A Rumble in the Sunken Anchor

A knife was out in the Sunken Anchor over a coin purse the Black Blade captain judged lighter than it should have been. The five of them rose to it.

Flint put down a bank of fog and Aelion lit two of the thugs up through it with a fan of fire, which the whole back of the bar saw glow orange for one terrifying second. Randy shook off a run of bad luck long enough to cleave into Bremmick, the captain, and then to swing again on the same breath. Worm went at him with his fists. Biz laid a blessing over his companions and threw holy light that Bremmick stubbornly weathered. Flint took the shape of a wolf, hamstrung one of the goons near the door, and tore his throat out as he tried to run.

Bloodied and outmatched, Bremmick made a grab for the gold Worm was holding, missed it, and bolted out the back — taking the thirty-five gold he had already been paid with him and vanishing into the canal alleys. Nobody chased him.

They rested briefly, looted lightly, and followed Biz northwest through the city, the architecture improving as they went, the canal stink giving way to perfume and lamp oil and roasting meat. The Emerald Diamond was polished wood, green glass and gold leaf — another world entirely.

Inside they met Silas Kren, the maître d', who was gracious right up until Randy tried to shake the name the Fixer out of him. They paid their way upstairs into the VIP lounge and walked in on three of the Fixer's associates at cards, smoking: a brute, a half-elf woman wearing a great many rings marked with runes, and a hooded, aloof figure whose face gave nothing away. The Fixer herself was not there.

Biz spun a colourful story about a fictional cousin, which went nowhere, and the group came clean instead. The half-elf, Vielle, arranged the meeting: come back in a day, the same room, knock at the back door and say Giovanna sent you.

They collected their drinks from the coat check on Randy's account and retired to a dive called the Boot, near the guild district. Over the evening Randy gave his new companions a tactical debrief on where fog ought to be placed, Biz laid down his one unbreakable rule — you do not steal from me — and Aelion insisted, not for the last time, that he is a sorcerer and not a wizard. Flint's cat waited outside.

They went their separate ways for the night, with a full day ahead of them and a meeting with the Fixer at nightfall.