Location 27 - The Underway

Labyrinthine halls contort into the earth. Nobody notices a Faceless entering the mushroom plantations - another Faceless among hundreds - but they eye you with suspicion, till you disappear into the shadowy wings of the Underways.

After following the endless root-like tunnels of the city, a great underground expanse suddenly opens up before you. Pillars of stalactites and stalagmites stab the air and hold up the roof. There are hundreds of Faceless, and even a few Masked, under the glum orange amber light. The secrecy speaks of only one thing: resistance.

Polus weaves you through the crowds and up a staircase carved from rock to a platform overlooking the expanse. There are five people - three women, two men, one of whom has a cat-like mask at his belt - all bent around a table of papers.

"Wyman," says Polus, and a tall golden hawkish woman turns. Her bottom lip is pinched.

"Polus and I know who you are and why you are here. We saw what you did in the Coliseum. We admire it, but if you're here for iron, we aren't paying you. Instead, we will ask more of you. Five families control Thrace. The Volpe, Lignja, Amiese, Carnedine, and Pytone. Each worse than the last. One of the Five is planning something. Their petty feuds are usually kept to the death of their own. Usually we are happy to watch them eat one another but there are rumors of something bigger. We fear this plan will target the Faceless."

A second man's voice is a wheeze, "We need those Oathmarks of yours to find out what. You can get places we can't. There is a masquerade ball at the Curiate Assembly, a sinful display of decadence and opulence. Your brand will get you in."