Where the Heart Is, Part 8

You emerge from the dirty, cramped tenement out into the morning sun, with the other inhabitants of this impoverished section of the city already starting to fill the streets. No one pays you much heed, except for a mangy dog in a nearby alley who briefly looks up from the garbage it was nosing through, before returning its attention to it once again. Everyone else goes about their own business in an ever-increasing swell of movement.

As harrowing as the recent nightmare was, you don't let it shake you from your chosen course. Too much is riding on your success for you to let that happen. Lily's fate, the Second Circle's fate... and of course, your own fate. You won't sacrifice any of them in favor of another. No... you're going to find a way to create a perfect, utterly erotic end for all of them.

You won't accept anything less.

Winding your way through the streets, you keep an eye out for any signs of the Thousand Eyes. Almost immediately, you find an area with quite a few beggars lining the side of the street, several of whom are ratfolk. One, in particular, has a makeshift crutch by his side and what appears to be an injured leg... but you notice him surreptitiously scanning the crowd with a bit more calculation than the others, and you'd be willing to bet that his "injured" leg is anything but.

Approaching him, you kneel down close and drop a coin into his cracked, weathered beggar's bowl. "I'd like to inquire about a... business proposition," you say. "Where might I make the acquaintance of someone who can speak for your clan?"

The ratfolk looks up at you, a calculating look entering his eyes. "You will be wanting your path to be heading toward the Griffon's Feather Tavern," he says, somehow managing to make even the higher pitch of his voice sound gravelly. "Rifek is conducting the clan's business from there."

He gives you detailed directions to this tavern, after which you thank him and depart. It's a bit of a walk, but eventually you find yourself standing in front of the establishment in question. It's a small place... but cleaner and more respectable-looking than you expected. If the ratfolk are openly holding their more legitimate meetings in a place like this, then their clans' presence must be notably more established here than it was in the Vekmar capitol.

Though that would doubtless change in a heartbeat if the people of Nelin ever learned the truth of their ties to Kovora.

You enter the tavern, finding it just as clean and homey on the inside. Your eye immediately catches on a small figure sitting in the far corner at one of the tables. To your eyes, this brown-and-back ratfolk looks noticeably younger than the other ratfolk you've met. And rather than wearing simple clothes suited for stealth, his style of dress is a smaller version of the human fashion you've seen in the streets of Nelin.

He regards you as you approach his table. "A pleasure to meet you, young miss," he says, inclining his head, his voice barely audible above the background noise of the other patrons. "My name is Rifek. Now please, tell me... just what sort of 'business proposition' could my humble services provide to a young woman who already keeps such august company as the Holy Mother Imfiel?"

Not unexpected that word of your initial contact reached the local spymaster before you yourself did. "You are well informed," you say quietly. "Though I suspect that your knowledge of my movements is, in part, because your people have been keeping a particularly close eye on the heroines, is it not? At least, that is what I have been lead to believe by our mutual friend, Iskro."

Rifek doesn't look particularly surprised at your words. He merely gives you a knowing look, then makes a quick motion with his head, indicating a door in the back wall. The two of you walk over to it, entering a private room, isolated from the rest of the tavern. Only once you're completely alone does he turn back to you. "You'd be the incubus, then? We've been expecting you for a while now."

"Other heroines have kept me occupied elsewhere," you say. "But now it's time for me to take care of business in Nelin. Can I count on the support of the Thousand Eyes in what I must do here?"

"Of course, of course," Rifek assures you. "Any agent of the Witch Queen will have our full cooperation, to the best of our humble ability. We will share all the intelligence we've collected with you. And if there is anything particular you would like us to look into, we will prioritize that immediately."

Behind the display of obsequiousness, your keen eyes detect that the young ratfolk is sizing you up with a shrewd, calculating eye. "I'm grateful," you say. Then you decide to poke a little further. "And don't sell yourself short. From what I've seen, you and your people have built a particularly impressive network here."

