It hasn't been a good day at all. The day's been a scorcher, and everyone's too hot to walk the streets, much less be interested in food. A few customers showed up in the Tavern, but they mostly wanted ice water, which he had precious little left now.

Azure opened the hatch and poked his head down into the basement area. "Hey, 'kafa. You in? We could use some more ice upstairs if you can give me a hand with the winch."

No response.

The Aeonian shrugged, climbing down the ladder, and walking past the racks of wine bottles, knocking politely on the door to his partner's room.

Still no response. Probably out on one of his courier missions.

A check on the hidden grille exit found it locked from the outside; sure enough, Iaskafa was out.

A soft -thump- from above indicated the sound of someone entering the Inn. "Be right up!", he hollered towards the open hatch. "Just getting some ice."

Lashing a slightly-rusted steel chain around the block, he climbed up the ladder to pull it upstairs, looking around for whomever had come in.

The room was empty.

Probably the crowd of card players., he reassured himself. But they normally order before they go in back.

Another click from upstairs, in the Tavern now. Azure rounded the bar, and called upstairs. "I'm shut down upstairs- come on back down and I'll serve you."

He walked back and started hoisting the block of ice up through the hatch. By the time he'd pulled the heavy block through the hole and set it in the wooden tray made to hold it, nobody had come downstairs. Perhaps it's someone deaf.,he thought. Neverthleless, he grabbed his gloves and the iron frying pan, heading upstairs.

A solitary figure waited at the bar, dressed in a voluminous black robe. The hood didn't quite hide the additional, single peak near the front. Azure quickly hid the pan behind his back.

"Hello, Azure.", the stranger spoke. "Fancy meeting you here." The Aeonian pulled back her hood, grinning at him and nodding. She was a night black unicorn, with a silver mane; she'd had silver stars dappled onto the side of her muzzle.

"I own this place. But you know that, or you wouldn't be here." He looked past her at the door; it was closed and locked from the inside.

"Certainly, certainly. So, what's a girl got to do to get a drink?" She smiledagain, and it wasn't a nice smile.

Azure bared his teeth. "Nothing. Just get out." He took a step forward, hoof rattling the loose floorboard with a wooden -clomp.-

"Oh come now, Azurite Phiall. Is that any way to treat a sister?", she smiled. "Whatever happened to the politeness of the Order?"

Azure took another step forward. "I'm an exile. Or did you forget that?"

She smiled. "With that getup, I can't say I'd mistake you for one of the order, no. Not with that silly getup. Nice stripes,by the by."

Azure nodded slightly. "Thanks. Now get out."

She sighed. "Oh, very well. If that's how you want to play it… " She nodded at something behind him.

Azure turned, brandishing the pan, expecting to see more dark-robed figures leaping for him; there wasn't. Instead a hand grabbed his arm from behind, twisting it up and back; a delicate hoof hooked around his and tripped him. He dropped the pan. Something hit him in the back of the head and he blacked out.

Outside, a few evening customers wandered up to the doors of the Vile Phial Inn and Tavern; a simple sign hung on the doors and the bottom of the stairwell. "Closed Today. -Mgt."

He woke, back of his head pounding. "Welcome back. For a bit I wonderedif I'd crushed the back of your skull."

Azure spit at her. "I'll never come back with you."

She smiled, wearing his oven mitts and tapping the pan. "Who said I was here to take you back?" She cleared her throat. "Committing heresy, fleeing proper persecution, committing more heresy by communing with mortals, assault on an agent of the Order." She eyed the steel-handled iron pan. "And attempted murder of a member of the Order."

Azure shrugged. "I chose to spend my life in the pursuit of more than what was just inside the confines of City. I chose to leave to practice my interest in peace; I haven't sent anything back there, nor have I tried to contact any others in the Order. And your agent was wielding an iron dagger. But I imagine you don't care."

She shook her head at him. "No, I don't. I did, once. I've learned the error of my ways now." A pause. "Besides. Fraternizing with the locals here, in plain sight, no less, you threaten our existence by your presence."

She cleared her throat. "The sentence for your crimes against the Aeonians is death."

He shrugged and looked away. "Why am I not surprised?"

She leaned in closer; he could feel her breath on his ear. "Oh, come now, brother. No pleading for mercy? No offers to make me a deal, curry my favor? I was always fond of you back in City… "

He looked up and smiled. "Then do me a favor. Be quick about it."

–

Excerpt from the Watch report:

A mysterious fire damaged the upper floor of the establishment, the Vile Phial Inn and Tavern, yesterday afternoon. The doors were locked from the inside, and proved difficult for the fire department to break down, but they managed to do so and get the fire under control swiftly. Professor Hensley's new 'fire pumper' wagon helped make this possible, though the Professor says the device still needs work.

It is unclear whether anyone was hurt in the blaze; the only apparent cause of the fire was a frying pan found lying on the floor near the center of the burned area. Firefur Murphy comments, 'There was this weird ozone smell, too, like the kind you get from a thunderstorm.'

Firefur Rusty said, 'Remember, don't leave cooking food unsupervised. This could happen to you.', he said, pointing at the smoking building.

Sinai Chamber of Commerce records show an 'Azure' and an 'Iaskafa' as the owners of the building. Neither of them were available for comment.