Tied High Above

High above the street, suspended from the third floor of a nearby building, hangs a familiar figure.

Pachakuty.

The sight stops both Damthus and Rae in their tracks.

Acting immediately, Damthus hurls a dagger towards the upper levels of the building. The blade embeds itself into the stonework and, in an instant, he vanishes from the street and reappears beside it. Rae moves into position on the ground and the pair quickly formulate a plan.

Damthus reaches the ropes first and casts Feather Fall upon the unconscious Pachakuty.

Damthus slices through one side of the rope. Rae fires a crossbow bolt through the other.

The ropes snap.

Rather than falling straight down, Pachakuty drifts awkwardly towards the building, eventually landing safely on a first-floor balcony.

The crowd immediately surges forward to help.

Jade Eyes

As civilians rush towards the balcony, Rae begins forcing her way through the gathering crowd. One determined citizen refuses to move, focusing instead on examining Pachakuty's injuries. He quickly determines that Pachakuty desperately needs medical attention.

Damthus, still disguised as Councillor Gazelle L'orange, throws another dagger down towards the balcony and teleports beside Rae. He demands the man step aside.

The crowd obliges.

With Pachakuty secured, Damthus turns his attention elsewhere, "Who did this?!"

Most of the crowd exchange uncertain looks. Nobody answers. Then, from somewhere near the back, a small child raises a hand and points upwards.

Damthus follows the pointed finger. Standing on the rooftop is a cloaked figure, peering over the ledge. Even at a distance, one feature is immediately noticeable - piercing green eyes.

The figure disappears from view almost as quickly as they are spotted. Damthus gives chase.

Running Off Rooftops

Another dagger flies skyward, and Damthus scrambles up the balcony ledge.

Damthus immediately charges towards the fleeing figure. Before they can escape, he manages to strike with a booming blade, the crack of thunder echoing across the city and sending the crowd below scattering in alarm.

The figure responds by throwing themselves over the edge.

Damthus rushes to the rooftop's edge expecting to see a broken body below.

Instead, he finds the individual already on the ground and running.

Without hesitation, Damthus throws another dagger and teleports once more, cutting off their escape route in a nearby alleyway.

Get Oblite-rae-ted

As Rae prepares to carry Pachakuty away, three Iron Clan guards arrive. Two of them are immediately recognisable. They are the same guards Rae and Damthus were just being chased by.

Rae quickly casts Pass Without Trace, causing her presence to blur and making it difficult for others to focus on her. Unfortunately, the Iron Clan Captain spots her regardless and immediately orders pursuit.

Whilst two guards rush forward, the Captain reveals a primitive Gronan pistol, he fires a shot that strikes Rae in the shoulder. Moments later he swaps the barrel for a grappling attachment, fires the hook towards an upper balcony and swings into the fight.

One of the Iron Clan thugs is thrown from the balcony entirely, crashing headfirst into a large flowerpot below. The second manages only a single desperate attack before fleeing the scene.

"Coward!" the Captain shouts after him.

He lands several strikes and attempts to drive Rae backwards through a nearby doorway, likely hoping to create an opportunity to escape. Instead, Rae catches his foot, sends him crashing to the floor and proceeds to batter him relentlessly.

By the time she is finished, little remains of the man's dignity, or his face.

The Man in the Cloak

Damthus continues his pursuit. The mysterious figure proves fast, but not fast enough.

A succession of strikes leaves them wounded and stumbling. Eventually they collapse to their knees in the darkness of the alley. Damthus extends a blade of shadow and presses it against their throat.

The surrender comes immediately. Searching the prisoner reveals little. A dagger. A disguise. Nothing more.

Yet whilst examining the figure more closely, Damthus notices something strange. One of the green eyes shifts slightly. Not an eye at all - a lens.

Interrogation yields very little. The man is terrified, but seemingly knows little beyond his instructions.

Damthus restrains the man in manacles and drags him behind him, heading back to Rae.

Lavender & Sewage

The pair regroup and begin the journey back towards Stone Clan territory.

The prisoner, now identified as Gregor Chumley, offers little resistance. Heading back to the Stone Clan safehouse of the Tower, they enter the city's sewer network to avoid any unwanted attention.

The smell is immediate and overwhelming. Damthus employs minor magical tricks to fill the air with the scent of cinnamon.

The result is somehow worse.

A second attempt replaces the aroma with lavender. Whilst still unable to fully overpower the stench, it at least makes the journey marginally more bearable.

Cinnamon & Confessions

Returning to the Tower, they are greeted by a much-improved Lottie.

She has spent part of her recovery baking cinnamon rolls for everyone, providing a rare moment of comfort amidst the chaos.

Whilst Rae helps settle Pachakuty into a safe place to recover, Damthus takes Gregor into a spare room and begins asking questions.

The story that emerges sounds ridiculous.

Gregor claims he is a simple trader travelling between Ardgan and Hegelia. According to him, two strangers approached with an offer of ten thousand gold pieces. All he had to do was wear a disguise, put on coloured contact lenses and stand on a rooftop for thirty minutes.

Nothing more.

The explanation is so absurd that Damthus assumes it must be a lie. Yet Gregor remains adamant.

When pressed for proof, he claims a letter still exists at his home.

More importantly, he provides descriptions of the people who hired him: a tiefling woman and a gnome man.

Damthus supplies paper and demands sketches.

Bloodied and Feathered

Meanwhile, Lottie examines Pachakuty's injuries.

The damage is severe. His wings have been broken, his auxiliary bones crushed and his body shows signs of a prolonged beating. Despite this, she believes he will recover.

A Prayer for Recovery

Damthus finds himself turning towards the the only God he has proof of existing.

Standing beside Pachakuty's bedside, he offers a prayer to Kyuus, the Worm That Walks.

The prayer is not particularly respectful, nor is it worshipful. Instead, it is effectively a threat.

Damthus makes it abundantly clear that Pachakuty is expected to survive and that failure will result in consequences.

Whether Kyuus listens remains unclear, but the message is delivered nonetheless.

Reading the Paper

The remainder of the day passes quietly.

Whilst waiting for evening to arrive, Damthus spends some time reading The Ardgan Articles. One story in particular catches his attention. Councillor Cerulean, one of the city's elder elves, is campaigning to provide Gronan with a substantial grant to further develop their military technology.

Sneaking Over To Chumley's

As darkness falls, Rae and Damthus travel to Gregor's home.

The building is exactly what one would expect from a struggling trader. The furniture is old, the decorations are worn, and the entire property appears to be one missed payment away from collapse.

Inside, however, they find exactly what Gregor promised - a letter.

The instructions match his story perfectly. There is no signature, no identifying mark and no indication of who wrote it. All it contains are instructions and the promise of ten thousand gold pieces upon completion of the task.

Whilst investigating, Rae steals a loaf of bread.

On the way home, Damthus delivers the letter to Silu for further examination.

A Plan is Born

Back at the Tower, plans begin to take shape.

Tomorrow morning, Gregor is expected to meet his mysterious employers.

Instead, Damthus will attend in disguise.

Stone Clan members will be positioned throughout the area.

Rae will observe from nearby.

The goal is simple: follow the trail, find out who is really behind all of this.

Morning arrives, and with it, a letter bearing Silu's signature.