Closed.

Dhea shook it off, shook away the chill down her spine. She did not know what marked her so deeply as 'Analander', but she would ignore it. She would ignore the way people looked at her, but she would not shake off the ominous warning.
She continued forward, hoping to forget the interaction for a moment or two.
 
The road climbed between high fences and then into open fields. A little further on Dhea saw another rock-face, as Khare climbed onto another level, but at the top of this one was a line of grand houses, with ornamental roofs and pillared colonnades.

That was where the richer creatures of Khare lived, looking down across the fields they owned. Dhea could almost imagine then, sipping iron wide on their balconies and watching the toil of the farm workers through spyglasses. But, the more she looked at the building the more did she realise that something was wrong. A tree grew from one roof. Another had slipped sideways into the yard of the neighbouring house.

Those places were falling into ruin. Dhea knew that Khare was poor, but this was far worse than she heard.

The road carried on, rising very slightly through thin and meagre fields. Scarecrows could be seen on the moonlight and they looked to be made from real skeletons, their bones rattling in the breeze. There was no one about. To the right of the main road, a track lined with coloured flags lead along the line of the cliff. It was the northern end of the Festival. A short distance from the road was a small hut built from mud bricks. Smoke rose from its chimney and a thick, rich smell wafted from its door.

- Go left.
- Go right.
- Enter the hut.
 
Dhea went right, not even interested by the hut. She just wanted to from point A to point B, without anymore distractions. She was already pissed off from the interaction with the mysterious woman.
 
She passed through the edge of the fair without stopping, then left it behind her and climbed through fields towards the outskirts of the buildings, until she reached a fork in the road. The slum districts of Lower Khare were dangerous and smelled bad. The sooner she got out of them, the sooner she would reach the North Gate.

At the elbow of the next fork in the road was a grand, well-kept building. Steam pumped from its roof. A person emerged from it, looking refreshed and flushed. It was a bath-house.

- Go inside the bath house.
- Go to the mansion row.
- Head toward the docks.
 
The road twisted and turned up the rise, until Dhea emerged onto a wider road at thee edge of the slums. From inside, down a street, she could hear a very faint sound of singing. A smell of rotting fish filled the air - she was getting close to the docks.

As she emerged from a narrow alley to the right she walked onto an open space. On the far side, the Jabaji river slid past, its surface strewn with flotsam and jetsam dredged up from fallen parts of the City. The sails of the boats at anchor billowed and snapped in the breeze.

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There were two or three ships moored for the night. The space between then and the road was filled with a huge number of stalls and shops, selling everything form fishing-tackle to sailing-blocks to barrels of Woodlouse Rum. That must be a thriving market during the day: with night fallen it was a maze of booths and cloth.

A single bridge crossed the river there, operated with ropes to let the tall ships through. Right now, the bridge was up to let the ships sail through undisturbed.

Dhea could see two inns near to the docks. Rhain had spoken about The Wayfarer's Rest and could be waiting for her there.

--

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The inn was a lively and bustling place. The innkeeper behind the bar was trying to serve numerous creatures, all demanding ale at the same time, while around the tables, salty types and buxom wenches were laughing together and singing shanties. Rhain was not in sight.

- Approach a table of pirates.
- Approach the innkeeper.
 
Dhea adjusted her belt so that she kept her gold purse out of sight, not fully trusting the customers, as drunk as they were. People had already stolen gold from her, which was bloody irritating, but it did make her more cautious.

She didn’t want to disturb the already overwhelmed bartender, even if she did want to help. Admittedly, she wanted to beat the customers away from the bar with a big stick and order them to wait, but she knew she couldn’t do that without consequences.

So, that left the pirates. Dhea strode forward, swaying her hips. She made her way over to them, all fluttering eyelashes and a sly grin.
“Hi, would you mind helping me find someone?”
She gave a rough description of Rhain, trying to avoid giving any explicit details. Just to skirt around trouble.
 
"Aye, there's your man." One of the pirates spoke, gesturing to a shadowy figure in a corner behind Dhea. "A real swindler that one, took a lot of our coin."
"Yeah, don't appreciate him." The other pirate added. "Watch your back. And don't play cards with him."

As the pirated turned their attention at their drinks again, Dhea could now clearly see that Rhain was watching her, though he made no move to greet her or gesture her over. On further inspection it looked as if he was looking through her, perhaps lost in thoughts.

- Approach Rhain.
- Order a beer.
- Leave.
 
Dhea inhaled through her nose, before thanking the pirates with a winning grin. She looked back towards Rhain, her hand on her hip. A little part of her didn’t want to disturb him, but she moved towards him anyway. Dhea kept her distance, but remained close enough that she wouldn’t have to shout to be heard.
“You’ve been playing cards against pirates, alleviating them of their gold.”
She crossed her arms, smirking.
“Not the safest pastime, but who am I to judge?”
 
Rhain's eyes followed her as she approached, but only when she spoke did they seem to focus. He snapped out of his thoughts, hearing her voice, and a smirk found a way to his lips.

"They are the ones who presented a challenge in the first place." He said, looking across her shoulder to the pirates and then shaking his head. "I'm glad they did." Then he stood up and with a stride crossed the distance between them. "You have come for information about the City? Or... for a different reason?"

- Ask for information.
- Flirt.
 
Dhea rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. She fully believed that those drunken fools had offered the challenge to Rhain. She clasped her hands behind her back, her hip cocked slightly.
“Well, didn’t I say I would join you tonight?”
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, before looking up at him through her lashes.
“I guess the information I would be looking for is directions to your bed.”
She’s very forward, but Dhea liked to think that it was one of her better qualities.
 
