After the heroes had left, Sylvie asked Li, "What are you planning? It would be helpful for us to know of what's going on your end too."

Jeanne nodded, and Li responded. "Chevrette's already done for. We have ironclad witnesses against him in the form of the farmers. There's plenty of them to overcome any needed burden of proof. But I haven't told the heroes about the farmers yet because there's still something that Chevrette is hiding from us."

"I would suspect so," said Sylvie as she tapped her forehead. "It would have been utterly impossible for even a man of his wealth to dredge up the manpower, resources, and this high level of black magic without associating it at all with his personal finances. There must be another entity in play."

"You're precisely right about that." Li paused. "And don't call it black magic. They're just Warlock spells. The same kind of magic as any that you cast. Nothing inherently wrong about it."

"The magic of the warlocks are all fiendish, though," said Jeanne with bit lip. "They alter the mind, terrorize the body, and warp the soul. It is all too unnatural." 

Li shrugged. "Mind you, priestly magic has just as much ability to break minds, bodies, and souls. At the end of the day, it's all just magic. Nothing good or bad about it."

"Is that how you are taught in your land?" asked Sylvie with curiosity bubbling in her voice.

"You could say that, but mostly, it's just my personal opinion. Magic is a tool. You can't say that some kinds of magic are foul and others holy by how they're used. But you can judge the people that use them. In any case-," Li continued. "I have good reason to suspect that Chevrette is not acting alone. Something is helping him. Something with power and something that's managed to remain completely hidden and separate from him."

"Something would have been in his records." Sylvie furrowed her brows. "In his financial documents, in his business contracts, in something. Yet they are all clean."

"You're assuming he acted in the boundaries of human society."

Sylvie cocked her head. "So you are saying that we are dealing with something inhuman?"

"Yes, and it just so happens to be that in my raid, I found out how to get to this being."

"This being? Your wording suggests you do not know what it is."

"I know that it's called the 'Specter' and that it's been some kind of supernatural force that's hunted down criminals for a long, long time."

An incredulous expression formed on Sylvie's face. "That is a myth. A tale conjured up by lowertown folk who want to believe there is someone that grants them justice when the law fails. Most likely, it was some vengeful ghost that has been laid to rest."

Jeanne chimed in. "We can't be too sure, Sylv. Spirits can be hardy. Maybe it's still around? I'd like to think that spirits with enough to keep them here would fight to stay here as long as they could." 

"Even then, why would it help Chevrette?" questioned Sylvie.

"That's what I aim to know," said Li. "I'm going with Azhar tonight to where I believe this specter is."

Azhar blinked. "We are?"

"Yes," said Li, "So don't go sleeping on me just yet."

"What of the beastwomen?" said Jeanne. "We should help the heroes with getting the rest of them back. And your mastery of dark, I mean, magic could aid the process greatly."

"Not to mention it would soothe suspicions," said Sylvie. 

"That's true, which is why I want you two to go with the heroes. Tell them me and Azhar are busy."

"I thought you would say that," sighed Sylvie. "But I trust your judgement. Yet I still do wish to know how you will deal with the beastwomen afterwards. From what I can deduce, if the farmers are the only necessary key to condemning Chevrette, then the beastwomens' testimony is useless."

"Useless? Would not more be better?" said Jeanne.

"Yeah, the more mouths to spit curses at that son of a bitch, the better," said Azhar.

Sylvie shook her head. "The testimony of a beastwoman is worth very little, I am afraid. Even if you have riled the people to justice's side, they cannot set aside years of adoring Chevrette to side with beastwomen they thought as brutish raiders and murderers of our soldiers." 

"She's right," said Li. "And that's not to mention the fact that I doubt they actually know anything. From the looks of it, I'm guessing they've all been mind controlled from the very start, before they ever knew anything useful. Even if they weren't, they would have had their minds wiped anyway as a precaution."

"Yes," nodded Sylvie. "Which is why I wish to know what you want to do with the beastwomen when they come to the Flagon. If they are not necessary, then what are your plans for them?"

"Sure as hell ain't handin' em' over to the crown," said Azhar. "Can't trust em' armored dolts to keep the girls safe."

"That won't happen," said Li. "Remember when I said I wanted to expand the farms? You see, by the end of this, I'm expecting there will be a fair bit of cooperation between myself and the farmers which will lead me to helping with all their land. I'll need quite a bit of working hands for that, and for any beastwomen with nothing to their name, I'll give them an opportunity to work on the fields. 

For those with things to fight for and families to return to, I'll let them go back to their homes with an escort that will guarantee their safety. At the least, I can swear that they will be safe."

"Hm." Sylvie looked concerned. "The heroes will want to question them. The crown will want to detain them."

"No need for concern," said Li. "I'm confident I can hold my ground against both. What's important now is to get loose ends tied up like this specter."

"So long as the beastwomen are cared for, then I cannot object," said Jeanne. 

"Gotta' agree with that," said Azhar.

Sylvie still looked concerned. "Jeanne, standing against the crown may hurt the good image you have built up for so long."

Li understood. "Then Azhar, you're not coming with me, unfortunately. If you, as a member of Triple Threat, are always with me, then your ties with me, the troublemaker against the crown, only increases. Go with your sisters."

"Ain't got issues with that either," said Azhar with no hesitation, understanding that Li was no force to ever worry about. 

"But what of you?" said Sylvie as she nervously held her arm. "The specter, if it is a ghost of such power that its hatred has let it stay anchored to this world for over a hundred years, perhaps longer if the earliest recorded instances of it are to be believed, then you are dealing with a powerful force. I would not want you to face harm, especially in light of all that you have done for us."

Li reached out and put a hand on Sylvie's shoulder. He looked at her as her eyes averted away shyly. "I'm putting my trust in you to get the beastwomen here safely without the heroes meddling. All I'm asking is for you to place the same amount of trust in me." 

"Yes, I suppose that is logical," said Sylvie rather quietly. 

Li withdrew his hand. "Then we're all on the same page. I'll be done with this errant ghost by morning, and then it's lights out for Chevrette and lights on for a new era of the farm."