Thanks to TehGramerPolise and MasterofBones for their help with this chapter.

"How the hell do people wear this stuff?" I demanded as I slipped a finger under the collar of the dress shirt, tugging at it to relieve its vice-like grip on my throat. After we had received the invitation, Winter and Kali had taken me out to the city's marketplace and selected out a dress shirt and a sports coat.

Then we had gone on for hours as they had poked and prodded around, trying to tailor-fit the damn things to my mutated body. So at this point, my patience was wearing a tad thin for the glorified monkey suit.

Kali slapped my hand away, "Cut that out, you'll stretch it."

"At least I'll be able to breathe." I countered, "At this rate we'll be doing the bad guys the favor."

"Since it took us two hours to get all of the adjustments right for those wings of yours alone; I would appreciate it if you kept ruining those clothes to a minimum." Winter stepped back and examined me critically before nodding, "Not bad... here." She pulled over a full-length mirror and set it down for me to look at.

For a moment, I didn't even recognize myself, and no that's not some quip about how good I looked or anything like that.

It was more like without my normal clothes, save for my tattered cape on my back and my silver necklace, my mutations came even more to the fore. Between the wings, the black feathers growing everywhere, the changing of my face, not to mention the black eyes with the golden pupils.

A chill went down my spine as I saw just how much of my humanity had been lost, I couldn't wait to get out of this place so I could take off the bandage and start reversing the process.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I looked to see Winter looking at my face, "You okay?" She asked me.

I shrugged, "Yeah, I'm fine, just want to get this over with."

She didn't look entirely convinced, but she nodded, "Alright then, you remember the plan?"

"Find the Scepter, get cozy with the folks at the top, start casing the place as much as I can." I rattled off.

"And under no circumstances go off half-cocked and try to nab it on your own." She pressed.

"C'mon, do you think I'd really do something like that?" I asked her.

"Totally, one hundred percent." Kali replied instantly.

I winced, "You couldn't have at least hesitated a little bit?"

She snorted, "I would say 'when pigs fly' but then you had to be an ass and grow wings."

I opened my mouth to reply when the chiming sound of the doorbell rang out.

As one, we all turned towards the door, "Well, I guess this is it." I said as I began walking towards it.

Kali held out a hand and put it on my chest, stopping me in my tracks, "Good luck champ." She told me.

I gave her a lackadaisical grin, "Hey, I got this easy, after all I'm the best." I told her.

She arched an eyebrow, "You're really that certain about it? I can feel your heart beating in your…" She she blinked and looked at my chest, her palm very conspicuously on the right side of my chest. With visible apprehension, she moved it across, her eyes gradually widening and she looked up at me, her mouth forming into a small 'o'.

I quickly brushed aside her arm and pushed past her, "See you guys on the other side." I said, and quickly walked out the door, closing it behind me.

I let out a sigh, damn it, I didn't know why but I had never told Winter or Kali about the multiple heart thing. At a guess, it was because there was something in my gut that told me that the mutation was different somehow from the others that I had undergone. Kali's reaction had vindicated that belief, no doubt she would have some choice words when I got back.

Right now though that wasn't important, and I looked down to see the imp thing from before was standing in front of me, and it bowed as I turned my attention to it, "Greetings, Qr'Krowl, are you ready to depart?"

"Yeah."

It nodded, "Good, right this way then, if you please." It walked down the path leading to the main road and I blinked as I saw an honest to god stagecoach waiting there with several horses the color of blood hooked up to it. The imp opened the passenger door and bowed.

"Thanks." I said to it as I slipped inside onto the seat; carefully folding my wings up behind me as I faced my fellow passenger and the imp closed the door behind me.

"Greetings, Qr'Krowl." The Etiora purred, he was dressed in a velvet trimmed jacket with a ridiculously floofy white dress shirt.

"Hello yourself." I replied, "Thanks for the invite." Oh yeah, super smooth.

The Etiora waved it off, "Don't mention it," He told me, there was a slight jolt and the coach began to move, "After all, you've piqued many an interest with your rapid ascent. It would not do to have someone else snatch you away from me."

"I see…" The Etiora seemed to be expecting me to say something but honestly my mind was blank… arrogant go for arrogant, "Well I guess I am pretty fantastic."

