[coronatiger]

I asked Wolfram to watch over Yana in my absence, and then Xipil and I left. We headed for the chapel in the merchant district. People in that neighborhood had private guards, and looked at Xipil and me as if we didn’t belong there, even disguised as we were.

The chapel was located beneath an office building, and we entered and found a side door marked with Your sign. Behind that door waited a young man who asked our purpose. I gave Your sign, but he said the chapel was closed. However, if we were after a mission, we had come to the right place. He showed us a list of five names, including Niffi and another Council mage named Garold. The rewards for their demises were far higher than the ten gold that had been in the purse I received, and which I had left at the other chapel, since they probably had more need of the money than me.

I described the man who gave me the mission to the kid, and asked where I might find this gentleman. I probably shouldn’t think of the young man as a kid, since he was probably around my own age, but he held the lowest rank possible in the cult, a Spawn like Xipil, and didn’t really behave like an adult. He refused to talk before I grabbed the front of his shirt, pulled him close and bared my fangs. That made him promise to revere You for the rest of his life, and he gave me directions to a cellar nearby where the man I was after likely had gone to ground. The man’s name was Robal, and the kid was afraid to tell me more about him. He seemed equally terrified of the both of us, but I reminded him that I was here now, unlike Robal, who couldn’t hurt him at the moment. The kid revealed that Robal used to go to the slum to find people who could do missions cheaply, and he believed that Robal put the rest of the money in his own pockets.

The kid wanted to seek refuge in the other chapel, for he believed Robal would come after him for spilling the beans on him. I told him to reach out to a Toxiner named Riko. If he confided in him and said that “the naked woman” had sent him, he would be taken care of. The kid tidied up the office and had Xipil and me escort him out of the neighborhood.

When we had said goodbye to him, I told Xipil I wanted to return to the chapel to pray, but Xipil pointed out that religious leaders in Sulla had been killed during the storm there some weeks ago. Could that have any connections to this? I conceded that it might. Xipil asked if we should fetch Wolfram and Grogg, but I told him we didn’t need them yet.

We returned to the office and located the entrance to the chapel. I did a quick wash before going in, but Xipil needed a full cleansing, so I entered before him. Someone was sleeping when I came in, but woke up. I recognized him from Sam, a bounty hunter named Podo who had reached the rank of Toxiner despite being more devout towards gold than towards You.

Podo was glad to see me, since he’d have someone to share the work with. Killing five people in less than two days was too much, even for him. When he asked, I told him I had been assigned to Nefalonia. Podo had been charged with killing Garold. He asked if I minded taking on an additional target, so I raised my voice and ordered “Fetch the book!” I heard Xipil’s steps moving away.

Podo had learned that the Ashtarites in the slums weren’t to be trusted, and I filled him in on the fact that they hesitated to take on high profile targets. Podo told me, quite casually, that Larma had almost complete control over Ur, and that it was only these five people that stood in their way, now.

I told Podo I had come here to pray, and that we could continue the discussion afterwards. He lay back down to sleep. The snakes here responded very well to Xipil and me praying, and I suspected that it had been quite a while since anyone prayed to You sincerely in their presence. However, I also sensed that no sacrilege had been committed, either.

Xipil studied the order book and pointed out a spike in the activity just around the time when Guling burned. Looking at the entries, I saw that many of the missions had a time limit, a deadline, as it were. That seemed suspicious. I closed my eyes and asked for permission to kill Robal, Podo and others involved in this dirty business. I felt bile rising in my throat at the thought of how these people had subverted Your holy chapel. Killing for money was well and good, and I had done so myself on several occasions, but when the greed of gold replaced devotion to You, things had gone too far. You answered that I could go to the cellar the kid had described. If I did, I had to kill everyone there. Only my close friends were except. In other words, I couldn’t bring soldiers or mercenaries to assist. It would only be me, Xipil, Grogg and Wolfram, and possibly Nujan, if I didn’t need him to guard Yana. I wasn’t about to bring Yana along to a slaughter.

I woke Podo and told him that I had brought a whole team with me, not just this one – I nodded at Xipil – so I could take care of the four others on the list, if he just dealt with the other mage. Podo disliked me taking almost all of the business, but accepted it since I now outranked him, and promised I wouldn’t make a habit of it. I said I had some preparations to take care of, but would love to meet up again to discuss tactics before we started killing. We agreed to meet up again before sunset, at which point he was going out to reconnoiter his target.

Xipil and I returned to the others at the inn. On the way, I compiled a list of ingredients I would need to prepare a draught of anti-toxins. Since I didn’t know which specific poisons we would encounter, I would concoct a brew to strengthen the body’s immune system against poisons in general. I sent Yana and Nujan to the Black Cauldron to get what I needed.

To the others, I told that there were unwanted elements in the cult, and that we were going to clean them out in a cellar in the merchant district. Xipil, Wolfram and Grogg agreed to this immediately. We began planning. We would need a wagon to get away from the cellar quickly, and if we could get someone to act as mercenaries along with Yana, we wouldn’t stand out in that part of town. I said I could get someone to pose as mercenaries from the poor quarter, as I knew trustworthy people there. We decided that we wanted Nujan to come inside with us. He’s a good swordsman, and very nimble.

When Nujan and Yana returned, I began preparing the anti-toxin, while the others filled them in. Nujan thought we should secure a safehouse in the city. I said I could ask for it in the slums, but I was less confident in that regard, than about getting someone to dress up as sell-swords. We also needed to warn Niffi and the others. The list Xipil had brought was hardly damning evidence, so I decided to send Yana with the group taking on that task, thinking that they would need someone who knows her way around words. I had to go to the slums, as I was the one with contacts and authority there, and that left Yana.

Based on what Xipil and Grogg had learned from Niffi, she might be gone already, to take possession of the magic mirror, but they had acquired a pass to enter the Council’s grounds. Xipil and Grogg wanted to go, since they were the ones who had talked to Niffi earlier today, and Wolfram added that Nujan should go, since he might be known to others on the Council, in case Niffi was gone. Nujan groaned, but agreed to go. Wolfram said he would remain here to watch our gear. I tasked the other four with acquiring an anonymous wagon, and to ask for a place to hide out, in case I failed in that regard. If we were chased, having several possible safehouses to go to would be good.

So, I would be on my own again, at least for a short time. I didn’t mind that, but I felt that having friends was nice. I didn’t trust most of them very much, but I knew they’d have my back on the upcoming raid.