"Nothing that won't heal by morning thank you," Alaina answered Kolda as she sipped the coffee.
Cel smiles at the thought of a warm drink and starts to reach for the coffee, then pauses mid-reach, thinks for a second and decides coffee would be a bad idea. "No thank you, sir."
Henri sat and leaned far back in her chair, still smoking the cigarette she had started outside. She gladly accepted the hot coffee and took a sip, letting the smoke billow around her head as she did so. "Thanks, Koala," she said, giving him a small smile. "You don't happen to have any whiskey or something I could put in this, do ya? That's all the healing I need." She grinned and took a light sip.
Responding to Zahan's question, she nodded at Xizoh. "What the Doc said. Hell of a lotta zombies attacked us. Plus some traps, a necromancer..." she trailed off. She decided not to bring up the spirit in the mist, unsure of if that was a good sign or a bad sign. "All I know is, we more than earned that gold, at the very least. Whatever's going on up on that mountain... well. It ain't good." She took another drag off of her cigarette, shaking her head. "But I don't feel like tellin' the whole thing too many times. Better wait for the Cap'n, eh?"
Dulae smiles at Kolda and takes a cup. "Injuries magic can heal, but I have yet to taste a decent cup of summoned coffee..."
She takes a sip, savoring the hot liquid. Not like I'm going to sleep anyways...
Feeling more energetic almost immediately, Dulae scans the room. A small smile curls up one side of her mouth at seeing Zahan.
"Private!" She barks out in a quiet voice, pitched to get his attention but not disturb those in the office behind the door. "Further details, such as the other deadly undead monsters and the spirit god, are above your paygrade."
She pauses a beat. "Said grade can be raised by buying us all drinks. Your friends can help."
Xizoh thanks his fellow healer as he downs the coffee. Was he always this hungry? Shaking his head, the Doc moves to talk trade with Kolda, before hearing the spirit god mentioned. The half elf pulls blanket closer around him, his marked hand wrapped in warmth and cloth.
"Does the local apothecary handle all the soldiers medicinal needs?" Honestly, today had shown the pseudo Fetchling he needed radically different supplies than he had expected.
--
Kolda smiles at Henri’s nickname and chuckles at her request for whiskey, eyeing her cigarette and shaking his head. He glances around at the party again and nods, looking satisfied with their health. Kolda picks up the tray to leave when Xizoh and Henri mention zombies and a necromancer.
Zahan’s mouth falls open in disbelief. Kolda frowns, looking troubled but unsurprised. He and Zahan exchange an uneasy look. Zahan glances at the closed office door, clears his throat, and uses Dulae's quip to change the subject.
“Right. Drinks. Sure, we'll do that. Oh, and I have a story you might appreciate, Sergeant,” he says, pointing to Dulae with a small shaking in his hand that wasn’t there before. “We had a charming elven fellow in here this afternoon to volunteer for the search, trailing a woman behind him who looked bored to pieces. Rudest git I’ve ever seen. Called me a 'useless piece of garbage'.” He chuckles, looking a bit more himself. “Took less than five seconds for the captain to toss him out. I've never seen someone look so insulted. You would've enjoyed it."
Kolda decides he isn't interested in gossip and addresses Xizoh's question. "Er, no actually. We take special orders there sometimes but we often get our bulk supplies from the university or the capitol. Is there something you need?"
Suddenly the office door opens and Buhari emerges, looking grave. “Come on in please.” He gives the party a tight smile and waves them into the captain and Silo’s office.
Kolda smiles at Xizoh and he and Zahan promise that they'll see the group again later that evening.
-
The office is dark and quiet; dimly lit by a few lamps on the front desk and lifeless without the busy shuffle of papers. Captain Vazquez, Silo, and Lieutenant Narwita are gathered around the front desk conferring with lowered voices.
Anyone paying attention to the papers in the room notices every stack of paper is meticulously weighed down with something heavy; sealed inkwells, attractive rocks that look like they’re from a collection, and some inscrutable magical-looking items.
As the party enters the lamp light and their bloodied state comes into view, concern flashes across the captain's steady expression. Narwita's face is impassive. Silo gasps softly, his eyes wide in shock and his face creased with worry. “Oh Altien's good grace," he breathes. "Are you all alright?”
“Kolda will have seen to them.” The captain's tone is businesslike but not dismissive. She pauses, then adds, "But please, sit if you need." She gestures to the tables and chairs at the back of the office, inviting the party to rest at the apprentices' empty desks.
