Chalaran saw the next one, and even saw the shadow twenty paces down the alleyway move as the rock was hurled from a sling. The Hidden did not see it. Like all of its kind, its eyesight was poor, and it relied on scent and very acute hearing to track prey. The creature certainly felt both rocks though, the first into the shoulder and the second much more painful, striking it on the forehead.  Hissing in fury, the Hidden staggered a step sideways, eyes blazing yellow and paddle-sized claws flexing as it peered into the shadows.

The acid beasts saw neither rock, but they clearly saw the movement ahead and broke into hoarse yapping as they let fly two acid balls each. The shadow ahead broke cover after launching the second rock, dodging the acid spit that splashed into and immediately began dissolving the boxes that had been used for cover.

The tall figure leaped over several crates, then paused.  Chalaran's eyes drank in every detail as his attacker was revealed in the moonlight, plans for death and torture filling his head.  The foolish attacker was tall and thin, shrouded in a ragged hooded traveling cloak, bare feet visible beneath, and with a blur one arm rose up, spun a sling overhead, and loosed the stone in an instant.  Chalaran raised his hands and ducked, but the rock was not aimed for him, but his pet.  It struck the already enraged Hidden squarely on the chin, bringing the loudest howl of anguish Chalaran had ever heard from the normally silent creatures. As the acid hounds loosed another spray of venom and tugged furiously at their leashes, the Hidden at last spied its tormentor, and started forward.

Amazingly the figure still did not run, but merely side-stepped the acid spit and laughed.  Chalaran was amazed to hear the voice, for it was high and clearly female.  As he stared, the woman whirled her cloak clear, and bent over half way, sticking her ass towards him.  She slapped it three times, then turned and spat on the ground before at last running away.

Chalaran was infuriated, her gesture was one of the most insulting displays imaginable, and the Hidden certainly saw it, and broke into pursuit while growling furiously.  Chalaran called after his pet, then whistled, but it was no use the beast had been enraged beyond all discipline.  He broke into a trot himself, letting the acid dogs drag him in pursuit.  The woman would have to die, that was indisputable, he just wondered what could possess her to act so foolishly.  Once a Hidden had your scent there was no escape, and no defense against an invisible stalking murderer.

Klavaise jogged rather than ran, letting the unseen monster gain on her. She was barefoot, and ran as silently as possible, listening to the wet slapping of the Hidden's feet on the flag stones behind her. It was not a very fast creature, built to kill in stealth and silent ambush, but when furious it could move pretty well.  She realized it was gaining on her, and she panted loudly and increased her pace slightly, knowing the creature would hear and think she was failing.

She turned a sharp corner to the left, leaping over several boxed, then made a sharp right into an even narrower alley as the Hidden kicked through the boxes fifteen feet behind her.

The alley ran straight between high, windowless stone buildings, exiting onto a larger street a long block ahead.  Klavaise ran about a third of the way, letting the Hidden gain to within about three yards before she all but dove through a small doorway to the side.  This was a mere alcove, no more than ten feet deep, and with no way out.

The slapping of the monster's feet behind her echoed off the damp brick, and its furious hisses raised the hair on the back of her neck.  She stood, letting it see her and advance, and the creature flicked into visibility, huge webbed claws clenching as they reached for her throat.  As the beast was almost within reach, two shadows separated from the sides of the alcove behind the Hidden, and with a murmured word of power, their raised fists flared into twin suns, bathing the alcove in brilliant light.

The Hidden screamed and crashed into the wall to the side, flickering in and out of visibility as it tried to cover its extremely light-sensitive eyes.  Klavaise was instantly behind the creature, a long two-handed sword raised high overhead.  She had not wielded such a heavy sword in many years, but she needed the mass for the cutting power, and had selected this one specially from the armory back at the Brothers' compound. With no way to pick out a vulnerable spot on an invisible target, she substituted power for finesse, and brought the blade down like a headman's axe.

The sword was sharper than her aim, and she only caught the beast on the left side of the head, slicing off an ear and burying the blade deep in its neck. Fortunately the blow was fierce enough to inflict some trauma, and the Hidden revealed itself as it fell to its knees, blood gouting from the wound. Klavaise wrenched the sword free and brought it down again, this time at more of an angle. Her stroke was true, and the beast's head was severed cleanly, along with its right hand, which it had been holding to its face, still trying to block out the blinding light from the Brothers' hands.

