Late morning sunlight sparkled off the blue waters in the central fountain while the morning crowds made their way down the busy thoroughfare of Court Street. Not surprisingly, much of the local traffic came from those aligned with the Azorius guild who lived and worked nearby. Clerks and scribes hurried off to their offices while Arresters and hussars made their way out on morning patrols. Interspersed with the guildsmen clad in blue and white were other regular local residents. Shopkeepers opened their stores while merchants and customers haggled at stalls.

Anastasia Radic sat at an outdoor café waiting for her partner and idly people watching as a new workday began for the city of Ravnica. The lawmage sighed and drank a hot cup of coffee as she quietly noticed the adjoining plaza beginning to fill with people, both merchants and regular citizens wandering into the open air markets looking for a bargain. As she continued to scan the diverse crowd of people, she caught sight of a familiar blue and white tunic approaching from across the way. Alexi Lazlo carried a small leather satchel at his side and casually sat down at the table across from her. As always, his uniform was well kept and he was without his cumbersome steel Arrester's helmet.

"Good morning Deputy Radic," he said coolly white checking his timepiece, "You're here a little early."

Ana greeted him with a small yawn, "Let's just say I was eager to share some new findings Arrester Lazlo."

The ghost of a smile crossed Alexi's lips as he gestured to the dark leather satchel at his side, "Then it seems I wasn't the only one who was up late doing some extra case work last night."

"And yet you look so much more rested than I am," Ana pointed out crossing her arms.

Alexi shrugged, "My apartment is close by, just a few blocks away. Why else do you think I chose this meeting place?"

"Maybe you liked the upscale neighborhood or the beautiful aesthetics?" Ana sighed gesturing to the ornate fountain across the plaza.

Just because I go kicking down doors in some rough slums of Ravnica doesn't mean I have to live in one of them either," Alexi admitted, "Now, if you're not already impressed with the neighborhood, let me do one better."

The Arrester opened his satchel and removed a small bundle of papers. Among them was the courtesan's client list that the two investigators had been given the night before at the Crimson Veil. "I began going over Mireia's client list and compared it to the named defendants from Piotr Jelenik's casework. While there were many names aligned with the Orzhov guild in Jelenik's casework, the only one that consistently matched with the courtesan's list was a guy by the name of Zoran Ravali. According to Jelenik's notes, the guy was a Syndicate middleman who got rich off a lot of lucrative deals. There wasn't a whole lot else to go on, but Jelenik suspected that Zoran was involved in some kind of illegal dealings but didn't have the proof to nail him yet."

"Sounds awfully risky," Ana mused, "Suppose Zoran really was doing business under the table and the Syndicate caught wind of it. They'd be mounting his head in the lobby of the Vizkopa Bank."

Alexi made an amused snort along with a rueful grin, "Trust me, I've seen the Orzhov do much creepier things to their debtors, but it is a possible motive to kill Piotr Jelenik. If that's the case, I'd wager the Orzhov hired a contract killer to do the job. What have you found out?"

Ana gave a proud smile and pulled out a dagger, just like the one they had found at the crime scene last night. "I started looking into that lead on the weapon we found last night. Turns out there are a whole bunch more of these and other weapons made by the same guy."

The Arrester tilted his head in interest as she continued to explain, "I worked some of my contacts and it turns out all these weapons were ones that the Boros Legion and the Wojeks have recovered from many of the recent Rakdos riots."

"So someone... this P.T. weaponsmith is possibly supplying the Rakdos with arms?" Alexi asked curiously, "Why?"

"That's what we have to find out," Ana said handing him the dagger. "According to that trademark, the weaponsmith is some guy named Pawel Travkin. The Wojeks told me he owns a small place right off of Foundry Row."

"That's not too far from here," Alexi remarked thoughtfully, "Let's pay Mr. Travkin a visit first and then go poke our noses around Orzhova."

As the two began to depart the café, they stopped when they noticed that a crowd had begun to form at the far corner of the plaza. Standing atop a small podium was an older silver haired man wearing the blue finely tailored robes of an Azorius politician. The man spoke with a powerful even voice and every so often, some of the onlookers would cheer or shout their agreement.

"This district is in a constant state of fear!" the politician said, "Every day the rioters and the agents of chaos run about unchecked, destroying your property and harming your loved ones! I ask all of you, what has the District Chancellor Gerad done to address this problem? Nothing!"

