Blood Ties, Part 15

"Hmmm... well, if the killer isn't using these tunnels, then he must be avoiding notice some other way," you muse, before turning earnestly back to Meska. "If you really wanted to prove your good intentions to Ceriss... could you help us search for him? He's a tall man who attacks at night, abducting women. But no one's ever seen where he takes them. If you could help us track him down..."

Meska frowns, thinking it over for a moment... but then she nods. "The clan will hear of your request," the ratfolk says. "If it will help convince the honorable mage to not turn the big ones loose on our safety-tunnels, then I am thinking we will gladly turn our eyes to the streets. If the 'tall man' is taking such cruel actions, it may perhaps be that we will see it."

And they'll probably do a damn good job on said surveillance, if your suspicion is correct and these are actually Iskro's people. The net enfolding the city just got a lot tighter for the killer to operate in, at least without being observed in the act.

Ceriss still looks uneasy with the extent to which her city's security has been penetrated unawares. But you know well the psychological effect that a gift can have on someone. Let alone a gift of help in a life-and-death matter that's so close to her heart. There's no way she'll be able to turn the ratfolk over to the kind of reprisals they'd probably face if their network were uncovered. Not without a lot more evidence that the network really is doing something nefarious.

Hopefully, you can finish corrupting her before she realizes the nefarious purpose that these tunnels probably were made for.

After hashing out the details with the ratfolk, and how they can report to Ceriss if they find anything, the three small beings depart. You and Ceriss, meanwhile, emerge from the sewers... at which point she begins casting several powerful cleaning magics on you both, until your skin fairly tingles with the reality-warping mystical energies bent toward scourging away any trace of your sewer experience from your clothes and bodies. Soon you are as pristine as you've ever been, from the toes of your feet to the tips of Ceriss' horns.

By that point it's getting fairly late, and you set out for Janessa's manor. You do manage to entice Ceriss into conversation, an engaging enough conversation that she accompanies you to continue it. The promise of the ratfolk assistance does seem to have put her a bit more at ease, and you are able to coax a few laughs and amused teasing out of the beautiful sorceress as she grows more comfortable in your presence.

Then—slowly, gradually—you maneuver the conversation around to the topics you're really interested in. "I think it's really amazing how you're willing to help those girls when they're in trouble like this," you say. "How did you get involved with them in the first place? It sounded like there was some kind of history there..."

Ceriss looks off into the distance, her face taking on a wistful expression. "I grew up in that world," she says. "My mother worked at that same brothel that I go to nowadays, when I offer my contraceptive charms and wards against disease. I... grew up there, more or less. The Madame was like a second mother to me. Especially after my real mother died."

You can hear the pain in Ceriss' voice as she says this. But she continues on, despite the sorrow clouding her face. "It was... many years ago, now. The Madame and Kolfinn—that's a dwarf who works for her—practically raised me. Kolfinn in particular would always tell me how brave and strong my mother was. And... how much I reminded him of her. It... helped. Especially since I couldn't remember her very well. I was... young... when she passed on."

"Did you work there yourself?" you ask, innocently.

Ceriss shakes her head. "The Madame wouldn't let me. Especially once she saw my gift for magic. She knew I had a chance to do big things, and she didn't want my name any more associated with her business than it already was."

Then the tiefling chuckles. "Of course, then I went and became infamous for my 'loose morals' all on my own. People say I was following my mother's example, and... I suppose that's true enough. I refuse to look down on my mother—on any of them—for what they do. And I decided that I was going to spread pleasure my own way, as I saw fit. If the nobles don't like that... then they can decide if their stupid fucking prudery is worth turning away the help of a sorceress of my power."

There's a spirited flash of defiance in her eyes as she speaks. A spark of anger at the way society treats the family that had accepted her. You can't express the full extent of how much you agree with that as Niko, but you do nod. "I understand. If anyone showed that kind of attitude toward my family back in Aspar, I... I can't even imagine how angry I'd be. I think it's admirable that you'd stand up for them like that."

Ceriss smiles, ruffling your hair, and you can see genuine fondness in her expression. With this latest bit of progress—and given her extremely permissive attitude toward such matters—you feel you could probably flirt with her now and expect a fairly straightforward success...

...except that she knows that you're together with Janessa. And she's seen with her own eyes how taken the straight-laced woman is with you. While promiscuous she may be... it's exceedingly obvious that she would never, ever want to hurt someone in the way most uncorrupted mortals can be hurt by the violation of such silly things as monogamy.

