![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
measured_wordsNow in proper order, and with section 5.4 (in two parts) appended at the end. These things keep getting longer! I hope the trend does not continue D:
I should also say that 5.4 has some pretty grim descriptions, so beware if that sort of thing bothers you!
Shadows 5
Teah lurked in the basement of the Loyalist enclave, staring through the darkness. She was bored. Two days after the official announcement that the Loyalists were moving to a new home had come the announcement from the Daimyo of Shinkyo that the northerners were formally banished, and given two weeks to clear out completely. Hadyn was consequently extremely busy assisting with the lab, setting up wards in the new keep, and transporting people and goods over the long distance with his magic. Though she accompanied him whenever he teleported, it was otherwise best for her to simply stay out of the way of the numerous bustling bipeds swarming in the upper rooms.
She was a little sad to leave the den she had made here, and there was little sense in establishing herself at the keep – named Fort Cedric after Exia’s dead king. In less than a week, she would go south with her master, and who knew for how long? Hadyn had consented to transport the little pride she’d accumulated, though she doubted he would admit it to anyone. That was fine – she wasn’t sure she’d be quite willing to own up to them in public either. But they would stake out a place for themselves, and when she returned, she could use that to carve out her new domain.
A sound in the hallway caught her attention. More humans had ventured down here in the last week, it seemed, than had in the entire period of the Loyalist occupation of the compound. Teah closed her eyes and sniffed, catching a familiar scent. She prowled to the doorway, turning her head to see Lendrick coming down the hallway towards her. He blinked, clearly startled to see her, and smiled warily.
“Hello Teah.” He glanced past her, probably checking to see if Hadyn were present, as though she never left his side. Presumptuous fool. “Got a minute?”
She wondered exactly how he expected her to respond. Her mind was very advanced – she thought more often in common or in Hadyn’s tongue than in the clumsy language of beasts – but she lacked the ability to communicate complex concepts. Her tail swishing in mild annoyance, she sat.
“Don't be alarmed by this... I'm going to cast a telepathic bond on you. If you don't want it, you can end it whenever.”
She sometimes forgot that he was a wizard as well as a priest. But why would she be alarmed? He paused a moment before casting, but once she felt the bond established, she reacted immediately.
~I share this spell with Hadyn already~
~Mine won't be permanent, don't worry.~
~I know.~ Permanency was another spell entirely, and a costly one at that. Clearly Lendrick had never had a familiar of his own. ~What Hadyn knows about such things, I also know.~
~Sorry... This is a bit, well, awkward. I've known you for two years now and I can only guess at what you're really like.~
It wasn’t quite true. She remembered Lendrick from when she’d been a kitten, but he and Hadyn had parted ways in Trylith over a year ago. She’d grown, and changed, a lot since then. ~You have not known me for so long. You were not with us for some time.~
~This is true. Walk with me for a bit?~
She stood and followed him further into the basement, past rooms full of abandoned decaying furniture left by whoever had occupied this place last. Lendrick seemed to know where he was heading, and stopped at a dusty shelf inside an otherwise empty room. There were somewhat fresher smells here than elsewhere, including a lingering trace of the Half-Elf. He began sorting through various bottles and papers left on his previous trip months earlier, and she wondered what he wanted with her. Eventually, he broke the silence.
~So, what do you think about all this? The Sages, I mean.~
Hadyn, then. She considered whether or not she should tell her master what she was doing, and where she was, but decided to wait. She’d never considered Lendrick very useful, and was somehow dubious that this conversation would prove any different.
~They are dangerous,~ she answered simply.
~Were you present when Hadyn spoke to them?~
~Yes.~ As though he would embark on anything so dangerous without her to back him up.
~Do you think they might help him out?~
~They will help themselves.~
~And presumably Hadyn, too, if he can force their interests to coincide with his.~
~Hadyn does not accept help easily.~ How long had this man known her master, and still did not understand some of the most basic elements of his nature? ~His people place great value on self-sufficiency… You have seen this.~ Or at least, if he had been paying attention, he would have surely noticed.
~Well, self-sufficiency is a valuable thing, certainly. But there's also wisdom in seeing when it's not enough.~
~His wisdom is clouded.~ It was a sour though, but true. His mind was clouded, more lately than ever.
Lendrick nodded, sniffing at one of the bottles and then discarding it casually over his shoulder. ~ By what, in your estimation?~ A burning astringent scent bloomed from the resulting puddle, and Teah backed away, annoyed at his clumsiness and frustrated at the situation. She growled, and the half-elf glanced back with an apologetic look. ~Sorry, you can probably smell that from across the room. I was hoping it would be cool enough down here that it wouldn't go bad.~
She chose to ignore his thoughtlessness for the moment, returning to the more important topic. ~Hady's mind is troubled. He makes his teas to quiet it. Sometimes they work, sometimes they do not, so he makes them stronger.~
~Which can't help his judgment.~ Lendrick continues to check his potions, discarding them more carefully.
~No.~
~Do you suppose this is a result of his condition or his usual paranoia?~
~Are they different?~
~Since he's been getting worse, one might assume that they are.~
~I do not understand your meaning.~ Hadyn was paranoid by nature, though it had been worsening of late, she wasn’t sure that she could see any correlation between a worsening of his ‘condition’, as others referred to it. She hadn’t noticed any signs that the demon was becoming stronger, and wondered what made Lendrick think so.
~Well, I see Hadyn as kind of a paranoid person.~
Of course. He was paranoid, but that was a reaction. ~Fear is what drives him.~
~I can't imagine what that must be like.~
~No.~ Despite the mental and empathic links she shared with her master, his mind was alien to her. She rarely understood why he reacted how he did, though she knew him well enough to know what he would think. Lendrick lacked even that insight.
He sighed, wiping the dust off the label of another bottle. ~How much influence do you have over him?~
~He is calmer when I am there. He lets me do what I wish.~
~That wasn't really what I meant.~
~I do not make him do things.~ Hadyn was too wary of any who tried to control him. Besides which, she had no answers to his problems.
~And I wouldn't ask you to.~ Lendrick glanced back at her again, considering. ~But given that his wisdom is clouded, will he listen to yours?~
What wisdom did he think she had to offer? ~If he listened to my wisdom, that woman would be dead.~
~Which one? The sage?~
~Yes.~
He seemed a little incredulous. ~With utmost respect, Teah, if he listened to your wisdom on that, the two of you would be dead.~
~Perhaps.~
~And this doesn't concern you?~
~It did not come to pass.~ She didn’t dwell on the past very often – there was little benefit in it. ~I am a huntress. I hunt. I do not give counsel.
~I realize it's not my place to say this, and I'm only saying it because I'm Hadyn's friend... You might consider occasionally giving counsel. If his mind his clouded, he could use some guidance, and he doesn't trust mine.~
~He trusts you.~ It was strange to her – he seemed no more or less trustworthy than any of his other companions. Perhaps less so in some matters, and yet Hadyn trusted this Half-Elf implicitly.
~Had me fooled.~ Lendrick shook his head as he paced another bottle into his small collection of potions worth keeping.
~He believes that you are sincere. That is more than he believes of most.~
~But not necessarily qualified to give him advice.~ He grinned.
~No.~ Hadyn didn’t believe anyone understood him well enough to give advice. He kept most people at such a distance that it was generally true.
~That's the other part of trust.~
Teah pondered. She wasn’t sure if she agreed with that assessment, but decided it wasn’t relevant. Hadyn trusted Lendrick, but if he didn’t want to believe that, it was neither hers nor her master’s problem. ~Then he trusts no one.~ The Half-Elf merely nodded in response, and she continued. ~I am worried more for his mind than of these sages.~
He nodded again, seating himself on the dusty floor to look over his collection. ~Me too.~
Perhaps he wasn’t so unobservant after all. She was wary of sharing more details, but she worried. There was no one else that Hadyn trusted with his problems, however, and so she had no one else with whom to share her concerns. ~You have not seen the worst of things,~ she finally admitted. ~His thoughts descend into chaos and I can do noting for him. He withdraws for hours from the world, even from me.
~Any idea what triggers it?~
~Fear.~ What else? Though what caused the fear attacks was variable, he immediately became antsy whenever his carefully cultivated privacy was threatened .
~Ya know... I can brew some potions for him that might alleviate that to some extent.~
~He has his own potions.~ Teah was sick of potions, of seeing him close off more and more of his mind. He didn’t always see how much they affected him, and was too desperate to give them up regardless. ~His teas, and other things from a Southern priest.~
~He wouldn't be able to make these.~
~What do you speak of?~ She was wary, but Lendrick was a priest himself. The potions that Hadyn had received from Nhabu and Ishitaka had been quite useful, unlike many of the ones he concocted for himself.