At that, the crowd roared and erupted into howls. He continued, "You have my word, citizens of the Tenth District, that should you vote for me, Isidore Vandis in the coming election, I will not forget you! There will be an Arrester on every corner and no one will have to fear going to the market or traveling about with your young."

Again the crowd broke out into another chorus of cacophonous cheers and chanting. Ana glanced over and saw Alexi shake his head derisively while beginning to walk away. "Hey! Wait for me!" she called, catching up with him. "I thought maybe you wanted to stick around and listen to our fellow guild member."

"Trust me Ana, you're better off walking away," Alexi replied.

The lawmage walked alongside him and gave a curious look, "That's interesting, because it looks like Mr. Vandis has been building quite a following for his election of late. You have to admit, he was saying a lot of good things about keeping the peace and it sounds like he's pretty supportive of us law enforcers too."

"Vandis has been a longtime Azorius court judge surrounded by controversy," Alexi countered, "Many of us in the precinct believe he wants the power to actually legislate his own agendas now. That's why he's running for election."

"Well that can't be such a bad thing, can it? Ana asked, "I mean, as far as I'm aware he's made many past rulings against the criminals that we and the Boros Legion have collared."

"It's not about the rulings themselves," Alexi replied, "It's the way Vandis went about them. Those controversies stemmed from the fact that Vandis might have flagrantly broken several procedural court rules and prejudiced those decisions."

"You can't give Vandis the benefit of the doubt, can you?" Ana frowned, "It almost sounds like you're defending the criminals."

"The rules are there for a reason, and even criminals are entitled to due process," Alexi answered firmly while meeting her glare, "If that man is willing to violate the very rules that the rest of us are held to, then you'll forgive me for being a little suspicious. What good are our laws if they're built upon a corrupt edifice? In my place, would you trust him?"

"I'd like to think that I would," Ana shot back becoming more impassioned, "From what I understood during my time in the courts, Isidore Vandis had done a lot of good for the district and we may all stand to benefit more if he gets elected."

"Then it seems we have very different ideas of how we define the term benefit," the Arrester muttered as the two partners continued walking toward Foundry Row. They continued to walk on in silence, the mood now soured by the sudden argument in political ideology. Foundry Row was still a fair ways away on foot, Alexi thought to himself dourly. Either it would give them some time to cool off, or allow things to get awkward. He silently hoped that it would be the first option.


Some time later, the two investigators came to a section of the district containing many of the local smiths and metal workers. As they walked down the bustling main road, they could smell the acrid smoke billowing from the forges and feel the ambient heat that hung thickly over the air. Here and there, the two partners could hear the ringing sounds of hammers against steel and the hissing of hot irons being cooled in water. They continued to make their way until they came to a small shop with a signpost matching the trademark on their confiscated dagger.

A small bell jingled as Alexi and Ana entered the humble store. Several rows of weapons were hung along the walls, from daggers to maces, to short swords. While the weapons themselves looked to be of common quality, many of them sported some unique flourishes in design, whether they were in the shape of the handle grips, the curve of the hand guards, or the grooves of the blades. At the base of the side walls were a number of small wooden crates that a small green shop imp was busily pushing about.

Standing behind the counter of the store was an older half elf wearing grimy blacksmith clothes and a thick protective apron. He was busily examining a new weapon and looked up quickly to see the new arrivals. As he removed his goggles, he gave a look of surprise and fear to both the Azorius officers.

"Good morning. How can I help you folks?" he asked carefully.

"I am Arrester Lazlo," Alexi began stepping forward slowly, "This is my partner Deputy Radic. Are you Pawel Travkin?"

The half elf nodded as Alexi pulled out the dagger and held it out to him, "I was wondering what you could tell us about this dagger."

"Am I in trouble?" the weaponsmith asked nervously.

"Well, that depends on whether or not you tell me the truth," Alexi answered calmly. "Did you make this dagger?"

The smith looked over the weapon and carefully examined the trademark at the pommel. He looked up and gave a nod. "Yes. That's my mark."

Ana stepped forward to the counter, "Mr. Travkin, a number of your weapons have been turning up recently. We've been recovering them at the scenes of Rakdos riots and just recently, the scene of a murder. We want to know who you're selling your goods to."

