Elusis, the Opalescent Jewel of Savir, grew more unstable with every passing day. Unrest intensified to the point where citizens of both the under and upper-city constantly took to the streets. Food ran low across the city. Butchers, farmers, grocers, and more set a limit to how much people could buy. Open air bazaars had fewer merchants, and those that did business on the street and from their wagons dwindled.

The water level hadn't gone down either. Some lower sections of Elusis, though very small, had become a well or pool that children swam in. What once seemed like a hope and solution to their barren country now became a worrisome nuisance. Homes on the surface were flooded with an inch of water. Carriages and carts had a hard time getting around the saturated ground.

Last night, a group of angry under-city citizens gathered around the base of an administrative spire. They demanded answers from Elusis' leadership, only to be met with silence. A few brave but foolhardy revolutionaries tried to scale the tower up to the nearest window, but harpy soldiers promptly arrested them. In response, the skies filled with more Harpy King loyalists.

Which was why tonight was as good as any for Edina and Kanae to sneak into the Opal Spire. Well, not really Edina. But two undead rats and an owl.

"Man, if I got a gold coin for every time you needed me to help you get your shit back, I'd have two. Which ain't a lot, but it's weird that it's happened twice now," Edina's voice groaned from the jaws of her critter minion.

"You're telling me. I'm not losing them on purpose, you know?" Kanae sighed.

They landed behind the wall that surrounded the spire. Flying guards patrolled the Harpy King's seat of power in heavy numbers despite his absence. When the sky thinned out just a little, Edina's undead owl snatched one of the undead rats and took flight.

A spire as large as the Opalescent Spire housed thousands of people at a time. In order to accommodate them all, it needed proper ventilation. Otherwise, those living within would suffocate.

Kanae planned to enter through one such vent, but not before Edina scouted the way with her minions first. After some time had passed…

"Alrighty," the remaining undead rat came to life and uttered. "I found a vent access that leads straight to the armory you were in. Big enough that your tits can squeeze through. Oh, I see your sword and dildo, too! They're stuffed in a box."

"Perfect. Let's hope everything goes well. I had to suck off an alchemist for a whole hour in exchange for this. My jaw is sore." Kanae produced a potion of invisibility from her person and imbibed it.

A cloak of magic wreathed her body, shielding her from prying eyes. She couldn't even see her own hands in front of herself. Clothes, accessories, and the undead rat on her shoulder were even invisible.

Confident of the potion's efficacy, Kanae ascended the Opalescent Spire amidst harpies patrolling from every direction. Fortunately, they didn't see her. She flew up to where the undead owl was perched on a windowsill. Beneath it and to the side was a one and a half foot hole leading inside on a slight incline. She felt the slight tug of cooler air rushing in as hotter air rises naturally and pulls by way of pressure.

Kanae entered while the undead owl remained outside on watch duty. It was a tight fit that pushed against her larger than average breasts. The second undead rat was waiting inside to lead her. After what felt like an hour of crawling, they finally came to the edge of an opening. Peering through, the armory where she had fought Praijya was below her. Weapons and equipment were no longer scattered everywhere, and the only signs of their battle was a boarded-up hole in the wall and splinters on the ground.

Without wasting a second, Kanae slipped down and grabbed her stuff. The Blade of the First Temptress and Cockcalibur turned invisible, too, as soon as she held them. Finally. Now to get out of here before the potion wears off.

They escaped the Opalescent Spire after a successful heist. Kanae and Edina returned Jahree's temple spire under the cover of night, and the Harpy King's soldiers were none the wiser. Saint Priest Camilla was waiting for them by the door when they got back.

"You're back! Archbishop Patrice wanted me to tell you to go find her downstairs. She and Jahree want to move forward with a plan they've been scheming up. I think we're going to move out at last," Camilla explained.

"About time. I'll report to her now," Kanae said.

Camilla stayed put to monitor the Elusis soldiers scoping out the spire. Meanwhile, Kanae and Edina waded past the many refugees to descend down the stairs. Jahree, Archbishop Patrice, and Saint Priest Delayn were inside a cafeteria helping to pass food out to the hungry.

They were set up like a well-oiled manufacturing line. One after another, the workers passed down a plate and scooped food onto it, and a refugee received it at the very end. Bread, mashed potatoes, scraps of meat, and a single fruit were all they could afford.

"Amethyst, Edina. Grab a ladle and get to work. Neither of you are exempt from charitable services," Archbishop Patrice barked.

"I'll spare you a single undead instead." Edina summoned a skeletal warrior, only to be zapped out of existence by a bolt of holy energy from the archbishop's wand. "Hey!"

"Kindess is therapy for the soul. Find a spot and start scooping. Now," she demanded them.