The instant the beast hit the ground, its purple blood gushing from the neck and flooding the alley, Klavaise dropped the heavy sword next to its corpse, and grabbed up a short war bow and quiver she'd stashed in a garbage can next to it. The two Brothers lowered their hands and allowed the light to fade, and Octavious lowered the sword he'd been holding, seeing that his aid was not needed to slay the beast.  All four hurried into their positions in the darkness, the hoarse barking echoing around the corner showing them clearly how close Chalaran and his remaining pets had drawn.

Less than half a minute later Chalaran rounded the corner, the noses of his dogs leading the way. They stopped sniffing and yapping excitedly at the edge of the blood lake the decapitated Hidden was leaking. Chalaran could not see the corpse in the dim light, and called out for the Hidden twice before weaving a small light radius spell. His feits were years out of practice, but even the feeble glow he created was more than sufficient to reveal the corpse at his feet. He gasped and backed away, but had not gone two steps when an arrow fired from the darkness to his left penetrated his left leg just behind the knee cap. The arrow head was not barbed, so it passed easily through the meat and tendons behind the hard knee cap, boring entirely through his left leg and piercing his right knee as well, where the arrow struck bone and stopped.

With a shriek, the Magistrate toppled backwards, losing his grip on the leashes as he went down. The acid beasts leaped free, their noses having caught a scent, and they charged off down the alley to the west, yapping and slobbering. Ahead of them ran Octavious, screaming for assistance as he dodged around a corner, the dogs hot on his heels and gaining. His cries rose in pitch a moment later, and the frantic growling of the dogs could be heard, as bright flashes of light flicked rapidly. After a moment, he screamed no more.

Crouched over the Magistrate's prone form, Klavaise examined the man, and finding him alive but stunned or shocked into silence, she snarled at Augustine and Phillip. "Pick up this fat man, you fools, or your Brother's sacrifice will have been in vain! It's too late to help him now anyway."

The truth and urgency of her words slapped Phillip and Augustine out of their shock, and they hoisted the Magistrate and hurried off, Klavaise following behind them, the bow in one hand, an arrow already knocked and ready. It was difficult to pull and fire without her middle finger, but she'd practiced enough to regain the knack some years ago, after her fingers had been taken. Her accuracy and speed were nowhere near good enough to qualify for her former high rank as a rogue, but she'd not have been allowed with ten leagues of the Monastery no matter how skillful her bow play, so that was rather a moot point.

The Brothers made good time, even while carrying the moaning Magistrate and sticking to back alleys, but they were still many blocks from the building they had first met in when Klavaise once again heard the baying of the acid beasts behind them.

"Those mongrels are on our scent, or probably the scent of their master. Does not your sect have any safe houses near by?"

Too winded to reply, the Brothers seemed to nod inside their cowls, for they changed course at the next intersection, daring to dash across a wide road before scooting into another alleyway.

Phillip spoke in spurts while gasping for breath.

"You must slow... the beasts... a moment, Lady Rogue... We need... a few seconds to... open the door..."

Klavaise hissed her understanding as she accelerated and ran past them, wishing she'd had time to put her boots back on.  Barefoot had been necessary to hear the footsteps of the Hidden, and to keep her balance, since her old boots were so worn and hard soled.

Just ahead of her in the alley, several crates were piled up, and she leapt over them, turning in mid air and landing with her bow readied, pointing down the alley towards the two brothers and their heavy cargo. Klavaise aimed past them, towards the street they had just crossed, the bright moonlight making it a good target area.

The brothers panted past her and continued on for another twenty feet before dropping the Magistrate at a small door. Klavaise looked over her shoulder and had to squint to see the low, narrow door they were struggling to unlock. It looked to connect to a basement level below the street level of the alley.

A hoarse yelp got her eyes back to the front, and she could see the outlines of the dogs in the darkness as they pelted up a distant alleyway, and headed across the bright street. Her first arrow was still on its way there when she had the second one knocked and was pulling it back.

