Chapter 9: Appearances

The peace and quiet of his office was broken by a sharp rapping at his door. Outside was a Roni courtier, one of the many messengers that helped to maintain his office as overseer by running about with news or informing him of new cases.

“Just a second.”

Argos Mandrigon stood up from his desk chair and reached for his cane. He was in the beginning of his senior years, but that is not why he used the gnarled thing. He was known to the city of Sohouta as the Blind Overseer, a Neirn Noble who had found employment under the Itsusu Clan courts. He was a recognizable figure across Sohouta, not only for his status as an outsider, but for his strict and efficient handling of the city’s crime. It was not typical for Niern nobility to come to Kellylin for work, much less to succeed at it, but he had done so with blistering efficiency. Mandrigon took the cane in his hand and headed straight for the door, he pulled it open and the courtier turned-in-respect. No doubt he was here to report the recent happenings from the Neutral District. Mandrigon had seen what had happened, though his office was on the other side of town. 

“Sire, there was a fight in the Neutral District, the Nohanja Clan had apparently been involved with the hostilities, the subjects are being brought in now.”

“Very Good, I will speak with the High Visekar. You are dismissed.”

“Thank You Sire.”

The courtier excused himself and daintily shut the door on his way out. Typical that it would be all politics to them, Mandrigon had seen further into the situation as it had unfolded. What he had found was a Neirn man who held an uncanny resemblance to Rojon the Cardhanded. Not the type of resemblance that any average Neirn could pick up on, but Mandrigon never forgot a face. This had been an enticing opportunity, and it seemed he would be able to get to meet this man sooner rather than later. Perhaps it was a blessing, after so many setbacks the plan was beginning to build momentum.

“Riftwalker, I would like you to find what you can about our new man. I’m going to speak with the Visekar and handle this tedious political squabbling.”

He spoke of course to his apprentice, his favorite of the two. Riftwalker was his loyal agent, and an excellent gatherer of information. She was the first of his apprentices to come into his fold, and had left with him after he was cast out from Tiralgo. There she had been trained as a spy for the House of Vanbast, excelling in her work, but it was only after her tutelage under Mandrigon that she became one of the best in the craft. The empty spot on the chair across his desk was still for a moment before the air around it began to shimmer and dance. Noiselessly, she glimmered into form on the seat, arms crossed and daggers on her belt. 

“Yes master.”

She answered in a cold and concise tone, the type the Mandrigon appreciated. Her form blurred and crackled away as she vanished from the room. Mandrigon stood in the middle of his office for a few moments more and watched as the accused were dragged into the building and locked up in temporary holding. Imagine that, after his failings in the past, destiny had thrown him another chance at Rojon the Cardhanded.

-----

The guards pulled Gane along as they approached a large fortress-like building, cut from its usual hardened fungal armor with carvings and banners hung all around the exterior. Notable among these banners was a massive cloth, white with a blood red stripe down the middle. According to the senior officer at the front of the troop that carried the prisoners in, this was the Grand Itsusu Court, the court where all disputes between the clans of the city were to be heard and judged. Gane attempted to tiptoe high enough to spot anyone he knew in the crowd, to no avail. The Roni were almost all taller than him, and the thicket of antlers did nothing to help. Apparently his actions were linked to a major dispute between clans and he was to be brought along for the delineation. They led him inside an oaken hallway and down several floors to a temporary holding cell, he was not nearly important enough to the case to receive a more prestigious holding cell and was to wait there until he was called upon. Gane protested this lightly after being closed inside the cell.

“But I have important business in the city. How long do you suppose I’ll be held here?” Gane did his best to muster an assertive tone.

“Anywhere between a week and a few months, it all depends on when the Visekar decides to take the case.” The guard replied. 

“Is there nothing else I can do?”

“Ya shouldn’t have gotten involved.”

The guards shuffled out and Gane was left in the cold damp cell, there was hardly a view of anything from here aside from the dripping fungal walls that held up the ceiling. Gane sat down on the cell floor and began to worry about the others, where were they now? 

He began to doze as the thought that occupied him struggled to go anywhere, perhaps a small nap might clear his head. Gane laid his head down and napped for an amount of time that he couldn’t determine when he awoke. All he knew is that he was well rested, and that his head was most certainly not cleared. 

