) next, we'll see how the harpers fare against our group and a little ritual bonding with the mages...enjoy 
“We should check the scene of the crime,” Yoshimo suggested. Tybalt nodded and walked to the door.
Haer’Dalis smiled wanly and bid them farewell. “It appears, my raven, that you are always rescuing me from some fault of mine or another. One might question your tenacity, but I thank you for it.”
“I’ll see you on the other side of these bars soon enough,” the fighter promised before leaving.
He and Yoshimo left the prison and returned to the bridge where the Balthis estate lay. A guard had been posted at the entry, but Yoshimo coolly informed the man that they had been sent by the deceased’s relatives to collect some of the late Lord Balthis’ belongings. A flash of gold slipped into view before disappearing into the guard’s pocket and they were allowed to enter.
“Is everyone so corrupt?” Yoshimo asked sadly, grinning.
They were met by the butler, hopefully the same one who had turned away Haer’Dalis. “Must you bother me now? The house is in shambles and you are doing nothing to help.”
“You are the head butler here?” Tybalt inquired.
“Was the head butler,” the servant replied testily. “Now that my lord is dead, rest his soul, I’m out of work. Why do you ask?”
“Were you awake late last night when a man came by?”
The servant narrowed his eyes. “If you are talking about the murdered, then yes, I was the one who spoke to him. Are you with the guard?”
“You could say that,” Yoshimo supplied. “We wanted to hear your testimony again.”
The man frowned. “I was going to bed when someone knocked on the door and I came to see what the bother was. A man wished to see the master’s prize statue, but I told him Lord Balthis was not interested in selling it, so he left. Or so I thought. He came back in a few minutes, but I didn’t see him enter. I had just finished locking up when I saw his face from the gallery and ran to see how he had gotten in. He clutched the statue and stood over my lord’s cold body! He must have tried to stop the thief as he took the bust. My poor master.” The servant stopped and wiped his eyes. “I hope that murderer gets what he deserves!”
Tybalt opened his mouth angrily, but Yoshimo stopped him with a shake of his head. “And he escaped?”
The man nodded. “I could do nothing, lest I fall, too, and leave no one to identify my lord’s killer.”
“That would have saved us some time,” Tybalt muttered irritably. Louder, he asked, “What did the killer look like? Was there any change from when you first met him?”
“What kind of question is that?” the butler asked indignantly. “I wasn’t paying close attention to what he looked like before the murder; I identified him at the prison. They’ve got the right man. Now, I must get the estate in order for the relatives to go over.”
“One last question,” Tybalt begged. “Did Lord Balthis have any enemies who might want to gain revenge?”
The servant laughed. “Plenty. But none of them would care about the statue. Except…” he trailed off, thinking of something.
“What?” Tybalt practically screamed.
“The art dealer, Quataris, has always been jealous of the bust,” the servant admitted. “But he wouldn’t have killed for it, he’s a simple merchant.”
“Where is this merchant?” Tybalt demanded.
“I know of the man,” Yoshimo assured him. “We can find him in the promenade,” he said.
They thanked the servant for his time and headed toward the promenade. “What do you guess the chances are Quataris is the man who talked to Haer’Dalis the night of the murder?” Yoshimo said.
“So Quataris killed Lord Balthis?”
“So, Quataris has no way of impersonating our songbird. Someone with magic must have impersonated him to steal the statue. Plus, Quataris is not the most agile of men. I doubt he could break and enter a building as well-defended as Balthis’. At best he hired someone to do the job for him. He’s not known for accumulating his galleries on his own.”
“Then we should confront him and find out where this impersonator is,” Tybalt decided.
“And excellent suggestion,” Yoshimo concurred. “I will take us to him.”
They hurried to the promenade and made their way to a booth filled with art of all kinds: pottery, paintings, and statues rested together behind a fat, middle-aged man and his scruffy guard. “Let me handle this,” Yoshimo advised. “If anything goes awry, keep the guard occupied.” Tybalt wondered what the bounty hunter had in mind.
“Quataris!” Yoshimo called out happily. “I have not seen you for some time, how goes the business?”
The fat man showed his teeth in a false sign of greeting. “Here’s a face I didn’t expect to see anytime soon. Haven’t the guards caught up to you yet, Yoshimo?”
“They think me halfway to Calimsham by now,” the thief replied with a laugh.
“Ha ha! Still the same as ever, you rogue. Now, I know you didn’t come here just to shoot the breeze; what do you want?” The man had a calculating, ruthless quality to him, from him ever-moving hands to his pudgy, darting eyes.