The first was a beautiful shot, striking the lead acid beast in the right front shoulder. The animal stumbled and went down hard, sliding on its face and chest across the slick stones until it smashed into the curb and flipped over onto its back, breaking off the arrow shaft just above the flesh. The second dog never hesitated, continuing to charge at full speed. Klavaise's second arrow was low, penetrating the animal's left hind foot, glancing off the bone, and exiting to the side. It was barely a flesh wound, but it did knock the beast off stride.

Klavaise ducked down behind the crates, and threw a glance over her shoulder at the Brothers. They were just pushing the heavy door open. Wounded or not, the second dog would be upon them before she could help them drag the Magistrate inside and slam the door, that much was clear. She slapped at her bare belt, cursing herself for leaving her long sword as well as her boots in the hands of Octavious.

The range was too close for the arrows to be of any use, but the bow was treated wood, and the pull was very heavy. Holding it by one end, Klavaise readied, and then swung the bow low and hard when she heard the beast's paws slapping the cobblestones of the alley just feet away.

Her timing was perfect, and the bow met the acid beast's legs just as it pounded past the crates. The dog went head over heels, managing to spit one acid ball out, but it went wide and low, splashing across the stones and into the wall short of where the Brothers were dragging the semi-conscious Magistrate through the doorway. Klavaise grabbed up the bow from where the impact had knocked it from her hands, and dealt the fallen beast another vicious smack, this one to the head, just as it was getting to its feet.

The Magistrate's feet were just vanishing through the doorway, so Klavaise sprinted, hissing as she stepped over the acid splatters on the ground. The beast's spit was highly diluted, or it would have run out of acid by now, but it was still plenty to singe her bare feet.

As she neared the doorway, another man in a green cowl leapt out with a club nearly the size of an oar, and swinging it wildly. Klavaise was taken totally by surprise, but managed to dodge to the side, keeping her skull from being crushed. She lost her balance in the maneuver though, her feet flying out from under her on the garbage-slick stones, and she crashed hard into a brick wall, bruising her side and knocking a heap of crates over. Down and dazed, she looked up to see the green-robed man standing over her, his shillelagh held high overhead. After all this trouble, to be betrayed and beaten to death seemed so unfair.

Before the man could lower his club though, Brother Phillip popped back out the door and hissed, "No Jacob, not her! The acid dog!"

On queue, the beast was back on its feet and closing in. Worse yet, as Klavaise rolled over and allowed Phillip to pull her to her feet, she saw the first dog had recovered, and was hobbling purposefully up the alleyway on three legs, the arrow she'd put into its shoulder barely slowing it at all.

There was a meaty smack, as the new Brother landed a good shot to the lava maw's back. The dog went down, but got off a spit of acid that splattered all over the wooden club and the hands of the Brother who had been wielding it. He screamed and dropped the weapon, and Phillip dragged him inside, leaving the still dazed Klavaise standing in the doorway. She stepped into the darkness and shoved at the door, feeling someone, probably Augustine, pushing it next to her. Together they had it mostly closed when the second dog arrived and threw its weight into the doorway. Acid splashed off the wood and dripped down onto their feet, and all appeared lost until a bright light shone from behind them.

"Leave that one and get down here, quickly!" Brother Phillip shouted, and Klavaise gladly obeyed, turning and sprinting down the hallway past the slower-to-react Augustine.

A scream and the snarls of the lava maws' was all Klavaise needed to know of Augustine's fate, and she urged her aching body on, heading down the stone-walled hallway towards the iron gate Phillip was standing in, his hands ablaze with light. Two other Brothers were there in their green robes, dragging the protesting Magistrate past Phillip, and as Klavaise neared the iron bars, Phillip threw a switch, and a portcullis started to descend from out of the stone ceiling.

Klavaise ducked under it and threw the iron gate, but hesitated a moment as Phillip slammed the gate shut, and locked it with his key. The dogs were charging down the hallway on seven legs, the mauled and writhing body of Augustine left behind them. Phillip yanked his key out of the lock and grabbed her hand, dragging her after the other Brothers and the Magistrate. Klavaise picked up the pace, running sideways with one eye on the beasts. Of course twin globs of acid flew from them, but Klavaise was quick enough to shove Phillip to one side, and to dodge the acid herself. A bit splashed over her chain mail tunic, but by then they were out of range, and around another corner. She wanted to collapse, but Phillip lead on.

