"Not yet," the Medicine Seller amended. The lantern bobbed at Casimir's touch, the shadows it cast flickering wildly before it settled back into place above their heads. The Medicine Seller seemed utterly unperturbed, his eyes fixed on the scales as they continued to float from the drawer and into position. None of them had tipped yet, and things seemed to have quieted.

"That they permit people to leave is peculiar."

He glanced over his shoulder, the deep shadows making his mask only more ferocious looking.

"Perhaps who they want has not yet come."