After turning down another offer to fuck and die, Atzi left the Serpent's temple.

  There's the meeting at V's tomorrow, but for now? I'm gonna go kill two birds with one stone. I'm going to that party that I met Kurgi at before to introduce myself. Should help later when I find out what happened between her and Scabiel.

  Then after I'm done screwing an insane mage, I'm sneaking into the sewers to steal the book.

  -

  Atzi was far too early for the party that she'd last met Kurgi at. There were only a few guests lazily chatting, and no Kurgi to be found. Even the snack table was still being laid out by servants.

  So, Atzi decided to do one of the many things she did best, and eavesdrop.

  "Dreadful event!" some rich guy exclaimed. "They really should keep them in cages!"

  "Indeed," another added. "It must have been a mistake on the chef's part, letting a chicken roam free like that. And he expected it to stay still! Ruined everyone's meal, I'll say what."

  "I'll avoid going there in the future," a woman opined.

  Wait... a chicken? That can't be a coincidence, surely. Atzi thought back to the bird that she watched gutted on stage for fire gems. Is this the same godsdamn chicken?

  She considered the idea. Was there some bird of ill omen running around? After a long deliberation, she concluded, Not my problem!

  So she took it easy, lounging around as guests arrived.

  The first person she recognized arriving at the party wasn't Kurgi. Instead, it was the tall fancy-looking man she'd noticed last time. He was still wearing red silks with a tailored black outfit. The man was as popular as ever, gathering a crowd of the rich around him within minutes of arriving. For Atzi's part, she just used the distraction to grab more food from the snack table.

  Further into the night, Kurgi arrived, gathering an interested group of people almost as easily as the tall man.

  Atzi waited until the blood mage was in the full swing of conversation before slipping in herself, to best appear natural.

  "-and I said, I can't use blood magic to help an erection!" The two giant, scaly ears-that-looked-like-eyes atop her head twitched.

  Atzi giggled. Her laugh was dry and raspy.

  The others Kurgi was chatting with laughed, too. "And then what did he do?" one asked.

  "He said he knew he should have tried a nature mage, and left!"

  Another round of laughter, and then the people sipped their drinks.

  "You're a blood mage, huh?" Atzi said, sliding her way into the conversation.

  "Huh?" Kurgi turned her attention to Atzi, then smiled. "Yeah! In training still, technically, but I can do the magic."

  "Nice." Atzi looked her up and down. Openly, since she knew she liked it. "Wait... you're a daughter of the Serpent, aren't you?"

  "That's right! Are you one of my sisters or cousins? Sorry, I don't keep track of you all."

  "Oh no no." Atzi waved a claw. "Just a fan of her, pretty great Goddess. I'm Atzi, what's your name?"

  "Kurgi!" she said happily.

  "So. New in town?"

  "Yeah I came here for the parties! Normally I live in Artaxta with mom!"

  Everyone else in the group frowned at Atzi hogging all of Kurgi's attention.

  Suck it! "Best time of year to come here."

  "One of my cousins is having a birthday party back home, but that sounds much less fun."

  Cousins? Given what I know about how the Serpent makes kids, surely they'd all be siblings… "Another one of the Serpent's kids?"

  "Kind of. Not directly. Since you aren't from Artaxta, maybe you don't know." Everyone, not just Atzi, listened intently. "Mom doesn't really like dealing with all that politics stuff, so some of her oldest children's families run everything. Mom has great-great-great-great grandchildren who are older than me."

  "Ohhh yeah, that'd make sense. So the cousins are just the kids or grandkids of your siblings."

  "Exactly!"

  "You know, I recently joined the Serpent's temple. How about a dance?" Atzi held out a claw to Kurgi. "We'll call it a religious experience."

  Kurgi laughed. "That's the best pick-up line I've heard in months! Sure."

  That's a real compliment given how many she must hear.

  That, or she says that to everyone.

  No, I'm definitely awesome.

  -

  Atzi and Kurgi laid together in bed again. Atzi was much calmer this time, knowing the woman wouldn't eat her. At least, not anymore than she already had.

  I deserve this for all the awful stuff I have to put up with all the time. But the fact I can keep doing things like this without consequence... maybe that's cool too.

  Kurgi stretched. "You really know what you're doing. Have I slept with you before?"

  Atzi chuckled. "You'd definitely remember if we did."

  Kurgi smiled shyly and twirled her pink hair in a claw. "Yeah."

  "How long you gonna be in the city for? Whole festival?"

  "Oh yeah! I'm waiting for my maybe-girlfriend too."

