They finally put out the fire in Gem Spire around the early evening. Half a hundred harpies guarded the tower, with Supreme One knows how many were investigating inside. Kanae continued watching from the safety of the association outpost all day. At no point did she ever see them pulling any bodies out, no sign of Petyr or Riley either. But it wasn't as if she had a full view of the spire, only one side of it. She hoped that Petyr would come through the front door at any moment, charred and pissed off, but no one except association merchants visited.

Someone rapped their knuckles on Kanae's room door. A different high elf entered, followed by Edina.

"No dice." Edina shook her head. "I sent a couple of undead rats into the tower and found some bodies. Haven't found Petyr or Riley yet. Guards are combing around the place like flies to a carcass though. Sheesh."

"We can't afford to sit idle for much longer, Amethyst. Losing Petyr is a devastating blow to our overall strength, but her sacrifice has granted us a rare opportunity. As Edina said, Elusis' guards are all over Gem Spire. There are less eyes around the rest of the upper-city. You will have no better opportunity to return than now. Ujit has suggested you go back up via Jahree's temple spire," Patrice explained.

Kanae sighed and peeled herself from the window at last. "We don't even know where to start anymore. The Knight of Red could be anywhere, too. Never mind the Dervish Five, the Dryoak Consortium's also yoked up with elemental powers. We only have a handful of us against an entire country. Elusis is gearing up for war against Avanesse and Bravost after all. What were we even thinking, coming here like this?"

The archbishop strolled into the room and stood where Kanae had for hours by the window. Her gaze lifted to Gem Spire, which endured both the fire and battle earlier in the day, and would probably continue to endure for centuries to come.

"Two hundred years after the high elves fled across the seas and founded the Empire of Ortesia, they sailed back to reclaim their discarded kingdom. The leadership of Radevic surrendered without so much as a whimper. It happened overnight, and thus a third leadership— Archbishop— was established, solely to be occupied by a high elf of Ortesia. As a result, Radevic existed only to serve as livestock to be milked by the empire, further fueling their conquest of the western continent," Archbishop Patrice recounted in her lecture voice.

"King Derrin and Grand Eye Loworth. Yeah, I know about them from classes in Knights' Academy. But why the history lesson?" Kanae groaned.

"History does not suffer the coward and easily surrendered. It will always remember, use them as examples, and make lessons out of. King Derrin and Grand Eye Loworth are remembered as weaklings who kowtowed to the empire. Amethyst, you founded a nation. You repelled an invasion from a power thought impossible to resist. It certainly won't end with you running from Elusis."

Kanae clenched her fists and sucked in a deep breath. The archbishop was right. She didn't come all this way to just give up. She came to rescue Sivvy Brenhallow, find Seven, and put a stop to the Harpy King's conquest. Whether or not Petyr was dead didn't change that. There would be time to mourn later.

The trio headed downstairs, where everyone was at a loss over what to do next. When they saw Kanae, some of them rose to their feet with purpose again.

"Sorry for moping. It's not going to happen again. If Petyr was still here, she would talk smack about how idle we were. Ujit, you suggested I go talk to Jahree again, right? What if Nasiri kidnapped him?" Kanae asked.

"I doubt it. Not unless they want to cause an even bigger scene. With my disappearance and the burning of Gem Spire, imprisoning an Exalted Mystic disciple may show people the Harpy King is losing control of the city. Find Jahree. He will be more caught up with the state of Elusis than I," Ujit explained.

Kanae nodded. Renya and Edina grabbed their things to follow along, but someone raced up to them at the door. It was Kara, geared up and with the enchanted rapier on her waist.

"If it's alright, I want to join you. I'm still inexperienced and only a Rookie… but Seven and Theena have to be somewhere in the upper-city. I just know it. The adventurers hall there might be the best place to check," Kara said.

"It might be really dangerous. You sure?" Kanae asked, turning to Camilla behind her sister.

"Kara's her own woman. I don't make choices for her. If you take Kara along, just keep her safe for me." Camilla smiled.

"Alright, then. Let's get going, Kara." She beckoned the Rookie.

The group of four ventured out into the under-city and made for the spire Jahree resided in. They approached from the bottom, intending to enter where they had emerged from last time.

However, a group of people crowded around the hatch that led inside. None of them looked like upper-city residents. In fact, Kanae vaguely recognized some who were in attendance when Jahree was giving a sermon.

A young dark elven mother with a baby swaddled and harnessed on her back turned around. She squinted at them for a moment before her eyes went wide.

"Oh, hello. You came into the spire the other day when Exalted Jahree ended earlier, didn't you?" The lady adjusted the harness as her baby cooed.

"Yeah. We're trying to go up. What's happening here?" Kanae asked.

"We were hoping to see Exalted Jahree for another prayer service. Sometimes he invites priests to come and perform healing magic. But the entrance is boarded up. Probably from the inside. No one can get in. Maybe the Harpy King found out and put a stop to it." She looked to the ground and sighed.

"The hells would he do that for? What's the harm in letting you all go to church?" Renya cocked her head.

