Closed.

Something strange happened in the moment she took her weight off her feet - it was as through the far wall of the room disappeared. In its place now was a long hallway, lined with cloth banners and torches on brass poles. Two guards stood halfway down the hallway and in between them Dhea could now see Rhain, deep in conversation.

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"I'm sorry." The first guard said. "The Council is in session and cannot be disturbed."
Rhain shook his head. "That is incorrect, as you well know."
The guard did not reply, only smiled tightly. Rhain noticed Dhea's presence then, waving her over. "Please, join me."

- Walk over.
- Stay put.
 
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Dhea continued to frown, still a little unsure of what was going on. She walked towards Rhain, her hand resting on her belt. She stopped beside him, her eyes questioning him silently. She didn’t want so anything unless she had to while she was in the building.
 
"I'm afraid the Council is in session." The guard repeated, a little louder now.
"That's a lie." Rhain persisted. "The Council is no more. There is no one behind that door."
"The first Noble is behind that door. In session."

There was silence. The assassin bowed his hooded head. "I am sorry for your family." He spoke quietly. Then a moment later, his long steel blade was in his hand and at the neck of one of the guards. Blood spurted out of the guard's neck. Before the other guard could react, Rhain was on him, severing his head. Then he bowed, before opening the council doors and sweeping inside.

--

The main council chamber of Khare was a wide circular room with a domed roof supported by tall pillars, ornately carved with monsters, serpents and instruments of torture. In the centre, twelve, throne-like seats were arranged in a circle with only one raised on a dais - presumably the seat of the First Noble. All of them were empty.

There was a chalk circle drawn in the middle of the circle of thrones.

"This is not right." Rhain frowned.

- Walk around the chairs.
- Examine the circle.
 
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Dhea looked around, her brows in a permanent furrow. She had not been overly fussed by the guards dying at Rhain’s hand, as it seemed to be the way for this organisation. Murder and all. She noted the chalk circle, her brain already firing into action.

She strode towards it silently, before crouching beside it and examining it closely. It was an odd sight and she wondered if she could figure out what it could be from or for.
 
"Don't touch it." Rhain warned her as she crouched down. It was just a simple circle, inscribed on the stone floor of the room. The only remarkable thing about it was how perfect it was. It had a flawless curve. "Rather too well drawn." Rhain said, moving to crouch beside Dhea. "That makes me suspicious."

Then he stood up and started walking around the chairs, commenting as he walked, his whole figure at times disappearing in shadows.

"No one here. No secret doors. No hidden passages."

All the chairs had names inscribed on the back rest, high up. The throne on the dais, one of the First Noble, had a name Sansas embossed in gold leaf. The names of the others were smaller and fashioned from plain iron: Mouras, Tiffin, Lorag, Shinva, Xirin and Teetah. It looked like none of the chairs had been sat in for a very long time.

- Walk into the circle.
- Leave.
 
A circle that was too perfect, in a place that was supposedly more than what it appeared. Dhea shook her head, before she turned to where she assumed Rhain was.
“Look, I have a feeling...that what you’re looking for is in plain sight.”
And she took a step back into the circle.
 
At the last moment, Rhain grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him, making her stumble into his embrace. "Once, you saved my life." He whispered, his breath slow and steady. "Now, I'm saving yours. That is no circle. That is a Portal Trap." As swiftly as he pulled her to him, he also let her go, on a safe distance away from the circle.

- Ask about it.
- Step into it.
 
At least Dhea knew what the fabled Portal Traps looked like now, especially since she was going to explore the city at some point. She needed to, to figure out was going on with the Crown and all the intrigue in Khare.
“Thank you.”

She eyed the trap again, her arms crossing over her chest.
“You realise you don’t owe me anything, right? I didn’t kill you because it was the right thing to do.”
Dhea was sick of this...back and forth thing the stupid assassin/thief had going on with her. She ran her fingers through her loosened hair, eyes closing for a second.

“Forget about it. Just...what can you tell me about Portal Traps? So I can avoid dying.”
 
