Even though the Seventh House had only recently traded places with the Fifth House, it continued to aspire for more. Normally in a re-ranking the climbing house would spend significant time afterwards protecting their new position from attacks from below, but the Sixth House showed no care for what had happened, and the brutality that had resulted in the switch was so devastating that it seemed unlikely that the two houses would switch back. That gave the newly minted Fifth House room to bite for even more.
The intelligence within the Fifth House told them that the Abomination was real, that it had been located in the multiverse despite its parents’ efforts to hide it, and that it might even be in play. Grand Lady Malavox of the Fifth House believed the intelligence enough to commit more resources in those areas. The results were fascinating.
Their new intelligence told them that Prince Zymaan (of the Seventh House, ironically, with whom they had recently switched rank), recently returned from many years traveling in shadow, and that he had been the one to find the Abomination and even befriend it.
Grand Lady Malavox committed more resources to espionage on Prince Zymaan specifically. She learned that Prince Zymaan was a warlock of passing talent who had spent many years “adventuring” in shadow (perhaps actually acting undercover for his House), ostensibly to no real purpose, but which happened to have landed him in contact with the unicorn of the Abyss – the Abomination. Much too coincidental for the adventuring cover story to be real, She surmised. Clearly Prince Zymaan, who as 71st in line was never expected to be a Prince, was actually a trained agent of his House who suddenly found himself in accelerated succession.
Grand Lady Malavox redoubled her espionage efforts on Prince Zymaan, but he unexpectedly, and uncharacteristically for anyone else in the Abyss, called for an outsider to be his right hand. Soon the halfling assassin Grimald Nightleaf appeared on the scene and all access to Prince Zymaan stopped. Prince Zymaan delegated security to Grimald Nightleaf and the leakage of information around the Prince also stopped.
Through other channels, however, the Fifth House confirmed that Prince Zymaan was planning a voyage with the purpose of finding the Abomination and bringing it back as a prize for the Third House into which he intended to marry. Prince Zymaan apparently spoke openly of “conversion”. That is, converting the Abomination to the purposes of the Courts of Chaos against the Lords of Light despite the Abomination having been raised in the light. Nonsensical speech such as that certainly did not inspire confidence in the “humanized” Prince, as people ridiculed him behind his back because of his many years away from the Abyss, but then the Fifth House became aware that Prince Zymaan had somehow managed to charter an astral ship with assistance from an unknown source.
The risk of it being true that Prince Zymaan might be bringing the Abomination to the Abyss was too great. Grand Lady Malavox decided to double-down again. She committed ships and troops to intercept the laneways Prince Zymaan would need to use to deliver the Abomination to the Third House. And as it happened, She was right and the risk paid off, at least at first.
The Fifth House challenged the Demonwing and the Sea Ghost as they hell-sailed towards the Abyss. In the course of combat they verified the existence of the Abomination in full dragon form. But to their great surprise, Prince Zymaan scarified the Demonwing to consolidate his troops on the Sea Ghost and then pooled very significant mana to planeshift that ship and its occupants directly to their intended safe harbour within the Third House.
The Fifth House was furious that it had committed its resources wisely and still been thwarted. The prize of the Abomination should have been theirs. They had earned it. But they had also clearly underestimated the cleverness and dangerousness of Prince Zymaan who had ultimately outmaneuvered them.
When all seemed lost, everything suddenly turned on its head when, to their utter amazement, the Abomination in human form snuck off her own ship at port with a well-dressed female half-elf and tried to blend in with the surroundings. The agents on the ground did not even need to confirm their instructions. They distanced themselves from the Sea Ghost and the many surrounding troops of the Third House before descending like a pack of wolves on their prey.
Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat for the Fifth House would bring untold glory to any agent of that House. They all wanted it very badly.