After the group crossed over the Narrows and into Old Korvosa, Vencarlo told the group that they could find Eel's End toward the east on the first set of piers after crossing the last bridge. After a quick bow, the duelist spun around and walked away toward the direction of his academy. Alexander was quick to suggest that the group wait for Griffin to head home and claim his Indigo disguise but the noble was quick to dismiss the notion. He insisted that there was no need to hide his identity as he was acting on the Korvosan Guard's behalf to negotiate with Devargo Barvasi for the good of the city. After giving the argument some thought, Alexander conceded that Griffin had a point. As long as they avoided combat, which was the plan to begin with, they wouldn't need Indigo's services.

Following Vencarlo's directions, the group soon ended up at a long pier upon which sat five different boats. Glowing lanterns shaped like spiders and eels marked each lamp post that led to the pier. Unlike the rest of the city, Eel's End was left untouched by the riots that Korvosa suffered. There was no doubt that Devargo had men to keep trouble away from his businesses.

The few enforcers that were present on the docks noted the group, but otherwise, didn't stop them from stepping onto the pier. Alexander knew that they weren't here for a fight but felt uncomfortable from what he heard of Eel's Vice. If Devargo didn't pay his vice tax, he would be locked away as it should be the case. Different signs marked what each barge was with Viera looking up at one and reading it out loud.

"The House of Clouds, where the caress of our lovely caretakers will guide you to Heaven," Viera said and turned to her companions. "Is that some sort of temple? I wasn't expecting one in a place like this."

"Viera, that's a brothel," Falenas told his companion.

"Oh," Viera's cheeks turned red and she looked away from the barge. "I see."

Falenas gestured to each barge as he explained what it was. "The Twin Tigers is a gambling hall, Goldenhawk is an inn, and the Dragon's Breath is a despicable drug den."
"You know quite a lot about this place," Griffin noted. "Have you spent time here and thought not to tell us?"

"Not at all," Falenas answered and shook his head. "I like to keep track of the major drug dealers in the city in case my patients think that drugs can help them escape their ailments."

"Then you know where Devargo is?" Alexander asked.

"He's at the Eel's End."

"We're at Eel's End," Takota pointed out.

Falenas motioned to the final ship, a decent-sized warship that had no advertisement on it. "The pier and the ship share the same name. I imagine at this time, we should be able to secure a meeting with Devargo."

Griffin and Falenas led the way toward the warship with Alexander, Takota, and Viera walking and staying behind the two. Two enforcers stood in front of the boardwalk leading to the ship, and unlike the previous guards, they were more serious about their duty. They remained standing in place, watching the group cautiously. Griffin leaned on his cave and bowed his head politely to the two.

"Good day, gentlemen," Griffin greeted and looked from one enforcer to the other. "We're here to see Devargo."

"Is that so?" one of the enforcers asked. "Devargo doesn't take visitors."

Falenas spoke up before Griffin could. "He's expecting us, actually."

"Is he now?" the enforcer said in an uncertain tone. "I didn't hear about any meetings for today."

"That's not my problem," Falenas shrugged. "Take it up with Devargo if you wish, but if he gets angry at you for not letting us meet with him at the proper time, you may have to face whatever punishment he has in mind for you."

The two enforcers looked at each other, and with a nod, they stepped out of the way to let the group through. Griffin was shocked into silence by Falenas' methods and let the elf step onto the ship alone. Takota nudged Griffin when he walked by with Alexander and Viera, and together, the four followed after the alchemist. Alexander shared Griffin's surprise at seeing how well Falenas navigated the criminal underworld of Eel's End. He didn't believe that the elf was a criminal in any way but there was certainly more to him than expected.

Eventually, the group ended up in the captain's cabin. . The exterior walls were covered in spider webs with the spiders that made them, all of various sizes but no larger than one's fist, skittering throughout their homes. Within the room were two long wooden tables that were surrounded by chairs and a stage that held a leather chair covered in cobwebs. A door to the side was slightly ajar, revealing stairs that descended downward into the ship.