“Don’t worry, they can’t keep us down forever.” A voice croaked from the corner of the room. Out from the shadows at the other end of his cell, a small Roni man with short curled antlers revealed himself. Gane was taken aback, deeply frightened at the idea that this one had been there next to him for his aforementioned ambiguously long nap, and even a little surprised at himself for not noticing. He waited in a state of half fear for several minutes to see if the man had anything else of note to say. But all he heard from the corner was an endless monologue of mad whispers, seemingly not even directed at him. Having no idea how long he would be locked up next to this one, Gane attempted an introduction.

“I’m uh… Gane Halaney.” He waited. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” He waited again but the strange Roni did not respond. “What’s your name?”

The fetid Roni’s head jolted around and he began ranting in a half whisper to himself. “It’s a pleasure It’s a pleasure they’ve come to see me. Why don’t you have a look It’s a pleasure have a look? Why does he stare?! Why does he stare?! Have a look they’ve come to see me have a look. Why does he stare with infernal eyes? It’s a pleasure have a look they’ve come to see me.”

Increasingly uncomfortable, Gane began to back off, before foolishly attempting to make eye contact with the Roni. Catching a glimpse of milky white eyes filled with terror and rage.

“DON’T LOOK!! It’s a pleasure don’t look! Why does he stare? I’ll tell you why, don’t look and you won’t see! They’ve come to see you! That’s why you can’t look because then they can see you! It’ll be their pleasure if you look into the infernal eyes they’ll come to see you and you won’t be able to see!

CRACK CRACK CRACK!

The sound of a dagger’s butt being smacked against the bars silenced his ramblings. In front of Gane was a sharp looking woman dressed in dark trappings. She had raven hair, two daggers and a sly look about her. 

“That’s what you gotta do about those ones, there’s no other way to shut ‘em up.” She said matter-of-factly. “I’m here to let you out.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know who you are.” 

“That’s not important, I’m not the one who wants you out. The Visekar is handling the inter-clan dispute, and your case is relevant. The Overseer, Count Mandrigon would like to see you in advance.”

Gane was hesitant, he didn’t want to see some court official or whatever a Visekar was, he wanted to see his allies and find out what had happened to them. 

“Well come on out already! Count Mandrigon is waiting to assist you with your case.”

“Why does he want me? What’s to defend? I interrupted a duel right in front of everyone, there was no confusion about it.”

The raven haired woman rolled her eyes. “Well by all means, if you’d like to rot in this cell with that mad man for the rest of your days, be my guest.”

She was right, Gane considered his options, or lack thereof. “Alright I’ll come to see this count. One one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“That you give me the foggiest idea who you actually are.”

“I’m Count Mandrigon’s apprentice.”

“Yes, but what should I call you? Do you not have a name? A story?

She sighed and quietly wrestled with herself a bit over how to answer. “Riftwalker.”

“Riftwalker? That sounds like a title, and it doesn’t tell me much more about you then I could have gathered with a cursory glance.” 

She grew angry as he pressed, Gane had only asked out of practicality at first, but he was beginning to enjoy his small bit of power to resist this cold and looming court’s authority. Gane must have been a bit too bold with his last statement because she reacted strongly. 

“Fine! Is that not enough?! I’m Gane Halaney, the special little posy-picker who doesn’t know when to shut it!” As she snapped she transformed, he skin crumbling away until she morphed to be quite identical to Gane .She spoke with his voice and even his cadence. Gane went deadly quiet after a wave of berations and insults came down on him from himself, and when he did, Riftwalker shifted again back to her raven haired form.

“I’m sorry about that. Just don’t push about my name again. I'll take you to the count now.”

Riftwalker led him back up the winding staircases and through the oaken halls. Lined on the walls were shields of every major clan in the city, each bearing the mark of their banner. The halls were busy with clammored footsteps and hurried courtiers rushing from one end of the hall to another. The tumult of the place was quite unpleasant, and without a friendly face in sight it was made all the worse. Riftwalker took them to the left of the main hallway and up to the door of a not unimpressively sized office. She stopped there, in front of the office and gave Gane a look as if already annoyed that he had yet to head inside. The door stared down at him, boring holes into Gane with its blank wooden expression, Gane hesitated to so much as put his hand near the door for fear of what it would think of him.

