dgl_2

Reads city's construction orders in three hours

Jan 13th, 2026
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  1. I looked down. Ana was lying on the floor on her back at Strovi’s feet,
  2. half-concealed in a pile of parchments, blindfolded as usual. To her left was
  3. a tray containing the remains of a fish, salted and piled with herbs, the flesh
  4. so pink it must have never known flame.
  5.  
  6. [...]
  7.  
  8. “He’s just brought you your orders, ma’am?” I asked. “From the shape
  9. of things, he’s been here awhile. You’ve been interrogating him, haven’t
  10. you.”
  11.  
  12. “It, ah…” Strovi cleared his throat. “It has been an hour or so, ma’am.
  13. Possibly two. Or, ah, three.”
  14.  
  15. Ana waved a hand, indifferent. “Possibly. It’s not very often that I get to
  16. parley with a Talagray Legion officer.”
  17.  
  18. [...]
  19.  
  20. We possibly have a who. Kind of think we have a how—--for, presumably,
  21. Jolgalgan came to one of these secret meetings of Engineers and poisoned them
  22. all there. And thanks to your and Miljin’s work yesterday, Din, we also have a when
  23. ---the Engineers were poisoned eight days before the breach, the date of their last
  24. meeting, the sixth of Kyuz. Now we just need the where. And Strovi here has already
  25. given us the materials we need to solve the rest!”
  26.  
  27. She turned her blindfolded face to him.
  28.  
  29. “These orders are from every fernpaper miller in the city, correct, Captain?”
  30.  
  31. “Yes, ma’am,” said Strovi. “All we could find.”
  32.  
  33. “And we’re looking for big orders. All conducted on or about eight days
  34. before the breach—the day of the poisoning.” She pursed her mouth,
  35. chewing on an especially tough piece of gristle, then said, “There are, I
  36. think, four options.”
  37.  
  38. Strovi looked startled. “Y-you’ve already read them all, ma’am?”
  39.  
  40. “Our conversation was interesting, Captain,” she said. “But not so
  41. interesting as to occupy the whole of my attention…” Still blindfolded, she
  42. snatched up four different papers, walked over on her knees, fumbled to
  43. find Strovi’s legs, and then stuffed the papers into his lap. Then she leaned
  44. forward to search the top one with her fingers until she pointed to a line.
  45. “This mill here—Ostrok’s? See it? Order for four panels, nine days before
  46. the breach.”
  47.  
  48. - The Tainted Cup, Chapter 19 pgs. 171-174
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