Chapter Summaries

Heka, a pickpocket in Seapeak Port, stole a purse despite sensing blood on its owner. He discovered it contained sixteen blood-stained Huika Gold Coins, realizing the theft had brought him dangerous trouble.

• Heka chose a hurried youth as his target and had Tuft of Hair distract him while Heka stole his purse.
• Heka noticed the purse smelled of blood but went through with the theft and slipped away under the gang thugs' watch.
• Heka found that the coins could not be stacked with his copper coins in his inventory, so he stored them in a separate slot.
• Heka identified the coins as sixteen blood-stained Huika Gold Coins and feared the gang's watcher had seen him steal them.

Heka hid the stolen money and tried to buy time by recruiting a wounded gang enforcer with a scheme to skim the gang’s earnings. The enforcer grew greedy and seized the pouch, leaving Heka at his mercy.

• Heka decided he could not return to Fat Pig and watched Tuft of Hair disappear into the crowd before buying chicken legs.
• Heka packed two hundred copper coins into a pouch and stole another pouch from a merchant.
• Heka offered the wounded enforcer a deal to keep one hundred copper coins and hand over only forty each day.
• Heka told the enforcer that the church could heal his broken leg for three silver coins and learned that the previous enforcer had also pocketed money.
• The enforcer asked what would stop him from taking the money himself, then seized the pouch and stepped away from Heka.

Heka negotiated a better share of the stolen money and time off from the thug, then prepared supplies and equipment for an extended stay underground. He left the shop suspicious of a damaged crossbow mechanism the boss refused to let him inspect.

• Heka threatened to report the thug unless he received time off and a share of the money, and settled on five days off followed by two days off each week for fifteen coppers per split.
• Heka left the thug and bought provisions at several shops, spending 78 coppers on black bread, cheese, and dried fish.
• Heka visited a sundry shop and paid the boss for carving knives, cord, wood, and scrap leather.
• The boss offered Heka a damaged crossbow mechanism for thirty coppers but kept him from inspecting it, so Heka questioned its condition.

Heka slipped away from Graytooth Gang territory, met Tuft of Hair, and led him into a vacant villa in the wealthy district. In the villa’s maid’s room, Heka prepared to use the washbasin and blood-stained money bag he had brought in his backpack.

• Heka checked his backpack, evaded local pickpockets, and left Graytooth Gang territory through the crowded main street.
• Heka met Tuft of Hair, gave him twenty coppers to buy salt, and waited until he returned with a jar.
• Heka led Tuft of Hair through a dog hole and past the guards into the wealthy district.
• Heka brought Tuft of Hair into a vacant villa and guided him to the windowless maid’s room on the second floor.
• Heka found the bathroom faucet dry, then took out his washbasin and blood-stained money bag.

Elwin investigated the murder of merchant Mr. Laide and used divine arts to locate the coachman suspected of killing him. After the coachman was captured, Elwin explained how the evidence supported the case and revealed that the victim’s nephew had shown a suspicious reaction.

• Elwin questioned the constables about Mr. Laide’s murder and learned they had not investigated his business, travels, or acquaintances.
• Mr. Laide’s nephew arrived and insisted the fleeing coachman was guilty, while Elwin maintained that he was only a suspect until a court ruled.
• Elwin used divine arts to guide the constables to an inn where they captured the coachman.
• Elwin accused the coachman of forcing Mr. Laide to open the safe before killing him, and the man briefly showed panic.
• Elwin explained that the bloodstains, eyewitness account, open safe, missing money, and bloodied fruit knife supported the murder theory, while his divine art had only identified the suspect.

Heka trained in the sewers while living in a hidden maintenance well with Tuft of Hair, and his skills and physical stats continued to improve. As they prepared a hot meal, Heka checked his progress and kept practicing with his dagger, still planning to leave once their food was gone and his remaining obstacle was cleared.

• Heka practiced his agility by kicking a rattan ball against a brick wall until it fell apart, then called Tuft of Hair over for food.
• Tuft of Hair prepared their meal while Heka lit a fire in the damp maintenance well, gaining a point of Sleight of Hand proficiency.
• Heka checked his stash of coins and his skill panel, noting progress in Theft, Slashing, and Sleight of Hand.
• Heka saw that his physique had risen to 0.218 and his strength to 0.257, which he attributed to eating better since becoming a proficient thief.
• Heka boiled dark bread and dried fish, then practiced deliberate dagger swings and gained one point of Slashing proficiency.

Elwin faced pressure from the murdered man’s nephew to provide a written account of the death, while the sheriff pursued the missing thirty gold coins. Elsewhere, Heka completed and loaded a powerful crossbow, leaving it ready as a weapon for his plans.

