Nepheli's arrival interrupted Tarnished's thoughts. The Female Warrior's gaze lingered on the soaking-wet female knight slung over her fiancé's shoulder, her expression a little odd, but she quickly returned to a businesslike demeanor.
"Stormveil was attacked by a mysterious figure," Nepheli said without preamble. "D suffered a minor injury."
Tarnished frowned and instinctively hitched Leda higher on his shoulder-a movement that sharpened Nepheli's gaze even further. He hurriedly asked, "Any other losses?"
"A body was stolen." Nepheli looked grave. "A Finger Maiden's body."
Tarnished froze. "A Finger Maiden? You mean..."
"Vyke's Finger Maiden," Nepheli confirmed with a nod. "After you took the Liurnia Region, you defeated one of Vyke's doubles at the Church of Repose. You also entrusted his maiden's body to Fia so she could help lay the Finger Maiden to rest."
Tarnished remembered now. As the Erdtree's representatives, Finger Maidens did enjoy special treatment-their bodies never decayed, a blessing granted by the Golden Order. Following the customs of the Lands Between, Fia had buried the maiden in the deepest reaches of the Catacombs, closest to the Erdtree's roots. Fia often visited to tend and clean the place, but she had recently been transferred to the Mohgwyn Dynasty to assist Tanith. The resulting lapse in her inspections of the Catacombs had given the attacker an opening.
"That explains what happened." Tarnished nodded, then pressed further. "Can you tell who it was?"
"Who do you think?" Nepheli asked in return.
"Vyke, of course," Tarnished answered without hesitation. "No one else would risk stealing a corpse. But..."
He paused, looking puzzled. "Vyke's real body is locked in the Forlorn Hound Evergaol in the Mountaintops of the Giants, beyond the Forbidden Lands. Surely a double couldn't have infiltrated Stormveil, stolen the maiden's body, and wounded D? If a mere double could manage