Swamped

"So. Just how much do you know about what these people with the masks want with your father?"

Mortimer doesn't say anything for a bit. Then he asks a question of his own.

"You showed me something, right? When I was angry? Kinda remember that."

You hold out the Oak Crest again.

"Yeah, that. It's Uncle Leo's. Mind telling me how you got your mitts on it?"

"He seemed convinced that the sea god wanted me to have it," you reply.

"So he just gave it to you? Well, I guess he might be in a weird mood after what happened to us all." Mortimer's tone suggests that still isn't a productive area of inquiry.

You're about to wonder if it's worth prodding him to answer your question when he finally speaks up.

"If you've got that, then I guess it's safe to tell you. Pops and Uncle Leo are involved in some kinda shady business, something called the Guild. I'm not supposed to know about it at all, so I haven't really done much poking into the details, just listened in on a few conversations. Main thing I know is, Uncle Leo's supposed to be in charge, but there's some kinda turf war going on."

"Between who?" you ask.

"Didn't pay a ton of attention to that, but it sounded real messy. Seems it's not just two sides going at it, but a bunch of 'em and the alliances keep shifting."

"And what does that have to do with your father?"

"Don't know for sure, but the gist of what I overheard is, pretty much nobody respects Uncle Leo any more. But our family name carries a lot of clout in the Guild - don't ask me why, I got no clue what any of 'em are thinkin'. Anyways, my guess is that one group or another is trying to get Pops on their side to give them an edge."

You can't help but feel like he's hiding something, but you aren't quite sure what yet. Still, you've got a better sense of the situation, if not all the details. It doesn't seem on the surface to have anything to do with Goan, but you never know what you might dig up.

It occurs to you that you might have another opportunity. You haven't really had a chance to do much poking into your new acquaintances. There's no guarantee Mortimer knows them, but it's worth a shot in the dark.

"Incidentally, have you heard the names Black or Sunflower?" you ask him. "Because there's some people going by those names outside. And I'm not entirely sure what they want. They seemed friendly enough, but I've also only just met them."

He stops walking suddenly.

"So they're working together," he mutters. "That explains a lot."

"I don't suppose you could share what it explains with me?"

"Uncle Leo was talking with someone about local criminals and whether any of them might be working with one of the Guild factions. Sunflower's running some kind of smuggling operation to sneak food in to Kandria's poor without any of the nobles getting their grubby little mitts on it. Black works at an underground gambling house that a lot of out-of-towners visit. Top player. Loses just often enough that people think they stand a chance."

You think you see the shape of it.

"So Black finds a good target, someone who won't draw suspicion but isn't likely to turn on them," you muse. "Then the target loses big, and Sunflower offers a way to settle the debt. And all they have to do is take a food shipment past the Kandrian border and leave it at a dropoff point. Is that what you're thinking?"

Mortimer nods.

"So did your uncle think either of them was with the Guild?"

"I remember they both made the 'probably clear' list," Mortimer says, thinking. "But there was one thing Uncle Leo found worrying."