Dancer's Lament/Chapter 2

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==Li Heng==
====Silk====
Silk waits for Koroll and Smokey on the Street of the Gods at dawn, watching the many priests and acolytes wander the streets in search of their daily offerings. He spots Koroll towering over the crowd, his rumoured half-Toblakai blood evident, with a broken tattooed face and wielding a tall heavy staff. They are joined by Smokey, a well-dressed young man with an omnipresent smell of smoke about his person. The three mages have met at an old mausoleum, a relic of the days when noble Hengans still held such burial practices. No one comes to Koroll's call, so Silk enters, noting alcoves with skulls and three fresh corpses lying in the hall. 
The corpses are those of the criminal Pung's enforcers, and Silk notes that murder is punishable by exile as per Shalmanat's laws. A young man steps from the shadows, claiming the three thugs had offended Hood by attempting to extort money from the temple. The man also claims to be Hood's Sword. Smokey scoffs at this, demanding the man present himself before the Protectress, and prepares to attack when the man refuses. Silk notes a young girl wrapped in blankets in a corner and attempts to stop Smokey, but the fiery attack fizzles out. A voice is heard from a barely visible hunched form in the dark recesses of the temple, laughing and advising the mages not to press this issue. The three mages reluctantly retreat, with Koroll proclaiming Hood himself dwells in the temple whatever the precocious young man's claims. Silk suggests they let Pung attempt to deal with the rogue temple, which amuses Smokey. Silk goes to update the Protectress, Koroll departs to summon Ho from his research in the catacombs, and Smokey heads for a tryst with a woman. As Silk reflects on speaking with the Protectress, he feels as if he is going from one place of worship to another. 
==Seti Plains== 
====Mysterious Kanese Woman====
On the Seti Plains north of Li Heng, a mysterious Kanese woman waits with displeasure by a campfire, as she has been for a month. She hears approaching cavalry; not what she was waiting for. Ten elite horsemen of the Itko Kan Southern League approach, led by a young officer who shows the woman deference. When asked what Kan troops are doing on Hengan lands, the officer explains that “treaties have been renegotiated” with the local Seti tribes. This means the locals have been bribed, and Kanese cavalry now controls the Seti Plains around Li Heng. The woman believes King Chulalorn the Third of Itko Kan is a fool for assaulting the impregnable walled city, as even the mighty Talian hegemony in its prime allowed Li Heng to remain a bastion of free trade. The officer is dismissive, agreeing with the king’s assessment of their nation’s strength, and demands the woman accompany him. She responds by borrowing the man’s helm and crushing it with one hand, demanding to be left alone. As the intimidated troop departs, the woman rails at her waiting, saying she has done the proper rituals and can sense something momentous approaching, but again receives no answer. 
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