After spending the better part of the afternoon chasing dead ends, the group headed back to the Ink Pot. A silhouette of the Light of the Claw stood out against the dying rays of the sun as it set in the west. As they came around the wall of Old Town, the unmistakable thwack of crossbow bolts striking the wall drove them toward a nearby alley.

“A trap!” shouted Ivy, rolling low and into hiding behind an ash cart as a band of brigands with bright green armbands emerged from the far end of the alley.

“Behind as well,” said Rayus, shield and mace ready.

Ashja heard Zantu mutter behind her, and a bolt of lightning shot past, dropping the bandit Ivy had just hamstrung.

Drawing her greatsword, she heard Rayus yell, “Zantu, mage!”

“On it.”

Ashja sidestepped the pair in front of her and smiled as an attacker in studded armor, carrying a steel shield and swinging an axe, rushed past. She swung as he passed, catching him in the leg, just above his greaves. Whirling, she attacked the brigand still behind her, completing her circle as the man fell. With all the attackers from the alleyway dead, she faced the rest of her group.

The mage lay on the ground, scorched, a black hole smoking his robe. Rayus turned to the last bandit standing. He turned and ran toward Shantytown.

Ashja turned to the man in armor lying on the ground.

“You was supposed to get hurt, not kill me crew!”

“Oh,” said Ashja. “Did you expect us to not defend ourselves?”

“Well…”

“We could kill you too,” said Zantu, his soft voice carrying a threat. “You wouldn’t feel left out then. Tell us who you are and who hired you, and maybe you’ll see your family again.”

“Who are you?” asked Rayus.

The man stood straighter. “Me name’s Ottorio.”

“And what does Ottorio do in Port Freehaven?”

“I be a… a dock hand.”

Zantu leaned in close. “Is that all?”

“N… No.”

“And…”

“I… I… sometimes do a bit o’ side work for uh…” his voice trailed off.

“Do go on.”

“I done this for a… a friend…”

“Your friend has a name, yes?”

“E… Enriko. Look, I don’t know nothing about Enriko, really, I don’t.”

“I thought you said he was your friend?”

“He’s a friend that sometimes gives me jobs, is all. He has money, and that’s enough for us.”

“Us, huh?” asked Ashja. “Didn’t you just say we killed your crew?”

“Well, uh…”

“Does ‘us’ have anything to do with this?” asked Rayus. “Your crew isn’t the only group we’ve seen wearing them.”

“Ottorio, Ottorio,” said Zantu. “Don’t you know the truth is always better than a lie?”

“Look, Enriko gave me this,” he pulled a bone-handled dagger from his belt. “He said he had more when we finished roughing you up.”

“Hey!” said Ivy, “that’s Mal’s!” She grabbed it from him. “See?” she pointed to a crudely carved letter. “That’s the ‘M’ I carved on the handle. M, for Mal.”

“Where shall we meet your friend Enriko?” asked Zantu.

“Here,” Ottorio dug into a pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of parchment.

Seven bells. Crows Nest. Were the words written in neat letters.

“Well, then,” said Ashja, grabbing Ottorio’s arm and pulling him to his feet. “Take us to the Crows Nest.”