~There's a spell I know. It calms people, makes them unafraid. It doesn't last very long, but it might be enough to allow him to clear his mind before he falls into one of these states.~
~Yes!~ It sounded promising – she was surprised at her own excitement. Real potions, spells stored in liquid form, would not have the same aftereffects of herbal preparations.
~I'll make as many as would be reasonable for him to carry. He'll have to use them sparingly, but he can call on me for more if he runs out.~
Her tail swished. As long as Hadyn didn’t believe that she had solicited this assistance, he might even accept it. ~Do not tell him I told you of this.~
~Well, I know he gets scared anyway. Not to this extent, but it's enough of an excuse.~
~Yes.~ It might be good enough, in any case. She hoped so, but it was hard to gauge. He might wonder, but might also consider it simply an insightful gesture on the behalf of his friend. ~You have seen how he fears this...~ It would all depend on the presentation.
~I'm just glad to be able to offer him some kind of material help.~ Lendrick packed the few bottles worth keeping into a large pouch and nodded once in affirmation. “If he ever needs me, he can call.” He spoke out loud, addressing himself as much as Teah. “I'd die for him. I would…. And that's what would happen, no doubt, if I went up against a Sage. But I'd do it. With no regrets.”
Teah wondered about that. Certainly Abe was dangerous, with her knowledge of demons, but it was her impression that many of the members were scholars of more innocuous topics. It was still unlikely that they would let the death of one of their own go unavenged.
~He would not want that.~ Hadyn had too few friends to let them die easily, but he would certainly find the sentiment comforting.
“That doesn't matter.” He shouldered his sack. “Anyway, if you can, try to guide him a bit. He needs it, at least until he can think clearly again. I know these sages are dangerous but I think they may be his best hope.”
~Perhaps you are right.~ Hadyn himself considered that he may be able to get something from them. At least sometimes, he did. Other times he was les rational about his situation.
“If I didn't think that, I'd tell him to run.”
~I think he believes it as well, in his own way, or he would run.~
“She may have said she could find him anywhere, but she doesn't know Hadyn.” As someone who had been a friend, and also tried to track him for some time, Lendrick had a high opinion of her master’s ability to disappear when he wanted. “And it may be a bluff even then.”
~They would find him on Keth. It is her jade trinket that prevents the wound she gave him from spreading.” They would track him through it – or so he thought. Teah was willing to believe him, though his magic protected his other items from scrying. She didn’t need to mention the alternatives either – Hadyn had done so in his own conversation with the Half-Elf.
“A sufficiently powerful priest could reverse it, I suspect.” Lendrick shrugged and readjusted his burden. “The trouble would be finding one, especially one who would be willing to help Hadyn with his condition. I'm nowhere near strong enough…”
~Teah.~ A second voice intruded into her mind – her master calling. ~Kyla just returned from the fort – Volaris needs me there. Meet me in the transport room.~
“…But if it becomes necessary to pursue that avenue, we can find someone to do it.”
~Of course,~ to Hadyn, and to Lendrick, ~he is looking for me.~
He nodded. “Go. And best of luck.”
She turned to leave, but he stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. “Also... It's nice to meet you, finally. I regret not speaking with you before.”
~We will speak again.~ She had no doubts, but was impatient to be off to join her master and for a chance to explore the new fort. She slunk past Lendrick into the dusty hall as he wished her goodnight.
--------------5.2-----------------------
Jane looked over the report she’d prepared and frowned with dissatisfaction. Everything they knew and didn’t know about the attack and its aftermath was laid out. Now everything was packed away for the move to the new keep, Fort Cedric, and this was the last piece of business she had to take care of before she left herself. She ordered the sheaf of papers and made her way to the Chancellor’s suite.
She knocked, though the door was open. Chancellor Tavik was supervising while one of the work details packed away some of the heavy office furniture. A lot of the large pieces had been borrowed and now had to be returned, or else the owners compensated. Everything had to be moved regardless. Jane had a file on all of that as well, but only wished she had time to concentrate on such simple matters. The Chancellor waved her in, dismissing the others with a few polite words.
“Please come in, lieutenant Lorella.” Lieutenant was her official rank. She was officially the assistant to Melanie Yara, Captain of the guard. Unofficially, however, she was the senior officer and head of the Exian Royal Counterintelligence Service. “I’m afraid I can’t offer you a seat at the moment, but they took away the chairs about half an hour ago.” He smiled, but she could see through it. He could tell she had nothing positive to present.
“It’s alright Your Excellency. It’s the same everywhere. I expect my desk will be gone by the time I get back to the office.”
“We’ll be settling into the new place soon enough.”
Jane nodded. She was looking forward to a fresh start and a location where they would have fewer security concerns. At least now they knew who to keep an eye on. The prince might be satisfied with vows, but she wanted a little more assurance. “I have my report ready, chancellor.”
“Of course.” He straightened, cupping an elbow with one hand and his beard with the other. “Go ahead.”
Jane took a deep breath.
“We have, as previously reported, found the remains of three of four loyalists taken prisoner by the cult. We have now identified them positively as Lorne Cooper, Yason Graeme, and Tanaka Meiko. That is two guards and one of the servants lent us by Xi Guan. We had some trouble with her identification, but Tatsumo Mikan assisted us in the mater and we were able to interrogate her spirit using a spell.
“Tanaka was killed first and didn’t know of the deaths of the other guards, and she wasn’t able to identify the location where she was held, either. She did confirm that at the time of her death, they had Matteo Atremi in custody. Apparently they found him collapsed in the street prior to her own capture directly before the attack. She believed that they singled him out for special treatment, as he was held in different circumstances and forced to… Well, he was singled out.”
The chancellor’s frown deepened as her report continued. She doubted he wanted the truly gory details, but they were in the written version.
“We still don’t know how Atremi got mixed up with the cult locally, or if it is related to the timing of the attack. Several people reported seeing him the previous evening at the Spirit festival, including Court Wizard Volaris, but he seems to have disappeared sometime later in the evening. We have gathered reports from locals who saw an elf matching his description early the morning of the attack. He stole a horse from the Nezumi to Oumu – a waterfront tavern – and lost it in an accident on the market street. We tried tracking him back from that point but the trail was too cold. Efforts to detect him using magic continue to prove ineffective, but we can’t confirm that he is dead either.
“Because of the move, we don’t have the people for a more intensive search. I have one field agent assigned to keep looking right up until the last moment, but she has little to go on at this point. Even if we find him, we have no idea what his state will be. If he has been turned into a mask, then we will have no way of distinguishing him for the others, and from what I understand out capacity to deal with that scenario is currently limited. Unfortunately, this is the most likely scenario we can come up with. Other options are that they have found some other way of controlling him, perhaps through magic. It is possible, though unlikely, that he has escaped and is choosing to both keep himself hidden and to break protocols by not reporting in, and even possible that he has some other involvement with the cult of which we are currently unaware.”
“Wait.” Tavik held up his hand. “Are you suggesting that he is in league with them?”
She hated to consider it, but that was part of her job. “I’m afraid we can’t rule it out at this time, though I don’t think it is likely. The bottom line is this. We know they took him. No one has ever managed to escape from the cult unassisted, not even Gordon Fenning. All the other captives from the attack have turned up dead. The last captive they took alive, Tatsumo Mikan, was turned into a Crimson Mask. We have one person who is able to exorcise the demons who possess the Mask hosts, and the manifested demon itself is also quite dangerous. We only recovered her under very special circumstances, and we may not be able to reproduce that scenario – if we can even ever find him. We are being forced to leave this city, and our people are not welcome here. I could leave an agent, but with such a cold trail I can’t see how that would be productive. We can continue trying magical detection, but as I said, that isn’t working either. If he is trying to hide from us, I have no idea where to look. There just isn’t much more that we can do to find him.”
Tavik nodded, looking resigned. “Prince Lynel will not easily accept this verdict, I’m afraid.”
“Well, Chancellor.” Jane paused, reigning in choice words about the practicality of Lynel’s unwillingness to let things go at times. “I am not happy about losing an operative of Atremi’s caliber either.”
“Of course not. We owe him for the warning he gave us, of course… But I understand your perspective lieutenant.” He smiled grimly, smoothing his whiskers. “I am sure the prince will as well.”
“Thank you, Chancellor.” She wished it were an easy decision for her to accept. She hated giving up on her people, but with no leads it was a drain on resources they didn’t have. Counterintelligence was already spread too thinly.
“Thank you for your report, Jane. And I’m sorry.”
She nodded and bowed, leaving her written report on the desk to return to her empty office.
