He didn't know what Jaufre was concerned about, the wagon was very clean to him. It was clear which corner belonged to which woman though. Eldis had a wooden box with a large E carved onto its lid, placed on top of a pile of neatly folded clothes. The letter was large and bold enough that Nikolas could tell it was an E. He couldn't mistake it for a P, that would be stupid, even for his standards. So the right corner was Eldis and the left corner was Philipa. The other woman didn't keep hers as organized as Eldis, she seemed to have three baskets where she stuffed all of her belongings. One looked like a sewing basket with various odds and ends, the other was a clothes basket and the lid was closed on the last one. It was probably best not to look then, so Nikolas carefully made his way to a corner that didn't have any belongings. Which was a hard task because anywhere that didn't clearly have Eldis and Philipa's things was where the troupe stored either their food in wooden barrels or costumes peeking out of chests.

So his plan was working even if he didn't mean for it to work, Nikolas thought, pleased. Though he wasn't sure what the uniform colors would be, he only knew faintly that his mother's uniform was not the standard one that the royal Rytsars would wear, and that royal uniforms would have a dragon on them somewhere. But that was a question for later, now he had to talk to Jozin, and tell him all about Prebovna. Jozin must have wanted to visit Prebovna, everyone did at some point.

He glanced around, careful to close all the wagon windows and doors. Then he pulled off his cloak, making a makeshift pillow as the Llandrians did outside. It was Viola that put in the blanket, and he had to thank her as he took it out, pulling it over his head to conceal what it was he was going to do. All the time he'd traveled with Sanice the merchant had told him to keep his boots on.

'Should be ready to run at a minute's notice,' she'd explained.

After that night, and the… people-that-weren't he decided to defer to her judgment. But now he was safely in a city, wasn't he, he could just take off his boots and properly sleep. Well, not before he talked to Jozin. He took out the dragon scale and held it between his palms, rubbing nonsensical circles on it. The motion warmed the scale and gave it a soft reddish glow.

"Jozin?" he whispered, "Jozin, can you hear me?"

He waited, frowning and tapping his foot impatiently before he heard an answer.

"Yes."

Nikolas grinned, and leaned in closer. Usually the scale would show Jozin by now, he would be in his room, or that library but this time it showed nothing but Nikolas's own reflection.

"Jozin?"

"I'm not feeling well," Jozin said, and his voice was muffled. He coughed, "Sorry. It's a bad one, I'm all red and disgusting looking."

"I don't mind!"

Another cough, "I do!"

It was uncharacteristically snappish of Jozin so he must be really sick Nikolas concluded. "I didn't mean to pry," Nikolas said honestly. "I haven't seen you in a while. I—" miss you, he thought, but that sounded sappy and gross. "How are you doing?"

"I'm sick! What else?" A long sigh, "Nothing much. I am sorry for snapping, my mother's always been there and this time she's not. She's got business and I don't think M— her apprentice knows how to brew anything. She's nice but I don't think she can brew as well as my mother can."

"What about Surio?"

There was a long silence at that, "He's out scouting, probably out in the wilds in some cabin and roasting some deer or elk or whatever it is they do on these trips."

"You could go with him, you know," Nikolas suggested. "I'm sure he'll like it if you come?"

There was a laugh on the other end, soft and disbelieving, "I'm sure I'll slow him down. He's such a good archer these days I think all he wants to do is practice, and it has to be alone you know, because archery is such a one man sport."

"Ah," he scratched his head, because usually a pause from Jozin meant he could at least see the other boy's face and guess at what topic to move onto. But he was only staring at his own confused one and that didn't give him any answers.

"Enough about me," said Jozin, and he really did sound congested. "What about you? How did you find Prebovna? Did you like it? I heard it is so big you can fit five dragons inside the walls with room to spare."

"There are odd animals!" Nikolas exclaimed and was more than happy to tell him about the Hayri, the Khmedi and the Anshad. "Their animals are so strange looking! I didn't know there were horses that had snow lion bodies and how colorful those birds were and how do you even get horses with those odd backs?"

"They don't do well in the cold," Jozin said, "That was unkind to ride them all the way to Prebovna. But that is what you saw, now how you feel about it. Did you like Prebovna?"

There were times when he wished Jozin didn't ask the questions he did, probing and hitting just the right place. He swallowed hard. Of course he liked Prebovna, even though it was loud and full of people and strange rules, especially regarding the things he couldn't do, it was better than Befeld. What could he do in Befeld except sit there and watch his siblings live their lives?

"Nikolas? Nikolas, it's just a question," Jozin sounded gentle, "You know you can go home right, if you don't like it?"

"I don't want to!"

"Then don't."

