The mornings in Sol City were gradually becoming colder and colder as the days slowly inched their way towards yet another winter.
Ambika helped herself to some tea and was reading the newspaper by a bar counter when a surprised voice echoed from behind her, around the middle of a flight of stairs.
"Ambika! Are you sure you should already be up?" Laertes, the owner of the establishment and home she was currently seated in, exclaimed.
"You would leave my mind to its own devices?" Ambika replied plainly.
"...Sigh. I suppose not." He was one of the few whom she was personally close enough for her to show glimpses of weakness to, and whatever little he had the misfortune of bearing witness to was enough to convince him she likely had a point.
Ambika returned to her (well, actually Laertes') newspaper and continued reading the headlines. The rumours of people and animals alike disappearing certainly hadn't reduced in the slightest, it seemed, and it appeared the same applied even to the upper echelons of society. She briefly wondered if most of those rumours had the same culprits as the mystery she had just solved as she flipped the newspaper over to another page, which had an updated list of missing persons plastered over it. She had no real obligation to look through it, but it was a rare occasion where she was in the mood to burn away some time. Anything to distract herself from the events of the night before.

Ambika would come to regret her decision when her eyes fell on the surname Haysinthe. The thought of shapeshifting, cannibalistic monsters devouring that bastard family was like a guilty pleasure, but she knew Florentio wouldn't have allowed that even if nobody in his former family gave a damn about him anymore. She'd made sure his death never reached their ears, not wanting any possibility of them snickering at the tragedy that befell her family.

Ambika reviewed the two names on the list. They were quite the distant branches among the Haysinthe family tree and from what she remembered, relatively new additions to the family by way of arranged marriages as third and fourth spouses of two different Haysinthes respectively. Two minutes in and this already reeked of some kind of set-up - that was the level of distrust she had for the Haysinthe family in general.

She soon found herself dragging her feet to the part of the housing district the spouses lived in - they were business marriages and as such, lived away from the main or even the branch houses. Hopefully that meant she could get away with not laying her eyes on one of those loathsome ingrates. She did not trust herself to have the self-control needed to not attempt something.

    From the route Ambika took, a simple bakery storefront would witness her pass by from across the road. The innocuous scent of sweet, doughy delights wafts from the playfully ajar window. An acquaintance of the recent past carefully squeezes himself out from the front door with great effort, Baird. Having grown to an even more monolithic size, including more limbs and intensified physique, has made the travelling chef a difficult passion to continue. Yet nothing would be so much a hinderance as simply following through with the elder's wishes. So little time to spare.

    Ambika would just about round the next corner after Baird spotted her. The creditor to his first success in a foreign land! It was only a half-decent reason, but to pay back the debt was plenty for him to try and follow after. His lumbering frame could make way through the streets as easily as any cart, but even the sparse foot traffic would be difficult to manage for him. Lately his politeness was being more aggravating to maintain.

    The pairs and groups Baird passed by had energetic conversations of one thing or another, yet one topic kept trickling into the beastman's fuzzy ears. He'd only get a smattering of the words as they quickly moved by or would stop once they catch sight of the chimera walking near.

    "...ah, it's all in the papers! Missi..."
    "...ich folk getting picked off, by a..."
    "...just like I said! The old bardic hun..."
    "...I'm scared. It looked just like her..."

    Baird finally would make it to where he last saw Ambika. Just around the corner he sees her not too far away. Ought to be close enough now to call out, "Hey! Hero, I still need to pay you back! It's Baird! What was your name again!?" The behemoth started a jog after her to close the distance, trying his best not to bother anyone or look menacing.

The roads outside her housing district were largely vacant - the mystery may be solved, but that did not mean the denizens felt any safer. Especially not with the root cause being what one could basically refer to as a more competent and dangerous Mimic. According to Laertes, there were going to be discussions later today among the community about possible countermeasures against intrusions from these 'Morphleons', named so by Lloyd, ever the leading expert on creatures to the point he already had a name for these murderous varmints.