"You're asking us!" an angry human yelled. "They don't let us go up, but will come down every month to collect our taxes."

"Exalted Jahree has been seeing us at considerable risk to himself. Even worse, that he still practices the old spiritual ways also risks drawing the Harpy King's ire." A particularly demure woman clasped both hands together, gazing up worriedly at the spire.

The crowd began to grow unruly, with some planning to crack open the hatch and go up there themselves. Some considered grabbing weapons in case the Harpy King's soldiers were holding Jahree hostage. It was starting to make sense how they avoided conflict until recently. Ujit seemed to be right on the money that the citizens were getting restless. Violence was just over the horizon, and given what Kanae had seen from Elusis' fighting force, it wasn't going to end pretty.

Before Kanae could say anything, Renya fired a shot into the ground. Everyone cried. They hunched over and ducked. It wasn't until the baby woke up and started wailing did they look up. Their eyes fell to the blackened cobbled ground, sizzling from an arcane bolt.

"Be honest, who flinched?" Renya asked the crowd. "All of ya. That means you ain't ready to pick a fight. There's no need to be a hero just yet. We'll go up there and see if your holy man is doing okay."

They stepped aside for Kanae and the others to walk up to the hatch. Sure enough, it wouldn't open. Someone had reinforced the other side pretty well. Kanae balled up a fist and punched through it using Titanic Blow. Splinters went flying. A few more strikes opened a hole large enough for them to crawl in.

A few of the under-city residents offered their blessings and pleaded for them to protect Jahree. The group promised to do just that, then made the long way up the temple spire's bowels.

After climbing up all the stairs and ladders, however, the second hatch leading into the temple itself wouldn't budge. Again, likely boarded up. Kanae punched through the paltry blockade and pushed her way into the dark storage room. 

Someone threw open the door. A harried elven cleric gasped.

"Ex… Exalted Jahree, I told you the planks weren't enough!" she shouted.

"What?" Jahree poked his head into view and groaned. "Oh, by Glentir's broken horn… I boarded that up to keep people from entering. For their own safety! If the Harpy King's minions find anyone from the under-city here, he will have them executed."

"Lucky for you— and them— we convinced them not to storm up here. Ujit asked us to come find you again. She believes you can point us in the right direction. But… One of our own is gone. We need to find a way to even the playing field. Is there anything you can tell us that can cripple the Harpy King? Or know anything about an foreign harpy woman that came down from the north?" Kanae asked.

"Foreign…" he muttered with a hint of recognition.

Jahree invited them upstairs since a storage room wasn't the place to hold conversation. He brought the group to a cozy cafeteria. Two long tables stretched the length of the dining chamber. There were few ornaments and only open windows to light the floor. A few members of the clergy quietly ate supper. They occupied one end of the table, and Jahree had one of his people bring some herbal tea.

Now that they were in the light, Kanae noticed the bruise around Jahree's neck. He had a black right eye, too. Courtesy of Nasiri, no doubt.

"You mentioned a harpy woman that came down from the north. I believe I have seen her before. However, this was years ago," Jahree said.

"Anything that can help," Kanae insisted.

"There was a time when the Harpy King spent almost a year in Buhar. Ujit grew worried about his absence, and in her old age, was too frail to make the pilgrimage. So she sent me and several other disciples to check on him. At first, we were turned away. But he wasn't yet the tyrant that we know of him today. Once it became clear to him that we wouldn't leave, his guards allowed us into the monastery grounds. We were granted an audience with a Harpy King, but his men were in the middle of leading a rather unruly harpy woman away. She was screaming. Furious. What brief glimpse I caught of her… bright orange plumage and wings of obsidian. Dark eyeshadow and long savage brows. Fierce countenance. Could that be who you're looking for?"

"Probably… It looks like Buhar is where we need to go then. I got to hold the answers to the Harpy King's elemental powers," she wondered aloud.

"If that is your intended destination, you will be in for a very bad time. It is heavily guarded. Likely, one or two members of the Dervish Five are guarding the place, too," he explained.

And without Petyr, they definitely posed a problem now.

It was clear to Kanae they would have a fight on their hands in Buhar. Going there could also very well be the end of their journey if things turned sideways. She thanked Jahree and gathered the others to leave when he ushered them towards a hidden exit out back. He pushed some shelves aside in the pantry to reveal a door.

"Ujit trusts you. I hope her faith in you is firm. Please be careful as you wander the upper-city. You will never know where the Harpy King may have eyes," Jahree said.

They slinked out the back door onto a creaky wooden bridge, seemingly built underneath a much larger stone bridge that connected to another spire. It must have been used during the stone one's construction. From there, they took a step ladder onto the upper bridge, slipping unseen into the crowds of Elusis.

Kanae bumped the shoulder of a wealthy harpy man, who turned his nose up at her and strutted off in an offended manner. The group crossed to the opposite spire, which was made of multiple floors of open plazas and parks. Harpy children flew about and rested on perches jutting from the spire. Trees grew from giant garden beds, some with branches dangling over the ledge.

