Blood Ties, Part 18

You and Ceriss walk back to her manor, returning to where Janessa waits for you. Ceriss informs Janessa that their source confirmed the soldier's account, but had little new to offer, while you silently ponder your own observations of Meska's story.

"So we're back to the same question, then," says Janessa. "What's our next move?"

"I'm afraid I won't be of much use this morning," Ceriss admits, wearily. "I have court duties that have been piling up since all of this madness started... and there are some of them that I simply must attend to, if I want to be able to be able to join the hunt again tonight."

She yawns, betraying again how tired she is. You nod. "If Lord Hastrik is our target, then there's... one lead that I may be able to follow up on myself," you say. "A source I know from back home, who might be able to tell us more. But I would have to go alone, I'm afraid."

Then you turn to Janessa. "Could you keep an eye on Lord Hastrik while I'm doing it? Anything we could learn might be useful. Especially if it means we can prevent him from attacking anyone else."

You can see ache and regret briefly flicker through Janessa's eyes, regret that she won't be able to spend one of your few remaining days with you. But she makes every effort not to let it show, suppressing the emotion in favor of duty and the needs of others. If you weren't so very perceptive, you probably wouldn't have even noticed it at all.

"Of course," she says, resolutely. "We can't let him get away with anything more than he already has. Just... are you sure it'll be safe for you to be alone?"

"Yes, there's no danger at all," you assure her. "I'll just need to meet and straighten a few things out, that's all. And I really think it might help us stop him before he hurts anyone else."

Janessa ruffles your hair affectionately, looking proud of how dutiful you are. "Alright, just... stay safe, Niko. Promise me?"

"I promise," you say. And with that you depart, leaving Ceriss' manor and vanishing into the city.

When you're actually looking for them, it's amazing just how many ratfolk you can find in the city. Even without using the network they built into the sewers, it's so frequent to see a tiny bundle of rags sitting among the beggars, or a small, furry form peeking from around the corner of some back alley as they scavenge. Their natural stealth abilities were impressive already... but on top of that, what they truly leverage is the sense of being simply beneath notice in the eyes of the larger inhabitants of the city.

Ducking out of sight into one of those alleys, you approach a likely-looking ratfolk. He tenses, but you raise your hands, palms outward. "Peace, friend," you say reassuringly. "I need to talk to Meska again. It's about last night. She'll want to hear what I have to say."

The ratfolk gives you a long, suspicious look, but eventually nods and darts away. You wait there for some time, until finally the familiar figure of your contact among the ratfolk appears. "Ah, big one," she says, her tone betraying that she is less than enthused about how you keep using your leverage to jerk her around like this. "What are you wanting now?"

"First, a question," you say as you turn to her, dropping much of the naive facade. "I presume you've been in fairly recent contact with Iskro? Enough for your clan to know the new tactic Kovora is pursuing?"

As you speak your form shifts, demonic features taking the place of Niko's unassuming ones. Meska sucks in a breath. "The incubus?" she whispers. Then she bows deep, touching her forehead to the dirty alley floor. "Our lives to serve the Witch Queen, master! I apologize for not realizing before. What are you wishing of us?"

You wave your hand, gesturing her back up. "No need for apologies. It just means my disguise was as good as I need it to be." Your point made, you shapeshift back into Niko, just in case anyone happens upon you. "Now with that cleared up, we can get to the reason for this visit. I'm pretty sure that you didn't tell Ceriss the whole story when you gave your report, correct?"

The ratfolk spy gives you a look that's equal parts shock, amazement and fear at how easily you were able to see through her deception. "This... this is true, master," she says. "We are not having any love for mad killers, even killers of the big ones. And we know it is important to convince the magic-heroine that our clan is to be trusted. But... we could not reveal all. Not without casting even greater suspicion on us."

"Then what else do you know?" you ask.

"Everything last night was exactly as I said," Meska explains. "There was a big one who was matching the description. He was watching the sex-women. And one of the soldiers saw him, began following him. Eventually, the mad big one stopped watching the sex-women. Instead, he was retreating to that big house. And—before he is sneaking inside the big house—he is taking off his hat. Just close enough to one of the spell-lamps on the street that we can see that it is Lord Hastrik himself."

Now Meska's tone darkens. "Except... there is one very strange thing. For that much alone? Everything is making sense. But... master incubus... Lord Hastrik is a man who is holding a very important position in the war effort against our Witch Queen. It is not just last night that the Thousand Eyes have been keeping him under close watch. Always knowing his movements. His indiscretions. Who he brings to his big house for infidelity. Such things are useful, to those who are following our trade."

The ratfolk spy looks up at you quizzically. "We are understanding that this mad big one has been attacking the sex-women many times, yes? But the only time we have ever seen Lord Hastrik act like that, in those clothes, is this one time. Only while being watched by the soldier following him."

Now Meska's brow furrows. "It is... possible he has been regularly slipping our net, of course. Without our ever once realizing he had left it. Such a failure would be bringing us much shame. But... if he is hiding such great skill at concealment... then why was he forgetting all that great skill only last night, so that the same net caught him so very straightforwardly?"

The question settles in your stomach with a cold unease. You'd thought that you had gained a leg-up on the killer with the revelation from the soldier who followed him. But from what Meska is saying, you're now confronted with the possibility that—one way or another—what happened last night was intentional all along.

If so, then "foiling" the killer's attempt last night was actually part of his plan. It would mean he's changing his strategy in response. Already setting up for his next move.

But what will that move be? If the growing threat has caused him to move beyond his usual methods, then it might be far less easy to predict than you might have expected.

Meska looks up dutifully at you as you think through the implications. Either way, in addition to this new information, you've also gained direct access to the Kovoran spy network in this area, and now you can give them orders without worrying about explaining them to Ceriss.

They will probably need to keep up a good share of their presence watching the streets, as they'd initially agreed to do. But you could also redirect a fair number of them to other priorities. Even ones that serve your other objective, if you wanted.