They slinked into a gap between volunteers behind the counter. Sandwiched between Patrice and Jahree, Kanae picked up a ladle to start helping. Jahree handed her a partially-filled plate, and she scooped a helping of mash potatoes before giving it to her superior. The archbishop glanced down at the tiny beastman boy in front of them. Instead of the usual portion, Patrice provided him a little extra. When he held the plate brimming with food, a toothy smile flashed on his worn face.

"The greatest tragedy of every war is that innocents must suffer for their ruler's ineptitude. The Succubus Wars, Ortesia's invasion of the Commonwealth, and the Harpy King's conquest of Savir. That's why the least we can do is ease their misfortune. Tomorrow, we leave Elusis for Bravost. Jahree has secured several carriages transporting goods to the frontlines. We will board them," Archbishop Patrice explained.

"So soon? What about Elusis? If we cause enough mayhem, the Harpy King has to come back, right?" Kanae asked.

"No." Jahree shook his head. "Short of destroying the Opalescent Spire, I highly doubt the Harpy King will respond. He is hellsbent on seizing Bravost and Avanesse in a single swoop. Seizing control of Elusis to bait him to return also isn't feasible. You would be embroiled in a year long war against the army that remains. My rebels and I will disrupt the domestic supply lines instead. With any luck, that will give Bravost and Avanesse a fighting chance. But there is something you can help me with before you disembark."

"Why does it seem like I won't like the sound of this?" She frowned.

Jahree needed help getting the local gangs to cooperate. Their know-hows in getting around the city would put the rebels in a very advantageous position. He needed a succubus' help to convince them. Kanae agreed to help, but only on the condition that she do it her way.

Aside from the syndicate that Renya's step-brother Sol leads, there existed two gangs in Elusis worth dealing with. One was called Vivindra. They were a leaderless, under-city criminal enterprise that extorted residents and businesses of lower Elusis. City guards had a hard time dealing with them because of how ingrained into the populace they were.

The other was Second Sun, a mafia in the upper-city that made and sold bootleg products. Anything that was popular in other nations, they likely forged poor copies to sell across Elusis for cheap. They had connections that Jahree wanted to exploit.

Petyr wasn't interested in helping, so it was up to Kanae and Edina to take care of both gangs before morning.

"Which one do you want to look into?" Kanae asked.

"If it were up to me… Vivindra, I guess. You know me. I don't do well with high society. I'll mingle with the folks on the bottom. See what I can sus out," Edina  said.

That left Second Sun to Kanae.

Luckily, upper-city Elusis didn't sleep when the sun went down. Kanae emerged from Jahree's spire through a hidden entrance into the underside of a bridge connected to another. Hundreds of footfalls crossed overhead. Although fewer citizens flew about in the open, the public spires were as rowdy as nightclubs.

Kanae donned a heavy cloak to hide her features and blended into the crowds. She navigated her way to a bazaar spire Jahree had suggested, in which all ten floors were marketplaces catering to different things. Each level was one large circular chamber, and a wide spiral staircase served as the spire's spine through which patrons ascended and descended.

The first floor was full of paintings. Artists of amateur and professional talent sold their craft, using their works as advertisements. Some even painted for a public show. These must be the same people who blanketed the spires in incredible murals.

However, paintings like these weren't easily made bootlegs out of. Kanae descended to the next floor, a place sparse of food groceries. Merchants here mostly sold dried goods like jerky and chips. This wasn't it either.

On the next floor down, Kanae shuffled shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of other people. They pushed and shoved to get to the next stall. Kanae eventually wormed her way up to a stand selling… sex toys?

"Come right up and take a look, folks! Sexy Slime Goods available for your pleasure. Molded into the shape of a penis or pussy, these will make you feel like you're getting it on with the real deal!" the elven merchant advertised.

"What? Sexy Slime Goods is my brand! I never expanded into Savir. At least… I don't think so?" Kanae couldn't for the life of her remember.

"You there!" He spotted and pointed right at her. "You look like a sexy lass who has no trouble getting laid. But maybe you just want to have a little private time for yourself. How about it? Buy yourself a nice shapely dildo made from monster slime, shaped to perfection for your pleasure!"

Kanae drew closer and squinted at the merchandise. They looked like they were made from slime monsters. Many were poorly-shaped. A hefty beastman centaur of upper class waddled up right next to her and inspected them, too. He picked out a particularly squishy pocket pussy.

"How much?" he asked.

"500 gold, sir!" The merchant grinned.

Outraged by the price, the centaur man discarded the pocket pussy and left in a huff. For that much coin, it would be better spent on a prostitute.

"And you, miss? Perhaps a discount?" Uneasy about losing another customer, the merchant tried another tactic.

