Unfortunately, when Griffin stopped by Alexander's house, his attempt to bring his friend in on their plans failed. He had already made plans to take Silana to visit the Soldado's at their home as part of a plan to introduce his daughter to Brienna. Griffin had hoped that by offering his share of the treasure from Eel's End that he would be able to open up Alexander's mind. However, both he and Verik had already agreed to give their share to Falenas given the fact that they weren't supposed to be joining them that night and that the alchemist had saved their lives.

Even though Alexander had refused the call to action, Verik still kept to his word and joined Griffin back to his home with his longbow holstered across his back. Even though the noble didn't think they were going to get into any fights today, he was glad for the help. Although Verik wasn't going to replace Alexander, him joining up would at least mean that the group had five people, assuming that Marcus would let Takota join them. And even though he denied joining today, there was still plenty of time for Alexander to change his mind. Although he hated to think on the idea, Griffin figured that Alexander would lend a helping hand when the situation in Korvosa grew worse.

When Griffin opened the doors to his home, it came as no surprise to see Falenas already ordering some of the estate's servants. He expected that Tiran would be willing to do whatever he could to help fight blood veil, and given that he didn't have any expertise in healing, did what he could to aid an expert in the field. For the most part, the servants were removing couches from the den to make room for different tables. Falenas handed over a slip of parchment to another servant, who walked past Griffin and Verik out of the manor.

"Already hard at work I see," Griffin noted with a grin.

"There's no time to waste," Falenas said with a shrug. "Today we'll have to set up a bigger lab in your home. Tiran gives his regards but is currently buying regents for our operation."

"Could you not use what you already have at your shop?" Griffin questioned, frowning.

Falenas shook his head. "That's simply out of the question. As it happens, there are ingredients that would normally be out of typical line of work and that are rather costly, but they'll provide more options when it comes to creating a cure."

"What are we supposed to do then?" Verik asked. "I don't know anything about medicine and I'm not exactly keen on being any kind of test subject."

"You can help with the heavy lifting," Falenas instructed, glancing over Verik to look around the room briefly. "I take it that Alexander will not be joining us though."

"That is indeed the case," Griffin sighed. "I imagine Viera will have better luck, and for what it's worth, everything from your last job is yours to keep."

"Excellent," Falenas grinned.

Griffin stood by Falenas' side, overseeing Verik join the others in moving furniture around. Although he wanted to help, he had to play the role of the injured noble as many of the servants recognized that he walked around with his cane and a limp. His mind drifted toward how best he can help Korvosa face blood veil. He lacked the specialization Falenas had or the divine magic Viera possessed. His best asset was the resources of being part of a noble family and Tiran was starting to get involved.

Although Griffin appreciated Tiran doing what he could to help the city in its time of need, he was worried of what their parents would think of some of his actions. Although they were out of Korvosa and left their eldest son in charge, it appeared that Tiran was already spending much of the family's money on Falenas' project. If the alchemist was unable to create a cure for blood veil, all of that gold would have gone to waste. It was a conversation Griffin needed to have with his brother at another time.

Half an hour later, Falenas' new lab was nearly completed with Verik helping carry the final table into the room. It was at that moment that Viera stepped into the room and was able to catch Griffin's eye. Although she smiled warmly, the noble was quick to notice the disappointment in her eyes and that Takota was missing. She stepped forward toward Griffin and Falenas.

"I'm afraid that Takota won't be joining us for now," Viera revealed, her smile fading away. "Although Commandant Endrin did agree to let Takota aid us, he's currently away on a mission."

"A mission?" Falenas blinked in surprise, dismissing the remaining servant with a wave to give the group privacy. "But he's still a recruit."

"Commandant Endrin wouldn't reveal any details but admitted that Takota's bunk was empty last night. He believes that Takota could potentially be outside of Korvosa."

"Although it is a shame that Takota isn't here, at least he has permission to join us when he returns," Griffin said. "I'll be sure to visit the Endrin Military Academy each day until his return. Let's hope that he doesn't stay away from the city for too long."

"And I see that Alexander is sticking with his decision from yesterday," Viera sighed. "Will we be able to get by with just the four of us?"

"By that, you mean the three of you," Falenas said and gestured towards the lab with Verik setting down the final table. "Helping out Korvosa is only treating the symptoms. My talents are better off here, trying to create a cure for blood veil."

Although Griffin was hopeful that Falenas would be able to join them to deal with any threats, he expected that the alchemist would rather be in the lab. It was unfortunate as even though a cure for blood veil was needed, the noble had to admit that Falenas was one of their deadliest fighters. Although he only fought with a dagger, it was his bombs that gave him an edge in combat over his companions. Griffin had seen firsthand how Falenas could capably clear out a band of thugs during their partnership taking down the shiver trade. It was unfortunate that only he could make his bombs work as well due to a trade secret he refused to share.