-------------5.3-----------------
Valentine looked out at the ships belonging to the Augustus Trading Company and shook his head once more at the both of them. The original, Swift-as-a-Fox (or Swift more generally), sat moored, her crew busily preparing her for the next voyage. Beside her lay Gentle Wind, likewise engaged in loading new cargo and provisions. To human eyes all may have seemed well with the pair, but for an Elowyn Elf, a pair simply highlighted that which was missing: a third to complete the set. He’d tried reasoning with Sterling, but being only a Half-Elf, and Alrdyn stock at that, he couldn’t be expected to understand the importance of triumvirates. Speaking with Triskin hadn’t been any more successful – her people were as apparently unenlightened as the Aldryn.
He knew the company could afford a third ship: it was just a matter of persuasion. It would be good to reinforce their luck, as the Loyalists had faced a number of trials recently. As he understood it, it was only through some rather slick dealing by Sterling that their company continued to enjoy permission to trade in Shinkyo’s port at all. Valentine saw no solution for his concern, but as he stood on the dock turning it over in his mind, he saw a man approaching who might just be able to help. He waved and smiled broadly.
“Hadyn! Good to see you out, my friend!” It was, in fact, a sadly rare event. The wizard had become more and more reclusive over the past few months, with little return on efforts to draw him out. Even now, he seemed skittish beyond his natural nervousness.
“Valentine.” The cowl nodded up and down. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Ahh. Still, you may be able to help me – I know you are good a problem solving.”
“…Oh?” Hadyn sounded far too suspicious.
“Yes. I must come up with a way to convince Sterling that we need to purchase a third ship for the company.”
“Is he here?”
“Non. He is with Triskin.” For business or pleasure, Valentine didn’t know – only that they would be gone for several hours still.
“Ah.”
“Well, have you any ideas?”
Hadyn glanced around him quickly – another unnecessary nervous habit, especially when in the company of a stalwart friend and a Knight of the Espada Del Justica – a noble organization despite Hadyn’s ill-considered biases. Valentine had noticed that his friend tended to indulge in this habit more when thinking, however, and counted it a good sign for the moment.
“Well,” he began, “We can afford it.” It was true – their last run of had brought in a cargo of unbelievable value, though he hadn’t been personally involved and didn’t know the specifics. The payoff had allowed Prince Lynel to give a large bonus to all active Loyalists to put towards personal equipment. As founding members and shareholders, he and Hadyn had also profited greatly, which further meant, on Valentine’s part, that the Espadas profited as well. Hadyn continued, “That won’t be enough on its own.”
Val nodded. “I have tried that. But what else?”
“The Company’s association with the Loyalists can’t possibly remain a secret. Even though your sailing times and patterns are generally kept confidential, Swift has such wonderfully distinct sails that she is easily recognized.”
“Ah bien. This is true, but Piove would be heartbroken if we were to change them, and the men would not allow it for that very reason. I believe she and Triskin have had words on the subject.”
“I’m shocked.”
Valentine’s mouth dropped petulantly. Hw often wondered about the root of his friend’s constant negativity. How could someone so young be so cynical all the time? He knew Hadyn had lived a hard life, from what little he knew of it, and surely his bad decisions must haunt his conscience. “Please go on Hadyn, I can tell you’ve thought of something.”
“There are two ways you could argue for another ship. The first is risk – you’re at greater risk now because out enemies have decided that we are a target worth expending resources on. It makes sense to mitigate this. A third ship would help split our investment so that we can potentially profit more. If we lost one of our fleet, we’d only be down a third, and not half our resources, even if that percentage represents a greater monetary total.” He paused, and Valentine nodded for him to continue. Redundancy was a core aspect of the Elowyn wisdom of threes. A careful and clever people did not leave much to chance.
“The second angle?” Valentine prodded.
“If we were to acquire a third ship in secret, it could operate more freely than the other two and potentially carry intelligence as well as more valuable cargo, and further mitigate the chances of being attacked by our enemies. Especially if it is kept off the books.”
“A secret ship?”
“Yes.”
“Je ne sais pas. I’m not so sure about that.” Sterling and Triskin already kept enough from him that he was not certain he could officially endorse the Company as an Espada, and it seemed like a secret ship would only encourage this kind of clandestine activity. Besides which, there was not much merit in owning three ships if they didn’t sail together. It would be like a warrior owning three weapons and only carrying two – it just wouldn’t do.
Hadyn shrugged. “Do you know when the others will return?”
“I am afraid not, mon ami. It could be some time.” He smiled. “Perhaps you would care to wait aboard? I’m sure Piove would be glad to see you out. The skies are bright and she is in fine spirits this morning.”
“No.” Did he look a little paler? It was hard to judge under the hood, but he’d shrunken in on himself somewhat and was now glancing nervously towards the sky. “I can’t. I don’t have time.”
“She might think you’re avoiding her.”
“I thought she was still mad at you.”
“Ahh…” Well, she had been. He hadn’t actually seen her yet today, but the weather was a good indicator of her mood, and he smiled optimistically. “You know Piove.”
“Yes. Well. Tell her I said hello.” He spoke very carefully, as though he were wary of her. As far as Valentine knew, Hadyn hadn’t done anything to cross her recently, but their relationship certainly had some rough patches in the past.
“Nothing has happened between you two, has it?”
“No! Nothing. I just don’t have time.”
“Bien alors. She will be very disappointed.”
“I should go.”
“Should I tell Sterling you came looking for him?”
Frustration flashed across his young friend’s shadowed face. “Sure. Not that it matters.”
“It is not healthy for you to be so negative. Here, perhaps I can help you instead?”
He could see Hadyn’s hesitation, no doubt pitting his natural pessimism against the desire to complete his errand.
“Fine. Do you know the names of any of the Company’s contacts in Shiroeki?”
“Ahh!” Valentine smiled broadly. “I do in fact. There, you see?” Once he had accepted the responsibility for managing Espada funds invested into the venture, he’d taken a much more personal interest in their regular trading. Hadyn looked surprised, but his only real interest in the company seemed to be in what sorts of materials it would allow him to acquire. Combined with his recent reclusiveness, it wasn’t surprising that the reclusive wizard hadn’t realized the extent of Valentine’s own involvement. “What kind of contact are you seeking?”
“Someone local that I can stay in contact with. Relay messages about when you might be in port, and so forth.”
“Then I suspect that the Yeohs at Suo Hu may be your best bet. That is the name of the tavern they run – they’re friends, and direct much trade our way. We always stop there and try to give some warning of our comings and goings when prudent. You know, they have a quite delicious ale that they import as well, though they as yet refused to divulge their source!”
“Suo Hu. The Yeohs. Alright.”
“’Tis nothing, mon ami.” That was another thing about Hadyn – he was rarely very grateful, but it was best to take it in stride and try to set a better example. Perhaps it was just the way of his people – others had a difficult time living up to Elowyn standards in any case. “But may I ask what this is about? Are you staying in the South?”
“…Yes.”
“In Shiroeki?”
“…Yes.”
“On Loyalist business?” To the best of his knowledge, Hadyn had been staying in to help Volaris with wizard affairs for the last little while – he could be dangerous to himself and others when hurt or threatened. Valentine hadn’t heard that anyone had come up with any good solutions to deal with the demon trying to take Hadyn over, either. From what he understood, Hadyn hadn’t been an entirely unwilling subject, and even if he seemed somewhat repentant now, Valentine wasn’t sue it was wise to let him go off so far unsupervised. Drawing his old acquaintance out of his reclusive phase was one thing, but leaving him unattended in a foreign city was quite another.
“Yes.” Hadyn sounded peevish now. “It’s just for research. Volaris thinks it is important.”
“Ahh bien. He is a very smart man.” Possibly the smartest human he had ever met. Valentine certainly trusted him to know what was prudent, and if he was willing to let Hadyn go then surely it would be fine.
“I have to go.”
“Very well, my friend. I wish you luck in your travels, and I’ll tell the others you were here.”
Hadyn’s cowl bobbed, possibly in thanks, and turned to leave. “Good luck getting your ship.”
Valentine waved in farewell, blithely assuming the comment was sincere.
--------------------5.4-------------------------------
Cheng rode up to the edge of the forest and lay a calming hand on his horse’s neck. The animal seemed fine, yet something had been spooking the forest creatures over the past week. Deer were venturing further into the cultivated fields and orchards belonging to his lord’s tenant farmers. They were skittish, even for deer, and their behaviour was unusual. As Warder of his lord’s preserve, Cheng was obligated to investigate.
He suspected that some predator had moved into the area. Human predators – poachers or worse – were an equally dangerous possibility. He’d armed himself accordingly, with a quiver across his back and his bow in easy reach. It was forbidden for peasants to even carry arms into the wood, and Cheng generally complied with this injunction even though his position exempted him. It felt strange, but he urged his horse onto the narrow path.