As she walked towards her target district, a familiar voice softly echoed from behind Ambika, though the footsteps seemed to shudder much more shakily than she had remembered it. Turning around, she saw... Baird? Who appeared to be much taller than when she last saw him, lumbering at a height of 12' and with two additional arms, all etched with concentric scars which likely harboured some form of meaning to them. Didn't remember her name, huh. Well, the only time her name was mentioned during this previous encounter was by Mimi. Once. Though with the Morphleons apparently rampaging all over Charon in these interesting times, she could not afford to blindly assume he was who he claimed to be. It did not help that the day was still early too, meaning there was barely any foot traffic and a Morphleon could very well exploit this opportunity to chow down on her.

With that in mind, Ambika discreetly slipped a glass sphere containing powdered capsaicin and powdered glass[1] and hid it in her palm[2] as she walked towards the Lizard-Grem.

"The name is Shanti, Baird." Her voice was to the point, and neutral. Come to think of it, she had never learned his surname, and with where she was heading towards, the last thing she wanted to do was to bring up hers. Perhaps her middle name would prove useful here; it was a common tactic for her to use it in her... less-than-savoury endeavours.

---

[1]Improvisation Engineer: Glass Sphere + Powdered Capsaicin + Powdered Glass

[2]Quick Palm

    The ritualized mutant had a habit of trusting people who helped him. Easy to form when most would steer clear at the sort of scenes he makes. Drawing closer, he'd make a quizzical expression, "Shanti? Coulda bet on it being something like Amber or... Erika? Ah, not like we got a chance at a proper introduction. Baird--Sickleclaw, my honor to meet you at last." With a beaming smile, he'd kneel to level with his cleaning buddy at several paces distance. Nowadays, it seems he can only get down to just above six feet doing this.

    One arm on his left gently probes a pouch. The vessel from before is produced, the dish that he handed to Mimi in return for the potion. The other left arm handily clinking the lid off just as it was outstretched in offering. Inside were a decent pile of roasted seeds. "These are gratis of every greeting. Don't think I ain't gonna put together something magnificent for your graceful performance!"

    It may seem odd to have such an affection form from such a cold past assistance. However much has changed, his pungent, oily fur and gregarious attitude hadn't. ^Yet. With such a scant direct interaction, some might get the feeling of at least a prank being pulled at how quickly he tries to push for friendship. Naturally, only the beholder could decide what they read from his warm aura.

"Shanti." She repeated plainly. It was technically her real name too, after all, and she could owe him a full explanation for when this self-imposed ordeal was over. "Baird--Sickleclaw. Nice to meet you." Relationships were lifelines in adventures, even if she was not particularly inclined towards proactively making them, so the least she could do was eke out as much sincerity as she could muster in what will undoubtedly be a challenging day.

Shanti observed Baird kneel down and offer up some kind of food - roasted seeds - and looking on with hopeful eyes. Slightly tightening her grip on the glass sphere that still laid hidden in her palm, she would walk over towards him and stretch her right hand into the pouch to grab a handful of seeds, her eyes never breaking contact with his even once.

The seeds themselves were quite nicely roasted, that much Shanti will give Baird. The aroma seeping out of the seeds danced into her nostrils as she brought the little morsels near her face, and finding no poison laced on them, she carried them into her mouth. The scrumptious flavours assailed her tongue and soon after, it was all down the throat. She followed that up with a slight, acknowledging nod with her right hand in front of her chest, and her left hand taking out a handkerchief from one compartment of her pouch while slipping the glass sphere back inside another.

"Thank you." Shanti wiped her right hand with the handkerchief infused with rubbing alcohol. "Now, if I may, I have some personal business to attend to." She turned around and headed off once more to her destination.

The destination, an upper-middle class housing district, was only a short distance away from hers. Shanti really had to wonder how Florentio and their family successfully got away living in such a close proximity from the Haysinthes for so long. She found herself a bench, pulled out her lute, did some tuning as any good musician worth their salt would, and began playing away to nobody in particular. Best to enforce a harmless impression before moving forward.

    A 'harmless impression' perhaps hampered by an abominable ungulate following after. Once Ambika turns to leave, Baird would soon rise to his feet to ponderously pursue. He'd step without hiding his presence, knowing she is aware. Likely he would just leave her alone to her duties if there wasn't anything between them. Perhaps unfortunately for her, she did a good deed yet to be punished by a doting mutated creature awaiting his chance at paying back the kindness.