"None of these interests me. I want something… bigger. More shapely. Do you have anything like that?" Kanae asked.

"Do I? Wait right here, miss! I'll find something for you yet!" He retreated into the vardo wagon behind him with a big smile on his face.

While he was gone, Kanae picked up a dildo at random. They were floppy and had no firmness to them. Whatever slime monster was used to make this must have been of poor quality. Or were harvested wrong.

Any respectable Sexy Slime Goods store wouldn't have made such a shoddy product. This was definitely a knock-off. Kanae entered the wagon after the man, who glanced back and stumbled backwards.

"You're not allowed to be back here!" he cried.

Kanae looked down at his hands. He was mixing mud, water, and slime together. Doing so diluted the unique properties of slime. It would even negate the anti-bacterial and self-cleaning aspect of slime. That easily turned their cocksleeves into a festering bag of cum as a result.

"You're with Second Sun mafia, aren't you?" Kanae asked, seizing control of him with Charm.

"Yes, I am." The elf nodded.

"Good. Bring me to your head honcho," she ordered.

"You're kinda asking for the impossible, lady. I'm just a lowly mafioso. Boss Jofis doesn't see grunts like me. Best I can do is take you to his son, Cosibi. He should be able to connect you," he explained.

Kanae agreed. The merchant collected the money he earned from selling counterfeit Sexy Slime Goods, closed up shop, and then escorted her back to the upper floors. A separate staircase led to a level above the market sections of the spire.

They entered a long dark corridor illuminated only by the starlight bleeding in from the unwashed and tarnished windows. At the very end of the hallway, a door stood between them and the sound of a party on the other side. The elf knocked once, and an eye-level slat opened.

"Oh, it's you, Deo! Who's the broad?" a gruff voice asked, his gaze flicking to Kanae.

"I'm the new girl Cosibi wanted to see. Now let me in." Kanae exerted Charm on him, too.

The door screeched open to a large, dim lounge where beautiful women dressed in belly dancer outfits danced on circular platforms. Spectators seated around tossed gold coins onto the floor. Some women had mounds of gold.

Hash filled the air. After the women, hookahs and pipes were the next biggest amenity. One sniff and Kanae was already feeling high. Far in the corner, behind a counter of wine bottles and beer, some shady goons counted satchels of gold and paper notes.

Deo, the elven merchant, and the harpy bounder who opened the door for them, gestured for Kanae to follow. They walked up to a large couch seated by some unsavory men watching an attractive harpy woman dancing for them. Cosibi, as Deo pointed out, was the muscular Arkesian man whose fingers were heavy with bejeweled rings.

In Human Form, Kanae climbed onto the platform. The harpy noticed her coming, scooped up as much gold as she could into a bag, and hopped off. Confusion rang out across the audience. They started liking what they saw when she let the cloak fall.

Thistle, the Matron's Regalia, was already a seductive outfit to begin with. When Kanae bent down, the men— and some women— leaned forward to get a better glimpse of her breasts. She danced and swayed to the traditional Saviran music.

"Hot damn, Deo. Where did you find this chick from? I ought to give you a bonus! The things I'd love to do to her…" Cosibi exclaimed and licked his lips.

"Like what?" Kanae smirked, letting the spell fall to reveal her true succubus form.

Panic erupted from everywhere at once.

"It's a fucking succubus!"

"Run! Before she enslaves us!"

Second Sun mafiosos drew daggers and wands, but Kanae quickly casted Mass Charm on them. Cosibi swapped desperate looks at each of his men.

"The fuck are you guys doing? Get her!" Cosibi cried.

"They won't listen to you because I control them now. But I was kind enough not to do the same to you." Kanae sat down on the edge of the platform and took his glass of wine from the table.

"W-What do you want?" he stammered.

"Jahree wants to kick off a revolution in the city. You're going to help him," she explained.

Cosibi's eyes widened.

"You're a succubus, sure. But going against the Harpy King is stupid. I don't want any part of this!" Cosibi blurted out.

"Either I compel you to, or you do it yourself. Besides, you won't be doing any fighting. Leave the fighting to Jahree and his rebels. He wants your connections. The Harpy King's days are numbered, and you'll want to make new friends. Convince your old man, or I might just have to pay him a visit~" Kanae reached out to stroke his chin.

"Fine… I'll see what I can do. But the Exalted Mystic better remember what we're doing for him after all this is over," he said.

"I'll let Jahree know." She was about to leave but whirled back around on him. "Also, you're going to stop selling bootleg Sexy Slime Goods. I don't like the name of my product being besmirched by your inferior counterfeits. If we all make it out of this alive, you're going to do business with the real deal and sell my Sexy Slime Goods. Got it?"

Cosibi gulped hard and nodded stiffly.