A tangible tension hung in the air as the Constables stared at Cedez and Dave.

"We do have a dragoness blacksmith in our employ. We call her Remy," Cedez admitted.

She paused, her eyes locked with Giron's, before adding, "She was uncollared when she came to work at Rimzadria."

"Oh? So you were unaware of her status as property of Lord Burgundy's Estate?" Giron raised an eyebrow, skepticism dripping from his tone.

With a silent nod, Cedez confirmed her false ignorance of Remy's past. Dave noted that a silent affirmation didn’t trigger the watchman's truth hex.

Giron's face hardened, and he demanded, "Are you going to let us into this Estate so that we can arrest and interrogate her?"

Cedez, her eyes narrowing, countered, "What's it going to take to convince you two to drop this case?"

"An attempt to bribe the City Watch is a crime!" Laconi retorted, crossing her arms.

Cedez's voice, sharp as steel, cut through the tense atmosphere, "Watchmen Laconi Kataria, unless I am mistaken… Lord Burgundy gated you from Illium at great cost." Her eyes bore into the female watchman, "You're working as a tracker, you're not registered in the Book of the Shandrian Watchmen. We do things differently in the provinces when it comes to... highborn matters."

Laconi's canine face contorted with irritation, her chest heaving with a deep growl. The foxgirl's words had struck a nerve, inexplicably exposing her temporary employment status.

"Name your price, Officer," Cedez stared at Giron, her silver-blue eyes unwavering.

"I'm afraid this case is backed by the Estate of High Lord Burgundy," Giron stated. "It cannot be closed, as those above me were paid well to find the Night Bandit and the runaway slave. Justice Burkoff can sign a search warrant right now if I simply voicecast him."

Cedez sighed, the gears in her mind turning rapidly as she calculated their limited options. Her voice, tinged with unwavering tenacity, inquired, "What's it going to take to delay the search?"

"Five hundred gold to delay the search of this Estate until tomorrow," Giron replied without hesitation, his voice firm and resolute.

Dave nearly choked, the exorbitant sum of fifty thousand silver leaving him speechless; he did not have that kind of cash at his disposal.

“What are you doing?” Laconi hissed at her partner, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. “We bloody have them!”

“Unlike you, officer Laconi,” Cedez retorted, her voice dripping with authority. “Watchman Giron isn’t an out-of-town tracker. He is paid a monthly salary by the city of Shandria. It costs him quite a bit of funds to keep a lovely mistress on the side, you see. Lady Quliss likes pretty jewels.”

“What?” Giron sputtered, his face aghast, utterly disarmed by her revelation. “How do you…?”

“It’s my job to know such things,” Cedez replied, her voice a velvet purr. “Especially when it comes to our… competitors. A noble archmage like Dave would not employ a local secretary who wouldn’t be able to handle some basic research.”

"Do you think you can scare me, Astra?" Watchman Giron hissed, his eyes narrowing into venomous slits as he glared daggers at Cedez.

"Scare you?" Cedez's mouth twisted into a wry half-smile, her tone nonchalant as she responded, "While it would be a shame if your lovely wife found out about your affair, that is irrelevant to our current discussion." She rubbed her chin thoughtfully, adding, "We are discussing your employment with Lord Dave."

"My… employment?" Giron blinked, his gaze caught by the silver spirals in the vixen's eyes. "What?"

"Permanent employment," Cedez clarified, the hypnotic sway of her tail echoing the allure of her voice. "I'd like to buy your allegiance. I'm not talking about a single, measly sum of five hundred gold. That is but a pittance compared to what I am willing to offer you today!"

"A pittance?" Giron said. "What exactly do you offer then?"

"I am willing to sell you names and locations, darling," Cedez purred. "Traitors to Shandria and agents of the Dragon God-Emperor that have infiltrated this city. Blackguards who are planning to attack the ward and kill many high Lords!"

Cedez addressed both of the watchmen now.

"Think about it - what's better for your careers, capturing a runaway slave worth ten thousand silver and embroiling yourself in a simple business disagreement between two Shandrian Lords... or capturing a ring of extremely dangerous infiltrators who are stockpiling weapons of mass destruction?"

Dave couldn't help but notice the flicker of curiosity that lit up Giron's face.

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"Is what she is saying… true?" Laconi glanced at her own truth-hex and turned to her partner.

"Seems like it," Giron glanced at his wrist, where his truth spell flashed green, before nodding in affirmation.

"Each agent and terror ring that you uncover could propel your career all the way up to Commissioner," Cedez added, her voice a tantalizing melody. "I know that you harbor grand ambitions, Sir Giron. If you work for Lord Dave, you could become a Lord yourself one day. Doesn't Lord Commissioner Giron have a… nice ring to it?"

"Yesss," Watchman Giron exhaled, the prospect of untold power shimmering before his eyes. "Tell me their names, now!"

"Ashkazia Memphi," Cedez revealed. "A merchant who arrived in Shandria three weeks ago and leased a flower shop on 87th Munn Street. You'll find that her quaint shop is filled with explosives if you simply look under the floorboards."