    Once Ambika was situated with her instrument, playing it, Baird leaned on a nearby corner. Picking dirt from his hoof-claws. Checking his coin pouch to see what he could avoid having to make himself later. Distracting from indirectly imposing upon Ambika's day. The rich sounds perhaps filling the street would give pause to the boar. For a long moment, he'd be brought back to his father singing to him as boy.

    Baird blinked to remember where he was. Looking up, he'd glance through the windows of the upper classes. Many were vacant at this hour, likely attending business or mingling somewhere public, he assumed. He hadn't even the concern for aristocratic maneuvers. It was just a world he'd thought he'd never interact with.
   
    There was one oddity that caught the corner of Baird's eye. A woman, very refined, was looking down at the surreal scene below. The thick panes of glass and the bright natural light from the outside made it difficult to see her features. Yet he was certain their eyes met, as she winced at their locked gaze. He'd think he imagined her undulating face at the surprise, unaware of how the day would go from here. In that instant, she elegantly retreated further into the room out of sight.

What would normally be hushed whispers became just slightly louder in the presence of Shanti's music, as people unknowingly raised their voices so that they could hear their own. Not even the imposing Lizard-Grem's presence a distance away could dampen the desire and the need to speak their own piece, which was fortunate for her since she was not about to knock into doors, or well, sneak past them, to dig up information.

"Have you heard? They've found Arielle!" a noblewoman squealed in excitement.
"Shhhh! Not so loud," another tempered her fellow socialite. "The Haysinthes haven't made any official announcements, and I doubt you'd want to buy their ire, now do you?"
"I hope they find Brielle too. Those two were basically inseparable," a third chimed in. "_{...And so entertaining.}"

Shanti wondered if that would have been her had she married into the Haysinthes. Unlikely. She would probably have murdered someone and ended up on the run rather than let herself be played like that. Having heard pertinent information, she wrapped up her solo performance shortly after and reassembled her crossbow, then headed towards the house of this 'Arielle' they spoke of. Florentio had regularly enlisted her assistance in keeping up with the ins and outs of his former family, which, had she been of more upstanding character, she might have discouraged him or outright refused, but she was far from that and knowing what they did and were capable of doing, she more than egged him on and even devised methods to break into their mansions if that need arose. 

Shanti was not inclined to take the front door route because she did not want to be seen at all, so she began circling towards the fenced courtyard where luckily for her, there was an open window round the back, likely to air out cooking fumes. Before that though, she would place a straightened finger over her lip and gesture to Baird for his silence as she put on her mask. There were no guarantees he would keep to it once he had an inkling of what she was doing, but better to signal it than not. She then activated Long Stride and used the momentum to send herself over the fences and swiftly carried herself under the window.

Once under the window, Shanti took a moment to listen to the sounds of life within, only to be greeted by a desperate scream. Deciding that the time for subtlety was over, she shot herself through the open window and was greeted to the sight of a refined noblewoman wearing a long, puffy dress... that was split open in the middle with numerous fangs jutting out along the seams, about to chow down on their hapless meal, or in layman's terms, a maid. Without hesitation, Shanti promptly threw the glass sphere she had originally intended for Baird had he been hostile, grabbed the maid by her arm and pulled her to the kitchen door.

"Open the door. Now!" Shanti shouted as she prepared and loaded her crossbow.

    It was just another fine day, in Baird's eyes. Not really paying mind to the gossip of fancy-folk, he instead savored the remaining song. Whatever he makes ought to have a cherry on top for being audience to Shanti's play! Sadly it wouldn't last, as it seems she would instead put on a more irregular performance.
    
    A particular domicile seems to have piqued Shanti's interest. Baird pushed off the wall he was leaning against. Just as he stepped forward back into the street, she gave him a peculiar hushing gesture. Oh wait. Ah, no, did he become indebted to a thief? It was incredible to see another deft feat when she effortlessly leapt over the barrier. She went out of sight from his angle. Immediately the mood shifted from serenity to nerve-wracking.

