The hard part was convincing them to let me go alone.

“How’m I supposed to be your bodyguard when you leave me behind for all the dangerous bits?” Janie asked, exasperated.

She had a good point, but so did the others. Kyle also wanted to go along to protect me, and Felicia didn’t want Kyle to go alone. Cutter wanted to come too, of course, but I suspected he had more ulterior motives than he claimed.

“Look, I can sneak maybe one person past the checkpoint. If I have to go back and forth sneaking you all past, I’ll be mentally exhausted and out of mana before we even begin.” I looked at them all. “Plus, someone has to stay behind and cover for the ones that leave.”

They all started arguing again, but I kept talking. “My best protection is invisibility, and you know how difficult it gets coordinating multiple invisible people.”

“You won’t be able to negotiate invisible,” Kyle pointed out.

“I’ve got the [Phantasmal Emissary] spell to negotiate with,” I countered. “Besides, I don’t think I’m going there to negotiate.”

“You’re not?” Felicia asked.

“Negotiation with Finley is just a delaying tactic, remember? I’m pretty sure the Guild Master picked up on that, so why would he suggest a way for me to speed up the process?” I gave them all a significant look.

“Because he hates you?” Janie suggested.

“If that were the case, I doubt he’d even have seen me,” I told her. “No, he thinks I could be an asset, so he’s sending me to spy on Finley to see what I can find out.”

“All the more reason that you should have backup!” Felicia protested. “If you get caught, you’ll just disappear, and then what are we going to tell the King?”

“Same thing we’d say if we get caught at the gate,” I said. “One person. And it will be Cutter.”

“Yes!” Cutter said.

“Don’t be so quick to celebrate,” I told him, “This will be a job, and you’ll need to stay on it.”

“But we’re going to a brothel, right? There’ll be drinks and girls!”

“You’re a little too young for either of those,” I said wryly.

“All the more reason that he shouldn’t go,” Felicia said disapprovingly.

“Two reasons why he should,” I said. “One, he’s the smallest of you — I can take him through piggyback. Two, he can pick locks, which are the biggest problem for an invisible person.”

“I can pick locks,” Janie said sullenly.

“Blowing down the door isn’t the same thing,” I said.

“I could melt the lock?” she tried.

“It's still going to set fire to the door,” I said. “Not exactly stealthy.”

“Boo. So the rest of us are just going to stay and wait?”

“Maybe not. You could always take an escorted trip out to the city so you’re close by if we need you.” I suggested.

They liked that idea better, so we figured out a rendezvous point in a better part of town. With the most contentious point out of the way, the rest of the planning went much faster.

Cloaked in invisibility, Cutter and I watched the gate intently. Traffic was dying down, but we wanted to get through before they closed the gates for the night. We could hardly ask to be let out, after all.

Judging that the time was right, I grabbed Cutter and moved closer to the detection field. Once again, I reached out with my… mind? My will? Whatever it was, I grasped the field and started to distort it.

The last time I’d hollowed out a sphere, this time I went with a domed cylinder, the better to minimise the surface area required to contain Cutter and myself. It — or rather I — pushed forward and entered the gateway. Unlike most force fields that I’d encountered in fiction, the cylinder didn’t move with me. I had to take a step forward, dragging Cutter along, and then move the space around me to match.

It was slow going and very mentally draining, but the distance we had to cover was actually quite short. Fortunately, I’d explained to Cutter what would be required, and he didn’t dash off or wave his arms about, or any of a dozen things that he might have been tempted to do while invisible.

Since we’d left before sunset, I cancelled the spell and we found dinner in the city. It wasn’t long after that we were standing in the shadows of a doorway in sight of the Shattered Bat. It was a big building, made larger by a few additions that were clearly made after construction had been completed. Both of the neighbouring buildings had been… acquired and added to the main structure.

On one side, the building had been extended to integrate fully with the main structure. No attempt had been made to unify the different architectural styles, and the result was a mess. It looked structurally sound — robust, even — but it was uglier than any building I’d seen thus far in this town.

Opalime stone was in short supply in this part of town, but most people still took the time to build something worth living in. Both these buildings had been… somewhat stylish, but the connecting section was just stone bricks laid down in a square.

The other side was worse. There, a covered walkway connected the upper floors of both buildings, looking even more out of place.

The main entrance was easy to pick out. They’d managed to find some opalime to frame the door in, so it stood out. No sign, but I had the feeling that no one came here accidentally. There were two bouncers at the door and a small scattering of shady-looking types hanging around nearby.

“You ready?” I said to Cutter. He nodded. We were both visible. I was using my [Disguise] spell, presenting as a rough-looking man in my late thirties. Cutter was wearing a hooded cloak, and elevator boots to add a few inches to his height. Knowing we’d need to, I’d given them to him before we left so that he could both get used to walking in them, and also for the novelty to wear off. He quite liked being taller, and I suspected he was going to try and get a permanent pair after tonight.