The forest itself felt strange. He couldn’t single out anything that was obviously wrong, no evidence of strange animal behaviour, and no signs of predators. Whatever was amiss, it touched the established pathways only enough for Cheng to confirm to himself that something was not right. He would have to venture deeper to find the cause.
He guided his mount off the main trail, following a deer path. The horse was small and trained to operate in this environment. It had saved him some years before when he’d come across a camp of well-armed bandits lurking in one of the many clearings, and he didn’t want to take any chances today. He hoped to rule out a human threat by checking the more accessible areas of the forest first. Meanwhile, he kept his eyes open for tigers, owlbears, or other dangerous game. In that case, he would track the beast and inform his lord, who would surely want the glory of stalking the beast for himself.
Cheng looked forward to a good hunt. If he were selected as a guide, as was likely, the honour would reflect well on his family. It could mean sponsorship at an Imperial school for his son, Masa, and better opportunities for their lineage in the future. Perhaps a respectable match could even be procured for Mei Li when she came of age.
He followed the deer trails for several hours, letting his instincts guide him towards the source of the disturbance. Eventually he came upon just what he’d been hoping not to find – traces of men. Heavy boot prints followed one of the narrower paths – one person making multiple trips. His first time through he’d been carrying something fairly heavy, and he’d passed back this was most recently earlier that very morning. Would it be best to track the man, or see what he’d been up to? Considering his resources carefully, Cheng decided upon the latter. It would be wiser to undertake some reconnaissance before taking on an unknown foe.
He dismounted, leading his animal off the trail and out of sight. He would need to rely on stealth, and his horse would prove a hindrance. It would also be easier to cover his tracks on foot. The horse would stay put without being tied, and would come if whistled for. Slinging his bow and quiver over his shoulder, Cheng crept carefully along the path worn by the intruder, looking for other clues to his identity. A number of bent and broken branches indicated that he was quite tall and broad – more so than most Southerners. Cheng frowned, trying not to think of the direction of the intruder’s point of origin, and praying that he were simply a man and not some malignant spirit.
The trail led towards a small clearing dominated by an ancient beech, and Cheng’s feelings of unease increased as he approached. Here, the forest *was* silent, and the breeze carried a sick scent. He took care to be as silent as possible, uncertain of what to expect, and broached the tree-line of the clearing.
A figure lay against the trunk of the beech. It presented a profile view to Cheng, whose first thought was that the figure was simply leaning. It made no sign of having heard his approach, and Cheng nocked an arrow as he stepped closer.
“Spirits protect me…” He lowered his weapon.
It was a man, hung by chains bolted through his hands and spiked to the tree. His feet barely rested against the ground, and his body showed signs of numerous other mutilations. Apart from the hands, the worst was his face – one eye black and swollen, his mouth caked with dried blood and pus. Whoever had done this had also cut off his ears, and it took Cheng a moment to realize that this was not a human. Too slender, and the angles of the face were wrong. He was an Elf, and the faint sounds of laboured breathing indicated that, somehow, he still lived.
It took Cheng a moment to recover from the shock, but he knew that he couldn’t let this inhumanity continue. If he lived, he could be saved. The warden drew a handaxe from his belt and approached the tree. Questions about how the elf had come to be in this predicament were secondary for the moment. In the face of such depravity, it was no wonder the forest was spooked.
He pried and chopped the spikes free from the tree, standing in front of the Elf to stop him from simply collapsing to the ground and receiving further injury. He was loathe to lie him on the ground for fear of exposing his wounds to further risk of infection. There were a number of deep cuts and burns, the worst of which was a deep cut along the top of his right thigh where it looked as though part of the muscle had been cut out or burned away by something caustic. The flesh reeked of rot, and maggots wriggled in the recesses of the wound, but there was no sign that the infection was spreading. Three roughly parallel lines were scored into the skin beside the cut, but these seemed less severe. All in all, the worst of the Elf’s injuries seemed to be on his front, so Chang laid him carefully on his back, keeping his mangled hands from touching the forest floor. He lacked the equipment to remove the bolts and associated chains.
Cheng was not a skilled healer, but he knew enough to give basic care. None of the stranger’s wounds were life-threatening on their own, but his overall condition was extremely poor and he was clearly running a high fever. The woodsman carried with him a single healing potion, issued by his lord for emergencies. He didn’t question for a second that this would be an appropriate time. If the elf were even somewhat conscious, he would be easier to move safely. Cheng drew the phial from its wooden case and knelt beside his patient’s head. It was meant to be ingested and, intending to pour it down the elf’s throat, Cheng carefully tried to open his mouth.
It wouldn’t budge, and the elf flailed weakly. One eye fluttered open briefly and his brow furrowed, but the pain was not sufficient to rouse him fully. Cheng waited to see if he would lapse back into unconsciousness before examining his mouth to see what the obstruction was. Very gently, he pulled back the elf’s upper lip and frown, horrified at the depravity require for one sentient creature to do such a thing to another.
The smells of infection was quite strong. The gums were red and seeping with fresh blood and pus where Cheng had inadvertently pulled against the wire that ran through them. Some of the teeth appeared cracked or broken as well, but it was difficult to see. The elf’s breathing was becoming more laboured the longer he lay on his back, with a wet wheezing sound about which Cheng was not very optimistic.
He looked up at the sky, eying the gathering clouds critically. It would rain, but not for some hours. He would have to bring the Elf to safety, perhaps even take some care to cover their racks, and fetch a healer. The only question was where to bring him. Not home, surely, as he had no desire to make his family a target should the elf’s captor, his torturer, come seeking his victim. The village was likewise a poor choice, and too far to safely transport his patient regardless.
As he considered his options, Cheng did his best to clean and bind some of the Elf’s wounds. His materials were limited, and he tore pieces from his tunic to bind the wounds on the elf’s hands and tie them down in such a way to relieve the stress of the bolts and chains that pulled against the damaged flesh. Using the rest of his garment to loosely clothe his patient, Cheng carried him carefully back to his horse and strapped him as securely as possible into the saddle.
He headed to the edge of the forest, where his lord’s hunting lodge was located. It was the safest option for the moment, even if he had no authority to use the building. This was a special circumstance. He took care to leave as few tracks as possible, more easily done as it was safer to carry the Elf slowly. Once they arrived at the outpost, he installed his patient n one of the smaller guest rooms and lit a fire he hoped would die down quickly to warm but smokeless embers. That done, he rode hard for the village, full of questions about what had happened, and was happening, in the forest.
------------------
It was a damp early evening when Geron’s spell brought him back to the small clearing in the deep Southern forest. Specks of rain spattered down, deepening the red of his robes to a more sinister shade. He smiles, wondering how the turn in the weather was affecting his project. Matteo might need more than just the syringe to survive another day, and Saviya *had* specified that he was to be left alive. She’d never specified for how long, of course, but Geron was curious how long he could prolong the suffering of an immortal creature. He wanted to see if the elf could make good on his threats – whether or not he could really just shuffle off to wherever it was that Elves went when they got old and mad. At this point, he had his doubts. He also had his doubts regarding the elf’s confession. He’d broken sooner than expected, for one, and as convincing as his story had seemed at the time, Saviya had had no luck following up on any of the leads. Besides which, Geron never believed anything confessed under torture. That was never the point, for him.
Saviya could worry about the Loyalists: his goals were much simpler. He’d brought a few tools of his trade – some pliers, a dull knife, and a mallet. There wasn’t much to work on, at last not before the shot. He’d worried about the Elf dying of dehydration or starvation, or succumbing too quickly to infection, and had developed a special concoction as a preventative measure. It contained a mild curative potion, just enough to stabilize his victim and rouse him temporarily to consciousness, along with small doses of a powerful fever reducer and antibiotics. Geron was well versed in medicine – he’d bided his time before the rise of the true church learning the details of anatomy as a healer for the Church of Salistrom.
Since Matteo couldn’t very well ingest the solution on his own, and certainly wouldn’t have been willing if capable, Geron administered it through an injection directly into his stomach. He could then use the same syringe to suction off any excess liquid building up around the Elf’s lungs as a result of his partial crucifixion. He wasn’t certain how long he could draw things out in this method – eventually Matteo would either heal naturally, or succumb. He hoped for the former. Without more powerful magical aid, the elf would carry most of his injuries forever. Or at least until Geron was through with him.
He emerged into the clearing and stared contemplatively at the empty tree. A rescue then – he could see where the spikes had been removed. It was probably not the Loyalists, but he would have to be careful regardless. Geron smiled, unperturbed. Matteo would come back to him, one way or another. Whether or not his wounds healed, he might never recover fully from his experience.
The cultist turned back along the path. He had other business to take care of here. Later he would report back to Saviya. She’d be angry, but that was fine. She’d want him found, and if she was wiling to invest the resources, that was also fine. He had other ideas about effective ways to recover his project. As he headed back to his shrine in the rain, a dark shadow detached itself from the tree line and followed.
