On the day that they had agreed upon, Lavinia hired two coaches to take the party and herself from her manor to High Market in the Noble District. It was clear that the wares under the colorful stall awnings, and in the shade indoors in the buildings surrounding the market, were a cut above anything one could find in the Azure or even Merchant districts. While there were still the general goods one might expect at a market, only the best of the best made it to High Market, and the staples and sundries were accompanied by exotic wares from the North and East as well as beautiful jewelry (watched over by serious-faced hulks) and even enchanted wares (seemingly not as well protected, to the unwise). The prices were as exhorbitant as the goods were fancy. Colorful jungle birds roosted here and there among the seagulls, vying for snacks thrown from well-to-do pedestrians. Patrols from the Noble Garrison cruised through the crowds on a regular schedule, polite and well-groomed. The smell of spices, flowers, and perfumes hung in the hot spring air.
            Lavinia wasn't interested in shopping; she took the party to the docks, where she went to arrange passage on a ferry that would take them to Stormwall Keep, leaving the group briefly to their own devices.
            The only disappointment Reg felt was in being ferried through the gradeur of the Market in a coach that precluded pauses and conversation with the merchants and the public. Ah, well; they had a task to be about. Setoa sat upright on the floor of the coach in the space Reg's legs would've occupied had he been of more ungainly height, which permitted the jaguar to hold his head above the rail of the coach's low door, watching the Market pass by with aloof disinterest.
            As the coaches progressed, Reg's attention alternated between the passing displays and his fellow coach occupants. On his lap, he clutched a seasoned, light trail pack, which mostly served as a keep for three sheaths -- shortbow, machete, and quiver -- all three partially concealed behind a slung darkwood shield. Reg's outfit was also of practical nature for this day, festooned with pockets in a mix of adventurous experience with flashes of personality and whim; his coat and feathered hat were not making this journey. For a vault with paths and guardians unknown, he intended to arrive appropriately prepared, armed full with wit, guile, and gear.
            "Remarkable how the developments of but a few days can entice one's course, is it not?" he mused conversationally. "It's the nature of a good story to always entice to turn the page, where the former contribute to the tableau of the present, and the future is fresh in hope, readiness, and aspiration."
            " Remarkable, yes," Talib the Sailor responded to Reginald's musings, almost out of sorts himself. The words of the gnome hit home for the Islaran - much had changed in the past few days. Many things he had not expected, to be perfectly honest with himself.
            He had a pack of his own: an elegant thing of leather and hide that looked sturdy enough to hold all of Lavinia's fortune and then some. The faint scent of the coffee bean wafted from the bag, though it was a flask drawn from a shoulder bandolier that had Talib's attention. He swigged from the bottle quickly, wincing slightly. His brother, Najib, apparently liked his arak quite strong - he almost regretted swiping the bottle from his sibling. Almost.
            " If we're speaking of enticing things, then I suppose at least some of you are pondering what I spoke about last night with Keltar."
            He said the statement suddenly but let it hang in the air for the moment. His dark eyes found Lillia's, recalling their prior conversation at the tavern. He supposed that what he was about to share was not too damning. People would be hearing about it sooner rather than later anyway.
            " Long story short, I've accepted my position as heir to the Islaran name. When the day comes, the Lighthouse and the Azure District ... well, it will fall to me. To take care of."
            It was alarmingly clear that Talib was still struggling with that reality. Though he smiled when he spoke, there was a dullness in his eyes. It was the same as the craftsman who knew he needed bread for his family but had no love for his trade.
            Talib had known his duty as a sailor and as a pilot. He was still not quite sure how he would perform it as a noble, though.
            Lillia rode in silence on the journey through High Market. Nestled in one corner of the coach, she left the hood of her light cloak up. Most of her features were concealed behind a thin veil she wore, but her eyes were visible, albeit closed. For all intents and purposes, she could have been napping.
            Until Talib’s enticing tone drew her gaze. Her eyelids flipped open when the nobleman pre-empted his decree, and she shared a glance with him. Without comment though, she let her eyelids fall once more and continued her siesta.
            She sported an elaborate, if utilitarian, outfit of ribboned blues that both breathed and concealed. All in all, her attire seemed suited to a lady in waiting or higher end servant, if the length of blade she had sheathed along one leg was overlooked. No other pack or distinguishing gear could be seen, although braced elements of leather armor were selectively placed to enhance her shape and peeked from beneath the flowing garment.
            "Seems like that day is pretty well nigh upon you, Talib," Loupin observed dryly, pushing her hands into the pockets of her gray coat. "But congratulations, I guess. That's not really what we wondered, though. We wondered what he's gonna do about Vark's friends now, since they probably don't like us very much -- and maybe whether anybody else can expect a reward from the noble House of Islaran, you know, for helping it stay so well above reproach."
            The future lord of House Islaran sighed darkly for a brief moment, though the expression slipped from his face as easily as a tide brushing across the beach.
            " Ah. Of course, a reward," he repeated in a clipped tone, turning his head towards the windows of the carriage as it rattled along. What else would the concern be about?
            " No. I did not ask my father for anything as such," Talib stated bluntly, " Considering Lady Vanderboren promised us a hefty payment for services rendered and my family has ... a lot of other concerns right now, it did not cross my mind."
            His features slipped into a fleeting mask of sorrow - to see Keltar laid up so had been a shocking moment. Talib had always, always pictured his father as strong and tall, not laid low by sickness. He was still wrestling with the reality that Keltar Islaran may not be long for the living.
            But that was foolish talk. The man was tough and would pull through. He could almost hear the Kellani hawks beginning to circle the lighthouse, though ...
            " But if more money is what you want, then I am sure something could be arranged," the sailor said with a wave of his hand.
            Loupin's mercenary nature did not appeal to Talib's lifestyle - though he had spent time as pirate and privateer both, it had always been for the freedom, the adventure and glory that went along with plundering Umberlee's depths. Gold had never been at the forefront of his mind, even when we was far estranged from his noble lineage's fortune and living off of hardtack. Rowyn Kellani had been concerned with coin too, and Talib had little inclination to revisit that relationship. To the sailor, gold seemed to be one of the few things Loupin concerned herself with, almost to the exclusion of all else. He wondered if the half-elf would betray the Islarans to the Kellani if the offer was high enough. Should he be concerned with a knife in his back once Keltar passed, paid in silver? He wasn't actually sure.
            " After, though. When things have settled in the Azure. There's a lot to be done in cleaning up the district."
            That much was true: the wealth of the Islaran fortune was unknown to Talib, but he was certain it had to be put forth towards restoring the prominence of the harbor first. Without the harbor, the city would surely crumble.
            " As for Vark, the situation is what I told Lavinia back at her estate: he and his crew are detained and their fate is ultimately in her hands. I stressed to my father that we proceed with mercy, though - scum as they were, I don't want Soller and his associates dead, much as my father thought otherwise. He even seemed to agree with my goals; what I'd prefer from here is for the good Lady to use her own agents to figure out who else was dealing with Vark, see how deep this goes. If Vark and Friends want to participate in that and redeem themselves, so be it - I'll open their prison cells myself. They were two-bit thugs making copper on the side - Someone is corrupting the Azure. Someone bigger. Taking advantage of my father's absence."
            Talib glowered. " I want to find out who."
            “You might want to measure your tone when addressing the help, your lordship,” Lillia said, her voice both level and ambiguous. “We sometimes have trouble grasping such lofty, noble pursuits.”
            She opened her eyes again, mostly just disappointment showing in them now. “I don’t suppose you can recall the last time hunger woke you from sleep,” Lillia addressed Talib. “If ever.”
            “Well I can recount for you how often, and how recently, we have,” she added, nodding at Loupin. “If you like.”
            There was so much more that could be said. So much more that could express the divide that existed in the world. The outrage of those who lived on the raggedy edge, trying to make ends meet day in and day out. But the rolling backdrop of High Market contrasted well enough the free services they were rendering for Lady Vanderboren thus far, and more words felt like an overly blunt instrument.
            Her point was made. Now it just remained to be seen how much Islaran actually resided in this prodigal corsair.
            " It was not long before this," Talib answered after an uncomfortably long silence, scratching lightly at his beard. He chewed on his tongue for a moment, savoring the simple pain before continuing onwards in his date-syrup voice.
            " When I was plucked out of the ocean, along with what remained of a foolish captain's crew, after being beset by the Crimson Fleet. And it was not the first time I was on a ship with little if anything to eat or drink, and it probably won't be the last, though by Shaundakul's zephyr that not be true."
            His eyes centered on Lillia - he refused to look away, so clear he wanted his point to be.
            " I worked for every copper that ever felt my purse. I am no Kellani, growing fat off of a name and the sweat of others. I had left home, and may as well have been called Talib Zatara or Talib l-Ba?riyy, for it would have made no difference in the Shining Sea and neither Umberlee nor Talos would have cared who my father was if they had claimed my body."
            The sailor leaned back in his seat. Like that, the storm lifted from his brows and a small, sad smile broke across his lips.
            " But I think I may have a slight disadvantage if we are going to trade stories on who had the harder childhood," he reasoned, nodding along to his own admission of privilege, " And that does color my outlook. That it does."
            He clicked his tongue on the roof of his mouth.
            " I will speak to Keltar when we return from Stormwall," Talib offered, shrugging at himself more than anything, " Even I never went under a captain that could not promise a haul by voyage's end, and this could be the first step towards actually restoring my father's legacy - that's worth something, aye. And I am grateful for your assistance, all of you - I would have died to that beast had I fought it alone, and the experience has opened my eyes to what has become of my beloved Tashluta. I had been away too long."
            He bit on his lower lip as he looked out the window again.
            " Far too long."
            It was an odd thing for Talib to be spoken to as though he had led his life in the silken lap of a Council member's house - his hands were coarse and rough from hauling ropes and salt winds, and he had never rightfully considered himself amongst those that felt more comfortable at galas than within gales. But, Lillia did have a point: it was far easier in Tashluta to have been born Islaran than Imsato.
            " And it's just Talib, Lillia," the sailor asked of the woman and, to a degree, the entire carriage. The sincerity in his words and eyes only lasted a moment before breaking into a smile. " Unless we're trying to get in somewhere else we don't belong."
            Lillia scrutinized Talib as he spoke, her eyes filleting each word, each nuance that came unspoken from him. She was searching for any shading or shying, a half-truth or omitted fact, conscious or otherwise, that might lead down a rabbit warren of trouble in the future.
            She found none. Sitting back and relaxing once more, she said, “Alright. Good. Because here…in your seat of power, you will be tested. Remember the man you are, because we are defined by the choices we make, and no one can dictate them for you. Not family, not faith, not magic, not wanderlust or any other talent or calling, and certainly not the Azure. Tashluta is as unforgiving as the jungle it keeps at bay, and never more so than when you’re alone.”
            “I do not envy you the road ahead, Talib,” she said, expanding the conversation to include the others. “But all our paths have converged here, and for now we walk it with you. So, we would all do well to honor the choices each has made to share in the journey ahead.”
            The holy man sat still, careful to keep his eyes inside the cab in order to avoid the sickness he felt from the rolling motion. The conversation buzzing past his ears meant nothing to him. Who was born to whom, and who ate less as a child. He could not grasp the points that were being made, nor did he really have any desire to try. On the odd occasion that his gaze met that of one of his traveling companions, he lightened his expression from "stern" to "not entirely humorless". He tried to focus his attention on the here and now. A kernel of doubt had entered his mind regarding his visions and his mission, but he would not let his minor crisis of faith distract from his alertness. If there were fiendish spirits in his path, he would be ready.
            "Or not made," said Loupin, shifting slightly. "Kind of slipped Lavinia's mind to mention that she'd need our help for this, and kind of sounds like maybe she has no idea what's really in it -- not that she mentioned that, either. I read cards this morning. This thing is going to get more complicated, as like as not. It's possible she doesn't even know who her parents were doing business with, you know, before they died suddenly -- in a horrible manner not quite relevant enough to be worth describing."
            She looked out at the passing consumer frenzy, her expression calm but pensive.
            "If any of you lot believe this 'hero' malarkey, well, just so you know, I'm here to get paid, that's all. And when I ask about 'Vark and friends,' I include principally everybody he's connected with, not just some lame 'crew' he scraped off of Shadowshore -- people he apparently neglected to pay, judging by the fact that Lavinia's money was lying around unspent, and that Prettyboy had to pawn our boat just to buy himself an Uglygirl. By now even Vark knows I used magic to keep him aboard ship, and everybody knows the Azure Watch is out to lunch. Personally I don't expect her Ladyship's heroic Jade Ravens to expend much effort on our account -- do you?"
            She looked around at them, skeptical.
            "I don't have a last name, real or otherwise," she said grimly, "and I don't want money just to buy up some mansion somewhere, Talib -- although enough money to keep renting out that little garret you visited the other night would be nice. I want money because we're going to need all the money we can get just to buy up the wands, healing potions, iron golems, war chariots, and other assorted junk we're going to need to keep ourselves alive alive long enough for Lavinia to get a clue and for you to finish 'cleaning up the harbor.' Right now we've got none of that. It's kind of a problem. Get it? I knew that you could. So, what was that little paper you gave to her, Lil? I can't remember you explaining it earlier, if you did, and it sounded important."
            “It didn’t slip her mind, Loupin,” Lillia said with a light chuckle. “She only told us what we needed to know at the time. Why share something when we might have failed? Or maybe the ring wasn’t even going to be there.”
            “And you’ll get paid,” she continued. “I’ll see to that. But if you’re looking for work that comes with full disclosure, I recommend something other than noble intrigue.”
            "You think Lavinia is capable of noble intrigue?" Loupin said. "Maybe. Or maybe she doesn't know what she's doing. Maybe you don't, either, Lillia, so maybe we can skip the personal reassurances? I don't need 'em. I have my contract, and she has her big expensive house. But as for Vark's pals -- employers --"
            “As for Vark’s employers, why stop there?” Lillia asked. “What about their overseer? And the pirate king that runs them all? And the pirate king’s god? Surely we’ve angered all of them too.” Lillia shook her head. “At some point the damage we’ve done does not outweigh the additional damage we could do or the headache of dealing with us. We just need to manage that leverage.”
            "Our leverage? Our leverage is Just Call Me Talib," Loupin said with a laugh. "And Just Call Me Talib couldn't get his father to waive Lavinia's harbor fees, much less reimburse her for the cost of hiring us -- much less pass out headaches to pirate gods. So we power along, with no potions. Come on, Lillia."
            “Deal with the problems at hand,” Lillia said. “Prepare for what may come down the road. That’s all anyone can do.” She finished her chatter and took a breath.
            “Oh, and the scrap seemed like a key sequence to a lock,” she said with a shrug, reciting it from memory.

"Chimera looks to sunrise,
Cyclops looks to sunset,
Medusa looks to sunrise,
Umber hulk looks to sunset,
Basilisk looks to sunrise."

            Loupin's memory wasn't good enough to handle it all in one go, but she was more interested in understanding it than in memorization anyway. Unfortunately there didn't seem to be much to understand; as Lillia had suggested, it sounded like nothing more than instructions for arranging pictures or statues in order to unlock something.
            She was still thinking about the other stuff, the stuff about preparing for what was coming -- it was hard for a mage to prepare a useful spell arsenal, for example, if she didn't know what kind of magical construct they would be facing -- but this puzzle stuff was something to consider.
            "Seems like a lot of requirements just to make a cash withdrawal," Loupin mused. "Coach rides across town, magic rings, umber hulks at sunset, a little monster death-match -- who knows, maybe a three-legged sack race? Prepare for a sack race, guys! Grab those sacks."

            Stormwall Keep was in none of the seven districts, yet belonged to all of them. Below the castle lay the King's Crypts - burial chambers for the Shoon Line.
            "That area is closed off," the clerk informed them crisply, having verified Lady Vanderboren's identity and her signet. He led them down a spiral staircase, explaining that the only portion of the castle's basement still in use was the Noble's Vault. They reached a large circular chamber, with over a dozen narrow hallways radiating out from the central vault. Each short hallway ended at a single iron door - the entrance to the family vault.
            As the group descended into the vaults, Syd patted his pockets to ensure his toolkit was still in place. Their foray upon the Blue Nixie hadn't required it, so he had left the bulky pack at home. But down here, one never knew what one might find.
            Content to follow in Lady Vanderboren’s wake, Lillia maintained the guise of servant to her ladyship as the group descended into Stormwall Keep.
            The clerk pointed Lavinia to the correct hallway, then bowed and bade them all a good day, returning up the stairs to his office. They were left with only Lavinia's lantern for light in the cool belowground vault.
            Lady Vanderboren took a deep breath, and approached the solid-looking door at the end of the passage that the clerk had indicated. The portal was emblazoned with a simple rune - an eight-pointed star. Above the door, inscribed in flowing script on a polished silver plaque, was the name 'Vanderboren.' A single handle protruded from the door, just below a circular depression bearing the mark of the Vanderboren signet.
            "I don't recognize this symbol," Lavinia murmured, brushing a hand along the star. "It... does seem familiar..."
            Syd made a face at the star pattern Lavinia noted. "I recognize it. Well, at least I have seen it." He peered at it, as if closer inspection would reveal more detail. "The same symbol is emblazoned upon a building on the western end of the Merchant's District. We passed it the evening before last." His eyes flicked to Reg and Loupin, remembering their brief adventure in Shadowshore. At length, he shook his head, "I do not recall any name, nor who might own the building."
            "A mystery with so simple an answer! How refreshing." Lady Vanderboren smiled at Syd, mirth dancing in her golden eyes.
            Tentatively, Lavinia extended her hand, placing the signet within its cradle... and the door flashed once with a cerulean light, then slowly swung open on creaking hinges, revealing the room beyond by the light of her lamp.
            The chamber that was revealed had a floor of polished green marble, casting back reflections from Lavinia's lantern. Alcoves lay to either side of the central dome, which rose up high overhead, supported by five pillars embedded into the wall around the chamber. Lavinia let out a soft breath of surprised disgust; the five pillars were carved to resemble coiling snakes.
            As progress was made into the vault proper, Lillia drew even closer to Lady Vanderboren, and while the seamstress’ outward appearance was calm, she was internally coiled to react to whatever potential hazards might spring up.
            From one of the innumerable pockets upon his outfit; this, from a deep one running outside his leg; Reg produced a crafted, capped rod. He removed the fitted cap from the end, which flared to heatless light. Reg pocketed the cap and held the everburning torch aloft to supplement Lavinia's own. At their descent, he had pulled his trail pack onto his back, absently affixing it with straps and buckles to remain appropriately secure.
            Though they'd just freshly descended, Reg found it helped to maintain orientation in new environments -- jungle or subterranean alike -- so took a moment to low-whistle four notes in an even cadence, and listen to how the world about them shaped the sound. He nodded, satisfied, making note the entrance to the vault was upon the southernmost extreme of it, and at a glance making mental estimation of the antechamber's dimensions. If it proved extensive, he could likely help find their way back to this point.
            He was reassured at the door's reaction to the signet ring's contact -- magic so appeased to open the portal would hopefully as well quelled the guardian. But one could not be certain.
            "Lady Lavinia, respecting the ominous warnings you've heard, let two or three us enter first. You should stay in our midst."
            Once the portal opened, Syd peered into the chamber, keeping his eyes peeled for any surprises that might defend the vault. "I agree with Reg. There may be... surprises that have not been previously communicated." The unspoken suggestion being that he be one of them.
            The holy man is impressed with the architecture, and the workmanship required for such a fine chamber. He steps forward alongside Syd, also looking carefully into the room as he chants a low sequence of sounds and words in his native tongue.
            Squeezed out of the narrow hallway by Syd and Gbele, Lavinia murmured assent, clearly still shocked by what she had seen within.
            Gbele descended into his chant, the world becoming as Ubtao had made it, all spirits of things arrayed before him. The iron door did not have the typical spirit of iron; instead, it gleamed faintly with the raw power of magic interwoven with it. No other spirit within his sight did so.
            Talib had paused outside the portal, sharing in Lavinia's recoil from the serpent imagery. His features curled into a tight scowl as he spit onto the floor in effrontery to the statues.
            " Yuan-Ti filth! What is this doing down here?" he asked angrily, hands balled into fists before using one to make a warding sign before his eyes.
            The Tashalar people were highly wary of the encroachment of the snake people, even going so far as to kill reptiles on sight. And with good reason! The yuan-ti were a constant threat, their magics and their secrets easily able to topple empires. To see such serpentine displays was offensive, let alone disturbing - what was such symbolism doing in the Vanderboren vault?