"Indeed," The Etiora replied, "With so many that pass through our gates… true greatness is something we see so rarely."

"That so?" I asked him.

"Oh yes, I'm afraid so." The Etiora leaned his head upon his hand as he looked out the window, "Quantity over quality sort of thing, but it's necessary for our Mayor's great plan."

I blinked, "His plan?"

He gave me a pointy smile, "Oh yes," He murmured, "Have you ever wondered why there is such a regimented system of advancement by combat in our city?" He spread his hands wide, "It's because we are making an army." He told me, "An army that will march out and destroy the Jade Empress and take this kingdom for ourselves."

My blood ran cold. Yikes, okay, that was bad news.

Then again, the fact that there was a literal monster army being built wasn't necessarily the scariest thing. It might actually be that they had things like Seydin and Count Arnau hanging out at the lower ranks and yet they hadn't decided to pull the trigger yet. Just how powerful was this Jade Empress?

I cleared my throat, "It seems like it might be kind of tough to get everybody to buy into that." I suggested.

The Etiora shrugged, "There are many means of persuasion." He replied, "Self-interest being first and foremost, there are thousands of souls under her protection. Artifacts that hold great power rest within her vaults, and of course, safety from the Filth."

I frowned, "Are we not safe here?" I asked him.

"Of course, Mayor Ashuna protects us." He sniffed, "However, it costs him to do so, and thus it would be best if we were to use the Jade Palace and its protections."

"Right." I replied, the fact that the Mayor was the thing keeping the Filth back obviously complicated things a little bit if we wanted to take him out. I shook my head, we would cross that particular bridge when we came to it; hopefully there would be a way to nick the Scepter and escape without ever having to confront him.

The coach came to a stop and the Etiora shifted slightly on his seat, "Ah, we have arrived."

The door opened and the imp creature stepped aside as the Etiora gracefully rose and stepped down out of the carriage, and I followed after him.

When I stepped out of the carriage I blinked and looked around.

Considering the rest of the city, I'm sure you're expecting descriptions of grand, overwhelming opulence and splendor.

In which case you'd be as wrong in your expectations as I was.

From afar the palace had certainly looked that way, a grand building that rose above all the others, save the arena, made entirely out of precious metals and stones, with intricate and beautiful fountains.

The reality was something far different, instead it was a vast, hulking building made entirely out of unpolished brown stone. It was almost primal in its appearance, like something out of a time when humans and Faunus hid in caves and huddled around fires.

At its sides stood two ziggurats, also made out of rough stone of a similar color, torches burned in pairs along their steps, casting a flickering light that sent shadows racing across their uneven surfaces.

I decided to take a cautious sniff, reaching out with my magical senses, and immediately regretted as I physically recoiled and my eyes began to water.

The air was filled with magic, so much so that it felt like I was drowning in it, there was another smell, one that seemed to coat the inside of my mouth, making me wretch and gag.

The smell of blood.

"Ah, apologies." The Etiora stepped towards me, "I should have warned you, I would advise keeping your senses to yourself for now… at least until you can become better acclimated to it."

I shook my head to clear it, "Anything else you want to warn me about?" I asked.

The Etiora shrugged, "Simply that you do not enter the ziggurats… the priests care little for whose blood they use."

I heard a scream and my head jerked up to see figures standing on the left ziggurat. They were in front of what appeared to be a stone table and as I watched one of them lifted something up above their head that seemed to contract and beat… a heart. The figure then squeezed and the heart seemed to dissolve, forming lines of crimson that dove into channels that ran down the sides of the steps.

I watched as the blood flowed out of those channels into smaller ones, filling small pools that dotted the structure. Lines of bright red began to form and hundreds of thousands of runes began to glow bright red until the entire ziggurat seemed to be aglow.

I heard another scream and saw a similar scene being played out for the ziggurat on the right and I nodded slightly, "Noted, so just who do they use and why?"

The Etiora shrugged, "To be honest, we don't know, the victims simply appear at the top of the pyramid, provided no one was foolish enough to attempt to climb the steps. As far as we know, it powers the magic that runs within the city."

I lifted an eyebrow, "What do you mean 'as far as you know'?"

"Precisely that." The Etiora replied, "These temples predate even the original inhabitants of the city. No one knows what magics brought them into being."