“Correct as always! I have heard rumors,” Yoshimo looked around as if afraid of being overheard and hunched his head conspiratorially with Quataris, “There are rumors of a wonderful bust now on the market. I wondered whether you had any information you could pass on, for an old friend. I know quite a few people who would pay large amounts of gold for it.”
“Really?” Quataris said eagerly. “I myself have recently come into possession of a bust of Sune. Would this be of any interest to your people?”
Yoshimo smiled and nodded slightly to Tybalt. “It would interest them immensely.” He slammed his arm against Quataris’ neck, cutting off the man’s air flow, as Tybalt wrestled the guard to the ground.
“Wha- what are you doing?” Quataris choked out.
“Did you steal this bust from Lord Acton Balthis?” Yoshimo hissed in his ear. “The Lord Balthis found dead in his own home?”
Quataris’ face had been gradually turning red as blood filled his face, but he suddenly went pale. “D-dead? He wasn’t supposed to be dead!”
“So it was you!” Tybalt said over the unconscious guard.
“Yes- no!” the art dealer cried nervously. Yoshimo eased his pressure slightly, giving the fat man a chance to catch his breathe and explain. “I was the one who wanted the bust, yes, but I didn’t kill anyone!”
“Then who did?” Yoshimo demanded, shaking his captive fiercely.
“Krell!” Quataris squeaked. “Damn him, he must have killed Balthis when he took the bust!”
“Who’s Krell?” Tybalt asked.
“I hire him from time to time to get small items for me.”
“Is he with the Shadow Thieves?” Yoshimo asked. They would be in trouble if they had to deal with the large group to find the killer; even if they found Krell, the city guard would not want to tangle with the powerful guild and blame Haer’Dalis as a scapegoat.
Quataris shook his head. “He’s freelance, like you. He has some magic to help him, that’s why he’s so good and manages to keep away from the Shadow Thieves. He’s a right bastard, but I didn’t think he’d kill Balthis, I swear!”
“Where is Krell now?” Yoshimo asked.
“I don’t know. He left with his pay after he gave me the bust and I haven’t seen him since.”
Yoshimo motioned Tybalt to open a chest at the back of the booth. “See whether our friend here is telling the truth or not.” Tybalt searched the chest and pulled out a statue of the same description as Haer’Dalis and Quataris had described. “That’s one,” Yoshimo said. “Now we’ll need proof of this conversation. Tybalt, do you have any parchment?”
Tybalt handed him some paper and a quill. “Write down exactly what you told us,” Yoshimo instructed Quataris. “And sign it at the end.”
“You can’t be serious!” the art dealer exclaimed. “That will implicate me as an accessory to the crime!”
“But if you mention that you had specific orders not to harm anyone, that Krell went against you, they’ll be easier on you. Not that you have much of a choice. We could leave your body here and no one would know who killed you. We could say Krell came back to steal the bust back and sell it to a higher bidder. After all, if he’s willing to kill once for it, why not again?”
Quataris whimpered but signed his confession and handed it back to Tybalt. “You must promise to do something for me, then.”
Yoshimo raised an eyebrow. “You are not in a position to demand anything.”
Quataris ignored him. “Kill Krell! If you don’t, he’ll come after me for telling you! He killed Balthis, he’ll kill me, too!”
Tybalt narrowed his eyes. “You won’t have to worry about him for long.” He tucked away the confession and statue and stepped outside.
Yoshimo gave Quataris a friendly pat on the back before following the fighter out.
“I didn’t know you could do that,” Tybalt said with respect and awe, once they were out of earshot of the art booth.
“What? My diplomacy skills surprise you?” Yoshimo chortled. “I have had to survive the seediest underbelly of any city on my own for some years now. I know how to convince to see my point of view. Pure survival.” He waved the issue aside carelessly.
Tybalt felt himself wondering for what seemed the millionth time what other mysteries the rogue hid beneath his grins and jokes.
“Now to find Krell,” Yoshimo said.
“How do you plan on doing that?” Tybalt wondered. “He could be anywhere. We don’t have time to find him.”
“Ah, but an entire guild looking for him would find him easily, no?” They walked into the docks. Soon they were back in the Shadow Thief guildhall and facing Renal Bloodscalp.
“I had not expected you back so soon, Yoshimo,” the guild leader said.
“And I had not thought myself so fortunate,” the thief smiled. “But I have need of your help.”
Renal nodded. “Whatever I can do to help. Mae’Var’s extermination has eased things here greatly.”
“Do you know a wizard Krell?” Tybalt asked.
Renal grunted. “He’s an independent,” he said darkly, glaring at Yoshimo, “something I don’t encourage in my city.”