            Trying to maintain his calm, Talib took a deep breath as he approached Lavinia. Considering her reaction, she had been equally caught off-guard, and the inferred meaning was not a pleasant one.
            " My Lady, did your family ever ... Ever mention anything at all like this ..?" he asked, concerned for the Vanderboren heiress and this horrific discovery
            When Talib descended upon the noblewoman with his unspoken accusations, Lillia shifted her stance to meet the pirate’s eyes over the lady’s shoulder. Angry storms danced between Lillia’s eyelashes, warning the sailor off of such brash discourse.
            "I... I assure you, Lord Islaran, my family were no friends to yuan-ti!" Lady Vanderboren insisted, eyes wide with alarm. "I had no idea of this... strangeness. It must be a warning, to frighten off intruders. Yes, that must be it." She nodded to herself, just as busy convincing herself as she was convincing Talib.
            Having found nothing that resembled a trap to his eye, Syd cautiously stepped through the portal onto the polished green marble, continuing his search inside. He was joined by Reg and Setoa, the big cat padding obediently beside its master. Lavinia hovered behind Gbele in the hall, unsure if she should enter, and still giving the snake imagery most of her attention.
            Reg's fears of becoming lost in the vast vault proved unfounded; the room was not so large as he had expected, and did not appear to have any exit but the one they had entered through. Two more snake-pillars coiled up to support the ceiling far above; in the light of Reg's everburning torch, Syd noted the same eight-pointed star that was on the door, carved huge into the domed ceiling.
            It was only Setoa's snarl that warned them that they weren't alone. Torn from their regard of the door, the imagery, and potential traps, they saw the Maztican cat bound to their right, swatting at something behind the serpent pillar supporting the roof. There was a scrape of metal, Setoa tussled with something that clanked, and then the jaguar leapt back, hissing.
            Syd emitted a low whistle as his eyes took in the large star upon the ceiling. He was thinking more and more that it meant something. Shortly, he was forced out of his reverie by the cat's actions. He blinked at the column, wondering what kind of creature was locked in here.
            Loupin was loitering outside with the rest of the gang, her arms folded (she was glad that she had brought a coat), but anything happening in a stone room with high ceilings was going to be pretty damn audible anywhere nearby, and it wasn't like she was expecting anything but a disaster.
            "You might want to tell those assholes to get out of there, Baba," she suggested to Gbele, her tone casual but weary. "Sounds like metal. That's bad."
            "Then I'll go on ahead. Whether those 'assholes', as someone puts it, get out of there or not, we'll end up dealing with whatever it is," Talib Islaran contributed, his brows furrowing tightly at the way Loupin addressed her comrades. Again the fear of Kellani betrayal entered his thoughts, and again he forced it away to focus on the matter at hand.
            Gbele was startled by the sudden actions of the big cat, having let himself be distracted studying the magical door. He continued to be impressed by the obvious cost, effort and skill required for the construction on display here. The holy man's gaze jerked in the direction of the action, catching a glimpse of their opponent. "It is a cobra, constructed of iron. A venomous construction, perhaps!"
            "Big time," Loupin confirmed, leaning a shoulder against the wall.
            “I always thought cats were good at spotting spirits,” Lillia countered. “….fiendish or otherwise.” It was heavy handed bait for Gbele, but retreat wasn’t her preferred option upon initial engagement.
            Gbele answers in a deadpan, though it seems he recognizes that he is being gently prodded. "Cats have special sight. This is true." Though his entry into combat is imminent, he takes a moment to mouth the word "asshole". "Asshole," he experiments, with the accent on the ass, then the hole. He prefers the latter.
            Sure enough, it was a snake that slithered out from behind the pillar - its scales replaced by bands of burnished iron, its tongue the most tiny and intricate chain links imaginable. Jewels glinted where its eyes would have been. There was no mistaking it for a living creature. It struck again at Setoa, and the big cat yowled and flailed his paw until the mechanism released him.
            Gbele pauses in his forward momentum, considering the metal creature for a moment. His brow furrows, then relaxes, a grim smile forming on his face.
            The sailor cast a sidelong glance over at Lillia. He trusted her so far - it was she that he was content leaving Lavinia Vanderboren to, especially considering that the Lady still appeared in shock. Rightly so - Yuan-Ti statues ... Talib could only hope that the members of the Council had not scried down in the vault, or they would all see a Judge before the day was done. Or worse. The fact that none of the others even seemed perturbed at the sight of such a dangerous connection almost, almost made Talib wonder if the Snake Folk had already slithered into their minds. What other explanation existed for such a muted response to one of the greatest threats throughout Tashalar?
            He banished the superstition and went forward, letting his shoulder pack slip to the ground and sliding his scimitar from the sash at this side to gleam in the torchlight. His other hand balled into a tight fist, steel glinting off of his knuckles as well: a leather glove overlaid with metal adorned his hand, keeping it free but otherwise strong if the need came for more than just a sharp edge.
            " Stick to the center and towards the light," he advised those nearest to the danger, " We'll draw it out of the shadows and envelop it."
            Sweat beaded upon his brow though it was cool within the stone hall - adrenaline was already coursing through veins and Talib was never one to back down from a fight. Already his blade was up in a duelist's grip, his stance resting on the balls of his feet to be light and quick with his movements as needed. He was prepared for danger, and to summarily get the Hells away from said danger until the threat could be properly assessed.
            "It follows instructions," said Loupin quietly, without moving. "Not yours, though. Pull back. Study it."
            Lillia drew her short sword quietly and waited at the ready. “I’ll stay with the lady,” she said to those at hand, trying to usher the noble woman into a more defensive position. Lady Vanderboren exited the short hallway hastily, allowing herself to be herded away from the vault by Lillia, who stepped in front of the hallway.
            "Well, that explains how it can be locked in here," Syd commented. As he did so, he backed up to the far pillar, pulling out his bow and drawing a bead on the snake. "Lure that damn thing out from behind the column!"
            Confused by this thing that did not bleed when clawed, Setoa backed into the corner, hissing and jumping to avoid the snake's strikes. Syd was unable to get a clear strike at the thing while the bulk of it was behind the carved snake-pillar.
            The holy man was displeased with their tactical situation. Against a constructed creature, a thing with no spiritual substance whatever, he found himself with only the basest of his skills - hit it with his pick. First a mindless giant bug, now a mindless metal animal; these enemies were not Gbele's forte.
            As if the snake imagery were not bad enough, Talib thought.
            " Reg, call Setoa back!" he ordered, his voice booming and resonating throughout the stone while brandishing his blade. Stepping swiftly towards the column, Talib roughly rapped cestus-covered hand against the structure, letting it ring to draw the snake's attention elsewhere. All the while, his blade was held high and his reflexes remained sharp, prepared to lash out the moment the creature revealed itself.
            " If Lavinia knows how to shut this thing down, now's the time!" Talib called back to the three women at the entrance, preparing himself for a hard fight ahead if that were not the case.
            “Lady,” Lillia addressed the noble. “A name, a command, a term of endearment…a tune, a favorite saying, or snatch of verse your parents were fond of?”
            "None that they would share with a snake!" the Lady exclaimed, disgust - and, perhaps, fear? - writ on her face.
            “Perhaps it even knows your name, or voice. Come,” Lillia waved Lady Vanderboren over. “We must at least try. Just a step inside the vault so your presence is known.”
            Lillia would move just ahead of the noblewoman and prepare once more to intercede on her behalf should the metallic monstrosity take a particular interest.
            “Think,” Lillia prompted. “Let your mind wander to familiar memories.”
            Loupin, meanwhile, continued to lean against the wall. It was no good crowding up the only exit, even if it took all of them getting envenomed -- poisoned, rather -- to inspire any change in tactics.
            Anyway, even if they all died, Loupin could always go fetch a Witchwarden; one of those guys could wipe out an iron cobra in about five seconds. Hell, they lived for that sort of thing. The only question was, is this really even a money vault? An iron cobra in a place decorated with snakes? Seemed like a lame jest for the Lady's family to bother with, provided they were the ones responsible for it.
            Syd swore to himself in Elvish as the metal snake refused to completely reveal itself. He made a face but kept his arrow nocked and on target for whenever it does. "I can't do anything with it behind that damned pillar," he commented through gritted teeth.
            Lavinia gingerly followed Lillia into the vault, and raised her voice. "Serpent, halt! Desist! I am Lavinia Vanderboren, and I command you!" Despite her uncertainty, hers was a voice used to command.
            The cobra paused in its weaving before Setoa, then slithered slowly from around the pillar. With a grimace of fear and alarm, Lavinia raised her hand against it as it approached, but it didn't attack. Instead, it coiled itself, watching her with the patience of the unliving.
            Brandishing her signet ring, Lavinia ordered, "Get you gone, serpent!"
            Uncoiling, the snake slithered into the far corner of the room, then re-coiled like so much rope, easing into motionlessness.

            Lillia’s eyebrow arched in surprise as the metal viper did as bidden. She held her poise for a few moments longer before relaxing her stance. “Well, whether by blood or voice or bauble,” she said to the noblewoman. “Well done, milady. You may in turn become our protector before the day is out.”
            Lavinia let out a shaking breath. "By the gods. I... I have no words." She shot a guilty look at Talib. "Truly, I had no idea it was here, nor that it would... would obey me." She looked a bit queasy at the thought, reaching out to steady herself against a column, only to snatch her hand back as though burned by the scaled texture.
            Syd tensed as the snake came out from behind the pillar. He was about to loose his arrow when Lady Vanderboren spoke to it. He nervously watched, knowing that he couldn't let the thing attack her. Luckily, it followed her orders and returned to the corner. He released a breath he didn't realize he had been holding and let his bow slacken as he lowered it. "Something tells me that is only the beginning of the surprises in store for us down here," he commented. He held his bow low, but kept the arrow nocked.
            "Hopefully any others won't be quite as... surprising," Lavinia muttered to herself, but managed a smile to those who had tried to protect her, touching Lillia's shoulder in thanks as she stepped past her and into the vault.
            Talib Islaran still kept his blade drawn, following the direction of the iron serpent the entire while. His dark eyes narrowed at the creature, even as Lavinia managed a cross between an explanation and an apology. Syd voiced the sailor's own concerns, to which he offered a nod and his own words. " Agreed. Clearly the Vanderborens ..."
            He turned his gaze to Lavinia. Then to Lillia. Recalling her earlier glower at his initial reaction, he let his shoulders sag and opted for not-as-passionate an approach out of respect for both women. " Clearly they meant to keep whatever is down here well-guarded. The imagery alone might've frightened off would-be thieves, for sure. For sure."
            Lavinia relaxed a bit, letting out a breath of relief and agreement. She gave Talib a warm look of gratitude.
            After a few more moments had passed and the snake did not appear to be anything other than inactive, Talib let his scimitar slide back into his sash, still cautiously observing the metal creature.
            " Your parents must've known you'd come here some day, Lady Vanderboren," Talib reasoned, shifting his attention from the threat to the group's patron, " Your voice and ring may save us a lot of trouble down here. I'm ..."
            He faltered. Again he regarded the serpentine iconography. Everything about it boded poorly for all involved: if Lavinia's parents were involved in a Snake Cult, who knew what else awaited them. If anyone discovered that the party had interacted with such idolatry, there would be questions at the least, executions at the worst. Tashlutans took the threat of the Yuan-Ti extremely seriously, and not even the names of Islaran or Vanderboren were exempt from suspicion.
            " I'm sure there's an explanation for all of this," he finished diplomatically, not wanting to upset Lavinia any further. He believed wholeheartedly that she had no idea that her family Vault contained such dangerous images.
            He just wasn't so sure that her family built them with solely the purpose of keeping out intruders. " We should continue on. Cautiously. Be wary for any more ambushes or traps."
            "I would agree, but... I don't understand. There are no other doors," Lavinia said, her smile turned to a frown of consternation. Turning a full circle as she looked around, she seemed nonplussed. "Where is my family's money?"
            Lillia ran one appreciative hand along the length of a serpentine pillar, admiring its craftsmanship. The cost of this chamber’s fabrication spoke well of what might await, from a monetary standpoint at least. “Let’s give Reg and Setoa a moment before trying anything else,” she suggested. Then called down the entrance hall, “The first guardian is pacified, Loupin.”
            A moment later the mage leaned into the doorway of the chamber, smirking and looking around at their strange surroundings. The symbol on the ceiling she noted carefully; but when she spotted the cobra she didn't react much, just studied it long enough to decide whether it was the standard iron model or something worse, and whether it showed any signs of wanting to move.
            The chamber had an unusual shape, something they could have used. One person drawing the cobra into a figure-eight pattern around the pillars at either end would have allowed her to pelt it with acid from the relative safety of the doorway. That was interesting; Loupin wondered idly why anyone should bother with such an expensive construct, when the room configuration could be used against it.
            Lillia walked a full circuit of one pillar, sheathing her blade as she went, before she ruminated aloud. “Makes one wonder what would have become of such artisans when their work was completed.”
            Lavinia took a half-step forward, mouth open to voice her outrage at such musings; then, slowly, her expression turned thoughtful. Discomfited, she looked away.
            The young seamstress paused as Lavinia wondered aloud regarding her family’s wealth. “Perhaps it is not a door we should be looking for,” Lillia said. As she navigated to the other pillar, appreciating its form as well, her eyes roved for anything that might hint at a hatch, or panel, or plate that might serve as a mechanism to further investigate.
            The two freestanding snake-pillars and four of the five snake-pillars built into the wall, she realized, had a different scale pattern than the one in the wall across from the vault door. Yet when she examined that pillar, she found nothing to indicate any hidden mechanism. The enormous carved snakes leered from their places, frozen in time.
            "If you're going to store your family fortune in this place," Loupin suggested to Lavinia, "you may want to consider scattering a few coins about, Lady, so innocuous seamstresses won't walk in and immediately wonder where the secret doors are. Just a pro tip."
            "Certainly a thought to entertain upon redesigning the vault," Lavinia agreed soberly.
            Lillia completed another circuit and drew up at the oddball pillar, tracing her fingers along its length. "This one’s different," she said.
            "Three by two, shades of hue," she sung to herself quietly, counting scales and tracing their outline. Her eyes darted back and forth between various pillars by way of comparison.
            "I see nothing untoward," she said to Syd, asking for his confirmation.
            "Magic?" she asked Loupin.
            "Let me see what you come up with before I waste a spell," replied Loupin quietly from beneath the lintel, while gazing around the strange space like everybody else. Hesitating, she added, "Maybe that clerk upstairs could tell you something."
            "Let's... not get the clerk involved," Lavinia said, glancing sidelong at Loupin. "I don't expect she would react as well to the imagery as you all have."
            "Or movable?" Lillia inquired of Baba, corded muscle that he was.
            She yielded the floor and moved to stand next to Lavinia once more. "Or at the very least, perhaps that signet will have an effect upon it."
            Lavinia nodded, stepping in front of the column. She brandished the ring on her finger. "Hear me... pillar. Snake. Open! Move! Do something! Lavinia Vanderboren commands you!"
            The pillar didn't move. The broad, flat head of the snake seemed to watch them all with serpentine smugness.
            "I feel a bit silly," Lavinia confessed, lowering her arm. She scowled at the pillar, frustration building to anger against it.
            " Nonsense, My Lady," Talib offered with a flashy smile, " This is new to all of us, and frankly your words charming our metal-snake friend makes about as much sense as whatever else we may encounter down here."
            The sailor had stayed quite far away from Lillia and her inspection of the pillars: he certainly wasn't going to touch such heretical statues, and he was honestly quite concerned that everybody save he and Lavinia seemed perfectly unruffled by the implications of the vault's guardian and decoration. Talib could only hope that Lord Vanderboren had not been involved in things most deviant and villainous.
            " We might be missing something else," he mused aloud, scratching idly at the hairs on his chin before waving a hand towards the pillar, agreeing with Lillia's questions to Loupin and Baba Gbele with the gesture. In the meantime, he turned his attention to the rest of the room. Keeping his distance from the Guardian of The Vanderboren Vault, Talib set out to inspect the floor, the walls, and anything else that appeared eye-catching, looking for a clue as to what to do next.
            Syd made a face at their predicament. The vault was, apparently empty, with no obvious means to continue. With no threats coming, he stowed his bow and arrow and began looking around the room. "There must be something," he nodded to Lillia's query, "untoward or not." He then began a detailed and systematic search to find what was findable.
            The others waited with patience, more or less, as Talib, Loupin, and Syd searched the vault and the oddball pillar, respectively. Unwilling to go near the snake pillars, or the iron cobra coiled in the corner, Talib found that besides the expensive appearance of the vault, the pleasantly cool marble floor, and the star on the ceiling, there was not much to see.
            Syd, on the other hand, spent the time meticulously going over the central snake-pillar - and where Lillia's experience hadn't paid off, his slow and thorough search did. Touching an otherwise innocuous scale at chest-height, he realized that it gave a tiny bit. Pressing it resulted in a low rumble filling the room as the snake began to move.
            Everyone stood back as the snake seemed to come alive, its coils writhing like a living creature as they came apart and formed an archway that allowed them access into the chamber beyond.
            Octagonal, it was supported by a single large pillar, with dozens of deep grooves along its sides. The walls each bore fantastically detailed bas-relief carvings of exotic monsters in threatening poses, glittering red stones where their eyes should be. The ceiling was only ten feet high, but sported the now-familiar eight-pointed star pattern radiating out from the grooved pillar. All the points of the star were black except for the one pointing toward the entrance; that one was red.
            "Splendid!" Lavinia exclaimed, clasping her hands together in relief. Peering inside, she sighed. "Well, nothing worth doing is ever easy."

            Loupin came in behind the others, looked around long enough to appreciate the concept, then leaned beneath the newest lintel. Even if Lavinia had left her paper at home, Lillia had memorized the system. It didn't seem like they'd need a magic-user for this one, either, which was just fine with her.
            Syd grinned widely with a victorious "Ha!" as the vault slid open. At least, this part of it. "Always check the creepy effigies first, since the defenders want to keep you out," he commented.
            Peering thoughtfully into the next, empty, room, he clicked his tongue. "Watch your step, Lady, it is likely hidden defenses still lurk beyond." The warning was ostensibly for his Patron, but he said them loud enough for the others to heed. "Step where I step, don't touch anything, and be careful."
            Syd methodically checked the entrance before letting anyone through. If there was a trap, he would find it and disarm it.
            Syd found nothing that seemed dangerous in the vault (though he did discover that the central pillar could rotate in both directions, clicking as it turned), and soon enough Lavinia joined him inside it. "What fantastical creatures," she murmured as she regarded the bas-reliefs. She walked a slow, counter-clockwise circuit of the vault, looking closely at each of them. The carvings depicted a tentacled monster with a glaring red eye and a mouth full of teeth, a looming dragon, a fish-like creature with three eyes and four tentacles, a two-headed giant wielding a pair of immense clubs, a spherical creature with four eyestalks and a bulging central eye over a drooling maw, a gorilla-like beast with a fanged maw and six eyes, and finally, a towering black spider, one of its eyes missing - not pried away, but simply not inset at all.
            Lavinia regarded each with interest, but finally returned to the central pillar, which was thankfully not carved to resemble a snake. Touching its grooved surface, she peered up at the star above, then down at the scrap of parchment Lillia had given her.
            She frowned. "I don't understand... none of the monsters on this note are the ones on the walls. And even if they were, how does that reveal where my family's wealth lies?"
            “Reg, why don’t you and Setoa linger here in case we get shut in there,” Lillia thumbed behind her into the new chamber. She made sure to show Reg how the pillar was opened in the first place.
            Lillia then moved into the chamber and circled it as well, scanning it with her artisan’s eye. A glance down and up, and then a smile crimped one side of her mouth. She gave it a few more moments to see if anyone else would step forward. Then she did.
            “May I?” she asked Lavinia, moving to interact with the central pillar. She again scanned it, looking for a marker that she suspected was somewhat discernible once the mechanism was understood.
            Then she began rotating the pillar slowly, widdershins, her attention focused on the gorilla-like creature. When her marker reached the gorilla, she began rotating the pillar in the other direction, coming to rest on the tentacled creature with the great red eye. Then she began turning the pillar counter-clockwise again, but she paused shortly after starting the third turn.
            “How many eyes would you say a medusa has?” she asked genuinely of those standing nearby.