After waiting for the party to gather, Captain Vazquez crosses her arms and addresses the group. Silo adjusts his glasses, looking attentive and worried. Lieutenants Buhari walks to the other side of the desk, sits down near a lamp, and grabs a quill pen and a few clean sheets of paper. Lieutenant Narwita stands behind the group near the door at a watchful parade rest, observing silently.
"First of all, Master Fairhurst and I would like to thank you for your service to Altiendel. All of you." Her eyes meet Cel's.
"One of my lieutenants," the captain nods at Narwita, "informs me you've recovered the body of your target, Todd Laverty, and that you found him in an undead state."
"Obviously this news is very concerning. Anything you can tell us about what you observed on the mountain could be critical. I'd like you to walk us through from the time you left to your return. Please be thorough."
Silo adds, "And if you have any questions, please ask."
Lieutenant Buhari raises his pen, ready to take their report.
Cel inadvertently tugs on the drawstrings of his hood pulling it a little tighter around the frame of his face as the Captain starts to speak. His eyes quickly findind a particularly interesting spec of dirt on the floor very shortly after making eye contact with her.
Sensing his nervousness, Alaina stepped forward and slightly in front of Cel. She couldn't explain it, but she was feeling particularly protective of him.
Looking at the Captain, she crossed her arms as non-hostilely as she could, "Well, to begin with, I have to say that the map worked perfectly. So congratulations are in order. That being said however, I'm not entirely sure other maps will be necessary, because we found more than just that one dead man. There were several, including a woman that seemed more herself than the others. I recommend we have a couple of soldiers with us tomorrow, with a cart, to bring the rest back while we investigate the cave we found."
A brief smile washes over Silo's face at Alaina's mention of the map's success. The captain maintains a neutral expression and doesn't reply, as though she's waiting to hear more.
Alaina notices that Buhari diligently scribbles down what she says at first, but glances up at the captain and seems to stop writing when Alaina transitions to her recommendation.
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"Would there happen to be anyone here skilled in disarming traps? We came across quite a few, and I would like some pointers. Just now noticing his Ioun Torch orbiting overhead, the half elf slowly reached up and pocketed the light.
"Out of curiosity, are you going to involve Abbhen in this?" Stone faced, he stares at the Captain for her response.
"It would be helpful, Mr. Shadelock, to know more about what exactly we'd be involving Abbhen in," the captain responds in a patient tone. "We've heard you found a cave and some undead. This is an the site of a large battle, it's not unheard of for dead things to rise here."
When it seems as though further information will not be readily forthcoming, Captain Vazquez puts a hand up to her temple and takes a breath. "Am I to assume, Ms. Steele, from your comment that no further maps would be needed that you encountered both the dig team and the search team in their entirety, all undead?" She frowns deeply. "That is distressing news. Eighteen is too many to fall to darkness by chance in so little time. Was there any indication of how they became so?"
Silo pipes up with a quizzical expression on his face, "Hold on a moment, I don't think I follow. If the map worked perfectly and took you straight to poor Todd, how did you end up in a cave?" His face lights up with a new thought. "Ah, Todd kept a meticulous journal. Lieutenant Narwita, do you know if they found it on his body?"
"No sir, they did not. His coin purse was empty too," says Narwita from her watchful position behind the group.
Buhari coughs apologetically and says softly, "Er, I believe Ms. Marchand has it." He clarifies quickly, "The journal, I mean. Of course."
Alaina is reminded again that 'Marchand' isn't the name Henri originally told her.
Henri nods at Alaina's comment, and the elf takes the cigarette, almost drained, out of her mouth and taps some of the ash onto the floor. "I don't believe we encountered the entirity of the group. All in all there were about... 8? That we ran into and had to take care of. Plus a wizard. Probably the necromancer, but I didn't get a good look at 'im. I assume he had something to do with your little zombie infestation." She glances at Silo.
"Now that's actually a pretty good question. The way I remember it is, we had found that zombie outside," she gestured behind her, "And most of us were willin' to call it a day. But we did notice a set of tracks leading up to some cave entrance. Probably a smuggler's hideout or something. And Retired Sergeant Sunshine, here, decided that she just couldn't stand not going above and beyond the call of duty and insisted we go into the cave."
Henri grinned at Dulae. "I mean, I wouldn't say I took a lotta convincing, though. There were a bunch of traps in there, and a bunch of zombies - along with some of the supplies that I think were stolen from the general store." She sighed and sat back again. "And then there was the wight in the mist... Kinda a pushover, really. Anyway. That's the short of it, I think. Rest of the gang can fill you in if I missed something." She reaches into her pocket and produces the leatherbound journal. "Ah, you mean this old thing, right? Definitely had some interesting information in it." She gave a wink to the captain as she dropped it on the desk.