Griffin knew that there was no changing Falenas' mind and turned to face Viera and Verik. "Then the three of us will get by on our own. For now, we should come up with a plan on what we can do while Falenas works on a cure."

"That seems obvious to me," Verik said. "We need to find that plague ship that's sitting in the bottom of the Jeggare River and figure out what blood veil actually is."

"A wonderful idea, Verik," Viera nodded. "If that ship carried that disease into Korvosa, we may find clues as to how to find a cure."

"I believe that's unlikely," Falenas told the group, taking a step away from them. "Although the timing of the ship sinking and the emergence of blood veil does line up, there's something we're missing. Something about the disease itself doesn't quite make sense to me yet."

"You were the one that brought up the ship yesterday," Griffin pointed out. "Now you don't want us to investigate it?"

"As it so happens, I've had time to change my mind after meeting with Ishani," Falenas told Griffin. "He said that the clerics who fell sick with blood veil didn't have any contact with anyone that was sick, which should be impossible given that the disease infects others through touch. Whatever we're dealing with, I don't believe that the ship had anything to do with it."

"But you could be wrong," Viera said and shook her head. "We should investigate just to be sure."

"I doubt that the plague ship sinking shortly before blood veil first appeared is a coincidence," Griffin said in agreement with Viera. "We'll look into the ship and see if we can find a connection."

Falenas shrugged. "Do as you will. Even if I was able to join you, my bombs aren't too efficient underwater."

"We'll need to find a way to travel underwater," Verik said. "We can't exactly breathe underwater."

"Perhaps Ishani could help us with a spell," Viera suggested, and before giving someone else a chance to speak, continued on. "I'll try to have a talk with him today. I don't think he would have the spell prepared today but if we let him know he could help us tomorrow."

Griffin nodded at Viera's idea but couldn't help himself from frowning in a subtle manner. Although the noble knew that Ishani was their best chance of investigating the ship, he had to admit that he was jealous. Even though they only knew each other for a day, it seemed that Viera and Ishani were becoming quick friends which Griffin worried would turn into something more.

For now, Griffin pushed those thoughts aside. He could address his feelings when Korvosa wasn't in danger.

"Seeing as how we have to wait anyways, I'll wait for Tiran to return and ask for his help in learning more about where the ship sank," Griffin said, forcing his frown away. "If we're successful, we won't have to search the entire Jeggare River."

"I can find us a rowboat to get to where we need to go," Verik offered. "I have a few favors I call in at Old Korvosa."

"And what of your bow?" Viera asked. "I don't think it'll do much good while we're underwater."

"I can take my spear along," Verik answered. "I can hold my own with it but do you think I'll actually need it?"

"There are some dangerous fish that roam the Jeggare River," Falenas told the group. "I'd take them just in case."

"Our weapons should be enough for tomorrow," Griffin told Viera.

"That they should," Viera agreed. "When and where will we meet tomorrow?"

"The West Docks is right next to the Jeggare River," Griffin said and nodded to himself. "We'll meet there early in the morning. Viera, if Ishani can help, have him meet us there. I'll check in with the Sable Marine Company before to see if Takota is back."

"His crossbow could be better for underwater combat," Falenas nodded in support. "I wish you all the best of luck tomorrow."

"Thank you, Falenas," Viera said and stepped away. "I should get going. I'm hoping that I can catch Ishani before he leaves Citadel Volshyenek."

Griffin resisted the urge to frown. "A sound idea. Verik, I trust that you won't get into any trouble at Old Korvosa if we leave you alone."

"I know that we've gotten off on the wrong foot when we first met but I want to do what I can to help the people of the city," Verik told Griffin. "The Temple of Sarenrae thought I could do good and I owe it to them to at least try."

"Then I'll see the two of you out. Falenas, if you see my brother, let him know that I'd like to talk with him in my study."

Falenas nodded silently, leaving Griffin to lead the others to the door. He wasn't sure what they would find tomorrow but the noble hoped that it wasn't a waste of time like Falenas suggested. At the very least, going to the ship would be a good way to test the group's dynamics after all of the changes they went through, and for some, let them shake off the rust from their combat skills.

A/N: It's a little bit of a shorter chapter than I'd like but necessary. It just didn't feel logical to jump to the next day and focus on finding the ship.

We're at 38,000 words and I'll be spending Friday and Saturday on the next chapter. With it definitely going to be enough to get to 40,000 words, I still feel confident about completing NaNoWriMo.

Until next time.