"It's not easy!" Nikolas snapped and then froze, cautiously lifting his blanket from his head. He wasn't too loud was he? There was no one, and he couldn't hear the sound of footsteps or people outside his wagon. He let out a breath and continued in a much more subdued tone, "I can do something here. I can't… I can't go back to Befeld, what am I supposed to do there? I'll just see my siblings be better and," he scowled, and it was a weak argument he knew but he had to say it, "be better!"

"What do you want to do in Prebovna? Your father sent you with a merchant didn't he? Are you working with her?"

"No! Why would she want to apprentice me, I can't—" he bit back an angry shout, and said, in a more calmer tone. "No, it is Faila, an old friend and she was nice, but she also asked me what I was good at and I don't know Jozin. I said to her bard that I could draw but you know I am not good at that either. What am I supposed to do?"

"You do have a good memory, you remembered all those odd names. I don't know what they are now and I'm sure you only heard it once?"

"That's not a talent!"

"It is if you know how to use it," said Jozin and there was a grin in his voice, if that was possible.

"I don't see how."

"You're clever, I'm sure you'll think of something."

Jozin sounded so confident even when he was sick, thought Nikolas irritably. He pulled the blanket off of himself, it was too warm now and his head was spinning. As he saw the contents of the wagon it suddenly occurred to him, a new problem.

"I can't talk to you everyday now."

"Oh?" Now it was definitely amusement in Jozin's voice, "Why?"

"I'm sharing wagons, Jozin, I don't think I can just talk to you. And…" he pulled the blanket over his head, "I don't know if they would frown upon me talking to a dragon scale? I don't want to risk it."

"Wise of you."

Jozin sounded too happy, "You don't want to talk to me?"

"Nikolas, you know you can send me a letter?"

"I can't!"

"Nikolas, you said to the bard, whoever it was, I don't think you told me his name, you said you could draw. Send me a drawing."

"It doesn't tell you anything, I can't draw!"

This led to a longer pause and he could hear the sound of something tapping on wood. "Have you ever played chess?"

In his father's study there was a board with black and white squares and carved figures. It was set in a precise configuration, the little Rytsars placed just so, the priestess placed just there, and the Tsar and Tsarina in their little corners. There were other figures as well, but he didn't remember what they were because he never went that close to Aldeim's desk. All he knew when he was younger was that it was something Richan did with his father. Now that he was older... Nikolas suspected it was the precise locations of the last game Richan played with Aldeim. When it happened, he didn't like to think about. So no, he wasn't sure how to play the game because he didn't know who to ask.

"My father has a set in his study but I don't play. It's... it's something he did with Richan."

"I'm sorry," a breath, "look Nikolas, what I meant is, sometimes you can play a chess game through letters, each piece and each position on the board can stand for a letter you know. It's a great way to send messages. But if you don't know, the pieces can stand for something as well! Like the Rystar and the merchant and the priestess. You can draw out their little symbols and that can be a code!"

"You can guess?"

"Nikolas!"

He had to grin, because it was just like Jozin to enjoy solving puzzles. He wasn't sure if Jozin would comprehend the mess of drawings he would send his friend though.

"But who do I give it to, Jozin, I don't know anyone who would go to Skapina!" And there were people you don't ask, Sanice had told him.

"Don't worry about it," said Jozin, "I can ask Lanua, you know her? She delivered the letter to you."

"The... cat?" said Nikolas, "Didn't you say before that she doesn't like to do errands?"

"I'll ask nicely," said Jozin confidently. "Look, whenever she arrives, make sure to give her a treat or two. She likes fish, fried, dried, salted, however you make them, give it to her. She'll do proper deliveries if you bribe her. But don't think that because she'll get huffy. No, you're paying for her company."

"She reads minds?" He had to scoff. The creature had been smart enough to open his window, but he refused to believe that it could understand his thoughts. Most days he didn't even understand himself.

"She reads intentions."

Nikolas shook his head, chuckling under his breath. Sometimes being Jozin's friend meant he learned so many odds and ends. Did Guigo and Diasa ever learn about cat birds he wondered. He should ask them, and perhaps he could figure out a way to ask through a drawing. That was very complicated though and he rubbed at the incoming headache. It was easy enough to ask how Jozin was doing, he would draw what he thought Skapina would look like, and what he remembered of his friend's feature. Then he'll let Jozin think it over. He had to grin again, because that was a rather fascinating idea, puzzles through pictures. Why didn't he think of this before?

Then he heard voices outside, and laughter, probably from Jaufre, by the sounds of things. The man walked as loud as a rooster in the morning. He quickly reached for his blanket again, adjusting it and making sure the light from the scale was completely covered.

"I should go. It was good talking to you," said Nikolas, and decided to say it anyway, because he truly felt it, "I missed you."

There was a long pause, and when Jozin spoke he sounded as if he was speaking through a particularly stuffy nose, "I always liked speaking with you Nikolas. You made me feel better." Then he let out a long sigh, "I'm sorry that we can't talk for longer. Please write me a letter, Nikolas, I would love to see what you draw."