“Count Mandrigon is waiting for you.” Riftwalker pressed, she was tired of this yokel and his baffled demeanor.

“Of course.” Gane stomached his strange anxieties and knocked on the door.

“Come right in, I’d like to start discussing your case.” the hickory voice of an older man came from behind the door. Gane entered into the modestly decorated office, it looked out of place in the sea of stange Roni type rooms, this room looked akin to what could be found in Tiralgo. There was a finely carved grandfather clock in the corner of the room and a vast arched window to the back of the desk. Sitting by said desk, Gane saw a Neirn man. The man seemed to be in his later years, short white hair clung to his weathered skin, he sat straight in his chair with his boney fingers folded together. Most notable however, was the black blindfold wrapped around his eyes, and his cane leaning against the desk. 

“I am the Third Count of Goldloom, the Rightly Honored Overseer of Sohouta, Argos Mandrigon.” He spoke firmly from the top of his mouth, with the cadence of an upper Niern accent. Rightly honored indeed was his title, he held the office of Overseer, a traditional Roni role of high importance, comparable to what the Niern would call a sheriff or the captain of the guard, only more formal. Overseer was responsible for delineating on certain crimes or investigations, and attending to the general efficiency and safety of the city. To a lesser man it was a cushy invitation to high society. It was a title appointed by the Visekar who was a member of the senior Itsusu Clan, and thus the Overseer was loyal to the Itsusu clan. “What is your name, and where do you come from?”

“Gane Halaney… born of Blistle.”

Mandrigon responded with confusion. “Born out of the grass itself? You truly are the picture of honest stock, though I doubt you are actually the kin of trees and reeds. May I ask a bit more about your familial background?”

Gane pulled out a chair across the desk from Mandrigon. He was not particularly interested in small talk with this strange old fellow. What’s more, the room had an odd feeling about it, staring into the inky blindfold while feeling assaulted on all sides by eyes on the walls. Gane felt quite naked in the presence of him and his heart began beating quickly. He intended to tell the truth and every detail he knew about his crime, and yet he sweated like a liar.

“I don’t see how this is very relevant to my case.”

“Oh but it is,” Mandrigon insisted. “Your actions have come at the significant expense of your honor, and that transfers to your familial line as well. I would like to get a full picture for my delineations so they can be properly informed.”

“What would you have me do? Send them a letter? I’m not particularly interested in calculating my ‘honor’ after such actions. I would like to know what has happened to the others involved in this case, and when I can get back to my business.”

“Business? What business would that be?”

Gane froze up. He could feel eyes all over him, rubbing their moist forms into his flesh as he frantically searched for an answer to give to the incredibly simple question. This man in the blindfold had not broken his eyeless stare with him yet. 

“I came to be… admitted… to the Great Library… so that I might… learn.” 

Mandrigon faced him in silence for a few moments. “Mr. Halaney, I can’t help you if you’re not willing to work with me. And I’ve taken your case as a priority, as a favor from one Neirn to another.”

Gane attempted to move things away from any mention of the Restoration. He was thankful for this old fellow taking his case, but he just wanted to own up to the consequences and be done with this.

“Why don’t we just discuss the facts of the case. I interfered with a High Duel and stopped the battle. It was plain to see for anyone there. I’m not interested in trying to wriggle my way out of this, do what you wish with my ‘honor’, I just want to be out of here. Respectfully.”

Mandrigon sat on his chair and stared forward for another moment, his blindfolded face always pointed towards Gane’s. With the light pouring through the window over Mandrigon’s shoulders and onto Gane’s face. He finally spoke again.

“Well then. If that is your confession, then I suppose I must accept it.”

“So what’s going to happen to me now?”

“That is for the High Visekar to decide. Your case will be linked back to the larger Nohanja Clan dispute.”