Giron nodded, his mind already calculating the possibilities.

"Delay the investigation of this estate by one day," Cedez bargained. "And you will have another name when I see you tomorrow. Here, we can stay in touch with this voicecast stone for future reports."

The male watchman's face broke into a wide grin as he caught the offered stone and slid it effortlessly into his pocket.

The black vixen then turned her gaze to the gray canine.

"You've been in Shandria only for one night, Lady Laconi," Cedez remarked, her tone gently probing. "So I'm afraid I don't know you that well. What is it you wish to attain for your cooperation? Wealth? Power? Slaves? Fame?”

"I want to put clever criminals and sneaky charisma maxers like you behind bars," the wolfgirl growled, her eyes blazing with righteous indignation at the offer of a wish for anything.

"I'm not a criminal," Cedez said softly, her eyes filled with sincerity as she glanced at Dave. "I merely wish what is best for Shandria and my noble Lord."

"Your allure might work on this idiot," Laconi hissed, disdainfully glancing at Giron. "But I am immune to your vile charms!"

"Ah," Cedez sighed, her shoulders slumping ever so slightly. "You're a pure, uncorrupted soul. How unfortunate. Perhaps my Lord can convince you, as it seems I have no sway here."

With a gentle nudge, the foxkin pushed Dave forward.

Dave's eyes widened in a silent plea, a clear "what am I even supposed to do?" etched on his face.

Cedez's shrug was eloquent in its "I can't solve all of your problems" message.

"You aren't interested in capturing terrorists?" Dave inquired cautiously, addressing the wolfkin.

"Not my jurisdiction," the Illium tracker shook her head. "Your secretary is wrong. I'm not getting an extra copper for my completion of this job. I was simply told to investigate this matter by my higher-ups. Why are you concealing the runaway dragoness, Lord Dave?"

"She's a good person," Dave said, his voice firm but tinged with desperation.

"She's a murderer and a runaway slave," Laconi countered, her voice cold. "I'm not judging you for chasing a pretty tail, but I'm afraid that I have no choice but to report this to my superiors."

"I'm not chasing…" Dave sputtered.

"I can smell her all over your face," the tracker retorted, a knowing smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth.

Dave's cheeks flushed crimson.

Cedez snickered, her eyes glinting with amusement. Giron, on the other hand, looked bored, his gaze wandering elsewhere. He was probably busy daydreaming of being Commissioner Giron.

"She's not a murderer! She was simply defending her village when she killed a Shadow officer," Dave insisted, his voice rising in frustration. "Lord Burgundy's Overseer was abusing her, using a pain-hex constantly, feeding her rotting food!"

"And you think that you're better? You aren't just using her for her smithing skills to make your... Bakelite?" Laconi tilted her head, her eyes narrowing. "What's your relationship with the runaway slave?"

"I…" Dave's blush deepened. "She's my friend."

"You rub your face all over your friend?" Laconi's smirk widened into a sly grin.

"You know what? Fine! I rest my head on her lap every evening! It helps me de-stress," Dave growled, his face burning with indignation. "Are you happy?"

"Does she wish it or do you force yourself upon her?" the wolfgirl persisted.

"She... offers it without prompting," Dave confessed.

Laconi glanced at the flashing green hex on her wrist. "Fair enough. Do you love her?"

"What?" Dave sputtered, his eyes wide.

"I might let this matter slide for a day," the wolfkin said, her voice taking on a softer tone. "If you can convince me that you actually love the dragonkin."

"I don’t understand. Why do you even care?" Dave blinked.

"My husband's a human," the tracker shrugged, the corners of her eyes crinkling with a hint of amusement. "I wouldn't stand in the way of a blossoming romance. Come on, tell me how much you care for her!"

"I… care for her a lot," Dave stammered out.

"Ahh," Cedez caught on, her dark eyelashes fluttering with a knowing air as she figured out exactly what Laconi desired. "It is a rather tragic tale, isn't it, straight out of a goodly Batman play! A Lord in love with a dragonkin slave, willing to do anything for her…"

"Stealing a slave in the darkest hour of night from a crenelated tower, fighting off five hunters all by himself," Laconi mused, her eyes alight with newfound respect as she assessed Dave once more, mentally comparing his figure with that of the Night Bandit.

Giron rolled his eyes, his impatience palpable.

"Wow," Laconi regarded Dave with a mixture of awe and curiosity. "That was you… wasn't it? You're the Night Bandit?"

"Anyone with enough backbone can be the Night Bandit," Cedez purred. "It only takes courage, true love, and conviction! A fearless stand against the shadows and hunters! You've read the report of the battle in the smithy, yes?"

"My, my," the wolfgirl's smile widened. "Fine, you've won me over, Lord Dave. One day. That's all you get. I'll give your dragoness one day to run. We’ll be back at the same time tomorrow with the warrant. Let's go, Giron, we're done here for now."

"Thank you," Dave exhaled as he watched the two watchmen turn on their heels and walk away.

He turned to Cedez.

“What the hell are we going to do?”