.

The next week, Jylan and Sebastian's secret army was expanded. 

The Chasm was covered with bits of metal wire and sheets, and there was a bell next to it, which rang whenever one of the child spies was visiting. That way, whenever someone visited through the murky waters, they would ring the bell, and whichever of the carpet-making dua was around would flap aside the sheets, held the person wriggle through the metal frame, and then write down whatever information they had before sending them off with one coin, or multiple, depending on how good the information was. 

The notebook was soon full, so another was expanded. Now people started coming in pairs, eagerly helping fill the notebook if they knew how to write, if not then scourging their memories for any scraps of gossip. A few times, larger groups of 8 and 5 visited Jylan and Sebastian as well, and each time, they were pleased to see that their coins were well spent. Every time someone visited, they slowly started noticing that they seemed less starved, their clothes were better, and Eris even got a new hat with a small gem set into it. 

Soon, three notebooks were full. 

One day, Eris came to visit again, but this time something was wrong. 

He was wearing battle armor. 

It was time.