He grabbed her by the shoulders and pressed her down onto the pillows. She yielded to him, forced into subservience. And they made love with wild abandon. In the glow of the fire and the pale light of the skull-like moon.

Stadtluft macht frei, recalled the Wallcreeper, walking from the Sand Bridge down Castle Street.

The fact that numerous creatures of the night dwelt in Wrocław was no surprise to him. Some time had passed, however, since he had last wandered there after dark and during that time, as it turned out, much had changed. Indeed, he observed as he walked, it wasn’t only Kundrie who sensed a whiff of freedom in the breath of the city. It was not just she, as it turned out, who felt good and at ease in Wrocław. It was not just she, as it turned out, whom the city habitat suited.

A dzanteer, surprised by a doorway, raised its long muzzle, clearly not understanding how the Wallcreeper could see it. It finally hid in the darkness, arching its back and raising its hackles.

Several urkins, puffed up in fluffy balls, were sitting under the outlet of a gutter, licking the slimy cobbles. A rapion as agile as a lizard ducked into the darkness, its claws scraping on the stones. Just further on was a wine store and a bald gnome in a leather jerkin fiddling with the padlock didn’t even raise his head. His comrade, armed with a crowbar, scowled at the Wallcreeper, growling something under his breath. It was hard to say if it was a greeting or an insult.

In an alleyway leading to Narrow Street there was a sharp odour of magic and alchemy—in other words ectoplasm, saltpetre, vitriol, alum and vinegar. The gutter was clearly phosphorescing, esphilines were crawling in it, lured by the sublimational waste. Not far away, in the arcades, lurked a garou, its well-developed senses inhibiting it from attacking. It perceived the Wallcreeper’s aura in time and realised it would be better not to try. Several dozen yards further on, a lamia acted similarly. The vampiress even waited until the Wallcreeper approached, and after convincing herself that he could indeed see her, greeted him with a bow, wrapped herself in a mantle and vanished, turning grey against a grey wall.