Naole was not fond of large cities, and even less fond of arguments. He was normally a dealer in rare animals, and more often than not, a liar as well. Much of his money had been tricked out of the foolish hands of some overeager trainer. He had no regrets; to his mind, anyone that gormless deserved to lose their fortune. And they had gone away happy, so where was the harm?This beast was different, though. It looked at him with a strange intelligence in its eyes. Others had been smart, of course, because Naole attracted those sorts, but these had been consulted before being sold. But this one didn't speak, just looked at him with a knowing smile and set flames to dance for him, doing its best to distract him so it could escape--or so he supposed. The rest of its behavior was the picture of docility; though it tended to a dance-like way of walking, it followed him readily enough. It hadn't fought the rope halter Naole had put over its head.
Yet there was still something disconcerting about the Shamash Yingshee.Naole had brought the beast, which he referred to as Sheep, to Nabias in the hope of finding someone who knew a bit about it. All he had been told by the mysterious figure who had left the thing in his office was that it was some kind of holy animal, and he couldn't harm it or terrible things would happen. He was pretty sure it was sentient, and so was careful what he said around it, but he needed to know more about the Yingshee. At the moment he wasn't at all sure he wanted to let it out of his possession.
It was for this reason that he stood on a quiet street corner, Sheep at his side, looking for someone who could give him more information--and who could perhaps coax a word or two from the beast.
