Kappsi didn't put much trust in the local watchguards, but right now she didn't have anyone else to turn to.

She'd thumped her paws raw racing up and down the dockside trying to find Brickle the night before, to no avail. She'd burst back into Old Glaw's bungalow hollering to anyone who would listen, but looking back she realised she must've looked half-drunk, half-mad, and altogether out of her mind.

Eventually she managed to find her older brothers – Skoppa and Haarm – in one of the dock offices and blurt the story out to them. Once she'd calmed down enough to explain things properly, the otterkin twins had hastily assembled a search party to comb the docks for Brickle and their attackers.

It was too little, too late. She stayed with them, searching every crack and crevice until her eyes ached, but they found no trace of her friend, or the robed lunatics that had kidnapped her. All she had were the memories, memories that staved off sleep and left her wild-eyed with anger the following morning. Another sweep of the docks and cursory questioning of the day shift workers left them no further forward. The dockers of Whaveloda prided themselves on their independence, and being able to sort out their own problems, but Kappsi knew the time had come to report the incident to Wildhearth's real authorities.

It was time to go to the lawhouse.

The afternoon sun clambered its way to a zenith as she stomped through Whaveloda's bustling streets. She scanned the crowd, hunting for a glimpse of those strange robes; for any trace of someone that didn't belong. All she found were the usual scurrying denizens of the busy trade district, going about their business. Somehow that only compounded her frustration.

The twins loped along in her wake. A little shorter than her, but a little broader, Skoppa and Haarm would have been indistinguishable from one and other were it not for the coiling wave tattoo of black ink that flowed around the left side of Haarm's neck. Both of them worked haulage at the Whaveloda docks, and the years of lugging, loading and stacking had turned the brothers into a pair that few would want to mess with. Loose fit bodywraps and dark kilts left their brawny frames clearly in evidence, thick, powerful tails swaying behind them as they walked.

"Steady, Kappsi," Skoppa called as he struggled to keep pace with her rangy stride. "The lawhouse ain't going anywhere!"

"You got somewhere else you need to be?" she snapped without looking back. Her ferocious pace didn't falter. "Every minute we waste is another minute Brickle's stuck out there. Peace-only-knows what's they're doing to her!"

"Hey, hey, we're on for the ride," Haarm interjected pleadingly. "I know you're worryin' sis, but don't take it out on us, eh?"

Kappsi didn't reply, scowling to herself as she twisted to the right down a broad bridgeway. The centre of the district formed a dizzying lattice of criss-crossed walkways, bridges and tram-carrier rails, all built around the network of canals that converged here. They mounted the bridge to Whaveloda's market plateau, where the machinery of the district could be found, from the designate officers to the customs dens, to the main lawhouse.

Noise barrelled over them as they crossed the busy bridgeway and plunged into the hustling chaos of the market plateau. Dens of all shapes and sizes clustered around them, some leaning at precarious angles, some actually cut into the flanks of the rocky plateau edge and connected by enclosed ladders and rampways. Ahead of them a small clearing opened up, filled with market stalls and surrounded by warrenaries, bars, workshops and restaurants. A tram-carrier chugged its way along the central rail that bisected the plateau, its cuboid bulk rising above the crowds.

Not in the mood to waste time, Kappsi elbowed her way through the throng, ignoring indignant tirades from disgruntled citykin as she focused on the one thing that mattered right now. They crossed the tram-carrier line, turned left to the edge of the market and out onto a cul-de-sac where the Whaveloda lawhouse waited.

Like most lawhouses in Wildhearth, it was shaped like an angular horseshoe that faced out into the district. Beige-brown and shadowed on either flank by taller buildings, it took on a rather brooding aspect, as though it resented having to deal with the law and order of such a busy place. All in all, it didn't look very inviting.

"It'll be nicer on the inside," Haarm commented.

Skoppa gave a derisive snort. "Oh aye, like you know. When was the last time you were in a lawhouse?"

"Never been in one – I'm not stupid enough for 'em to catch me."

"Callin' me stupid, little brother?"

"Little brother? Y'just keep yer headfur long."

"Keeps me taller'n you, don't it?"

"Will you two shut up!" Kappsi hissed, rounding on them and thumping a paw against each of their chests. "Brickle's out there somewhere, alone, scared and probably feelin' like the whole world just abandoned her. This ain't the time to joke around, y' understand?"

She glared daggers back and forth, and the pair had the good grace to look sheepish. They glanced at each other, before Skoppa dipped his head to her, hunching his shoulders awkwardly.

"Aye, you're right," he muttered. "Sorry."

"Sorry," Haarm repeated.

Kappsi felt an instant stab of regret having spoken to them so sharply. After all, they were out here with her, happy to lose their shifts and lose their stamps to help find her friend.

"Peace, it's alright," she said, stepping forward and wrapping an arm around each brother's neck to pull them down into a hug. "Just save the jokes for Brickle when we find her, alright?"

