Violet stood in the marketplace, watching people trade coins for food and fabric. She needed something better than eyes and ears. Something that could be everywhere she couldn't. Something small enough to hide, quiet enough to forget, and clever enough to remember every word spoken in its presence. Then she saw it in a merchant's stall. A scepter with a pink stone at its crown. The stone pulsed with soft light. The merchant called it decorative, useless magic. But Violet saw what he didn't. The stone didn't just glow. It listened. It captured sound like water in a cup. She paid twice what he asked and walked away with the first tool in her collection. Now she could plant it anywhere and let other people's secrets flow straight to her. The marketplace for whispers had just found its first silent gatherer.