Kanae paced around the halls of the association outpost first thing in the morning. She had spent all of last night arranging her thoughts on how to confront Ujit. The woman was the whole reason they were here. The reason why the Harpy King and his minions were so strong. However, now that the sun was up, she wasn't sure what to say anymore.

Hunger eventually led Kanae into the dining hall. The cafeteria was built like a hotel's restaurant. Long white cloths draped over just as long counters, filled with baskets and trays of food. Association members groggily filled their plates with all manner of morsels.

There, in one corner of the room, Ujit sat alone. She had a plate of omelets in front of her, seemingly untouched.

"You learned something yesterday, didn't you?" Archbishop Patrice asked, coming up from behind Kanae with an empty plate of her own. "My guess is it concerns the former Exalted Mystic."

"What? How did you know?" Kanae gasped.

She started filling her plate with a mountain of vegetables and continued, "A matter of deduction, of course. I saw you walking up and down the corridor earlier. That implies you're troubled and deep in thought. Now, you are here, staring at Ujit with a mixture of frustration and displeasure. Whatever you have uncovered about her must be quite the revelation. Though, I can only fathom."

"Ugh. Get out of my mind!"

Kanae scooped a bit of everything onto her plate and peeled away from the buffet counter. She and Patrice walked up to Ujit's table, and the woman snapped out of her reverie to invite them to sit.

"Good morning! Is the food not to your liking?" Patrice made casual conversation.

"I'm just disappointed. I've now lost my taste and smell completely. There is no hunger to sate either. My body is sustained by Edina's necromantic magic. Day by day, I begin to feel more dead in another sense of the word. I find myself yearning to pass on sometimes. But my rest can wait when we have dethroned the Harpy King, yes?" Ujit replaced her frown with a forced smile.

Patrice gave Kanae a side-long glance. It did no one any good to keep quiet any longer.

"If you really do want to help defeat him, maybe you can finally come clean instead. Ujit, you're the Harpy King's mother and the reason why he has access to the Primal Planes," Kanae let it out at last.

The archbishop's head had fully turned to Kanae now, mouth agape, and eyes wide. By contrast, Ujit looked down ashamedly at her two hands resting on the table.

"So, you have learned of my most disgraceful life's work. May I ask, how did you find out?" Ujit asked.

"Toro, the Scorching Dervish. He wanted you in exchange for Kara's friend," Kanae explained, carefully omitting who the friend was yet.

"The Primal Planes are believed to be inaccessible. How did you break in? Let alone infuse elementals into people? To be sitting next to the very one who accomplished such a historic deed… my whole body is shaking. This breakthrough can revolutionize how we use elemental magic. I must know!" Patrice demanded in her academic high.

"No one should know!" the former Exalted Mystic shouted, her outburst drawing eyes to their table. She cleared her throat and recomposed herself before continuing, "You've seen how it's 'revolutionized' Elusis. The city is ruled by my despot son, hellsbent on conquering all of Savir…" Her hands balled into fists. "This isn't what I wanted. We were supposed to prevent the great calamity from coming to fruition…"

Kanae and Patrice exchanged glances.

"You mentioned the great calamity before. What exactly is it?" Kanae hesitated to ask.

"South of Elusis sits a vast expanse of snow-capped mountains. When the snow melts every one-thousand years, a catastrophic flood tears through southern Savir, turning this giant basin into an ocean. And we are overdue to face one anytime now. There isn't a more terrifying force than nature herself," Ujit said in a quivering voice.

"Then everyone in Elusis is doomed?" She gasped, face turning white.

"Not everyone." She shook her head. "Only the under-city. Elusis proper will endure; the spires are built to withstand a flood. But below… you simply cannot evacuate hundreds of thousands of souls, and they will not so easily heed the warnings of a millennia-old calamity. I spent my entire life figuring out how to prevent this disaster. It led me to the Primal Planes, a world of unshackled elemental power. When I finally carved open a way through, my son beseeched help from the primordial elemental entities on the other side. I devised a ritual to bind them— with their consent— to our bodies. My son was the first. I bound a firelord to him… then they betrayed me. They intend to let the residents of the under-city perish. He considers it a mercy, a cleansing of leeches from the body that is Elusis. That must not come to pass."

"Ujit, this is very important: How much longer do we have before the flood?" Patrice asked tensely.

"It won't happen all at once. The snow will melt bit by bit. First, our land will be saturated in water. The people will rejoice over fertile land. But the wet soil is the harbinger of the disaster to come. A flash flood made of earth and sand comes next, pushed by the creeping snowmelt. Then the catastrophic flood itself. I have no doubt it will come within months from now," the crone explained.