"The Rakdos? Murderers?" Pawel gasped in surprise, "Oh, no no no! I haven't sold any weapons to them! To be very honest, I haven't had too many people coming into my shop to purchase anything recently."

Alexi idly glanced around the room and slowly turned his focused gaze on the shopkeeper, "That's funny, because it seems like you're pretty busy. That little imp in the corner hasn't stopped hauling crates since we first entered."

"Wait! I didn't mean it like that. I can explain Arrester," Pawel sputtered

"Please do," Alexi answered patiently as he brushed his hand on the hilt of his gladius for intimidating effect.

Pawel swallowed nervously and gestured toward the crates, "I haven't made many direct sales off the street, but I have been very busy recently filling orders for a client."

Alexi and Ana exchanged a curious glance.

"Who would this client be?" Ana asked while scrutinizing the half elf with an icy withering glare.

Pawel grimaced and shifted uncomfortably as he glanced away for a moment. "I really shouldn't be discussing other people's business dealings."

"Mr. Travkin... right now, it looks like you're an accessory to a murder as well as a potentially widespread rebel movement. Unless you give us a good reason to think otherwise, you're going to be under some very serious scrutiny back at the precinct," Alexi said pointedly.

Pawel blinked a moment before giving a relenting nod. "Ok... so most of my business recently has come from an Orzhov patron… a businessman named Ravali."

"As in Zoran Ravali?" Ana exclaimed with wide eyes.

The shopkeeper nodded hesitantly, "Yes... you know him?"

"That's not important right now," Alexi cut in, "Pawel, what I'm going to need are your account ledgers and any records of sale you have with him."

Pawel nodded again and turned to dig into a side drawer, "Arrester, I swear I've told you everything I know. I don't know what Ravali is doing with my weapons after the sale, but I swear to you I had no idea it was for no good."

After being handed the ledger, Ana began transcribing the entries related to the Orzhov businessman on a separate sheet of paper.

"It looks like both of our leads paid off," Alexi remarked helping her sort through the receipts, "Things have just gotten a whole lot more interesting."

"Do you think Pawel is telling us the whole truth?" Ana asked quietly while she continued to scribble some notes on her paper.

"I don't think he's hiding anything else," Alexi said glancing over to where the smith was waiting in the corner of the shop, "From the looks of these receipts, Zoran is paying almost market value for these weapons. That suggests that he's reselling the weapons to the Rakdos, or fencing them to another third party at a marked up price."

Ana bit her lip thoughtfully, "The questions now are, does the rest of the Syndicate know about this, and what other links does it have to Piotr and Mireia's murders?"

"I'm dying to find out," Alexi said taking up a sheet of paper and a charcoal pencil too, "So let's finish copying these documents and take a little trip across town."


Later that day, Alexi and Ana took a carriage across the district into the area commonly regarded as the territory of the unscrupulous guild known as the Orzhov Syndicate. While they rode through the district and headed toward the guildhall of Orzhova, they passed several small buildings and chapels with gilded facades. Here and there, the gaunt forms of grey skinned thrulls trudged about following at the heels of well dressed guild members or performing hard menial labor.

"Disgusting creatures, but you almost have to feel sorry for them." Ana muttered quietly as they continued to ride.

"I think I'd feel more sorry for them," Alexi remarked pointing out a few spectral figures of ghosts wandering through the crowds. The faint pale forms of the spirits appeared to wear shackles and had a mark of the Syndicate branded upon them. "Even in the afterlife, they're still paying off their debts to the Orzhov."

Finally, the carriage stopped at a large building made of marble. The architecture was ornate and beautiful while light of the late afternoon sun reflected off the colorful stained glass windows of the building. "So if this is only the Orzhov's records library, I can only imagine what the actual guildhall looks like," Ana said in awe as they climbed up the front steps.

The two passed several checkpoints with guards in full plate armor and walked along polished floors until they entered a sprawling library with rows of shelves filled with tomes and scrolls. Milling about were several other black and white robed librarians and thrulls, reorganizing or moving documents around. The investigators turned as they heard the voice of a gaunt bald librarian that shuffled up to greet them.

"Ah, good afternoon officers. What brings you here today?"