I let out a grunt and watched as the runes on the second temple lit up, "That's uh… interesting."

"Indeed." The Etiora agreed, "Now then, follow me." He turned and set off across the wild and unkempt grass at our feet and I frowned as I saw there were no footpaths or roads to speak of.

I shrugged and started to walk after him, "So this is a little more… primitive than what I was expecting."

"Indeed, I admit I find it a little refreshing." The Etiora replied as we made our way to the open archway that lead into the stone palace, "Precious metals and shiny baubles are nice on the eyes, but it is nice to return to a place of power stripped of any such niceties."

"Kind of a 'back to nature' thing?" I asked.

"In a sense, yes." The monster agreed.

There was a small line of creatures of all sorts of shapes and sizes at the entrance, which was guarded by two humanoid creatures with green, slimy skin and big bulging eyes; their wide mouths flapping open as they talked to those in front before they were allowed to enter.

The line moved quickly and soon it was our turn.

"Rank and Insignia?" One of the guards croaked.

The Etiora waved a hand and a medallion appeared on his open palm, the guard gave it a cursory glance and then nodded to me, "Guest?"

"Indeed." The Etiora replied.

The guard nodded, "You may proceed."

I followed the Etiora as we walked down a stone hallway lit by flickering torches. Ahead was a bright light and I could hear the sounds of laughter and talking as we approached. Finally we emerged into a massive room with a vaulted ceiling. Stone benches lined the room, their surfaces piled high with meats, fruits and breads of every kind. My mouth watered slightly as the Etiora led me down one of the aisles before gesturing for me to take a seat.

I did so and took a look around. Most of the other benches were already filled by our fellow citizens. Most of them were humanoids of one kind or another, but there was a grizzled looking manticore and several other more bestial creatures scattered around the room. In one corner there was even a dragon that had poked its head through an opening that seemed made specifically for it, its yellow eyes slowly sweeping the room.

At the head of the room was a gigantic stone throne topped with bones that I guessed was the Mayor's, although he didn't appear to be present as of yet.

"Well, no need to starve yourself Qr'Krowl." The Etiora told me as he fastened a large napkin around his neck, "You may begin." I watched as the Etiora reached out with both hands and grabbed two huge hunks of meat so rare that blood still dripped from its sides and placed them on his plate.

I then looked around at the incredible feast, and I could practically hear my stomach rumbling. However, I hesitated, I have been in probably hundreds of situations where 'don't eat or drink the thing' is the way you survive. Fey, demons, sirens, akorra... you name it; the way to not get screwed it to never eat or drink anything they give you.

The Etiora noticed my hesitation and frowned, "Are you alright Qr'Krowl?"

I winced, "Yeah, just uh… years of paranoia catching up to me."

"Oh?" The Etiora lifted an eyebrow, "Well then, allow me to set you at ease, as I told you we are building an army. What good would it do if we were to poison our own citizens?"

"So much can be done without poison." I quipped before my brain could stop my mouth from running.

The Etiora blinked incredulously and he opened his mouth but before he could say anything we were interrupted as someone sat down across from us, "Ah, the Etiora, how pleasant to see you!"

I turned to the newcomer; it was a pale man in a black and white striped tweed suit, a row of sewing needles were stuck haphazardly in the fabric. He was also wearing a pair of sleek, black framed glasses behind which a pair of violet colored eyes flashed with a mischievous light.

"And this would be one of our newest tribunes, yes?" He stuck out a hand to me, "A pleasure Qr'Krowl."

I took his hand and felt the hairs on my neck stand on end; the man's flesh was cold and clammy, like a corpse's. I managed to keep my expression at least somewhat pleasant as I finished shaking the hand and then forced myself to not snatch my hand away as soon as he let go.

"Nice to meet you…"

"Ah!" The man dramatically covered his hand with his face, "Pardon me, I have failed to introduce myself."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw the Etiora roll his eyes and settle back into eating his meal beside me as the man across from me began to gesture wildly with his hands, "I am the artist of artists, a being of pure taste and class. I alone am capable of taking the most base and crude of substances and bring them to their full glory and potential!"

"I…" The man paused dramatically, "Am The Weaver."

I frowned, the name rang a bell, but I wasn't quite sure where I had heard it before.

