Previously on Blades in the Dark: this.
Now the characters have a side business (Master Vreen's dog track) and a fellow who'll sell high-end shit for them, so that's nice. They have to deal with the aftermath; Siren discovers that the City Council is shaking down Rolan Volaris, owner of the Veil, for money, and so she pays them off. Cage learns from Captain Vale of the Bluecoats that some of the Widdershins' gang associates have been causing trouble for the Church, and that's something they might want to see to.
The characters reconvene and handle their downtime stuff; Cage does a little research into their ongoing issue of finding a vessel for Kotar. Siren and Copper have a stern talk with the folks who were breaking Church windows and painting Kotar symbols around, and have them cleaning out dog pens at the track (Copper offers an instructive smite, but no one takes her up on it). And then the characters talk about their next move.
Cage feels, as before, that the Belleweather Crematorium is the biggest issue, and the other characters agree. The crew really would rather the Gondoliers run the place (they don't necessarily want to take on this responsibility), but they do want the turf. They can't just clear out the squatters and move in, though, because there are legal implications. They talk to Griggs of the Gondoliers, and learn that they're trying to get hold of the property, but the Council isn't being forthcoming. The ghost problem is starting to mount, though. Griggs agrees to talk to Eliese, the leader of the group, about the prospect of sharing the turf with Widdershins.
One-Eye and Copper go out to Charterhall to see how the land lays, and they find that there a lot more ghosts in the area than usual. Copper punches a ghost away from a passer-by, and One-Eye walks and talks with him - turns out he's a clerk at the university and knows a little something about the power play for the Crematorium. The Ministry of Preservation and the Bluecoats are the strongest contenders right now, but the Gondoliers want in, too. The Church has made some overtures but not as heavily as might be expected (the crew, of course, is responsible for that), and the Foundation seems to be waiting to throw their support behind someone. In any case, it'll come down to who makes the best case (and pays the best bribes) to the City Council.
Cage goes to visit Lord Penderyn and gets more info on the Council, and learns that the scions of the six most powerful families in Duskwall sit on the council: Lady Penderyn, Elder Rowan, Lord Dunvil, Commander Clelland, Lord Strangford, and Lady Bowmore. There's a push to get rid of Strangford that Bowmore, Dunvil, and Clelland support, but they don't have enough dirt on him to make a move. But if the crew could provide that, that might very well give them the support they need to give the Crematorium to the Gondoliers.
The crew notes that they heard rumors about Strangford a long time ago (back here), but they weren't interested in pursuing intel with no buyer. Now they have a benefit, though. Siren goes to visit her friend Noggs, before he ships out and again, and learns that there are actually two Lord Strangfords - Captain the Lord Strangford is a Leviathan Hunter, and Lord Strangford sits on the Council (they're brothers). And indeed, there are unsavory rumors about the family. No one has had much luck with killing leviathans of late, but then Strangford's ship came back with the biggest one anyone had seen in a year - and his brother and entourage was there to greet him, as though he knew it was coming.
The crew discusses where to look - should they go out to sea and infiltrate Captain Strangford's boat, or stay here in town? They decide on the latter, and make a plan to sneak into Strangford Manor in Brightstone through the sewer canals. Next time, we'll see how that goes pear-shaped.
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