After Salabil had left them and the horse was stabled, Sekafi and Aspen headed towards the meeting with Lady Ileena's contact. Hiaashaqwi tagged along, having no other tasks and being unable to meet with Sir Hapow yet. They kept their heads down and avoided the guards whenever they could despite their disguises. Neither of them trusted in the magic fully, but nobody bothered them.

'There it is.' Aspen pointed towards a small, run-down inn at the end of the narrow street. A worn sign above the door had a painted ale mug on it. If there had been letters on the sign, they were long gone.

'Looks fabulous,' Sekafi commented.

Aspen gave her a quick grin, then looked away, hiding his face from view under his hood again. Sekafi sighed. They shouldn't need to hide like this. Danger lurked everywhere, they had no jobs, were allied with goblins, and people wanted them thrown out for simply existing. It would take some time before this mess could be cleared up. If it was even possible. But she dared hope. If they could expose what had been going on in the council, maybe people would return to their former ways again. Not that it had been perfect before, but at least it was better.

Sekafi scanned the street, shuttered windows and alleys for danger, a hand resting near the hilt of her golok. She wished she could buy a new spear. A long-distance weapon like that was incredibly useful to keep enemies at bay. At least they had the lizardman with them. He was a good fighter.

'Hey, how many goblins arrived with Mirok? Do you know?'

Aspen looked up again, his pale blue eyes wide. 'No, never thought to ask.'

Sekafi shook her head and flicked her ears, spraying water everywhere. 'You never think, do you?'

Raising his hands to shield himself from the assault, he grimaced. 'You're one to talk, furball.'

She chuckled.

He continued, 'I assume she won't have brought too many, as we need to be stealthy, and the more people who have to hide, the harder it gets.'

Sekafi nodded. She hoped he was right, but you never knew. She trusted Mirok, but that trust didn't extend too far out to other goblins. They weren't exactly known for their trustworthiness. On the other hand, neither was her own kind, she supposed. She'd just have to wait and see what happened.

Aspen opened the door to the old inn and they entered a small rustic main room; a fire burning in a central hearth and candles on the worn tables illuminated the place with a warm glow. A few people sat around, talking and drinking. Merchants from the looks of them. Sekafi assumed it would fill up more later in the day.

She studied the clientele, trying to spot who the contact might be. After a while she noticed a young man sitting alone, watching them from time to time. A simple brown cap sat on his head, some strands of dark hair peeking out. Simply dressed, he clearly wasn't one of the merchants. But something stood out to Sekafi. He looked too clean, and a faint smell of scented soap tickled her nose. She nudged Aspen and headed in his direction.

The young man fidgeted in his seat, glancing up and away several times as they approached. Maybe he wasn't the right one? Perhaps they should hold back until they were certain? She reached out to grab Aspen's shoulder.

She missed.

Aspen went right up to the table without hesitation, leaned forward, and placed his palms on the wooden surface before Sekafi could say anything. 'Afternoon, young man. Do you happen to be Jadek?'

Sekafi bit down on her tongue to stop herself from saying anything she'd regret later. Inwards she almost screamed. He was so careless sometimes. She glanced at the samandar.

Hiaashaqwi's hand went to his hip, then fell back down. He was still unarmed.

'Uuh, yes. I'm sorry, who are you? Do I know you?' The young man looked bewildered, his eyes darting back and forth between them.

Aspen shot a smile back at her. 'I'm Aaspaelwin Selksem. I was supposed to meet you here.'

'Oh?' Jadek frowned, one hand disappearing under the table. Sekafi tensed. 'You...? I'm not...' He glanced at her. 'Who're they?'

Aspen frowned like he only now realized something wasn't right. 'Sekafi, of co...'

'Aspen,' Sekafi hissed, 'the disguise.'

'Right! I'm sorry, sir. Let me explain.' He sat down without an invitation and leaned forward, whispering to the young man who tensed up. Prepared for the worst, Sekafi sidled in closer, hand on the hilt of the golok.

'Oh. Right. Well, that was a surprise,' Jadek mumbled after a moment, replacing both hands on the table.

Aspen smiled, and Sekafi breathed a sigh of relief.

'Come sit,' he beckoned for them.

Hiaashaqwi leaned against the wall near Aspen as she slid down on a rickety chair, creaking under her weight. 'I will kill you,' she mouthed and shot Aspen an angry glare. He made her worry too often. Didn't he realize he could have been killed? She snorted. Of course, he didn't.