    Baird thought through the brief moment of silent awkwardness that befell him. He concluded that he may not enjoy skullduggery, but someone good to the austere acting against those who'd always flashed disgust his way, he could overlook in this case. Should he stick around and risk somehow becoming an accomplice? Being what he is, it is a huge risk to be convicted by the law. Maybe it is kindness enough that he moves on without-
    
    Yet a shriek cut through the air like a bolt. If she were a thief, this wasn't the kind of scream someone makes against a burglar. It was a frightened wail against a dangerous threat. Baird knew it well, being a mistaken subject of that fear often. Instantly Baird froze. Was she an assassin? No. Her movements and planning were sharp as knives. No way she would botch it this bad so fast! Something is up.

    "Open the door. Now!"

    What!? Did she say that for Baird!? He scrambles, barely thinking, going right for the front door. It was so opulent that he'd barely have to duck to get through! He reached a hand out and, of course, it was locked. In a practiced synchronicity, each paired arm alternated in pulling out sheets of thick leather, tying them off around his knuckles and wrists. Time to make the donuts. "If there is anyone on the other side, you're gonna want to move!"
    
    One. Two, three, four-five-sixseveneight-- an assault of blows just as the beastman had done to trees each day. The door defied for a time, groaning under the stress, snapping splinters inward. What he wouldn't yet see was something that looked like a woman being splashed with white-hot pain. The morphleon's façade shatters along with the glass sphere, a roiling mass of dark flesh vibrates at the burning cuts scattered over its true maw. It retreats toward another room, seeking enough distance to writhe its form to remove the substance.

    As it crests the doorway to the foyer, a much less harmful wave of broken wood chunks crash down upon it.

Shanti certainly wasn't expecting Baird to outright break down the front entrance, but she hadn't the luxury to be picking her allies at this time. Sigh. She was going to have to make use of one of those exit plans she'd plotted out previously, wasn't she? In the meantime, the maid was in too much of a panic to be of any use, fumbling through her keys and failing to get the kitchen door open. 

Shanti could not recall how she dealt with the last Morphleon, no, all she remembered during that encounter was a primal rage that coursed through her veins still as the thought flashed in her head. No matter. It held form in flesh and bone. Which meant it could be physically injured, a theory quickly proven by the sudden hail of wooden splinters raining down on it and causing further agony. She swiftly followed up with yet another glass sphere[1], this time containing crude gunpowder mixed with bits of flint and flammable dust, tossing it into the creature's maw with a ball toss.

Without wasting time to see its effects, Shanti moved on to her next action, which was to load and fire an improvised hookshot[2] at the creature's now-seared flesh, followed by winding the wire around a support column in the hallway and fastening the carabiner onto that for good measure.

---

[1]Improvisation Engineer: Glass Sphere + Crude Gunpowder + Flash Powder

[2]Improvisation Engineer: Spidersilk Wire + Anchor + Carabiner

    Restrained, showered in burning sparks, flesh scoured with bleeding cuts of pulsating agony. The morphleon wasn't incredibly hurt, but it really felt like it. Frenzied and agitated, the magical beast broke out of what remained of its guise. Now it took form as little more than a four legged whirl of tentacles. Sharp appendages flailed like mad. Half-blindly lashing out at the taut wire lassoed against it, there wasn't time to lose.

    Baird took in the scene from the smashed open entrance. Seeing the monster brandish a limb like a knife, he crouched into a sprint. A hard tackle towards the support column. With one arm wrapped around its body, two others braced the impact. His last hand slid across the floor at the mimic's feet, forming a sheet of ice^[1] beneath it.

    A sharp pain coursed from Baird's side. He wouldn't get a good look, but one of the large fangs of the creature sunk its tip into his abdomen from the tackle. Alongside that, the constant assault of bladed bones haphazardly recoiling around made dozens of gashes over the man's shoulders and back. Perhaps not his wisest maneuver. At least with the combined effort, it wasn't going anywhere, for the moment. A quick call to use their stolen time, "It's pinned! If ya ain't fighting, go now!"

---

^[1]

Ice Over

You cause the surface of an object to ice over. This causes the surface of the object to grow a very thin layer of ice that covers the full object. This makes the surface slippery and cold to the touch. This spell can also freeze the surface of a body of water, allowing one to cross over it.