Gane was escorted out of the Overseer’s office, and so it was for the next five days, he was marched out into a large cylindrical chamber, lined with the banners of the great Roni Clans of the city.  The Visekar, the chief of the Senior Itsusu Clan, was brought out before the chamber. He sat in a raised platform with a group of advisors beside him, donned in a long green robe of silk and grass, with silver jewelry hanging from his withered and antlers. He presided over the long and arduous task of holding the Nohanja Clan accountable for causing a violent scene in neutral territory and he did so with not infrequent breaks to speak to his advisors, he seemed incapable of making any large decisions without them and seemed rather senile on his own. Frankly, the whole affair was dreadfully dull, the Roni court tradition was mired with awkward etiquette and long winded speeches that went nowhere in particular. The Consensus seemed to be that the Visekar and Overseer Mandrigon were insistent on the Nohanja Clan being as thoroughly reprimanded as possible. There was a brief controversy where the court proceedings began without anyone from the Ealmeni Clan being present, this was apparently a deep insult to tradition, but it changed very little of the outcome. 

On the fifth day the results came in. The Nohanja Clan was fined heavily and forced to ceremonially apologize in a rather humiliating fashion. Yhora was let off the hook, being on the lucky enough to land on the opposite end of the smear campaign against her own clan. The duel was also of little importance to the final ruling, rather the ruling focused more on reimbursing merchants and repairing property. Gane felt optimistic about being able to get away from this nonsense and back on track to the Great Library. He mentioned as much on his way out from the final ruling, finally reunited with Yhora, Kayseri and Zoll. He had to admit he was happy to see them again, Yhora had mixed feelings about the ordeal, she had been absolved of her crime but had essentially been cut off from her clan, she planned on paying them a visit in some time after heads had cooled to reconnect. Kayseri was thoroughly proud of himself for his duel performance, even if it had ended inconclusively. And Zoll had been just as bored watching the proceedings as Gane had been, being only held as a witness. Zoll seemed anxious to go.

“Kayseri,” He said. “We have a promise to keep to the Moridians.”

“Of course. Trust me, I keep my word.”

They were on their way out of the courthouse when Mandrigon stopped them. He asked them to follow him to his office and sat them all down.

“I suppose you all owe me thanks.”

“Why is that?” Yhora questioned. 

“Because I let the lot of you off easy. At my own personal request the Visekar had pardoned all of you of any misgivings.”

“Why?” Gane asked.

“You see I am in charge of rooting out and stopping crime in this city, I know for a fact that you all are not the type to threaten this city. But I know of some who are, and the ones I speak of are immune to my authority.”

“You mean for us to slay this particular group? I have to inform you that I won’t comply unless I deem it to be just and…” Kayseri began.

“No not slay, but rather… find information on. You see the Torpec Clan has a habit of acting aggressively and protecting its own from justice, I wish for you to find and gather proof of this, and I will consider our score settled.” 

Gane and company exchanged looks of uncertainty. 

“Please this is very normal. Espionage between Clans is one of the few ways that things can change in this city without any violence, and after how I stuck up for you today I feel like you owe me a favor.”

Gane looked back towards the door to see Riftwalker leaning against it, between them and the exit. Mandrigon waited silently behind his desk for Gane’s answer. His feelings were frustratingly unreadable, not just because of the blindfold over his eyes, but the utter lack of expression given from his lips or posture. That being said it was clear the position that he had placed them in, and what other choice did he have? Gane looked to the others who seemed to have come to the same conclusion.

“Alright. What do we have to do?”

“Excellent. I’m glad you’ve all decided to be reasonable. I need you to find some documents, proof of ill dealings in the Torpec’s Estate.” He handed Gane a hand drawn map of the floor plan of a massive mansion. “This will guide you most of the way there. Avoid violence or detection at all costs and bring me back what you can find. It should be all the proof I need to bring the Torpecs to justice.”

Gane and company took the map and were led out of the courthouse. They would have the day to ready themselves and were to follow through with the break-in that night. They spent the rest of the day in a strange state of uncertainty of what they had been signed up for. 

After they left the office, Mandrigon was alone with his apprentice again. She questioned him about his actions.

“Why does this one so enthrall you?”

“He is here for important reasons, I have summarized as much. Ever since I first saw into his eyes when he arrived in town, I have been obsessed with whatever consumed his thoughts. They are reflected out his eyes, his purpose is great, and though I do not know its specifics, I will find them out. It is no coincidence that Rojon’s boy has come to me, and at this time no less, while we are so close to finishing our long term project. No, it is no coincidence.”

