The hardest part of infiltrating a criminal organization to systematically press it’s leadership of information was actually finding the damn thing. Standard practice for underground shadow organizations is to keep themselves hidden, and the thugs presumably working under Varekoth were no exception. Thozronnath and Prisaela had no luck finding anything while skulking around the seedier parts of town with stealth skills active. Thoz was practically ready to give up and start slaughtering humans until one of them gave him what he needed, an uncharacteristically short sighted and violent response for the usually competent devil.

When Prisaela suggested just walking around in the open and using themselves as bait, Thoz had already resigned himself from any other plan and thus had no reason not to take her suggestion. Which is how the two of them ended up strolling along the docks in the brisk evening air, arm in arm.

Admittedly, Prisaela did a wonderful job of playing her part as the doting girlfriend. Thoz had to stop on more than one occasion and remind himself that she was a shapeshifting manipulative bitch and his accomplice in multiple murders rather than a cute human tart he’d picked up. The fantasy was nice though, maybe he’d see if she was interested in some acting practice when they got back to their room tonight.

This endeavor proved to be fruitful rather quickly though, as within the first hour of their false “date” Prisaela leaned in to whisper and inform Thoz that they were being followed. Nodding silently, he established a connection to Prisaela with his yet underused Telepathy skill and continued walking. When his companion mentally pointed out where their tail was shifting in the shadows behind them he was able to confirm their presence as well.

From this distance there was no real way to confirm if they were from the same group that had assaulted them earlier, with the city being overwhelmed by illegal activity and all. If they weren’t it just meant they could steal their possessions and continue their stroll as obvious bait a few minutes later and a few coins richer. Honestly, Thoz was hoping they’d get a few mugging attempts before they found their targets, he needed the money and no one would miss thieves and murderers that vanished in the night. Win-Win for a devil trying to hide in plain sight.

Thoz got his wish rather quickly too, and while career criminals and professional muggers are not the most affluent members of society they did help line his pockets a bit more comfortably. He couldn’t keep all of their possessions of course without drawing a fair amount of undue attention to himself lugging it all around. Holding on to their coins though only weighted his purse and made himself a tastier target to the thugs he was actively trying to entice. When he was accosted for the third time, Thoz had to remind himself not to eat the assailants and start rumors of a crazed serial killer.

By the end of the night he had made no progress towards his actual targets despite the best efforts of Prisaela and himself to entice the proper crowd. Thieves, murderers, and would-be rapists did approach them several times but never anyone working for or bearing a symbol of Varekoth. Their own money stripped from them and then their bodies unceremoniously dumped in the harbor when Thoz had killed them for the few measly points of XP that granted. It was a slow night, and all they had to show for it was a few dozen coins and some minor level increases.

It was nice to get to use his new Chains of Torment skill in an actual fight (read: Slaughter), but Thoz was always an impatient devil. He wanted to find Varekoth’s flunkies right away and send a message of strength. Waiting and searching did not fit his plan. Especially when Prisaela convinced him to give up somewhere around midnight and go back to the inn and rest. He was only a modicum richer at this point and far more frustrated.

The only moderate upside he could think of though, was that his current hunt would be sustainable. If Thoz and Prisaela continued to take classes at the guild during the day, they would have somewhere to store the backpack containing their oozey accomplice as well as a place to sleep at night without worrying about doing quests. Add to that the fact that they were slowly making money by murdering and robbing criminals in the middle of the night, and the entire process was actually profitable even without finding the Varekoth thugs Thoz was after.

It was in this manner that the next few days passed actually, with Thoz making several large profits from stolen coins without actually finding much evidence for his search. Thozronnath even made time from his daily routine of robbing and murdering other robbers and murderers to make a visit to a local armor smiths shop. The price estimate nearly broke him though. It would take thirty gold pieces or more to get even the cheapest set of custom fitted armor made to his specifications. Even with all the profits he was making through false vigilantism, Thoz still hadn’t even broken the ten gold piece goal he had set himself for a suit of armor. His naivety towards the world was starting to shine through.

Still, Prisaela assured him that he’d made astounding progress in the matter of a few short days and that few others would be anywhere nearly as well funded in their first week in a new city. It was little compensation though, his dreams had suffered a fatal crack. The armor would have to wait. Until Thoz could afford to invest that much money and still afford his daily expenses, he would continue working on his plans. If he found someone wearing a nice suit of armor that was rather nondescript, then maybe he could pinch that when he murdered them. If not, his day would come.

With his new ideal in mind, Thozronnath set himself to his plan with renewed vigor. He spent his days maintaining the façade of his disguise into human society, and his nights stalking the streets. Prisaela was left behind at this point, Thoz was no longer luring humans into attacking him, he was hunting them without mercy and without remorse. The previous “scuffles” Thozronnath and Prisaela had gotten into and slaughtered their way out of had proven that whatever the city of Rovale was, it was not a nice place to live.