"The Portal Traps of Khare were built to protect citizens in one area of Khare from the citizens in other areas. Each region, Dwarf-town, Orc-ville, the rest, were given one trap to place as they saw fit and to move whenever they chose. Then if anyone from a neighbouring area attacked, they could not know what was a trap and what wasn't." He gestured at the chalk circle. "They can appear as anything. But you should stand in one, you will be transported wherever the setter of the Trap chose. To a solid rock or high in mid air. The tradition in Khare has been to dump unfortunates into the sewers. Most do not come back."

- Ask about avoiding the traps.
- Ask about the Nobles.
 
“Delightful.”
Dhea had many questions about the traps and about the room they were currently standing in. She chose the more relevant one. Her gaze lifted and she looked Rhain over, before quickly turning back to the room in front of her.
“Do you have any suggestions to avoid them? Or how I can tell what is and isn’t a Portal Trap?”
 
"Be clever." Rhain folded his arms, looking at the chalk circle. "The Traps have one flaw in their design. They require a perfect symmetry to maintain their illusion. This means that, whatever form they have taken, they will always appear to be a perfect circle. Just like this." Cautiously he indicated at the circle with his boot. His face suddenly darkened and he looked quickly to the doors and then back to Dhea. "The Traps are no longer under the control of the people of Khare. For any years now, every trap in Khare has been moved and placed by Sansas himself. And he is not where I expected him to be." He exhaled and then moved around the circle to the doors. Before walking Dhea heard him murmur. "I thought I had all the pieces of the puzzle."

- Go with Rhain.
- Step into the circle.
 
Dhea looked at the circle and back at Rhain. She darted forward and grabbed his wrist, her mind working.
Her eyes were lit up, as she put pieces of the puzzle together.
And then, that light dimmed and she let go of his wrist.
“I was...it was stupid. I thought that perhaps the Portal Trap could be what you’re looking for, but then.....I guess not.”
She felt stupid, like usual. She also was tired and a little cranky. She already wanted to go home and sleep.
 
Rhain looked at her hand for a moment, then stepped forward again, making long strides and talking as he went on. "I wanted to bring you to Sansas. I am stuck in the City now the same as you. I thought that we might have a better chance of solving Khare's mystery and getting out of it if we both worked on it. But, I work the best on my own. I'll be watching you, Analander, out of the shadows. And I'll contact you when sharing information becomes necessary." He waved a hand in goodbye, not turning around to face her. "You can take my room at The Wayfarer's Rest. I won't sleep tonight. Good luck."

- Run after him.
- Say goodbye.
 
Dhea watched Rhain for a moment, before chasing after him with long, easy strides. She wanted a few more answers, but she wanted to thank him, even this night had been essentially fruitless.
“Look, thank you for doing this tonight. It is better than nothing.”
She inhales, before continuing.
“You also did make me think that you wanted to spend the night with me, but I get it. You’re clearly a little too busy for that sort of stuff.”

She’s taunting him, wanting to see what she can get him do. A manipulative way of looking at things, but he was so bloody mysterious and frustrating.
 
"Don't thank me, I'm simply repaying you." Rhain turned toward her and scoffed at her words. He was stubborn about his debt, though he perhaps considered them even now, after stopping Dhea from entering the Portal Trap. To her next remark he turned away without a reaction. "We'll meet again, Analander."

--

Following an alley after Rhain disappeared from view, Dhea reached the Docks again. It was quite late at night now and she would lose too much time to get back to Ellie's inn. She also had a good chance of getting lost in the unknown alleys of Khare in dark, not to mention she would risk being ambushed or pickpocketed. There was a row of abandoned stalls at the makeshift market which she could use for cover for the night. There were also many dead end alleys were she could curl up in. Or she could go back and sleep in Rhain's room as he offered.

- Sleep in the stalls.
- Sleep in an alley.
- Sleep in Rhain's room.
 
Dhea dropped her head in defeat, wordelessly admitting her pride and the need for the last word had caused her to be left in the dark, literally. Khare was unfamiliar territory, especially in the dead of night. She already knew how much of an apology she’d have to give Yan and the bartender, Ellie.
So, instead of putting herself in a more uncomfortable place to sleep, Dhea went back to the Wayfarer’s Rest to claim Rhain’s room for the night.
Something told her that she’d need it.
 