The man began picking and choosing several morsels from the feast before us, humming slightly as he did so, "I watched your fights, quite impressive, you believe so as well, don't you Tepes?"

"You overstep." The Etiora growled, "I gave up that name long ago."

The Weaver waved a hand flippantly, "Ah, my mistake." Although I knew the look well enough from myself that the slip had been entirely deliberate.

The Etiora's eyes narrowed, but his voice was even as he spoke, "Indeed, it is my belief that Qr'Krowl here is a prodigy the likes of which we haven't seen in some time." He smiled thinly, "You of all people should know that, after all, it was your vaunted creation that he slew to win the tournament."

I froze, "What?"

"Oh yes, a work that took about three years to complete." The Weaver said as he waved a finger at me, "I must say, you're lucky I'm not cross with you, that particular piece of material was once a comrade of Qrow Branwen himself."

Zorja, he was talking about Zorja. The Weaver… that was the name that Zorja had said when she had been turning.

The memory of burning to ashes what had remained of her tore at me like an open wound. It had been necessary, she had been transformed… warped and twisted until she had been a mockery of who she had once been… and this bastard was the one who had done that to her.

For a moment my vision went red and I wanted nothing more than to leap at the son of a bitch and tear him to pieces. My hand twitched involuntarily as I felt my limbs aching, yearning to reach out, grab the monster's head and smash it into the table; to feel his skull breaking and shattering in my grasp.

But as satisfying as that would be, that wasn't why I was here. There were thousands of lives on the line, that depended on me keeping my cool and finding out where the Scepter was and how to get my hands on it. None of which I would be able to do if I gave in. Hell, Zorja herself would have put my ass in a sling if I blew it.

So I slowly took a few deep breaths, reached out with a hand, grabbed a bottle of clear liquid, popped out the cork and took a deep drink. I set it down and focused on the liquor burning in my throat before letting out a gasp.

"Sorry to be an inconvenience," I told him, "But honestly I couldn't give less of a shit if you were cross with me." I gave the Weaver a devil-may-care grin and jerked my head, "Haven't you heard? I'm Qr'Krowl, and I'm a badass, so take your shit and get out of my face."

The Weaver froze, and just for a split-second the man's face warped drastically. Gone was the calm, debonair style and tasteful decorum, in its place was something savage, hungry… almost ravenous.

Then he composed himself and his lips pursed into a pout, "Oh my," He murmured, "Well then, I suppose I shall bid you adieu for now."

He stood up and walked away, I scowled a little as I took another drink of the bottle. Damn it, that hadn't exactly gone well, probably because there was a part of me that had been hoping he would take a swing at me. It also didn't help that little voice was egging me on to chuck the bottle in my hand at the back of his head.

I was distracted from the temptation as beside me the Etiora clapped slowly, "My, my." He drawled, "You don't do things by half, do you?" He shook his head, "You have made a terrible enemy today, Qr'Krowl, I would watch myself if I were you."

"Thanks, but I can handle it." I growled.

The Etiora looked at me closely and then gave a slight chuckle, "You know, somehow I can believe that. Still, the Weaver is quite a formidable being, so be cautious."

"Will do." I drawled as I took another drink of the bottle, "So…

I broke off as there was a sound just at the edge of my hearing and I frowned, it was deep, and slow, but rhythmic… and it was progressively growing faster and louder… drum beats.

"Ah, our host has arrived." The Etiora remarked.

The drumming grew louder, and I turned to him, "So uh, do I need to bow or anything like that?"

"Nothing of the sort," The Etiora told me, "Merely stand when he comes in and sit when he does."

At that moment, he stood up facing the entrance, and I followed along as everyone else in the room joined him. Mayor Ashuna walked through the archway and began making his way towards the throne at the head of the room.

Geez the guy was ripped, straight up rocking an eight pack, with huge bulging muscles that rippled across his bare chest and back as he stood before his throne to face the gathered monsters. His eyes were the only thing that immediately marked him as non-human, as a wispy, green light seemed to shine from behind his eyeballs as he surveyed the room, finally he lifted his arms.

"Citizens of Noradz." He boomed, "Welcome to my hall, I hope that you will eat and drink merrily tonight, to grow strong and well."

He nodded in my direction, "I see that we have the champion of our most recent Tribune Promotion Tournament amongst us."