  "Oh? What's she like?" Atzi asked.

  "She's really cool! Super smart and knows all these things about a bunch of magic stuff and history stuff and- well she's just super awesome, you know? It'll be nice to finally see her in person instead of exchanging letters."

  "So when are you meeting her?" Need to pin things down as best as I can if I want to figure out what the heck happened.

  "Whenever she gets here. I don't have an exact time but it should be whenever the Shapeshifter shows up, since she's traveling with them."

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  "I heard that's tomorrow."

  "Then it's tomorrow!" Kurgi looked happy.

  "Really looking forward to meeting her, huh?"

  "Yeah! We only started passing letters because she wrote one to my teacher about stuff and my teacher had me respond instead."

  "She a mage too, then? Shapeshifter... that'd be a nature mage, right?"

  "Are you a mage, too? That's right."

  "Ahh, sorta. Can't cast anything but my mom's a bigshot mage so I learned some stuff."

  "Ahh... that's why you're so familiar. Our moms are both bigshots."

  "If you ever meet my mom, well. She looks a lot like me, just older and angrier. I got mistaken for her once! I wanted to kick their head off, do I look like I'm that old?"

  "No way! You're super young and beautiful," Kurgi said without hesitation.

  Atzi giggled creepily.

  "You should come by some time after tomorrow so you can meet my maybe-girlfriend too."

  "Sure. I'll be there."

  "Great!" Kurgi hugged Atzi.

  Wow. This girl's cool. Artaxta truly is a beautiful place. And you know, I was wrong about the Serpent, actually she's amazing.

  -

  After getting dressed, but before leaving the party, Atzi stole a towel and a bag.

  When she got outside, she noticed it was mid-morning already. She was feeling tired, but she still had a job to do.

  She wandered over near V's mansion, to the sewer entrance that had worked for her before. She entered it, took the path that she remembered, and arrived at the same spot. Then she went through things like the last time, too - reaching into the sewage for a crowbar, and smashing out the bricks - before wiping her arm with the towel and stuffing the book in the bag.

  She knew exactly what she was doing, so it wasn't difficult, but smashing through the bricks in a wall with a crowbar still took time. By the time she made it back to Hemm's inn, it was already the afternoon.

  Then she saw a procession of people coming up the street. One she hadn't seen before, but that she vaguely remembered belonged to the Shapeshifter.

  She was utterly exhausted, but still she stuck around to watch the group approach, so she might pick out Scabiel and talk with her.

  The Shapeshifter themself led the group, traveling in awkward loping steps that still managed to be fast enough for a brisk pace. The god was unlike anything Atzi had seen before. They looked like a shuffling blue shell wrought into the rough shape of a person, one moment solid and the next moving like silk. A split down the center of the shell revealed pitch blackness. A large hole in their 'face' contained a multitude of eyes in a variety of colors, blinking in and out of existence.

  Behind the odd god were multiple men and women wearing furred leather outfits adorned with wooden carvings in stylistic animal shapes. Atzi assumed those were the priests.

  Further behind were people in long flowing robes traveling in small groups of two to four each. Those were probably mages in Atzi's opinion, so she focused as they passed by, trying to pick out the very distinctive Scabiel from the crowd. Everyone she saw seemed human.

  Atzi didn't see Scabiel at all. Maybe she arrives somewhere else? Oh well!

  And with that, Atzi entered Hemm's inn.

  "Atzi, what happened?!" Hemm immediately asked, surprised. "You're filthy."

  I don't think Hemm was here last time? Weird. Atzi sniffed her own arm. Guess the towel wasn't good enough.

  "After a party I kind of... slipped and fell in the sewers. Sorry about the smell, I'm gonna take a bath right now."

  Hemm gawped at her story. "Please do. I'll bring up fresh water. Maybe twice."

  -

  While bathing, Atzi considered something.

  If she's going to bring up water a second time, then she'll see me naked if I don't cover myself.

  I want to see if she gets embarrassed.

  Hemm did, indeed, bring up water a second time. Either she wasn't embarrassed at all, or she was very good at professionalism, because she didn't treat Atzi any differently. She just poured the water and left.

  Maybe Marco had the wrong idea about her entirely? Atzi would have tried to be provocative, but she felt having climbed out a sewer ruined that for sure.

  After her bath, she went to sleep.

  ===

  Atzi got up, got dressed, and headed out for the fancy, fancy inn that Scabiel screwed her in. That's where Kurgi and Scabiel had met, according to the latter.

