Sahshir followed Sen alongside Alkela. Isamu's group was left behind to watch the pier. The lizardfolk was brought through the streets. As they walked, Sahshir noticed little damage in the city streets. The creatures that had fled into the sea had not hurt anyone, though he recalled the ritual from before.

Still, it was possible that it was not an action directly ordered by the Fish King. Even Calisha had those who worshipped Baltoth but acted contrary to his will. Soon enough, Nagos came up behind them, walking his hands in his pocket. Somehow, he'd gotten ahold of a reed, and it was between his teeth.

He was looking down at his feet, seeming troubled.

Sahshir shifted his grip upon his sword. "Nagos, where were you?"

"I was talking with some of the servants in the great dome," said Nagos, motioning with his head. Sahshir looked to where the dome stood, towering over the whole world. "Turns out the priests have a lot of parties. Half the city makes money providing food and decorations for it."

"Why do you care?" asked Sen flatly, who seemed in a fouler mood than usual.

"I like to know about places I visit," said Nagos with a shrug.

"In any case," said Sen. "I'll need your help interrogating the prisoner. You do speak their language, after all."

"Why not get Serna for it?" asked Sahshir.

"Serna doesn't speak merfolk; she just reads it," said Nagos with a shrug. "The pronunciations are a bit weird, and it can break people to learn them all.

"So, here I am."

Soon enough, they came to the prison. It was a large, square building near the city's edges. All the windows were small and barred; most were more than one story up. Lined up along the base of the door was a set of cages. In each one was a man, forced to kneel with hands put out between the bars imploringly.

Sahshir looked at Sen. "Who are these men?"

"Beggers," said Sen. "They couldn't afford to pay for their chains and food. So they remain here and beg."

"You expect men to pay for room and board in prison?" asked Sahshir, feeling a sense of horror.

"I run a business," said Sen. "Not a charity. These men committed crimes or were stupid enough to get on the wrong side of powerful people. Why should I not make a profit off housing them?"

Nagos shifted and quickly drew out several silver coins. He pressed one of them into each beggar's hand, waiting to do each. Sen looked at him in irritation. "Will you hurry up?"

Nagos said nothing instead of going down the entire line. As they did, Sen glanced at Sahshir. "What do they do in Calisha?"

"Calisha does not have prisons," said Sahshir. "It has executions and labors."

"Labors?" asked Sen.

"Oh, I remember this," said Nagos, coming back. "If Baltoth's laws do not demand you be executed, you can redeem yourself. I am usually performing some service. It depends on the class; some have to work it off. Others go on quests, though I heard the domain of Neseriah drafts men into military service.

"And if you refuse, you get crucified."

"Crucifixion is barbarism," scoffed Sen.

"As opposed to a slow, wasting death in the sugar plantations?" asked Sahshir, hating the man all the more.

"At least the sugar plantations produce something of value," said Sen.

Then he turned to walk into the prison.

"Nagos, why do you even speak this language?" asked Sahshir as they entered.

"I picked it up from some of the natives who did deals with them," said Nagos. "Sometimes the lizardfolk would come up out of the sea, and there'd be celebrations. I picked up a thing or two on my journeys."

Within the prison was a dark place of cramped cells with many rough-looking men in cages. Sahshir saw several even rougher-looking men dragging the corpse of a prisoner out and tossing them in a pile. "How did this man die?"

"A minor sickness," said Sen. "or perhaps a fight among inmates."

"Pleasant," said Nagos. "So, where is the prisoner?"

"In the interrogation room, obviously," said Sen. "Most prisons have one. Follow me."

The interrogation room had all kinds of cruel-looking knives and blades on the walls. There was a rack, thumbscrews, and all other kinds of horrors. Sahshir had been sure to burn all such devices on his ascension. He'd had to sort through much inventory to do it. They hadn't even been used on the worst criminals.

The lizardfolk was leaning over a table with several cloaked men standing by. Masks hid their faces, and they had a hand on their knives.

"Is this her?" asked Nagos.

"Yes," said Sen. "I have torturers on hand if-"

"I don't need it," said Nagos. "I'll talk with her alone. All of you need to leave right now."

"Why should-" began Sen.

Then Nagos spoke, his voice uttering guttural words. Sahshir clutched the sword of order as his usual agony became worse. It left his head spinning, and he stepped back at a pace. Sen flinched only slightly. The guards, meanwhile, collapsed.

"That language..." said Sen, straightening his jacket.