Jadek, now calmed, studied them again. 'All right. Tell me what happened and I'll notify Lady Ileena as soon as I can.'

Aspen told him everything about Salabil Kadaj, the goblins, and about finding Hiaashaqwi. The contact listened silently until Aspen had finished. Then he sat quiet for a moment. 'Good, good. I think she'll be delighted to hear of your success.'

'What about you?' Sekafi butted in. 'You have any information to us as well?'

'Yes.' He glanced about before leaning in conspiratorially. 'The Lady told me to inform you about the strangers. She hasn't been able to find much in so short a time, but they arrived shortly after Master Owadro retrieved the monster, asking for him. He speaks to them on a daily basis. They are from Soerk. They claim to be priests of some foreign religion, but keep dodging our enquiries. And we don't dare push it, in case they grow wary. They are powerful, and people who oppose them tend to... vanish.

'Something you need to know is that Master Owadro plans something. A kind of cleansing of the city. We're not sure what or how exactly, but we know it involves the strangers and that it'll happen soon. Unfortunately, he hasn't been very overt about his plans. In fact, that we know anything at all is probably a slip of the tongue, from his side.'

'It gets worse and worse,' Sekafi muttered.

Jadek nodded.

'Anything else?' Aspen asked.

'We'd be delighted if you could find out his plans.'

'Of course,' Sekafi grumbled.

'We'll try,' Aspen said, wearing a grave expression for the first time since they met the contact. 'But give us all you know about the man's habits and whereabouts first.'

The contact answered all their questions as well as he could, and also agreed to notify Sir Hapow about Hiaashaqwi's presence and send word about when they could meet at the Red Manticore.

Heading the last bit towards the bathhouse that evening, to meet with the goblins, Sekafi kept her eyes and ears peeled for trouble. The sun set behind heavy clouds and the narrow paths and alleys lay in deep shadows. At least the rain had broken for now. While the runes had been drawn with pretty durable paint, she'd still worried constantly in the rain and tried shielding it as much as possible. Now she could focus on more important things, such as keeping this party alive. She'd been nervous when they entered the city, but at the stable, she'd amused herself by noting how the humans looked at her. Many gave her at least one extra look, probably because of her size. It made their trek through the streets comfortable enough too. At least when they met humans. She couldn't avoid noticing the hateful glares from the few humanoids they passed, however.

'Aspen,' she said, as a thought struck her.

He looked up, his elven features obscured by the magic, making his eyes less slanted and smaller, his face broader, like a transparent mask. She blinked a few times, annoyed by the vision. 'Did you tell the goblins we're in disguise?'

'By the fires of Yhori,' he muttered.

'That's a no. Maybe do it now?'

'Yeah.' He pulled the stone out of a pocket. It glinted in the light of a nearby lantern.

A shadow moved in a nearby alley and a metallic scratching sounded from another on the opposite side of the street. Sekafi drew her golok, her hackles rising. As a figure rushed out from the shadows, she grabbed Aspen and pulled him behind her in one smooth action.

Aspen however wasn't as smooth.

He stumbled, dropping the stone to the ground.

'Hey!' he protested, scrambling to catch it.

She had no time to bother with him as a group of about seven exited the alley. She raised the golok, prepared for the party. Were they very short?

The small figure before her halted, pointing to the dropped stone-ball, rolling down the uneven street.

'Oi! How you get ball? Thief!' The cloaked figure leapt towards her, a dagger flashing in its hand.

'Wait!' Sekafi, slapped the knife aside with the flat of her sword, back-pedalling.

'Bawa!' The small creature snarled and shook its hand as if in pain, looking at the ground for the dropped knife.

'Thief!' the others yelled hoarsely, following their leader.

Sekafi had to back off, flourishing the golok in every direction to keep them all at bay. Hiaashaqwi stood slightly behind her to the side, unarmed, but far from harmless. The attackers spread out, looking for an opening, faint light reflecting yellow in their eyes. Goblins. 'Wait! Mirok?'

The figures halted as one. The leader glared at her.

'How you know?' Mirok demanded, still in a ready stance to fight. 'Who you?'

'Mirok!' Aspen intervened, walking back with the discourse-orb in his hand, wiping it off on his sleeve. 'It's us. It's Aspen and Sekafi.' He smiled and gave a small wave. 'And that's Hiaashaqwi.'

Mirok pulled down her hood and peered up at them, her eyes narrowed. 'You look like elfling, but no right. An' she no Ikelos.' She pointed a clawed hand at Sekafi, then turned to the samandar. 'He absolute no lizard.'