"We'll find her, Kappsi," Haarm assured her, one big paw clapping her on the back. "Not gonna leave one of our own in the dark for long."

Releasing her hold on them, Kappsi turned back to the lawhouse and steeled herself, head held high and shoulders square. Then she started walking again, straight to the front door. It might have been early, but a district as packed and lucrative as Whaveloda had a crime rate to match. The watchguards here would have no trouble keeping busy. A steady flow of kin came and went, from groups of vulkin guards heading out into the city, to struggling criminals being escorted inside for an unwanted visit to the lawhouse cells.

A quartet of watchguards kept an eye on the entrance, armbows and heavy truncheons clearly in evidence. They paid Kappsi and her brothers little more than cursory glance – Whaveloda had a big otterkin population so seeing groups of them was nothing unusual for the watchguards assigned here.

Inside the lawhouse a long foyer opened out, filled to the rafters with noise, the hot scent of fresh muskbrew, babbling voices and the stink of pipe smoke. Right in front of them was a line of heavy desks that were bolted to the floor, each one with its own attendant officer. Other guards patrolled the space, directing citykin where they needed to go and keeping a wary eye out for troublemakers.

After explaining the situation to a harassed-looking vulkin manning one of the desks, the three otterkin were treated to a claw-curling wait. Kappsi paced; her brothers tried to lighten the mood with jokes at each other's expense, but they couldn't dispel the building sense of unease.

Eventually, however, a junior watchguard arrived, and escorted them from the lobby. They left the cacophony of the foyer behind and followed their chaperone along a narrow hallway into the bowels of the building. Vulkin hustled back and forth here, barking orders to one and other as they darted through lawhouse's corridors. It all gave Kappsi the sense of someone trying to keep a cauldron from boiling over, without having control of the heat.

"Over here," a voice shouted from further down the hall, catching the attention of their escort. Looking ahead, Kappsi saw a tall, wire-haired and long-muzzled watchguard raising a paw from behind a messy desk. Another guard sat beside him – a squat, individual with dark fur and a slightly squashed-looking snout who was leafing disinterestedly through a ream of bark-paper.

The junior guard set off towards them, and Kappsi followed, feeling her nerves beginning to jangle. She'd never interacted with the district watchguards to any meaningful degree – she was happy to ignore and be ignored by the law enforcement of Wildhearth. Now she realised she didn't really know what to expect.

No time to dwell. Kappsi swallowed down her doubts as they reached the desk and the wire-haired guard looked up at them pensively. Dismissing the junior with a brusque nod, he managed a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"I am Watchguard Brightar," he began, before gesturing to his companion. "This is Guard Farook. Take a seat." He inclined his head to the chair opposite him.

Kappsi tried to keep her composure, not wanting to seem hysterical in the face of the watchguards. If she wanted their help she needed to stay calm, and on point. She sat down, only belatedly realising that Skoppa and Haarm had to loom behind her.

"So, I gather one of your friends has gone missing?" Brightar asked.

"Aye, that's what we told your mate at the front desk," Haarm replied, an edge of frustration already creeping into his voice.

"Case of bloody mass hysteria," the other watchguard grunted, rubbing his eyes with both paws.

Brightar shot the other vulkin a disapproving look. "Fangs, Farook, have a care would you?"

Kappsi blinked in surprise. "What is he talking about?"

"You're not the first person to come in making a report like this," Brightar elaborated, with a shrug. "Had quite a few kin just up and leave Whaveloda from the sounds of it. Sometimes it's a watchguard matter, sometimes it isn't. We've had a mess of a time sorting out which is which."

"My friend didn't leave," Kappsi hissed. "She was taken."

"Taken by who?"

"If I knew who they were do you think I'd be here?!"

"Easy there." Brightar raised a paw, casting a warning glance at his companion. "If you don't answer the questions, I can't help you."

"I don't know who did it. It was just some gang of kin in robes."

"Robes?" Brightar's tone took on an edge of incredulity.

"Yes, robes. I know it sounds off the deep end but I saw what I saw. My friend is dock worker Brickle – we work the Whaveloda freight docks on the east canalway, and you can speak to our supervisor there. She's not been seen since last night."

Brightar, at least, was paying attention, clattering the information into his computing rig as she spoke. His companion, however, seemed less enthusiastic.

"I've seen kin up-root and scarper for all kinds of reasons." Farook looked up from his bark-paper long enough to spare her a scathing glance. "Do you have any evidence?"

Kappsi bristled. "Well I got this." She pointed to the lump on her jaw where the club had struck her. Then she withdrew the strange necklace from the pocket off her bodywrap and dangled it in front of them. "In the fight I got this off one of them."

Brightar's eyebrow rose and he leaned forward, cupping it in one paw. Farook at least took the time to examine it as well, his muzzle scrunching in concentration.

"I don't recognise the marking," Brightar said.