Alexi continued looking about in awe before turning to the librarian. "We're here on business from the Azorius Senate. I'm in need of business transaction records of one of your guild members."

"But of course sir," the librarian purred smoothly, "We have records of every business dealing that goes on between our members... and then some. Perhaps I may be of assistance?"

"Thank you. That would be most kind of you," Alexi replied standing in place. A long pause ensued as the Orzhov librarian waited expectantly before giving a prompting cough and extending a hand as if to receive something... a tip or a bribe, depending on one's interpretation.

The Arrester stared at the librarian for a moment before turning to Ana. His partner gave him a light elbow to the side. Alexi sighed and put a gold coin in the hand of the librarian grumbling to himself, "The Azorius Senate does not pay me enough to do this job."

The librarian examined the coin and grinned as he tucked it away under his robes. Gesturing toward the scroll stacks, he smiled, "Right this way..."


Alexi and Ana spent the next few days in and out of the library poring over Zoran Ravali's records while staying at a nearby inn. On the morning of the third day, the two sat in the comfortable dining room of their inn, discussing their progress over breakfast.

"You know," Alexi began, reclining on his cushioned chair, "It's really quite amazing how meticulous the Orzhov are in keeping their financial records. I figure if the Azorius could learn a thing or two about tax loopholes and accruing interest rates, we'd be swimming in money too."

"Remember Alexi, you're still a public servant," Ana pointed out while poking through some of the scrambled eggs on her plate. "Any luck on your end? I'm afraid I haven't come up with a whole lot."

Alexi smiled and began spreading jam on some toast, "It took me a while, but I found something interesting. There was already a footnote in Ravali's general ledgers saying that he had tried skimming money off of the Orzhov's cut on his deals in the past. While he did pay back the money, it was still marked as sort of a warning, or a black mark against him."

"So, wouldn't he get nailed again if he's doing some kind of under the table arms dealing through Pawel Travkin?" Ana asked curiously.

"Normally he would," Alexi said lowering his voice, "Except those transactions we recorded from the weapon smith were never recorded on the Orzhov's books. Ravali is a rogue arms dealer making money behind his own guild's back."

"Great!" Ana cheered giving a big smile, "Now that we have some leverage, let's arrest him, drag him in to court, and cram a bunch of subpoenas down his throat."

"Spoken like a true Arrester," Jonas grinned finishing his breakfast. "I must be rubbing off on you."

"Don't flatter yourself Mister Lazlo," Ana smiled, "Though I know that's a rather hard thing for the people in our guild to do."

At that moment, the investigators' banter was interrupted as a knight in ornate gilded plate armor entered the room. He was flanked by two other fearsome looking guards carrying spears. As he approached, the Orzhov knight stopped in front of their table. He did not remove his visor, but his visage was still rather intimidating. "You are Arrester Alexi Lazlo?"

Alexi and Ana exchanged a quick glance before he addressed the knight, "That's correct. What is this about?"

The knight reached to his side a produced a small scroll pouch. He handed it to the Arrester and said, "I'm here to serve these papers to you on behalf of Mr. Zoran Ravali's advokist. By the laws of the local circuit court, these injunction papers prohibit you from any further investigation or harassment of Mr. Ravali's interests. Do you understand these directions?"

Alexi sat in shocked silence for a moment before nodding his head in resentment, "Yes... I do."

The Orzhov knight gave a satisfied nod and gave a smart about-face, exiting the inn with his two escorts in tow. Alexi opened the scroll and began looking over the injunction order, his stomach turning at the realization that those papers were in fact legitimate. "Damn! I don't understand! How the hell would Ravali find out about..."

He and Ana looked to one another before Ana exclaimed, "The librarian! He must have ratted us out to Ravali and took another bribe from him to keep quiet."

Alexi slapped the injunction down angrily on the table and sat silently pondering over his empty breakfast plate, "That slimy son of a bitch..."

The lawmage simply gave a disheartened look, "Well, that injunction just tied our hands. What do we do now?"

After a long pause, Alexi finally looked up his partner, "Maybe not partner. I think I have an idea. It's crazy, but it's worth a shot."

Ana fixed him with her blue eyes and frowned, "What are you talking about?"

"Make sure your clothes are clean and your weapon is sharpened. We're going to pay the Orzhov leadership a little visit."