I should also say that 5.4 has some pretty grim descriptions, so beware if that sort of thing bothers you!
Shadows 5
Teah lurked in the basement of the Loyalist enclave, staring through the darkness. She was bored. Two days after the official announcement that the Loyalists were moving to a new home had come the announcement from the Daimyo of Shinkyo that the northerners were formally banished, and given two weeks to clear out completely. Hadyn was consequently extremely busy assisting with the lab, setting up wards in the new keep, and transporting people and goods over the long distance with his magic. Though she accompanied him whenever he teleported, it was otherwise best for her to simply stay out of the way of the numerous bustling bipeds swarming in the upper rooms.
She was a little sad to leave the den she had made here, and there was little sense in establishing herself at the keep – named Fort Cedric after Exia’s dead king. In less than a week, she would go south with her master, and who knew for how long? Hadyn had consented to transport the little pride she’d accumulated, though she doubted he would admit it to anyone. That was fine – she wasn’t sure she’d be quite willing to own up to them in public either. But they would stake out a place for themselves, and when she returned, she could use that to carve out her new domain.
A sound in the hallway caught her attention. More humans had ventured down here in the last week, it seemed, than had in the entire period of the Loyalist occupation of the compound. Teah closed her eyes and sniffed, catching a familiar scent. She prowled to the doorway, turning her head to see Lendrick coming down the hallway towards her. He blinked, clearly startled to see her, and smiled warily.
“Hello Teah.” He glanced past her, probably checking to see if Hadyn were present, as though she never left his side. Presumptuous fool. “Got a minute?”
She wondered exactly how he expected her to respond. Her mind was very advanced – she thought more often in common or in Hadyn’s tongue than in the clumsy language of beasts – but she lacked the ability to communicate complex concepts. Her tail swishing in mild annoyance, she sat.
“Don't be alarmed by this... I'm going to cast a telepathic bond on you. If you don't want it, you can end it whenever.”
She sometimes forgot that he was a wizard as well as a priest. But why would she be alarmed? He paused a moment before casting, but once she felt the bond established, she reacted immediately.
~I share this spell with Hadyn already~
~Mine won't be permanent, don't worry.~
~I know.~ Permanency was another spell entirely, and a costly one at that. Clearly Lendrick had never had a familiar of his own. ~What Hadyn knows about such things, I also know.~
~Sorry... This is a bit, well, awkward. I've known you for two years now and I can only guess at what you're really like.~
It wasn’t quite true. She remembered Lendrick from when she’d been a kitten, but he and Hadyn had parted ways in Trylith over a year ago. She’d grown, and changed, a lot since then. ~You have not known me for so long. You were not with us for some time.~
~This is true. Walk with me for a bit?~
She stood and followed him further into the basement, past rooms full of abandoned decaying furniture left by whoever had occupied this place last. Lendrick seemed to know where he was heading, and stopped at a dusty shelf inside an otherwise empty room. There were somewhat fresher smells here than elsewhere, including a lingering trace of the Half-Elf. He began sorting through various bottles and papers left on his previous trip months earlier, and she wondered what he wanted with her. Eventually, he broke the silence.
~So, what do you think about all this? The Sages, I mean.~
Hadyn, then. She considered whether or not she should tell her master what she was doing, and where she was, but decided to wait. She’d never considered Lendrick very useful, and was somehow dubious that this conversation would prove any different.
~They are dangerous,~ she answered simply.
~Were you present when Hadyn spoke to them?~
~Yes.~ As though he would embark on anything so dangerous without her to back him up.
~Do you think they might help him out?~
~They will help themselves.~
~And presumably Hadyn, too, if he can force their interests to coincide with his.~
~Hadyn does not accept help easily.~ How long had this man known her master, and still did not understand some of the most basic elements of his nature? ~His people place great value on self-sufficiency… You have seen this.~ Or at least, if he had been paying attention, he would have surely noticed.
~Well, self-sufficiency is a valuable thing, certainly. But there's also wisdom in seeing when it's not enough.~
~His wisdom is clouded.~ It was a sour though, but true. His mind was clouded, more lately than ever.
Lendrick nodded, sniffing at one of the bottles and then discarding it casually over his shoulder. ~ By what, in your estimation?~ A burning astringent scent bloomed from the resulting puddle, and Teah backed away, annoyed at his clumsiness and frustrated at the situation. She growled, and the half-elf glanced back with an apologetic look. ~Sorry, you can probably smell that from across the room. I was hoping it would be cool enough down here that it wouldn't go bad.~
She chose to ignore his thoughtlessness for the moment, returning to the more important topic. ~Hady's mind is troubled. He makes his teas to quiet it. Sometimes they work, sometimes they do not, so he makes them stronger.~
~Which can't help his judgment.~ Lendrick continues to check his potions, discarding them more carefully.
~No.~
~Do you suppose this is a result of his condition or his usual paranoia?~
~Are they different?~
~Since he's been getting worse, one might assume that they are.~
~I do not understand your meaning.~ Hadyn was paranoid by nature, though it had been worsening of late, she wasn’t sure that she could see any correlation between a worsening of his ‘condition’, as others referred to it. She hadn’t noticed any signs that the demon was becoming stronger, and wondered what made Lendrick think so.
~Well, I see Hadyn as kind of a paranoid person.~
Of course. He was paranoid, but that was a reaction. ~Fear is what drives him.~
~I can't imagine what that must be like.~
~No.~ Despite the mental and empathic links she shared with her master, his mind was alien to her. She rarely understood why he reacted how he did, though she knew him well enough to know what he would think. Lendrick lacked even that insight.
He sighed, wiping the dust off the label of another bottle. ~How much influence do you have over him?~
~He is calmer when I am there. He lets me do what I wish.~
~That wasn't really what I meant.~
~I do not make him do things.~ Hadyn was too wary of any who tried to control him. Besides which, she had no answers to his problems.
~And I wouldn't ask you to.~ Lendrick glanced back at her again, considering. ~But given that his wisdom is clouded, will he listen to yours?~
What wisdom did he think she had to offer? ~If he listened to my wisdom, that woman would be dead.~
~Which one? The sage?~
~Yes.~
He seemed a little incredulous. ~With utmost respect, Teah, if he listened to your wisdom on that, the two of you would be dead.~
~Perhaps.~
~And this doesn't concern you?~
~It did not come to pass.~ She didn’t dwell on the past very often – there was little benefit in it. ~I am a huntress. I hunt. I do not give counsel.
~I realize it's not my place to say this, and I'm only saying it because I'm Hadyn's friend... You might consider occasionally giving counsel. If his mind his clouded, he could use some guidance, and he doesn't trust mine.~
~He trusts you.~ It was strange to her – he seemed no more or less trustworthy than any of his other companions. Perhaps less so in some matters, and yet Hadyn trusted this Half-Elf implicitly.
~Had me fooled.~ Lendrick shook his head as he paced another bottle into his small collection of potions worth keeping.
~He believes that you are sincere. That is more than he believes of most.~
~But not necessarily qualified to give him advice.~ He grinned.
~No.~ Hadyn didn’t believe anyone understood him well enough to give advice. He kept most people at such a distance that it was generally true.
~That's the other part of trust.~
Teah pondered. She wasn’t sure if she agreed with that assessment, but decided it wasn’t relevant. Hadyn trusted Lendrick, but if he didn’t want to believe that, it was neither hers nor her master’s problem. ~Then he trusts no one.~ The Half-Elf merely nodded in response, and she continued. ~I am worried more for his mind than of these sages.~
He nodded again, seating himself on the dusty floor to look over his collection. ~Me too.~
Perhaps he wasn’t so unobservant after all. She was wary of sharing more details, but she worried. There was no one else that Hadyn trusted with his problems, however, and so she had no one else with whom to share her concerns. ~You have not seen the worst of things,~ she finally admitted. ~His thoughts descend into chaos and I can do noting for him. He withdraws for hours from the world, even from me.
~Any idea what triggers it?~
~Fear.~ What else? Though what caused the fear attacks was variable, he immediately became antsy whenever his carefully cultivated privacy was threatened .
~Ya know... I can brew some potions for him that might alleviate that to some extent.~
~He has his own potions.~ Teah was sick of potions, of seeing him close off more and more of his mind. He didn’t always see how much they affected him, and was too desperate to give them up regardless. ~His teas, and other things from a Southern priest.~
~He wouldn't be able to make these.~
~What do you speak of?~ She was wary, but Lendrick was a priest himself. The potions that Hadyn had received from Nhabu and Ishitaka had been quite useful, unlike many of the ones he concocted for himself.
