Seeing sixty feet in the dark isn't incredibly useful here, because most pickpockets try to avoid being within sixty feet of the guard. Seeing in the dusk as well as a human can in bright day — and better than she herself can in full sunlight, if only slightly — is far more relevant. They might have missed that one without her eyes.

Anyway. A good and successful patrol! Nothing interesting happened! It's almost like Korvosa is a reasonable and sane city, which isn't constantly trying to collapse. That had to be true for at least most of the past few decades, but it's good to actually see it.

Tencednil is dismissed for the day. Her payment has been transferred. She's welcome to leave the Citadel.

A nice and calm day, at least where she could see it.

Well, she'll learn what actually happened in the morning. Does Mother have any updates for her? No? Tomorrow's newspaper, then. (Mother must have been busy setting up whatever she needs to be able to flee. There's no other reason she would have no new information about the city at a moment like this. Still, definitely the right choice of ways to spend her time and slots, if she was taking Tencednil's advice.)

KORVOSAN CARRIER
STARDAY, SARENITH 20th, 4708

IGNASI ARABASTI, GRANDNEPHEW OF QUEEN DOMINA, CLAIMS RIGHT TO THE CRIMSON THRONE

Yesterday, Ignasi Arabasti announced that with the death or absence of all other members of the royal house, he is next in line to be the monarch of Korvosa. His allegiance to Cheliax is obvious. It's not hard to uncover that he was part of the host that arrived from the gate. The Church of Asmodeus, with their new seventh circle archbishop, publicly backs his candidacy. The papers are quick to point out that this isn't how the succession works at all. With the death of the seneschal and disappearance of the current ruler and no named successors, there's no legal way for anyone to become monarch. The Great Houses have announced a summit of all twenty-six noble families to handle the ongoing succession crisis. It will be held this evening, hosted by House Ornelos.

She spots the headline on her way to pick the paper up—

Ah. There it is.

It seems that Cheliax isn't trying to do any sort of political dealing here, not if they're actively claiming the throne. This is obviously modeled off Queen Domina's technical usurpation of the throne, it's not actually as unprecedented as the paper makes it seem. This is why you don't trust people just because they write things down. Queen Domina made her deals from a place of power, though. She funded the Asmodean expansion only after successfully increasing Korvosa's trade. If this Ignasi got the Most High to cast him a Gate to bring him here, he is much more indebted than she was. Debts owed to the Asmodean church are risky, and debts owed to whatever forces in Cheliax can get Gates on command are likely riskier still.

Still, the memory of Queen Domina is strong. She did rule well, she was not too long ago, and many people remember her fondly. They'll be trying to play on that, remind everyone of what happened to the last family that tried to oppose an Arabasti reclaiming the Crimson Throne... He definitely has a chance here. And how strongly do the Houses actually want to oppose him? Ex-House Porphyria is a rather memorable warning.

For now, she can't do much with this, though. Vague ominous warnings would be a bad idea with no actual grounding in knowledge, and she doesn't know where they would be effective. Maybe if she sees something she can amplify it. Until then... more guard shifts.

(Unless she has mail, but that seems unlikely unless the Arkonas really want to know more about the Mantis. And even then, Captain Paras would be a better source.)

The Bank has no mail for her at this time.

The first half of her guard patrol comes and goes. Nothing of interest happens, as far as she can tell. The rumblings of unrest continue, but in this most wealthy ward they are now shaped differently. There is power to be gained, for those in the right position to try.

Hours pass.

She spends them listening to the rumblings. Nobody looks too hard at guards, she can fade into the background easily. A better idea of what's going on among the upper class might be useful. Of course, that comes at the cost of her ability to nudge their discussions, so she can only hear what they're already saying. Definitely an improvement on guesses nonetheless.

The second half of her patrol is equally boring. They encounter no terrible beasts, no undead, no cultists, and no assassins. If only every day was like this...

Nice and calm, and getting a sense of the whispers on the street is a good thing to be doing. Maybe not the most valuable use of her time, but definitely not a waste. And the assassins probably were the most valuable thing she could have been doing, and there's no way for her to only be with the guard for the important shifts.

Most patrols must be like this. There isn't a cult in the newspaper every week in normal times. Guards don't die very often. Believing that, however, can only come from seeing it. She's starting to believe it.

Tencednil is dismissed for the day. Her payment has been transferred. Captain Paras wishes her well.

And she him! She has gradually worked her way back to cheerful over the two days since Juan's death, and she's clearly handling it better than the squad members who knew him well but still affected enough to be available to grieve with and able to sympathize. By now, she knows Captain Paras well enough to personalize her good wishes a little. More will come with time.

Instead of going immediately home, she walks up the hill. Noble houses without at least some claim to a place in the Heights are essentially conceding their influence on the throne. ...Were, as of a few weeks ago. That may not be as important any more. Still, anyone she wants to find will be up there at least one or two days a week to make sure they know their allies and their enemies by face and by reputation. She mostly knows young nobles, none of whom are actually in power, but they have some idea of the thoughts of their parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, older siblings, and whoever else in the family might matter. They are also substantially worse at not letting things slip. Relatedly, they usually stay in sight of their elders if anything important is happening, but humans can only contain their spawn for so long before it starts to have consequences. A chance to talk with a friend who has a clear and legible history of not being a spy for anyone is a chance they should jump at.

She went these rounds recently when she was looking for the painter, so she knows where the newest fashionable places are. She has money, and more coming in from the assassins she helped take down more directly. It's getting dark for humans, but anywhere worth eating as a noble will have some magically lit rooms one way or another — if they couldn't afford that, nobody would come. Tencednil knocks on a few likeminded doors, proposes a location, and within an hour they're out to eat and gossip. She won't even need to steer the conversation much, the new Arabasti claimant is on everyone's mind.