            "Try that thing," Loupin suggested, nodding at the beholder sculpture. "I don't know what an umber hulk is, though."
            Catching on to what Lillia was trying, Lady Vanderboren regarded her scrap of parchment doubtfully. "If you count all the snakes a medusa has on its head, I suspect there are far more eyes than any depicted here." She said the word snakes with a little moue of distaste.
            Lillia’s mouth squinched up in thought, then she walked the room once more, counting out what she perceived as eyes as she went. “Increments of one each time. One through seven.” She returned to the central pillar, continuing to voice her reasoning aloud.
            “I think the snakes in her hair have eyes,” she said, addressing Loupin’s suggestion and trying to remember the stories she’d heard. “So it’s either two...or many." A nod to Lavinia. "A basilisk is just a big lizard, right? So I’m thinking two eyes there. The lock could double up numbers, but that doesn’t feel right to me.”
            She wheeled the pillar until it went almost the full circuit, resting on the many-eyed spider-thing. Before she spun the pillar any further, she turned to Talib and said, “Talib, maybe take Lady Vanderboren into the outer chamber with Reg? Not sure what will happen here if we get it wrong.”
            Once they had decided, Lillia said, “Ruling out double numbers, that leaves three, four and five for the Hulk. I’m going with even.” She changed the direction of the pillar and rotated back to the four-eyed creature, then reversed direction once more and aimed for the dragon, wincing in anticipation as the pillar reached its destination.
            The pointed star in the ceiling revolved along with the pillar, each click sounding as its red arm reached each monster-clad wall. Lady Vanderboren watched with interest from outside the room with Talib, Reg and Setoa.
            As the pillar clicked into its final place, Lillia awaited the opening of some hidden portal, or perhaps another trap being sprung...
            ...but nothing happened.
            Lavinia let out a sigh of disappointment, but Lillia held up a hand to stay her, and began to rotate the pillar again, in a different sequence this time.
            Now, when she finished the sequence, a rumbling filled the room. The five alcoves rotated in place, revealing a number of coffers and chests. Lillia gave them a quick count - twenty in all.
            Lavinia clapped her hands together, crying, "Bravo, Lillia! Truly, I'm fortunate to have such fine minds in my service! You'll have to show me the combination you used one more time, that I can remember it." Elated, she entered the vault and, with a smile of thanks for Lillia, threw open the first coffer she reached. Her smile faltered, though, as she looked within.
            "Empty?!" Surprised, she picked up the scattering of raptors that lay at the bottom of the chest, letting them clink back to the bottom of the chest as they slid through her fingers.
            Her distress grew as she went to each successive alcove and found the chests and coffers there more or less empty, as well. Distraught and stunned by this unexpected event, she breathed a sigh of relief as several of the chests in the last alcove proved to hold the money she had expected all of them to have. Thousands of lions, dozens of gems, and a large number of ledgers rounded out what could be found. Paging through the ledgers, Lavinia nodded to herself. "It seems my family is owed more than what can be found here. Yes, this should cover what I need."
            "Thank the gods," Lavinia murmured under her breath, relieved, as she picked up a small iron coffer, the last of the batch. Opening it, she found a thick pile of documents. Setting the coffer down, she gazed at the pages in her hands, frowning.
            "These... they're in my mother's handwriting, but in a strange language. Some odd form of Espruar, perhaps? Can any of you read this?"
            No one could - until Reg took a look. "Ah, yes, a language I know well - you aren't wrong, the alphabet is Espruar. However, the language is Sylvan. And look, there are maps here, and animals of some exotic nature. I can help you to decipher them, if you wish."
            "Thank you, Saer Brushcutter," Lavinia said, nodding seriously. "Once we've returned to my estate, I will ask that you do."
            "You've all done a wonderful job for me, and I am grateful," Lavinia smiled at the party. Tucking a stray strand of dark hair behind her ear, she gestured at the chests that contained gold. "I can give you your reward of three hundred lions each now, if you wish to purchase anything in the High Market while we're here?"
            Talib Islaran finally breathed a sigh of relief: the tension between the iron snake, heretical idolatry, confusing puzzle, and thankfully-averted wasted effort was such a rising and falling swell to the sailor that he swore he almost felt seasick by the time Lady Vanderboren revealed that all was well. With a palm resting over the pommel of his curved blade, he couldn't help but ponder on what they had found within the vault.
            Snakes. Sylvan-scribed documents. Talk of exotic animals, like they had encountered aboard the Nixie.Empty chests.
            While he was glad the fortune had been found, Talib couldn't help but feel that their work was not done.
            " Payment now would be appreciated, I'd imagine?" he asked of his compatriots, a hand gesturing with his palm exposed to the ceiling, " It would allow us time to settle our own finances whilst you return to your estate, My Lady. We could all meet there after we've all settled personal business."
            He paused. Frowned. " Although ... now that I think about it, I'm not sure it would be wise to be separated at a time like this. Call it a mariner's instincts, but I don't believe we are through this storm. Not yet."
            "You may be right," Lavinia agreed slowly, with a glance at the empty chests.
            Talib sniffed at the air of the stale vault, brows narrowing. " It seems more The Eye than anything. If it would please you, Lady Vanderboren, I'll accompany you back to the Estate - that is, if we don't all decide to go with you as a group." He left the option open, of course: he wasn't a captain here, just a fellow employee of the House of Vanderboren.
            Syd sighed in relief as the puzzle was finally solved. He shook his head, this wasn't quite his repertoire. He knew the paper held clues to the combination, but he, like Lady Vanderboren, hadn't the faintest idea how it fell together. Lillia, once again, proved the smartest of the group.
            "The doldrums between gales," he nodded at Talib's words, agreeing that this was merely a calm moment. "I agree with Lord Islaran that payment now would be preferred, so we may prepare for what may lie ahead." He glanced upward at the eight-pointed star upon the ceiling, "Indeed, if we are to pass through the Merchant District for wares and supplies, I believe a visit to the warehouse upon which I saw this symbol would be in order." He pointed upward to the star with an index finger, accentuating the comment.
            "Traveling as a group would be wise," he added. "Perhaps we escort the Lady home, then visit each of our own destinations together? It will take much longer, but we are not under the clock, yes?"
            "Yes, that will be fine," Lady Vanderboren nodded absently. "I don't know how someone got the rest of my family's money out of the vault, but it will make the rest of the year... difficult." She frowned, adding to herself, "I hope the Jade Ravens get through to Cauldron."
            "Why wouldn't they be able to get there?" Loupin asked Lavinia, just a bit sharply. The mysterious allusions to things the group didn't know about were getting a little tiresome. "And why do you think 'someone' has been here? Couldn't your parents have done it?"
            Lady Vanderboren gave Loupin a sharp look in return. She may have been a genial noble, but it was clear that she still wasn't accustomed to being questioned sharply by commoners.
            "My parents stored all our wealth here. They had no reason to remove the greater part of it," she finally said, a bit stiffly. "The Jade Ravens are not your concern."
            Loupin shrugged. She didn't really want to press their luck by hanging around Lavinia -- or whatever was written in those papers -- but even she had to admit she'd feel better with all that money stowed closer to home, and home was now a long way off.
            "Maybe you could ask the clerk about the symbol," she suggested quietly, pulling her hood up. "It's a pretty elaborate set-up in here to be customized for a single vault. Maybe the others are the same -- like they all connect to a single bank, or something."
            Or a single yuan-ti, she thought.
            Lady Vanderboren turned to regard the serpent motif of the entrance to the vault. "Perhaps," she said doubtfully. "I'd just as soon have a look at the building with the sign of the symbol on it. Saer Faeborn, you said it was in the Merchant district?"
            "Yes'm," Syd intoned with a nod.
            While a consensus was reached, Talib let his boots carry him closer to Lillia, giving her a gentle bump of his elbow to her ribs in acknowledgement.
            " Nice work, there," Talib congratulated her in a low tone, " Remind me to add 'good at puzzles' under your repertoire of 'things I don't know about you', eh?" He chuckled softly, awaiting to see how his new comrades wanted to deal with their take and their next move.

            Taking their silence as agreement with Talib's suggestion, Lady Vanderboren gathered some of the empty coffers and, one by one, filled them with silver and gold coins for each of those gathered. It took a significant chunk from the chests, but in the end there was still more than a thousand coins and a scattering of gems remaining. Lavinia took two coffers for herself - one with gold, the other the iron coffer with documents, and a thick pile of the ledgers she had found. Each member of the party now held a heavy coffer of their own - over six pounds of coin in each.
            The remainder of the wealth she left in the vault, after ascertaining with Lillia how to open it again. She hurried back through the snake-themed entrance, and breathed a small sigh of relief when the enchanted vault door closed behind them.
            Before leaving the castle, Lady Vanderboren went to see the clerk once more. "Tell me, has anyone else accessed the vaults recently?"
            The clerk nodded. "Why, yes. Your brother, Lord Vanderboren, has been here a few times over the last month."
            Lavinia sucked in a breath. "Vanthus?! But... he's been missing for over a month!"
            The clerk stared at Lady Vanderboren, shocked. "Missing? I'm sorry, I had no idea! He had a signet ring, and I recognized him as a Vanderboren. I thought you knew he was coming here!"
            Sack race, thought Loupin.
            "Did he have help?" the wizard asked the clerk. It was a lot of coffers to empty out, after all. "What did he look like?"
            "Yes, he brought his servants," the clerk affirmed. Lavinia's eyes narrowed. Apparently, that was news to her, as well. It seemed doubtful that any of the servants at the estate were moonlighting as accomplices to her missing brother without her knowledge. It followed that somewhere he had found other servants.
            The clerk went on to describe a man that Loupin could recognize as the one in the painting she had seen Lavinia gazing at during their dinner together.
            "When was the last time he visited?" Loupin pressed her, already guessing the answer.
            "Perhaps around half a tenday ago or so?" The clerk checked her record book, then nodded. "Yes, seven days ago."
            In the end, Lavinia extracted a promise from the clerk to inform her immediately should Vanthus return and attempt to enter the vault again. Still shaken, she took the ferry back to the waiting carriages in silence.

            Once back at the Vanderboren estate, Lavinia climbed down from her carriage, the pile of documents she had discovered kept close at hand. "I understand if any of you wish to return to your homes with your earnings. I, too, have financial issues that must be seen to now," she told the party. "However, I ask that you all come visit me again as soon as possible - I have an even more important task for you. And if you could discover the nature of the star-sign before then, I would truly be grateful. Saer Brushcutter, perhaps you would translate some of these journals for me at a more opportune time? For now, I bid you a good day."
            Turning, she spotted two men, who did not have the bearing or appearance of servants, standing on the shaded porch of the estate. "Oh, dear," she murmured under her breath, going to meet them.
            "Welcome back to Tashluta. I presume you've heard of my parents' deaths by now," she said without preamble - but not without a wince of grief. Their deaths were still fresh, for her.
            The bald one- though he could also be described as the tattooed one, or the thin one, or the one who didn't look like a tiger who'd decided to take on human form for a lark- reached out a hand to put it on Lady Vanderboren's shoulder but withdrew it when he saw the look on her face. "Gods above, Lavinia, I'm sorry. They were..." His expression, concerned and sad, turned a shade confused when she went on to talk over his condolences.
            Gesturing at the party, she swallowed her pain and said, "These are the brave heroes I've engaged the services of in the absence of the Jade Ravens and yourselves. Please introduce yourselves - you will be working with them from now on. I'll hear your report this evening. For now, I have some other matters to attend to." With a nod of farewell, she hurried into her family home.
            "That was... brief." The slightly shorter of the two men said, after the Lady had gone. "Not even time to offer our condolences." He did not seem concerned, just... noting the facts.
            The bald one nodded, watching Lady Vanderboren as she strode away. "What in the Hells was that?" Unlike his companion, this one sounded quite concerned, though he didn't try to follow or raise his voice enough to be heard by the retreating noblewoman.
            The shorter man's hood was pulled back, and his shoulder-length, dark brown hair framed a curious face as he turned towards the party he and his companion had been introduced to - in a manner of speaking. His features were clearly Calishite, except for his eyes, which were the color of deep blue sapphires, ringed with gold. He gave a smooth nod of greeting as those oddly-colored eyes took in each of the party members.
            "Greetings. I am Parant el Mojal. My partner and I have been in service to the Vanderborens for some time now, and were away in that service until just recently. It seems that we are to be working together." His baritone voice was smooth, as were his movements, speaking of a power and self-assurance that felt no need to be announced or pointed out. They just were.His words were friendly, colored in a dialect that was not quite that of Calimshan, but very similar.
            "May we know your names?"
            Lillia spoke a great deal without saying a word.
            Whether it was the coy, slightly lascivious grin with which she parried Talib’s compliments at her puzzle solving. Or the crisp, adroit way she shared a moment with Syd, clearly intimating, ‘You’ll need to take the Vanderboren name before she shared the secrets of thisvault.’ Or the abashed, uncertain way she accepted payment from Lady Vanderboren, as if she wouldn’t dream to know what to do with such wealth.
            Through it all, her face and persona continued to shift with liquid ease.
            Now with this new duo of Lavinia’s retinue, she stepped forward deferentially, hooded features mostly masked. She nodded and said, “Lady Vanderboren has had an exceedingly trying series of days. I’m sure you can understand if she deviates from protocol.”
            Stepping sideways, Talib knew almost instantly what Lillia was about as she raised her arms between the newcomers and the Tashlutan lord and bowed. But there was little he could do to intercede swiftly enough.
            “May I present Lord Talib Islaran,” she said, the words light and delicate, but the gauntlet of power dropping like a hammer in their midst.
            Syd chuckled to himself as Lillia went all dramatic. He stood a bit off to the side, though still clearly with Lord Islaran's group. His long, lanky form leaned casually against a column, his blonde hair tied neatly into a ponytail. A fancy rapier rested easily on his hip, though his arms were crossed away from it. He kept quiet for now, seeing how these introductions would fall out.
            Lillia's hammer didn't seem to land quite as heavily as she may have been expecting, judging by the newcomer's reaction. A small "huh," escaped his lips, similar to the sound one might make after biting into a fig pastry, only to discover it filled with dates, instead.
            Jabari actually grinned. He didn't seem interested in bowing to Lord Talib Islaran, either. He glanced over at Parant with a wink. "So many noble children running around these days. Must be something in the water in the Noble District."
            Parant met Talib's eyes and gave the Islaran a nod. Just slightly deeper than that given between equals, but not so deep as to indicate subservience. No, that nod was a nod of respect between peers. Though it was unlikely that Parant felt himself above Talib in station, given the depth of that nod, he did not seem to think himself far beneath the Islaran, either.
            "Islaran," Parant said slowly, as if recalling something to mind, "it is your family that is responsible for the harbor, yes?" Had there been an ever-so-slight emphasis on the word 'responsible,' or was that simply an artifact of his foreign pronunciation? In any case, Parant's expression was politely curious, neither aggressive nor challenging, as he spoke.
            Talib Islaran, for his part, chewed on his tongue for a brief moment at such a deferential introduction from Lillia, brows shooting up in surprise at the gesture. He was not quite sure the game the "seamstress" was playing, but clearly he was a player whether he wanted to be or not. Noble blood now as bare as the blue flowers that adorned the outside gardens, Talib took in Parant's response and, to his pleasure, realized that the name had not caused an extreme reaction towards either end. The Son of Keltar returned the incline of his head, noting a ... was that a Calishite accent? As well as the fact that Parant thought himself on a similar social strata. A possible foreign noble, Talib thought?
            Lady Vanderboren certainly kept diverse company, that was for sure.
            "Salaamto you both," Talib greeted Parant and Jabari, cautiously choosing a Calishite greeting, even though it sounded imperfect on his tongue: the accent was clearly that heard within Calimport, and clashed with the natural Tashalan he finished his welcoming with. Sharing not the baritone of Parant nor the airy silk of Lillia's voice, Talib spoke with a voice of warmed honey and milk - flowing and thick, with a slightly slurred enunciation, syllables easily sliding into the next.
            " And yes - Keltar Islaran, the current Harbourmaster, is my father. I am his second son," he explained, " Though I've spent far more time at sea than at port, to be honest." Indeed, the scimitar that sat in his sash showed signs of salt-wear upon the pommel and guard - a clear indicator of life spent on ships.
            " But I am known amongst my friends here as merely Talib, and I would hope you call me the same if we are all within Lady Vanderboren's good employ, hm?" Stepping back, the sailor waved a hand at the others he had been working with, distancing himself from the spotlight.
            " But enough about myself - The others are far more interesting than a Harbourmaster's son, I assure you," he shared with a flashy grin, eyes dancing briefly to Lillia where they lingered for a moment and then flicked back to the newcomers.
            Rather than bowing, the other newcomer stepped forward as Talib stepped back, putting out his hand to clasp forearms with the announced nobleman. He was young, probably in his early 20s, and he gave off an air of easy, lazy privilege. This wasn't a man who had ever had to worry about where his next meal was coming from or needed to duck his landlord for a few days.
            He was average height, but slim. Probably from exercise rather than lack of eating, if the healthiness of his skin and eyes were any indicator. His dark skin was covered in swirls and geometric patterns that were visible all the way up to the top of his bald head- not a local fashion, though he otherwise have faded into any crowd in the city.
            His white linen shirt was unadorned but perfectly tailored, and his breeches and boots looked broken in and comfortable but exceptionally well maintained. He wore a scimitar on his left hip, in a lacquered scabbard that looked like it had cost a pretty penny, and had a falconer's gauntlet tucked into a belt that bore the stamp of one of the city's best leatherworking artisans. In short, he looked like someone who had grown up with money. And in this city, money meant nobility.
            "Jabari Damarthe." He nodded at Talib. "I ask people to drop the Lord, too, Talib." Damarthe wasn't one of the seven Houses on the Dawn Council, but it was a very wealthy, old merchant House in spite of- or perhaps because of?- that. They controlled the majority of the trade in exotic and trained animals into and out of the city and had extensive contacts in the Black Jungles to the south and Hazuk Mountains to the west.
            The Islaran was taken a bit by surprise at Jabari's enthusiastic greeting by comparison to Parant, but nonetheless he grabbed the young man's forearm, grinning brightly in reply.
            " Well met, Jabari," he offered, chuckling quietly at connecting the man's humble words with his rather resplendent outfit by comparison, " It is good to meet another that places worth in deed, not name. Lady Vanderboren chooses her associates well."
            Jabari smiled back at Talib. "It certainly looks that way. She probably learned that from her parents." His smile faded as he remembered the tragedy and he shook his head, glancing over at Parant. "It's going to take a little while to get used to that."
            Talib decided to give him the benefit of the doubt as he released the Damarthe's arm - he seemed a good sort. Came from money, too - possibly even more than the Islarans, who may have had power in Tashluta but were not necessarily wealthy because of it. In the city, wealth could very easily translate into power, however.
            Jabari stepped back and smiled at Lillia, Syd, and the others. Just then, a small monkey ran in out of the garden and quickly scaled up Jabari's clothes to perch on his shoulder, a ripe tamarind pod in one hand. Jabari laughed as the monkey climbed up to its perch. He craned his neck to see what the little primate had in its hands and shook his head. "Don't eat that on me," he said sternly. Jabari turned back to the group and gestured at the monkey. "This is the Bosun. You'll quickly come to learn that he is in charge."
            "Well, he couldn't do worse than us," Loupin murmured to Baba, standing near him towards the back, with her coffer weighing heavily on her reedy arms.
            Like Syd, she didn't bother to introduce herself, although in her case it was more because she fully expected somebody -- Reginald, if no one else -- to make some kind of flowery group introduction. Loupin also wasn't sure she wanted anything further to do with the group. For one thing, it didn't take eight people and The Bosun to track down one scoundrel brother, even in Tashluta, which meant Poor Old Lavinia was holding out on them again. For another thing, these new guys looked more powerful than their own group, and also maybe like they were used to getting their way. They had history with Lavinia, too, and seemed like they might be loyal to each other. And they were not exactly inconspicuous, on top of everything else.
            That could all cause problems, thought Loupin, and three hundred gold was enough to change her life as it was. Part of her recognized that she'd be wiser to walk away before things got worse; part of her recognized that before she did, she ought to know how bad their whole situation really was. Whatever else Syd's stupid compass symbol meant, it definitely meant something bigger than the Vanderborens, and thus something unnecessarily troublesome.