~There's a spell I know. It calms people, makes them unafraid. It doesn't last very long, but it might be enough to allow him to clear his mind before he falls into one of these states.~
~Yes!~ It sounded promising – she was surprised at her own excitement. Real potions, spells stored in liquid form, would not have the same aftereffects of herbal preparations.
~I'll make as many as would be reasonable for him to carry. He'll have to use them sparingly, but he can call on me for more if he runs out.~
Her tail swished. As long as Hadyn didn’t believe that she had solicited this assistance, he might even accept it. ~Do not tell him I told you of this.~
~Well, I know he gets scared anyway. Not to this extent, but it's enough of an excuse.~
~Yes.~ It might be good enough, in any case. She hoped so, but it was hard to gauge. He might wonder, but might also consider it simply an insightful gesture on the behalf of his friend. ~You have seen how he fears this...~ It would all depend on the presentation.
~I'm just glad to be able to offer him some kind of material help.~ Lendrick packed the few bottles worth keeping into a large pouch and nodded once in affirmation. “If he ever needs me, he can call.” He spoke out loud, addressing himself as much as Teah. “I'd die for him. I would…. And that's what would happen, no doubt, if I went up against a Sage. But I'd do it. With no regrets.”
Teah wondered about that. Certainly Abe was dangerous, with her knowledge of demons, but it was her impression that many of the members were scholars of more innocuous topics. It was still unlikely that they would let the death of one of their own go unavenged.
~He would not want that.~ Hadyn had too few friends to let them die easily, but he would certainly find the sentiment comforting.
“That doesn't matter.” He shouldered his sack. “Anyway, if you can, try to guide him a bit. He needs it, at least until he can think clearly again. I know these sages are dangerous but I think they may be his best hope.”
~Perhaps you are right.~ Hadyn himself considered that he may be able to get something from them. At least sometimes, he did. Other times he was les rational about his situation.
“If I didn't think that, I'd tell him to run.”
~I think he believes it as well, in his own way, or he would run.~
“She may have said she could find him anywhere, but she doesn't know Hadyn.” As someone who had been a friend, and also tried to track him for some time, Lendrick had a high opinion of her master’s ability to disappear when he wanted. “And it may be a bluff even then.”
~They would find him on Keth. It is her jade trinket that prevents the wound she gave him from spreading.” They would track him through it – or so he thought. Teah was willing to believe him, though his magic protected his other items from scrying. She didn’t need to mention the alternatives either – Hadyn had done so in his own conversation with the Half-Elf.
“A sufficiently powerful priest could reverse it, I suspect.” Lendrick shrugged and readjusted his burden. “The trouble would be finding one, especially one who would be willing to help Hadyn with his condition. I'm nowhere near strong enough…”
~Teah.~ A second voice intruded into her mind – her master calling. ~Kyla just returned from the fort – Volaris needs me there. Meet me in the transport room.~
“…But if it becomes necessary to pursue that avenue, we can find someone to do it.”
~Of course,~ to Hadyn, and to Lendrick, ~he is looking for me.~
He nodded. “Go. And best of luck.”
She turned to leave, but he stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. “Also... It's nice to meet you, finally. I regret not speaking with you before.”
~We will speak again.~ She had no doubts, but was impatient to be off to join her master and for a chance to explore the new fort. She slunk past Lendrick into the dusty hall as he wished her goodnight.
--------------5.2-----------------------
Jane looked over the report she’d prepared and frowned with dissatisfaction. Everything they knew and didn’t know about the attack and its aftermath was laid out. Now everything was packed away for the move to the new keep, Fort Cedric, and this was the last piece of business she had to take care of before she left herself. She ordered the sheaf of papers and made her way to the Chancellor’s suite.
She knocked, though the door was open. Chancellor Tavik was supervising while one of the work details packed away some of the heavy office furniture. A lot of the large pieces had been borrowed and now had to be returned, or else the owners compensated. Everything had to be moved regardless. Jane had a file on all of that as well, but only wished she had time to concentrate on such simple matters. The Chancellor waved her in, dismissing the others with a few polite words.
“Please come in, lieutenant Lorella.” Lieutenant was her official rank. She was officially the assistant to Melanie Yara, Captain of the guard. Unofficially, however, she was the senior officer and head of the Exian Royal Counterintelligence Service. “I’m afraid I can’t offer you a seat at the moment, but they took away the chairs about half an hour ago.” He smiled, but she could see through it. He could tell she had nothing positive to present.
“It’s alright Your Excellency. It’s the same everywhere. I expect my desk will be gone by the time I get back to the office.”
“We’ll be settling into the new place soon enough.”
Jane nodded. She was looking forward to a fresh start and a location where they would have fewer security concerns. At least now they knew who to keep an eye on. The prince might be satisfied with vows, but she wanted a little more assurance. “I have my report ready, chancellor.”
“Of course.” He straightened, cupping an elbow with one hand and his beard with the other. “Go ahead.”
Jane took a deep breath.
“We have, as previously reported, found the remains of three of four loyalists taken prisoner by the cult. We have now identified them positively as Lorne Cooper, Yason Graeme, and Tanaka Meiko. That is two guards and one of the servants lent us by Xi Guan. We had some trouble with her identification, but Tatsumo Mikan assisted us in the mater and we were able to interrogate her spirit using a spell.
“Tanaka was killed first and didn’t know of the deaths of the other guards, and she wasn’t able to identify the location where she was held, either. She did confirm that at the time of her death, they had Matteo Atremi in custody. Apparently they found him collapsed in the street prior to her own capture directly before the attack. She believed that they singled him out for special treatment, as he was held in different circumstances and forced to… Well, he was singled out.”
The chancellor’s frown deepened as her report continued. She doubted he wanted the truly gory details, but they were in the written version.
“We still don’t know how Atremi got mixed up with the cult locally, or if it is related to the timing of the attack. Several people reported seeing him the previous evening at the Spirit festival, including Court Wizard Volaris, but he seems to have disappeared sometime later in the evening. We have gathered reports from locals who saw an elf matching his description early the morning of the attack. He stole a horse from the Nezumi to Oumu – a waterfront tavern – and lost it in an accident on the market street. We tried tracking him back from that point but the trail was too cold. Efforts to detect him using magic continue to prove ineffective, but we can’t confirm that he is dead either.
“Because of the move, we don’t have the people for a more intensive search. I have one field agent assigned to keep looking right up until the last moment, but she has little to go on at this point. Even if we find him, we have no idea what his state will be. If he has been turned into a mask, then we will have no way of distinguishing him for the others, and from what I understand out capacity to deal with that scenario is currently limited. Unfortunately, this is the most likely scenario we can come up with. Other options are that they have found some other way of controlling him, perhaps through magic. It is possible, though unlikely, that he has escaped and is choosing to both keep himself hidden and to break protocols by not reporting in, and even possible that he has some other involvement with the cult of which we are currently unaware.”
“Wait.” Tavik held up his hand. “Are you suggesting that he is in league with them?”
She hated to consider it, but that was part of her job. “I’m afraid we can’t rule it out at this time, though I don’t think it is likely. The bottom line is this. We know they took him. No one has ever managed to escape from the cult unassisted, not even Gordon Fenning. All the other captives from the attack have turned up dead. The last captive they took alive, Tatsumo Mikan, was turned into a Crimson Mask. We have one person who is able to exorcise the demons who possess the Mask hosts, and the manifested demon itself is also quite dangerous. We only recovered her under very special circumstances, and we may not be able to reproduce that scenario – if we can even ever find him. We are being forced to leave this city, and our people are not welcome here. I could leave an agent, but with such a cold trail I can’t see how that would be productive. We can continue trying magical detection, but as I said, that isn’t working either. If he is trying to hide from us, I have no idea where to look. There just isn’t much more that we can do to find him.”
Tavik nodded, looking resigned. “Prince Lynel will not easily accept this verdict, I’m afraid.”
“Well, Chancellor.” Jane paused, reigning in choice words about the practicality of Lynel’s unwillingness to let things go at times. “I am not happy about losing an operative of Atremi’s caliber either.”
“Of course not. We owe him for the warning he gave us, of course… But I understand your perspective lieutenant.” He smiled grimly, smoothing his whiskers. “I am sure the prince will as well.”
“Thank you, Chancellor.” She wished it were an easy decision for her to accept. She hated giving up on her people, but with no leads it was a drain on resources they didn’t have. Counterintelligence was already spread too thinly.
“Thank you for your report, Jane. And I’m sorry.”
She nodded and bowed, leaving her written report on the desk to return to her empty office.