I nodded my head slightly in deference and the Mayor smiled with sharp teeth, "Please welcome him amongst us tonight, and now without further ado, please-"

There was a commotion at the entrance and I turned to see a figure draped in a heavy cloak standing there, two of the strange looking guards on either side of him. I frowned, something about the guy seemed familiar...

The cloaked figure bowed, "Mayor of the Great City of Noradz." He intoned, "I apologize for the intrusion, but I bring urgent and dire tidings from the mortal city of Shadow's Fall."

I blinked, well shit, I knew where I recognized the guy from, he had been one of the two bruiser-looking things that had been with the cultists from the city.

The fact that cultists from within the cities had contacts with the City of Noradz made sense, but it was seriously disturbing. If they really planned to conquer what remained of Mistral then having a fifth column that could rise up from within was going to make things a lot easier.

"Come in then, and deliver your message." Mayor Ashuna replied.

The cloaked figure walked in and stepped up beside the throne and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as a horrible suspicion came over me.

"Fellow beings of mana I bring terrible news," The cloaked figure declared, "Qrow Branwen has returned."

Well shit.

I had really been hoping to be able to get away with the whole 'coming back to Remnant' thing a little bit longer. I silently cursed myself for not simply slipping by the cultist that had accosted me in the city, was that why they had started trailing me? Because they had recognized me?

I felt a drop of sweat make its way down the back of my neck, my disguise was pretty good, but it wasn't fantastic, after all, Kali and Winter had been able to recognize me pretty quickly with a few clues. What was to stop denizens of the city from making the same connection?

I nervously looked around, a sudden terror gripping me that my reaction to the news had given me away.

Instead I blinked as I found that the room was in an uproar so loud it was nearly deafening.

The reaction was fairly mixed to say the least, several monsters were shouting, slamming the table, demanding that they go out and hunt me down. Others had sat down, their features ashen as they whispered amongst each other, one large gargoyle-looking thing even threw up his claws and ran screaming from the room.

I looked to my side to see the Etiora his pale face like a sheet as he was whispering rapidly under his breath, "No, no, no, no." He continued like that, his voice full of horror.

I sat down, more than a little bewildered, I mean I had done some damage as the Guardian of Remnant, but what the hell was this all about?

I began listening in and caught some of the things the monsters were saying.

"The Butcher of Blackfen…"

That must have been referring to that huge cult dedicated to Ningikuga that I had wiped out a while back. There had been at least a hundred of them, and that had just been counting the mortal cultists, they had had multiple big nasties as muscle, including an Ogdru, big, nasty, and tough as hell.

The thing was that they had put their base camp right over a huge natural gas pocket… that plus a fire-wielding Guardian of Remnant, you do the math.

"The Slayer of Yogmora..."

Right… piece of work witch that had lived for thousands of years in Vacuo, used to reanimate and stitch together monsters and mortals in her spare time to make a little personal army. Turns out she had been a lich in disguise and had hidden her phylactery in an old picnic basket that I had nicked for the hell of it while scouting the place. There hadn't been so much of a grand final confrontation as much as I had just put it on a rock and then blasted it with Sarongar's fire until it shattered.

"The Sealer of Nergal…"

Yeeshh… god of destruction… had a huge fortress surrounded by a whole bunch of nasties that had been intent on restoring him to his former glory. The repertoire had included probably one hundred or so mortal cultists, several dozen ekimora, a handful of gheists, three really pissed off arch-specters, and an Umar-Takt… a kind of avatar of war that have been known to slaughter armies for fun. I had…

I blinked… actually how had I done that? I distinctly remembered needing to get black out drunk, a way of bypassing the wards that had surrounded the place, then somehow I had gotten involved with a Logos… a spirit of knowledge. After that it got kind of hazy, the last thing I remembered was waking up on a throne with a massive headache and the whole cult frozen in some kind of timelock.

I stopped listening to the ruckus around me and began going through all of my adventures, at least the ones I could recall. At least fifty or so major cults demolished, and probably countless other minor ones, as well as random summonings.

In the course of doing so I had offed probably hundreds of mortal practitioners and goons, then probably a few hundred or so of their pet monsters, all of a multitude of kinds.

Then there were the big ones, the things that had survived the best attempts of both mortal and monster to slay or imprison them for hundreds if not thousands of years; yet where they had failed, I had succeeded.

