At this time of day, the Griffin wasn’t as busy as her previous visits, and only one troll stood by the entrance. The inn still had several patrons, but where the entrance to the cages usually was, a metal grate covered it.

“If you see Freja, tell her the Mistress wants to see her,” an elf called from the stairs leading to the offices above.

“I will,” a kobold answered as he ran from the inn.

SJ walked to the bar where a human barman was busy cleaning tankards.

“Hi. Do you do coffee?” SJ asked.

The barman turned and looked at her before grunting and pointing to the end of the bar where a coffee pot stood. SJ walked to the pot, picking up a mug, which she had to wipe out, and then poured herself a mug. It was lukewarm and obvious that coffee wasn’t usually drunk in the inn.

“How much?” SJ said.

Not speaking, the human just shook his head in the universal meaning of nothing.

Carrying the lukewarm beverage to a table, she sat, sniffed it cautiously, and sipped it. Surprisingly, it tasted nice. There were so many coffee variations that she needed to look into them more. She had always been a coffee connoisseur on Earth, having a selection of various flavours for when her friends used to come around. While SJ was sitting, discussing the benefits of coffee with Dave, the barman walked over to the table.

“I was asked to give you this,” he said, dropping a small pouch on the table.

With a frown, SJ thanked him and picked up the pouch. She had seen no one in her vision enter or leave the bar she was aware of.

‘You didn’t see anyone come in, did you?’

“Only the kobold that returned. The one that left when we entered. They left again straight after.”

‘Did they go to the bar?’

“I didn’t pay attention. I’m sorry. If you had let me record, I could have looked back.”

‘That’s not happening. I will not have you feeding the System information. Especially now with the synchronisation changes.’

“Oh. I just thought.”

‘Be careful,’ SJ laughed.

Not biting, Dave continued, “Umm, let me see. Yes, perhaps...I think it may work.”

‘What may work?’

“With the code changes, I think I can make a partition, which I can lock down. I could record there without information being passed on. It couldn’t be permanent, but I can save over it. I’m not sure how much it would record, though. I know it’s very memory intensive.”

It could be beneficial if Dave could record certain elements to check, even though, as an AI, she would have thought he would note everything. Then again, he had moments where he appeared distracted.

“You do know I can see when you are being rude about me?!” Dave said.

‘I wasn’t being rude. I was just thinking, honestly. You do appear distracted at times?’

“Hmph. I do not.”

‘Yes, you do. You go into your silent phases.’

“That is when I am choosing to ignore you.”

‘Now, who is being rude?’

“Anyway, what’s in the pouch?”

SJ had forgotten about the pouch in her hand, arguing with Dave.

“And you just said I get distracted,” Dave snarked.

Opening the pouch strings, SJ tipped the contents into her hand. It was a small curved jewellery item with the tiniest gem on its outer rim. It was about an inch long and silver.

‘What in Amathera is this?’

“Oooo, now that is unusual. I haven’t seen one for a long time now. It’s a communication clip. It fits to the outside of your ear. They only work over short distances, unlike communication stones with unlimited range. Perfect for when in a city. They allow for direct two-way communication.”

Now that Dave had explained what it was, it vaguely reminded SJ of an old-style Bluetooth earpiece that used to fit over the ear. She carefully placed the item on her left ear, adjusting it until it fit snugly along the back.

“You trigger it by holding your finger on the small gem.”

SJ did what Dave advised and placed her finger on the gem. It was the only part of the item which wasn’t smooth. Nothing seemed to happen at first.

‘I am guessing it’s from Carlito, but I won’t know unless someone says something.’

As SJ finished the coffee, she heard a low-sounding buzz and heard a voice. Initially, she turned around but realised it was the device. There was a grunting sound and fast breathing.

“Sorry for the delay in answering. I am still a little preoccupied,” the voice said. “One moment.”

It had to be Carlito, but it was a voice she hadn’t heard him use before. She heard a muffled cry and what sounded like blades clashing. SJ stood and left the bar, not wanting to be seen talking to herself. Leaving, Jay was still in the cart outside, waiting for her. Jay saw her, and she looked at him, pointing at her ear as she moved to one of the outside tables and sat down.

“Are you ok?” she whispered.

There was another grunt, followed by a thud as the voice panted. “Well, that was unexpected.”

“What was?”

“I was just finishing a contract. I have been waiting for this damn orc for two months, and then he shows up with eight guards. I will be asking for a bonus for this one.”

SJ could hear a blade being wiped and a sword being placed back in a sheath.

“Is this your normal voice?” SJ had to ask.

“Yes. That item you have now will allow us to speak as needed. It will only work inside the city. As soon as you leave, it stops. They are not cheap, so don’t lose it!” his voice made it clear to SJ that she better hadn’t.

“Have you found anything out about Raceillia?”