-------------5.3-----------------
Valentine looked out at the ships belonging to the Augustus Trading Company and shook his head once more at the both of them. The original, Swift-as-a-Fox (or Swift more generally), sat moored, her crew busily preparing her for the next voyage. Beside her lay Gentle Wind, likewise engaged in loading new cargo and provisions. To human eyes all may have seemed well with the pair, but for an Elowyn Elf, a pair simply highlighted that which was missing: a third to complete the set. He’d tried reasoning with Sterling, but being only a Half-Elf, and Alrdyn stock at that, he couldn’t be expected to understand the importance of triumvirates. Speaking with Triskin hadn’t been any more successful – her people were as apparently unenlightened as the Aldryn.
He knew the company could afford a third ship: it was just a matter of persuasion. It would be good to reinforce their luck, as the Loyalists had faced a number of trials recently. As he understood it, it was only through some rather slick dealing by Sterling that their company continued to enjoy permission to trade in Shinkyo’s port at all. Valentine saw no solution for his concern, but as he stood on the dock turning it over in his mind, he saw a man approaching who might just be able to help. He waved and smiled broadly.
“Hadyn! Good to see you out, my friend!” It was, in fact, a sadly rare event. The wizard had become more and more reclusive over the past few months, with little return on efforts to draw him out. Even now, he seemed skittish beyond his natural nervousness.
“Valentine.” The cowl nodded up and down. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Ahh. Still, you may be able to help me – I know you are good a problem solving.”
“…Oh?” Hadyn sounded far too suspicious.
“Yes. I must come up with a way to convince Sterling that we need to purchase a third ship for the company.”
“Is he here?”
“Non. He is with Triskin.” For business or pleasure, Valentine didn’t know – only that they would be gone for several hours still.
“Ah.”
“Well, have you any ideas?”
Hadyn glanced around him quickly – another unnecessary nervous habit, especially when in the company of a stalwart friend and a Knight of the Espada Del Justica – a noble organization despite Hadyn’s ill-considered biases. Valentine had noticed that his friend tended to indulge in this habit more when thinking, however, and counted it a good sign for the moment.
“Well,” he began, “We can afford it.” It was true – their last run of had brought in a cargo of unbelievable value, though he hadn’t been personally involved and didn’t know the specifics. The payoff had allowed Prince Lynel to give a large bonus to all active Loyalists to put towards personal equipment. As founding members and shareholders, he and Hadyn had also profited greatly, which further meant, on Valentine’s part, that the Espadas profited as well. Hadyn continued, “That won’t be enough on its own.”
Val nodded. “I have tried that. But what else?”
“The Company’s association with the Loyalists can’t possibly remain a secret. Even though your sailing times and patterns are generally kept confidential, Swift has such wonderfully distinct sails that she is easily recognized.”
“Ah bien. This is true, but Piove would be heartbroken if we were to change them, and the men would not allow it for that very reason. I believe she and Triskin have had words on the subject.”
“I’m shocked.”
Valentine’s mouth dropped petulantly. Hw often wondered about the root of his friend’s constant negativity. How could someone so young be so cynical all the time? He knew Hadyn had lived a hard life, from what little he knew of it, and surely his bad decisions must haunt his conscience. “Please go on Hadyn, I can tell you’ve thought of something.”
“There are two ways you could argue for another ship. The first is risk – you’re at greater risk now because out enemies have decided that we are a target worth expending resources on. It makes sense to mitigate this. A third ship would help split our investment so that we can potentially profit more. If we lost one of our fleet, we’d only be down a third, and not half our resources, even if that percentage represents a greater monetary total.” He paused, and Valentine nodded for him to continue. Redundancy was a core aspect of the Elowyn wisdom of threes. A careful and clever people did not leave much to chance.
“The second angle?” Valentine prodded.
“If we were to acquire a third ship in secret, it could operate more freely than the other two and potentially carry intelligence as well as more valuable cargo, and further mitigate the chances of being attacked by our enemies. Especially if it is kept off the books.”
“A secret ship?”
“Yes.”
“Je ne sais pas. I’m not so sure about that.” Sterling and Triskin already kept enough from him that he was not certain he could officially endorse the Company as an Espada, and it seemed like a secret ship would only encourage this kind of clandestine activity. Besides which, there was not much merit in owning three ships if they didn’t sail together. It would be like a warrior owning three weapons and only carrying two – it just wouldn’t do.
Hadyn shrugged. “Do you know when the others will return?”
“I am afraid not, mon ami. It could be some time.” He smiled. “Perhaps you would care to wait aboard? I’m sure Piove would be glad to see you out. The skies are bright and she is in fine spirits this morning.”
“No.” Did he look a little paler? It was hard to judge under the hood, but he’d shrunken in on himself somewhat and was now glancing nervously towards the sky. “I can’t. I don’t have time.”
“She might think you’re avoiding her.”
“I thought she was still mad at you.”
“Ahh…” Well, she had been. He hadn’t actually seen her yet today, but the weather was a good indicator of her mood, and he smiled optimistically. “You know Piove.”
“Yes. Well. Tell her I said hello.” He spoke very carefully, as though he were wary of her. As far as Valentine knew, Hadyn hadn’t done anything to cross her recently, but their relationship certainly had some rough patches in the past.
“Nothing has happened between you two, has it?”
“No! Nothing. I just don’t have time.”
“Bien alors. She will be very disappointed.”
“I should go.”
“Should I tell Sterling you came looking for him?”
Frustration flashed across his young friend’s shadowed face. “Sure. Not that it matters.”
“It is not healthy for you to be so negative. Here, perhaps I can help you instead?”
He could see Hadyn’s hesitation, no doubt pitting his natural pessimism against the desire to complete his errand.
“Fine. Do you know the names of any of the Company’s contacts in Shiroeki?”
“Ahh!” Valentine smiled broadly. “I do in fact. There, you see?” Once he had accepted the responsibility for managing Espada funds invested into the venture, he’d taken a much more personal interest in their regular trading. Hadyn looked surprised, but his only real interest in the company seemed to be in what sorts of materials it would allow him to acquire. Combined with his recent reclusiveness, it wasn’t surprising that the reclusive wizard hadn’t realized the extent of Valentine’s own involvement. “What kind of contact are you seeking?”
“Someone local that I can stay in contact with. Relay messages about when you might be in port, and so forth.”
“Then I suspect that the Yeohs at Suo Hu may be your best bet. That is the name of the tavern they run – they’re friends, and direct much trade our way. We always stop there and try to give some warning of our comings and goings when prudent. You know, they have a quite delicious ale that they import as well, though they as yet refused to divulge their source!”
“Suo Hu. The Yeohs. Alright.”
“’Tis nothing, mon ami.” That was another thing about Hadyn – he was rarely very grateful, but it was best to take it in stride and try to set a better example. Perhaps it was just the way of his people – others had a difficult time living up to Elowyn standards in any case. “But may I ask what this is about? Are you staying in the South?”
“…Yes.”
“In Shiroeki?”
“…Yes.”
“On Loyalist business?” To the best of his knowledge, Hadyn had been staying in to help Volaris with wizard affairs for the last little while – he could be dangerous to himself and others when hurt or threatened. Valentine hadn’t heard that anyone had come up with any good solutions to deal with the demon trying to take Hadyn over, either. From what he understood, Hadyn hadn’t been an entirely unwilling subject, and even if he seemed somewhat repentant now, Valentine wasn’t sue it was wise to let him go off so far unsupervised. Drawing his old acquaintance out of his reclusive phase was one thing, but leaving him unattended in a foreign city was quite another.
“Yes.” Hadyn sounded peevish now. “It’s just for research. Volaris thinks it is important.”
“Ahh bien. He is a very smart man.” Possibly the smartest human he had ever met. Valentine certainly trusted him to know what was prudent, and if he was willing to let Hadyn go then surely it would be fine.
“I have to go.”
“Very well, my friend. I wish you luck in your travels, and I’ll tell the others you were here.”
Hadyn’s cowl bobbed, possibly in thanks, and turned to leave. “Good luck getting your ship.”
Valentine waved in farewell, blithely assuming the comment was sincere.
--------------------5.4-------------------------------
Cheng rode up to the edge of the forest and lay a calming hand on his horse’s neck. The animal seemed fine, yet something had been spooking the forest creatures over the past week. Deer were venturing further into the cultivated fields and orchards belonging to his lord’s tenant farmers. They were skittish, even for deer, and their behaviour was unusual. As Warder of his lord’s preserve, Cheng was obligated to investigate.
He suspected that some predator had moved into the area. Human predators – poachers or worse – were an equally dangerous possibility. He’d armed himself accordingly, with a quiver across his back and his bow in easy reach. It was forbidden for peasants to even carry arms into the wood, and Cheng generally complied with this injunction even though his position exempted him. It felt strange, but he urged his horse onto the narrow path.
The forest itself felt strange. He couldn’t single out anything that was obviously wrong, no evidence of strange animal behaviour, and no signs of predators. Whatever was amiss, it touched the established pathways only enough for Cheng to confirm to himself that something was not right. He would have to venture deeper to find the cause.