"It hurts the ears, doesn't it?" asked Nagos.

"Yes," said Sen. "Get out. All of you."

Sen and Sahshir left the room, and Sahshir leaned against the wall, listening for any sign of violence. As he did, Sen looked at Sahshir. "Those who learn it tend to become subject to the will of the Fish King over time. You should be careful about your friend, Nagos. He could act against you when you least expect it."

"I trust him far more than I do you," said Sahshir flatly.

Sen waited to answer to that. "...A fair point."

They waited.

As they did, Sen became increasingly uncomfortable. Sahshir could tell by the way he didn't move. The man had a body language where he rarely openly reacted to anything. However, the exact way he didn't react could be seen.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Sahshir wondered if Sen had expected their meeting to go otherwise. Perhaps he desired respect as a worthy opponent? Or perhaps he'd noticed that Nagos treated him differently from other people. In either event, Sahshir did not respect the man. He would give him only as much respect as necessary for honorable purposes. He was competent but had no real honor and was, in addition, a truly terrible person. Only too well did Sahshir remember the butchery on McShore.

What surprised Sahshir was that this bothered Sen at all. Why should he care what Sahshir or Nagos thought of him? The answer didn't interest Sahshir, though. He wanted to finish this business and never think about the monster beside him again.

Nagos came back. "Alright, I just spoke with her."

"It's a she?" asked Sen in surprise.

"She is a girl, about fourteen," said Nagos. "In human years anyway, lizardfolk have a different time scale.

"It turns out that she is part of a group of lizardfolk who were instructed to take on human skin. They entered and lived among Sorn for some years to act as eyes and ears for the Fish King."

"Then she's a spy," surmised Sen.

"No more than any person who lives abroad and writes letters to their family," said Nagos.

"Abruptly, she was called to return to the sea with her family under the Fish King's mist yesterday. However, she was jumped and captured and is now afraid for her life.

"She's scared and wants to go home."

"So she should be," said Sen, looking to his subordinates. "Get my experts in here with the implements. Get whatever you can from it, and then eliminate it."

"What law has this creature broken?" asked Sahshir.

"What?" said Sen, looking at him with sudden anger.

"On what grounds are you holding it?" asked Sahshir. "As far as I can tell, it merely appeared as a human and immigrated onto land. No one has been harmed in the recent exodus."

"What of the rituals?" asked Sen.

Alkela spoke up, motioning with her hands. Sen, of course, didn't understand the words. "What is the mute saying?"

"Alkela speculates that it could have been anyone who knows the runes of the Fish King," said Sahshir. "Thanks to you, that number has grown exponentially. We don't have any guarantee that it was lizardfolk who did it, and if it was, they might be unconnected."

"I'll go ask her about it," said Nagos quickly before returning.

Now, Sen seemed well and truly furious.

Sahshir wondered if Sen felt he was being denied some respect or recognition that he had earned. Or there was some other reason for this. Sen wasn't sure what it was because he began to pace. Finally, he looked up. "Why are you so keen to take a monster's word at face value?"

"I felt that your refusal to hold a grudge spoke well of you. And found your translation of the Fish King's book impressive," replied Sahshir. It was all true, of course, and might soothe relations. But Sahshir neither liked nor respected the man nonetheless.

This seemed to placate Sen somewhat, but he kept pacing, looking down at the ground. It was true what was written:

'The virtuous are sure of their course, but the wicked are always plagued by doubt.'

Soon enough, Nagos came back. "Okay, I've finished.

"It turns out that the worship of Zigildrazia has begun to spread among some of the lizardfolk on land. You see, among lizardfolk, eating their own eggs is common practice. Most of those lain are infertile anyway.

"As such, the infanticide rituals are considered to be an easy in."

"That was no infant they murdered," noted Sen.

"Well, there are rituals by which some mortals transformed into lizardfolk," said Nagos. "Brought into the Fish King's domain, so to speak.

"The transformation is consensual and requires willing submission.

"However, it turns out that some lizardfolk target those who could become them. They think of them as unhatched eggs and, therefore, infants. Her mother warned her against this."

"But why these actions?" snapped Sen. "What are they planning?"

"I have no idea what they're planning; she's not a spy," said Nagos. "And if she was, I doubt she'd be told that.

"As for why...

"The Fish King's priests noticed the number of potential converts dropping. And that it was mostly happening because of Sorn. So they arranged for some lizardfolk families to take on mortal form and see what was going on in Sorn.

