' ya, I'm going to find those old cities!"

I walked around the central market area with Nilo, looking at various shops. He regaled me with tales of what had changed since he grew up there, and I enjoyed looking over the varied merchandise.

"Wait here, and I'll go get us something to drink," he said, striding off toward a nearby booth.

I sat on a bench that ringed a fountain, trying to match up my older memories of Belio with the present. I felt a small hand tugging at mine and looked over to see a boy with no parents to watch him. He grinned at me with youthful abandon.

"Hey there, little man," I said with a smile, bending down a bit to be at his eye level.

"No time for that, five-two-three," he replied in a serious voice, and yet he somehow kept right on smiling.

It was then that I noticed his BPG, similar to mine, yet subtly different. Twin snakes wrapped around his wrist with Tear Stone eyes.

"Got some intel you'll want." I looked around quickly, but Nilo was nowhere in sight. "Four-nine-six", he giggled apologetically.

"Four-nine-six? Is that you?" I chuckled at my fellow Agent's appearance. "Well, make it quick! I've got company."

"Then listen, and listen fast. That train you came in with? Three of the mercs we saw there were definitely involved in this. Good job on the sniffing. Nine-six-one has tracked down another of these guys, and he spilled some of his guts. Figuratively, and unfortunately, later on, literally. He didn't know a whole lot, but he knew some stuff he shouldn't. There's someone selling Agents and HQ out. Watch your ass, pal."

"Thanks for the..." I started, looking around again for Nilo, but when I looked back, nine-six-one was gone; and not a moment too soon.

"Street urchins bothering you?" Nilo asked with a smile as he handed me a drink.