The following day the group discovers that Wanted posters have started going up around the city with reasonable likenesses of Chae and Ryo on them. They decide to lay low and let the rest of the group begin work on making contact with Aman. Sassani sends word via a contact to the orphans in Downriver, instructing them to start tearing down the posters in exchange for more deliveries of food.
Whilst Sassani is doing this, Kathra, Wei, Suna and Kana head to the Imperial Gardens to observe Aman and Sanua. They aim to make contact with Aman using the Sending spell, so need to become more familiar with him for the magic to work. Kathra, Suna and Kana wait by the Hebi Palace bridge for them to emerge, with the idea that Suna can cast invisibility on Kathra, to then tail them and forge the link. Unfortunately, they don't spot Aman and Sanua leaving, and it's actually Wei, dozing in the sunshine on a bench nearby, that notices them.
To draw the rest of the group's attention Wei, “acting” drunk, begins to serenade Sanua with bad poetry, causing a scene in the otherwise quiet gardens. The guard is summoned, and following the commotion the rest of the party also join the scene. Kana intervenes and drags Wei away to sober up, whilst Kathra and Suna enact their plan. Kathra successfully follows Aman and Sanua for the hour, building enough familiarity for the spell.
On returning to base the group has a rethink of their plan; having observed Aman and Sanua being very friendly with each other they no longer believe Aman wouldn't just immediately tell Sanua of any unusual contact. They decide instead to try to lure Sanua out alone, using the Goto Mei passcodes that Ldemi can supply them with. Using Ldemi's contact within the palace guard they leave a message for Sanua to come to The Pit, which she had previously visited when under Goto Mei control, for an opportunity to speak. They send her a ticket for the Saturday Fight Night event, and seed themselves in the crowd around where she will be sitting.
When Fight Night rolls around the group take positions, but are thrown when a plain looking woman takes Sanua's assigned seat. The woman seems a little vacant until Ldemi, acting as a Goto Mei agent, sits next to her. When he greets her she snaps to attention and hands him a note, which he reads for a few moments then, looking alarmed, hurries away. The woman draws a small cylinder from her sleeve and raises it as if to snap it.
Sensing something amiss the group springs into action. Sassani, sat the other side of the woman, summons her Pact Weapon and beheads the woman. Wei catches the cylinder as it falls to the floor, and Kana grabs the head and holds it back on top of the body to try to hide what'd just happened. This doesn't quite work, and the crowd around them begins to panic and flee. All, that is, except four other people, seated nearby, who all vacantly reach into their sleeves and pull out more cylinders.
Ready now, the group moves to stop them. Kathra Holds two, whilst Suna uses Mage Hand to yank the cylinder from the third. Wei charges the third and slices her throat before she can break the cylinder, and Sassani plucks them from the two who're Held (only murdering one in the process). All five cylinders recovered, whatever was effecting them seems to break and the two who remain alive react with shock at their circumstances.
Suna bundles the two survivors down and out of the stands, whilst Wei helps cover the bodies and clear the scene. Sassani slips off to inform Qutai of the incident. The crowd around the stadium is confused as to what's happened, so Kana begins making a show of it, playing it up as Kirakana's glorious return to fighting in The Pit. Bringing the crowd round to his side he leaps from the stands into the arena, then showboats with the other gladiators to keep the crowd distracted and entertained.
Taking stock downstairs, Suna uncovers that all five of the people were workers from Hebi Palace, specifically from a residential area known as the Isram Wing. They don't remember anything untowards happening, just leaving work then coming to in the stands. Examining the cylinders she recognises them as bones from some solid creature, with the rune for Fire etched into them and glowing. She surmises that, if broken, some enchantment would activate and likely explode. Sassani finds Qutai and Ldemi, who reveals that the note was a distraction to keep them stationary as the devices detonated. They all rendezvous with Suna, and Qutai, when filled in, reveals that Isram Wing is where Aman and Sanua live.
Realising that Sanua is on to them the party decide to act quickly, and take the risk of contacting Aman directly through Sending. They're able to provide safe words that Qutai reveals to them, and eventually convince him that Sanua is a threat. They arrange with him to extract him from her on their next visit to the Imperial Gardens.
A few days pass. Wei goes on a massive bender in the bohemian district, eventually getting arrested for disorderly behaviour and needing Kana and, grudgingly, Sassani to pay off his debts and rescue him from jail. Kana begins working more intently with the gladiators and staff in The Pit, making himself a local celebrity amongst the staff as well as with the fans. Kathra continues to visit the temple of Kazan no Saisei, bringing more to the god's flock in the aftermath of her battle with the rival priest. There is no further sign of any untoward activity in Kazan's name.
When the day arrives the group set up at the arranged point in the gardens and wait for Aman and Sanua to arrive. When they see them approaching, Kathra begins making small introductions and blessing everyone on the path as they pass her, eventually working her way towards them. When she reaches them she distracts Sanua, who doesn't notice Aman slipping away from her towards where Suna is hidden in the bushes. Once he reaches her, she casts Invisibility on them both and they begin to move quietly away from Sanua. After a few moments Sanua notices Aman's absence, and appears to pinpoint where the two are heading. She begins casting something, but is foiled by Katha Silencing the area. Moving away she tries to cast again, but this time Kathra Holds her. She's then surprised by Sassani, previously invisible, who appears next to her and attacks her with dark tentacles, before vanishing again.
Sanua loses track of Aman, Suna and Sassani. Realising she's lost the encounter in the park she digs for information, reading Kathra's thoughts from a distance to see if she was involved. Despite Kathra's attempts to conceal it, she surmises she was, and sneaks away. Wei and Kana spring into action from a nearby hiding place, trailing her through the bushes. Whilst she spots, and starts evading, wei, Kana sees her crouch behind a bush and morph into a bird, which then flies away.
The group start moving separately back to The Pit to rendezvous, but Kana notices the bird following him and Wei at a distance, and Wei convinces him to stop at a bar to lead the bird astray. Eventually it gives up watching them and leaves, but their return is a little delayed.
At The Pit Kathra Zone of Truth's the group, Aman and Qutai. After some wrangling, and with Qutai on hand to back up their claims, the group convinces Aman that Sanua is dangerous. They also explain their original mission, of locating him on Shava Dehu's behalf to re-establish the portal connection to Otgon Sum. Aman reveals he was unaware the portals were offline, and agrees to help them. He suggests they return to Isram quickly before Sanua can entrench herself. They relay news of their success to Shava via their earring and receive congratulations back, but also a request to hurry as Shava believes something is threatening Otgon Sum.
Aman allows the party to bypass the Hebi Palace security, acting as his guests. They are give access to the main bridge, Isram Wing, and the Zavkhan Assembly (which houses, among other things, the portals), but instructed not to venture anywhere else. On arriving as Isram they begin checking for magical and mundane traps. Kathra locates a servant who is under some form of mental effect but is unsure how to deal with it, so Aman instructs a different servant to fetch a Court Mage to deal with the child. He also reveals a note from Sanua left on his pillow, reading simply “Goodbye”, but they group is unconvinced that it is sincere. Kathra and the Court Mage are able to dispel the effect on the servant boy, who reveals that he had been instructed by Sanua to assassinate Aman in his sleep, and told that if he told anyone about it his head would explode. Kathra reassures him the danger is passed, much to the boy's relief.
The group finishes securing Isram, and prepares to head to the Zavkhan Assembly to investigate the broken portals.