Blood Ties, Part 19


"The night before last..." you say. "There was a fight between Ceriss and the killer."

"We saw her magic light up the sky," Meska agrees. "It would be difficult for anyone in the city to be missing a battle that big. Let alone those such as us, charged with our task of seeing and knowing."

"He managed to evade her somehow," you continue. "I arrived after the fight was over and examined the scene, searching for clues, asking people whether they'd seen anyone matching the killer's description. But as I did that, I noticed that my investigation had attracted the interest of an old man."

"He was watching me very carefully. And also doing a very good job of hiding it. But I still caught him in the act. I tried to catch up to him so I could either follow or interrogate him... but two other men attacked me before I could do it. And he got away in the scuffle."

"Suspicious..." muses Meska.

"Yes, I thought so too," you agree. "Could you have your people look into the matter for me? I'd like to know anything you can figure out about the three of them."

"Master incubus has but to say the word..." the ratfolk says, deferentially. "Though... any description it pleases you to give will only be increasing our chances of success."

You spend a while going over the particulars of the exchange with Meska, as she politely grills you on every detail. The old man's appearance, down to the style of his clothes. The appearance of your attackers. The direction the old man was fleeing. How fast he was moving. Whether anyone in the crowd showed any sign of recognizing him. You answer in as much detail as you can remember, until the ratfolk spy is satisfied.

"Our agents will be finding everything there is to find on these big ones, master incubus," Meska assures you. "We will be contacting you tomorrow morning, with what we have learned so far."

"Your service is of great aid to the Witch Queen's cause," you reply. "I will convey to her and Iskro how helpful you and your clan were."

Meska's eyes widen in gratitude. "Thank you!" she says, bowing again. Then, after a few seconds, she glances up. "If... if you might permit me a question, master incubus? You... have met the Witch Queen yourself, have you not?"

You raise an eyebrow, curious. "I have, yes."

"Is she truly...?" The ratfolk hesitates, unsure for a moment how to proceed. "The previous Witch Queen, before this one... she was our patron. But only ever throwing the barest scraps our way. Always threatening the lives of our kin back in Kovora. Always threatening to reveal what we had already done for her to the big ones, knowing what would result. Knowing that... that we had nowhere else to turn."

Her voice is growing rough with emotion as she speaks. "But... master incubus... even unasked for, we have been seeing so much more in these past years. And not just more money, but... Spymaster Iskro has even been allowed to task his human agents with buying many of the supplies and medicines we need. At human prices. Not the prices that so many big ones are charging for dealing with vermin."

At this point, it looks as though she's almost about to cry. "I... I am simply wishing to understand," she whispers. "Is she...? This benevolence we are seeing, is it truly...?"

You kneel down in front of the small creature, placing a reassuring hand on her tiny shoulder. "If what I've seen from her is any indication..." you say, showing the ratfolk the warmest, most kindly smile in your repertoire. "...then her only regret was that she couldn't send more. She truly does care for your people, Meska. If we can just get through this danger, I'm sure you'll be able to see that."

The ratfolk bows her head, placing her forehead flat against the ground again. "We are the Witch Queen's servants!" she says, loyalty overflowing from every word. "We will absolutely be finding these men you ask us to seek!"

You thank her for her devotion. Once you've confirmed that there's nothing more to be discussed, you head back across the city, toward Janessa's manor. Tracking down Meska and working everything out took long enough that you don't think you'll have time to attempt anything else. And you're quite interested in the result of Janessa's investigation.

She hasn't arrived yet by the time you return. But it isn't too long a wait, meaning it's still a bit too early to turn in to bed. But—her tone a perfect mixture of teasing and firm—Janessa suggests a second fencing lesson, an offer which you accept.

There's no need for the sexual undertones to be subtle this time, and neither of you is shy in how close you get to the other, or how long or intimately you touch. Even so, none of that distracts your host from making it a genuine lesson, and she pushes you through your paces, her comments and suggestions just as incisive as before, full of forthright determination to genuinely help you learn how to better defend yourself, in between all the flirting.

You also discuss what she learned, in between the exchanges of saber strikes. "I kept as close an eye on Hastrik as I could without being suspicious," she says as she lunges, slowing down enough that you can parry it. "It's... hard for me to see it, Niko. I don't want to doubt that scout's eyes, but... Hastrik is just such a fool. I know that appearances can be deceiving. I know a lack of skill in wartime administration could still mean he's dangerous in other ways. But... watching him try to do his job..."

She sighs, shaking her head. You respond with a series of lunges of your own, which she deflects with casual ease. "I understand," you say. "My own sources said much the same. My father's people have had dealings with him, and they had trouble seeing it too. Not just in his temperament, but in simple terms of where he was on some of those nights. They can't confirm it for certain, but they have reason to believe that he might have been elsewhere."

"So where does that leave us?" Janessa asks, redirecting your blade and moving it enough out of line that she can score another touch. "Contradictory evidence? No real suspects?"

"I don't know..." you say, sheepishly acknowledging the hit, then going on the offensive again. "Maybe we just need to keep following the leads we do have... Was there anything else you learned from your investigation?"

"There was one odd thing," Janessa says, absent-mindedly parrying your attacks as she thinks back across her day. "I talked with one of his maids—a real gossiper, that one—and she said that Hastrik found a letter in his office. She didn't know what was in it, and he burned it once he'd finished reading it. But she says that he was happy as a schoolboy afterward. Overheard him muttering something about how he 'knew she'd come around'. And then cleared several hours out of his schedule tomorrow morning. Refused to say what for."

Interesting. So that letter is prompting Hastrik to head to some secret location, at a certain time in the morning. Unfortunately, that directly overlaps with when you'll be meeting with Lord Kovar again. And it would be quite difficult to renege on that with as important for the war effort as that supposedly is, and as dutiful as you've set up Niko's character to be.

In the meantime, however, you still have tonight to deal with. The Thousand Eyes are looking into the old man, but you could still talk to Kolfinn, getting his insights into the killer, and into Ceriss' past. Or you could meet the witness for a Dreamwalk, to see what she saw when the killer attacked her friend.

Of course, there's no need to limit it to just her. You could use your dreamwalking power to insert yourself into the subconscious of any target you've met, whose psyche you wish to explore.

You could also take to the skies and patrol, or set yourself up as bait in an attempt to lure the killer out. Alternatively, you could also spend the time making a concentrated effort—with all the benefits of your sex and aphrodisiac—to bring Janessa to some new stage of lust.

The simplest and (relatively) easiest would be to try and warm her up to the idea of a threesome with Ceriss. Though with some extra time and effort, you could probably convince her to help your actual efforts outright, if you wanted her to either serve as an agent here, or come back with you and Ceriss to Kovora.