-------------

The city's glow hung in the brisk air as Gane and company shuffled quietly towards the Torpec Estate. Gane’s heart pounded in his chest and his face was pinched by the slight breeze that flowed down the alleyway. He had never partook in such behavior before, and despite the justification he was given, he was having a hard time adapting. Kayseri and Yhora seemed to share his sentiments, if for different reasons. Yhora had taken an immediate disliking to Mandrigon and only agreed to participate because of her greater disliking of the Torpec Clan. However the means were never a problem for her, she skulked through the street without much wavering. Kayseri was extremely caught up in the means, he had laid out ground rules before proceeding, in accordance with the Savac Code. He would not ambush anyone, he would not engage in combat under cover of darkness, and he would not be the one to personally steal the documents that they needed. To the others his qualms seemed arbitrary, but they didn’t contest him on it and instead relied more on Zoll. Zoll did not seem out of his element at all in fact, he slithered and snaked his form around the rays of streetlights as they approached the estate. 

They came first to a high wall of bushes grown around the perimeter of the grounds. The bushes stood twice as tall as Gane did, and were wound with barbs and thorns. The light coming from the estate behind them barely escaped through the thick bramble. There was a gate several yards away with guards posted, that gate was the only break in the perimeter of thicket.

“Psst! Yhora, can you jump the bushes?” Gane loudly whispered. 

“No, this place is built to keep out people with my skill set, guards on the other side will spot me.”

“Then how do we get past the grounds?”

Kayseri spoke up. “I think we may find use of me yet. Wait here, I’ll give you your opening.”

Kayseri snuck back through the alley they had come from. He then strode down the main road approaching the estate and confidently approached the guards. In his usual voice, which could wake a bear in winter he announced himself to them.

“Greetings! I assume this is the estate of the great Torpec Clan, am I wrong?”

The Guards nodded that it was, after exchanging looks of confusion.

“You’re not supposed to be here.” They said.

“Well that’s where you’re wrong my friends. I have an audience with the Chief.” 

“Sure you do. Do you have a letter of permission for that?”

Kayseri never let his boisterous smile leave his face. “I never thought to ask.”

“Then get out.”

“I suppose I’ll try my luck again tomorrow… Though I shudder to think of what will happen to the guards who turned away the wandering holy man who stood up to the Nohanjas not one week ago.”

The guards turned to each other in surprise and called back to Kayseri, apologizing and offering him shelter in the estate. 

This was their queue, Zoll melded his form through the bushes until he was totally within their tangled branches, then expanded his body out to the shape of an ovaloid doorway, giving just enough room for Gane and Yhora to move through to the grounds. After making it to the other side Zoll melded out and returned to his normal shape. There was still far too much light being given off from the main building for them to hide in the wide open grounds of the estate. They took off as fast as they could across the grass.

Kayseri noticed them doing so, while the guards locked up the gate and prepared to take him inside. Should the guards spot them, their mission would be ruined. Kayseri unsheathed his sword and held it out before the guards.

“This is the blade which did battle with the Nohanja Captain. It is called Falkensabyr, a masterpiece of Savac craftsmanship. Along the blade you can see carvings of our most ancient symbols. This one means honor, this one means discipline...” He made sure to flourish and display his weapon long enough to distract the guards. He carried on with his description for a few moments more, not lying about the details of the sword, but being sure to take excessive length in explaining it.

Kayseri glanced back again to see that the others had made it across the grounds, now hidden under the shadows cast down from the estate building. Having no idea what to do from here, Kayseri followed the guards inside as he had told them he would. He kept up his jovial attitude and figured he’d find a way out eventually, but leaving now would arouse suspicion. 

Beneath the shadow of the Estate building’s second floor balconies, Gane and the other two crept quietly around back. The Map of the Estate that Mandrigon had given them was rather difficult to decipher and made worse by the dark. After only a few backtrackings and wrong turns, Gane led them to the back end of a large wing of the building. It was far out of the way and nearly completely obscured by the blanket of darkness over the estate grounds.

“Alright, here’s where Mandrigon told us to enter the estate.” Gane whispered to the group. 

He stood above a small basement hatch built into the ground, it was set against the outside of the wall and latched up tightly by a lock and chain. Yhora removed one of the bombs from her bandolier and pressed a button on it. She placed the small orb on top of the lock and waited silently while the bomb began to hiss. The Small red orb shuttered and a red glow spread over it. The red hot glow traveled onto the metal lock and chains until they began to crumple and melt down. With a swift kick at the door she broke it open and the three progressed inside.

