The pulsating music thumped like the heartbeat of a dying god, the scintillating lights illuminating both aristocrat and tourist alike. I could smell amasec and the cloying scent of lho sticks mingled with sweat and the smell of other, more illicit substances. It was difficult to hear any conversation, save for the din of thousand voices in an untranslatable chorus. When I was younger, I used to appreciate clubs such as these. I would dance and mingle, using my fine looks and my skills to enjoy life as best as member of my world could manage. Yet as I've gotten older and learned of the darker aspects of humanity, I've begun to prefer more private affairs. The ruinous powers, as they often do, find the most joyous of our activities and take root. Their plots are subtle, and their influence is addictive. Dives, though often innocent, are unfortunate breeding grounds for those beginning their journey on the dark path.  

I kept my eyes open, my peripherals ever shifting as I traversed the Twisted Sister, a den in the southern portion of prestige hab of (blank) city. I was in more casual wear, a weather beaten jacket and a fashionable bodyglove threaded in the manner of a well-to-do traveling young businessman. I wove through the undulating crowd, shouldering past a pair of upper class women, judging by their jewelry, likely friends, gyrating just beside one another. I stepped down onto the main floor, skirting the edges, a crowd of youths and frequent drinkers coalescing in a whirlpool of flesh in the middle. A man, a drunkard, tried to stop me. I used my will to dissuade him from whatever he was attempting to solicit from me and moved on, my eyes now firmly focused on the back rooms. Two thugs stood watch, beefy shoulders and eyes covered with goggles. I spotted small studs on their temples; neural implants that made them resistant to psyker manipulation. Very expensive, and just another indicator my small hunch was not unfounded. 

Luckily, it effected no one else in the room. 

I sidled up to a bunch of university students and a few older youths, the insignia of the griffon on the male's coats, attempting to showboat in front of one another or trying to get lucky that night. They were from Mythic, the university in the west of town, and luckily Pacitus was a world quite familiar to me. I approached quietly, and when I was close enough, I snatched a wine glass out of the younger man's hand and threw its contents in his face. 

"Mythic? More like pathetic! For the Stone!" I yelled, and tripped up another youth before disappearing into the crowd. They looked up from their conversation and saw a gang of students from Mount East, the rival school. With my will, I sent the Mount East students an open invitation of hostility, and it took them all of two seconds before there was a brawl, just next to the door leading to the back rooms. I was quick enough to only be seen by a few onlookers, and none got the whole picture. I then watched and waited, and eventually even the two thugs were swaying uneasily as the violence grew nearer. A thrown bottle of amasec, and they cursed before they waded in with the other bouncers, and I made my move, shouldering into the corridor and closing the door behind me even as a glass shattered over my head. 

The music and screams were muted, now. The lights were sallow but steady, and as I walked deeper into the bosom of the dive, I upholstered my autogun and flipped the safety off. Hopefully I could get a quick lead before Emmaline awoke, and tomorrow we could solve this together. As for now, it needed to be done.