Deprimer and Krelldutt step out of the Blue Water Inn into the cold evening air, their breath misting as Danika waves them off with a promise to meet them later. They make their way through Vallaki’s winding streets to an alley that offers a shadowed view of the Burgomaster’s Mansion. Hunched in the darkness, they speak in low voices about capturing Krieger, who attempted to overthrow Deprimer. Both assume the traitor has holed up inside the mansion.
The jingle of coins announces the approach of two Vallakian soldiers moving down the central street. Deprimer calls softly to get their attention. Private Archibald and Sergeant Wilhelm turn into the alley, the private clutching two leather sacks heavy with the coins gathered in Deprimer’s tax collection. The group huddles together, and Wilhelm warns that they should approach the mansion cautiously. Deprimer asks about the loyalty of the guards posted outside by the mansion’s front door. Wilhelm tells him that he believes they are all loyal, but Archibald shakes his head, insisting that only two remain trustworthy—one of them a Red Knight.
Instead, they decide to enter through the back door to try to take Krieger by surprise. Deprimer turns to Wilhelm and demands his officer’s whistle so he can summon reinforcements if needed. Wilhelm’s jaw tightens. He surrenders the whistle with obvious reluctance, warning that its shriek can be heard throughout Vallaki and will certainly alert Krieger himself. Deprimer nods and orders Archibald to stay behind to guard the gold.
They creep around to the rear of the mansion. Deprimer slips through the kitchen door. His chef looks up from chopping vegetables, eyes widening in surprise. “Burgomaster! Do you need anything?”
“Nothing,” Deprimer says quietly. “Tell me where Krieger is.”
The chef wipes his hands on his apron, frowning. “I don’t know, sir. It sounded as if the captain left in an unhappy state a little while ago, but I’ve been working in the kitchens. I can’t say why he was upset.” He hesitates. “Though I did hear from a guard who came searching through here afterward. He said the Burgomaster had ordered him to arrest the tortle, Krelldutt.”
The chef glances nervously through the kitchen window at Krelldutt lurking in the rear yard. “So you have captured him?”
Deprimer shakes his head. “Krelldutt is not under arrest. Can he stay here, out of sight, in the kitchen?”
The chef nods uncertainly.
Deprimer edges out of the kitchen and peers down the hallway. He spots a blue guard, a Red Knight, and Dunlar chatting by the front door. He gestures, and Dunlar approaches, his expression shifting to surprise. “Burgomaster! I didn’t notice you come down the stairs.”
Deprimer keeps his voice low. “Krieger attempted to assassinate me earlier today. Now he’s on the run.”
Dunlar blinks. “But… you had Krieger arrested on charges of treason for threatening your life. He’s been taken to the stocks. He’ll likely hang at sunset this evening.”
“I never gave such an order,” Deprimer whispers.
Dunlar’s face pales. “But the arrest was ordered by someone. It was you, Burgomaster. The execution of Krieger—and Krelldutt.”
“There’s someone,” Deprimer says carefully, “an imposter who looks and sounds like me.”
Dunlar gasps. “That’s why I didn’t see you come down the stairs. Because you didn’t. Which means the false Deprimer is still on the second floor of the mansion.”
Krelldutt emerges from the kitchen, having overheard the exchange. He and Deprimer exchange grim nods.
Krelldutt returns to the kitchen, a price currently on his head. Dunlar and Deprimer move to the front hall. The blue guard and the Red Knight turn to listen to their Burgomaster’s order. Deprimer feels hostility radiating from the guard, though the knight remains unreadable. He orders them upstairs, gesturing for the two to go first before following with Dunlar.
The blue guard sprints suddenly, climbing upward two stairs at a time, shouting a warning. “An imposter Burgomaster approaches!”
Deprimer barks at Wilhelm. “Knock him out before he warns the imposter!”
Wilhelm lunges, trying to wrap his arms around the charging guard, but the man slips free.
None of them know that the false Burgomaster is actually Duster in disguise. Briefly, Duster considers using Rictavio’s magical top hat to transform himself into the elvish performer, though he worries about the very few words he can mimic that might allow him to imitate Rictavio’s voice.
Instead, wearing Deprimer’s face, Duster emerges from the office and steps into the upstairs hallway. “What is going on?”
The two Deprimers meet, eyeing one another with suspicion. To decide who the real Burgomaster is, the actual Deprimer suggests comparing their signet rings to determine authenticity. He volunteers Dunlar to examine each ring and determine which is genuine. “Dunlar knows exactly what the ring looks like,” Deprimer explains. “He wore it himself as Burgomaster pro tem while I was out of the city.”
Duster, speaking in Deprimer’s voice, objects. “Wilhelm should hold the rings so they cannot be switched. I cannot trust Dunlar to hold them, but I will accept his judgment of which ring is real.”
Duster, struggling to remain impassive beneath his disguise, realizes that the imitation Burgomaster’s ring he fashioned will not match the real one. The signets are surrendered. Wilhelm holds each ring flat on his palms for Dunlar to judge.
Before he can do so, Duster whispers an arcane phrase and makes a tiny hand signal. Wilhelm and Dunlar notice the gesture but do not recognize it as spellcasting. Duster summons his invisible Mage Hand and sends it to jostle Wilhelm’s hands. The two rings tumble onto the thick carpet. The guard throws himself after them, handing them back to Wilhelm. He is unsure which ring came from which hand.
With the rings switched, the group fall to squabbling about which hand the true ring had rested on. Exasperated, Deprimer proposes showing his Liber Gothicus text to confirm his identity. He pulls it from his pack. Duster, arranges his Deprimer face in outrage, also claims he has one by his bedside. The actual Deprimer waves his, and says to him, “Let’s go see…”.
⚔
Rakthe makes several wild attacks at Doru, still blinded by Komzin’s Darkness spell. His weapon strikes something soft. Conwan’s body bobs into the water, drifting away from Rakthe. Doru, his claws torn away, lunges forward and attempts to grapple Rakthe. He tears at her, and blood sheets down her front. Although they are blind, they can feel Doru’s forearms wrapped around them yanking them back. Doru has snapped at her twice, and been repelled by their gorgette, but he keeps coming.
At the end of the cellblock, Komzin peers through a small grate. He can see that the water on the far side of the door is far higher than inside, where he stands. Komzin hurls himself brutally against the door. The wood and iron bindings warps on the hinges. Water rushes through the gap, streaming past his legs. Komzin recalls that flowing water is like acid to vampires, and he hopes the same holds true for their spawn. Again he throws himself against the door. It does not open, but flexes enough for the water inside to begin flowing out into the corridor.
Behind Komzin, Doru begins to shriek.