Samshir wasn't just some ridge. It was the edge of an ocean-sized lake in the past. Kanae gritted her teeth. There were so many people living in Elusis, the under and upper city. The Harpy King really didn't care about anyone down here at all?

"Wait. We have to get you out of here before then," Kanae said to the archbishop.

"And miss out on a once in a lifetime natural disaster? Absolutely not! I get to see— nay, experience it for myself! These are the events written in history books, Amethyst. How will Elusis and external forces act in the face of disaster, war, and tragedy. I must be present to record everything, even if it costs me my life!" Patrice proclaimed.

"You're deranged for an academic, you know that?" She groaned into her hand.

"Kanae, Archbishop. You may be outsiders, but you could very well be Elusis' last hope. If my son won't see reason, then succubus magic will have to force him to. Perhaps that is what the prophecy describes. After all, you aren't a harpy. Your wings are unlike ours," Ujit reasoned.

The others were going to need to hear about this. They probably wouldn't like what she had to say though.

Camilla and Delayn eventually entered the cafeteria, exasperated that Archbishop Patrice had wandered off without their protection. The three of them left together to begin writing letters to Radevic, and with any luck though chances were slim, try to perform a ritual to telepathically reach Grand Eye Analise.

"One more thing before I go. Do you know anything about the Harpy King's son, Seven?" Kanae asked.

"Seven… No, it couldn't be… Nawan, he was… he was only a hatchling. Is Nawan here? Please, tell me you found him!" Ujit became animated at once.

"I don't know if Seven and Nawan are the same person, but he isn't here. Kara's a friend of his. The feline beastman girl that's with us. We've been trying to find him after he left Bravost trying to help another friend. Theena. We think… he might have gone back to the Harpy King's side," she explained.

"I see." The crone pressed her fingers together. "Another burden of shame that I must carry… I have much to think about. Thank you for informing me."

Kanae left to summon her companions up to her room. She gave them the rundown of Ujit's revelation. Edina and Renya had very different reactions. The necromancer's expression stiffened, falling deep into thought. Meanwhile, walked up and down the room, scratching her own scalp.

"Remember what you told me Riben's last words were before he escaped Avanesse?" Edina asked.

"I actually don't. Remind me again," Kanae said.

"If you won't give me my war, I'll pledge my services to someone who will." When the squirreling repeated those words, it finally dawned on Kanae. "Necronomicon wants death. A lot of it. What's going to give him the biggest bang for the buck? The Harpy King and the flood."

She sighed. "Don't tell me we have to deal with Riben Crow in Elusis, too. We haven't seen any signs of him yet. Hopefully he just perished on the road or something."

"I'm gonna go for a walk." Renya suddenly exited the room.

Kanae and Edina stared at the shut door for a second.

"What's up her ass? Wasn't she all pissy yesterday, too?" Edina asked.

"I wish I knew. We should follow her so she doesn't get into any trouble though," Kanae said.

"You go ahead. I'm gonna sleuth around the city with some undead rats. See if I can find traces of Riben's undead around. Or hells, find Petyr," she added.

Kanae threw on a disguise with a Saviran poncho and Human Form to actually appear human. She caught up to Renya downstairs, who was on the way out of the outpost wearing a straw hat and brown cloak. The outlines of her two guns showed clearly around her waist. No effort was made to hide them, and it looked like she was purposefully leaving to find trouble.

At the very least, Renya didn't mind Kanae tagging along. The dark elf hailed a rickshaw pulled by a lone man on a bicycle. They jumped into the seat in the back, then Renya whispered a destination that Kanae couldn't hear. She dropped a small stack of gold into his hands, and off they went.

"You really don't have to follow me. I ain't gonna cause any trouble. Not much anyway," Renya said, leaning back on the seat.

"It's going to sound sappy, but I'm just coming out with it. I'm worried about you. Ever since you found out something was going on with the Harpy King and your pops, you've been getting more… Not Renya. What's the deal here?" Kanae asked.

"I didn't want to bother any of you guys with my shit, but if you're going to pull my leg on it. Fine. Read this." She pulled out a crumpled letter from her pocket and handed it over.

Kanae smoothed out the creases. There was a tear in the middle of the paper, too. Renya had certainly wrinkled this out of anger.

In fine handwriting, the contents of the letter read, 'Dearest Sister,

Or should I say, half-sister? Welcome to Elusis. I had a feeling you would be drawn here eventually. We have not been acquainted. I doubt any of my siblings know of my existence. A testament to our father Solasta's hard work, no doubt. I've learned through the grapevine that you seized control of Rown Company. It is time for you to relinquish the reins to the true heir— me. The Harpy King has very ambitious plans, and he would like nothing more than the vast manpower and wealth that Rown Company has to offer. Perhaps we should finally meet. Come to Bar Ingot.