  "How may I assist you?" the rich innkeeper asked her when she entered. The variety of clocks ticked away as usual.

  "Oh, just meeting a friend. A big spider lady arrive here yet?"

  "We keep a strict policy of guest confidentiality." The innkeeper brushed the countertop with his hand. "I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of any person at this establishment."

  "Even if you're here to meet with someone?" Atzi asked.

  "Name?" The innkeeper asked.

  "Kurgi."

  "Your name is Kurgi?" he asked, and pursed his lips.

  "No? I thought you were asking the name of the person I'm meeting. I'm Atzi."

  "I see." He checked a book on the counter. "No one is expecting you. If you wish, you may wait here in the lobby for anyone who may or may not be here."

  Atzi groaned. "Fine." She sat down and waited. Maybe I'll catch them.

  Not more than ten minutes later - precisely nine minutes and thirteen seconds, actually, according to the clocks - Atzi heard the slamming of a door.

  She looked over to see Scabiel marching down the stairs. Her expression was furious. She entirely ignored both Atzi and the innkeeper as she opened the door, stepped outside, and slammed it behind her.

  Atzi winced. Huh, I missed the actual argument. But I heard Scabiel's side of it before, so I'll get Kurgi's.

  Atzi swung her head down, vanishing in front of the counter as the owner was distracted by Scabiel's display. She snuck by and slinked her way up the steps.

  Finding Kurgi's room was easy enough, as the door was still open. In fact, it appeared to be hanging half-off of its hinges and part of the doorframe was just splintered wood.

  Atzi poked her head in, only to see Kurgi wasn't alone. She was discussing something with a petite human woman. Atzi quickly poked her head back out and eavesdropped.

  "I think I should go…" the petite woman said, sounding afraid. "She seemed really mad. I don't want her to do to me what she did to that door."

  "No! That's exactly what she wants!" Kurgi made a cry of frustration. "I can't believe she was such a bitch!"

  Atzi knocked on the door.

  The door fell over with a deafening thud.

  "...wow, she really smashed it, huh. Hi Kurgi." Atzi waved.

  Kurgi looked baffled. "Atzi? What are you doing here?"

  "You said to look for you in the evening? What happened?"

  "I met Scabiel earlier today, in the afternoon. She insulted me a lot and made me feel horrible! She was a total bitch! So I found someone else," she pointed to the woman, "to make me feel better and came here. Then she showed up again acting like nothing happened! I was so mad I really let her have it! Then she got really mad and smashed the door!"

  "You met her twice?"

  "Yeah!"

  "So when did you meet her the first time?"

  "Like a few hours ago."

  Well, I know from Scabiel's account this is not what happened. I was right, someone really is fucking with them! For some reason.

  "Where? Out in the streets?"

  "Oh I was just mingling with people at another house. That's where I met, uh, what's your name again?"

  "...Marise..."

  Atzi tapped her claws together. "So Scabiel saw Marise at the party too, but acted like she'd never seen her before. That sound about right?"

  Kurgi put her finger to her chin. "Huh. I guess that is right. That's weird."

  "Yeah, someone's definitely fucking with you both. You got enemies?"

  Kurgi blinked. "Does my entire family count?"

  "Uh... probably? Not popular with them?"

  "Political stuff. I'm mom's favorite so they're jealous."

  "Might be someone fucking with Scabiel instead. Disguising as someone's gotta be shapeshifting magic or something like that, yeah?"

  Kurgi gasped. "Oh my Mom! You're probably right!" She made a panicked expression. "Oh no! I said all those horrible things to her! But it was the Shapeshifter who was mean to me to break up our love! Like in the book!"

  Atzi still hadn't read that book, assuming it was the same one Hemm had told her about, and she didn't plan to. "Oh yeah, she's super pissed. But you've got a witness, right? Who can say 'hey this all happened'. Right, Marise?"

  Marise tried to hide in her shirt.

  "Taking that as a yes. Alright, cool, you two can probably work this out."

  "Atzi, you need to help me too!" Kurgi pouted.

  "Uh... sure, so long as we find her fast enough." Atzi curled her tail. "I've gotta be somewhere in a few hours or I'm screwed."

  "There's no way she'll let me talk to her after what I just said. And she's pissed. You need to talk to her so she's open to the idea."

  Atzi shrugged. "Sure. Just gotta find where she went."

  "Let's find her right now!" Kurgi grabbed Marise's hand.

  "I'm not really comfortable with-" Marise tried to finish her sentence, but Kurgi just dragged her along.

  Atzi scampered after them.