There was very clearly no central authority that cared about citizens or tourists going missing, and the number of residents who operated as ghosts living underneath detection made hunting down those that went missing almost impossible. In other words, it was a perfect hunting ground for a serial murderer like Thoz. He didn’t play into the cliché of hunting down women and children for fun, they didn’t give much xp at all, but that’s not to say he ignored them either. When the devil went out with a goal in mind, he killed anyone and everyone that got in his way, firmly establishing the level disparities between monsters and the average humanoid.

On an oddly coincidental note however, the crime rate in the city had started dropping drastically. The usual thugs that prowled the streets at night were going missing with increasing regularity, and only recently were bodies starting to be found of known criminals. The average folk of the city, the women and children, those coerced into lives of crime were starting to herald an unknown hero. Spread rumors of a vigilante wandering the streets of Rovale cleaning the filth up as they went. Thoz wanted no part of it.

Which brings us to one fateful night when we rejoin Thoz on the rooftop of a run down dive bar known as a favorite spot for drunken brawls and muscle-headed thugs. With a flick of his wrists and a stifled whisper, Thoz activated his Chains of Torment skill, wrapping his arms in metal links and instantly equipping his most effective weapon. He waited on this rooftop for hours in the silent darkness, until he finally spotted a man stumbling out the back door in a drunken stupor. His target for the night.

Thoz had taken an uncharacteristic amount of care with his most recent quarry. When Prisaela heard of a group of thugs operating near the docks with strange matching tattoos that no one recognized, he hoped for just a moment that it would be his lucky break. He had the sultry shapeshifter ask around in more detail, and when he finally got a name to go off he began following the man almost daily. Which is how he got to the rooftop. The target drunkard was a run of the mill thug called Adam that participated in a protection racket with his fellow ruffians. IT was unfortunate that money wouldn’t be enough to protect him tonight.

Without a word, and with significantly more effort than he would have liked, Thoz clambered down off the roof. Landing with a thud of feet against cobblestone and the faint rattling of his chains just a few feet behind the man he was tailing. ‘Adam’ let out a garbled yelp of surprise as he whirled around, his lack of fine motor control causing him to stumble into a nearby wall in the process. Thoz took a few steps forward, his form darkening with each footfall as he undid his shapeshifting, taking his full devilish form in the shadowy alleyway.

Adam moved to let out a dramatic scream of terror, but before the sound could escape his mouth there was a chain slowly crushing his throat. No air was passing in or out, he could not breathe but he also couldn’t scream. Win-Win for his attacker.

As Thoz moved into his sight clearly and loomed over him in monstrous glory, it dawned on Adam that he might actually die tonight. Fear clouded the criminal's mind, and liquid fear clouded his trousers.

“If you scream. You die. If you struggle. You die. I am going to relax the chain and you are going to answer some questions. If you lie. You die.” Thozronnath growled in his best impression of what a human would expect a horrific monster to sound like.

Adam nodded very rapidly in agreement.

The chains around Adam’s throat loosened only a fraction, allowing him to breathe and speak a bit easier. His chances of escape though, were not increased at all as several more chains animated from around Thoz and restrained the humans arms and legs.

Your chains have bound your enemies' movement.

Your strength is sufficient to keep them bound.

“Explain.” Thoz said dramatically, prodding a single finger into the tattoo peeking out from above Adam’s collar bone.

The human coughed a few times and took several deep breaths, clearing his throat before he spoke.

“Everyone that works for my boss gets one of these. It’s not a tattoo, it’s a brand, he burns it into your chest when you join. I don’t know what it means.” Adam explained through shaking words.

“This boss of yours, what does he look like?” Thoz pressed him further.

“I don’t know, honest, I’ve never seen the boss in person. I’ve never heard a name. I was blindfolded when I joined, I’ve only heard his voice.” Adam insisted, clearly fearful that his lack of information would cost him.

“Details. Now.” His captor demanded.

“The boss has a rough voice, deep and echoes a lot, sounds like he was using magic to mask it or something.” the enforcer continued, displaying his lack of magical understanding unintentionally.

“Where do you work from? Who gives you orders?” Thozronnath shouted, nearing the end of his interrogation and hoping to apply a bit of last minute pressure.

“I’ll show you! I’ll show you, just don’t kill me!” Adam begged. He likely would have dropped to his knees if he wasn’t currently restrained in a standing position.

Thoz knew this was likely a trap, but at this point he had a solid lead and didn’t care too much about walking head first into a bunch of human criminals. The level 150 Pit Fiend warrior would be a problem if he was there, but from the sounds of things he was more of a hands off leader with these humans.

“I have to pick up some supplies, then you will show me. Until then you will not leave my sight” Thoz commanded, slowly morphing back into his human disguise. He’d pick up Prisaela and the others and go into this ‘visit’ as well prepared as possible.

It was time to send a message after all.