Sachina

Hours after the last fishing boat returned to the lower docks of Waterfall City, Sachina placed a single, unremarkable river stone on the edge of their stall. To any passing chimp, it was just another polished trinket. But its precise placement—angled directly at the great fish statue in the plaza—was a message. A report for Kanshi-in. Something had been pulled from the river that day, something that did not belong to this world. Sachina had watched the fisher who found it, saw the strange light pulse beneath the wrappings before it was sold to a cloaked figure. Now, the signal was sent. They straightened their bowler hat, their intense gaze scanning the crowds. The stone would be gone by dawn, but the answer from the stars could take days, and it might not be a quiet one.