Alexander was quick to realize that this wasn't a cabin, but instead, it was a throne room.

Six men wearing an assortment of leather armor were before the throne and turned around at the sight of the new arrivals. The man on the throne motioned for the men to take a seat at the tables which they did without hesitation. Alexander looked at the man on stage, noting that he had a muscular build and shaggy black hair. He wore dark leather armor with metal chains forming a spider on his chest. His gauntlets were bladed and the warrior was quick to realize that if a fight did break out, it was going to be a struggle.

All was silent except for an iron bird cage that hung from the ceiling. Inside of the cage was a house drake that struggled to break free. Rather than look up, Griffin looked down at the floor before the stage and whispered to Alexander.

"There's a trap door," Griffin noted and looked up to the throne. "The switch is built into the chair."

"Good eye," Alexander whispered a compliment.

"Devargo Barvasi," Falenas nodded his head toward the man on the throne. "I hope you don't mind our intrusion but we wanted to talk with you."

"This better be important," Devargo said, looking at the other men. "I was busy interviewing potential recruits for the security of my business. I feel as though I need new doormen."

"He wouldn't kill them for letting us on board," Viera muttered under her breath. "Would he?"

"Thank you for hearing us out, King of Spiders," Griffin took the lead in talking as Falenas stepped back. "We wanted to-"

"I'm sorry, but my hearing is terrible," Devargo interrupted with a smirk before gesturing toward the hidden trap door. "Go ahead and step up to plead your case. I promise I won't bite."

Griffin raised his cane to walk forward only for Alexander to grab his arm. "What are you doing?"

"It's like you said, there's a trap door, and there's no way I'm letting you stand on it," Alexander quietly told the noble. Afterwards, he released Griffin and stepped forward to take his place over the trap door. "I see no reason to lie to you. We have been sent by the Korvosan Guard."

"I see…" Devargo said, his hand shifting over to the side of his chair.

"But we're not here for you," Alexander quickly said. "We heard that you've had dealings with Ambassador Amprei. He's who we're after."

"Of course," Devargo nodded and returned his hand to his side. "Perhaps I could be of help but I must remind you that the patrons who visit Eel's End are allowed their privacy."

"I understand, but if you don't help us, Ambassador Amprei could cause Korvosa to suffer even more than it has before," Alexander argued. "He intends to place embargoes and sanctions to bleed the city dry of money to make it possible for him to acquire its buildings. Surely, you must realize that this would be bad for business."

Devargo tapped his chin in thought, carefully considering Alexander's words. Although the warrior was confident that the crime boss would agree to a deal, he wished that it was Griffin speaking. The noble was a much better speaker than he was but he couldn't risk one of his friends suffering from Devargo's trap if he used it. Alexander could only hope that he was convincing enough to arrange a deal.

"Perhaps I do have information that the good ambassador is involved in a delicate matter that he would want kept quiet," Devargo noted. "But I am going to need something from you if I'm giving it up."

"We have gold," Alexander told Devargo. "Name your price."

"I'll tell you how much I'll sell it for later,," Devargo shook his head. "As of now, I am quite bored, and I think you will serve as entertainment for everyone here before we continue negotiations."

Alexander raised an eyebrow and noticed Devargo's smirk. "What do you mean by that?"

When Alexander thought about what may happen in Eel's End, the idea that he would have to strip down to only his trousers and an empy belt pouch hadn't crossed his mind.

If it had crossed his mind, he certainly wouldn't think an audience would see him in that, but as it turned out, that's exactly what happened in Eel's End.

It also didn't help that his right hand was tied tightly to his side with leather binding.

Alexander shifted uncomfortably on his feet, aware that everyone in Devargo's throne room could see him exposed. He stood on the end of one table with one of the men Devargo assessed on the other. The potential enforcer was likewise only wearing a pair of trousers and belt pouch with his hand tied down, but he lacked the muscles that Alexander had. On one side of the table, the other recruits started to cheer and heckle.

