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They survived the night.
But survival in Bögenhafen never comes free.

While the city licked its wounds,
Desmi disappeared into the alleys.

The Thieves’ Guild claimed her quietly.
Not as prey.
As potential.

Under Ranald’s crooked smile,
she became a novice —
learning how locks listen,
how doors remember hands,
and how faith sometimes hides behind quick fingers and faster exits.

At the same time, Scarlett went the other way.

Into marble.
Into law.
Into the Temple of Verena.

There, she learned what the city would not say aloud:

Franz Steinhäger has been growing stronger for five years.
Not slowly.
Not by accident.

Since his return.
Since Gideon returned with him.

Power gathers when no one is watching.

Together, Scarlett and Desmi went to the Town Hall.

They found Judge Heissman in conversation with Gideon —
polite, cordial, closed.

No answers.
Only a suggestion:

“Make an appointment.”

So Scarlett went to the secretary.

And found the real gatekeeper.

He would talk —
but only after a favour.

An ox roast.
A beer.
From The Golden Swan.

They paid for the meal with disbelief.

In the kitchen of that noble establishment,
they saw who truly served the city —
faces too skilled, too careful, too well-connected for simple cooks.

The price of the food
was the price of a family’s survival for two weeks.

But Ranald smiles on those who pay attention.

When they returned, the secretary spoke.

Steinhäger’s office.
Its location.
Its hours.

And so the plan was made.

Tonight, they would visit him —
when the city believes itself safe.

🜍 Now…

Desmi sharpens new skills.
Scarlett weighs truth against consequence.
Steinhäger locks his doors with confidence born of power.

And somewhere in Bögenhafen,
files wait in the dark
to be read by hands that should never touch them.

❓ When corruption wears a seal and a smile…
do you knock during the day —
or break in while the city sleeps?