|Ace>

  We made our way to a park - not a deserted park, mind you, but one of the busy ones. Syzygy Square, the city's main plaza, was the perfect place to sit and collect our thoughts. If those shadow-touched imposters wanted to grab us, they'd have to do it in front of hundreds of witnesses. We found an empty bench near a fountain frozen into an ice sculpture.

  Cherry kicked at the slush beneath her feet. "So what do we do now?"

  I leaned back, watching the crowds. "Maybe we need to focus on something more... common for a while. Do we have any boring story ideas?"

  I got out my notebook and flipped through the pages. "We still need to find a source for how the Guard are manipulating the city guard NPCs... And we also need more data on the Fringe's attack patterns."

  Cherry groaned. "Do we have anything that doesn't sound like it's going to get us killed?"

  "Here's one for the main paper: there's been a massive increase in crafting material prices across the board. Easy - we can talk to Vs."

  The Sewer People had many civilian informants spread throughout the government, such as Excalibur. And while she was a part of the Trade Union, she was the manager of the Underground Intelligence Office - she handled the shady stuff. What we needed was someone with access to the records of the main offices. Luckily, we also had a woman in the Second Office - the Union's records and supply department.

  Her name was Vs, and with a few messages, we arranged an interview over her lunch break.

  We met up with her at a cafe a few blocks from the player market. She was a slim woman with dark hair pulled back in a ponytail wearing a simple and professional blouse/skirt combo. Sitting down with her, I got out the tape recorder and turned it on.

  "Is this going to go in the paper?" Vs glanced around nervously. "Because I can't make any official statements for the Union."

  "But you can be an 'inside source' or 'independent analyst'. We're just looking for some information."

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  Vs relaxed slightly. "I think I can do that."

  "Great." I clicked the recorder on. "We've noticed massive increases in materials prices over the last week - sometimes as high as 200%. What is driving these spikes?"

  Vs took a sip of her tea before answering. "Well, increased Fringe activity and shot confidence in the Guard's security after Stonehearth has reduced the frequency of the Ethanolics Anonymous gathering runs and decreased the success chance of the runs that do go out. In addition to fewer resources coming in, there's an increased risk premium paid to the Shake Spear escorts, which also drives prices higher to make back the operating costs."

  "But why are the biggest effects seen with stone and lumber?" I asked. "What makes them particularly vulnerable over, say, ore? Where are they usually sourced, and what's going on there?"

  Vs looked taken off-guard by that. "What do you mean?"

  Cherry pulled some papers from her inventory and spread them across the table. "These are market watch reports compiled by Lekowski - our economic reporter." she explained. "You can see there the price of stone has doubled, and middle tiers of lumber are near to tripling."

  I tapped one of the graphs that showed a particularly sharp spike. "This isn't gradual inflation from reduced supply - these are sudden jumps."

  Vs leaned forward, examining the graphs with a deepening frown. "I have no idea what's causing that. Stone is a by-product found while mining other ores, but it's not heavily used by any crafting class - you only need a few for things that require sharpening or crushing."

  "Maybe that's why they're not bringing it in anymore?" I suggested. "It's useless, so the gatherers dump it to save inventory space?"

  Vs shook her head. "I don't see why they would - inventory space isn't generally a problem, and anything they bring in is extra pay. It may not be much, but that's throwing away free money!"

  "Then is someone hoarding it?" I asked.

  "It's a pump and dump!" Cherry shouted. "They're boosting the price, then plan on selling it back!"

  Vs considered this for a moment. "That's possible but... Let me look at our supply records. I'll message you tonight."

  She wrote down the names of our suspicious materials on a small notepad, then stood up. "I should get back to the office. This is... concerning."

  After Vs left, I turned off the tape recorder and looked at Cherry, who was smiling like a maniac.

  "What's got you?" I asked, pocketing the recorder.

  "I'm starting to smell a SCANDAL here!" Cherry's eyes gleamed as she rubbed her hands together. "Did you see how concerned she was?!"

  "Cherry, it's stone prices."

  "That's just the one we noticed!" She sniffed the air dramatically. "What's that? Is that insider trading?"

  "You need some fresh air; come on."

  "Mark my words, Ace," Cherry said as we headed for the door, "we're onto something big here. I can feel it in my bones!"