A dark elven boy and human girl played hopscotch on the chalk-drawn floor. The boy reminded Kanae of Nelly when he was younger. But a teenage harpy shoved the kids aside and wiped the smile from her face. Their peers snickered in response.

Kanae snarled. She moved to do something about it, but Renya grabbed her arm.

"Now ain't the time to get all up and arms about being a goody-goody hero for some kids," Renya said.

"Not even a little?" Kanae frowned.

"Kids bully each other all the time. Builds character. I got adopted into a minotaur family, remember? You think I got tough by having the old man tell them off?" She flashed a grin.

Kanae let it go, but Kara walked past them. The group of harpy teens stopped laughing when she loomed over them.

"Y-You got a problem lady?" The harpy who had pushed the boy down tensed up.

The feline beastman gave a glance over each of them, then strolled past. She kneeled down next to the boy and offered a hand. He grabbed it, got pulled up, and Kara dusted his shoulders before sending the pair off.

"Damn. If it was me, I'd kick 'em all in the nuts first. Or maybe the Outriders messed up my sense of childhood." Edina shrugged.

"Same." Renya nodded.

"Theena taught me that we shouldn't look for conflict if they can be avoided. Things are better if… we can all be friends." Kara anxiously pressed her hands together.

"Ignore those two. You're a better person than all three of us. But Kara…" Kanae rested a hand on the girl's shaking shoulders. "I can tell you're angry about what Theena did. It's okay to let your emotions out sometimes."

Kara pursed her lips like she wanted to say something, but ultimately swallowed her breath. The trembling stopped when one hand found purchase on the rapier Camilla had given her.

They pressed on towards Elusis' adventurers hall known locally as The Roost. It was an entire tower, whose mural depicted warriors and fighters from across the ages. Contrasting stones on the lower and upper parts showed the age of the spire, as well as the continued construction to build it higher over the years.

Every few floors was a half-circle terrace that protruded out, where adventurers lounged under the warmth of the sun. Some had large pavilions or canopies to shade them. Archways and openings in the spire received harpy visitors, who also left from the same way. Lifts were constantly in motion going to and from the floors.

Kanae led the way into The Roost by a stone bridge. A couple of carriages were parked outside, and one wagon pulled up to the building. Wingless adventurers hopped down, talking up a storm about their latest quest. At the very least, this place wasn't entirely dominated by harpies.

The first thing they saw entering The Roost was a giant petrified tree in the middle of the room. Receptionists conducted their business behind a counter that surrounded the fossilized ancient. Bones of slain dire beasts and other behemoths were displayed around the chamber, trophies from the halls' own adventurers.

"Excuse me!" Kara raced up to the beady-eyed harpy receptionist. "I'm looking for a harpy boy."

"Ma'am, do you know how little that narrows things down?" the woman groaned.

"Oh, uhm… He's a Rookie. Goes by the name, Seven. Has blue feathers. Kind of a hot head," she answered nervously.

"Hmm. I'm so sorry, it's not coming to me. Let me go ask the chief about your friend. He has a special ledger that keeps track of The Roost's members and rank."

Kara lit up. The receptionist stood up and bowed once before taking her leave. They waited for a few minutes, then took a seat made up of tree stumps when it seemed that this would take some time. Another receptionist stood up, and another. Eventually, the chamber looked a lot more deserted than before.

"I don't like that it got so quiet." Edina stood up.

"Huh? What's happening?" Renya, who had been lying down on a bench, snorted half-asleep.

Echoing footfalls alerted the group to the stairs that led to the upper floor. A lone elf descended to meet them. He was bald, his skin a deep reddish brown and boasted many tattoos of runic designs. A maroon robe with gold and black trim gave him the distinct appearance of nobility.

"You're the elf that attacked Sultana Dudula with the other Dervishes," Kanae said.

"Correct." The calm elf nodded, his voice steady and face showing no fear. "I didn't have the opportunity to introduce myself at the time. I am Toro Squa, the Scorching Dervish, leader of the Dervish Five, and chief of The Roost. If my intel is correct, you are Kanae, Edina, Renya, and Kara. Imagine my surprise when my staff informed me you were looking for Seven and described your appearances."

Renya drew her guns, and Edina pulled both the Scythe of Soul Reaping and Pillar of the Damned out of a portal.

"Let me guess. You took all that sweet time making us wait to call for help?" Kanae asked.

"Oh, not at all. It was merely to grant us some privacy. You see, I'm not like Sofisa, who wants nothing other than to do battle, or Grahib, who feels like he always has something to prove. I much prefer diplomacy. You want Seven, isn't that right?" Toro asked.

"Yes!" Kara shouted back promptly.

"Then how about a trade? I'll bring you Seven in exchange for Ujit," he suggested.

Kanae and her side held their poker faces.

"We're supposed to know who that is?" Kanae asked.

"Don't play coy with me. It is no coincidence she disappeared around the same time as your arrival in Elusis. I wonder how much she has told you. Would you still protect her even if I tell you that Ujit is the Harpy King's mother, the very architect who carved open the rift into the Primal Planes and infused an elemental lord into him?" Toro raised a brow.

"What?! I mean… shit!" She clicked her tongue.