Once he had slipped away from Garacel's armies, Sahshir wandered Zigilus. It was a strange city with twisting passages. Whenever you scale to the top of something, there always seemed to be something looming over you. There were also many statues of nubile women on street corners. And very few statues of men, which seemed odd, given the degradation of the place. It irritated Sahshir more than he'd have expected. Here, he was in the domain of lust itself. The least they could do was practice equality in their decadence.

The eyes of these statues seemed to gaze down on him, and his mind fell into a haze of sorts. The red runes filled his thoughts with images of a seven-tailed woman, and he had to avert his eyes. He found his hands shaking beneath them and his heart beating painfully.

Steadying his breathing, Sahshir calmed himself. Closing his eyes, he thought of tea with Kushina and training at home. Finally, the pain became manageable, and he moved onward.

There was something strange about all this, though, he reflected as he walked among the people. And then it dawned on him. All of them were beautiful. Everyone within Zigilus would have been sought after wherever they went. Yet it was an unearthly beauty. It disturbed rather than soothed. They also wore very little in the way of clothing. What they did wear seemed more designed to draw attention to their bodies than hide them.

It was distracting. Why did one need such beauty?

What disturbed him further was that he could not reach Kushina. The spell in her necklace prevented him from doing so. Kashina had always been more rational between the two of them. So what did he do now? On a guess, he'd have to think things through more. Sahshir preferred to avoid feeling things through. He chose to act impulsively. It took more work to predict and took less work.

"The Blade of Chaos is surely within Dinis now," he said. "Or perhaps Garacel was killed in the crash? No, too much to hope for. The city is under siege now. The legions of Dinis will attack soon.

"That will keep the enemy occupied. But if they break through, it could wreck everything. What to do?"

He remembered what he had learned about the Blade of Chaos in his youth. It was attracted to chaos. If he spread enough discord, it would call out to him. But then, that would undermine the defense of this city.

And what could he do? Kill people? Draw his sword and start slashing every random person around him. Because they were Zigildrazians? What part had they even played in the theft of the sword, and Garacel had not done more than take it.

He had not killed indiscriminately.

They were already scared, scurrying around the city into their homes. Only a few remained outside by this point. It would be evil to prey on them. And when chaos and wickedness mixed, the latter came out stronger.

He slipped into an alley and lurked in the shadows as two guards emerged. One was young, and the other was very old. But both were handsome, with fair features. It's the older one had a more refined look to him.

"Why would the Empire move against Zigilus, Rakan?" asked the younger. "Her Radiance put the Emperor's ancestors in place."

"I used to live back in the Dinis heartlands, near the capital of Narsuf," said Rakan. "Days used to be when we practiced the rites of Zigildrazia in a huge temple. But that was twenty years ago. Then, the Emperor drove us out of the temple and into the countryside. So, set it up to serve Safara, one of Baltoth's children.

"I heard from my grandson that he and his fellows had to go into hiding. Couldn't practice their rights in public anymore. And the Emperor's men were looking for them and hanging anyone they caught.

"This is the last move, Ansof," He sighed bitterly.

"Well, we'll show them what it means to fight Her Radiance," said Ansof.

"Her Radiance has already done that," said Rakan, drawing a dagger and spinning it in one hand. "But even if we destroy this army, Dinis never gives up. The Emperor will indeed send another. The Sisterhood of Safara has its coils too tightly woven around the heartlands.

"We'll be overwhelmed."

"You're always saying the worst thing that can happen, Rakan," said Ansof, eyeing the dagger. "When will you accept that things sometimes turn out for the best. Her Radiance has always been here in Zigilus. And no mortal man will dethrone her.

"If the Emperor is so foolish, this will be his last mistake."

"I wonder if it will be ours, too," muttered Rakan, sheathing it. "I'm sure Her Radiance shall be triumphant, of course. But those raishans out in the field, what if they win? They may turn their attention to us next. And if they don't, we'll have to face Dinis, Ansof. No, we'll all be part of Her Radiance's harem or cast into darkness at the end of this. Mark my words."

"Either one will be much weaker for fighting the other," said Ansof. "We may yet win. I, for one, don't mean to die today or this year.

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"Any news about the airships?"

"No one rightly knows that I talked to," said Rakan. "They all just flew off except one. That one went to the palace. As for the rest, probably part of some new strategy."

They passed him by. Sahshir decided he'd had enough of wandering the streets. Taking hold of the wall, he scaled it as quickly as possible. They were rough, ancient, and more accessible than some of those he'd been trained to scale. However, as he reached the top, a hand slipped, and he fell back.

Then, an arm grabbed him and pulled him up.

Nayasa hauled him to the top of the roof, and Sahshir looked at her in surprise. She was clad in a black outfit meant to fade into the night, and her dagger was at her side. With her were a dozen assassins, clad for war. Sahshir recognized Ashar among them, gazing carefully at one side. They held a long blade whetted recently with blood. Nayasha smiled. "It has been an eventful few days, Abdul Sahshir."