It's less obvious on a ratfolk's features, but Rifek allows himself a smirk at your praise. "We've worked hard to get where we are," he acknowledges, and you can hear the genuine pride in his voice. "To make this place for our people. I've spent most of my life learning exactly how this city works. All the little ins and outs, to make sure we have the ear of the right people."

"It's obvious how much effort you've put in," you agree. "Even your command of the humans' language is impeccable."

Rifek chuckles. "It's important when you need to be taken seriously in a negotiation," the young ratfolk says. "Though on occasion, it can be just as important to be able to pick up the old accent when you need to be underestimated."

As he speaks, his voice shifts a little higher, and for a moment he playfully takes on an exaggerated form of the irregular linguistic patterns you've grown accustomed to hearing from his fellow ratfolk. "We are understanding that the great incubus is needing our services," he says, winking. "Please, be telling us if there is anything we can be doing to be aiding our great benefactors in Kovora."

You can see a shrewd glint in his eye as he watches you. For your part, you feel that you've gained a better grasp on Rifek's nature. When he speaks of the accomplishments of his clan, of his kin, you can hear the genuine pride and determination in his words. But—unlike the other ratfolk leaders you've met—when Rifek speaks of Kovora or the Witch Queen the emotion feels more calculated, though he hides it well. You don't get that same sense of fervent loyalty that you heard in the voices of Iskro or Meska, when they spoke of their mistress.

That's not to say that you sense any indications of treachery from Rifek, however. Merely that, despite his affectation of subservience, you're certain that his ultimate loyalties are entirely to his clan and his kin. So long as Kovora proves to be a reliable ally, you don't doubt that his abilities will prove invaluable. But it's an alliance he intends to foster to the extent that it helps his people. Not out of any inherent allegiance to either side in this conflict.

You can work with that.

"I need you to investigate a human," you tell the spymaster. "He was making waves in the underworld around here some weeks ago, investigating Mockingbird, but I know little else about him. Tall and thin, in his forties or so, with black hair that's beginning to gray."

"Mmmm..." Rifek strokes his chin thoughtfully. "Yes, I heard about that. Certainly not a local, whoever he was. And we haven't heard anything about him since. I suppose I'd assumed that Mockingbird had taken him out herself. But I can task my best people to look into it even deeper."

"That would be appreciated," you say, inclining your head in a small bow. "This will be delicate enough as it is with just the heroines; I don't want any surprises."

You spend a while longer going over various other smaller tidbits of intelligence that the Thousand Eyes have uncovered recently, relayed to you by Rifek's impeccable memory. None of it jumps out to you as having any immediate use, but it's still worth making sure. Once you're sure you've exhausted anything that might prove useful, you bid the young spymaster farewell, and emerge from the Griffon's Feather Tavern.

The hour is sliding well into the afternoon at this point. Still, you expect that you still have a chance to pursue one more task in the city before nightfall. You could always make a play to seduce that vulnerable cleric under your influence, giving you more options on Elianna's side of things, as well as someone you can feed on.

Alternatively, you could approach Mockingbird herself, to work on worming your way into her heart. You could make your approach as Kavia, pretending to follow up on a lead generated by the investigation you said you would undertake. Or, for a bolder move, you could try to approach Mockingbird as Elianna herself, now that you've had some time to closely observe her. That be a far more effective line of approach... but also far more risky and potentially-volatile as well.

You could also approach Elianna again. She'll probably be working at the orphanage now, meaning the security watching the doors could be a problem, but if you get lucky enough to catch her while she's outside, you might be able to make some headway.

If you follow Elianna as you are right now, in Kavia's form, it won't cost any extra Lust for shapeshifting... but there would be more of a chance that she or Mockingbird or someone else might notice you, and you'll need to keep more of a distance to even have a chance at remaining undetected. On the other hand, you could shift into a small animal for a vast increase in stealth, remaining beneath the notice of most watchers. But of course, that would require more Lust expenditure.