Tobias’s mansion and its surrounding area had been left untouched by the attack, yet there was a pair of city guards at the gates when Kai and Verdan arrived.

Verdan shared an intrigued look with Kai as they caught sight of the guards. He couldn’t help but wonder if the guard were here on the same business they were.

“Good morning,” Verdan called out as they drew up to the two guards. “Is there a problem here, or are we free to go inside?” Neither guard looked particularly ill at ease, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything.

“No, Sir, no problem. Commander Griffon is visiting Mr Brock, and we’re just keeping watch,” one of the guards answered sharply, all but bracing to attention as he spoke.

“Right. We’ll head inside then,” Verdan said, hiding his amusement at the guard’s reaction.

“Of course, I’m sure the Commander won’t mind,” the guard said immediately, moving over to open the gate for them. “If I can just say, thank you for helping us yesterday. A lot of us were worried about how we’d get through that until you came, you too, Sorcerer Kai.”

“I’m just doing what’s right. We all stand together, after all,” Verdan said, giving Kai a meaningful glance when the sorcerer didn’t look like he was going to respond.

“You all did well. I can tell you’ve been training hard,” Kai said eventually, both guards straightening and beaming at the praise in a way they hadn’t for Verdan.

Chuckling under his breath, Verdan stepped through the gates and set off down the path to the mansion proper. He was maybe a dozen feet from the doors when they opened, and Brent, Tobias’s butler, stepped into view.

“Good morning, gentlemen. Are you here with an appointment?” Brent asked, his tone making it clear that he knew for a fact that they didn’t have one.

“No, we don’t. Is Tobias available?” Verdan asked, cutting to the point directly and not letting Brent intimidate him.

“Hmm, I will enquire for you. Please wait here,” Brent said with a frown as he stepped back inside the house, shutting the door firmly behind him.

Verdan shared a look with Kai before settling in to wait as patiently as he could. Kai was all but radiating frustration and impatience, but the sorcerer restrained himself to pacing back and forth while they waited.

Barely a minute later, the door opened once more, and Brent stepped outside again. “Mr Brock will see you now, gentlemen. Please leave any weapons at the door.”

“Of course, I’m not bearing any, so just your spear, Kai,” Verdan said, giving the sorcerer a pointed look. Kai grunted and reluctantly passed the weapon to Brent, all but glaring at the butler as he did.

“Very good, now, if you’d follow me,” Brent said, placing Kai’s spear into a holder by the entrance before closing the door behind them and leading the way down the entrance hall to a closed door. Verdan could hear murmured conversation coming from the other side, which stopped as Brent rapped three times on the door before swinging it open.

The room was a familiar one, with a single oversized window on the far wall and a table with several chairs facing it. Tobias and Commander Griffon were sat in two of the chairs and appeared to have been in deep conversation when Brent knocked. Both men had a cup of tea on the table, which made Verdan doubt that this was an official visit.

“Verdan, Kai, welcome,” Tobias said, rising to his feet with an easy smile and extending a hand to Verdan.

“Good to see you, Tobias, Commander Griffon,” Verdan said, walking over to shake the gaunt man’s hand and take a seat. Compared to the almost skeletal appearance that Tobias had when they first met, the man in front of him looked far healthier. He was still gaunt, but it no longer looked quite as bad.

“Verdan,” Commander Griffon acknowledged, shaking his hand before turning a questioning look in Kai’s direction as the sorcerer silently took his seat.

Verdan sighed a little as he sat down, wishing that Kai wasn’t quite as blunt about his feelings. He was sure there was a reason for this, but it wasn’t making his life any easier.

“So, what can I do for you?” Tobias asked once the two of them had sat down.

“Before we get into that, are we interrupting anything, are you here on official business?” Verdan asked, looking over to Commander Griffon.

“Not at all. Tobias and I have been friends for years. I was asking what his thoughts on the events of yesterday were. I find he usually has a rather different take on things than myself.”

“Indeed, and I pointed out how out of character it was for vespa. My people are familiar with the behaviour of such creatures, and while they are incredibly territorial, they rarely interfere outside of such an area.”

“Interesting, we came to much the same conclusion, though we also found evidence that someone was drawing the vespa here and giving them targets to attack,” Verdan said, watching Tobias carefully as he spoke. He could all but feel the intensity of Kai’s gaze beside him, but he saw no fear in Tobias’s eyes, only interest in what he was saying.

“Evidence?” Griffon asked sharply, sitting upright in his chair. “What have you found?”

“A concoction that was in place at several of the areas that were attacked. It was made up of a strong-smelling herbal liquid which carried something else within it. One of my companions was able to smell this unknown liquid initially, tracking it to a damaged bottle we found, and have since studied.”