• The sheriff told the victim’s nephew that the suspect claimed an ugly child had stolen the money pouch, and that searches had found no money.
• The victim’s nephew urged Elwin to finish the trial quickly and provide a written statement about his uncle’s death, then asked the sheriff to recover the thirty gold coins or punish the thief.
• Elwin recalled that the victim had been between security contracts when he was killed, but he had no evidence to challenge the nephew’s request.
• Heka finished assembling a crossbow and found he needed a roller mechanism to draw its bowstring.
• Heka loaded the crossbow with an armor-piercing arrow and stored it, ready to fire.

Elwin joined the investigation into the missing money and found the Graytooth Gang leader being tortured by corrupt magistrates. The magistrate revealed that the gang leader was being pressured over a bloody money bag stolen six days earlier, while gang members were sent to bring in several pickpockets.

• The victim's nephew and his younger brother discussed leaving thirty gold coins behind and planned to share intelligence about the money with their mercenary allies.
• Elwin insisted on joining the investigation as the magistrate's party headed to a courtyard guarded by gang thugs.
• Elwin saw the Graytooth Gang leader and his aides bound and injured while magistrates questioned them.
• The magistrate threatened the gang leader's family and asked who had stolen a bloody money bag from the gang's territory six days earlier.
• The magistrate ordered several gang members to fetch Heka, Bell-Bottoms, Big Tooth, and Dogtail.

Elwin searched the Graytooth Gang’s hideout for the blood-stained money bag but found a sick child instead. He took the child into the church’s care and promised the magistrate that the church would keep the matter quiet and remove the children from thieving within two years.

• Graytooth Gang enforcers brought several child pickpockets before Fat Pig, and a bucktoothed boy tried to flee before an arrow pierced his calf.
• Fat Pig asked about Heka, and a limping young man said Heka had been missing since his lackey bought salt five days earlier.
• The magistrate ordered a search of the children’s foul dormitory for the blood-stained money bag.
• Elwin found a sick child hidden beneath bedding and carried him out, while the searchers found nothing.
• The magistrate ordered the others taken away, and Elwin claimed the child and promised the church would keep the matter sealed and raise the children away from thieving.

Heka and Tuft of Hair hid in the sewer while Heka trained Slashing and rationed their food and water. As winter approached, Heka offered to make Tuft of Hair a toy if he taught him to read.

• Heka refused Tuft of Hair’s offer to fetch water and continued training Slashing, gaining proficiency each day.
• Heka checked his supplies and estimated that their food would last about forty days, enough time to fill the Slashing progress bar before they had to take a gamble.
• Heka encouraged Tuft of Hair to eat bread and cheese so he would have enough fat to withstand the coming winter.
• Tuft of Hair warned Heka that their food would last only a little over ten days, then admitted he could read after Heka asked about his education.
• Heka offered to make Tuft of Hair a toy in exchange for reading lessons, leaving Tuft of Hair afraid that Heka might hit him.

Heka began learning to read and write Valin from Tuft of Hair while hiding in the sewers, and prepared to carve him a rabbit toy. Meanwhile, the magistrate continued searching for Heka and ordered the release of detained children while arranging to dispose of witnesses.

• Heka eagerly set up wood shavings and a stick so Tuft of Hair could teach him to write Valin.
• The magistrate discussed Heka's disappearance with his confidant and concluded that the gangs' control of Seapeak Port made escape difficult.
• The magistrate refused to issue a wanted poster, promised rewards for progress, and learned that Heka and his follower had been identified as the thieves.
• The magistrate ordered the detained children released, the three pickpockets disposed of, and a priest's new boss pressured to deal with him.
• Heka studied the word for God in the sewer, then offered to carve Tuft of Hair a rabbit toy.

On his 41st day underground, Heka finished training Slashing and prepared to surface for supplies, leaving Tuft of Hair instructions and money in case he failed to return. Heka traveled through the Seapeak Port sewers toward a shaft leading to the surface.

• Heka completed his Slashing training goal, checked his skills and supplies, and decided to go out for water and provisions.
• Heka packed his crossbows and coins, concealed his face, and planned to seek a short sword and heavy crossbows if he found the chance.
• Heka gave Tuft of Hair money and detailed escape instructions, warning him to leave if Heka did not return within a day.
• Heka descended into the sewer and left Tuft of Hair behind, then took a side passage that bypassed the vagrants' area and led toward a shaft to the surface.
• Heka reflected on Seapeak Port's former dungeon and continued toward the faint sunlight that made his underground sanctuary habitable.

Heka entered Seapeak Port’s underground black market to buy food in bulk and find a weapon. After placing an order for bread and dried fish, he examined a short sword at a stall, where its concealed owner watched him closely.

• Heka followed a hidden white-mouse mark through the sewers and wrapped his left arm to disguise his youth.
• Heka found the black market and ordered fifty pounds of black bread and forty pounds of dried fish from a masked clerk.
• The clerk took Heka’s payment and gave him instructions for collecting the food from a warehouse.
• Heka moved to the stolen-goods stalls and examined a short sword while its black-robed owner watched him.

