Chapter 9

Senior Clerk Jerek Sokindo was dead, that much was evident, but what was more evident was that the deed had been done recently, as the body was still warm. Shi Hou immediately began scanning the shadows for potential assassins, readying himself to leap into action should an attack present itself. Meanwhile, Evening Rabbit began to take in the scene of the murder, eyes already glowing faintly with essence as she engaged her Crafty Observation Method Technique to take in all the clues present and come to a conclusion in a fraction of the time it would ordinarily take for such a thing.

"Whoever did this didn't force their way into the building. There's no signs of forced entry on the door or any of the windows. The Senior Clerk's position on the Divan suggests he was entertaining a guest when it happened. Two cups of wine, one half-full, the other soaking into the expensive An-Ting Carpet, but only one carafe suggests that as well. This was done by someone the Senior Clerk knew. The Murder weapon is interesting as well." Informed Evening Rabbit.

"What about the murder weapon?" Questioned Shi Hou.

"The cut is too clean for any normal steel blade. Normally you'd get some kind of tearing of the wound unless there's essence involved, but I'm not picking up any traces of essence use from the cut itself. I can think of only one material that isn't Jade, Orichalcum, Starmetal, or what have you that cuts like that. Chiaroscuro Glass." Explained Evening Rabbit.

"How do you even know what Chiaroscuro Glass is?" Queried Shi Hou.

"Please, I was trained as a physician and Chiaroscuro Glass is the ideal material to make scalpels out of. Of course, I looked into it." Huffed Evening Rabbit.

"Chiaroscuro is a Satrapy of the Realm." Pointed out Shi Hou.

"Only on paper. The reality is that Chiaroscuro is somewhat loosely controlled by the Realm. The Tri-Khan has managed to play the Realm and the Guild off one another while also playing the various Dynastic Houses off one another expertly. The Realm only maintains a token garrison, thanks to the Guild insisting on Chiaroscuro being a free port and having enough economic power to make that stick. Meanwhile, no House Legions have moved in to fill a potential military power vacuum because no House is willing to let anyone other than them move into such a lucrative port. Most of the Garrison is technically the Tri-Khan's Men." Summed Up Evening Rabbit.

"So in actuality, the assassin could be anyone?" Asked Shi Hou.

"No. It was a woman, one that was fairly lightly built. You can tell by the indents in the carpets made by her feet as she moved." Refuted Evening Rabbit.

"Right. Well, whoever it was, they had the good sense to flee before the Guard showed up. I suggest emulating that decision." Intoned Shi Hou.

"Right, let's do that." Agreed Evening Rabbit.

Together the pair made their way back out of Senior Clerk Jerek Sokindo's Townhouse, making their way out onto the street and blending in with some revelers heading toward the Nexus District. They just barely avoided the street being flooded with blue armored, leather-hooded, Mercenaries of the Hooded Executioners. The Mercenaries were under contract with the Midnight Queen, the Spymaster of the Nexus Council to provide policing services. They'd also arrived suspiciously fast, almost too fast for Shi Hou and evening Rabbit to slip their net.

Guard Patrols outside the Nexus District were alarmingly irregular at the best of times and frequently ran late compared to their schedules. That the Hooded Executioners were not only on time to cordon off the street but almost fast enough to catch them trying to slip their net was worrying in a number of ways. Shi Hou smelled a setup, and that wasn't something that was a good thing. Not in the least.

Evening Rabbit must have realized it too, because as they rounded a corner to put a street between the one they were on and the one being locked down by Mercenaries, she cast a worried glance over at Shi Hou. They made their way into a dingy tavern and grabbed a pair of watered-down drinks and a corner table before they discussed it, though.

"The Guard's arrival was well-timed." Murmured Evening Rabbit just loud enough for Shi Hou to hear her and no one else.

"It was. If I didn't know any better, I'd say the whole thing was arranged." Whispered back Shi Hou in kind.

"Right. Well, what's our next step here?" Frowned Evening Rabbit.

"We need to get out of the City. I don't know what we just stumbled on, but I don't want to get dragged down alongside the Senior Clerk, do you?" Retorted Shi Hou.

"Out of the City and go where? Back to Puyo?" Questioned Evening Rabbit.

"Marika knew this was going to happen. She tried to warn us off coming here. That suggests she was at least trying to be helpful." Shrugged Shi Hou.

"Maybe, but would we really be better off?" Queried Evening Rabbit.

"Better than going down with the Senior Clerk's sinking ship." Nodded Shi Hou.

"All right, but how do we do that? Assuming the Council posts extra guards on the gates and docks?" Asked Evening Rabbit.

"I. . .might know a few people who can help us out. Fair warning, the sort of wares they deal in are somewhat less than legitimate, but they have ways of smuggling their wares into the city via the underground. I should be able to bargain for a guide through the underground out into the hills beyond the city." Informed Shi Hou.

"Less than legitimate? Can you trust them?" Questioned Evening Rabbit.

"Enough to cooperate. They owe me, this wipes that debt clean. I'm fairly certain they won't try anything with that in mind. Not even Grellthorpe is that short-sighted. . ." Grumbled Shi Hou.

"Right, so when do we go to see this Grellthorpe Person?" Demanded Evening Rabbit.

"Tomorrow night. We should find a place to bunk down for the evening. Who knows, maybe the heat will die down and we can leave the old-fashioned way?" Offered Shi Hou.

"Sure, and if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you." Snorted Evening Rabbit.