“How many different kinds of bombs do you have?” Gane asked with a whisper as they snuck down through the shaft. 

“They make all kinds, it really just depends on what situations you expect to get into.” 

“And you expected to need to melt locks?”

“No, heat bombs are for warming up bodies of water, or setting somebody's camp on fire.”

“Why would you need to do that?”

“It helped us just now didn’t it?”

They stopped at the bottom of the stairwell, there was something in front of them blocking their way. They felt it in the pitch black, pushing hard on it moved it forward, revealing a wine cellar with a false wall which they had just come in from. The light was low, drifting from down the hall, besides that it was dusty and unreasonably cold. Yhora pushed the false wall back into place, while Zoll stepped forward. He spoke softly.

“Stay here. I’ll check the surrounding rooms for guards.”

Zoll handed Gane his cloak before shrinking down lower to the ground, morphing his form to resemble a snake and slithering down the hall. 

Gane was left standing awkwardly up against the wall, holding the cloak in one hand and the map in the other. Yhora finished fitting the false wall back in place and let out a chuckle at Gane’s position.

“It’s quite the group you’ve got involved with. Is this at all what you expected your journey to be like?” She asked.

“Not at all. I haven’t felt like I know what I’m doing since day two away from home.” 

“Then, and sorry if this comes off the wrong way, why are you still so dead set on it?”

“The break-in?”

“The mission itself, the Restoration. You’re clearly out of your element with this break-in, and you don’t even seem to like this city either. I just can’t understand how you stick with it. I mean, I was born to be a ranger and I couldn’t even see through with that.”

“It’s the right thing to do.” Gane answered, trailing off. 

“Oh don't give me that Kayseri nonsense, if all people ever did was what’s right there wouldn’t be anything wrong with the world.”

Gane thought about it a little more. “Well… I guess I figured there is more to life. I’ve always lived a small life concerned with small things, a quest this big is something to really live for.”

Yhora was quiet for a minute. “Believe me, there’s value to living life for something other than a goal on the horizon. Sometimes it’s just too much for you.”

Gane gave her a cheeky smile. “You’re part of the mission too you know. You haven’t given up either.”

“I guess you’re right.”

They went quiet as the sound of movement crept up the hall, Yhora drew her tsuk and Gane grabbed the bo staff on his back. A shadow was cast down the hallway, cut from the thin light that hung in the room. Gane’s heart skipped a beat as Zoll appeared again in front of them. 

“Don’t do that to us Zoll!” Gane whispered sharply at him.

“Do what?”

Gane’s heart began to beat at its normal rate again as he regained composure.  

“Don’t worry about it. What did you find?”

“The bottom floor seems to be devoid of anyone at the moment. However; the floor above us is well lit and full of guards. I also was unable to find Kayseri, how do we plan on getting him out of here?”

“He’s not in any danger right now, let's focus on the mission first and then find him.” Gane answered. 

“If you say so.”

Gane gave him back his cloak and the party tiptoed through the wine cellar, keeping quiet and following the route on the map. They were going to have to cross through the main hall and up the steps in order to get their mark, an area which Zoll warned was full of guards. 

Pushing the door to the main hall open a crack, Gane looked out and noticed a brightly decorated hallway, with two rows of steps leading up to a second floor. There were four men in the hallway, most were dressed in Ronic warrior’s trappings. Gane pulled the door to a soft close again. They were not going to get by unnoticed while those men were there. Gane wracked his brain for a solution, clutching his hand around his Smokeheart. An idea donned upon him, releasing the magical smoke from his locket into the hallway, Gane grabbed Zoll and Yhora by the hand. Once the room had been suitably filled, gane pushed open the door, causing the smoke to spill out into the crowded hallway.  The Roni guards were blinded and confused, Gane maneuvered through the discord leading his companions with him up the stairs. 

Shouts were heard from throughout the hallway. “FIRE IN THE CELLAR!” “EVACUATE THE NOBLES!”