"Me neither." Farook slumped back in his seat with a shrug. "But that could've come from any market stall from here to Shardrise."

"So you're not gonna do anything?" Skoppa rumbled, and she felt him edging forward closer to her seat.

"No-one said that," Brightar answered quickly. He looked Kappsi in the eye. "Can I borrow this?"

"Sure." She let go of the necklace cord, leaving it in the watchguard's paw.

He gave her a nod of thanks. "We'll do what we can."

"What exactly does that mean?"

"You got any idea how many 'missing' reports we get through here every day?" Farook barked before his partner could respond. "We follow up everything we can, but if all you've got is that dinky necklace and a story about ragged robe thugs, that doesn't give us a lot to work with."

"We'll speak to your supervisor," Brightar assured them, trying to strike a less confrontational tone than his partner. "And we'll canvas the dockside for witnesses. But he's not wrong – there is not a lot of information to go on."

"I think there's enough to get started," Kappsi shot back before she could stop herself. She felt Haarm's paw on her shoulder. He gave it a squeeze, reassuring but also reminding her not to fly off the handle at the watchguard officers. Feeling the anger boiling, she decided not to say anything else, instead folding her arms and slumping back against the seat. There was an awkward moment of quiet as the two officers exchanged glances, before Brightar tapped the necklace with one claw.

"I'm going to take some captures of this. Maybe someone else around here will recognise it. Now, who's your dock supervisor?"

"Beaverkin Glawrain. He goes by Glaw."

"Right." He nudged Farook. "Go pull the dock records. We'll get someone to have a chat with him."

Grumbling under his breath, Farook stood and shuffled off. Brightar got out of his seat and managed another smile.

"I'll be back in a minute."

The gangly watchguard loped off through the forest of desks, disappearing through a door in the back. Kappsi watched him go, glaring with impotent fury, digging her claws into the fabric of her kilt to keep herself from spitting every insult she could think of in the watchguard's wake. The door banged shut behind him and her gaze swept angrily across the hive of activity.

Something caught her eye.

She almost missed it as she scanned the room, her brain not quite making the connection at first. But then her head snapped back to focus on a brawny vulkin at the back of the room who was in the process of wrestling with the top half of his dark blue body armour. The mesh was pulled up, revealing the small of his back.

On the fur there, inked in black, were two triangles interlocked, pointing vertically towards each other with the tips overlapping. The same symbol as the pendant.

Every droplet of blood in her body shivered for an instant. Kappsi froze, as though she'd been caught in the eyes of a hungry predator, her eyes fixed on the marking. It was only visible for a brief instant before the watchguard finished whatever adjustment he was making and dragged his armour back down into place, but she knew what she'd seen.

She could feel her heart starting to pound. What in the Peace and Fire had Brickle been dragged into? Gulping down the lump in her throat, Kappsi shot up out of her seat, almost kicking it back into her brothers. Skoppa lurched forward and caught her by the shoulders to steady her. He edged around till he stood beside her, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Kappsi?" he asked, his voice low. "Y'alright?"

"I..." With an effort she jerked her head away from the tattooed watchguard, meeting Skoppa's eye. "We've gotta get out here."

"Eh?" Haarm shot them both a baffled look. "C'mon now, we can't be giving up at the first hurdle-,"

"I'm not. We have to leave. Trust me."

The twins exchanged baffled looks for a moment, but in the end Skoppa shrugged, clapping a paw down onto Haarm's shoulder and gently turning him away from the watchguards.

"C'mon, brother," he said quietly. "Y'know Kappsi ain't a quitter. Let's follow her lead, eh?"

Haarm still looked confused but he didn't argue, allowing himself to be turned away and led back through the lawhouse corridors. Kappsi slowly sped up as they walked and by the time they reached the foyer she was almost running. At the last moment she reigned herself in, realising that sprinting through the middle of the lawhouse would probably draw a lot of unwanted attention. Trying to get a hold of her racing heart, she slowed to a brisk walk, allowing her brothers to catch up.

She led them quickly out of the building, not stopping or sparing a backward glance until they were back out onto the market plateau, safely shrouded among the stands and crowds.

"Right then," Haarm blurted stepping around in front of her to bar her path. "What in the Fire's this all about? He was off doing what we asked him to do. Why'd we scarper?"

"Because of the necklace."

He raised an eyebrow. "What about it?"

"I saw it in there. One of the watchguards had that symbol tattooed on his damned spine!" Kappsi hissed.

"Oh, bloody tides," Haarm groaned after a moment as the implications hit him. He clapped his paws over his eyes wearily. "So you're saying that..."

"Whoever those robed creeps are, they've got people in the watchguards. We can't trust them."

Skoppa let out a frustrated growl. "Terrific. So what in the Fire are we supposed to do now?"

Kappsi looked at him as though he were insane.

"What else?" She reached forward, clasping a paw around the shoulder of each brother. "We're just gonna have to find Brickle ourselves."