Eventually Vlad receives his first job requiring the use of a Morganti blade, to be used on a Jhereg informant to the Empire. Vlad contemplates his job for a while before deciding to pay off the target's mistress. Despite his aversion to the Morganti weapon, Vlad performs the job and achieves still more renown. After a turf war, Vlad's boss is killed and Vlad receives a new boss, whom Vlad quickly learns to hate. Vlad kills his new boss and takes over his operation. Vlad's new operation runs smoothly for a short time until one of his enforcers, Quion, steals some of his money and flees to Dzur mountain, the home of an infamous and near-legendary sorceress called Sethra Lavode. Vlad must recover the money and kill Quion or he will lose face. This is the beginning of the third timeline.