As soon as the ruffians spotted San Jin and his guard approaching they bolted. Junseo shook out his robes and grinned at the pair who had just scared off his assailants. Then he turned and made a face at the man who usually followed him around.

"That did not seem entirely random," San Jin probed.

"Probably not. I am overdue with a delivery I was supposed to make." Junseo blushed and kicked a small stone away.

"Is that why you have such a lazy palace tail," the guard asked loudly.

"I guess his job is to watch, not protect." Junseo shrugged. He had other things on his mind but did not refuse the offered company back to his dorm room.

The next day Junseo went directly to the forge after his morning session at the Temple. He had tossed and turned all night trying to find the right explanations for his new mentor. When he sat down at the work-table he found himself tongue-tied. After a couple of false starts he explained, "I don't think people here in the Capital have any idea how desperate things are getting in the countryside." Junseo continued in a voice just above a whisper. "I'm not making an excuse only trying to tell you where some of the sentiment comes from. It's things like taking the children for slaves when their families can't pay their debts. Folks might understand some sort of penalty for the parents but what did their children do to deserve that sort of treatment?"

Knight-Master Lie nodded slowly and gestured for Junseo to continue.

"Well, you probably already know the first protests were to break the wagons the slavers used to transport the farm families who could not meet their rents when the crops failed. From there the actions moved into town to protest the high food prices and the more aggressive responses by provincial guards. Mostly these were small actions, mischief making, to try to remind the powers-that-be to give more respect to ordinary folk. Other groups banded together to try to help with things like housing and medicine or proper payments for the piecework the women did from home." Junseo took a sip from the glass of water beside him before continuing. "I guess I am trying to say our friends were sincerely trying to make things better. They were not asking for big changes -- just some fairness."

Knight-Master Lie's face stayed still through the whole explanation, then he asked, "So how would all this touch on us, here and now?"

In answer Junseo carefully removed the messages he had tucked into the binding of his notebook and handed them over. "Since I was not able to make contact with any of the friends here in the Capital, I was wondering if I shouldn't just return these to Madam Chen, that is, if we are still going there for dinner."

"You have been carrying these around the whole time you have been here?" Knight-Master Lie shook his head in disbelief. "Wait, if they were in your design book you have taken them in and out of the palace."

"Yes, and left them here in the forge more than once," Junseo blushed, "They aren't addressed to me so I didn't not really look at them."

"I guess that makes you an honest courier but I have to tell you a letter of credit this size would certainly buy a lot more than mischief." Knight-Master Lie pointed to one of the documents.

"That doesn't look good," Junseo admitted.

"Especially when Manager Doak doesn't trust the contacts you were given. So, I think we need to take some professional advice about all of this. You should be in the clear since you were just doing a favor for a friend of your family. Nothing more."

"True, and if anyone checks I did have interests in a messenger service in Ilidan. We did runs for guild members and merchants, so all above board." When he said the last piece, Junseo squirmed a bit and looked away.

Knight-Master Lie was certain there was more to it but did not press the issue while he framed his message to a well-known investigator at the Palace. He had Junseo run through different practice sets while they waited and they were in the middle of a lively discussion about the variations acceptable at different form levels when the man arrived.

Junseo recognized the Palace Inspector straight away and bowed deeply.

"I thought we would be meeting again," the man smiled, "I think you know we have been keeping tabs on you in case there is more trouble from the incident with the Lord Presumptive from Psyonan Province. I am glad you are still in touch with the boy."

"I am happy to count Tai Yi as a friend and appreciate the opportunity to train with him."

"You definitely do a lot of training. Your regular guard detail is nick-named the fitness crew," the Inspector said with a chuckle and then took on a more serious demeanor, "How can I help."

"I am kind of stuck with this delivery I was trusted with just as I was leaving Ilidan." Junseo looked over to Knight-Master Lie who nodded his encouragement. "I have not been able to meet up with any of the intended contacts."

"Probably because we are making our presence pretty obvious," the Inspector added to try to ease the situation.

"I shared my problem, and Knight-Master Lie suggested we check the package to see how urgent it might be and, well, now we don't quite know what to do. I might have a way to return it to its source but it might not be helpful." Junseo gave Knight-Master Lie a pleading look hoping he would offer more of an explanation.

"I'm not happy anyone would want to take advantage of a student coming to prepare for the qualifiers but that is what this looks like." Knight-Master Lie handed over the package.

The Inspector put on some reading glasses and scanned through the papers. He gave Junseo a questioning look and then read through the package more slowly.

"Well, I guess this explains why the other tails got more aggressive," he said to Junseo. Then he turned to Knight-Master Lie, "You know what this looks like?"

"A well financed plan. To do what, exactly, I am not sure. I don't know all the players but it does not feel right."

"You said you might have a way to return this to its source?" the Inspector gave Junseo a hard look.

Junseo's mouth went dry. He did not want to compromise Madam Chen but could not see a way out. He was trying to find the right words when Knight-Master Lie interjected.

"You are probably aware that I notified the Protocol Office about our invitation for tomorrow evening. They are insisting on a full guard detail."

"So, someone in the Qin Ambassador's household? Interesting." The Inspector nodded to himself. "You have given us some options to consider. We could pull back on your detail, let the conspirators make contact, and follow things from there. Or we could make a show of searching you and impounding these papers. It is probably safer to just take down all the banking details and let you return the materials. My real preference would be the first but I can accept the last since it leaves open the chance they will use you as a courier again and we can do better tracking."

"You want to leave the boy in play?" Knight-Master Lie could not hide his surprise.

"If you found a dagger on a muddy battlefield, wouldn't you pick it up so it can be useful for you, rather than your enemies?" The Inspector asked. His mild tone did not reduce the sharp lesson.

Junseo swallowed hard and looked at each man in turn. He could tell how angry the comment had made Knight-Master Lie. Most people would not interpret his stillness as dangerous but to Junseo it seemed like a cobra getting ready to strike.

The Inspector proceeded to note down the account number and then asked Junseo to notify his office once when the materials were returned to their source. Once the Inspector had departed, Manager Doak appeared from a side door and remarked, "That last bit felt off."

"I agree. It is not at all what I expected so we better put our own trackers on the account." Knight-Master Lie stared blankly for a minute then changed the subject. "Do we know when to expect more recruits? I would like to get the dorm set up for our own guard rotations."

"I'm sorry for causing this trouble." Junseo looked down at his hands.

"You didn't start this. If fact you have just shown us where we might have a weakness. So, the strategy lesson for today is never take your allies for granted. I think an essay along those lines, using appropriate sources, would be a fair compensation for having to dust off my formal robes."

"Formal robes? Oh crap, I need to run back and see if there is still someone on duty at the school laundry." Junseo was more than halfway home before he started to wonder if he was being teased about the essay but he decided not to risk it.