"Nayasa," said Sahshir, not letting his surprise show. "What brought you here? And how did you get here?"

"Orders from Master Tuor," said Nayasha. "He wished me to observe here. Now that you have entered, he asked me to run interference as for how I stowed aboard one of the airships with my best men.

"Unlike you, we weren't caught. And we were able to rappel down into the battlefield. Once there, we scaled up the cliffs and over the wall. The fighting was an excellent distraction. Where is your Ghost Sword?"

Sahshir remained silent for a moment. Finally, he decided to tell the truth. "Destroyed."

Nayasha narrowed her eyes in irritation. "Do you know how difficult those are to make?"

"It was the only means I had to destroy the airship," said Sahshir. "Without it, that distraction never would have happened." It's better not to say that the airship was falling anyway.

Nayasha fixed him with her gaze for a long moment. Then she looked away. Equipment is sometimes destroyed. I'm here to help you in whatever way I can. An airship is a fair trade."

"I don't need your help," said Sahshir.

"I have been ordered to give it anyway," said Nayasha. "Follow me."

"To where?" asked Sahshir.

"There is a place not far from here," said Nayasha, pulling her hood over her head. "It is called Zarana's Delights. It is a place of depravity. But also information. Come quickly."

The assassins scattered in many directions as Sahshir followed Nayasha. They raced across the rooftops, leaping across the gaps like shadows beneath a torch. For some time, they went like this until, at last, Nayasha came to a halt by the edge.

Zarana's Delights was a large building built into the wall of a long line of stores. Most of them were closed. However, there was a great sign that flared with violet light. Sahshir looked down on the gaudy place and noted images of naked women on the wall.

"So that is it?" he murmured.

"Indeed," said Nayasha. "I gather it is of some spiritual significance to those within this place. Ask for Matron Zarana at the bar. She is among our contacts. Tell her that you must speak with her as a disciple."

"And why can you not go yourself?" asked Sahshir.

"Master Tuor has other tasks for me," said Nayasha. "Pay for your own blunders."

"What do you-" began Sahshir.

But Nayasha was gone. Disappeared with her men as though she'd never been there at all. Sahshir checked around him on the roofs and streets for any sign of a fleeing ninja. No such luck.

"How does she do that?" asked Sahshir aloud.

Then, with a shrug, he descended to the street and walked in the front door, keeping silent and to the shadows. He found the place empty save for two beautiful women. The first was taller with blonde hair, while the other was red-haired and more curvaceous. They were clad in even less than most, sitting beside poles and speaking.

"It's been a barren week, hasn't it?" asked the redhead.

"What do you expect?" asked the blonde. "None of the merchants wanted to be here when the Legions arrived. I hope Her Radiance knows what she is doing."

"Of course, she knows what she's doing, Ansora," said the redhead. "We exist only to serve her. She wouldn't destroy us unless it was more entertaining than keeping us alive.

"And I am very entertaining."

"I know," said Ansora. "I've been here six months, but I keep... I get doubts..."

"It usually takes about a sheer for them to get drowned out," said the redhead. "The runes throughout this place will wash it all away soon enough.

"You don't have to worry.

"You don't have a last name anymore. All that you are is part of the grand play of Zigildrazia. Even if we all die, we will become part of her harem. Now chin up, customers might come in."

Ansora looked up. "A customer has come."

They stood up quickly and made their way over, strutting seductively as they did so. Sahshir had no interest. "Oh, I'm sorry, handsome." said the redhead. "We didn't see you come in. Why don't you take off that mask." He wondered how they would react if he did. Probably not well, and they would know him as an intruder.

"Can I help you?" purred Ansora as the two circled around him.

"I wish to speak with Matron Zarana as a disciple," said Sahshir flatly.

Ansora and the redhead looked at each other in surprise. "... She's... she's not here right now." said the redhead.

"When will she return?" asked Sahshir.

"We don't know," said Ansora. "Maybe never. She was called up by the enforcers to answer for a crime."

"What crime?" asked Sahshir.

"Well, two girls lived here with us," said the redhead. "Narcissa and Alkela, really lovely. Probably would have made an excellent career if they'd had time to grow up.

"But then a man named Dakan appeared.

"He threatened Zarana. He said he would find occasion for her to be arrested if she didn't give them to him for his own entertainment. The two of them made a run for it, though."

That matched up perfectly with what Sahshir knew of this domain. Still, he felt curious. "What happened to them?" asked Sahshir.

"Lord Garacel found them," said the redhead. "I guess they must have told him what happened."

"Is there any chance she'll return," asked Sahshir.

"Well, they might-"began the redhead.

And then the windows exploded inward, and monsters rushed through. As their slathering mouths approached, Sahshir thought this was not his day.