"You know I tried to kill you, right?" Rhain stared at her in disbelief for a brief moment, before making a loud sigh. "Let's not give the tavern more rumours to spread. Follow me up in five minutes. The doors will be opened." He turned away from her and strolled up the stairs that led to the rooms.

--

After a sufficient time passed, Dhea followed through with the plan, climbing up the stairs and stopping in front of the only opened doors on the floor. Rhain's room had one small bed with clean linen, a wash basin with dry towels, a table with some writing utensils and a couple of lit candles, and a shuttered window. The assassin sat on the bed, motioning for her to close to doors. He still had his hood on, his features barely visible in darkness.

"You know I'm as likely to murder you now as I am to take off your clothes." He spoke in a raspy voice, a bit cold, calculated. "You spared my life and bandaged my wounds in the forest and with that gesture you now own a part of my life. I am obliged either to return the favour, or to kill you in order to erase my debts. The Goddess is in favour of both outcomes." His gaze shifted to Dhea and there was a red glint in his eyes. "You still have a chance to leave, Analander."

- Ask about his Goddess.
- Approach him.
- Leave.
 
Dhea stepped forward. She wasn’t frightened by his words, she was merely curious. Perhaps she should be afraid, but her gut told her that staying was the right choice. She was intrigued by the Goddess he spoke of, so she would ask him about her. It was logic.
“Tell me about your Goddess.”
She took another step forward, her feet light in their cautiousness.
 
"Sindla." The assassin answered. "The Goddess of thieves and assassins. The Goddess of my guild and a deity very popular in Khare." He explained. Dhea had seen him utter prayers and mantras during their duel in the woods. "Sindla stands for returning your debts. Unless you can cheat or kill your way out of them." He stood up then, approaching Dhea, not stopping until she was forced against the doors. His gloved hand found her throat and gripped it, but not strong enough to choke her. "I'm afraid you ran out of time."

- Struggle.
- Stay still.
 
Dhea frowned at him, but she didn’t struggle. She did wrap her hand around his wrist, to defend herself if she needed to. She kept her gaze level and her breath even. She didn’t even speak, but her eyes said plenty.
They asked why he was doing this, why he thought that killing or cheating her out of the debt she hadn’t intended on existing was the only way to deal with the situation.
She didn’t even blink as she looked up.
 
Rhain scowled. "I don't like your eyes." He spoke through gritted teeth. But, the strength of his grin waned and soon Dhea was free. He looked down at her hand on his wrist and then up at her eyes again. Then he gripped the handle of the doors. "You can't stay here. Not now." He was halfway out of the doors. "Come, I'll take you to the Council." He spoke.

- Follow.
- Don't.
 
“The Council?”
Dhea followed nevertheless, her brow furrowed. She wasn’t entirely sure why he didn’t like her eyes, perhaps because they were honest and full of questions. She hadn’t expected this turn of events, especially not this.
 
"The leaders of Khare." Rhain explained, walking out into the hallway. "They are mad men and pirates, but they are not fools. They might be persuaded to see the sense of your mission. Consider this my payback." He strolled to a window in the hallway, opening it. Apparently he was about to jump out of it. "The Council is in the tallest building of Khare. But most of its height is built underground, so you cannot really distinguish it from the building around it. I know where it is, though. Come." And he jumped out into the unlit alley below the tavern.

- Follow.
- Don't.
 
Dhea squinted down into the alley, her brain whirring with the injuries she could get. Then she shrugged and leapt from the window, trying to make sure that she didn’t break any of her limbs.
 
Dhea twisted her ankle slightly as she landed on the alley ground, but not so much as to hinder her progress. Rhain was strolling ahead across the alleys of the docks. He moved fast, like a fleeting shadow, but somehow contrived to never disappear from Dhea's sight. He did not speak anything.

After an hour of torturous pace in silence, they finally arrived outside an ordinary looking building. "This is it." The assassin declared. "Wait here. I'll go inside."

He disappeared through the doors of a really common looking house. It could not be a residence of a Council. Analand has a huge extravagant palace for its King and his Council. This was a simple residential house. The windows were thick bottle-glass and doors were made out of tarred wood, studded with rivets and painted black. The roof, only a single storey up, was overgrown with weeds. Identical dwellings stood to either side of it.

- Wait.
- Try the doors.
- Walk away.
 
Dhea had been told to wait, so wait she would. She also yearned for a warm bed, but she could put aside her discomfort for knowledge, for this opportunity. She did prepare to leave if she needed to, but she had a feeling she wouldn’t have to leave.
 
She waited. Rhain did not reappear.

Minutes passed.

More minutes passed. The air started growing chill. In the distance she could hear the sound of cartwheels passing down the cobbled streets of the docks. They were quickly lost in the bustle of Lower Khare.

- Try the door.
- Leave.
 
Dhea turned on her heel and glared at the door. She inhaled sharply, before resting a heavy hand on the frame. She wasn’t sure if she should, but she was sick of waiting.
So, she tried to door handle.
 
The doors were not locked. She found herself in a wide room. Chairs lined the walls, but there was no other furniture in it. It this was really someone's house, then it was meticulously robbed - but if not, there was nothing to obviously display a function it might serve. It was not abandoned, however, a fire blazed in a hearth giving off a very pleasant warmth.

A voice boomed out from nowhere. "Please, be seated."

- Sit.
- Call out.
- Cast a spell.
 
Dhea didn’t even hesitate as she scrambled to sit upon a chair. She didn’t need to be told twice by the mysterious voice. She was in the Council’s hands now, and she’d be darned if she wasn’t going to listen to what they told her to do. She intended to stay alive.
 
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