"Agda says to braid a red ribbon in your hair," said the little man, "and meet her on the hilltop at noon."
Mavik very much doubted that Agda was a real person, and did not particularly care. His information concerning this meeting was sparse, and its lack set him on edge, though the tension showed only in the rigidity of the hands half concealed in the heavy goatswool cloak wrapped around his shoulders. Eleka had pressed his employers for more, but they had nothing more to offer him.
Agda says to braid a red ribbon in your hair. What kind of nonsense was that for a password? But it felt right to him. He had a sense, born of long practice, for when things were right. The same sense made him uneasy about the second part of the password. And meet her on the hilltop at noon. He could not have said why it bothered him so.
He met the eyes of the bouncer, unsmiling - it was Eleka who smiled - and reservedly polite.
"You see, my business here is genuine. Teones is expecting me." His voice was no longer so steady. There had been ice on the washbasin when he had left his rooms, and that had been nearly an hour ago. He was shivering. "You would do well to let me in before I catch my death of cold."