Signed, your eldest half-brother, Sol.'

"I thought Liradell was your oldest brother?" Kanae asked after reading the letter.

"Thought the same. They never told me we had a missing brother. The letter clearly stated that they didn't know about him either. Which means my old man hid him from us. Why? It makes sense though. That bastard sent the Dervish Five to kidnap me. If I go missing, he could just come in and sweep up my Rown Company. Don't know why he's in Elusis sucking the Harpy King's cock, but I'm going to put an end to him," Renya said with finality.

The rickshaw stopped in front of an adobe building that looked like many rectangular blocks stacked on top of each other. A wooden signpost etched with the image of a metal ingot swung creakily on its hinges. The scent of ale wafted out from open windows as patrons drank themselves to a stupor.

Bar Ingot. What an ironic name for a tavern. Renya's half-brother Sol asked her to meet him here. His letter was anything but amicable, too, and clearly stated how much he coveted Rown Company. They were just walking into another trap like Petyr did with Riley.

Renya pushed open the saloon doors, and the entire bar fell silent. All eyes turned to them. Rough thugs in the middle of drinking beer moved their free hands to their weapons. But no one drew yet. The only person who didn't follow everyone else was the minotaur barman behind the counter. His large hands polished the inside of a large glass stein. A silver nose ring pierced his septum. He wore a black hat curved on one side, with holes cut into it to accommodate the horns. Clenched in his jaw was a long cigar, burning on one end.

"Well, if it ain't Renya Rown," the minotaur man spoke with a strong drawl to his speech.

"Who in three hells said you can make my introduction?" Renya quick-drew her flintlocks and fired them into the bar.

The barman ducked below the counter. Her arcane bolts pummeled a large cask, causing it to gush with beer. He came back up with a shotgun pointed right at Renya and smirked.

"Is that a—?!" Renya gasped.

"Thought you were the only one with a piece?" He pulled the trigger, and shrapnel went flying. A freezing cold blast blew Renya back out the door.

"Shit! Renya!" Kanae raced outside.

Renya was lying on the ground, both hands to her frozen abdomen. Shards of ice pierced her body. Kanae administered Flash Heal over and over again until she stopped groaning in pain.

"What the fuck… was that?" Renya picked herself and the flintlocks up.

"Our old man's schematics." The minotaur stepped out of the bar with the shotgun leveled at them. "His imagination was something. But they were missing something. We didn't have the ingredients to give it the firepower he imagined. You? Magic. Mine comes from the Harpy King's generosity."

Renya fired a volley of shots, but a barrier of ice coalesced around her target. They cracked parts of his shield, but not completely.

"You're Sol?" Renya clicked her tongue.

"That's right." Sol nodded. "Our pops abandoned me in Savir a long time ago. He didn't like what the Harpy King was brewing. I tried to convince him to keep his end of the bargain. After all, that's what a good business deal is, right? A Rown's word means everything. If he didn't like the terms, he shouldn't have taken it to begin with. Could you believe he left his own son because of that? Well, here I am, willing to fulfill his end of the bargain for him once I take control of Rown Company from your hands."

"Ugh. I didn't come to hear about your daddy issues—"

"My motivations aren't from daddy issues, you fucking cunt!" He unleashed a barrage of icicles from the shotgun.

Kanae and Renya dove behind an abandoned wheelbarrow as the spears of ice plunged into the ground. Droves of Sol's goons poured out of Bar Ingot. Although they didn't have a firearm, they certainly wielded weapons of their own. He shouted for them to be captured alive, but all that achieved was giving Kanae some manpower of her own. She casted Mass Charm, seizing control of a number of men. Panic ensued as they turned on each other.

"So that succubus is with you. Seems I'll catch two birds with one stone today!" Sol shouted.

"Please, tell me we're going to escape and not fight them," Kanae said.

"I just need one good shot. Back me up!" Renya jumped from cover, creating a dozen clones of herself.

Kanae cursed under her breath and casted Conjured Caltrops. Sol's men danced and tiptoed as they stepped on the spikes. Meanwhile, Renya's clones unleashed hell in a firing line. The real one blinked right behind Sol and pressed her gun to his head.

"That's all she wrote of you." Renya sneered, only to become encased in a block of ice.

Kanae reached for her wand as ice petrified her lower half. She couldn't move an inch but managed to look down. A thin trail of ice originating from Sol had made it up to her while she wasn't looking. Someone threw a bag over her head, and everything went dark.