Heka bargained for a short sword and a crossbow hook at the underground black market, then left to check for pursuers. He waited in a narrow tunnel with his hand crossbow ready.

• Heka examined a short sword at a stall and used its damaged crest to bargain with the owner.
• Heka found no crossbow mechanisms among the secondhand gear and negotiated between rival merchants.
• Heka bought the first short sword for forty-five copper coins and took an iron crossbow hook as a free extra.
• Heka left the black market with his purchases and entered a narrow tunnel leading toward an uphill passage.
• Heka waited with his hand crossbow trained on the only entrance, prepared to shoot anyone following him.

Heka escaped the sewers and entered an apparently vacant villa in Seapeak Port’s wealthy district while the sheriff searched for him and the money he carried. The sheriff planned to use captured associates as bait and warned his men that an adventurer group called Red Sparrow was already nearby.

• Heka avoided beggars and patrols, then left the sewers through a hidden entrance near the wealthy district.
• Heka entered a villa through a window and checked the study for occupants and an escape route.
• The sheriff learned from interrogations that Heka could enter the wealthy district and located the district on his map.
• The sheriff ordered captured people connected to Heka to be hanged as bait, with men stationed nearby to watch for him.
• The sheriff planned to negotiate access to the wealthy district and said he would report the matter if his men found no clue within half a month.

Heka washed and resupplied in the wealthy district before collecting food from Walin's naval supply warehouse. The old guard tried to inspect him, but Heka stabbed his hand and left with the crate.

• Heka washed in a maid's room, filled nine buckets with water, changed clothes, and erased signs of his presence.
• Heka bought real black bread from a bakery and followed adults through the streets to avoid attracting the beggars' attention.
• Heka presented a valuable paper to the old guard at Walin's naval supply warehouse and paid five coppers for a crate.
• The old guard grabbed Heka's wrapped hand and reached for his cloak, so Heka drew his short sword and stabbed the man's palm.
• The old guard backed down, returned the coins atop the crate, and let Heka take the food.

Heka escaped an old man who recognized him, but the man reported him to Foucault, who organized a search through the streets and sewer entrances. After hiding his supplies in his backpack, Heka rested and headed back toward the sewers, still exhausted and pursued.

• Heka left the old man’s warehouse after children arrived, and the old man hid before reporting the encounter to Foucault.
• The old man told Foucault that Heka had bought proof from the sewers and large quantities of food, and Foucault paid him for details about Heka’s appearance and direction.
• The old man revealed that officials had distributed a portrait matching Heka, prompting Foucault to mobilize children to watch sewer entrances and intersections.
• Heka stored his goods in his backpack, rested, ate cheese, abandoned his cart, and returned to the main road to escape toward the sewers.

Heka tried to evade the Graytooth Gang’s lookouts and reach a sewer entrance after spotting adult beggars who could identify him. He escaped through a flower shop’s back door, armed himself with a hand crossbow, and felt that someone was tracking him as he moved through the alleys.

• Heka recognized adult beggars in Graytooth Gang territory and hid in a flower shop to avoid being spotted.
• Heka pretended to buy pansies for his mother and persuaded the shop owner to let him use the back door.
• Heka slipped into the alley and headed for a nearby sewer entrance covered by wooden planks.
• Heka discarded the flowers, took a hand crossbow and bolts from his backpack, and moved cautiously through the alleys.
• Heka continued to feel someone watching him, and the sensation grew stronger.

Heka fought his way to the sewer entrance while escaping the gangsters pursuing him. After opening the entrance and trying to recover his cloak, he was caught by a man from Seapeak Port and left pinned to a wall.

• Heka found the sewer entrance sealed with a heavy stone slab and shot two beggars guarding it, while the other two fled.
• A child on a rooftop alerted the pursuers and attacked Heka with stones, but Heka shot the child and widened the entrance enough to pass through.
• Heka ran to retrieve his cloak, but a hidden attacker ambushed him, destroyed his hand crossbow, struck his abdomen, and pinned his right hand to the wall with a dagger.
• Heka recognized his captor as a man carrying the sea breeze of Seapeak Port, who stepped back after confirming Heka could no longer resist.

Heka killed Foucault and drove off the street children who tried to loot him, but severe wounds and blood loss left him near death in the sewers. He spent his newly earned reward point on Constitution, hoping it would help him survive.

• Foucault attacked Heka, but Heka used a crate to deflect the punch and shot Foucault through the neck with his crossbow.
• Heka cut his hand free from the dagger pinning him, then killed the first child who charged him and sent the others fleeing.
• Heka dragged the crate to the well entrance and stored it in his backpack before staggering into the sewers with blood loss worsening.
• As rats rustled nearby, Heka found that Foucault's challenge had granted him one reward point and spent it on Constitution.