There's certainly lots of gossip to be had! Everything has been a bit crazy recently. House Grey's scandal only wrapped up a couple weeks ago. Did you know about what befell this or that nobleman recently? Everyone has their petty feuds and drama. The dinner conversation goes on for a long while.

Ignasi Arabasti is a rather pretty man, have you seen him in that outfit of his? Not everyone seems to like him much, though. The Great Houses might want to appear neutral for their summit, but there's rumblings of bias against the foreigners from Cheliax already. House Ornelos is not pleased with the current events.

Ornelos? The house which is hosting the meeting is also expressing an opinion? That puts it in a new light. The Chelish will have to put in some effort to get around that... but they definitely can. On the other hand, so can House Ornelos. Eighth circle wizards are like that.

And on that note, how are they feeling? She starts by prompting then to express their own opinions, but in the context of House Ornelos's gathering, and with some of them wanting to seem informed, they should end up talking about their own houses as well, and maybe some others if they know. She can't get a full view of the more minor houses, but she can get a sense of how the ground lies before any politicking is done.

There's a mix of opinions. Cheliax is rich and powerful and also ruled by Hell. Nobody likes Hell but everybody likes to be rich. Some houses do a lot of businesses with Cheliax. Some don't. One can imagine how that might sway things. Korvosa doesn't know how Ignasi Arabasti would rule, were he king. The people at this dinner don't know the outcome of the first day of the summit, which should be happening right about now. Perhaps the overall mood will become more clear tomorrow. 

Nothing surprising, but Cheliax investing this much was a surprise. So is Ornelos making itself a focus for their opposition. Everything else being mostly as expected is a relief. 

That's everything she needs to pump out of them. They can report on their newfound knowledge to their parents, various noble houses will coordinate a little better than they otherwise would have, and she should keep her reputation as having dinners worth coming to when she asks. (Except maybe for the one scion who mentioned that about House Ornelos. That might have been intended to stay private. Hopefully she won't realize Tencednil's reshared gossip was mostly reformulating her mentioned actions in a shape which shines more brightly, and everyone can think Tencednil just leaked that as payment for their own information.)

Back home, mention what she knows to Mother (a calm accepting nod, she doesn't need to share her political plans with Tencednil), and sleep. 

KORVOSAN CARRIER
SUNDAY, SARENITH 21st, 4708

BLOOD VEIL CURE EFFECTIVE, THOUSANDS TO BE RELEASED FROM QUARANTINE

The cure works. House Arkona is subsidizing its production for the poorest of Old Korvosa. The Bank of Abadar sells it to everyone else. It's much cheaper than a remove disease, which is what it needed to beat. They can produce many more cure doses than spells. The quarantine is promised to end once the disease is eradicated. The summit of the nobility hasn't made any public decisions yet. There are surprisingly few leaks about what happened there last night. Apparently it's being hosted in a sealed extradimensional mansion conjured by House Ornelos. No invite, no entry.

Successful cure, going cheap, that's everything she wanted out of it. A victory, unless someone is waiting to catch her later. And Morgethai might notice if she's checking the balance, but it doesn't change that much either way. 

The paper knows unsurprisingly little. The Arkonas being in the public spotlight like this will be a boon for whoever they back, but nobody knows who exactly that will be. Of course  there is a limit to how much public opinion matters here, when the final word on any law would have to come from a vote of the houses. It's still not something to disregard.

She has an ever-improving map of the situation, but it is still limited, and she has no way to use it. Better to know in case that changes, but it does limit how much she's willing to invest. Down to the Citadel, then. (After checking her mail, but there's no reason Mika would have anything to say, and nobody else seems likely to contact her that way.)

Tencednil has one letter waiting for her at the Bank. It's from Aline Vianu, the current young heir to House Vianu, one of Korvosa's noble houses. She was at Tencednil's dinner last night. The letter conveys an invitation for Tencednil to have dinner with Aline tonight, if she's available.

Oh! Interesting.

She writes back an acceptance. She doesn't want to turn down an invitation, that's how you stop having connections. Aline might also have something important to say. That's a side benefit, though.

In the meantime, on to the guard. The mourning cycle for Juan was the main reason they were on a low-energy patrol, and that might be over sometime soon, so they might actively need her. Even if not, it's better for her to be there.

Captain Paras's squad is indeed back to more skilled work. They will be patrolling a portion of the sewers under the Heights today.

She has the hang of the schedule by now, so it's only fifteen minutes after her arrival that they receive their Blessing and depart.

Fifteen minutes is enough to notice the self-reported Asmodean being a little lost in thought, easily distractable and not at her best. A quick flash of a holy symbol, angled so it could be the Asmodean, just out of the corner of her eye... it's something from the church. The newcomer's preaching, no doubt. Well, the best remedy for Asmodean logic is a little time relying on others and being relied on by them, a reminder of positive interpersonal connections. With careful positioning before they walk into the Blessing room... she will end up in the front, side by side with the Sarenrite for this patrol, both of them watching in front of the group. Tencednil will be able to see farther in their lantern light than either of them will manage, of course, but the Sarenrite should have time to talk, rant a little about the scent of brimstone and sudden inconveniences of devil activity, and the two of them will have to work together if anything happens. It won't be perfect or guaranteed, of course, but a little discomfort and uncertainty among their followers might be a bit of a threat to the Chelish power grab.