Max set the report from the White Stone waystation beside his breakfast plate and moved his cup before Anna could point out the wet ring forming beneath it.
"They paid for information, flew into the woods, settled a dispute, and came back with invitations to a town most people have never heard of."
Anna cut a piece of toast. "You sound pleased."
"I am. Tessa found something she couldn't handle herself and made money by finding someone who could. Rod got work worth doing. Nobody needed me to explain where to go."
"Are you planning to leave more things for them to find?"
"There are plenty already."
He turned the report around. A list of proposed freight charges filled the last page. The Five Knots had included room for fragile goods from Lethren and an extra charge for waiting at the terrace. They had also added a limit on the time they would wait without payment. Whatever else had happened in the woods, it had improved their contracts.