"We must get to the interrogation room and deal with Chalaran immediately." he said, letting go of her arm and setting a quick pace. They went through a metal door he paused to lock behind them, then down a very long flight of stairs, catching up with the two Brothers carrying the Magistrate near the bottom. Both men were puffing, as much from the weight as from the noise, for the Magistrate had returned to consciousness after being dazed when they dropped him outside the back door, and he was screaming, threatening, begging, and cursing them non-stop.

Klavaise stuck a dagger in his face and said, "Shut up right now old man, or I will poke out one of your eyes."

"Why you wench, you'd na dare such a trespass against a man such as myself. I can tell a bluff a..." That was as far as he got before Klavaise jabbed the knife down about two inches, driving it right into his eyeball and twisting the blade a quarter turn before pulling it back out. There was a sucking sound as she removed the blade, and gooey clear liquid with some blood seeped out of the jagged hole and ran down the side of the Magistrate's face.

Predictably enough, he screamed. Klavaise grabbed him by the hair and put the knife up to his other eye. "I will poke out the other one in three seconds if you do not shut up, and if that doesn't work I will cut off your balls and stick them in the empty sockets."

It took the Magistrate about half a breath to stifle his shrieks of pain. Klavaise put her dagger away, and they continued. She was glad that the Brothers hadn't dropped the body when she disciplined him, though Phillip's face and bald head was looking as green as his robe.

It wasn't much father to the interrogation room, just through another steel door Phillip had to unlock, down a flight of stairs, and then through one last door, this one at least ten feet high, and made of several inch thick steel. The room beyond it was just how Klavaise had hoped it would be. Several torture devices, a stone table with manacles, human-sized bird cage overhead. The Brothers dropped the Magistrate on the table, and began to fasten his hands into the metal rings.

"No, don't. You need to remove his clothing. All of it. Then chain him there."

Klavaise thought to herself, I could get to like this Brotherhood. They follow orders, and don't blink at a little pain and hardship. "How long until dawn?" she asked Phillip. "Couple of hours, you think?"

He frowned. "Aye, three at the most. Sun rises late here this time of year."

"I'll have to work fast then. It will be impossible in the day, and by tonight this man will have been missed, will he not? Alarms will be raised, searches made?"

"I would think so, yes." Brother Phillip replied.

By this time the two Brothers had stripped the Magistrate, except for his silk undershorts, and had him back on the table, the manacles at his wrists.

Klavaise said, "I said I wanted him totally stripped, but that's alright. Make sure you get those manacles as tight as you can. Don't worry about breaking any bones, he might as well start getting used to it."

A small whimper came from the man on the table, and Klavaise had to hide a smile.

The Brothers stepped back a moment later, the Magistrate secured. "Why don't you Brothers go up there and lock those dogs inside, and kill them before they draw too much attention? I noticed arrow slits in the ceiling and a portcullis near the outer door? Can you not pour boiling oil on them or something?" Klavaise asked.

Phillip turned and let the two Brothers out a different door than they had come in, then returned to the table where Klavaise stood, smiling down at the sniveling man, his one remaining eye blinking rapidly as tears welled out of it.

"Phillip, why don't you go with them? You really don't want to be here for this." Klavaise asked as she forced one of the Magistrate's kicking legs into a metal ring, held it over his ankle, and tightened the screw, crushing the clamp down on his leg until his toes began to turn purple.

"I think I do." the Brother replied.  "I need to know your plan for getting into his office and securing the necessary items and documents. And I was part of the capture, I want to see him talk. He could lie to you and out of your lack of knowledge about his office and this city, you'd never know, when I could help you spot any deception at once."

"Phillip, this man wouldn't lie to me. He knows better than that. And trust me, you really don't want to see this." Klavaise walked over to the Magistrate's discarded clothing, picked the large key ring that had been around his neck from the pile of silks and supple leathers, and walked back over the table with it.

"Now, Sir Magistrate, you are going to tell me what each and every one of these keys opens, how to open it, what sort of code words you use to soothe your pets, where they are likely to be when I get there, and anything else I might need to know to get into and out of your office safe and sound. Aren't you?"

The Magistrate sobbed twice, and said, "It wouldn't matter what I told you. They know me by sight and smell and touch, you'd be dead as soon as you entered the back patio, no matter what keys you had."

