Shades of Thrones [2.5]: Gangs of Demophon

A little over a month after one of the Golden Circle's couriers is robbed in broad daylight of a florin-filled briefcase, a group of low-level gangsters is assigned to hunt down and retrieve it. Their only lead? A tabaxi woman named Jazelle.   Renton Stend is summoned by his boss, Nikoli Strauss, an underboss of the Golden Circle crime syndicate, where one of his fellow lieutenants is murdered by Strauss for being robbed of Circle funds and then hiding the fact. Strauss gives Stend the undesirable job of finding the money and making an example of the thieves. He gathers several other employees of the Circle and goes off to pick up the now-cold trail.   In investigating the tabaxi woman, they learn that she was an erratic, strange figure, but working alone as far as they can tell. A few strangers take an interest in them while they search, or namely Dii, the young human boy of effervescent cheer and pickpocketing insanity. A Mismatean man, Antoninus Martius, the same man who stopped Jazelle briefly the night of the invasion, tells Dii and Frances that he saw the tabaxi in question, along with a male tabaxi, about a week ago. Stend contacts one of the other lieutenants, Merkomer, who says he'll dig up the male tabaxi, Jaal, who has done some work as an informant for them.   While relaxing at their inn of the night, The Plain Cup, Romero strikes out with Maleeka on her way through (after succeeding with Roussou the night before), and the two teens put on a show for the inn. Afterwards, they are approached by two identical woman, like twins, both named Marie, who praise their talents and prove highly inquisitive of Dii.