Gane brought his companions up to the door of the room marked on Mandrigon’s map. This is where they would find the documents that he needed. Pushing in the room and out of the smog they were met with a quiet and dark office. Shelves of books and drawers full of papers, it was a rather typical Ronic clerk's office. Frantic movements and noise could be heard from outside. It seemed Gane’s plan had worked almost too well. He glanced back at his map, this is where the instruction ended, whatever they had been sent to find was in this room. They got to quietly tearing the room apart, turning up as many suspicious looking documents as they could find. Unfortunately, Yhora was the only one of the three of them who could read Ronic, and the other two were essentially searching blind. They searched like that for some time. 

“What was it he said we were looking for exactly?” Yhora asked as she observed a sheet of old Torpec budget papers.

“Proof of iIll dealings. I believe those were his exact words.” Gane answered. 

“These look like ill dealings to me.” Yhora said as she held up a sheet of expenditures. “These show large sums of money paid to Jaarekin Marauders directly out of the Torpec Estate treasury!” Yhora was again plunged into a one minded determination, she was going to get to the bottom of this. Leafing through the dates of the payments, they were hired during peacetime, not meant to harass other clans’ militaries. Yhora stuffed the papers in her bag furiously, digging through the pile for more. Gane helped her sort through as much as he could. He wasn’t sure of all that she had found, but saw that it seemed to be deeply distressing her. Zoll perked up and froze in place, staring silently towards the door for a moment. 

“Somebody is coming this way.”

Loud bangs rang against the door. Gane’s heart began racing again, there was no way to cover all this up, much less hide themselves, he looked to the window, shut tight and about twenty feet up. Yhora didn’t react to the noise outside, she continued tearing through the documents to find more dates and information. 

Again loud knocks at the door. Zoll began to slowly stalk towards the side of it, ready to attack whoever comes through. Gane frantically motioned for him to back away and hide instead. The knocks came again but this time accompanied with a voice.

“Be there any innocent souls in here? This building is not safe!”

Gane’s heart returned to normal and Zoll rolled his eyes as the voice rang through the room. He swung the door open and Kayseri stood righteously outside, sword in hand with a concerned face about him. 

“Kay, it’s us.” Zoll grunted as Kayseri strolled in in shock.

“So the fire was your trickery?”

“There is no fire. And it was Gane’s trick actually.”

Kayseri raised an eyebrow to Gane. “Really?” He turned to see that Yhora was deeply occupied with documents. “Have you found what you need?”

Stuffing more documents in her bag, Yhora answered sternly. “We do. We should get out of here.”

“T’would be difficult. The building is surrounded, all of the Torpec nobles have evacuated to the grounds.”

“We could try to sneak back out through the cellar again.” Gane suggested.

“Not likely. They should be realizing by now that the fire was a ruse.” Yhora remarked. She pointed out the window to the groups of Torpec soldiers who had begun to move cautiously back into the estate. 

Kayseri flourished his sword. “If we need to flee we should do it now, out the window and we can lose them in the city.”

Zoll responded with mild annoyance. “Even if Gane could handle a jump like that, we’d surely be caught. Then we’d just be back to where we started, caught in the jaws of the law. What about the Moridian family? Didn’t you promise to have them jobs in a week?”

Yhora clutched at the documents. “We can’t be caught, the people of Kellylin have to see what these clans have been up to. These are attacks on civilian settlements!”

As voices rose and argument burst forth from the touchpaper of extreme stress, the sounds of movement began again in the rest of the estate. Gane’s heart was pounding as it had been before, not just out of fear though, this whole break-in had been a catastrophe. He wanted out, he wanted to be in the great library, or the Albatross, or better yet, in his warm bed in Blistle. Violent knocking came from the door this time, Zoll sprung up and splashed his body out like a wave blocking the door from being open. Yhora grabbed her tsuk and Kayseri his sword. Before the Gane could even think of what he intended to do, the sounds of crackling and sparks appeared in the middle of the office. From those sparks appeared the Riftwalker, the raven haired woman. Standing now before the rest of them, who were in shock and awe of her sudden appearance, she held out her hands.

“Join hands with me, I can get you out of here.” 

“What manner of trickery do you employ! We will do no such thing!” Kayseri barked. 