He guided his mount off the main trail, following a deer path. The horse was small and trained to operate in this environment. It had saved him some years before when he’d come across a camp of well-armed bandits lurking in one of the many clearings, and he didn’t want to take any chances today. He hoped to rule out a human threat by checking the more accessible areas of the forest first. Meanwhile, he kept his eyes open for tigers, owlbears, or other dangerous game. In that case, he would track the beast and inform his lord, who would surely want the glory of stalking the beast for himself.
Cheng looked forward to a good hunt. If he were selected as a guide, as was likely, the honour would reflect well on his family. It could mean sponsorship at an Imperial school for his son, Masa, and better opportunities for their lineage in the future. Perhaps a respectable match could even be procured for Mei Li when she came of age.
He followed the deer trails for several hours, letting his instincts guide him towards the source of the disturbance. Eventually he came upon just what he’d been hoping not to find – traces of men. Heavy boot prints followed one of the narrower paths – one person making multiple trips. His first time through he’d been carrying something fairly heavy, and he’d passed back this was most recently earlier that very morning. Would it be best to track the man, or see what he’d been up to? Considering his resources carefully, Cheng decided upon the latter. It would be wiser to undertake some reconnaissance before taking on an unknown foe.
He dismounted, leading his animal off the trail and out of sight. He would need to rely on stealth, and his horse would prove a hindrance. It would also be easier to cover his tracks on foot. The horse would stay put without being tied, and would come if whistled for. Slinging his bow and quiver over his shoulder, Cheng crept carefully along the path worn by the intruder, looking for other clues to his identity. A number of bent and broken branches indicated that he was quite tall and broad – more so than most Southerners. Cheng frowned, trying not to think of the direction of the intruder’s point of origin, and praying that he were simply a man and not some malignant spirit.
The trail led towards a small clearing dominated by an ancient beech, and Cheng’s feelings of unease increased as he approached. Here, the forest *was* silent, and the breeze carried a sick scent. He took care to be as silent as possible, uncertain of what to expect, and broached the tree-line of the clearing.
A figure lay against the trunk of the beech. It presented a profile view to Cheng, whose first thought was that the figure was simply leaning. It made no sign of having heard his approach, and Cheng nocked an arrow as he stepped closer.
“Spirits protect me…” He lowered his weapon.
It was a man, hung by chains bolted through his hands and spiked to the tree. His feet barely rested against the ground, and his body showed signs of numerous other mutilations. Apart from the hands, the worst was his face – one eye black and swollen, his mouth caked with dried blood and pus. Whoever had done this had also cut off his ears, and it took Cheng a moment to realize that this was not a human. Too slender, and the angles of the face were wrong. He was an Elf, and the faint sounds of laboured breathing indicated that, somehow, he still lived.
It took Cheng a moment to recover from the shock, but he knew that he couldn’t let this inhumanity continue. If he lived, he could be saved. The warden drew a handaxe from his belt and approached the tree. Questions about how the elf had come to be in this predicament were secondary for the moment. In the face of such depravity, it was no wonder the forest was spooked.
He pried and chopped the spikes free from the tree, standing in front of the Elf to stop him from simply collapsing to the ground and receiving further injury. He was loathe to lie him on the ground for fear of exposing his wounds to further risk of infection. There were a number of deep cuts and burns, the worst of which was a deep cut along the top of his right thigh where it looked as though part of the muscle had been cut out or burned away by something caustic. The flesh reeked of rot, and maggots wriggled in the recesses of the wound, but there was no sign that the infection was spreading. Three roughly parallel lines were scored into the skin beside the cut, but these seemed less severe. All in all, the worst of the Elf’s injuries seemed to be on his front, so Chang laid him carefully on his back, keeping his mangled hands from touching the forest floor. He lacked the equipment to remove the bolts and associated chains.
Cheng was not a skilled healer, but he knew enough to give basic care. None of the stranger’s wounds were life-threatening on their own, but his overall condition was extremely poor and he was clearly running a high fever. The woodsman carried with him a single healing potion, issued by his lord for emergencies. He didn’t question for a second that this would be an appropriate time. If the elf were even somewhat conscious, he would be easier to move safely. Cheng drew the phial from its wooden case and knelt beside his patient’s head. It was meant to be ingested and, intending to pour it down the elf’s throat, Cheng carefully tried to open his mouth.
It wouldn’t budge, and the elf flailed weakly. One eye fluttered open briefly and his brow furrowed, but the pain was not sufficient to rouse him fully. Cheng waited to see if he would lapse back into unconsciousness before examining his mouth to see what the obstruction was. Very gently, he pulled back the elf’s upper lip and frown, horrified at the depravity require for one sentient creature to do such a thing to another.
The smells of infection was quite strong. The gums were red and seeping with fresh blood and pus where Cheng had inadvertently pulled against the wire that ran through them. Some of the teeth appeared cracked or broken as well, but it was difficult to see. The elf’s breathing was becoming more laboured the longer he lay on his back, with a wet wheezing sound about which Cheng was not very optimistic.
He looked up at the sky, eying the gathering clouds critically. It would rain, but not for some hours. He would have to bring the Elf to safety, perhaps even take some care to cover their racks, and fetch a healer. The only question was where to bring him. Not home, surely, as he had no desire to make his family a target should the elf’s captor, his torturer, come seeking his victim. The village was likewise a poor choice, and too far to safely transport his patient regardless.
As he considered his options, Cheng did his best to clean and bind some of the Elf’s wounds. His materials were limited, and he tore pieces from his tunic to bind the wounds on the elf’s hands and tie them down in such a way to relieve the stress of the bolts and chains that pulled against the damaged flesh. Using the rest of his garment to loosely clothe his patient, Cheng carried him carefully back to his horse and strapped him as securely as possible into the saddle.
He headed to the edge of the forest, where his lord’s hunting lodge was located. It was the safest option for the moment, even if he had no authority to use the building. This was a special circumstance. He took care to leave as few tracks as possible, more easily done as it was safer to carry the Elf slowly. Once they arrived at the outpost, he installed his patient n one of the smaller guest rooms and lit a fire he hoped would die down quickly to warm but smokeless embers. That done, he rode hard for the village, full of questions about what had happened, and was happening, in the forest.
------------------
It was a damp early evening when Geron’s spell brought him back to the small clearing in the deep Southern forest. Specks of rain spattered down, deepening the red of his robes to a more sinister shade. He smiles, wondering how the turn in the weather was affecting his project. Matteo might need more than just the syringe to survive another day, and Saviya *had* specified that he was to be left alive. She’d never specified for how long, of course, but Geron was curious how long he could prolong the suffering of an immortal creature. He wanted to see if the elf could make good on his threats – whether or not he could really just shuffle off to wherever it was that Elves went when they got old and mad. At this point, he had his doubts. He also had his doubts regarding the elf’s confession. He’d broken sooner than expected, for one, and as convincing as his story had seemed at the time, Saviya had had no luck following up on any of the leads. Besides which, Geron never believed anything confessed under torture. That was never the point, for him.
Saviya could worry about the Loyalists: his goals were much simpler. He’d brought a few tools of his trade – some pliers, a dull knife, and a mallet. There wasn’t much to work on, at last not before the shot. He’d worried about the Elf dying of dehydration or starvation, or succumbing too quickly to infection, and had developed a special concoction as a preventative measure. It contained a mild curative potion, just enough to stabilize his victim and rouse him temporarily to consciousness, along with small doses of a powerful fever reducer and antibiotics. Geron was well versed in medicine – he’d bided his time before the rise of the true church learning the details of anatomy as a healer for the Church of Salistrom.
Since Matteo couldn’t very well ingest the solution on his own, and certainly wouldn’t have been willing if capable, Geron administered it through an injection directly into his stomach. He could then use the same syringe to suction off any excess liquid building up around the Elf’s lungs as a result of his partial crucifixion. He wasn’t certain how long he could draw things out in this method – eventually Matteo would either heal naturally, or succumb. He hoped for the former. Without more powerful magical aid, the elf would carry most of his injuries forever. Or at least until Geron was through with him.
He emerged into the clearing and stared contemplatively at the empty tree. A rescue then – he could see where the spikes had been removed. It was probably not the Loyalists, but he would have to be careful regardless. Geron smiled, unperturbed. Matteo would come back to him, one way or another. Whether or not his wounds healed, he might never recover fully from his experience.
The cultist turned back along the path. He had other business to take care of here. Later he would report back to Saviya. She’d be angry, but that was fine. She’d want him found, and if she was wiling to invest the resources, that was also fine. He had other ideas about effective ways to recover his project. As he headed back to his shrine in the rain, a dark shadow detached itself from the tree line and followed.
