Gwendith wouldn't stop hugging Yuriko and clung like a leech while Yuriko headed towards the mattress. She collapsed on the bed, well, floor mattress now since the combined pallet beds proved unstable, and stretched, all while Gwen sniffled on her shoulder.

“Why were you so worried?” Yuriko asked once Gwendith settled down. She also saw Asami staring incredulously at Gwendith, her current expression so at odds with her usual self that Yuriko couldn’t help but chuckle.

“It’s no laughing matter!” Gwendith pouted.

“Oh, uhm, I wasn’t, er…nevermind,” Yuriko muttered, realising that Gwendith would only grow more annoyed if she said anything else. Then, now that she had a chance to reflect on the day’s happenings, her odd mood settled. “Trouble in the city. Did any of the others get caught, too?”

“They all returned before you did,” Gwendith said and Asami nodded.

“Where’s Saki?” Yuriko muttered, glancing around the room, and when her Shadow Guard didn’t appear, she thought the other was still investigating. “The boys?”

“All in their room. Should we ask them to come here so we can talk?” Asami offered.

“Yes, please.”

Desire had sat down in her corner to meditate as soon as she entered the room. She didn’t ask for distilled Chaos or Pure Animus, but by now, Yuriko was used to her changed diet. Still, she offered a droplet of Animus, since that was the only thing she could spare. Keeping the Radiant energy out of it was becoming harder by the day, if only because her Radiant Essence was on its way to becoming an integral part of the core.

Desire opened an eye, grinned, and slurped up the Animus, without moving from her position.

“Thank you, master,” Desire said, even though Yuriko had asked her many times before not to refer to her as such. She sighed.

Sure, Desire complied for a little while, then went right back to her appellation. It was a divide that prevented them from being real friends. Not that she was all that close to Ashley Gin back during her primary school days, but there had only been twelve of them in the year level after all.

Asami came back with the boys in tow. Heron looked at Yuriko with relief, while Braden and Orrin were more contemplative. As for Sheamus, he yawned and scratched his beard.

“What did you find out?” Yuriko asked.

“Increased prices of food and everything else,” Braden groused. “Sheamus actually got the better of that farmer–it’s much more expensive here.”

“People in the slums have been vanishing,” Orrin said.

“Brought to the Cauldron to turn,” Desire whispered as her face paled.

“You think that’s what’s happening?” Yuriko asked.

“Why else would the disenfranchised disappear if not to be used by those in power?” Desire said gravely, her tone and expression shifted so much that Yuriko half thought that another voice spoke with her lips. That Desire blinked and looked confused afterwards didn’t help matters.

The others exchanged glances. Heron frowned and gestured to Yuriko. He was the only one in the team that knew Ashley Gin before she was turned into the Songstress of Heartfelt Desire, and both of them knew that she had never expressed that kind of sentiment before. Was it her other component Animas?

“Do you think the people they recruit or conscript all go the same way?” Heron asked. “The officer who pushed at me to enlist hinted heavily that I’d regret waiting to be conscripted.”

“It’s possible,” Sheamus answered, “but I don’t know the depths this government would go through to increase their fighting power.”

“We got caught in a riot,” Yuriko said. “And your friend, Izna, helped us get out of it.”

“Izna did?” Braden asked with wide eyes. “Huh. You aren’t hurt are you?”

“No, we’re fine,” Yuriko said easily. “It does mean that staying in this city will progressively get more dangerous.”

“If Desire’s to be believed, they’re using their people, sacrificing them, to create the nameless?” Gwendith said grimly. “Despicable.”

While Yuriko felt the same disgust, she wasn’t all that angry. Perhaps it was because the Haveenians weren’t her people, and she could only feel pity that their leaders would do such a thing. Wait…

“Do you think the entire Federation is doing so?” she gasped.

“Dee, how many people does it take to, er, birth the nameless?” Gwendith asked.

Desire shook her head. “I don’t know. But one life isn’t enough, especially if they are below the Knight level.”

“Does that mean a human Knight can be converted to a Chaos Lord just by themselves?” Gwendith followed up.

“Possibly. I just don’t know. I was a freshborn and I didn’t linger in the Telurian Court’s territory. “

“Only the Tel-telurian Court,” Heron stumbled over the name, “are capable of doing this?”

“I don’t know,” Desire repeated, looking far more distressed.

“That’s enough,” Yuriko said quietly and the others acquiesced. “But do we all agree that we cannot stay here long. We’ll leave tomorrow.”

“But is there any truth to these disappearances?” Braden asked doubtfully. “I mean, what I heard came from a meat monger in the marketplace, about disappearances between the city walls and the docks. At a place where crime, death, disappearances, and whatnot is common.”

“Do you really think the nameless come from sacrificed humans?” Orrin asked. “Couldn’t they also come from the vast reaches of the Chaos Sea?”

“Desire felt the connection,” Yuriko insisted.

“From a few samples,” Orrin insisted. “Who’s to say that it’s all true?”

Yuriko frowned. Orrin did have a point. And she shouldn’t base their decisions on simple hearsay and rumours. But one thing that seemed to point in favour of the initial idea was her own gut feel.

She felt her cheeks redden as she considered that.

Was a hunch a valid reason? Was it good enough for evidence? Of course not, but it did mean that she had a direction to look at. The disappearances in the slums and the oddity of the recruitment area, as well as what happened in the palace square this morning all tied up within her instincts. Perhaps the leadership of Haveena were sacrificing the unwanted and weak to create military might, and perhaps that number wasn’t enough. They were fighting in two theaters after all, the Ivalan front at the Aegeas Plains, and the one between Haveena, the Watchtower, and Faron's Crossing.

She was also sure that where they converted humans into nameless was located in the Chaos Sea rather than in Rumiga itself. It was impossible to become a Chaos dweller in a plane, after all. And, more importantly, she didn’t know what to do.