            The holy man smiled when he saw the monkey, a rare expression for the mainly stern Chultan. He started a bit when he realized that Loupin was addressing him, having been in a generally introspective and silent mood for some time. It took him a while to sort out her meaning, and when he finally realized that she was comparing their decision-making skills, unfavorably, to that of the little primate, the time for a response had passed. Determining that he would not show how awkward he felt, particularly in front of their new comrades-to-be, he decided to simply segue into an introduction.
            "I am Baba Gbele, Holy Man of Ubtao, Father of Chult, Sanctified Slayer of Fiendish Spirits. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." The Chultan was a bit below average in height, though he made up for it in broadness of chest. He wore a rustic hide shirt that was conspicuously blood-stained, over a long tunic, and simple sandals, like he had just walked out of the jungle.
            Jabari smiled at the holy man. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I've never been to the jungles of Chult but many of our people come from the west. And I know they aren't the same as your Chultan jungles, but I spent a great deal of time in the Black Jungles to the south in my youth." From such a young man, 'in my youth' was almost laughable, but he seemed so earnest about it.
            After a few heartbeats, which seemed to grow into an awkward silence, Parant gave another of those short nods, while his eyes seemed to scan the area around them.
            "Well, we are unlikely to accomplish anything worthwhile by standing around outside, making targets of ourselves, and the Lady has made it clear that she's not expecting to see the two of us until later this evening. Shall we adjourn to somewhere more fitting - and perhaps a bit more sheltered - than the front steps of the most expensive building for blocks in any direction?"
            He nodded to those holding metal coffers. "I would suggest the Strumpet's Excuse, but I doubt those are getting any lighter, and they're likely to attract attention. Is there some place that you would prefer to put them down?" He shot Jabari a look, and then asked, softly, "or do you want to invite them over for tea?"
            "Oh! Right." Jabari nodded quickly at Parant- it was clear the idea hadn't occurred to him- and smiled at the larger group. "We can borrow one of the family's carriages to take us wherever you want to go. You don't want to be walking through the streets with those things. Then we can sit down and discuss next steps. I have a place near East Market, we can have some food and something to drink and talk."
            The sailor inclined his head in thanks to the newcomers' offer, suddenly becoming aware of his own growling stomach. It had not been an easy night nor a good morning, and the idea of hospitality was certainly appealing.
            " I believe we intended to stop by the markets today as is - having a place of respite close by would be useful. I, for one, am not going to turn down wine and dates generously offered. If we are to be working together under Lavinia's employ, I imagine we all have much to catch one another up on."
            It did not escape Talib's memory that the Damarthe family dealt in the trade of exotic creatures - similar to what had been aboard the Blue Nixie.Was it Damarthe cargo being detained as well as a Vanderboren ship? That made little sense, the former Captain thought, but perhaps he was on the right track - Jabari's family may have been connected to the incident at the harbor, just as Lavinia's family had been. Just as his ownfamily had been.
            Something was ... wrong, in Tashluta, Talib thought. The Harbour, Vark, the Vault and its heretical idolatry ... It was not the city he remembered before he set out to sea.
            Questions within Questions. Perhaps Syd's symbol in the Market would reveal more - how fortuitous, then, that they now had a Merchant Family's name to their benefit.
            " A carriage, then, and food," Talib declared, looking to his comrades first to make sure there were no objections, " And perhaps you can fill us in on how you know Lavinia along the way, hm?"
            Jabari nodded. "Absolutely." He looked around for a servant but didn't see one. "I swear, they've been like ghosts today." The young man shook his head and looked at Parant. "I've never seen the house this quiet."
            "I must apologize for my manners," the gnome said, rising from where he had been examining his jaguar's swollen paws, much to the feline's displeasure. "Both in that I have failed to offer appropriate introductions immediately, and in that I must decline your gracious offer of refreshment and hospitality. I am Reginald Brushcutter, explorer and chronicler of adventures noble and heroic." He paused, perhaps waiting to see if they recognized his name. Then he gestured at his jaguar, whose snout was wrinkled in a distressing display of teeth, though it seemed more pained than angry. "This is Setoa, who as you may have discerned, has suffered under our travails of the day. I'm sure you both will understand, with your reputation, that his having been prey rather than predator in his relationship with a venomous artifact, it falls upon me to see that his hurts, and perhaps his indignation at this turn of events, be soothed and tended quickly." Reg paused again, glancing at Setoa, then added, "For while he is well-trained, one must remember that it is not in his nature to be tame.Stress such as this could lead to an unfortunate incident, left unsupervised."
            He swung off his feathered hat, and swept it around in a grandiloquent bow. "And so I bid you adieu, for the nonce, good Saers." With a hand on Setoa's back to guide him, Reg took the badly limping cat back toward the entrance to the estate.
            Lillia’s smile was concealed by her bow, but her face read neutral as she finally rose. She gestured toward the departing Reginald.
            “Reginald Brushcutter and his companion Setoa are at the lady’s behest for translation,” she motioned to the departing trailblazer and his jungle cat. “The rest of us would gladly join you.” She gestured to each as she made the appropriate introductions. “Syd Faeborn. Baba Gbele,” she said. “Next to him is Loupin, and I am Lillia.”
            “Forgive their reticence,” she added of the group. “Most are only recently acquainted and our time together has been…energetic.”
            Jabari smiled at Lillia. "Looks like we all have stories to share. They pack the best hookah downstairs. Some drinks, some smoke, some food?" The young man grinned. "The best kind of meeting."
            Lillia motioned toward the carriages for departure and as the group turned to engage transport, Lillia fell in beside Jabari and gave him another assessing look up and down. “Your tailoring is exquisite,” she praised the noble, but then also added with a half-smile. “Monkey not withstanding.”
            Jabari shrugged at the lack of visible servants and nodded. "There will be someone at the carriage house." The Bosun rode on Jabari's shoulder like they'd done this a hundred times before and in spite of the human's admonition against it, the little monkey ate the tamarind as they walked.
            Jabari nodded at Lillia and smiled. "The Lionsworth has a good seamstress on staff but I get all my clothes from Milner's in the Merchant District." The casual way he mentioned a very expensive inn- presumably where he was taking the group for food and drinks- and one of the best tailors in the city just reinforced that this young man came from money. "Do you know clothes? I can tell a decent stitch or fabric but I mostly just tell Rostri what I want and it magically appears a few days or weeks later. I swear she's a secret wizard."
            Lillia’s head snapped toward Jabari.
            “You knowRostri,” she said, trying not to gawp. Then a flash flood of words spilled from her. “She is beyondamazing. I’m a seamstress by trade, though not apprenticed yet, but that’s only temporary I assure you. But Rostri, sheis amazing. Did I say that already? By the stars what she did with those shades of orchid last season in the Noble district shaped the textile industry throughout the whol--”
            Loupin exchanged an indecipherable look with Syd, glanced at her own and Baba's attire, and cleared her throat a bit.
            "Sorry to interrupt," she said, "but I live just on the other side of the neighbourhood, and I don't want to carry all my stuff around. What if you guys went on with your wine and dates and whatnot, and maybe Syd and Baba and me could walk over to my place and drop off our junk, and then check out that building we saw last night -- the one with the symbol on it? It might be important. I doubt it would take everybody, though, just to find out what it's all about. Later tonight we could hook up with you guys back here, file our report."
            She felt a little bad, drafting Syd like that -- he seemed like he might be the type to enjoy an upscale social environment -- but he was the one who had reminded them of the building, she remembered. Loupin thought well enough of him following the Prettyboy affair, and wouldn't mind having his help. Anyway, she didn't quite trust herself or Baba to win the respect of all these rich guys, not on their own ground. Also, it was fairly early in the day for wine, she thought, and she was behind on her rent. Also she wasn't sure she wanted to know what Lillia was even up to with all this 'Lord Islaran' stuff; it was probably some kind of clever move, but it still made her cringe a little to watch.
            "Only I'm not so sure it's something we can afford to sit on," she added hastily, in reference to the symbol. "One coach wouldn't easily hold all of us, plus the monkey boss, etcetera anyhow. I can afford to hire a gondola, if we need one. No sweat."
            Jabari looked from one member of the group to the other as they discussed their to-do list. "What symbol?"
            "It's just a black compass rose," Loupin explained with a shrug. "We saw multiple versions of it on the ceiling of the Vanderboren family vault, and also on a building on the west side of the neighbourhood. On the last version one of the points was red -- the tramontane, I guess, or the ostro, I'm not sure. Maybe that doesn't matter, though. It's like a seal, or a sigil, maybe."
            Gbele felt that there was work to be done, and had no interest in socializing with the new-comers. He chose to simply nod to Loupin and Syd, ignore the invitation to the carriage as if he were not included, and waited for the two groups to go their separate ways.
            Talib Islaran was momentarily thrown off by Loupin's suggestion, but the more it danced around in his thoughts the more sense it made. The symbol in the Vault wasa question they needed an answer to, and splitting up prior to their adventure with the Blue Nixiehad yielded some good information that had helped them plan their next moves.
            " Well," he began, rubbing a hand against the soft hair of his chin, " So long as you're sure. Two groups allows us to accomplish much more, as we've seen. Just, take care of yourselves, yes? We've already encountered more than enough trouble as is - I wouldn't want anything to happen to you all."
            His brows furrowed in worry towards Loupin, Syd, and the Baba, but ultimately he squashed the feelings down. All three were more than capable and fully aware of the dangers they had already faced.
            They'll be fine,Talib told himself.
            Syd shrugged lazily at Loupin's suggestion. "Fine by me. Though, I usually treat a lady to a meal before going to her place," he quipped with a grin. He pushed himself off the column he was leaning against. "I do have plans for my... reward, if I can find the time to stop by a bowyer, fletcher, and tanner."
            He did want to see what that symbol meant, though he didn't think it was as urgent as Loupin seemed to. That might have been more of an Elven sensibility, however. Long lifespans meant thinking more long-term and not putting too much urgency into things. Cosmopolitan city life had put a bit of urgency into his life, but he still couldn't deny his heritage.
            "We'll figure it out," Loupin said, thinking it might be complicated to find any of that stuff locally. There were guildhalls around by the millions, but the west side was pretty safe from violence, and her own weapons came from another district altogether. Sometimes it was hard to understand why this was even called the Merchant District. "It's embarrassing, I ought to know what that building is for already -- i's just across the bight from my shop. It shouldn't be too hard. We can ask the neighbors, maybe. Or my boss."
            " We'll meet back at the Vanderboren Estate tonight, then, ?wo?"Talib confirmed with the three departing, " Good Luck and Fair Winds, friends. Le’?huni," With that, Talib turned to the two newcomers, and the group's charming 'seamstress'.

            The working area of the Vanderboren estate was busier than the house had been, and Jabari seemed quite familiar with the stablehands and farriers as he walked right into the stables. With a smile and a few friendly words, the servants there quickly arranged a horse and four for the group and they were soon clip-clopping toward the ferry to the Azure District.
            " It seems Lavinia has her eyes on many decks," Talib observed, breaking the silence first as he addressed Parant and Jabari, " Hiring us, the Jade Regents, yourselves - I was not aware the Vanderborens had so many contacts to call on. And a Damarthe as well, hm?"
            The sailor addressed Jabari directly, grinning widely. " My father speaks highly of your family. 'Good for business', I believe was the oft-repeated phrase. A lot of your animals are loaded by a lot of our workers."
            Jabari smiled back. "My parents say the same about your father. 'An orderly harbor is the first step in a profitable and fair trade'."
            Talib turned his gaze to the outside of the carriage, recalling the soreness still in his chest from where one of said animals had left a rather nasty wound aboard the Nixie. " But we found out recently that not everyone on the Islaran employ holds Islaran values. A crew was transporting exotic creatures on a ship that was not theirs, you see. I had the ... discerning pleasure, to learn that this was not exactly uncommon within The Azure these days."
            Jabari frowned. "A pirate ship was transporting stolen animals? Or are we talking about smugglers?" From his tone, the young man had much different feelings toward the two categories. The Harbormaster's family likely had an opposing viewpoint, but from the position of a merchant- especially merchants in the trade of rare and perishable things such as exotic animals- smugglers were sometimes just a necessary expense.
            Talib's tone had soured - a cold anger at the realization before sugar was poured to the mixture to produce a bittersweet regard towards Jabari, alongside concern for his companions. " I hope the same cannot be said of your estate, sadiqaa,or Lillia, Reginald, and I may not be as safe there as you first assumed."
            It was clear that Talib was troubled by the uncovering of the seedier side of the Azure District. His discussion with Keltar Islaran the night before had also not done wonders for his mood, nor had the events of the day. Rough Seas had been the weather for days, Talib thought, and the storm was not showing signs of relenting anytime soon.
            Jabari held up a placating hand. "We don't deal with pirates." He shook his head. "Bad for everyone's business. And I, personally, have reasons to want to see them all hang."
            " Forgive me," Talib added quickly with a raised hand and an apologetic melody in his speech, " I am not one to distrust easily nor quickly - these past sun rises have been ... troubling, to say the least, and that is neither of your faults. But! My point stands - does House Damarthe do extensive business with the Vanderborens? And are either of you aware of any dealings they may have had with 'officials' from The Azure lately?"
            "I learned animals and the jungle as a little boy, but I didn't learn much about the business side before I went to sea. I know my parents were friendly with Lavinia's parents. I could tell you the legend of House Vanderboren and how they were one of the First Families but honestly don't know much about how the Vanderborens earned their money." The young man shrugged and shook his head. "Sorry. I just don't know."
            Parant grunted, feeling a bit cramped in the carriage. Though it was somewhat extravagantly made - and for a noble house - so had more room than the average "horse and four," the interior currently held Parant himself, Jabari, Talib, Lillia, Reg, Setoa, and 'the Bosun.' Even with the gnome being as small as he was, the cat more than made up the difference. Fortunately, Parant didn't mind the jaguar's company, though it was possible that Seota found Parant'spresence somewhat discomfiting.
            "It wasn't Lavinia who hired us," Parant corrected Talib's misconception. "Her parents hired us on. It is possible that she doesn't even know what our mission was, unless one of her parents told her, or wrote it down somewhere."
            Jabari nodded. "When we left the city, Lavinia's parents were alive and in charge of House Vanderboren's business. You can imagine our surprise when we came back and found things like this."
            " Her parents, yes ..." Talib lingered on the sentiment. Lavinia's late parents. The Vault with serpentine imagery. Some of the treasure seemingly missing from the Vanderboren hoard. A missing sibling, as well, as the clerk had said.
            Secrets within the House of Vanderboren. So many Secrets in Tashluta ...
            " Are we privvy to what Lord and Lady Vanderboren hired you two for, then? As our assignments have mostly been helping Lavinia maintain her estate since their ... departure." He continued to use the current Lady Vanderboren's given name in his speech, reflecting a familiarity either real or perceived. " Our different journeys may very well be related, after all."
            "As to the specifics of our last journey," Parant said with a note of caution in his voice, "it is not our information to share. Suffice it to say that we saw an otherwise unremarkable delivery safely to its destination without interference from outside entities, and returned ourselves. We left a tenday or so before the unfortunate incident." He shrugged, knowing full well that he hadn't given more than enough information to do anything but pique someone's interest.
            "The general nature of our employment with the Lord and Lady has been that of, aistikshaf al'akhta' wa'iislahuha,"he spoke a phrase in that oddly-accented Alzhedo, "'troubleshooters,' I believe is the term in Tashalan, though it loses some of the subtleties in translation."
            Jabari chuckled. "That's what people have been saying. We have done some favors for friends of the family, some friends of friends." He nodded in the direction of the Vanderboren estate. "We've done a few odd jobs for the Vanderborens, cleaning up messes the Jade Ravens were too busy to take care of."
            Parant grunted again. "Busy," he said, "good word." Then he nodded out the window as the coach began to slow.
            "We're here," he said, then shot an almost-glare at Jabari. "I'll go first." Before the coach had come to a complete stop, Parant had opened the door and stepped from the cab, his eyes scanning the area around the entrance of the Lionsworth.
            Jabari just chuckled and shook his head. He smiled at Talib and Lillia. "It's best just to let him do stuff like that. He likes to get the lay of the land before anyone else."

            It didn't take long for Syd, Loupin and Gbele to locate the building on Fishback Lane with the sign of the star carved into the front door. It wasn't particularly notable, apart from the sign; just another whitewashed building offering shade from the heat to those inside.
            As they watched, a handful of people came and went, more notable than the building itself in that they all appeared to be either mercenaries or adventurers (and some would say that was splitting hairs).
            Remembering the reaction of the boat shop owner and thinking they had better try and look ordinary, Loupin had left nearly everything at home but her components and dagger, but now that seemed unnecessary, if not downright foolhardy.
            In contrast, Gbele was fully armed and armored, the dried blood on his chest having darkened to an almost black color. It wasn't so much that he expected trouble - he simply had the habit of carrying everything he owned at all times. Standing stiffly in the street, he looked more out of place than usual.
            "I think maybe it's better if we don't kick down the front door demanding answers," Loupin suggested to the boys, though that felt unnecessary as well. "This is getting downright interesting. What do you think, should we ask somebody in that market instead? Or one of those gondolieri? It might be safer."
            The holy man shrugged off the suggestion of danger. "I will go to this building, and ask for work. They will think me ignorant, and not a threat, perhaps. I will see what I can see. Yes?"
            "Huh," said Loupin, a little surprised, but fairly impressed, too. "That's not such a bad idea. But they might mark what you look like from now on. What will you do if they actually offer it? The work, I mean."
            Baba shrugs. "Of course, it would depend upon the pay." If he meant the comment to be humorous, his face gave no indication.
            Syd raised a finger and was about to protest Gbele's terrible idea. He much preferred a subtler approach to find out what was going on in there. He lowered his finger, though, figuring the worst that could happen was the holy man getting kicked out.
            He shrugged with a glance to Loupin, "Worth a shot?" He furrowed his brow at the building, "We should hang back, in case something goes wrong and we have to find another way to figure out what this is all about."
            Gbele provides a simple nod in response to Syd's comment, then walks directly into the entrance.
            Outside, Loupin and Syd continued to hang back.
            "I can't believe you encouraged him to waltz in there," she said, looking around at the building and the people. "They'll probably sell him a bridge or something. A challenge coin. Pebbles from the Holy Land."
            Syd smirked, "Well, better him than us, right? He's more 'walk in the front door', we are 'stand back and watch'." He leaned against the wall of the alley in which they watched the goings by, carefully tucked within the shadows. "If we do get a bridge out of it, you think we can raise tolls?"
            "The government and the gondola guild will shake us down if we do," Loupin said with a grimace. "Maybe we could lease the sides of it to a building developer, let people run shops on it, collect the rent. It's easier, especially if he gets a good one. He probably won't, though. He'll probably just pick up some crappy time share thing, somewhere out in the goddamned desert, maybe. What's he even doing out here, anyway? Ubtao is just really concerned about the fiendish ghost epidemic down here in Tashluta? Yeah. Maybe Baba's just, like, the village weirdo..."
            Syd shrugged, "Maybe. Maybe he's just a missionary, and knows he'll find evil pretty much anywhere he goes. I don't know about his religion, but I know Lathander's Dawnbringers can be a bit ambiguous about what constitutes evil that requires faithful response." Living on the streets gave Syd a bit of a realist streak. Ostensibly he followed Lathander's teachings himself, but he wasn't very devout about it, and he recognized the overreach the more zealous of the faithful often embodied. "I imagine one day he pointed at the horizon and said, 'I'm going there to serve Ubato's will.' and the village elders said, 'go for it, my son.'" Syd's hands pointed and spread along with his slightly affected voices for the brief performance.
            "Yeah," said Loupin, puzzling it over. She was pretty respectful of religion herself, especially Savras and deities connected with Selune, but she wasn't so sure about weird jungle gods -- especially ones that thought it all ended in blood. The way Gbele had said that it sounded like he was explaining something about his way of life. How long would it be before he assumed something wrong about city life and got into trouble? She liked him all right -- he was clearly trying to be helpful -- but she wished he would come back soon.

            Just down the street from the bustling East Market, the Lionsworth at first didn't look like much. The buildings here were all crowded in next to each other, jostling for space in the busy District. A wordless plaque depicting a golden lion was affixed to the wall above the double doors, and the place was otherwise unmarked.