“Only brief sightings. Hooner Street and Marchent Street. One is in District 2, and the others in District 4. Reports said she was spotted but unable to follow as she was flying between locations.”

That she had been spotted was great news. “That’s great. At least I have an idea of where she has been. What time was it?”

“There have been no reports since the early hours this morning. I will let you know if there are any updates. I better go. I need to clean up and get out of here.” The device went silent.

Opening her map, SJ checked for the street names that had been mentioned. Neither was on her map. Returning to Jay at the cart, he frowned at her and pointed at his ear. “What does that mean?”

Smiling, SJ moved her hair back out of the way so Jay could see the small device on her ear.

Jay’s eyes opened wide. “Wow. They cost a fortune. Who gave you that?”

“Who do you think?”

“Damn,” Jay replied in shock. “By fortune, I mean seriously expensive.”

“How much?”

“Not sure exactly, but I would guess several platinum for a pair. They are very specialist items.”

“Do you know where Hooner and Marchent Streets are?”

“Am I a cart driver or not?” Jay laughed. “Do you need to go there?”

“I do, if that’s ok. I don’t need to stop. I just need to locate them.”

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

“That’s easy enough. We can head to them now; it shouldn’t take too long.”

“Could we then go to the fae sanctuary in the inner city after that? I would like to see Larianco and see if she has discovered anything yet.”

Jay spurred the horse into action. Moving down the street, SJ paid attention to everything that was going on around her. It was strange that her vision was so normal being able to see 360 degrees.

“Oooo. I think this may work,” Dave said.

‘What? You better not be doing anything without discussing it.’

“No. This isn’t something that could alter you. If anything, it will give you some insider information.”

‘What do you mean by that?”

“Hang on. Damn code...okay, there we go. Open your map.”

SJ opened her map. ‘What am I looking at?’ seeing nothing obvious on the display.

“Ah. I need to add colour. It is just code to me....there we go, that should have worked.”

As SJ looked at her display, she noticed a red dot appear on the map. It was somewhere in District 12. She had never been there, so she had no details. The fog of war still covering that area.

‘What is it?’

“That’s Carlito. I thought it might help if you can see where he is. You will be able to identify him and know if he is nearby.”

“How?” SJ said aloud, surprised by what Dave had done.

“Sorry?” Jay said.

“Ignore me thinking out loud,” SJ said.

“This new level of synchronisation allowed me to trace your mana flow as you communicated with him. I could backtrack the call and get Carlito’s location. It’s all 1’s and 0’s after all, so by using the information from his device, I could then map it as a point of interest. It’s no different from adding a note to the map you have. It’s just this one is mobile and follows him.”

‘Wow. That’s amazing.’ SJ watched as the red dot was moving swiftly across the district. It was jumping from location to location and it was literally seconds until it had moved through to District 9. It was moving so quickly. ‘He must be shadow-stepping to move that quickly.’

“I would guess so, as the link breaks then reestablishes.”

‘Thank you, Dave. This will be really helpful. I will sneak up on him for a change.’

“My pleasure,” Dave said. SJ could hear the pride in his voice. She knew he still felt guilty about his changes to her vision.

After visiting both streets in the districts, SJ saw nothing pointing to why Raceillia would have been there. She may not have even stopped on the streets and could have just been passing, but at least she had something to start with. Jay took them to the fae sanctuary to speak to Larianco.

“Come inside,” Larianco said on answering the door.

Jay came in with SJ and they were shown to the lounge.

“Drink?” Larianco asked.

Once drinks were served, Larianco sat.

“Any news?” SJ asked.

“I have heard nothing so far. I spent this morning visiting all the locations I knew she frequented in the city, but there was no sign. I would have been surprised if she had gone to her usual places. She spends quite a lot of time in the districts, much more than I ever do.”

“Do you know what she did there?”

“Mainly visited bars from the stories she used to tell me. She is still a young fae and enjoying her freedom.”

“Could you tell me the bar’s names?”

“Of course, I’m not sure what good they will do you. You can’t watch them all at once.”

“I can’t, no. But I know someone who may help. Jay, could you give the list to the drivers?”

“Definitely. A few of them also owe me some favours, and I can ask them to do some watching for me,” he smiled. Jay noted the bars that Larianco mentioned. He knew them all, as they were mainly the more popular ones in various districts. Only one of them, he queried. “The Squirrel Sphere. Now that’s not a normal bar. Any ideas how often she went there?”

“I’m not sure,” Larianco said.

“What do you mean not normal?” SJ said.

“It’s a gang bar. The Plagues run out of it.”

“Who are the Plagues?” Larianco asked.

“Sorry. I started on the streets in the gangs. The Plagues is pretty much a thief’s gang. They target various market areas across the city. Then, they cause havoc before they move on to a new district. The traders never know where they are going to target next. They are based in District 3, and we both know what the guards are like there. It’s been raided before, but there have always been rumours that they pay off the guard, as I can’t ever remember a current member being caught.”