'Look, we know. We're disguised with magic. Can you tell them to relax, please?'

The goblins still had their weapons drawn.

'No. You... you show me first.'

Another goblin exited the alley, amulets clicking as he moved, his mismatched clothes and thin grey hair familiar. Kassem, the shaman. He held a small, round glass-disc in front of one eye. He said something in their tongue.

Sekafi didn't understand, but the goblins sheathed their weapons and walked back to stand in a more relaxed group around him.

'Kassem, right?' Aspen said.

'Yes.' The old goblin nodded, placing the glass-disc in a pocket. 'I didn't know you could use magic.'

'We can't. We got help,' Sekafi said. 'But why'd you attack us? You're supposed to hide.'

The old goblin glanced at Mirok, who busied herself looking innocent. 'Someone decided you were thieves who had stolen the orb.'

'They could!' Mirok protested, grinning widely. 'But they no look right. How I know?'

Sekafi rolled her eyes. She was surrounded by impulsive, crazy people. Oh well. 'We shouldn't stand here in the middle of the street. We are quite a crowd. People will notice.'

As if on cue, a guard patrol rounded a corner and came to face them. Six of them. Two carried lanterns, the lights swinging from their hands.

'By Kinirin's antlers,' Sekafi hissed. 'Get moving. Go!'

But the group was too disorganized to react as fast as she needed them to. Instead, some turned to face the patrol while a few others ran to the alley, the rest simply looked at her.

'Hey, you! Halt!' The foremost guard hollered. 'Humanoids are not allowed in the streets after dark. Especially not you!' He pointed at Mirok, the only goblin with her face clearly revealed.

Sekafi grabbed Aspen, pulling him towards the alley while Mirok decided to taunt the guards. Kassem shouted something in goblin. A guard in the back blew into a horn, sounding an alarm.

'Just great,' Sekafi growled.

'Mirok, come,' Aspen yelled, following Sekafi's lead into the dark alley.

After a few tumultuous seconds, they all ran through the dark in some semblance of order. But the guards were tight on their heels.

Sekafi didn't want to fight them, but the goblins threw rocks and other small objects at them as they ran. It didn't deter them in the least. Maybe they had to subdue them? Before they got backup?

They ran out into a wider street, lit by lanterns and turned to the right.

'Where do we go?' Aspen panted beside her.

'I don't know.' She looked for a way to escape when four more people came towards them. Two guards, and two robed and hooded persons. A cold ran through her. The priests? She hesitated only for a second. They could fight them, maybe even win. But at what cost? They were quite many. But so were the guards. How many goblins would they lose? What if Aspen died? All it took for them was one hit. She skidded to a stop and shouted for them to turn around. This fight wasn't in their favour. Better to get past the six guards behind them than try to get past the priests and risk getting sick and dying. This time the goblins were quick to follow her lead. Mirok stuck close to Aspen, and Hiaashaqwi stayed on her right flank.

The goblins screeched as they rushed their pursuers and Sekafi joined her voice to theirs. The guards, taken aback by their sudden change of course, skidded to a halt and braced, their swords raised.

Sekafi reached them first, being faster than the others. She used an undercut to break through the first guard's stance, blocked an incoming strike from the left and kicked him hard. He fell backwards, giving her an opening. The guard on her right yelled and fell back as something hit him in the face. Hiaashaqwi jumped over him and wrestled the next guy, both falling to the ground, battling for the sword. Then chaos ensued as the goblins rushed into the fray, throwing rocks, stabbing with knives, biting and clawing their way past. Sekafi continued forward, shouldering one guard to the side, breaking his lantern into a small cloud of fire, and striking at another, drawing blood. An incoming stab slid off her lamellar armour, but pushed her off balance. She stumbled free of the last guard, breathing heavily, and spun around to help the others through. But she didn't have to.

Hiaashaqwi came running with a stolen sword and a grim look on his human face, pulling a goblin with him. Aspen and Mirok dashed past the dazed guards, followed by the rest. Releasing a laugh of adrenalin and joy, Sekafi grabbed Aspen by the arm and propelled him forward. Running with the goblins like this reminded her of their run from the monster. Only far less terrifying.

'Everyone alive?' she asked, eyeing Aspen to check if he was uninjured.

'Just a few scratches,' Aspen huffed. 'I think we hit them harder than they gave us.'

'Good.' She grinned. That had almost felt good. But they still had to find a place to hide before any more guards got involved. Or those terrifying priests. At least they had a good lead on them now. Her smile faded. She hoped it was enough.