"Now Sir, I didn't ask you for that information, but as it was helpful, there will be no charge for it. But from now on, answer my questions directly, or I'll do things like this to you."

With that Klavaise put the keys around her own neck, reached up the leg of the Magistrate's shorts and grabbed hold of what she found there, her grip crushing. The man on the table howled and kicked with his one free leg, but at that Klavaise just took a firmer grip, and squeezed again, then slammed her hand down into the stone of the table three times.

Phillip stood up and wordlessly walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Klavaise watched him go with an ugly smile on her fact, and as the door slammed shut, she turned back to the weeping man on the table. "Well, now that he's gone we can really get serious, can't we Sir Magistrate?" Her words were heard, but the man on the table just went on sobbing, unable to believe his life had come to this so suddenly.

Klavaise worked fast, applying the best techniques she knew to be sure she was getting the whole truth. Personal experience came in handy several times. "Now this hurt like hell when they did it to me, so I really hate to subject another person to it, but how else can I be sure that this red key really is just the back door to your mistress' house?"

___________________________

Some time later Klavaise looked down at the broken body before her, a gleam of false pity in her eyes.

"Well, that's about everything, and since you've been a good boy, most of the time, I'm going to end it quickly." The Magistrate looked up with his one pleading eye, blood and spittle shining on his face, and turned his attention towards Brother Phillip, who had just entered the room.

"It will be dawn in less than an hour. Are you almost finished?"

"You have excellent timing Brother. I was just finishing up. This knife is sharp enough, but I'd really prefer something with a very thin blade. Do you have anything like that?

"I could probably find you something in the kitchen. What do you need it for, if I might ask?"

"Why to skin him, of course. Hadn't you guessed that by now?" With that she drove the long dagger she held through his remaining staring eye and deep into the brain. The Magistrate kicked once, and then was still.

"See? I told you I'd make it quick in the end." Klavaise said to the corpse, trailing her fingertips gently across his forehead.

Brother Phillip managed to walk across the room, but once he was outside the door he broke into a shambling, clumsy run, bouncing off the walls as he gasped for breath and shook. Such cold-hearted evil. How had he come to be in business with such a soulless creature?

He returned to the interrogation room (though he was having more and more trouble clinging to that euphemism when it was so clearly a torture chamber) ten minutes later, a very thin-bladed dagger in hand. As he walked in he felt he should shield his eyes, both for modesty's sake on one hand, and to keep himself from vomiting on the other. The scarred woman had already skinned the Magistrate, dumped the bloody carcass on the floor, and was standing there in her leggings, her scarred and acid-eaten chain tunic on the floor. She wore only a very thin undershirt, and regarded the approaching Brother with a small grin.

"You can look Brother. It's not like I have anything to hide." Klavaise said in a quiet voice.

Phillip looked saw that her words were true. There was no womanly swelling at her chest whatsoever. This was made much more evident an instant later, when she suddenly snatched up her undershirt and draped it over her battered chainmail tunic, which was hanging on an iron hook sticking out of the wall.

Phillip was at once too slow and too horrified to look away, so he stared at her body. And he had thought the scars on her hands and face were bad. Both of her breasts were simply gone, replaced by a ragged scar across the chest. There weren't even any visible nipples remaining. Other scars zigged and zagged down over her shoulders and down her muscular belly, vanishing out of sight at her belt line. She turned around halfway, letting him see the white trails running down her back and sides in just as great a profusion.

"By all the Angels in heaven. What happened to you?" Phillip hated to just blurt it out like that, but he was so shocked at the state of her body that all tact was gone. He could now see how she acted so callously and without regard for human life. Living through such incredible torture had to have hardened her soul and blackened her heart.

Klavaise turned back around and stood looking at the Brother for a few seconds, her hands at her side. She had never allowed anyone to see her mutilated body like this before, and she found it strangely comforting. Of course he was horrified. Of course he was disgusted. So what? Most people felt that way just looking at her face. It wasn't the end of the world.

"I betrayed my fellow rogues, and attempted to usurp the leadership, and I was punished for it. When the people torturing you have an unlimited supply of healing potions, and helpers to pour them right down your throat, the damage they can do without killing you is quite amazing, isn't it?