As it happened, they found a pair of relatively clean cots at an Inn not too far from the dingy tavern they'd stopped to gather their thoughts at. The Bedded Wench wasn't exactly one of the more upscale establishments in Nexus, but it was good enough for their purposes. They ate some Banmian Noodle Soup with bits of what was apparently chicken thrown in, rented a pair of rooms, and went to sleep. When they woke up the next morning, it was to news that the Hooded Executioners had posted a scale at each gate and two scales at each harbor.

They would definitely need the underground route now. . .

XXXX

Dragonlord Johoda knelt in front of his employer as he was about to give his report. The Old Air Aspect had spent fifty years in the service of the Realm's Legions before retiring to seek his fortune as a Mercenary Commander. By now, he had spent almost twice as long in the service of Nexus, and he would doubtless spend another century in command as well before retiring to live his last few decades in peace. As a Prince of the Earth, his lifespan was beyond that of mere mortals.

Suffice it to say, Dragonlord Johoda was an old hand at military operations, including ones of a less than legitimate nature which would be quite damaging should word of the actual objectives of things get out. It was the main reason why the current Midnight Queen's predecessor had chosen to contract him and his then new Company, the Hooded Executioners, to help with policing in Nexus.

The Midnight Queen was a mystery, of course, as were all the members of the Council. Most in the city could only speculate as to identities, with some believing them to be Exalts, while others thought they might be God-Bloods or even spirits themselves. Most believed that the City Father was on the Council, though people were split as to whether he was a Councillor or the Emissary himself.

Whatever the case, Dragonlord Johoda certainly wasn't willing to cross the council. Even if they hadn't been the ones holding his purse strings, he knew for a fact that their powers were potent enough to destroy him and the Hooded Executioners if they so wished. Speak of the Yozi, the masked form of the Midnight Queen entered the antechamber through a side door just now, moving sinuously with purpose.

"Report." Intoned the Midnight Queen.

"We have not found the target you expected, my Lady. The Girl seems to have slipped our net in the brief interval between assembling our forces and locking down the street. Senior Clerk Sokindo's hidden records were retrieved from his study and indicates that your predictions were correct. She should have arrived just in time to be swept up in our net. That she wasn't indicates some unforeseen power." Informed Dragonlord Johoda.

"Or possibly a third party is in play. What measures have you taken to limit further escapes?" Queried the Midnight Queen.

"We've sent a scale each to every gate and two scales to each harbor. If she attempts to leave the city, we will know." Answered Dragonlord Johoda.

"Good. Keep a firm eye on the gates and harbors. The Girl is going to cause some calamity in the future, all the council's divination agree on that. Jerek Sokindo was a fool to think he and his little network could bring her into the City without the Council's knowledge." Scoffed the Midnight Queen.

"According to his recovered notes, the plan that his network was operating under was one where he would prop up the Girl as a claimant to the Archon's Throne in Thorns, undermining the Realm's puppet there and potentially causing a massive change in the political situation in our favor. Apparently, he thought pulling off such a feat was going to elevate him to the Council." Pointed out Dragonlord Johoda.

"In that case, he was a bigger fool than we'd thought. It's likely trying to do such a thing would have invited a second war with Thorns and became the calamity the Council's divinations foresaw. What of our agent?" Asked the Midnight Queen.

"The Delzahn Girl? She's still waiting for a new task." Informed Dragonlord Johoda.

"Good. Send her to the underground. It's a long shot, as I doubt a sheltered noble like the Girl would know about it, but with the gates and harbors so guarded, it might be her only viable method of escape. In the meantime, I shall return to my divinations to see what charts may be drawn up." Ordered the Midnight Queen.

Dragonlord Johoda nodded, straightening at once before tossing off a salute. He didn't bother waiting for a dismissal, as he'd already as good as gotten one. Instead, he headed for the safehouse where their latest agent was being kept to deliver her new orders. He'd be sending a fang of his men with her to aid in her task. Most people would balk at letting a Half-Caste Lunar like Ziva No-Clan, but he knew better, especially given her background.

The Delzahn were notoriously misogynistic and she'd all but jumped at the offer the Guild had made her. Now she worked for Nexus. If any of their agents would be able to track the Girl through the underground, it was her. Her heritage, while somewhat untrustworthy, given the mercurial nature of the Lunar Anathema, offered her advantages that none of their other agents could match save for himself and his second-in-command. Plus her loyalty was beyond reproach. Yes, soon enough, they would have the Girl in custody, Johoda was certain of it.

Then, the Council could decide what to do with her. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here we see a bit of the conspiracies within Nexus at play. It turns out that some of the Council of Entities did some looking into the future with Thaumaturgy and found out that Evening Rabbit was going to cause a great calamity if she stayed in Nexus. Meanwhile, Jerek Sokindo and a few other like-minded officials banded together in a scheme to bring her to Nexus to use as a pawn against Thorns in a bid to get promoted to the Council.

Meanwhile, the divinations seemingly didn't account for Shi Hou's presence, or if they did, they only accounted for him dropping Evening Rabbit off at Jerek Sokindo's doorstep. Now, Evening Rabbit has slipped the net and is being led to the underground the Guild uses to smuggle drugs and slaves into and out of Nexus tax-free.

That's going to eventually lead to a confrontation in the underground with Ziva No-Clan, a Half-Caste Lunar from the Delzahn Lands near Chiaroscuro who has been acting as the Council's Agent in this whole situation.

At any rate, the next chapter will start with the meeting with Shi Hou's contact in the Guild's Smuggling Underground as he tries to get a guide through the underground out of the City.

Stay tuned. . .