            An astute observer might have noticed that the neighboring buildings all appeared to be private residences, with none of the mixing of businesses and homes seen up and down the rest of the street. And someone with a burglar's eye probably would have realized that the doors leading into those 'private homes' weren't actually doors at all, but merely fixtures that looked quite like doors.
            As Parant approached the double doors, a liveried doorman opened them from the inside. "Welcome back, your honor." The man was large and handled himself like he knew his way around a bar brawl or a battlefield- all the doormen were like this, capable, dependable, discreet, and easily able to act as bouncers as the situation required.
            Once the doors were open, Jabari jumped down from the carriage. He smiled at the doorman. "Hello, Dom! How's it going today?"
            Dom the doorman nodded and smiled back. "Quiet so far, Lord Jabari. But it's early yet." He glanced at Talib and Lillian as they alighted from the carriage. Seeing the heavy coffee, Dom gestured at someone inside and in a moment a young man in a different uniform hustled out to help carry it. "Will you and your friends be dining?"
            Jabari nodded. "Have some refreshments sent up, please." He turned back to Talib and Lillian as they came to the doors, a grin on his face. "Welcome to the Lionsworth, where your family puts you up when they don't want you to stay at home anymore. Don't bother asking them not to call you Lord, Talib, they won't do it. I've tried."
            Talib waved off the sentiment, clearing his throat. For the most part, he had been uncharacteristcally quiet during the rest of the trip and arrival to The Lionsworth. Lost in thought.
            " There's nothing wrong in showing respect," he observed, " So long as it is returned in equal measure, eh?" With that he gave a small nod of greeting and acknowledgement of Dom and his service, peering over the manor with a keen eye.
            Lillia dropped from the carriage on dancer’s feet, gawking around with a commoner’s wonder. Examining the expanse of the street, she spun a full circle in observant delight before being ushered on toward the entrance.
            "I didn’t even know this was here!" she said to Talib. "Did you know this was here?"
            Talib shook his head slowly, his own eyes expressing their quiet approval and wonder at the secrets that their city beheld. " No, actually," he admitted to Lillia, " I was never very involved in my father's deals with the other Houses, so I never had much reason to venture to places like this."
            He chuckled brightly. " I'm a harbor lad, nzuri"he addressed his compatriot with a casual tone and an endearing title, " You probably know the streets better than I."
            "How wondrous," Lillia said to Jabari and Parant. "So many exquisite mysteries this city has! Even to one who has lived here her whole life."
            Then she flitted through the doorway, pausing briefly do acknowledge the doorman. "Thank you, Dom," she said with a demur nod before slipping into the cool shade beyond.
            The first floor was elegantly and expensively appointed in the pale, exotic wood of the northern forests. Unlike the local, dark varieties of hardwood, this pale lumber almost seemed to glow with an inner light of its own. There were handmade Amnish rugs on the floor and portraits in a number of styles on the walls. The common room had a few well heeled looking patrons sitting at the tables scattered around the room, with uniformed staff waiting discreetly and attentively to serve.
            Jabari led the group through the common room to a private sitting area behind the bar, the door watched by another large doorman in the same livery as Dom outside. He led the small group up a set of stairs, then up several flights to a landing, where he produced a heavy key and unlocked the door to a suite of rooms appointed in contemporary local fashion.
            The young man went over to the large double-doors and opened them onto a terrace as large as a small apartment, showing off a view of the harbor and letting in the fresh salt air. He turned and smiled at Lillia and Talib. "Welcome to my home. Sit, sit. Let's talk. We've got some notes to compare."
            Talib breathed deep at the first gust of wind, holding the salty sea in his lungs and letting it go slowly only once his body demanded it. Brightly, he made his way not to sit but to the railing, folding his arms atop it and watching the glow of the sun against the blue sea.
            " Beautiful," he thought aloud, his gaze dancing between the flapping pennants of ships in port, the little dots of people as they poured off of and onto the Azure District. A galleas in the distance rapidly plunged its oars into the briney sapphire until finally her sails came unfurled, pushing her all the more swiftly towards open waters. A strange looking vessel with what appeared to be Northern-style castles at the bow and stern was docked, flying white colors with ... was that a crown? Hard to tell at the distance, but that did appear to be its emblem. He recognized the hull as a "cog", an older ship more commonly seen in the Sea of Swords than in the warmer waters near the Chultan peninsula. Nowhere near as swift or nimble as the dhows and xebecs he had served aboard, but serviceable for the merchant on a budget, he supposed.
            " Simply beautiful," Talib repeated, " You've a wondeful home, Jabari - My compliments to you, your House, and those that care for this exquisite place."
            He chuckled to himself, letting his ideas slip past his tongue, " Certainly more lavish than a lighthouse by the docks, or the damnable vault we just came from, that's for sure..." Finally relaxing, the heir of House Islaran afforded himself a spot on a cushion, slipping off his boots and sitting cross-legged at the invitation of his host.
            "To quote my mother, 'Just because you're not living at home doesn't mean you shouldn't feel at home.'" Jabari chuckled and shook his head. "I will convey your compliments to her and her decorator. And to the staff here- they do excellent work, as you'll hopefully see in the next few minutes."
            Lillia flung herself through the air and landed in a cushioned lounge chair like a seven year old. She laughed and embraced the luxury of it. Then she caught Talib eyeing her with that mix of scorn, concern, and disbelief.
            “What? You said vault,” she said. “So I vaulted. I was inspired.” She turned away tartly but then stretched with sighing delight. For the first time since they had met, the Islaran got a solid look at Lillia in good lighting, and he did a quick reassessment of her and the many faces he had seen thus far.
            Lillia was hardly more than a child. If she had seen more than seventeen or eighteen seasons of the monsoon, he would have been shocked.
            The realization struck Talib like a brick to the face. The girl had flowed through so many personas in their short time together that he couldn't have pictured her as anything buta seasoned and experienced sort. Then again, age was not necessarily a defining characteristic of capability, was it not?
            Still, it did cause a slight shift in his behavior - he swallowed hard, suddenly avoiding looking in the teenager's direction. There was even a slight darkening to his cheeks as he set his eyes firmly on Jabari and Parant, his posture ever so slightly leaning away from the seamstress.
            Jabari laughed, not seeming bothered in the slightest by Lillia's attitude. "I do that sometimes, too." He grinned and shook his head. "But jumping's got nothing on being up in the crow's nest. It's like you're flying up there." He probably wasn't that much older than Lillia- 5 years, maybe.
            “This is beyond marvelous,” Lillia said to Jabari. Then added, “With all of this, why do you even havean employer? I wouldn’t, I know that. I would just have Dom rub my feet all day.”
            Jabari sighed as he sat down. "Things here are... out of balance. In the city, I mean. Too many people crammed into too small a space, animals trying to live their lives while we build over their habitat, tar and bilge and oil and filth washed into the river and out into the ocean." His expression had turned serious and he started to get upset.
            "Overfishing, pirates and sahuagin, slash and burn farming, whale hunters, people desecrating sacred spaces, poachers who don't care about keeping the balance of predators and prey animals..." He closed his eyes, shook his head, and cleared his throat. When he opened his eyes again his smile was back, if less sunny than before.
            Talib shifted himself again, this time beginning to lean away from the man of Damarthe. Parant seemed a solid sort, he told himself. Yes, Parant was surely not going to be a complicated relationship. What did it matter if Jabari seemed to have a disdain for two of Talib's past careers? And surely it was no issue that Lillia appeared to be a decade his younger, of course, of course. His ear gave attention to the group's host as he continued.
            "There are always people who need help with things, and some of those things are issues I'm concerned about. And when those people are people with money..." Jabari shrugged. "Well, it was pointed out to me that some people only value you if they can put a price on what you can do for them. We don't needthe employment, per se. But in this city, the only way to develop your reputation is to have people talk about how much money they had to spend on hiring you."
            " So ... to business then?" Talib asked slowly, trying to break his own tension and not let on that he had grown a markedly amount of uncomfortable within the past few minutes, " And hopefully some kahvewhile we're at it, if possible?" He had a fondness for the hot, bitter drink, finding it something that even on the go he couldn't live without.
            " You mentioned the Jade Ravens earlier," Talib quickly went on, recalling Parant and Jabari's comments on them during the ride over, " Not fans, it seems? We met them relatively briefly during our first meeting with each other and Lady Vanderboren."
            He nodded to Lillia, indicating he was referencing the seamstress. " I would have assumed with such ... ah, capable mercenaries within the estate's employ, Lavinia would not have had to hire out more help. Certainly the tasks we've accomplished on our end could have been dealt with just as readily by they. Are they not entirely in Lavinia's pocket, then?" he asked, genuinely curious of the relationship.
            Parant, having been first into the room, and having stepped out through the doors as quickly as he could after Jabari opened it (with a dark look at the young man as he passed), was now standing at the doors, splitting his attention between those in the room and occasionally scanning the rooftops nearby.
            "The Ravens, like us, worked for Lavinia's parents directly. They didn't share much information between us. We didn't ever really know what the Jade Ravens were doing, and I suspect they weren't ever fully informed about our activities, either." Parant shrugged.
            " And what were your activities, then?" Talib asked, lifting a brow slightly.
            Jabari shrugged and waved a hand vaguely in the direction of the noble quarter. "Odd jobs, to be honest. We've been doing things here and there for people - a dire rat infestation in someone's storeroom, figuring out someone else's boat has a pair echeneis attached to the hull, dealing with crazed domesticated animals at someone else's plantation. That sort of thing." He shook his head. "The Vanderborens have been good to us and had us do a few things over the past few months. Most recently they wanted us out to track down a wayward ship."
            The young man gestured at himself and Parant. "We have some experience with ships, so it made sense to ask us and made sense for us to say yes."
            " Ours have mostly been in the wake of ... After the Lords Vanderboren passed, working directly for Lavinia. It seems she's had some issues in gaining access to her own inheritance and family fortune," Talib extrapolated for his hosts.
            The captain leaned back, placing his palms on the ground and stretching his spine a bit while maintaing a relaxed posture. "It's not something I would have expected, to be sure. We've ..."
            He bit his tongue. Looked towards Lillia. Gambled.
            "We've just come from the family's vault. Hence the chests, you see."
            “And the only reason we have thesecoffers,” Lillia chimed in with a flash of anger, “is because Lady Vanderboren’s brother decided to make off with whatever wealth they previouslyheld.”
            “The gall of such a theft,” Lillia scoffed. “I mean, what else could be going on? Well regardless, I imagine her next course of action will be to have us hunt him down.”
            “I mean, right? Isn’t that what you would do, if you were her?” she asked of the men.
            "Vanthus is stealing his sister's inheritance." Jabari grunted. "I know what we all said to her, but really, that's the most plausible thing here, isn't it? He's upset he wasn't named heir and decided to take what he wasn't given. And if that's the case he probably doesn't want to be found."
            The young man looked thoughtful for a moment. "Although if he has the coin he would probably be living well and it would make it easier to find him. Most noble children aren't fond of living rough." Jabari grinned at Talib and patted the comfortable cushion he was sitting against.
            "Maybe Najib, perhaps. And my younger sisters," Talib responded thoughtfully, actually considering the statement before waving it off.
            "I spent my life on and below decks - I've lived off of hard tack and had my palms shorn by wet ropes and salt. Keltar - my father, you see - wasn't exactly fond himself on living soft," the sailor laughed, knowing that Keltar Islaran was infamous as a man as rough as Umberlee's fury.
            "Still ... theft would imply a lot," he rubbed his bearded chin, thumb tracing his sharpened jawline, " We had to go through quite a few hoops and characters just to openthe Vault. Vanthus Vanderboren not only beat us to the punch but also left the key behind for Lavinia to track down, andhe didn't just empty the entire fortune? I'm not so sure. But then again, Islarans are not really ones for intrigue and plot - I've honestly little idea how other 'noble children' conduct themselves, to be frank."
            Jabari snorted. "I've been new crew on half a dozen ships, wasn't even an able seaman on the first few- I know a little about living rough and getting pushed around, myself." He shook his head. "The fact is that he took money from the family coffers after his parents' death. He wasn't the heir and the new head of house didn't know about the transactions. He didn't ask her, didn't even talk to her to let her know he was in the house when he did it. Call it what you want, maybe it's not theft legally," the young man gestured at Parant, "Parant's the lawyer, you can ask him. From what I've heard, though, we're looking for a thief."
            "Judge," Parant said, without much force behind it. Almost more of a reflexive habit than an actual correction.
            "Though I don't know how much it matters to us finding him. What's your theory? He's leaving breadcrumbs for Lavinia to follow?"
            Speaking of which, just then there was a discreet knock at the door. Jabari's grin returned and he jumped up off the couch to rush to the door, almost managing to get to it before Parant. Talib was lightly startled by Jabari's sudden blur of motion, body and silks sweeping against the coastal wind. He turned and raised his brows to Lillia, hoping he wasn't the only one confused.
            Parant had somehow managed to beat Jabari to the door, despite being further away from it when the knock had come. He shifted a decorative metal disc on the door to one side, looked briefly through a small hole it had hidden, then nodded, let the disc fall back into place, and, finally, pulled the door open.
            Once the door was opened, a pair of uniformed servers entered the room. One pushed a rolling cart with a large, heated carafe of kahve, a decanter of water, plates and utensils, and a large covered platter that was quickly revealed to hold a varied assortment of pastries and morning snacks. The other carried a waist height, cut-glass hookah and the various accoutrements for smoking. The two men efficiently arranged their refreshments for the guests then withdrew after Jabari quietly thanked them, passing both of them a few coins and closing the door firmly behind them.
            He turned back to his guests. "Eat, eat. They make excellent kahve. We can call up anything else you might want, if you want something specific."
            Lillia’s eyes were wide with wonder as the amenities were produced. She smiled and walked to engage them with keen intent. As she crossed near to Jabari, she paused and poked a finger at him.
            “You,” she said with a smile. “Are going to be trouble.”
            Jabari laughed. "You're not the first girl to say that to me." He grinned at her. "Just wait 'til I introduce you to my tailor."
            Parant knew the servers, of course, so he didn't spend more than a heartbeat listening to be sure that they hadn't stopped outside the door. Then he was taking a quick, small sample of each of the various snacks. Oddly, he did not swallow the food - merely tasted a sample of each thing in turn, disposing of each bite discreetly into a small bowl that had accompanied the cart. After a moment, he smiled, picked up one of the pastries, and actually began to eat it with some enjoyment.
            Lillia watched Parant move with almost ritualistic process. An eyebrow quirked on the young girl, and she cocked the other side of her mouth at him.
            “Do you nibble everything Jabari’s going to handle?” she said with a coy grin, covering her mouth with a coiled hand to stifle further mirth.
            "Only if he's going to eat it or drink it," Parant's face gave absolutely no sign of whether he got the joke or not.
            Lillia then gathered a few treats onto a dish and returned to her seat, sitting with a more thoughtful expression on her face. Her head shook slowly from side to side.
            “He’s not leaving breadcrumbs,” she said, picking up the thread of conversation. “This isn’t really theft. He had to know it would be discovered eventually. No, this is a power play.”
            “The only real question,” she added. “Is who’s pulling the strings. Vanthus or someone else?”
            Parant notably did not bring Jabari a plate of food. He did put a few morsels on a plate of his own, however, and moved with it to a place where he was equidistant to both the doors that led out of the apartments.
            "It looks like he didn't take everything," Parant pointed out, gesturing with a date at the coffers in the room. "Perhaps he only took enough to cover a specific item or situation? Or did he just not have enough help?"
            Lillia took note of Parant’s careful positioning on the veranda but chose not to make mention of it. She did smile at him a bit though, assessing the bluntness of his demeanor.
            “By count, he took roughly three quarters of what was available,” Lillia replid. “Four of five alcoves emptied. But likely only the thief could tell us why.”
            The young man stood by while the others took their first plates of refreshments, happy to play host. He nodded at Parant. "That's what it seems like to me, too. I can't think of a good reason to not take it all if it was just opportunism. If someone was making him do it, they would've taken it all. This seems like he needs money to cover expenses- maybe he needed to pay off a debt over cover expenses?"
            "As far as power plays go, this one is weak." Jabari shook his head. "If he wanted to make a play for the House he would've gone to friends to gather support in the Council or the courts. Stealing- and being seen doing it?- is just going to undercut his position if he tries to make a move to get the will thrown out."
            “Plus,” Lillia added. “Speculation can be so terribly dull. Ooo! Tell them about the Rhagodessa Talib! That’s much more exciting!”
            Jabari looked at Talib. "The Rhagodessa?"

            The building's cooler interior was well-appointed, but not ostentatious. There were curios on display here and there, some of which Gbele recognized as being from various areas of Chult - masks, arrowheads, fragments of rocks, nothing valuable. Oddly, no one seemed to pay Gbele much mind as he strode inside, beyond a few mildly curious glances.
            There were a number of doors to other rooms, some open to show themselves empty, others closed. The people coming and going seemed to know where they were going, passing Gbele while speaking to each other about excursions they had been on, or were going on soon, with destinations wildly varied - some not on the Chultan peninsula at all.
            He spotted a clerk at a desk with a prodigious pile of paperwork, busy scribbling away with a quill.
            The Holy Man stood in the entryway for a long moment, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the dimmer light inside. He gaped about the room, playing the role of a slack-jawed yokel while taking in as much detail as possible. Once he was satisfied that he had a decent take on the general dimensions and contents of the big room, he stepped toward the clerk.
            "Ahem." Gbele cleared his throat, waited a polite moment, then added, "If you please..." He paused again, waiting for some sign that the clerk noticed and attended to him.
            The clerk looked up in surprise, then nodded when he took in Gbele's garb. "Hello! Is there something that I can help you with? Which expedition are you with?"
            "I am Baba Gbele, Holy Warrior. I look for work; for pay. Do you have?"
            "Ah, you're a sellsword?" The clerk tapped his lip in thought, getting a smudge of ink on it. "Hmm... you might have to wait a while. Most of the expeditions' guards aren't hired here, you see. The explorers usually hire directly from the big sellsword companies. But I have a ledger here somewhere for those who need someone for... ahem, for less. You're welcome to sign your name..." The clerk sorted through a pile of ledgers, bringing one onto the table to open. Glancing at Gbele, he offered, "Or I can sign your name onto it for you? Could you repeat it, saer? What is your asked price? And where are you staying, so someone can contact you?"
            The holy man squints at the ledger for a moment before responding in the negative. "Maybe I will speak with these big sellsword companies? Get more pay?" He rubs his chin, adding, "Many apologies for the disturbance. I see I have been misled. But I thought this star symbol on the building - this means a place for hiring. Does it not mean this?"
            "That's the symbol of our lodge," the clerk said, with just a hint of superiority in his tone. He gave Gbele an expectant look. When Gbele didn't appear to know what he was talking about, he prompted, "The Seeker lodge. Now, I'm afraid that if you aren't with one of the expeditions, you'll have to leave."
            The holy man smiles in appreciation for the clerk's answers, and nods in understanding when he is asked to leave. "Of course. Good day to you." With that, he turns on his heel and exits, walking unhurriedly back to Loupin and Syd. As he reaches them, he motions that they should walk and talk, to continue putting distance between them and the lodge, just in case.
            "The building is a lodge for 'The Seekers'. The star is their symbol. It seems that they set up expeditions of some kind in this building. The clerk I spoke with was very helpful, praise to Ubtao."
            "Expeditions of some kind," Loupin echoed. She looked again at the building, but it didn't really suggest anything to her. "Okay. Not bad, Baba. Did they seem suspicious of you or anything? Like maybe they were up to something bad? There are thieves' guilds in town -- uh, guilds are like big, organized groups, if you don't know. Like big families of thieves that could kick our asses."
            "A...guild...of thieves. It is like a pride of lions, yes?" He waves off his feeble attempt at humor and adds, "If they are thieves, they hide in plain sight. None looked nervous, and they did not give me a second glance. When the clerk learned I was not a member of an expedition, he asked me to leave. He could have been more polite, but I am learning that this is not unusual in the city.
            Loupin itched the back of her neck -- it was getting warmer -- and looked around in case anybody happened to be watching them talk. "So what are we thinking now, guys? Why wouldn't Lavinia recognize this symbol if her parents were involved with the Seekers? For a secret society, it isn't very secretive." She tried to keep her voice down.
            Syd made an unconvinced face. "That symbol was integrated into the constructionof the vault. Much as the serpentine effigies were." This wasn't making a lot of sense to him, and he was beginning to get a bad feeling about it.