The warrior turned to look at the other side of the table where his companions were. Griffin and Falenas both looked uncertain at how events turned out and Viera was notably looking away from Alexander. Takota stood behind them, holding Alexander's armor and the clothes he wore underneath in his arms in a dutiful manner. The archer kept a cautious eye on the rogues to ensure they didn't try to take anything that belonged to Alexander.

Devargo stood up from his throne and pulled a dagger out from underneath the sleeve. His men cheered when he stepped off the stage and toward the table. Alexander briefly wondered if the crime lord would try to attack him and was somewhat relieved to instead see him stab the dagger into the center of the table.

"The game is knivesies," Devargo announced and the recruits cheered. "Place your bets. We begin at ten… nine…"

Devargo walked back to his throne while counting down from ten. The recruits cheered and threw gold coins onto the table around the dagger before joining their friend on his side of the table. Falenas placed a single gold coin on the table and moved behind his friend. Alexander blinked in confusion, having never played or even heard of knivesies before. Devargo didn't bother to explain the rules and the warrior wasn't sure if he was allowed to ask. He could only hope to watch what his opponent does and figure it out from there.

The King of Spiders finished his countdown as he sat down and the game of knivesies began.

The recruit wasted no time dashing toward the center of table with Alexander taking off a second too late. The thug grabbed the dagger with his free hand and pulled it out from the table. Without warning, he slashed out wildly at Alexander, who backed out of reach with a gasp. Still unsure of how the game is played, he figured the best bet would be to disarm his opponent. Unfortunately, he wasn't trained in hand-to-hand combat, and when he moved to disarm his foe, the recruit moved to avoid his grasp and stabbed him in the chest.

"Alexander!" Griffin called out in worry.

Viera finally looked at the game and her eyes went wide. "What kind of game is this?"

Alexander grunted in pain and pushed the thug away, although he took the dagger with him. "This isn't a game! This is just an excuse to get me out of my armor!"

"Don't be absurd, Alexander," Falenas noted, lacking concern for his friend's injuries. "Knivesies is a… I wouldn't call it legitimate but there are rules to it."

Alexander grasped his wound, which seared in pain, and backed away from another dagger swing. "How do I win?"

"Seeing as how you didn't get to the dagger in time, you need to get more gold than your opponent," Falenas explained. "That's what the pouch is for."

"I have to do that while being attacked?!" Alexander asked and only raised his left hand to block the knife which left a nasty cut across his forearm. "Grah! What other options do I have?!"

"You could always knock him out or try to kill him?" Falenas suggested.

Alexander swinged wildly only for the thug to duck. "I don't think that's even more likely!"

Falenas tapped his chin in thought. "Oh wait. You can also knock him off the table. That will disqualify him, making you the winner by technicality."

Throwing a man off a table was certainly something Alexander could pull off. When his opponent moved to stab him again, the warrior stopped the blow by catching his hand, keeping the blade out of reach of his skin. The stab wound in his chest and the cut across his arm burned but he was strong enough to push through the pain. The thug was likely expecting to be thrown to either side off the table but the warrior realized that and was thinking two moves ahead. With a firm grip on the thug, Alexander slammed his shoulder into him and started to run forward toward the opposite end of the table.

With a violent roar, Alexander threw the thug off the table once he reached the end, sending him crashing to the ground. The men behind the recruit were able to move out of the way in time and booed him. Despite this, Devargo clapped and laughed in joy while Alexander shook his head in disappointment.

"Are you entertained now?" Alexander asked, not bothering to hide his anger.

"Very much so," Devargo said with a grin. "You win the game, and since you haven't played before, I'll explain what happens next. The gold on the table will be split. Half goes to the winner and the other half is divided equally among those that bet on the victor."

"That would be me," Falenas said with a nod. "Don't worry, Alexander. You can trust me to divide the gold fairly."