Well, she could look for that Fysalli, but she was woefully inadequate to attack a Waypoint filled with Chaos Lords by herself. She could ask help from Finan, or she could contact the legions. The main thing was to uncover the plot, find evidence and a place to strike, and then get help. She could fight off Chaos Viscounts, but she hadn’t tried a fight against a Chaos Earl. If she couldn’t even defeat a Viscount, then she was certainly not a match for an Earl, much less the Maquises that typically led a Chaos Court.

The leader of the Telurian Court was Duke, even more powerful than Legate Jiro Segawa of the Legion Vagaris. If she tried to fight a Duke, then she would die. Nothing she or Damien could do would save her.

So. No going into the Chaos Sea to look for a Chaos Court’s Fysalli, but maybe she could track where and how they brought the nameless into the plane. If they know that the creatures came from captives and civilians, then the Empire can do something. She could do something too.

Well, they also had secondary objectives. If they had the chance, they should track down and sabotage or raid the logistics lines, specifically, the Steam Cannon munitions. Perhaps destroy or confiscate rations too?

But really, the most urgent and important was to find the source of the nameless and, if possible, end it. Or if not, bring back intelligence. Just heading south and attempting to find the Fysalli where they turned the nameless would be futile since she knew she couldn’t assault and destroy it by herself or with her small team.

Ah, her thoughts were spinning in circles. Yuriko sighed. Honestly, what did she expect when coming down south? She didn’t know the number of Adepts, Masters, and Grandmasters here, so she couldn’t run rampant. She could try, of course. Hit and run battles until the entire City-state would devolve into Chaos. Then, their ability to make war would suffer.

Thock! Thock!

Even before any of them could answer, the door opened and Saki materialised into view. Her eyes darted around the room, touching on each of theirs before zeroing in on the twins.

“Your friend was taken.”

“Huh?”

“Izna Weyr. After the mistress left him in the pub, he got caught by their inquisition.”

“What?!” Braden gasped. “Did you…no, do you know where they brought him?”

“Of course.”

“Then, let’s go!”

“Wait, Braden,” Sheamus interrupted. “This isn’t part of the mission.”

‘But…”

“Well, he did help us get away from the constables,” Yuriko said. “Let’s see what we can do to help.”

Saki shook her head. “He wasn’t brought to the constabulary. He was taken to a different prison.” She paused and looked at Braden pointedly. “Where there were other, less savory, prisoners.”

Braden and Orrin blinked, then frowned. “You were eavesdropping?”

“A natural habit, I assure you,” Saki grinned.

“Do you want to go to the Tackle and Bits to check with his family?” Yuriko asked. “They might not know, and they would know better how to navigate through this.”

She chewed on her lips with worry. The thought that Izna might not have been captured if he didn’t linger in that tavern and talked with them for so long occurred to her.

Braden nodded. “Please.”

Yuriko looked at the others. All of them going there would only call attention.

“Saki, you’ll come with me, Braden, and Orrin. Heron, Asami, ready our things so that we can leave at any time. Sheamus, pay for one more night.”

“We bought a lot of meat and vegetables,” Orrin said. “Those need to be prepped.”

“Gwen?” Yuriko asked.

“Alright.”

“Saki, tell me about those inquisition people,” Yuriko said as got up and changed out of her torn poncho. Desire was still shivering and looked piteously up at her. “Meditate and rest, Dee.” The Chaos Lord nodded.

“There’s bands of them roaming the streets,” Saki said, “hoping to catch any insurgents, troublemakers, and I suppose, foreigners. I saw them round up a group that came in through the southern gate while they were headed towards an inn. Farmers, I think. Refugees. They weren’t carrying any produce and their clothes were threadbare.”

“Alright, so we avoid them. Steer us clear of them, please,” Yuriko added. It was already close to twilight, and since going through the main streets was a bad idea, they might have to take the high road.

She stared at Orrin who wasn’t in the best of shape, and at Braden, who was pacing nervously. They might fall if she forced them to jump across the roofs, and if she carried them with her kinesis, the light would be a give away.

There were street lamps that lit up the night, of course, but only on the main thoroughfares. That meant they could try to sneak through the side roads. They did just that, with Saki in the lead. Yuriko decided to take Asami along after all, as the need to stay quiet and be able to communicate from a distance was much needed.

They made it across the city in an hour, running as quietly as they could. The streets were empty save for the patrols, but since they carried lanterns hung on poles, they were rather easy to spot.

The Tackles and Bits shop was closed, but the twins knew that the owners lived on the building’s upper floors. They snuck into the side door and climbed up the stairs only to be met with a short hallway with a sturdy door at the end. Braden knocked on it, and waited for a few moments. Yuriko heard the loud thumping of running feet and the door was pulled open so quickly that Braden jerked back.

“Big brother, you’re…oh!” a young girl, the same one who took over Izna’s station while he chatted with the twins, popped out. Her happy face devolved into a curious frown before the light of recognition dawned on her eyes. “Mr. Foster,” she said happily. Then frowned again, “Have you seen my brother?”

“We have grave news,” Braden said slowly.

The girl, who was probably a bit younger than Rami, blanched. “Oh no.”

“It’s not too late,” Braden continued. “He was taken by the constables but he was brought somewhere else. We know where it is, but we don’t know what to do.”

“What happened?” a gravelly voice called out. An older woman, their mother, Yuriko assumed, came into view. She limped across the threshold and stared fitfully at them. “Tell me what happened?”

“Well, it’s like this…” Braden repeated what Saki revealed and the middle aged woman blanched and collapsed on her knees.

“Sky spirits help us,” she murmured breathily, “Oh, Izna…” Tears dribbled down her cheeks, and she shook her head.