“I remember a few guards mentioning damaged potions and a strong herbal smell, but they reported it as medicine that had been broken,” Griffon said slowly, nodding as he spoke. “Interesting. Where did you find the damaged potion?”

“We found it behind a stack of empty crates in one of Tobias’s warehouses,” Kai said coldly, making the gaunt merchant freeze in place.

“What?" Tobias looked appropriately shocked and surprised, though Verdan cautioned himself that it didn’t necessarily mean anything; Tobias could just be a particularly good actor.

“We found the place being attacked by an elder vespa and a few younger ones. Disciple Macannan and some workers were defending it, we helped them triumph, and the workers described it being shipped in as a special order.” Kai said, his already cold tone becoming decidedly frosty as he leaned forward in his chair.

Verdan heard the slight sound of movement behind them and knew that Brent was on guard against any hostile motions from Kai, so he reached over to rest a hand on his companion’s shoulder, silently urging him to calm down.

“Outrageous, the gall of them,” Tobias said, a broad grin spreading across his face as he chuckled to himself, idly waving away the death glare that Kai was giving him. “Please, place your suspicion elsewhere Lord Sorcerer; I had no role in betraying the city I love. What you should be focusing on is that whoever did this knew enough of the protocols my people use to abuse them. Special orders are usually courier work, rather than trade work, so the warehouses don’t interact with them. It looks like someone is trying to cover their tracks by using my system to sneak these potions into the city.”

“Easy to say, but we still found it in your care. What proof do you have?” Kai asked in a hard tone.

“Right now, none, but let me get some people on this. We maintain strict confidentiality on our courier work, but we also keep extensive records. I’ll be able to identify the shipment eventually, but it will take time.”

“I’m sorry Tobias, but I’ll need some of my people involved in that,” Griffon said absently, lost in his own thoughts.

“Of course, not a problem,” Tobias said, waving a hand absently in what was either genuine lack of care, or a masterful piece of acting.

“I’ll send over a squad when I get back to headquarters. In the meantime, I’ll leave those two out front with you if that’s acceptable?” Griffon asked, cocking a brow in Tobias’s direction.

“As you will,” Tobias said, leaning back in his chair and drumming his fingers on one arm in thought. “That Lieutenant of yours won’t be happy to hear you’ve left your escort behind. Should I send Brent with you?”

“I was hoping that the good wizard and his companion would accompany me, actually,” Griffon said, looking over to Verdan as he spoke with a subtle motion of one hand.

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Verdan said, following the commander’s lead.

“Very good. Well, my people will help with your investigation, but please, update me as soon as you can,” Griffon said, rising to his feet and finishing his tea. “If you’d be so willing, Verdan?”

“Of course,” Verdan said, rising to his feet, Kai standing as well a few moments later. “Thank you for your time, Tobias.”

“No, no, thank you for bringing this to my attention. I look forward to finding out who tried to ship something so dangerous into the city through my system,” Tobias said with a tight smile that held a promise of violence.

Commander Griffon led the way back outside and called out to his men, instructing them to stay with Brent and Tobias and not let either man out of sight until they were relieved. The two guards were a little reluctant at first, but relaxed when they realised that Verdan and Kai were escorting the Commander back.

With that done, Griffon set off immediately, Verdan following along, intrigued by what the Commander wanted to discuss. Kai had reclaimed his spear and was keeping pace with them both, but Verdan could see the disapproval on his face for how little they pushed Tobias.

“Firstly, I’d like to thank you again for your help yesterday, both of you,” Griffon said, pitching his voice low so that his words didn’t carry. “Things were bad, but they could have been far worse. We’re looking at just over a hundred casualties, though most of those were sadly fatal. The majority of those deaths were at just two locations, so the toll would have been much higher without support from yourselves, the witches and the adventurers.”

“I’m glad we could help, but I regret we couldn’t do more,” Verdan said heavily.

“All we can do is move forward, which is why I wanted to talk to you out here. I’ve known Tobias for a long time, and I doubt he’s betrayed us. Still, I have to work under the assumption that he has for the moment. Either way, however, it’s a waste of your time to get involved. My people will do the rest.”

“You better make sure that they do their job thoroughly,” Kai said with a warning tone.

“Rest assured, Sorcerer Kai, that I will be personally monitoring this. I have the city’s best interests at heart,” Griffon said, seemingly taking no insult from Kai’s doubts. “That being said, I do have an ulterior motive for not wanting you on this.”

“Oh?” Verdan asked, noting the Commander’s serious expression.

“Two of the councillor’s homes were attacked, and Councillor Michaels is confirmed to have been killed in the fighting.”