Jay’s knowledge of the outer city surprised Larianco, who spent nearly all her time in the inner city with the upper classes of Asterfal. As Jay continued, SJ could see that Larianco looked uncomfortable.

“Several ex-members or rumoured ex-members have been found dead on the streets. They are rumoured to operate under pretty strict rules. They aren’t a gang I have ever had dealings with. I was always in the brawling scene.”

“Where in District 3, is it?” SJ asked.

“Near to the warehouse district. It’s actually not far from where Lurtew and Yawnee lived, although I doubt either of them would have ever entered it. As I say, it’s got a very select clientele, which is why I was surprised when you mentioned it.”

“Do you know who runs it?”

“No. It’s been years since I was involved to that level of knowing who ran what in the gangs. I can probably find out easily enough. I still have my contacts,” he winked.

“Could you?” SJ opened her map, noticing that Carlito’s red dot appeared back at the Griffin, and asked, “Also, can you describe where it is compared to Lurtew and Yawnee’s?”

Jay described the bar’s location, which was one street over, further towards the outer city wall.

“Right, I am going to visit this bar,” SJ said. “Jay, if you find out, who runs it?”

“No, you are not!” Jay said. “There is no way you can just walk in there.”

“I’m not going in. I am going to watch it. If you say they are thieves, then I will keep an eye on their movements. See who comes and goes.”

“I am not happy with this,” Larianco said.

“I’ve already told you I am in a better position than I am in my usual life. I know who is after me this time.”

“You don’t know if she has hired someone else,” Larianco said.

“I know there is no contract on me,” SJ said without thinking.

“Doh!” Dave’s voice rang in her mind.

“How could you possibly know that?”

Jay knew enough about SJ not to say anything and just sat quietly. SJ could feel her cheeks heating, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “What did Fran tell you about me?”

“She told me about what you had helped with in Killic and the changes that were playing out due to your Legionnaire status.”

“So, not my class, then?”

“No. Why?”

“I am an assassin. I have spoken to a guild member, and there are no contracts open on me,” SJ said, watching for Larianco’s reaction.

If it had shocked her, she hid it well, with only a faint movement of her eyebrows. “I was unaware that you were an assassin. I thought you were a monk class or similar. Especially the drab clothes you kept wearing. Most monks wear plain clothes a lot of the time.”

SJ couldn’t help but laugh. “I wear these clothes, so I don’t stand out. It has nothing to do with my class. When we first met, you mentioned that you may need to call my services. I honestly thought you had been referring to my class.”

“Oh my. No. I meant in relation to influencing the council and its direction. But now that I know your class, I suppose there may be opportunities.”

SJ didn’t respond, suddenly feeling very uncertain.

“Right. I am off to get the name,” Jay said.

“I will go and scout the inn,” SJ said. “Do you mind if I use the back?”

Larianco followed SJ to the back. “If you see Raceillia, do not try and take her yourself. Her defensive magic is very strong.”

“If I find out where she is staying, I will let you know. Don’t worry,” SJ said, shrinking and taking off. She changed her dress as she flew, ensuring it would be as inconspicuous as possible. When she arrived at Lurtew and Yawnee’s old house, it appeared like a goblin family had moved in. As she flew over the rear yard, six sproglings were kicking a ball about. On her display, she checked the mark she had made from Jay’s directions and headed towards the inn.

The street the inn was on was narrow. It had no traffic, and a cart would struggle to travel down it easily. A broken sign hung above the inn doorway on a single hinge, creaking in the gentle breeze that filled Asterfal’s streets. It was dark and dank looking; paint flaked from the front of the building, and the windows looked stained and dirty. It wasn’t an inn that she would ever frequent. Landing on the opposite roof wasn’t ideal, as buildings on either side reached above it with windows. Moving over the building, she found a yard at the rear, where empty and smashed barrels were strewn. A couple of beings were in the yard having a heated conversation. SJ could hear raised voices, but not what they were saying from the height she was at.

She could land nowhere at the rear, and looking at the yard, she doubted that if Raceillia went there, she would ever enter the yard. Flying back over the front again, she picked the tallest building and landed on the rooftop. It was thatched, and she sunk into the thatch as she landed, the rotten straw needing replacement. The state of this district area was dire, and she was so glad she had moved Yawnee and Lurtew out.

‘I’m not sure why she would ever come here,’ SJ thought.

“It’s a dump. There are always areas like this in all large cities. The same inequality always exists.”

‘I just find it frustrating. I hope the chancellor can work on what he promised in the chamber and start to sort things.’

“Changing the direction of cities is never easy. Listening to the chamber meetings and the conversations that have taken place in the tower it will be a challenging task.”

SJ moved forward on the thatch, being careful where she placed her weight and finding a more secure location. She crouched in her miniature form and watched ‘The Squirrels Sphere’.

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