steps and scrambling back on her hands to escape the flames, which glittered in the fallen human's blank eyes.
She shuddered and ran for the common room, ducking low instinctively as sections of the ceiling bowed, slivers of orange light shining through the cracks. A lungful of smoke set her to coughing as she fell through the front door, landing on her hands and knees. Strong arms pulled her away from the burning tavern. Buckets of water sloshed by as she rubbed the redness from her eyes, steam hissing as several volunteers attempted to douse the flames.
Pushing her way through the crowd of gawkers that had gathered to witness the spectacle, she pulled a small, bound book from her belt and quickly began to draw what she had seen before memory had any chance to fail her. Smudges of blood and ash accompanied each drawing, her hands shivering in the cold as she fought to reproduce the intricate patterns of the symbols. She slipped to the back of the crowd, observing her work and nodding in satisfaction.
Must compare these to the others, she thought.
'More water!'
Quessahn flinched at the shout, recognizing the voice of Swordcaptain Dregg and drawing back farther from the crowd, pulling up her hood to conceal her elf features. She'd dealt with Dregg on more than one occasion and had no desire to encounter the foul man again. Studying figures outlined by the flames, she noticed quite a few of the Watch surrounding the tavern, not the least of which was Dregg himself, pacing with his fists planted on his hips, a swagger in his self-important step that made Quessahn want to vomit.
She angled herself closer, watching for Jinn to come stumbling out of the smoke, but after several breaths, the flames just grew higher, defying her hopes and the buckets of water being splashed through the windows. A young officer approached Dregg with a worried expression, and Quessahn leaned forward, trying to listen.
'Swordcaptain, several in the crowd say that Rorden Allek Marson was inside and has not escaped,' the Watchman reported. 'Maybe we should attempt to take one last look-'
'Nonsense,' Dregg cut him off. 'We've already sent one man in; the good rorden is dead. However, we do have reports of a suspect, the rorden's companion, a man by the name of Jinnaoth.'
Quessahn's eyes widened at his words. She'd seen no one else inside, though the smoke had admittedly been thick, and she reasoned it would make Dregg only too happy if Jinn had murdered Rorden Allek. The swordcaptain would take great pleasure in hunting down an 'undesirable' through the city streets.
'Find a runner,' Dregg continued. 'Have him inform the other patrols of the deva; consider him well-armed and hostile.'
'Yes, Swordcaptain,' the officer replied, turning to go. He was stopped by Dregg's hand on his arm.
'Acting Rorden, Officer, at least until Lord Neverember makes it official,' he said with a slight grin. 'This investigation is mine now.'
The young officer seemed confused for a moment but nodded and left to follow Dregg's orders. Quessahn cursed and slipped away from the light of the fire. The Watch had protocols and procedures for rank promotions, procedures that should have weeded out dangerous men such as Lucian Dregg, but if Lord Neverember had paved Dregg's path through the ranks… Allek's investigation had been in secret. Dregg could maintain total control for several days before the Watch commanders could reassess the situation.
Plenty of time for much damage to be done, she thought. I've got to find Jinn, and quick.
She studied the burning tavern, her eyes settling upon the edge of the angled roof and following it around, past the crowd, to a darkened alley. A woman stood at the edge of the alley, eyeing the Watch and the crowd but suspiciously ignoring the burning tavern. Quessahn skirted behind the gathering, trying to appear casual as she studied the dark-haired woman and the unlit alley.
Common spells slid comfortably to the forefront of her thoughts, arranging themselves like familiar constellations in her mind. Others, darker spells that slithered comfortably in the recesses of her memory, she held in reserve, just in case. The dark-haired woman casually stepped into the alley, disappearing in the shadows.
Taking a deep breath, Quessahn followed.
Jinn pulled his hand away from the stolen blade, a breath of clarity leaving him a bit dazed as he stared up into the black eyes of Sathariel. He sensed some hitherto unknown enchantment in the weapon, something trying to force his hand when he had his own pool of hatred to draw from when dealing with the angel. Study of the sword could wait. He couldn't reach Sathariel, not fast enough at any rate, and refused to amuse his enemy by attempting to do so.
'You're lost in this, deva,' Sathariel said, scanning his black eyes across the city. 'Out of your depth, a relic of wars long over and meaningless.'
'I found you,' Jinn replied. 'And the wars never ended.'
'Mulhorand's gods are lost. They left you here, stuck in that mortal body,' the angel said. 'And here you are, scrambling for purpose, fighting for fleeting glories in mortal causes that serve only to feed your arrogance. Variel was right about you…'
Jinn's fists clenched at the sound of her name from the beast that had taken her away from him. For a breath he considered the height of the nearest wall, the street lantern hook above, the window ledge above that, but fought the impulse down. He was certain he would battle the angel on even terms soon enough and would not be goaded into making himself vulnerable.
'She said you would never quit, never stop long enough to see the lives you might have spent together. She knew that my destruction would mean nothing,' Sathariel said, rising and spreading wide his black wings. 'You cannot stop what is to come, Jinnaoth. You should have left this city when Variel asked you to.'
Cold wind gusted through the alley as Sathariel ascended into the night, one shadow among many in the rolling clouds, leaving Jinn to stare for what seemed forever, hand once again on the blade stolen from the Vigilant Order. He recalled the scent of Variel's hair resting on his shoulder, the look in her silver eyes as she'd pleaded for him to abandon Waterdeep, a city not yet named when they had been already quite old. He wondered, as he always did, if he would have answered her differently if he had the chance to do it all over again.
'One of yours?'
Mara's voice pulled him away from reverie, and he turned to the body of the young woman in the alley. Mara knelt over the girl, sniffing the air and tracing the twisting angle of a lifeless arm.
'No,' he answered as the hag whispered harshly over the corpse, eyes burning red as she cupped her hands close to the girl's lips. 'She was possessed by something.'
'Useless!' Mara growled, recoiling from the body and shaking the red dust of a crushed gem from her hands. 'The soul is like ash, burned away to nothing.' 'Jinn!' Quessahn arrived, circling round the scowling Mara, hands almost glowing with arcane threat. 'The Watch is looking for you; Dregg is in charge.'
'That didn't take long,' he muttered, placing a calming hand on her shoulder and nodding to Mara. 'We'll need to be quick, then. Distraction?'
'How far?' Mara asked, old strategies already in motion.
'Slow down! Who is this?' Quessahn asked, shoving his hand away and eyeing the body between them. 'What in the Abyss is happening here?'
'Pharra's Alley,' Jinn replied, ignoring the eladrin's confusion. 'And take Quessahn with you.'
'If you insist,' Mara said, staring her up and down disapprovingly.
'Jinn, what's going on?' Quessahn pressed, narrowing her eyes.
'No time,' he said. 'Just follow Mara's lead. We'll meet up later.'
He didn't wait for her response, turning the east corner. He half hoped she might just leave her findings about the sigils with Maranyuss and abandon him for her studies at the House of Wonder, but he knew her stubbornness would keep her around a while longer.
Sliding along the wall, he peered around the corner at a slowly dispersing crowd bathed in orange light. The Watchmen present seemed focused on maintaining a perimeter as the bucket line did what it could to quench the fire. A handful of the Watchful Order had arrived, producing spells of water to douse the hottest of the flames.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Jinn sprinted across the street, keeping to the shadows of back alleys and smaller roads. He didn't know what he might find at Pharra's Alley, but he needed a chance to look closer, to find the circle of skulls.
Halfway to Ivory Street, he paused, seeing the bobbing light of a Watch patrol coming toward him. Cursing, he turned back, entering a winding series of alleys behind the shops and homes of the Street of Glances. The dark