            "There is probably an organization behind both the Seekers and the vaults, the one that included their calling card both places. Entirely possible the Yuan-ti have a deeper control in Tashulta than we know."
            He made another face, more frustration and fear behind it than before. If there was a Yuan-ti conspiracy, it was beyond his meager skills to fight.
            "In that case it's not going anywhere," said Loupin, more unnerved by Syd's attitude than any personal conclusions about the situation. She didn't know anything about Yuan-ti, and didn't want to. "Let's get off this spot, it sucks too much."
            The holy man walked, mostly in silence. After several minutes, he finally decided, "The answers we seek lie with the builders of the vault. Who put the symbol there, when, and why?"
            "I've never visited it, but there's this shop not far from here that deals in engineering and architecture," Loupin mentioned. "Like a sage or something. It's down on Star Street. But, I mean, is it safe to even ask anybody about this? Personally I'm not even sure we oughta bring it up with Lavinia-- either she's heard about these Seeker weirdos and is pretending with us, or she doesn't know anything about them, and will want us to take a closer look... which will just get us into trouble."
            Syd frowned at her suggestion. He certainly wasn't new to the machinations of the Nobles; he had been on the receiving end of their wrath not too long ago. "I don't know," he said at last. Then after a moment of silent walking, "I don't think it matters in the end, anyway. She knows the place exists. We might be able to mitigate risk by using her name, though how much that will work I'm not sure either. Either way, I think we need to talk to the others."
            "Sure, but the others aren't just us any more," Loupin reminded him. "Do we include these two other guys? They worked for the parents, remember, not the daughter -- and they look a little like the dudes going in and out of that place."
            Of course the three of them did too. Like Syd, she paused for a moment to think.
            "That keep with the vaults in it was pretty old," she said, "and the Seekers didn't come to empty the vault after her parents died -- unless this brother guy is a Seeker? But hey, the snakes and the symbols could predate the Vanderborens, right? The lodge could even predate the Seekers. We could say anything we wanted, maybe. 'Just an old Sea Princes symbol, unrelated.' I don't know. Is Lavinia worth getting tangled up in some weird Tashluta conspiracy thing? Not to me, sorry... but I guess I didn't hitch a ride in her carriage, heh-heh."
            The holy man spoke abruptly. "Lady Vanderboren put her faith in me, and has kept her bargain. I will tell her what I know. Maybe she will have heard of these Seekers?" He added, "This may be the last news we bring her that is not troubling to hear."
            "Yeah, or it may be the most troubling news we could possibly give her," Loupin said, frowning. "And this could effect all of us, man, not just her. Struggle to recall that you wouldn't even know about this place unless Syd and I had brought you. At least give Reg and all them a chance to weigh in on it! Maybe they know something themselves. It's not like these Seekers aren't advertising -- and Lavinia didn't recognize the symbol, or pretended well not to. In any case, if her parents were part of it, they either didn't want her involved, or have involved her more than she really wants us to know. It could be that wewind up being the only people we tangle up in this thing."
            The holy man stopped walking and turned to face Loupin, looking at her closely for the first time since he met the young woman. The fact that he disagreed with her position on the matter was clear on his face, but he also had obvious respect for her caution, and insistence on thinking consequences through. After a long moment, he finally nods.
            "We can discuss this with the group. If there is a good reason, we can keep the information from the Lady. If not, I will ask her what she knows about these Seekers." He puts his palm on his chest. Baba Gbele keeps his word. This is not convenient to you, maybe. But that is the way it is."
            "I guess I should have seen that coming," Loupin admitted, sounding mollified though not entirely. "I'm glad to know that about you. I prefer to keep my word too; but I am used to living in a place where people like Vark and Keltar Islaran make the rules. Tashluta is not like where you come from, maybe; even ordinary people lie for profit here, Baba, or just omit the truth, but the rich can be the worst, especially when money is involved. Our friend the Lady hasn't paid us anything to check this out, remember -- not yet, anyway. I wanted to come here for better reasons than her. And yeah, Lavinia seems like she might be okay, but we've only known her a few days, and let's face it: every encounter we have with her reveals some new complication. This light-fingered brother may not be the last. It's possible -- not certain, but possible -- that she could be doling out what she knows piecemeal so we won't be overwhelmed and walk away, or switch sides, or whatever. If that is possible, it is at least as possible that we should adopt similar tactics. Aw, hell, I don't know. This isn't like other things I've done. I'm not such a hot wizard or anything... I suppose you must have that one figured out already. I can't do shit -- except try to be careful."
            The Baba listens carefully to Loupin's words, his eyes uncharacteristically softening toward the end. He simply responds, "If you think you are too small to make a difference, then you have never spent a night with a mosquito." His expression returns to its stoic resting state before he adds, "We should speak with this sage now, I think."
            Syd was quiet while they spoke, considering their options at this point. He kept coming back to the point where they really didn't know all that much. There was a connection, but what that meant, none of them knew.
            At last, he nodded, "As good an option as any, Baba," he said. "Worst case, we draw the ire of whatever conspiracy there may be. We can keep their attention while our friends do their work. The Baba will be more difficult to hide, but we know these streets. We can keep them busy a while, I am sure." A wry grin then crossed his face.

            The sailor felt his hand involuntarily stray to his side, remembering the crushing pierce of the monster's mandibles. He afforded Lillia a smile but inside he wasn't entirely sure he would name the fight "exciting". Still, he had a way with words, and he could certainly turn a near-defeat of his own into an epic yarn.
            " Of course you'd want the story of when you found me on my back under a pile of limbs," Talib teased Lillia and chuckled before suddenly becoming very aware of himself, coughing into the nook of his elbow and changing his tone rapidly to one of dry extrapolation, his eyes shifted away from the girl.
            “Oh, c’mon, you’re not going soft on me are you?” Lillia asked, the innuendo razor evident. “I’m sure there are manysuch tales.”
            " Spi-Spiders limbs. Spider ... thing. Limbs." Talib waved off the feeling, taking a sip of kahvethat had been dabbed with a heavy cream and honey. His other hand held a fig, using it as a baton as he began to weave the story of the Blue Nixieand her terrible cargo.
            " Lavinia hired myself, Lillia, and the others to look into a matter at the Harbor," Talib began, " It was actually how we all met. Apparently, she had paid a docking fee for her family's vessel, the Blue Nixie,only to have the man caring for the ship decree that Lavinia had never so much sent a copper his way. That man, Soller Vark, impounded the vessel - Lavinia asked us to look into the matter as to why, after paying the mooring price, she was suddenly without a ship. A ship that contained both money anda key to the Vanderboren Vault, which Lavinia naturally wanted recovered."
            Talib punctuated his pauses with long draws of the black drink, delighting in the cardamom flavor that it had been brewed with as was the custom is Tashluta. He had heard of some areas that did notadd the essential spice to kahve,and he didn't rightly understand how such folks lived.
            " After a bit of digging, we found that Vark was almost certainly not a man of character, and his crew were using the Nixiefor something foul. In the brazen sunlight, we boarded the ship, Lillia and I, she posing as a - what word did you use for yourself again? - a Doxy, yes, how could I forget," the sailor grinned, shaking his head at the humor of the situation now that the danger was long past.
            " A 'mistress' of Lord Vanderboren's, as it were, there to claim coin that had been promised her. Through her wily charms and my glower, we managed to board the deck and buy time while the others slipped into position."
            He recalled how impressed he had been with the masks Lillia shifted between just during that singular encounter. Was the childishness a similar mask? Or was this truly her face? It was astoundingly difficult to tell, Talib was quickly realizing, if he had ever actually met Lillia.
            " It worked like a Chultan Charm: Loupin swept something sorcerous over the deck crew and they dropped as if they had all been on a binge around every tavern in Tashluta. I may not understand the arcane but I can say for sure that without her, much more blood would've been shed that day, much more. Syd, the Baba, and Reginald clambored over the deck to help us, but Vark, Soller Vark, lovechild of every goddess of stupidity under the sun, set fireto the ship. Fire!"
            Even Talib sounded absolutely baffled by the decision, even after living through it. To the very day, he still found Vark to be a detestable and loathsome sort, and it showed every time he said the man's name: he couldn't help but slightly growl every time he pronounced the latter half.
            Jabari, spellbound by Talib's storytelling, was aghast. He had a proper sailor's fear of open flames on a sailing vessel. "What an idiot," he breathed, not loudly enough to interrupt the storyteller.
            “A dumber shiv would be hard to find, true enough,” Lillia commented.
            " Lillia rushes off to find what we came for, braving smoke and flame with no hesitation - truly a courageous sight - while the flames led to cries from belowdecks. I'm not one to let someone go in any manner, let alone one so horrid, so I bolted down to see if they could still be saved, when there it was."
            His hand reflexively twitched, rattling his cup for a moment. The thing was still vivid in his mind's eye and it was clear that Talib was still discomforted by the recollection. Still, he merely grinned and continued onwards, sailing through the tumultuous waters.
            " Ten legs and eight eyes. Jaws long enough to snap a mast in two. Skittering about so swiftly you'd swear it hadn't walked at all - you must've blinked and it merely appeared in a new spot. Long, grasping tendrils, ready to ensnare whatever it caught and bring it to the two, large, dripping fangs that it called a 'mouth'. A hide so thick as to be steel, and the shrieking,as loud and sharp as a whipping gale. It was larger than I, larger than Baba Gbele! And then I saw it - the cages. Cages of other animals, animals that had the life sucked out of them,and the poor person I had come to save had suffered the very same fate. And then, before I had barely a chance to move, it was upon me!"
            A small bit of kahvespilled from his cup as his hands became animated during the telling, him literally lunging forward a bit at Jabari and Parant to accent his words.
            " My steel was quick but its jaws were faster by a margin - it grabbed me and squeezedas if I were a lemon, my mail popping links below my shirt as I felt Umberlee's depths rising. But! Talib Islarandoes not die to a bug,oh no. I booted the beast off, dueling back its mandibles and holding it at bay. Where it lunged, I sliced, my blade clattering against its chitinous shell. Where I cut, it darted away only to pounce again! Even my swordsmanship wasn't enough to overcome the creature's inhuman defenses, and we were left in a stalemate, my sword barely holding it back from killing me outright."
            Setting his drink down, Talib again held his side slightly - it was still quite sore, if healed. The commotion in that dark hold was something he sincerely hoped to never relive.
            " I had called for help - even I know when I am outmatched - and help certainly arrived. Loupin and Reginald worked to snuff out the fire and stymie the smoke in the hold, whilst Syd and the Baba bravely came to confront the creature with me. Even with all three of us, it put up a fight worthy of one of Reginald's tales: Syd was also badly injured, and then Baba Gbele, all three of us fighting for dear life against a beast unhinged. Reginald joined us as well, and the four of us became a whirling devil of steel, jaws, and far-too-long legs, all locked in mortal combat as we slowly chipped away at the monster."
            Talib leaned back slowly, arching his back to stretch it: it was acting up a bit. When it gave a satisfying *pop*, he returned to his story to finish it.
            " The Rhagodessa was unlike anything I had ever seen - Reg had called it a 'Wind Spider', but 'Shrieking Horror' is a far more apt name. Our blades drew ichor but it was only felled when Loupin threw another spell from above deck into the hold, burning its plating with magic. The Baba sent its soul to Umberlee's Trench, and all of us were a bit worn afterwards."
            Lillia clapped in delight at the tale’s climax.
            Jabari nodded appreciatively. "Gods, man. You know how to spin a tale. That spider is a new one on me." He glanced at Parant to see if his friend had been similarly surprised. "And that idiot Vark..." The young man shook his head.
            The sailor paused to finish off his kahve,savoring it slowly while the memory flowed from him. Talib was still considering the earlier conversation about Lavinia and Vanthus: this all still tied back to them, after all.
            " We dealt with Vark soon after: he and his crew imprisoned, as we did find that he had kept Lavinia's money and merely claimed she had not paid. It seemed they were also using the Nixiefor smuggling."
            He raised a brow at Jabari, knowing the next revelation considered the Damarthe Family.
            " Smuggling exotic animals, it seemed. The rhagodessa was certainly unique but it was not the only foreign creature in the hold. They were also preparing to set sail when first we boarded, making me believe they were intending on selling it and the other caged creatures. Where, however, I do not know: Soller Vark burned documents in the cabin's hold rather than admit to his crimes."
            He sighed, feeling a bit winded from the long story. Rolling his head over his shoulder to Lillia, he gestured towards their new friends. " Any important details I left out for our honorable hosts?"
            Jabari shook his head but seemed unbothered by the idea that someone might be smuggling exotic animals out of the city. Or into another city. It seemed he was less concerned about crimes against man's law than crimes against nature. Maybe as long as they weren't stolen or being mistreated he was content. The young nobleman opened his mouth to say something, or perhaps ask a question, but closed it to keep his own counsel as Lillia spoke up.
            “Few have I seen braver against such monstrosity,” Lillia said, rising from her perch and crossing to Talib. She reached and took his one hand in hers pointedly and held it there for a moment. “Or messier,” she added with a wry smile, wiping the khave off of his hand with her napkin. She shoved his hand back playfully and squatted, wiping up the spilled beverage as she spoke.
            “And fewer yetso willing to shed noble blood alongside common men,” she said, rising from her squat and folding her napkin before she looked at the two other men watching. “Or women.”
            Lillia was amicable and delightful in her delivery, but her tone was an easy one to read. Wonderful views and delicious foods were one thing, but Talib Islaran had set the bar very high indeed.
            Jabari gave Talib a seated bow. "High praise. And valor worthy of it." He smiled. "I like to keep my blood on the inside, where it belongs, but you can ask any of the men on the ships I've crewed whether I do my fair share of the work. Not that you have much of a choice when you run off to sea at 16." Jabari chuckled and shook his head.
            There it was again ..! Lillia was a shifting and mesmerising prism of personas, and it seemed she had already picked up on Talib's mannerisms enough to know just how to stroke his ego whilst also keeping him guessing.
            " Thank you, jamila,"he said with an easy demeanor for her assisting with his cup, " Stick around and we'll see about a repeat performance, eh? Maybe next time it'll be you who winds up dirty."
            Talib grinned, momentarily forgetting his views on the woman from her flying entry onto a pile of pillows. If she was going to cater to his gullibility, well, who was he to turn that aside? The Islaran may have been an honorable and humble sort in some cases, but he would never claim to be immune to a pretty face. Fair Winds knew it had almost cost the family their fortune once, in his much more wilder days ...
            Jabari laughed and shook his head at the flirting between the two. "Well, then." He stood to get more food for himself, an amused smile on his face. "After your story I need more food. And a nap." From the outside they were an odd couple but from the way they talked to each other it was obvious enough what was going on.
            Lillia was pleased with the exchange, processed the nuances of speech and motion that surrounded her. She glanced at the stoic Parant, still waiting for some key indicators to slip through the calm reserve.
            She helped herself to a little more water and sat once more. Niceties aside, she took a slightly more direct tack. “So you’ve seen and heard a bit of our song and dance,” she said. “Care to share what we can expect from you on any number of varied scenarios?”
            Parant gave a look to Jabari, then seemed to think better of letting his talkative companion take the lead in answering such a question.
            "We do what the situation requires," he said, with a shrug. "Mostly, I watch his back," a small nod towards Jabari, "while he tries to find as many reasons as possible to be on a boat. Or eating."
            It was possible that there had been a very brief twinkle in Parant's eye at that last bit, but if there had been, it hadn't lasted long. He finished off the last of a date, and said nothing more.
            The younger man laughed. "If you're not doing anything else you might as well have a snack. You never know when you might have another chance." A strangely grim sentiment from such a privileged young man, especially delivered in such a jolly manner. He grinned at Parant and looked back at Lillia.
            "What do we do, though? We usually stomp around until something tries to kill us or chase us off, then take care of it. Hopefully that doesn't mean killing whatever it is." Jabari shrugged. "I'm good with animals and a passable sailor." He laughed. "You'd be surprised to learn how rarely those two things come up when dealing with problems in a big city like Tashluta."
            The next few hours were spent enjoying good food and good company, while waiting for the appointed hour to arrive. Eventually, the group went its separate ways to prepare themselves for the meeting with Lady Vanderboren.

            The Upwards House was freshly whitewashed and seemed to glow in the sun, the red tile roof taking on some of that shine. Inside, it was as neat and well-kept as outside, with everything well-organized, by the look of the busy people within. Sheets of parchment detailing various buildings were either being studied or drawn by a number of men and women, but a clerk approached the party before they could venture closer.
            The clerk was helpful at first (for a small fee), explaining that Stormwall Keep was built long ago by the Teraknian line, to defend the city from pirate raids and naval assaults. The vaults were originally burial chambers for that line, but were opened to the noble houses of the city. If they knew anything about the locking mechanism of the Vanderboren vault, they were tight-lipped about it.
            When they were queried about the Seekers, they weren't so much tight-lipped as simply ignorant. One had heard of them, but it apparently wasn't general knowledge, even though the lodge certainly hadn't seemed secretive.
            Syd sucked his teeth briefly at the perceived wall they were running into. "What about the golden eight-pointed star?" he asked when an opportunity presented itself. "Is it the symbol of a noble house or guild or something?"
            "That's a compass rose," one woman told him. "Used to mark the cardinal directions on maps and plans - north, south, east, west."
            "I've seen it on a door nearby," another volunteered. A quick description confirmed that the door was the one to the Seeker's lodge.
            Syd made a face, "Well, yes, obviously. I was just wondering if you knew any Houses who used it, not just the building nearby."
            "No, it's too common a symbol for a noble's house," a clerk said, shaking her head. "I'm not sure why it's on that door, unless it's just a decoration."
            "Who would have been in a good position to make changes to the castle after the Teraknians were out of the picture?" asked Loupin. "Anybody, uh, interesting?"
            "Only the noble houses, I'd imagine," the clerk told her. "They're interesting enough, but their business is not our business." Little surprise there - nobles had to be the biggest customers of the Upwards House, so naturally they'd be loathe to spill any secrets - completely aside from the fact that the nobles could ruin them on a whim.
            "It's not normally ours either," Loupin confided, leaning companionably. "We're just run-of-the-mill heroes. Unfortunately, certain vaults have been entered by the wrong light-fingered people lately, and we've been asked to make a few discreet inquiries. The clerks up at the castle were hoodwinked - maybe magically - and are naturally a little embarrassed about it. You understand. We're just trying to figure out who has been a little more interesting than who up there. I suppose a specialty place like this requires the occasional extravagant gratuity to stay open. We are not without resources. But so far you're not telling us anything we couldn't learn from people living in the shadow of the place. It's a little disappointing. Your reputation brought us here."
            "Indeed," Syd nodded in support of his companion, "Whatever you can give us would help, and our employer would be... grateful. We would keep it in strictest confidence, of course."
            The first clerk had trouble looking away from Loupin's cleavage as she leaned in, even as he nodded at Syd's words. "Uhh... I guess I could say who Ifind interesting," he said, while the other clerks wandered back to their work. "The Kellanis are... ambitious, is the word. Nothing against them, they're great people, it's just what I've heard, you know, tavern talk," he temporized, addressing her chest. "The Pikes fell out of the noble circle just last year. I heard a new family took their place, not sure who. Um... the Vanderborens died recently, but they had kids to keep their name. The Meravanchis have a reputation for... parties. I mean, interestingparties. And there's that noble who lives in Shadowshore, of all places. ...Listen, do you want to get a drink later? We can talk more about this," he added hopefully. Syd had the impression that the clerk didn't actually know much more about the noble families - he just wanted Loupin's company.
            It occurred to him that the House of Lords in the Noble district could be more helpful with information about the noble families, though they'd probably ask for more payment than the few coins they'd slipped this clerk.
            Syd cracked a smirk, but turned his back to the counter to keep his expression from the attention of the clerk. Not that he would have noticed anyway; the man could at least be a little subtler in his lechery.
            The elf gently elbowed Loupin and spoke low for her ears only. "We won't get any further here. We can try the House of Lords for more, but I doubt we'll get anywhere there either."
            "Ha-ha, don't mind him," said Loupin gaily, nudging Syd back with whatever girlish elan she could muster -- partly because how the hell did Syd know, partly because her cleavage wasn't usually deemed impressive enough to warrant attention and she kind of didn't mind, partly because the guy was standing right there for crying out loud. "Everybody knows these blond elves can't drink. Sure, we ought to do that - somewhere close by, maybe. I wouldn't want to cause you too much trouble - at least not at work, ha-ha."
