Although the Radasanthian sky was now the pale blue of a summer’s afternoon, without even a wisp of the clouds that had smothered Corone earlier, the ground was still sopping. Puddles filled stretches of the cobblestone street that housed the markets, soaking Shinsou's trousers up to the shins as he meandered down the street. It was impossible to find a dry stretch of pavement to walk down and the growing crowds had stopped trying to find dry terrain to stand on, instead resigning their shoes to soak in the water welling up around their ankles. As the Telgradian and his protege purposefully strode past them, his boots churned up the mud and spattered it both up his own suit and the legs of those he passed.

Shinsou’s irritation at being pulled back into the city was somewhat dampened by the fact that he knew his Immortals were on the scene. They were the best the Brotherhood had to offer, and by now every street corner, market stall, brothel, tavern and shit-heap bazaar in this monumental melting pot of chaos would have their considerably numerous eyes and ears on them. Even if the situation now meant he had to get his hands dirty, that was something he was prepared to deal with given the interest that people would take in his missing item.

It wasn't long, perhaps only a matter of minutes, before a glowing green glyph appeared on the back of Soap's weathered hand.

"Shinsou, it's Harore," He whispered, nodding towards the symbol. "We need to make contact."

Shinsou kept his head straight for a moment, his eyes surveying the area for any parties taking too much of an interest in them. "Fine."

As Shinsou approached an intersection of road, he checked twice for prying eyes and then swerved left, diving into the subtle opening of yet another of the labyrinthine corridors of Radasanth’s alleyways. Quickly, the Telgradian trotted forward to ensure his form wasn’t caught loitering by any witnesses. It wasn’t long before the alleyway twisted into another left turn before ending abruptly at the behest of a building’s south wall. It was a perfect place to communicate with Harore, away from the roads and with no-one around to snoop into business that wasn’t theirs. Shinsou brushed away the strands of brown hair from his face as he signed a pentagram on the floor, finishing the rune with two fingers touched to his forehead. The lines on the floor burned with a glowing orange hue as he launched into the appropriate incantation.

Kaze Sasayakimasu

The Telgradian could feel the power of his magic reverberating through his body, down his arm and into the rune on the floor. The beginnings of a portal through which he could communicate over vast distances started to come together as the sky immediately above him changed into the colours of an aurora. The layout of the dancing lights imploded into a contorting, twisting wall of chaos; colours brightly sifting through each other before stabilising and converging to form a screen with an oil-like shimmer.

At its heart lay an empty calm through which Harore's face manifested. He looked as if he were about to deliver some good news, for a change.

“Shinsou, one of our Immortals noted some commotion further down the marketplace. It turns out that the kidnapped girl's mother is still there. She wasn't hard to find; the woman has gone a bit feral, and she's loosed a few arrows in public.”

"Subtle." Shinsou responded sarcastically. "Well, we can't very well have a desperate mother making a show of it in public when we're trying to keep this situation quiet. Get over there, now, and i'll meet you there. We need to get her off the streets for now; perhaps she'll have a lead on our man."

Yeah, that dead man walking.

Another face spread to the true ends of Shinsou’s field of vision, the body it belonged to standing as tall and imposing as a mountain. Behind him, in the translucent screen through which the Radasanthian sun shone, hung a banner which although impossible to comprehend due to the glare of the sun was the emblem that Shinsou knew to be that of the Immortals. It was Harper, the leader of his intelligence. He leaned forward slightly to reveal an ageing face. Framed by wisps of white hair, his features were creased and worn, but his blue eyes were sharp and focused and the man held a determined expression as he gazed back into the portal at Shinsou. An aide dressed in scarlet red robes hovered next to him, standing so tall as to dwarf the spokesman.

“About that; we believe we know the identity of the thief. You aren't going to like this...”

Shinsou's gaze shifted from the first face to the floor as Harper spoke the name. As the syllables left his lips, the words ricocheted off of the Telgradian's eardrums like gunshots off a stone wall and made his stomach churn on the spot.

“Ramsey Mthandria.”

There was an awkward pause. The name had implications that Shinsou wasn't even prepared to think about right now, but whilst he managed an audible, irritated sigh, another thought hit him. Ramsey was the son of Ducos; one of the original five members of the Brotherhood Council that Shinsou had overthrown with Storm Veritas. Ducos was a wily bastard; always thinking, always grasping, always trying to stay ahead of the game. It made sense that Ramsey would understand the inner workings of Whitevale and it made sense that Arius's Crucible would be his target. It also made his capture a priority; not only was he running around with arguably the most important magical artifact in Corone, but the little prick was easily one of the most valuable bargaining chips that the Telgradian could use against his enemy.

"This might work in our favour," Shinsou said, gesturing for Soap to gear up, "Get the Immortals to form a perimeter around the city. I don't want him getting out of here unless I'm dragging his sorry carcass over the cobbles myself. What's the name of the girl's mother, Harper?"

"Rainee," The man replied, "That's all I've got. We're looking into it. Oh, and be careful; she's a Neko."

"Fiery temper, huh?," Shinsou retorted, adjusting his coat, "Well, let's pay 'Rainee' a visit, shall we?"