"Now help me put this on, would you? It needs to fit almost perfectly at the head and hands, less so elsewhere, as I'll be wearing his clothing. We need to hurry, as his pets are stupid animals, but in the light of dawn I think even they will see through this, no matter how proper I smell. I also need a bucket of water. Once I get into my Magistrate suit I'll need to wash off most of the blood, or else the smell of that will be so strong that the pets will be aroused to it. Oh yes, and a bottle of alcohol. The smell of that will mask the blood stink, and he said the pets know to expect him to behave less rationally when he comes home stinking of drink."

Brother Phillip could hardly keep up with the requests, but he pushed back his sleeves as she sorted through the heaps of flesh on the table. It was actually the man's skin, carved right off of the bone and muscle. Phillip felt his stomach do a slow flop. What had she called it? A Magistrate suit? He choked back an insane chuckle.

"You know, modesty serves me no purpose. I really don't want to get back here in a couple of hours and have to keep wearing these leggings with them totally soaked in Magistrate blood." And at that she stood up and peeled off her pants, leaving herself totally naked. Phillip felt himself staring again, but this time it was at more than the scars. Her legs were well formed, beneath the white lines, and he felt his body stir at the sight of a naked woman. Her privates had been scarred as well, and looked nearly scoured, with no hair growing from the smooth white flesh, but he found this strangely arousing. It was bizarre to feel himself growing attracted to this woman, in this setting, but after all, his sect swore no vows of chastity.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't wish to, but I really feel like I should ask you your name, given the circumstances."

Klavaise was used to avoiding such questions, or just lying when asked them, but this time she simply replied, "Klavaise."

Phillip smiled and pulled his gaze away from her eyes, only to find them drawn back to her naked flesh.

Klavaise felt his eyes on her, and hid a smile. Was she perhaps not totally undesirable after all? This was neither the time nor the place to get into that though, so she sat back down on the cold and bloody table, and pulled the Magistrate's flesh up her bare legs. It was still warm, but was very slick and slimy. Truly awful.

She had made almost all of her incisions down the back of the man's body, and had wanted several times to quit and wear just the head and hands, but she knew she was visibly slimmer than the Magistrate had been, and that her life depended on not just resembling, but passing for him. Identical, that was her guideline, at least beneath a hooded cloak.

With Phillip helping she quickly got the legs on, the quick stitches she had made with the heavy thread she carried for repairs on the road holding well enough. One leg was attached to the torso flesh, and she slithered into the cold, clammy thing, looking down at the male genitalia she had left attached to the front and laughing. Phillip followed her gaze and laughed also, though his was a bit more of a laugh of sickness. The dead flesh had such a meaty stink, and was so steeped in blood, to look at it sliding over the skin of a woman he had been aroused by just a moment before brought on some very odd and mixed sensations.

The rest of the Magistrate suit went on quickly, with only the face and head taking some time. Klavaise had been forced to cut it along the hair line to get the face off while preserving the features, and of course there was nothing inside the mouth. She licked her lips, licking the Magistrate's lips at the same time, and Phillip felt his stomach twist again. There was blood all over her/his face, and the skin looked dead, lying over her forehead and cheeks without wrinkles of animation.

"You better keep to the shadows; the face is waxen-looking."

"I think you are right. I'll need a hooded cloak to wear.  I suspect his pets won't notice that small of a change in clothing."

Phillip took the needle and thread Klavaise had left on the table, and put a few more stitches in the back of the head, then picked up the discarded Magistrate's clothing and said, "Come up to the main level. We can wash off the blood more easily there, and then dress you."

Klavaise followed him, her bare feet padding over the stone as she followed him up. She had cut off the Magistrate at the ankles, knowing she'd be wearing his shoes and socks, and figuring she'd never get the toes to fit anyway.

In the main kitchen two Brothers up before dawn to prepare breakfast for the order started at the sight of Brother Phillip and the naked Magistrate, but they followed Phillip's orders without complaint and washed the body off carefully, then helped dry and dress it.

As they walked towards a rear door, Phillip said, "We need to hurry Klavaise, dawn is nigh. I will walk you back to his compound."