            Syd shrugged and leaned his backside against the counter, letting her ply her wiles. He was fairly certain they had exhausted this course of inquiry, but he was willing to be surprised. Besides, perhaps he had misread her interest in the gentleman.
            "The tavern, Fifteen Horses and a Mule, is nearby," the clerk responded, shooting a warning glance at Syd. He reached out to take Loupin's hand in his. "I will be there tonight. We can meet there?"
            "Sounds good," said Loupin approvingly as she straightened up. "That all sounds good to me. Right now I gotta go finish all this stupid stuff, though, with these two killjoys here. It's been very nice meeting you. I'll see you soon. I'll tell you all about my adventures. I killed a big spider a couple days ago - say, what was your name? Mine's Lillia."
            "A beautiful name for a beautiful woman!" the clerk gushed. "My name is Mpondo. I will see you tonight, and hear of your adventures!" He beamed at Loupin with very white teeth.
            "All right, I'll see you later - soon, like tonight, I mean," said Loupin in grand style, aiming a trigger finger at the stupid clerk while she allowed the others to hustle her out.
            Out on the street she thumped Syd one on the shoulder, not that her fist muscles were any more impressive than her other stuff.
            "What gives? That jerk was employed and educated and he likes me," she yelped, before calming down more or less instantly. "So now what's this House of Lords crap? Sounds like a brothel. I'm not going back to Shadowshore for anything else, Syd, it sucks. I don't even care if some noble lives there or not. You and Baba can go - I'm an important wizard, I've got lots of important money to count."
            "Ow," Syd commented at the punch, gracious enough to offer a reaction. "If you wanted what he wanted, you wouldn't have given the wrong name." He clicked his teeth and focused his gaze on the surrounding architecture, wishing to change the subject. "The House of Lords is a sort of Noble Library. A registry and history of each noble house and their registered heirs. If you wanted to learn everything there was to know about a House, that's where you go. But, it would cost a commoner like us a good pile of coin just to walk in the door."
            To her other concern he said, "I'm not going back to Shadowshore anytime soon, either. I may be a dashing rogue, but I have standards."
            The Baba had made his impatience clear while in the Upwards house, and was only to happy to make his exit alongside his new acquaintances. It had become clear to him that they were at a dead end, and the holy man was not one to waste time with small talk and flirtations.
            "This place provides a poor service." He commented to no one in particular as they walked away. He was serious, though, when he turned to Loupin. "Do you require a chaperone for your meeting later, with this young man? How many swine does your family offer as a dowry? Also, I am not going to any House of Lords."
            "Yeah, I kind of agree, Baba. There's a chance we might stumble upon prior use of that compass rose, but I doubt it will be very fruitful." Syd was, however, looking forward to Loupin's answer to the dowry question.
            "In that case, let's maybe see how this long-lost-brother stuff plays out first," Loupin agreed, hitching up her component pouch. "I doubt it won't come up. If Lavinia has a bunch of new stuff for us to do, I won't be in a position to give away all my swine tonight, Baba. But I don't mind doing library research, and I bet Talib could get us in on the cheap, or maybe that new guy could. Not that I particularly want to hang out with nobles. We can put a bookmark in that for now, but we should try to remember those families at least: Pikes, Kellanis, Meravanchis, some dude in Shadowshore. And the Seekers. We'll run 'em by the others when we have more time. I don't know anything."
            Loupin looked around.
            "Man, who needs a drink," she said.

            That evening, the party reconvened at the Vanderboren estate. Kora led them into the now-familiar dining room, and let them speak a while together in peace before Lavinia joined them.
            When Lady Vanderboren entered the room, she seemed more composed that when last they had seen her. Dressed in somber colors that favored blue, she was quite lovely, with little hint of red in her eyes. "Thank you for returning so soon. I was afraid your personal business would have kept you away longer. Please, partake of the drinks and food as you wish." Her servants had laid out a small selection of sweetbreads, oranges, lychees, pineapple, a steaming pot of coffee, and a few bottles of spirits.
            Jabari was again in perfectly tailored but not ostentatious clothes- a simple pale blue shirt under an almost natural colored linen jacket with sleek walking shoes- and was quite at ease relaxing in the noblewoman's dining room. He stood when Lavinia entered the room and went over to her to offer his condolences again now that she was not so upset. Quietly, attempting some measure of privacy in the open room, he said "We were so sorry to hear about your parents. I'm sorry for your loss. They were wonderful people."
            "Thank you, Saer Damarthe," Lavinia said with grave earnestness. Her eyes grew a bit wet as she added, "That they were. I'm glad they live in your memory so. I imagine hearing of this must have been nearly as much of a surprise to you now as it was a shock to me then, with your having been gone during their... misfortune. Thank you for your kind words," she reiterated. "They mean a lot to me." Brushing at a stray tear that had escaped her, she smiled and gestured for Jabari to accompany her to the table.
            "I know you'll have questions about what I will ask of you," Lavinia said with an oblique glance at Loupin, once the small talk had ended. Gesturing at the large painting of her brother above the sideboard, she continued, "I'm sure most of you have guessed what that will be. My brother has been missing for some time now. When I saw him last, he was... different from how I've always known him. That was but a few tendays ago, after our parents' deaths; then he vanished without word." She chose her words carefully. "I'm concerned that he's fallen in with a bad crowd. I hope to talk some sense into him, to bring him back here to our home... but I don't know where he's gone. Perhaps the Azure District." She pressed her lips into a thin line of disapproval - surely not at the district, so it must have been at something else. "That's where I hope you'll step in."
            Lillia was sitting relaxed in her chair, having partaken of the tasty fare offered up by the Vanderboren estate and now cradling the tail end of a cup of coffee. She was dressed in smoky lightweight linens that had trace strips of teal woven throughout as accents. Her hair was woven into tight braids that tapered to a teal or orange bead at each end which clacked lightly when she moved her head. She bore no obvious weaponry or armor.
            Content and cozy, she listened patiently until one of the more notable figures in the room chose to begin the questioning.
            Parant, it seemed, would not be the one to begin the questioning. He had taken up a position in the room that let him keep everyone else in the room within easy view, and which - more importantly - gave him clear sight lines to the entrances and exits. He didn't seem to be on edge or distrustful. It was more as if a casual alertness was his normal state. He held a cup and saucer in his hands, at about mid-chest height, which kept his hands well clear of the carved fighting sticks at his belt. His features were not excessively handsome - average, at best, when one considered his wide, flat nose - but they were clearly relaxed, if watchful.
            " If it concerns The Azure, then it concerns me."
            Talib, Heir Apparent to the duties of House Islaran, had his eyes on Lavinia as she told them of yet another threat to his father's legacy. Lightly swirling the arak in his goblet, the sailor leaned back in his chair, mulling the situation over his his head. Adventuring garb appeared to have been left behind - the sailor finally looked the regal part in a thigh-length, navy coat with thin sleeves and silvery embroidery. Matching sokoto trousers and simple shoes completed the outfit, the sleek look tied together with hair weighed down with coconut oil, leaving it shiny and slick rather than salt-blasted as it had been. For the first time since he had accepted Lavinia's initial invitation, Talib looked like the Islaran he was.
            Dark eyes looking down at his liquor, Talib cleared his throat a bit, wetting his parched tongue and flitting his eyes between all of his companions before speaking.
            " I've some ... familiarity with missing siblings, that I do. And I've some personal experience with avoiding home, as well. If we can find your brother, then by Umberlee's frigid depths I'll do everything I can to bring him home safe and sound. Do you happen to know anything about those your brother associated with? If you fear a 'bad crowd', surely you have a few names in mind, Lavinia?"
            Lavinia eyed Talib, her lips still thin. "I'm afraid not, Lord Islaran. The only reason I mentioned the Azure was due to the half-heard rumor I mentioned, that he's living with a woman there. I don't know any of his... friends." She closed her eyes for a moment. "Wewere good friends, once upon a time. He had such an easy sense of humor, he... Something profound must have happened to him, to change him so much. I only wish I knew what."
            Talib took a long drink of his spirit, savoring the anise flavor and smacking his lips in appreciation. It was certainly of a higher quality than the drinks he had shared with his brother Najib the other night - the boy didn't exactly appreciate high quality liquor over having a high quantity of it. It all came back to family, didn't it? The sailor prayed to Shaundakul that Lavinia's brother would be easier to track down than his own siblings - his eldest brother had also been missing, along with one of his sisters, with no word of either. At least Lavinia had a rough idea of where to look.
            Setting the cup down, Talib leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table while his hands animated with his words.
            " Your brother was mentioned at the Vault, was he not? And we found that strange symbol at the Vaults, the one from the merchant house that you did not recognize, Lavinia. Might that be tied to your brother's whereabouts? Or what your parents sent Parant and Jabari off for, hm?" He lifted his head to the others, wondering if his theories played out.
            "I suppose it might be, though I can't see how." Lavinia sighed. "I've wracked my brain, trying to think of where he might be. Doing chores was never an option I considered."
            "If he's in the Azure District it shouldn't take too long to find him," Jabari gestured at the assembled group, "with the resources you have here. Do you have any clues that point you in that direction or is that just a guess?"
            "I'm afraid it's mostly just a guess." Lavinia shook her head. "I can't be certain he's truly there... unless you find him there, of course. I would recommend asking about him throughout the city. I doubt he's in the Champion or Noble districts, but even the people there may know something, regardless."
            Syd always wore an easy-going and friendly exterior, but inside he felt a bit uncomfortable in the presence of Nobility. Talib was different, they had shed blood together. Lavinia was nice enough, if expectedly distant. Now they had a third in Jabari. With Talib leaning more among his own kind, Syd's internal discomfort was beginning to show the tiniest bit. Memory of how the Aristocracy ended his last guild membership still fresh in an Elven mind.
            While his dress was a basic utilitarian shirt and trouser in dark earthen tones, he kept himself cleanly groomed. Not a tear or fray could be found; more to do with his lithe ability to avoid damage than active repair and maintenance.
            He swirled his goblet of elven wine as he considered their mission. "We have a couple places to begin. We know he was in town seven days ago at the vault. We can ask around and see if anyone else saw him. Some of us know the streets pretty well." He smirked briefly.
            "It may be easy enough to find him," said Loupin, running her thumb over the rough skin of a lychee fruit, "but what if the old boy doesn't want anything to do with any of it, and refuses to cooperate? Perhaps he has some reason to think of himself as being the, err, rightful heir to those funds he took..."
            What she didn't add, but thought, was that Lavinia must have been thinking about the money primarily, since apparently she hadn't exactly been combing the streets for the guy prior to now. But it was easy enough to remember that nobody had yet demonstrated that she was her parents' sole beneficiary; and that the clerk had recognized the young nobleman's right to enter the vault.
            "I'm the one who inherited everything. He may be bitter," Lavinia acknowledged. "However, I'm sure I can talk sense into him, if only you can bring him here so that I may speak with him."
            "Is it especially surprising that he must've had a functioning signet ring?" Loupin asked quietly, absently rolling the little fruit in her palm.
            "My mother's ring did go missing before she... before the accident, as I mentioned. I imagine he must have found it," Lavinia nodded. She regarded the painting of the sneering young man wearily. "I'd say it's unlike him not to tell me about that, but... I suppose it isn't, anymore."
            Ubtao was The Deceiver. What had presented itself as a potentially complicated family misunderstanding could not be as it appeared. The Baba, silently and without expression, was pleased with this turn of events. A man who leaves his family is not to be trusted - a rogue. Somewhere, beneath the deception, was his prey. Those nearby, if they listened closely, could hear him humming a quiet prayer song. The Father of Chult had revealed nothing, yet He had provided all.
            “We can locate your brother,” Lillia said, as if the task was already completed. “And we can arrange a meeting for you to talk with him, whether against his will or otherwise.”
            She came out of her reverie then and looked at Lavinia as she continued to speak.
            “But you may wish to reevaluate your perspective, milady,” she said. “Your brother is not ‘missing’, and the fact he has liberated the family from funds without discussing it with you first means it’s likely his motivations are lawless.”
            She allowed those concepts to sink in for a few moments before continuing.
            “There’s a chance he is being coerced…or duped,” she said. “But as others have suggested, he may very well be a willing participant. Or the orchestrator. You must be prepared for that possibility.”
            Lillia didn’t mention it now, but her wheels had been turning since the brother’s presence had come to light. The deaths of Lavinia’s parents had quite suddenly become very convenientwhen the events at hand were examined from afar.
            "I can't believe he'd willingly do anything lawless," Lavinia protested, though after a moment she amended, "Well, nothing serious at least. Perhaps he's only acting out because of the will. Or perhaps it's as I fear, and he's fallen in with associates of doubtful character. Either way, it must be possible to redeem him, before things go too far. And if he's being coerced..." Fire flashed in her golden eyes. "Then whomever is doing so will find that they picked the wrong family to hound. And, again, he'll need my help."
            Parant had given Jabari a quick, troubled look at Lavinia's assertions that her brother had changed significantly. He hadn't intended to say much, it took him a while to decide to speak up.
            "Do you have anything of your brother's?" he asked, at last. "Preferably something he would have worn on his person, touching his skin?"
            Lavinia tilted her head to the side, regarding him. "Hmm... his bedclothes have been laundered, of course, and he took most of his things... but there may be something he hasn't worn that he has touched in his bedroom. Would that suffice?"
            Loupin was nearly side-tracked by Parant's question -- it was an unusual one, and interesting to a magic-user -- but she didn't quite forget what she wanted to ask.
            "I didn't make myself all that clear a moment ago," she apologized. "What I meant to ask was, what steps are we really authorized to take, if your brother rejects us -- that is, rejects the meeting with you? Not that I doubt that he cares about you, Milady; he didn't take everything, and that's a hopeful sign, probably. But he didn't consult with you in advance, either. Demanding a meeting might alienate him from you in a way that he isn't at the moment. Forcinghim to meet you might destroy your relationship. He may even decide to make, I don't know, some kind of a scandal out of it. Obviously you're not all that eager to do the same, if you're not turning to the Dawn Council for help."
            Parant quirked an eyebrow at Loupin's assessment, but he said nothing, instead taking a sip of his tea as he waited for answers.
            Lavinia quirked an eyebrow at her. "I'm not sure what you think the Dawn Council could, or would, do about a family falling-out. In any case, I don't mean for you to force him to come if he refuses - then you can lead me to him, instead. But locating him is the priority; whether he comes here or I go there is irrelevant."
            "Sounds good," Loupin said, and meant it, although she wondered if it might all feel like harassment to someone who thought his actions were justified. "I'm not sure all of us guys here assume that this is just a family falling-out, though, especially if he's hanging around with local creeps. We've seen a few of that type lately. The Council could direct the Watches to secure his whereabouts more easily than we can. You're a member of their class, and in a bad spot; they might be inclined to help, especially after the Azure Watch kind of blew it with the ship. Talib here is in a much better position to influence things like that now. Aw, I don't know anything. But if your brother flees from us, or gets his new friends to interfere, it may be something to consider? Eight people could be able to find him, sure, but he may be in real jeopardy. Maybe he didn't even want to visit the vault. It was risky, what with the snake and everything..."
            "By brother is not some criminal, to be hunted down by the Watch. If I turned to such measures, I feel certain my cause would be lost before I'd even begun." Lavinia pursed her lips. "If his new friends interfere, or should my brother be in danger, I'm sure you have the means to deal with that. And should he flee for some reason, simply find out where he goes, and I will go to see him there." Lillia could see that she was a bit upset with the idea of her brother being in danger; she blinked too often, as though to ensure that tears did not form, and her brow drew down, not in anger but in anguish, even as she glanced again at his portrait.
            "I didn't mean 'hunt down,' Milady," said Loupin a little uncomfortably. "I just meant find -- the Watch could find him, that's all. But if he flees us using ma -- well, maybe we can just take it one step at a time." She settled back awkwardly, figuring it was pointless to persist; whatever Vanthus was up to, it was something they were meant to investigate, maybe. Loupin was interested in providence, although for the moment she mostly consoled herself with the possibility that getting the Watch involved could present risks of its own, especially the Azure Watch.
            "Whatever reason we had for setting the Watch after him, I think hewould see it as treating him like a criminal. That is what the Watch is for, after all. Besides which, the Watch is a blunt instrument. This requires a fine one, one of my reasons for tasking you with it." Lavinia raised a brow at Loupin. "And since no crime has been committed, I would have to explain to the Dawn Council why I was tasking the Watch with personal matters, taking up their time from their true purpose of dealing with crimes, instead of hiring my own help. Contrary to what some believe, they are not in service to the noble houses."
            Loupin shrugged and nodded. It all sounded like excuses; asking for help cost nothing, unless it did. "I see. Forget I mentioned it, then."
            Jabari gave Parant a nod in return. Personally, it sounded to him like Lavinia's brother was stealing because he hadn't inherited. But it would be rude in the extreme to say so here and now. He wasn't ready yet to start thinking of someone he knew as someone who would kill his parents for money. And he had to have known Lavinia was the heir- the succession was always clear in a family like this, so if he'd murdered his parents for money and title he had been remarkably naive.
            "Lavinia, you said he'd changed recently. How recently? After your parents accident or before?"
            Lavinia took a deep breath, then seated herself with a long sigh. "That's... a complicated question. Yes, he has changed after the accident, but so have I. And... well, maybe I should start at the beginning. We were very close, as children. Our parents weren't around much, you see, and we got into a fair amount of trouble together. We... depended on each other." She smiled, wistful. She gazed at the portrait of her sneering brother, seeing someone different in her mind.
            "That all changed after a silly prank that landed us in more hot water than usual. Oh, it was almost worth it. Several love potions and the nearest water tower, we laughed so hard..." Lavinia straightened, clasping her hands on the table before her and quelling the laughter in her voice. "I was sent to the Thenalar Academy. My brother was sent to work on a plantation." She frowned, pensive and suddenly sad, the gleam of moments before gone from her eyes. "When we returned last year, we had both changed. I like to think I benefited from my time at Thenalar. But Vanthus..." She shook her head. "Vanthus was bitter. He had no time for me anymore, sleeping all day and spending his nights with... associates of doubtful character." She made a disapproving moue.
            "Eventually, he moved out entirely. I think he took up with a lover in the Azure, but I never learned the details. He came back after... after the accident, and stayed for a week... but he had changed even more, then. His easy sense of humor, what I loved about him as a girl, was just... gone. Instead, he had a bitter cynicism, and a morbid streak that sent chills up my spine."
            "We argued. We argued several times, until..." Lavinia touched her fingers to her cheek, her face clouded with bad memories. She was silent for a long moment, reliving that scene. "He struck me with his fist," she said, her voice quiet, laced with sorrow. "I think he was as shocked as I, for a moment. But then he was back to his new self. All scowls and menace."
            Jabari nodded, eyes sad. He understood better than most nobles what it was like in the country, and had enough self-awareness to know that his experience had been incredibly privileged compared to what Vanthus must have suffered through. Just the shock of being exiled from the city would have been a punishment, but if he had been forced to work when he'd never had to lift a finger before? "I'm sorry that happened, Lavinia. This... all of this, in such a short time... I know this has to be hard." He reached out to put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "We're here for you, here to help. We'll find him, figure out what's going on."
            Lavinia looked up, returning to the present, with a grateful smile for Jabari. "He gathered his belongings and left. I haven't seen him since." She closed her golden eyes for a minute, restoring her center. When she opened them again, her voice was steady. "Something profound must have happened to him at some point, to change him so. I'm not sure what it might have been, but I think he's fallen in with a bad crowd. Perhaps smugglers, or thieves... or even killers. But I have to believe that it isn't too late. That I can reach him, talk some sense into him, redeemhim, before he passes forever from my reach." She raised her chin, her eyes wet. "He isstill my baby brother."
            "He'll always be your brother. Family is the most important thing. You'll see him again, have your chance to talk sense into him. We'll make sure of that." Jabari said.
            Parant stepped into the moment by quietly clearing his throat. "I am sure that the situation will reveal itself appropriately," he said. "But first, we must find your brother. "May we have permission to search his quarters?"
            Lavinia hesitated a moment, still looking at Vanthus' portrait, then acquiesced. "Yes, of course. Follow me." She rose from her seat and led them back out into the fragrant little courtyard garden, across the artful bridge over the stream leading to the pond, and back to the atrium, where she took them up two flights of stairs. Opening the double doors into a large room, she gestured for them to enter.