Gane did not share his apprehension, he immediately took her hand, anything that she could do to get them out of there was worth taking now. Yhora followed, and after a moment of stubborn inaction Kayseri followed. Zoll dropped his hold over the door, which immediately began to give way to what looked like a score’s worth of Torpec soldiers bursting their way through. All that they had time to see was a loose crackling light as Gane and company were transported away. Enraged, the men began cleaning up the office which had been turned upside down.

To Gane, everything had gone freezingly cold for a second, his eyes rationalized a swirling soup of whatever he had been looking at a moment ago while his arms and legs went numb. Until as suddenly as it had started, he was thrust back on his feet, very disoriented, and wobbly from the ordeal. Blinking and regaining his hold on his surroundings he saw the equally disoriented faces of his companions, they were now standing in Mandrigon’s office, differently decorated than the last, and not nearly as messy as they had left it. But it was just as dark, not even a candle was lit in the room, the only light came from the massive window behind the desk. Sitting illuminated by the light of the waning moon, Mandrigon was waiting for them.

“Were you able to find what you were sent for?”

Yhora shot back into composure. She pushed in front of the others and slammed the papers down on Mandrigon’s desk, with intensity in her eyes. 

“We found something alright. The b******s are responsible for countless murders and pillagery. How long have you known about them doing this!?”

“Dear, I haven’t had any definitive proof yet, which is why I sent you all in the first place.” He turned his attention away from her and addressed Gane. “Excellent work. I have to say, I’m impressed with your ability, you’ve proven to be clever and adaptable. As thanks I’d like to extend an offer to all of you to stay in the Itsusu Estate, free of charge, for the rest of your time here in Sohouta. I understand that you have work to do in town, and I would like to offer my aid.”

Gane was rather baffled by this, and quite frankly he wasn’t done processing the last few hours of his life. He turned to his companions, who looked disapprovingly at each other.

Zoll spoke up for the first time in the presence of this man. “We have a prior commitment, with certain other people in this town.”

Mandrigon stood up, making his way around his desk until he was standing, towering almost, over Zoll. His fingers curled around the end of his cane, and without turning his head down he spoke. “Of course you do. I’m sure that family needs you.” He turned back towards Gane. “Nevertheless, the offer remains. You see I have a vested interest in the success of your mission, and I would like to help you moreso when I can. There is a special referendum of Sohoutan elites scheduled to take place a few weeks from now, one which I expect to gain a gracious amount of power from. I would ask that you remain around long enough to see me through it, and hear my offer after the fact.”

Gane gave a wishy washy answer, akin to ‘I’ll think about it.’ in reality all he wanted to do was be out of there, his companions shared the sentiment. 

With that they were ushered out. Riftwalker led them to the hall and gave directions out of the courthouse. It was hours past midnight, and Gane was exhausted. All he cared to think about as they returned to their small ratty rooms in their inn was how much he needed to sleep. Until morning, the questions that had built up throughout this whole ordeal remained at the back of his mind. 

---------

Standing in his office, staring out the window watching them return to their inn in the slums, Mandrigon managed the pieces in his mind. Today had been a victory, if not a complete one. It was as he had always said, ‘A top card is of value no matter who holds it, as long as you know who.’, this Gane Halaney was a top card indeed, and he had been dealt at the perfect time for Mandrigon to expand his horizons. Saw Riftwalker return, she seemed uncertain, a degree off from her usual unflappability. 

“I’m sorry Master Mandrigon.”

“Why might that be?”

“I failed, Mr Halaney has declined our invitation.”

He allowed himself to smile a bit at this. “Mr Halaney is in a perfectly acceptable position. My apprentice, you should pay more mind to what we have achieved.”

“How do you mean?”
“Because in a single move, the Nohanjas have been outed as renegades for their refusal to obey the law, the Torpec have been revealed as barbaric traitors, the Ealmeni have been humiliated and shoved aside, and the Itsusu have had their underhanded tactics exposed to the elites of all three of the junior clans. The Roni will be furious and irrational, they will seek change at first, and when that fails they will stumble back to begging for order. The tenuous fabrics which hold this ramshackle excuse for a city together have come apart at their strings. The coming weeks will only serve to boil the cool heads which wish to oppose the inevitable. But what’s more fortunate still, is the arrival of my new apprentice. Though he pushes us away at the moment, he will eventually be brought into our fold, given our extraordinary gifts and sewn into the foundation of my Margravate to be.”