Sea Domain

Twisty, wildly flailing tentacles would purposefully extend all the way to Shanti's face, taking a swipe and leaving cracks at the mask she wore for discretion as her reflexes failed to react quickly enough to avoid injury.
The Morphleon was pinned in place at the moment and unable to move anywhere without risking loss of further coordination, sure, but by no means did that indicate it was any less dangerous. It absolutely seemed to be a really tough customer too by the look of it, so all they could do was wail on it more and more until they've chipped away every drop of life on it. Shanti took a shot at what passed as its eye, which was unfortunately deflected by its haphazardly flailing tentacles.

The maid had finally found the correct key and bolted out the kitchen door with frantic footwork, almost tripping on her own heels in the process. Desperate cries of help echoed in the air, though Shanti had little faith that it would bear any worthwhile fruit.

Observing the Morphleon's attacks a little more hinted that its swings were largely limited to humanoid height... and this was a noble's manor, of course there were elaborate chandeliers dangling high up on the ceiling. Those prideful Haysinthes certainly spared no expense in flaunting their wealth, however, and they were held up using metallic chains rather than standard heavy-duty rope. Shanti briefly pondered if she should swipe some accessories to make up for her expenses in this excursion as she weaved slightly closer towards the grandiose chandelier hanging at the center of the entrance hall for a better angle and pulled out another explosive glass sphere[1].

"Chandelier! Above you!" Shanti hurled the glass sphere with all her might and fired her crossbow as it arced towards the link between the chain and the chandelier.

---

[1]Improvisation Engineer: Glass Sphere + Crude Gunpowder + Flash Powder

    Everything with this monster was aggravating. It wriggled like a massive fish, slashing ubiquitously like a runaway wagon wheel lashed with barbed wire! It made more cuts against Baird's soft skin underneath that false-security of coarse fur. It started to get a hold of itself. With a moment of clarity, it swiped a razor-like bone over Baird's thigh. A loud squeal, noticeably unlike his laughter, erupts. The creature squirmed out from the big oaf's grasp. Of all the things he has wrestled in the past, this one quickly entered his top-hated spot.

    "Always another piece-" a right jab, controlling the space, "-of-" a left hook, setting up, "-SHIT!" the uppercut, to return the favor. His fists were large enough to send cracking shockwaves of sound with each blow. It reeled back from the shock, much more hardy than it seems. Maybe it was a tougher specimen than the others, at least Baird hopes they aren't all like this!

    Ringing out into the acoustical room was Shanti's voice, "Chandelier! Above you!"

    Without looking up, Baird spread each arm out while surging his chest forward at the morphleon. Two hands outwards, two digging into the floor. [BAM] from the explosive blasting free the ceiling fixture. [BAM] from Baird's balled fists meeting in the middle onto its sides. With all his might, he pulls himself back while flashing Ice Over on the floor, falling into a slide.
    
    The morphleon was lethargically swaying as some several dozen pounds of expensive forge-work gave a finishing [Crash] from overhead. Bits of crystal and metal scatter about with a cloud of stone dust pluming from the impact. Nearly spent, hoping it all to be done, Baird bumps against a wall while clutching at his bleeding side.

A vicious tentacled claw leaves a gash on Shanti's shoulder before falling limp into the floor, an unwelcome parting gift from the dastardly Morphleon at its dying throes. She hurled a trio of caltrops[1] right into its open wounds for good measure, just to be certain it was not merely pretending to be dead. It responded with a fading squeak, then nothing. Quickly, she tied a bunch of camo cloths[2] together to keep her blood from dripping onto the floor. This place was hostile territory to her, after all, and gods know what the Haysinthes would attempt if they found out the "thieving wench" who "maliciously bewitched" one of their finest had intruded on their sacred land.

A booming voice echoed from the outside, around 10 o'clock from where Shanti stood. "Attention trespassers! You are all under arrest! Do not attempt to resist!" Of course it had to be one of Haysinthes' lapdogs. She could just leave right there and then without anyone noticing, but she had enough of a conscience and a sense of responsibility to get Baird out of this mess she'd inadvertently roped him into.

"Go out this entrance and run right until you see a river. You will find aqueducts that extend to outside the city. See you on the other side." Shanti walked towards the entrance with defiant confidence. She wasn't about to let herself be caught here. Not when she still had her son to find.

