"I can't give you that," Trafalgar said. "You're asking for protection with what you've told me..."
Skeff took it without any visible reaction, which somehow made it harder to say the rest.
"I want to be straight with you about why. I don't command anybody in this city. Not one soldier, not one guard post. I can't put you in a room in the castle district, because nothing about this place belongs to me, and everyone will be asking questions about why you were in it."
He let that settle before continuing. "And I can't ask Myrrhvale for a watch on you without telling them what you are to me. The moment an observer asks for protection for a manifest supervisor, everyone in Meraval knows that supervisor has something to say."
"Right." Skeff turned the jug a little in his hands. "I did wonder about that part. I thought maybe there was some arrangement I didn't know about."
"There isn't. I've got exactly as much authority down here as you do."