The Wayfarer's Rest was just across the square and after making her way through the stalls, Dhea was greeted by that same rowdy atmosphere. The innkeeper did not bother her when she went up the stairs to Rhain's room. There was no lock on any of the rooms after all and how did the owner of the place manage to have some order among his customers, was a mystery.

The bed was rickety and scratchy when she laid on it. The room looked as if it was empty the whole time, it held no memory of the assassin's presence. The candles on the desk had burned out and the room was dark, though she was able to see the outlines of the furniture on moonlight.

- Sleep.
- Block the doors with the table.
- Leave.
 
Dhea didn’t trust the hordes of rowdy customers below, especially not to leave her alone if she was asleep. She got up and pushed the table in front of her door, just so she felt a little safer. She even plonked back down onto the scratchy bed, preparing to sleep.
It would likely be a crappy one, but she couldn’t complain.
 
Sleep overtook her no matter the state of the bed. And she slept soundly. Right until the point when she was jolted awake by the sounds of footsteps in front of her doors. It was dark outside still, but lamplight could be seen flickering underneath the doors of the bedroom. She heard two male voices whispering.

"Did you find any?"
"No one good."
"I told him. We snatched far too many people from here. No one of worth stays to sleep any more."
"How many do we have?"
"Enough to get more. Not enough to do anything with them."
"No one's even seen Sansas for three weeks." There was coughing sound and voice muttered something that Dhea did not quite catch.
"You sure about that? How do you think Sansas got to be First?" There was a clatter of metal and then the footsteps stopped. They were right outside her bedroom.

- Listen.
- Try to get away through the window.
 
Dhea’s first thought about the situation was that Rhain had set her up. The second was a barrage of insults and threats she would levy at his head the next time she saw him. With a silent movement, Dhea pulled her boots on and stepped towards the door, intending on eavesdropping before she dove out the window...again.
 
The men did not speak anything more. Then there was another noise, a third person approaching, and a patter of clawed feet and a bark - a dog.

"Any finds?"
"A couple of Elvin." The new voice remarked.

The dog started barking then, and whatever the men continued talking about, Dhea could not hear them. She realised too late what was happening - the creature had picked up on her scent!

- Run for it.
- Hide under the bed.
 
Dhea didn’t even hesitate as she grabbed her things. She wasn’t hiding, not when there was a dog that had caught her scent. With a quick movement, she leapt from the window and into the alley below.
 
"Someone's in here!" Voiced followed her as she jumped outside. In her haste, she landed badly, twisting her ankle once more, but it was far more painful now, causing her to limp.
"Alpana! Fetch!" Another set of voices and these ones were coming right from the alley where she landed.

A group of people was patrolling the streets down below in full armour and with dogs. Something big and on all fours ran after Dhea. She evaded through the stalls across the Docks, but it seemed to pass like water through every gap and nothing seemed to slow it down. Finally Dhea reached another alley, its walls so narrow that she barely slipped through. The animal followed her in. It was about to leap at her.

- Try to run.
- Try to dodge.
- Stand your ground.
 
Dhea had a split second to think, to act. She tried to dodge, hoping that whatever gods that were watching her, would be merciful and allow her to get away from the beast.
She prayed, which she hadn’t done in along time.
 
She dodged sideways, but the alley was too narrow to maneuver. The hound veered without loosing its pace. When its body hammered into Dhea, the blow felt like being struck with a Giant's hammer full in the chest, as though the creature was made of solid iron. She was thrown backwards, her head hitting the wall. Everything went black.

--

Dhea's eyes fluttered open. Her head was thundering and ready to split. There was a lump on the back of her head the size of an egg and her vision swam as she tried sitting up. Her hands and feet were not bound, which was a good thing.

The ground below her was rocking softly and she felt nauseous and sick. There was a loud grumbling in the dark around her.

As she looked around she realised that she was at the bottom of a wooden pit, with a hatch far up in the ceiling. Other bodies were sprawled around on the floor.

- Check yourself over.
- Call out.
- Cast a spell.
 
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