The sounds of glass shattering from the impact of crashing into pavement was quickly forgotten in favour of crackling sparks with blinding flashes, momentarily blinding the eyes of the corrupt pursuers seeking not justice, but silence. When their sight came to, it was met by varying hues of greys and blacks obscuring their vision[3], and the sounds of metal landing on the ground in rhythmic beats[4] would send them running from the entrance for a time until it led to more screams as their feet met the pointy ends of more caltrops[1].

Meanwhile, Shanti had carried herself to an unoccupied "side alley" which was really just a narrow gap between two large manors, her right palm concealing[5] a piece of jewelry she'd nicked from the Morphleon corpse. She would've decided otherwise, but an eye for an eye was very much her policy in this case. Finding a buyer would not be an issue - the Haysinthes had enemies, and this piece was worth more than its price in gold; it was a story waiting to be told. She sauntered her way to the markets to get the illicit loot off her hands, and then made her way to a healer who did not ask questions to deal with her injury.

The rest of Shanti's excursion would be uneventful as she took a short break in a tavern before leaving the city to fulfill her promise to Baird.

---

[1] Improvisation Engineer: Caltrops

[2] Improvisation Engineer: Camo Cloth

[3] Improvisation Engineer: Glass Sphere + Smoke Powder + Flash Powder

[4] Minor Trickery, used on Caltrops

[5] Quick Palm

    Ah, great. Another problem to force Baird to move. Then as Baird looked up to see Shanti approach, a getaway plan. At least he had a way out.

    Struggling to rise from the stabbing pains all over, the stuck pig thanked Shanti in his head for the time she bought him. He grit his teeth while charging out the back. His hand clenched the bleeding puncture as he made a dash toward the sound of running water. It took a second, but quickly he realized that ahead was a greenhouse surrounded by large hedges. Cutting around, he found the river on the other side. Likely the water redirected through here just to feed these damn future corsages first! Baird dived in. He doubted Shanti would know this, but this was the very element he was at his most swift.^[1]
    
    Making it to just outside the city in due time, Baird clambered out of the water just as the aqueduct began to bridge a ravine. Fierce swimming against the current while losing blood had winded the man to exhaustion. Plopped onto the hard dirt, he pawed at his pouches for the medical kit.^[2] With all his willpower, he grabbed at the needle he kept pre-tied with wire for these such occasions. Stitching himself as he has done many times, he simply grips the end to to keep it shut, and waited for the strength to tie it off. The loud gulps of air would persist for some time.

---

^[1]Webbed Digits (Metaphorical) , ^[2]Medical Kit

Slipping into the aqueducts unnoticed and making sure there were no pursuers, Shanti edged around carefully as she searched for Baird, whom she hoped made his way out of that farce safely. She would find him taking controlled breaths and pulling at his stitches to keep his wounds shut. It wasn't much, but she walked up to him and proficiently tied the sutures into a firm knot. She then removed a pouch of money and a jar of vegetable stew from inside her jacket

 and placed it on his side before taking a seat a slight distance away.

"Ambika Shanti Phairot. I owe you that much." She began by giving her full name. Baird wouldn't understand the significance, since she wasn't really anybody noteworthy in the first place, but that would change in a few moments. "The creature we just killed is a Morphleon. Basically a mimic, but infinitely more dangerous in its ability to deceive. Much more powerful as well."

Ambika took a moment to check that Baird was still with her before continuing.

"The form it took was that of Arielle Haysinthe, maiden name Selendy. Other victims include Brielle, her younger sister, and likely many servants and guards. After all, the manor was devoid of life except us and that one maid that ran out."

"You must have questions. That was not my first rodeo with a Morphleon, though I must confess my memories of the first elude me." Nothing except a smouldering rage roiling under the surface still.
"As for why I snuck into that manor... The Haysinthes insist on blaming me for one of their finest going 'astray' when they were the ones to set him up as a scapegoat in the first place," Ambika's voice was like spitting venom as her hatred for that despicable family showed. "Florentio, he cared about them still, equal parts for our sake, and for his own." The painful memories of her loss began to spill out once again. She'd done all this out of an obligation to him and his memory.

"You should stay away from Sol City for a while. The Haysinthes have eyes, and you stick out like a sore thumb. I will arrange a ship for you." Ambika stood up and prepared to leave, not wanting her grief to be trained at Baird, an unrelated bystander.