Occtis

Although Occtis has studied cadavers, seeing Thjazi’s body is emotionally unlike his previous examinations.

Occtis sits beside Thjazi’s body and thanks him for the help Thjazi gave him.

Occtis opens the Fang home’s door and reluctantly invites Wicander and Tyranny inside.

Occtis is a member of House Tachonis.

Wicander recognises Occtis as a member of House Tachonis, although they have not seen one another for some time.

Occtis holds a distant position within the line of succession for the seat of House Tachonis.

Wicander last remembers seeing Occtis when Occtis was still a young child.

Azune pulls Occtis aside and sends a message directly into his mind, saying that they must determine what went wrong with their plan.

Azune and Occtis agree that Thaisha is currently too intoxicated to help them reconstruct the failed rescue.

Occtis tells Azune that the situation has become more complicated because Wicander Halovar is present at the Farramh.

Azune and Occtis agree that they must locate Thimble. Neither of them saw her during Thjazi’s execution.

Occtis explains that Thjazi never arrived for the extraction, meaning that Occtis and Thaisha’s part of the rescue plan never took place.

Azune tells Occtis that Teor’s brother Cyd was supposed to help with the rescue but has not been seen by Teor since his return.

Azune and Occtis know the secret flophouse where Thimble had been constructing the escape glyph. It lies two neighbourhoods south of the Rookery in the working-class district known as the Tanners.

Occtis proposes travelling to the hideout to see whether Thimble is there. Azune agrees and asks Occtis to meet him outside.

Occtis approaches the intoxicated Thaisha but decides against speaking. As he passes Tyranny, he tells the demon that she is very much not welcome in the Fang home.

Azune, Occtis, and Teor meet outside the Fang home. Occtis confirms that he knows the house where Thimble was working, and the three depart through Dol-Makjar as rain begins to fall.

Azune, Occtis, and Teor enter the Tanners as rain begins to fall. The district is filled with the smell of curing leather and macerating flesh from its many tanneries.

Azune leads the group to a wall marked with the name Ograhmson Leather Tannery. He knows that the letter S conceals the entrance to Thimble’s hidden apartment.

Occtis uses magic to disguise himself as a young orcish warrior resembling, but deliberately not exactly matching, Thaisha’s eldest son.

Occtis detects magical residue upon three frequently touched bricks. By arranging them in the correct order, he opens the concealed entrance to Thimble’s apartment.

Teor notices fresh blood beneath the hinge of the secret door. Someone has attempted to clean it away hastily.

The investigators find a large amount of blood descending the hidden staircase. The marks strongly suggest that one or more bodies were dragged out of the hideout.

The concealed apartment has been violently searched. Its door is shattered, papers are soaked in blood, the mattress has been cut open, and a broken mirror and overturned furnishings show that a serious struggle occurred.

The investigators recognise Thjazi’s handiwork throughout the concealed apartment. He had transformed part of the tannery into the secret hiding place, although much of his work has now been damaged.

Teor clears the furniture from a narrow drainage grate and discovers Thimble lying unconscious within a space only someone of her tiny size could enter.

Thimble is a four-inch-tall pixie with short brown hair who appears older than Teor remembers. Her dark-green clothes are tattered, her normally bright spring-green wings are muted, one wing is bent, and she lies unconscious with her needle swords scattered beyond her reach.

A small ceramic rune lies concealed beside Thimble inside the drainage grate. It is small enough to have been slid through the narrow opening with her.

Azune, Occtis, and Teor tell Thimble that the rescue failed and Thjazi has been executed. Thimble realises that night has fallen and breaks down because she never had the chance to say goodbye.

Thimble says that people entered the hideout and attacked her before she could deliver the glyph. She is immediately disturbed by the question of how they knew about the plan.

Because the genuine escape glyph remains with Thimble, Azune concludes that a different object carrying the same magical signatures must still be concealed upon Thjazi’s body. The investigators decide that they need to return to the Fang home.

After Thjazi escaped the execution site, Thaisha and Occtis were supposed to meet him and help him leave Dol-Makjar.

Thjazi was supposed to break the concealed rune, magically appear inside the waiting wagon, and leave the city before meeting Thaisha and Occtis for the final extraction.

An imposing figure appears in the entrance to Thimble’s hideout. Occtis does not recognise him, but Thimble, Teor, and Azune immediately know the man as Kattigan Vale.

Occtis recognises Wulferic as a wolf Pin has encountered while wandering through the woods. Rather than attacking the fox-like familiar, Wulferic adopts a submissive posture and begins playing with her.

After the execution, Kattigan follows Teor and the others to the Fang home. He considers entering the Farramh but turns away when the gathering grows louder and more celebratory. When the investigators emerge, he follows them instead.

Thimble draws the stolen relic for Occtis. It is a spherical carved stone formed by a bird embracing itself within its wings, which Thjazi described as a nightingale.

After studying Thimble’s drawing, Occtis says that he knows someone who may be able to help identify or understand the Stone of Nightsong.

While introducing Kattigan to Occtis, Thimble explains that Kattigan abandoned their old companions after a battle. Teor nevertheless describes him as a fierce warrior and a good man.

After learning that Thjazi’s body is at Halandil’s home, Thimble tearfully asks the others to take her there.