"If I had a guess, they were called back to report on their findings."

Sen stood up and considered things carefully. "...Meaning that she knows how to get to the domain of the Fish King. Ask her how she enters and leaves."

"I already did," said Nagos. "When a lizardfolk is summoned back into the ocean, they have the power to swim back. Ordinarily, the way is shut even to them. The Fish King's domain exists in a different plane of existence. One that just happens to overlap with the ocean."

"Could she take others with her?" asked Sen.

"Perhaps," said Nagos.

"I see," said Sen. "If our spies penetrate the Fish King domain, we could scout our enemy."

"That is assuming they are our enemy at the moment," noted Sahshir. "What is more relevant is why they would go out of their way to call their servants back to us in such a dramatic fashion."

"What do you mean?" asked Sen.

"Consider this," said Sahshir. "They could have simply called them all back at once during the dead of night and had them slip into the ocean. Their disappearance would have been noted, but it would have only started a few rumors.

"Why waste the power to summon a mist to hide their flight? Unless they wanted us to notice something would happen." Sahshir sighed and drew his sword. "I'm going to speak with the spirit that summoned the mist. The Sword of Order should allow me to find them if I focus."

"How?" asked Sen.

"Spirits by nature disrupt the natural order," explained Sahshir. "The Sword of Order allows me to sense such disruptions, especially when they have acted.

"For now, that girl should not be harmed."

"Which girl?" asked Sen in confusion.

"The one you have in prison," said Sahshir. "Whatever use she may be to us, it may require her intact and unharmed. Nagos, Alkela, come with me."

Focusing on the Sword of Order, Sahshir reached out and sensed any sign of near powers. He sensed one of immense power that was Isamu and his group. Sahshir decided he'd best speak with him first.

And so he followed.

Soon enough, they found Isamu pacing restlessly while Oresa and Urus played cards.

"How do you always win like this?" asked Oresa. "You always know what someone is going to draw."

"There are only so many cards of a given type," explained Urus. "I count how many of a given type are drawn and such. That lets me get a sense of what is likely to appear next." Then they noticed Sahshir.

Isamu came up to him. "Alright, what is going on here?"

"We have a new task, Isamu," said Sahshir. "You and your companions will accompany us to act as support."

"What task?" asked Isamu. "What are you talking about?"

"We're trying to track down the spirit that summoned the mist," said Nagos. "Anything, Sahshir?"

Sahshir focused on the sword again. Feeling the area around him, he gazed at the spirit realm. As he did, he perceived the souls of those around him. Sahshir had trained himself to use this ability at will since unlocking it. Yet it was unpleasant to see true faces, and he kept his gaze looking for spirits.

Soon enough, Sahshir found a trail. It was leading away from the pier toward the south. He followed it with his mind, taking a wider view. As he did, he noticed Sen's spirit. The last time he'd looked at it, it had been decayed and horrific. It was scarred and wounded, but the wounds were healing a bit. Perhaps there was a hope of recovery, though it was doubtful it would ever be healthy again.

Focusing on the trail, Sahshir saw where it led. "This way. I can sense the trail; it's leading out... Out over the walls and into the lands to the south."

"What?" said Isamu. "But, spirits can't move."

"Actually, Isamu, many spirits can move," said Urus. "Some are bound to a particular place, but many move about all the time. Much as not all men of legal age own property."

"Alkela, can you sense any of the taint of Zigildrazia here?" asked Sahshir, dropping out of the vision.

Alkela answered.

"What's she saying?" asked Isamu.

"That it is not taint," said Sahshir, annoyed at the response. "Answer my questions and then debate semantics."

Alkela answered.

"I see," said Sahshir. "Zigildrazia's power is not present within the air at all here. Nothing like it was before. That is something I can attest to personally."

"How would she know?" asked Isamu.

"Alkela is a distant descendant of Zigildrazia," said Sahshir. "Many generations removed. Combined with her training, she has an affinity for her presence."

"That sounds handy," said Isamu. "So, um, if we do end up fighting Zigildrazia is that going to be a problem?"

Alkela answered.

"What?" asked Isamu. "Alkela is saying that if it would be a problem, she wouldn't tell you, so the question would be irrelevant."

"Oh, right," said Isamu.

"In any case, our quarry has fled," said Sahshir. "We'll have to journey some ways to find them. Prepare for a journey and find us a guide."

Sahshir wondered if healing the spirit was the same as the body.