“We believe Krell was responsible for the murder of Acton Balthis,” Yoshimo said coolly, ignoring the threat in the man’s statement.
“I could put some heat on this independent,” Renal said slowly. “Let it be known that evidence shows that the guilty man still walks free. That should make him try to cover his tracks.”
“That would be much appreciated,” Yoshimo bowed and they left.
“Back to the estate?” Tybalt questioned.
“Exactly,” the thief agreed. “By the time we reach it, rumors will be flying. Now we wait.”
As they reached a small side street in the bridge district, Yoshimo spun around, Celestial Fury pointed at a man who had not been there a moment ago. “You must be Krell,” Yoshimo guessed.
“And you are the ones who are nosing around in business that doesn’t involve them,” Krell growled. “A mistake which will cost you your lives.”
“Why did you frame Haer’Dalis?” Tybalt demanded, unsheathing his own sword.
Krell shrugged. “I didn’t want to be caught in case someone found me. I was watching when Quataris spoke to the tiefling and thought he’d make a good dupe.”
“Tiefling?” Tybalt wondered. He had heard that term before, but didn’t know what it meant.
Krell laughed harshly. “You’re so keen on rescuing your friend and you don’t even know what he is? He’s a demon. Somewhere along the line, his grandda or grandma shacked up with a demon; that’s why he doesn’t quite fit in here. Or couldn’t you tell?”
“Enough!” Tybalt snapped. “You’re going to pay for your crimes!”
“We’ll see,” Krell replied, lunging with a dangerous looking short sword. He had several illusory spells to help him trick and deceive the pair, but even so he was no match for their might. He tumbled to the ground coughing blood.
Tybalt kicked away his sword and was about to deliver a killing blow when Yoshimo restrained him. “He will be of more use alive than dead,” he mentioned. They bound the killer and returned with him to the prison.
They headed back to the prison with their information and prisoner. The sun was setting in the sky, so they hurried to reach the building before it closed for the night.
The officer in charge was more than happy to accept Krell into a cell as the thief was wanted for several other minor robberies. He also received the bust of Sune and confession happily.
“So Krell used an illusion to impersonate your friend?” the guard asked. “That sounds right, Krell is fond of using his magic to escape from us. But he’s gotten himself in too deep this time.” He nodded happily.
“Everything seems to be in order,” he declared, releasing Haer’Dalis. “But warn your friend not to go wandering around late at night alone, eh? It’s not safe out there, even if your intentions are innocent enough.” They thanked the man and hurriedly left. The soldier was starting to give Yoshimo an appraising glance as if he had seen the rogue before, and they thought it best to leave before more questions were asked.
“One day I must return all the kindness you have shown me,” Haer’Dalis thanked Tybalt. “Freeing me three times in as many days must be a record.”
Tybalt smiled bashfully. “Yoshimo is the one who did most of the work. He knew how to get Quataris’ confession and to bring back Krell alive.”
“Then I also congratulate Master Shadow,” Haer’Dalis acknowledged less enthusiastically, bowing to the rogue.
“Do not mention it. This was much more enjoyable than helping in a magic ritual, I’ll wager,” Yoshimo chuckled.
They headed back to the Five Flagons before evening fell. They went upstairs to relieve themselves of their packs and wash up before eating. Haer’Dalis moved his things into the room Yoshimo had previously occupied alone. “I think it would be best if in the future I sleep with others,” he told Tybalt. “If I had shared a room, my companion could have monitored my movements and I would not have gotten in this mess. Perhaps when next we move we might bunk together. Yoshimo is well and good, but I do not trust my possessions around him.”
“What about the others?” Tybalt asked in some alarm. He didn’t know, or was at least not willing to admit to himself, why he had this reluctance to room with the bard.
Haer’Dalis sighed. “How do I put this nicely? Valygar smells like an earthy field and Xan’s complaints would drive any man to suicide. As for the paladin, the clang of his armor would keep me up at all hours of the night.”
“Oh,” Tybalt said stupidly. “Well, then, I guess I can see your point…”
“Is there a problem, my raven?” Haer’Dalis asked with concern. “Some private qualm you wish to share?”
Thinking quickly, Tybalt referred to another worry he had. “Haer’Dalis, what is a tiefling?”
“Ah,” Haer’Dalis nodded, “now we come to the heart of the matter. I will explain all as soon as I have a chance to stretch my legs. All day in a cell is not as enjoyable as one might suppose.” They went downstairs to discuss this further during dinner.
“I wonder how the others fared today,” Tybalt mused as they sat down. From upstairs, there were several voices raised in heated argument, then silence.
“I wonder indeed,” Haer’Dalis said calmly as he and Tybalt began to eat.