It didn’t look like the bouncers were turning people away, and Voight would surely have said something if there was some sort of password I needed to get in. So we just walked right up.

The guards perked up as we came into view. I guess the other patrons had all been regulars.

“I don’t know you, friend,” one of them said, with something like politeness. “What pleasures bring you to our establishment?”

That was an odd phrasing, which made me think that there was some sort of passphrase going on. Since I didn’t know what the response was — or even exactly what ‘pleasures’ were available here, I just bulled on through.

“I’m here for business,” I said, giving the man my best murderous glare, and turning up the [Intimidation]. He wilted a little but didn’t give up.

“Uh, what—”

“I’m meeting someone,” I interrupted. “You don’t want to know with who.”

“Uh, right. Go on through, sir.” He opened the door and I could suddenly hear the roar of the crowd inside.

I kept up the glare until we were inside the entryway. It was a short, dark passage that led into light. The noise ahead of us wasn’t that loud — a small crowd — but it was intense. Cheers, boos, jeers, and the occasional scream.

Beside me, I could hear Cutter mumbling under his breath. “I’m here for business. You don’t want to know with who.” It seemed like I was providing a bad example.

We came out into the light. Enchanted light globes — there was money behind this arena. And that’s what this place was, although arena might be too fancy a word.

It seemed like the entire building had been hollowed out into one open space. In the middle of the space, three pits had been dug out and lined with stone. I was looking down into the middle of one right now. Around the pits, stands had been set up, steeply rising so that everyone could get a good view of the bloodshed.

That’s what the pits contained, of course. This was a pit-fighting arena, and the fights had already started. In the middle pit, right in front of me, I could see two muscular men dressed only in loincloths, having it out with knives. Before I could look away, I saw one of them put a deep slash in the other's arm.

“This is better than a brothel!” Cutter enthused, but my attention was elsewhere by then. This wasn’t just a fighting pit. I could see passages leading off on either side of the room, and there was a walkway at the top of the stands with more doors leading away. I was sure it wouldn’t be too hard to find out what other vices were dealt in here.

It didn’t matter though, because across the room, on the other side of the pit, was my target. Duke Finley.

Not wanting to gawp in the entrance like a tourist, I nudged Cutter and led him up to the stands. I had to pay two silver for the privilege of not standing on the floor like the hoi polloi. Also of note was that most of the other doors could only be accessed from the stands. That wasn’t what I was here for though, so I just took a seat in an empty area and checked out the place. I let Cutter do the cheering for the both of us.

The Duke was set up in an area that probably cost more than a silver to get into. It might have been reserved for him alone. A section of the stands had been walled off, made only accessible from the lowest level. Strategically placed guards made sure that he and his guests had the place to themselves. The front row of seats had been replaced with a low table packed with food and wine, while the Duke and his guest sat in chairs that looked a lot more comfortable than mine.

The lighting was a lot less bright at these upper levels, but there was enough light for my enhanced senses to make out some details. I’d recognised the Duke immediately, but now that I was looking, I realised that I also recognised his guest. But it was one of his retainers that really caught my eye. There were three people sitting on the level above, in less comfortable chairs. One of them had a sour look on a face that I recognised. Master Archambault, in the flesh.

Turning on [Sense Mana], I could see that he had at least one spell up. He’d constructed a thin shell of mana, that enclosed the entire box that the Duke was sitting in. It made me think of [Privacy] a spell that would keep anyone outside the bubble from hearing what was being said.

“Cutter,” I said quietly. “Time to get back to business.”

He pouted, but stopped cheering and started listening. “What is it, boss?”

“See the toff across the way? That’s Duke Finley.” Cutter hadn’t been in the room when I’d met him before.

“The bloke talking to the foreigner?” Cutter asked.

“Yeah,” I said. “But take a look at the guy above him.”

Cutter squinted for a minute and then exclaimed. “That’s the mystery guy!”

“Master Archambault the illusionist,” I agreed.

“Is he going to be trouble?” Cutter asked.

“I doubt it. I was the better caster the first time we met, and I’ve gone up a level since then. But stay sharp — I might not be the only one casting illusions here.”

Cutter nodded, and I continued. “Now, about that foreigner… do you recognise him?”

Cutter squinted some more and then scrunched up his face in thought. “Was he one of the blokes at the King’s audithing?”

“Audience,” I corrected. “And yes. That’s the Lyran ambassador, Oleg Gavril. I wonder what he’s talking with the Duke about that that has to happen here?”

Cutter made a face. “Pretty sure what you actually mean, is you’re gonna find out what they’re saying, and Felicia’s gonna yell at me in the morning.”

“Only if I get caught,” I said.