You walk in silence for a while longer, before you speak up again, now trying to suss out more information about the strange comment the Madame made. "In all your work at the brothel... has this sort of thing ever come up before? Any other villains attacking the girls that you've had to hunt down?"

Ceriss shakes her head. "I assume there have been others. There are always predators like that in any society. But... this is the first killer I've heard of where they haven't been able to deal with it themselves. Kolfinn has nearly two centuries of experience as a hunter... but this is the first time I've ever seen him at a loss."

Interesting. So it seems that the Madame's mysterious comment about history repeating wasn't about something that Ceriss has specifically done. Or at least... nothing with so obvious a link to the current situation. It seems that this Kolfinn might know more, what with his breadth of experience. Still, you might also be able to get more from Ceriss herself, if she knows anything that he's mentioned, even in passing. "I wonder. Did Kolfinn ever tell you about—"

"Oh! Niko!" The sound of Janessa calling out your assumed name from down the street causes you to glance over. She's approaching quickly, followed by someone else you recognize from the soiree. The stern figure of General Raxien. The two of them quickly catch up to you and Ceriss, whereupon Janessa tells you the results of her morning.

"I spoke with the general like I promised," Janessa explains. "About the... matter... we discussed, when we paid you the visit yesterday. He said he's willing to have his men help in the hunt."

"Your ladyship was very persuasive," the general says... and you get the impression that Janessa has called in yet more personal favors, in order to pay back the debt she feels she owes to Ceriss for helping the young man she's fallen for. "I have... encouraged any volunteers I can muster to spend the next few nights on the town, with their eyes open. Including a generous reward of leave, if any of them can locate this scum. Hopefully, it will not take long to hunt the vermin down... and then we can return to preparing for the true threat."

"Thank you, general," Ceriss says, gratefully. "And thank you, Lady Janessa. I won't forget either of your generous assistance in this matter."

The general merely grunts. "I did have one question..." he says. "I've been told that you had an... altercation last night with the criminal in question. One that left one of our roads in need of considerable repair. Did you catch a glimpse of the man's face in the scuffle? Anything I can pass on to my men?"

Ceriss shakes her head. "It was dark—the dead of night—and he was too far away. This is all I saw." The tiefling snaps her fingers, and an illusion forms in front of you, giving you your first actual image of the foe that you are hunting.

It's much like you've heard: a tall man, clad in a long, ragged coat. The collar is turned up high, obscuring much of his face, and the wide-brimmed hat he wears covers what little might have been seen in shadow. He appears broad-shouldered and muscular, though the bulky coat makes it difficult to tell to exactly what extent. Black gloves cover his hands, one of which holds a long knife.

General Raxien studies the image for a few moments, his lip twisting. "Well, if this is all we have to go on then we'll make do," he says. "I'll pass it along to my men. If you'll excuse me?"

Then, with a tiny bow, he turns and departs. Similarly, Ceriss also makes her goodbyes not long after. She heads back toward her own home—with a parting wink—leaving you and Janessa alone together.

Sorceresses in the skies above, soldiers in the streets, and ratfolk in the sewers below. Thanks to your efforts, the killer's hunting grounds are becoming an ever-more-dangerous place for him... and he was already nearly caught. The question, then, is what his next move will be?

You also need to decide your next move as well. You could try to sneak into Annabeth's home and surprise her with a late-night visit. Or you could follow up on the dwarf, to both enlist his aid and to inquire what he knows about Ceriss. There's also still the witness who purportedly saw a closer glimpse of the actual killer, if you wanted to try and go into her dreams to see if you could get a better look than the vague image you've seen so far.

Then there's also the old man who was watching you as you investigated the scene of the battle, and who fled once he realized you had noticed him, aided by the two men who suddenly attacked you. You could try to ask around, to see if anyone knows any information about them.

Alternatively, you could join the already-crowded hunt yourself, taking to the skies in your demon form. Or you could try to make yourself into bait by taking on the form of a prostitute, and hope you can find someplace safe for the killer to even attempt to grab you, trying to draw him out.

Finally—as it will be night—you could employ your Dreamwalking power, attempting to glean information along an alternate route by observing (and, if applicable, nudging) the dreams of anyone you've personally encountered thus far.

Or you could try to think of a completely different plan.

Either way, time is of the essence, with multiple clocks ticking down. In addition to the killer's deadly actions, there's the imminent arrival of a powerful wizard, who you are pretty sure will make things significantly more complicated when she does show up. Nor would it do to forget that you have your follow-up meeting with Lord Kovar in two days.