            The bedroom was airy and clean, fairly lavish, as befitted a noble, well-ordered... and empty of the personality that came with being lived in. It might as well have been a guest room, kept impeccable by the servants, but for a few knick-knacks here and there, and a chest with fine clothing. His bed was a luxuriant four-poster affair with silk netting and satin sheets. A reading table and cabinet sat against one wall, a bar with various empty bottles of wine and liquor and a collection of fine drinking vessels against another.
            Little Kora hobbled up the stairs after them, and stood back behind Lady Vanderboren, ready to see to Lavinia's potential needs. As it was, Lavinia trailed the party into the room, drifting to look out one of the open windows into the garden beyond.
            Lillia meandered into the room with the others but fell in near to Kora’s position, smiling at the dutiful halfling. She nodded in appreciation, motioning into the room, and said, “You and yours do splendid work here. Very tidy. Very thorough.”
            "Thank you, Saer," Kora beamed. She nodded her head with satisfaction. "We all take pride in our work." Lillia could almost hear the sigh of relief from the servants Kora was in charge of. Talib's father wasn't the only one who liked to keep things ship-shape.
            Lillia waited until she caught the woman’s eye fully. “Servants passage or staircase? Secret nooks or crannies?” she asked with that warm smile. “Everyboy has his secret places, his little hidey-holes, no?”
            “Lady Vanderboren has asked us to find her brother,” she added. “Anything you might have noticed, Kora, could potentially help.”
            "Well, I suppose..." Kora glanced at Lady Vanderboren, then up at Lillia. "Oh, they had plenty when they were children, as children do," she said with real fondness. Lowering her voice, she added with a twinkle in her eye, "And did they need them! They got into such trouble together!" She tutted, laughter in her tone. Her reminiscing smile faltered a moment later, however, and she shook her head. "Lord Vanderboren hasn't needed them since his return, I suppose. Oh, I suppose they're too big for such trouble, anymore." She dabbed at her eye with her apron, her wrinkled hands slightly palsied. "Lord Vanderboren hasn't used any of his old haunts in the house since he came back." She spoke with the certainty of someone who knew the manor from tip to bottom.
            Syd glanced around the room, his arms crossed against his chest. His own abode could fit in here three times over, and somehow there was still less clutter. He presumed that was mostly due to having more places to neatly store things, but there was still an unexpected dearth of decoration. His eyes naturally sought the corners of the room and the places secrets could be hidden. Though with Noble money, such secrets could be well hidden, and he didn't want to be intrusive about it.
            He considered the previous conversation and their upcoming search. "Lady, did your brother go by any nicknames or such? Anything he might use other than his noble name? Something tells me he wouldn't want to go by Lord Vanderboren out on the streets."
            There were dozens of places someone might hide something - under the mattress, in the headboard, in some secret compartment in the chest or desk or cabinet, or even one in the room itself... but Lavinia didn't point any out, and nothing seemed amiss to a casual eye.
            "No... well, only childish nicknames. Nothing I believe he would use now." Lavinia twisted her lips in a wry smile. "I think he'd actually prefer that everyone remembered his title."
            Syd pursed his lips, but didn't move from his spot. He remembered all too well how some of the nobles reacted when someone stepped out of line. Lavinia had been kind and accommodating, so he would respect her brother's space.
            "If he is using his title, it should be easy to track him down. But if he is being deceptive at all, it would be smarter not to." Which meant, for Syd's money, he was using some sort of code name. One his new friends would have bestowed.
            Then again, maybe it wasn't consensual. If he was tied up and stuffed in a crate, nobody would be the wiser. Syd grimaced and shook his head. "Too few clues," he commented under his breath.
            Jabari knew he wasn't the investigative type. Finding hidden clues was more Parant's speed than his. He took only a cursory glance around the room, looking for anything obviously out of place, before joining Lady Vanderboren at the window. "I know this is hard, Lavinia," he said to her quietly. "You're doing better than I would in these circumstances. I don't know what I'd do if..." Jabari managed to stop before saying 'if my parents died and my siblings disappeared on me,' but stumbled for a moment before saying "...I had to take care of all the family's affairs." He shook his head, mentally cursing his clumsiness. "We'll find Vanthus, we'll help you sort this all out, I swear."
            "Thank you, Jabari," Lavinia said quietly, with a small smile. "It does mean a great deal to me that you've elected to stay on, and to help me. I know we don't have much history, the way you had with my parents... and you've been very kind, all the same. Thank you."
            Nothing leapt out at Jabari as out of place, apart from the empty bottles, perhaps. But then, the servants probably weren't eager to take away anything Vanthus had claimed as his own, if Lavinia's description of his temper was accurate.
            Lillia smiled thanks at Kora, but did not share what she was thinking. ‘Naughty boys alwayshide things.’ Instead she walked into the room and toward the bed, the heart of any den.
            “Which side of the bed did he favor?” she asked, expecting Kora to respond but not excluding any present from answering. Her tone was light, practical, carrying no air of illicit reference.
            After a glance at Lady Vanderboren to be sure she wasn't overstepping her bounds, Kora replied, "Oh, he stays in the middle."
            Lillia simply started her search on the left side of the bed. Those with secrets, be they physical or informational, tended to keep them close. So she looked within easy reach of the bed, checking the mattress for pockets or openings, the side table for hidden compartments or false facings, and of course the headboard, where noble craftsmanship could harbor untold possibilities.
            Lillia was delicate but thorough. Once finished with this chamber, she did not intend to return.
            She found nothing interesting, not even a hidden compartment or anything stashed.
            The Baba was not one for searching private spaces, particularly when relatives were about. Emotional people over-reacted, and the situation could get awkward. He was satisfied to simply watch, his deadpan, slightly stern gaze panning the room occasionally. He had to admit, his companions were doing a fine job, and uncovering what clues there were to be had. Of course it didn't matter; Ubtao would bring them together with their quarry, and he felt genuine sympathy for Lady Vanderboren. She would be sorely disappointed by what was to come. This, The Baba knew.
            Unlike the Baba, Parant's face as he watched the others walk into, around, and through the rooms showed emotion clearly. That emotion was frustration. How was he supposed to isolate the younger Vanderboren's scent if it was buried under everyone else's?
            Of course, he hadn't toldanyone that that was what he had been planning to do, now, had he?
            After a minute or two, having kept careful note of where each person had been, as best he could, Parant cleared his throat, hoping to catch Jabari's attention. Once he had it, Parant raised an eyebrow, and glanced around at the others.
            "Do you suppose it might be acceptable for everyone to stand just outside the doorway for a few minutes," Parant asked. "I'd like to go over the rooms in my own manner, as I may be able to discover things the rest of you do not have the... acute senses for. It would be best for me if I could do so without everyone inside. You'd be welcome to watch from the door, of course."
            "Yes, that's fine," Lady Vanderboren responded, tearing her gaze from the gardens. "We can wait in the hall." She walked out, turning to watch from the doorway as the others filed past her.
            Jabari nodded back at his friend and smiled at the group. "This is something to see." He gestured at the hallway. "Let's get out of his way and let him do his work." As he gently herded everyone out of the room he picked up the tankard with 'Grog's' on it. "Lavinia, do you mind if I take this? It might be a lead to your brother."
            "Well, I suppose... if you bring it back," Lavinia said, with a slight frown. "I don't want Vanthus to think I'm just handing out his things."
            Talib cleared his throat a bit, it having been dry from not being used for some time. The tale of Lavinia and Vanthus had struck far too close to home for his tastes: He, too, barely knew some of his sisters any more. And his eldest brother? He knew not where the man wandered. Was he even alive? Did he ever intend to come back? Najib was a comfort, for sure, but the younger brother was far more wine-soaked than even Talib had been in his youth, always ashamed he couldn't live up to a father's expectations. Fate had decreed a thalassaphobe be born to a seaman, and Talib thought the Gods had gotten a fair chuckle out of that.
            If Najib had hit him, would Talib have been as worried about him coming home? Lavinia possessed either a duty to her household or a care for family that even the newly-minted Islaran Heir wasn't sure he had within him. Even Jabari appeared to have more, informing Lady Vanderboren that Vanthus would 'always be her brother'. Would Aaron Islaran be his when he returned? Ifhe returned? And what of Alyssa, the sister that had joined Aaron in fleeing? It was Aaron'sduty that Talib was forced to inherit now that his brother was gone. It was Aaronthat had pushed the sailor's hand into becoming the one thing he had always feared. Could he forgive the man if he was found? Forgive a brother who had gained freedom at Talib's expense?
            ... He hoped he was safe. And Alyssa. His missed them dearly, and it was for that reason that Talib was doubly-inspired to find Vanthus and bring his ass home. He owed his sister an apology, after all.
            " We'll see what I can do with the Watch," he noted quietly to Loupin while the party waited for ... whatever it was that Parant was doing. Some type of spell? Magic was beyond him.
            " But I fear they may not be that useful," Talib continued in his conspiring volume, " If what Soller Vark said was true, much of The Watch is on my family's payroll and not much else when it comes to protecting the Azure. But hey - maybe they'll get in line when they see the winds changing."
            He sighed. " Or at least I hope. If anything, some silver may grease the wheels once we make it to the docks."
            "They're on everybody's payroll, and in the Azure they're mostly concerned with making sure petty crime on the streets doesn't disrupt the big time crimes going on behind closed doors." Jabari chuckled and shook his head, seeming more amused by the casual corruption than concerned. "But if you're doing the asking and he hasn't paid them off already, they probably eventually could get us word about Vanthus's location."
            He hefted the tankard with 'Grog's' emblazoned on it. "I don't know this tavern, but we should ask around about it. I don't go around buying things with names from places I don't like, do any of you?"
            Talib turned to the group at large, hands on his hips in the manner of a galleas captain. He had been lost in thought: it was time to sail out of the storm and make way to port, and for that he needed his rutters updated. " What did we all find? Anything of use?"
            Loupin watched Talib while he spoke, but only shrugged by way of response -- and not only because Lavinia was nearby. Sure, she had a professional curiosity about whatever Parant was doing, but also she thought of herself as being in rather a different boat than Talib, who, like Jabari and Reginald -- all unmarried male gentlemen of a certain class, she noted -- had repeatedly made it clear that he trusted and sympathized with their hostess, two sentiments Loupin could not dredge up in herself, even if Lavinia were as innocuous as she appeared. To Loupin, the Vanderboren family and all its noble allies now represented pure trouble of the sort Tashluta occasionally disgorged, and all she could see fit to do was measure the perimeter of that trouble well enough to jump clear of it.
            In the mean time there's no 'we' to make it to the docks, thought Loupin, because 'we' implied a perimeter of its own around the eight of them, one that couldn't hope to encompass all the needs and fears of any aristocratic employer, no matter how well-intended. No, a group must be more loyal to itself than to anyone else -- more loyal by far, she thought, if a group meant anything at all. Loupin wasn't so sure all the others saw it that way. She could see trading her life for real friends, maybe, or for love, if that existed. But not for a boss's favour. Not even a pretty boss.
            Once everyone had left the room, Parant began stretching his arms, neck, and shoulders. His breathing became measured, purposeful. The stretches turned into what looked almost like a form of prescribed exercises, which he repeated several times. Then, without warning, Parant leapt forward, leaving his feet, diving towards the floor with his arms spread out before him and his fingers curled like he meant to claw through the earth. Midway through the dive, just before it appeared that his head would crack into the floor, Parant's body shifted.Where once there had been a man inexplicably diving head-first towards the ground, there was now a leopard, landing smoothly and soundlessly on its paws.
            The leopard - one of the smaller species of Great Cats, though still more than 4 feet from nose to hindquarters, and easily a hundred-and-a-half pounds - turned its head to look at the group through the open door. Its eyes were golden, save for a ring of sapphire blue around the outside of the irises. It sniffed the air, as if placing each of the humanoids that had been inside the room moments before. Then the great cat began making its way methodically through the room - far more methodically than one would ever expect from a wild beast. Mouth open, the cat moved around the suite, nose seeking through the myriad of scents there, to identify and remember each one.
            Syd's thin frame allowed him to see between people into the room beyond. "Huh, that's new," he commented at the transformation. Having seen the transformation before, Lady Vanderboren didn't comment, but only watched as the small leopard paced about the room.
            Having known what Parant was up to, Jabari hadn't bothered to watch. He looked over his shoulder now to see what his friend looked like, though, and turned back around with a smile. "It's a fun trick, isn't it? I've seen people turn into dolphins and birds." The young man made a gesture with his hand like a bird soaring through the air. "That would be amazing, wouldn't it? Flying through the air, held up by the wind and your own muscle?" He sighed and shook his head.
            "I take it you're both the horror of your families," Loupin said, pulling her coat a little tighter. There was a little breeze coming from somewhere.
            While the others spoke, the leopard that was Prant sniffed and chuffed his way through the room, locating the individual scent traces of everyone who had been in the room recently. He was almost frustrated, as it turned out that the cleaning staff was, actually, quite thorough. But then, tucked neatly under the bed, he found a pair of slippers that did not smell like anyone or anything else in the room. The leopard inhaled deeply, nose buried in the footwear, before returning to the doorway.
            Having finished his investigation of the room, Parant shiftedback into his Calishite form - fully dressed - and quirked an eyebrow.
            "My parents are dead," he said, in a casual tone that implied nothing more emotionally weighty than "the wine is gone." Then he nodded towards the housekeeper. "She and the staff do a good job. There was almost nothing to find, other than all of you. Fortunately, someone missed a pair of slippers. I have the young Lord's scent now."
            "Should we bring one of 'em for insurance?" said Loupin. "Maybe fifty thousand feet to sniff between here and wherever he is... and he can afford cologne now."
            "I'm not going to track him from here. There's no trail. But I do not forget a scent. Most who are trying to hide only disguise their appearance. Some who are clever will use magic to hide from scrying. Almost no one thinks of changing their scent. Even should he disguise himself physically, I can recognize him." Parant shrugged. "It may help, it may not."
            Lillia had smirked her disappointment at not finding anything in the bedchamber. Either the noble born was careful beyond measure or exceedingly dull. At this point she believed either aspect was still viable.
            She had started briefly when Parant changed his shape, though her eyes consumed every nuance of the motion. A shocked hand leapt to Talib’s arm for a moment as she recomposed herself.
            “I can turn into a jungle cat,” she said. “Is that so hard to say?” She chuckled lightly. “I don’t know about you, but I would probably lead with that when discussing any abilities one has to offer.”
            It also explained a great deal about the man’s behavioral quirks. Yet he had not mentioned it during their interlude earlier. He would be an interesting personality to engage given time. Where did the man begin and the animal end? And his discussion of scent was extremely elucidating. Lillia took pains to adjust her smell when in Shadowshore or Noble, one had to to blend in, but she had not actively realized that her smell could betray her. If nothing else, that tidbit pulled from this room was valuable beyond measure.
            "Do you lead with 'I can turn into a city human?'" Parant's tone was light, but his face serious. "I do not 'turn into' a jungle cat," he explained, "the cat is part of who I am." He shrugged. "But it sounds as though we have two possible places to be looking for our quarry - rather than discussing my shape."
            Jabari chuckled. "I can turn into a person sitting down or a person standing up, if it helps." He shook his head, grinning. "In any case, do any of you know where Grog's is?" The young man looked around the group. "Because I don't."
            " It's something we can discover," Talib Islaran noted finally, licking his lips to wet them. The idea of a man becoming a beast had seemed to steal his voice: that was becoming a more common occurence lately, he thought, and not one he was comfortable with. Who was heto ever be silent about something? Still, within only a few nights much had changed for Talib: something Lillia appeared to be keenly aware of.
            “So, two groups then?” Lillia asked. “One to Grog’s and another to put out feelers along the Azure?”
            “Feel like taking a walk around the Azure?” Lillia asked Talib. “Might do you some good to see it with fresh eyes.” She was commenting on the recent change in his family stature, if only mentally. “And it might do those of the Azure good to see your face too,” she added.
            “Jabari and Parant could go along with you,” she continued with a light shrug. “Adding to the strength of the image, networking and investment from varied quarters.
            “And Loupin,” she turned to the shrewd mage. “Would you give them your eyes as well? And Conway’s?”
            “I think Syd, the Baba, and I can handle a drink or eleven at Grog’s,” she finished with a smile.
            Syd shrugged with a light chuckle, "If it's Elven Wine, sure. The harder stuff will put me under the table pretty quickly. Or on top of it, depending on the phase of Selûne."
            As with their previous efforts, The Baba internally questioned why he was called to do these things. How was he suited to find this Grog person? Why did the missing Vanderboren possess his fine cup? Would he truly be called upon to consume eleven drinks? To what end? Gbele continued to trust in Ubtao's wisdom; perhaps their hunt for Vanthus would lead them to his fiendish spirit quarry. Perhaps his quarry was Vanthus himself? No - he must not jump to such conclusions rashly. He must have patience. He must watch and wait.
            " I'm sure our 'seamstress' can find a watering hole,of all things," Talib commented, giving Lillia a cheeky grin before diverting his expression to a more serious one. " But she's a point - the Azure. Loupin, Jabari, Parant: I'd be more than thankful if you'd help me suss out the feel of the area. Parant, that nose of yours may come in handy amidst all that salt. Loupin, your arcane touch has already helped more than I can account when last we were there, and Conway's eyes will certainly be a boon. Jabari ..."
            He paused. Stumbled a moment.
            " Well."
            He ... he wasn't rightly sure what Jabari did.The man had a nice residence, for sure, and he certainly looked the part of Noble. The Vanderborens had trusted him to act on their behalf, and Lavinia trusted him too. Their private conversation, however, had revealed little other than the fact that Jabari and Parant were a capable pair, and now he had seen why oneof them was.
            But not the other.
            " You're dressed up," he said simply, flatly, stumbling forward and then catching the wind in his voice, " And it would do well to have another noble son asking some questions at the docks: People tend to loosen their lips when well-groomed men toss around surnames and silver, ?wo?"
            He didn't mean it in a demeaning way: it had been a long day and it appeared it would be another long night, and Talib had much, muchon his mind. Yet, in a way, he felt a kinship with the Damarthe: Both of them carried weighty names with the goal of simply being Better Men, not allowing their blood alone to define them. That was damned respectable.
            They all were, Talib noted, in their way. Lillia and Loupin had put him in his place by reminding him that just because he cared naught for coppers and gold, that did not mean everyone else could be so carefree about coin. Certain nobles may have argued that there was not a true difference between a little money and a lot of money, but Talib forced himself to remember that there was a hugedifference between a little money and nomoney. Both women had shifted his attitudes in different ways, and Talib could not rightly say he was the same man as when they had met.
            The Baba had showed fortitude and bravery in every action so far, and Talib had a healthy amount of awe for the Chultan man. Tahshluta must've left him out of his natural element, but Baba Gbele had done nothing but assist the Vanderborens and his new allies with gusto. Perhaps rather taciturn for Talib's tastes, but there was nothing at all wrong with using few words to say much. It was far better than using many words to explain nothing.
            Syd. Seemingly carefree and all-too-able with a blade. There was a sportsmanlike-competitive streak in Talib that relished the chance of going toe-to-toe with such a swordsman, knowing he would be happy with whatever the outcome. The elf seemed so ... relaxed, as if nothing bothered him. Was that the secret, then? To just roll with the tide and let it pull and push as it willed? Talib had thought of himself that way, but the past few days had opened glaring holes in that self-image. It was comforting, then, to know of another who not only held that image but appeared to have mastered that ideal, if only on the surface.
            That was the other crux of it, wasn't it? In truth, though he had ventured with the majority of the present group for a few days, they still all knew rather little of one another. Perhaps, Talib hoped, after Vanthus was found and things calmed in the Vanderboren household, they would have time for kahveand talk, as he had savored with Lillia, Jabari, and Parant.
            Perhaps there would come rest, soon. And, Talib warned himself, the questions of the future. Of the Azure.
            " We'll meet back here tomorrow, then?" the former Captain asked, " I imagine this will take some time, tonight, and the Vanderboren Estate is as good a place as any to regale one another with our midnight escapades. We'll try and sort out if anyone has seen Vanthus at the Azure, or at least those he now associates with. If we can get a name, at the very least, we'll have a huge lead to follow on."
            Loupin touched Gbele and Syd on the elbow just before the group broke up. "Once we're apart, you should mention the you-know-what," she murmured, just for them. "I'll keep shtum. Good luck."
            The holy man simply nodded slightly and said, "And to you, in return."