Book Of Dragon’s Teeth, by H. Wolfgang Porter
When a cadre of elemental sorceresses loses a magical artifact of utmost importance to a cutpurse, when South City officials and other people in positions of power begin to drop like flies and even the Gray Man finds himself in a situation that goes in way over his head, then South City begins to slowly but certainly descend into utter political (and later on sorcerous) chaos, which threatens to envelop the world.