In the end, I guess it didn't matter how close some of those fights actually were. There's something to be said about constantly being the one to walk out alive. If I hadn't known about the sometimes inordinate amount of bullshit luck that accompanied most of the more harrowing of my adventures… it would be downright terrifying.

Then a thought struck me… the whole idea of this city was to raise an army to defeat the Jade Empress, but if that was true, just what had they been building this place up for to begin with?

What if I had been thinking about this place all wrong, after all, what was the point of a bunch of monsters risking life and limb to gather up here? Presumably it hadn't been just to make a super dangerous spot for everyone to be scared of.

What if it had been to hide from me? Or at least, gather in enough numbers in a place with enough mana to make them feel safe?

Damn I'm good.

The Etiora was still whispering under his breath, so I cautiously reached up and tapped him on the shoulder, "Hey? You alright?"

The Etiora shook himself and swallowed nervously, "Yes, I am, I uh… believe that it is best that you return to your domicile, there will have to be a council."

I looked up to the throne to see that Mayor Ashuna was indeed already deep in conversation with several beings, "Right… this uh… this Qrow guy seems to have you pretty… worked up."

The Etiora shook his head, "You wouldn't know young one," He told me, "The Guardian of Remnant is a terrifying foe to behold, a true bane of all beings of mana. Should you ever face him… flee."

I couldn't help but feel a little bemused at the conviction in his voice, but I cleared my throat, "But this place is practically a fortress, especially with an artifact like the Scepter of McCulloh at our disposal."

The Etiora turned to me, "The Scepter is a powerful artifact, this is true." He admitted, "And should he come here, the Mayor will use it, but even its power might not be enough."

"Where is it even kept?" I asked, hoping that I wasn't pushing my luck and that the Etiora was too shook up to be suspicious.

I felt a wave of relief as he simply jerked his head towards the front of the room, "Mayor Ashuna keeps it with him at all times." He replied, "Never lets it out of his sight, a fine thing too, for Qrow Branwen's trickery is legendary. Now go."

My relief melted away faster than a snowball in an inferno, well damn, that was going to make things difficult. I highly doubted that the Etiora wasn't going to find it suspicious if I asked him where exactly on his person Mayor Ashuna kept the Scepter. If I took this chance to get close to the Mayor maybe I could at least make a good guess.

However, I could tell that sticking around wasn't really going to be an option, the guards were already escorting people out the door, leaving Ashuna with a handful of no doubt his most trusted monsters.

I hesitated for just a moment, maybe I could sneak through the crowd and wrap around somehow? Maybe eavesdrop in and look for an opportunity.

Then I remembered my promise to Kali and Winter and I grit my teeth. Especially now I couldn't risk attracting attention to myself time to get out while the getting was good.

So instead I bowed my head, "Alright then."

I found myself walking around the streets of Noradz, lost in thought as I followed the crowd.

Things had gone south pretty fast… I was the highest ranked of the three of us, which meant that I was the one who could get around the best. The problem was that also meant that I was one of the most recognizable, which could really get to be a problem if they started putting up pictures of me everywhere to start warning the citizens of the city.

Granted with the number of mutations I had undergone it wouldn't be like anyone would recognize me instantly, but still, it would make things highly uncomfortable going forward. Maybe Kali could start advancing as well… either that or I could pretend I was sick so she would go to places in my stead? I would hate putting her in that kind of danger, but if I got recognized then we would all be screwed.

I frowned as I paid attention back to where I was going and found myself about to take a wrong turn… or at least I was pretty sure it was a wrong turn. There was only one other citizens from the party, a great big hulking thing with green skin that I didn't recognize. It was staggering drunkenly down the road, obviously wasn't gonna be that much of a help with directions.

I sighed, screw it, if I was wrong then it was no big deal, I could just double back. I began walking down the street some ways behind the green monster and scowled slightly as my legs cramped up a little bit, and I had a bizarre feeling that somehow they wanted me to go the other way.

"What the hell?" I muttered as I stopped, I gingerly extended a foot back the other way and sure enough, the cramping went completely away and as soon as I pulled it back in to keep walking straight ahead it returned.

"Weird."

There was a cry from ahead and I looked up just in time to see the green monster get smacked in the back of the head by a shadowy figure. Some instinct screamed at me and I immediately ducked out of sight behind a pillar in front of one of the buildings.