"Fine. Do you know the way to the rear entrance? That was the one he usually used, and it's the shortest way to his records room. If all goes well, I should be in there no more than half an hour. The Magistrate kept his records very neatly organized, and was able to tell me exactly where all the important items were. Quite a memory he had, at least once I gave him some incentives to remember."

There were at the door by now, and Phillip produced two keys, taking one off of the ring he wore them on, then inserting them both into locks about two feet apart and turning them simultaneously in opposite directions.

The walk to the Magistrate's quarters was not a long one, but the sky was noticeably lightening when they arrived.

"I'll be quick." Klavaise said, her voice muffled a bit by the flesh that hung down over her face. Phillip watched the man's jaw open and close mechanically, without any visible musculature beneath the skin, and said, "Keep your face out of sight as much as possible, and don't speak unless absolutely necessary. I'll wander around the block for a while, waiting for you to make it out."

The Magistrate nodded, and crossed the street alone, heading towards his house with his normal, peculiar walk, his left leg moving more quickly than the right. Phillip was amazed at the mimicry Klavaise was putting on, though he felt a chill down his back as a high-pitched yapping began, echoing over the high outer stone wall. The beasts could hear or smell their master returning, more than likely. Phillip forced himself not to look after the Magistrate, and walked away to the south, fearing that he had seen the last of Klavaise.

Over two hours later it was full daylight, and Brother Phillip was growing weary of his pacing. He had detoured briefly off his "around the block" route just once, to visit a bakery a short distance away. There he bought a bag of fresh pastries, and an entire pot of coffee, paying for the pot as well, so he'd have something to carry it away from the shoppe in.

That had taken him just a few minutes, but as the quarter hours passed and the pastries in the bag dwindled, he became more and more sure that Klavaise had somehow exited the compound in the brief time he was away, or else had been discovered and killed, and that he had missed hearing the commotion.

His recent feelings of warmth for her were fading rapidly, as he reminded himself of his duty. Three brothers had died, two of them very senior officials in the sect, and for what? Likely for nothing at all. And they had murdered the city Magistrate, a man who had indeed borne them some ill will, but who hadn't been trying to kill them, or put their sect out of existence. For greed he had done this, greed and foolishness.

The sudden frantic barking of the lava maws got his attention, and Phillip picked up his bag of pastries (the coffee was long ago consumed and the pot handed to a passing beggar who had probably already sold it for a few coins) and walked towards the rear gate, pulling his hood down a bit, as there were some passerby on the streets, and he didn't want anyone to get a look at his face, though the dark green robe of his sect was unmistakable.

The heavy rear gate of the Magistrate's compound opened, and the Magistrate himself emerged, shutting and locking the gate carefully behind himself. He was a bit oddly attired for a warm morning that was sure to turn into a hot day, wearing a heavy travel cloak with a cowl that pulled down over his face, and gloves. He carried a large satchel over one shoulder, and walked bent over, as though it was very heavy. He also had no dogs walking with him, and as he never left his compound without a few pets, the few of the citizens who saw him that morning assumed that some of those horrid unseen beasts must be with him, and shuddered at the thought of bumping into one of them while passing the man on the sidewalk.

The Magistrate took no notice of anyone, but walked straight across the wide stone street, weaving a bit with his short leg and the heavy bag he shouldered. The Magistrate was seen by several witnesses to fall into step beside one of the Brothers of the Emerald Sect, which was a surprise, as they had been publicly feuding for some time. The two men walked off together, heads bent close in conversation, and only the blind man they passed a block to the north heard the slapping foot steps after the two men walked past.

He had heard such footsteps before, always with the Magistrate, but never before had there been more than two or three of the creatures walking with him, and they had never before been more than a pace or three behind that powerful man. This time there were many slapping steps, as though at least a dozen of the creatures followed him, and they were much farther behind the Magistrate and the other man, as though they wanted to follow and observe, but remain unnoticed by the two men they stalked.

But as he was only a blind man begging on a street corner, ignored by almost everyone, he said nothing about the incident to anyone, even after Magistrate Chalaran was never seen again after that day.

Thus ends our tale.  See the Discussion page for more information and reader feedback.

 • The Magistrate Suit, Main Page.
 • The Magistrate Suit, Part One.
 • The Magistrate Suit, Part Two.
 • The Magistrate Suit, Discussion. Spoilers!

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