Alexander hopped down from the table. "Now, about our deal…"

"I do happen to have information on Ambassador Amprei," Devargo said. "I keep them in my quarters as blackmail. I have reason to believe that eventually, Ambassador Amprei will find a way to make them useless, so I will sell them to you for a thousand a five hundred gold."

"Make it a thousand," Alexander requested.

"We can each pitch in a hundred gold," Griffin whispered harshly to Alexander.

"You certainly are a bold one," Devargo noted. "Perhaps I can be talked down to a thousand gold if you play another game of knivesies. If it helps, I'll let your friends treat your wounds before you begin."

"Unless you're offering to play against me, I'm good," Alexander told Devargo. "How about it?"

"As amusing as that would be, I must deny, but you continue to entertain me even now," Devargo clasped his hands. "A thousand gold it is. Allow me to fetch the ambassador's letters."

While Devargo stood up and made his way to the stairs, Viera quickly stepped forward to Alexander. "Let me heal your wounds. And afterwards, you should really put on a shirt."

Alexander nodded, calming down after being put through a death game. Viera placed her hands gently on his shoulders and chanted her spells while Griffin untied his hand. The cut on his hand closed completely while the puncture wound in his chest only grew smaller. It still pained him but the priestess sighed and revealed she didn't have enough spells to heal him completely. Alexander didn't hold it against her and took the tunic that Takota silently offered and put it on. Falenas held out his hand, revealing thirteen gold coins that the warrior had won, which he took.

The enforcer recruits glared at the group of adventurers, especially the one that lost to Alexander. Takota glared back, and fortunately enough, the criminals knew better to pick a fight when their boss was conducting business with them. After a few minutes, Devargo returned, and in his hands were several pieces of parchment.

"The good ambassador happens to be having an affair with the wife of a noble back in Cheliax and a rather important one at that," Devargo explained. "When I heard rumors that she was still writing to him, I had to see Ambassador Amprei. He refused both my gift of shiver and my business offer but I was able to take his house key before I was escorted off his property."

"And then returned to steal the letters," Griffin predicted. "A clever plan."

"I've been selling the letters back to him one at a time," Devargo continued. "I only have two left but they should suffice for whatever it is the Korvosan Guard needs."

Griffin handed the pouch of gold that Cressida gave him to Devargo. "Here's your payment."

Devargo shifted through the gold's content, and after determining it to be enough, handed the letters to the noble. "Pleasure doing business with you, Vossler. Now, do yourself a favor and get off my boat. You wouldn't want more rumors to get around, would you?"

"I shouldn't be surprised that you know who I am," Griffin said with a sigh but accepted the letters. "We won't bother you any longer. Come along, everyone."

The group left the cabin together and stepped off Eel's End. Alexander took his armor back from Takota but didn't bother to put it back on, instead stuffing it into his backpack. His wound still pained him but he wouldn't complain. He thought back on how the deal went and shook his head. The warrior couldn't let go of the hate he felt for Devargo and the way he could have lost his life playing knivesies.

Once they were out of earshot of the enforcers, Falenas glanced at his companions. "So, who wants to come back here tonight and kill the bastard?"

"Falenas!" Alexander gasped. "We can't just murder someone! The law is there for a reason."

"You say that as though we didn't kill Gaedren for our own reasons," Griffin reminded Alexander, who grew quiet. "I say we leave Devargo alone for now and focus on Korvosa. If we have time to come back one day, we may want to consider it."

"Whenever we're ready, I'm in," Viera told the others. "Justice will be served."

Takota simply nodded, silently voicing his approval of the plan. Although he still believed that the Korvosan Guard should be responsible for arresting Devargo and see him brought to trial, he knew that if his friends asked him to act as a vigilante, he wouldn't hesitate to join them.

A/N: And I'm back with another chapter.

Despite thinking that we would be done by January, I took a longer break for the winter, and when I got back, focused on other stories, including the start of Burnt Offerings. But I'm here now and plan to publish a few more chapters. I imagine that this story will finish before Burnt Offerings does.

Until next time.