The shadowy figure stood up and looked around, then nodded to itself and picked up the green monster thing like it was a sack of potatoes, draping it over its shoulder.

It began walking off quickly, and as it happened to step into a pool of light cast by a street lamp I recognized its face.

It was the Etiora.

I quickly went through my options and then let out a sigh, "As if I would do anything else." I muttered and I began to follow him.

The Etiora took a bewildering series of twists and turns through the city that nearly left me spinning. Occasionally he would stop and make sure he wasn't being followed but fortunately for me, he seemed more determined to quickly reach his destination than to make sure he wasn't being followed.

Finally, he reached a large gate blocking off an alleyway, he knocked on it and I caught some hushed whispering. Finally, the gate swung aside and he rushed through with his captive, and it closed behind me.

I scowled, damn it, I hadn't been able to get close enough to even guess at a password… could I maybe…

I cursed, "Damn it Qrow, one of these days." I flapped my wings and launched myself off the ground, carefully I glided to one of the rooftops overlooking the alley and landed on the back side of it. I then carefully crawled forward until finally I could see the alley below.

The Mayor was there, along with several other of the monsters from the assembly that had been forming when I had left; at their feet was the green monster, who seemed to still be out cold.

I frowned, this whole thing was confusing to me… just why had they grabbed this guy? It wasn't like they were trying to stop word of my return from getting out, or else they would have just stopped us from leaving. I certainly didn't recognize the thing, so there was little chance that they thought he was an accomplice of mine. Had he committed some sort of crime? But then why were they waiting?

The answer to my last question came a few seconds later, I felt a wave of nausea roil in my stomach and something black began flowing up out between the cracks of the street. I watched in disbelief as a creature of the Filth boiled up out of the pool of black fluid and stood up.

The Mayor snapped his fingers and the green thing began stirring, it sat up and began looking around to get its bearings.

In an instant, the Filth was on him, engulfing him whole, barely giving him enough time to let out a scream that was cut off. It began roiling and surging around him; then it began to get bigger, forming a large sphere, like a grotesque balloon.

Finally it surged back, forming back into its bipedal form and I nearly gagged.

The green thing's skin had changed to a dull brown, boils now covered it from head to toe and an extra head had grown from its torso. On both of the thing's heads, the bottom jaw had receded to nothing, leaving its tongues to droop down to its knees.

It had turned into a monstrosity.

The Filth monster talked to the Mayor a little bit more, then it reached out and grabbed the monstrosity and a second later they were both gone.

I crawled back a bit as I tried to comprehend what I had just seen. The Etiora had mentioned that the Mayor was protecting them from the Filth, but that wasn't really what was going on… they were selling their own citizens to it.

It was a hell of a discovery; after all, they seemed pretty keen on making sure no one learned of it. Just how long had this been going on?

Movement from below caught my eye and I froze to see the Mayor looking up at the rooftops, his eyes scanning along.

I quickly debated dropping out of sight, but realized that it was too late, the sudden movement would give away my presence immediately. My only shot was to stay still and hope that he somehow didn't see me; failing, that it would be time to put my wings to the test.

I tensed up, preparing to launch myself into action as soon as the Mayor saw me, but to my amazement and relief, those unnatural eyes passed right over me. He then dropped his gaze back to his companions, shrugged, and then lead them out of the alleyway.

I let out a sigh of relief and slowly crawled back down the roof. I would have to be careful heading back, there was every chance that he had decided to have me followed rather than confront me.

"Feels like I would deserve the lucky break though." I muttered under my breath.

"Indeed maybe you did."

I whirled around, drawing Harbinger from its sheath.

Standing there beside me on the rooftop was Seydin, his face bemused as he looked at my blade, "That's some way to express your gratitude… High Invisibility really takes it out of me, particularly when I use it on multiple people."

I lowered my blade slightly as I realized what he was saying, "Wait, are you saying the reason he didn't see me was because…"

"Because I decided that it would be better for everyone involved if you weren't torn to pieces, yes." The diminutive sorcerer replied, "Just a simple 'thank you' would suffice."

"Um… thank you." I said, "But why would you help me?"

Seydin waved a hand, "Not here," He told me, "Come, we have much to discuss."