Lieutenant Buhari's pen scrapes quickly across the paper as Henri speaks.
The captain looks a bit relieved when Henri reports there were eight zombies. She and Silo exchange a dark look when Henri mentions a necromancer and she gives Dulae an even stare after hearing Dulae insisted on entering the cave.
The captain's eyes widen at hearing the possible connection between the stolen goods and her missing personnel, eight now confirmed dead.
Silo eagerly picks up the journal and begins to thumb through it. "Hmmm, yes," he mutters, then asks more loudly, "You say you saw a wizard. Someone learned? How did you know this?" A few moments later he glances from the journal up at the ceiling, as though a new puzzle pushed all other thought from his mind. "And how in blazes did poor Todd end up all the way at the dot near the smugglers' caves?"
Captain Vazquez raises her eyebrows at this. "Lieutenant Buhari, when was the last time the smugglers' cave seals were checked?"
"Not more than a few weeks ago, sir. Certainly after the mist started," Buhari replies, still writing.
"Hmm, how did you get in then?" Captain Vazquez asks the party. "Traps don't tell us much - the smugglers caves have been heavily trapped for over two hundred years."
The captain pauses, then asks, "And you were in the mist... the only live souls that we know of to have emerged again. You said you saw a wight within the mist. What other evils?"
"We weren't inside it very far or long and other than the Wight, the only other thing we saw was some sort of spirit. But it wasn't malevolent."
Cel, with a little quake in his voice, quietly says, "The seals were broken, sir...uh...ma'am."
Lieutenant Buhari stops writing to look up at Captain Vazquez. The captain narrows her eyes and turns to Silo. "What would it take to break those seals, Silo?"
Silo frowns. "Well, it's a bit outside my expertise." Silo sets the journal down and walks over to a bookshelf, running his hand over the titles. "A powerful spell of destruction... or earth magic, perhaps. What did the broken seals look like?"
The captain turns back to the party. "Did you see anything else that might help us identify the caster?"
Dulae shakes herself from the stupor she seems to be in.
"When we found the first creature, it appeared confused, uncontrolled. Why it was so far up the mountain I don't know, but I think that it wandered from the cave. The cave seemed to have been in use for a little while as many of the lethal traps had been marked with paint."
She chews on her lip for a moment when the issue of the seals comes up. "The seals were shattered into many large shards. The damage seemed like it came from a single powerful spell, but I don't remember scorch marks."
Her expression turns darker. "We encountered what I believe to be the rest of the archeology team inside. However, one of the woman on the expedition was... botched. Aware of who it had been and what it was. The necromancer found us right after we finished questioning it; he ambushed it with a spell and ran after a rather pitiful threat. His voice was male and none too confident. Our pursuit was blocked by the last of the zombies and he escaped out onto the higher slopes of the mountain. We then made a judgement call to turn back."
She sighs. "It is my opinion that the necromancer we encountered was not solely responsible for the creatures we have encountered. Some were quite strong, while others like the woman were amateurish."
She continues her terse report. "Our escape was not as smooth as the trip up. We were soon attacked by an undead direwolf, whose tracks we had seen before. It was a challenge. I doubt a creature such as it could take out one of our patrols, but if an entire pack was involved it is possible. The frost wight came right as the mist reached us; it wasn't coming from the mist though, but farther down the mountain."
"The mist... we were in it for a long time. I doubt that it is responsible for turning the archeologists." She pauses for a few moment, recalling what she had seen. "Its not evil, Captain. Intensely magical, yes, but not evil. While I was examining it it flowed together to form the spirit Ms. Steele mentioned. Oranis, if I remember their lore correctly. It wanted us to get off the mountain, but not in a hostile way. More like it was concerned for us."
She shivers. "I believe it left to do battle with something else, and it seemed quite serious."
"I assumed you'd want Abbhen's antimagic expertise and weaponry. Divines know Henri's gun was helpful." For a moment, Xizoh's face turns melancholic as if remembering something, before he straightens up and quietly listens to the party.
As Dulae finishes Xizoh slides his marked hand out of his sleeve. "Very concerned for our sake."
The captain smiles softly at Xizoh’s earnesty. “You will be pleased to know then, Mr. Shadelock, that Abbhen has of course been closely involved since the first weeks we observed the mist on our shared border. I believe you’ve met one of their representatives, Mr. Guillen.”
The four officers listen closely to Dulae. Buhari’s pen flies across the page as she speaks. Anger flashes across the captain’s face at the mention of the botched zombie.
After Xizoh’s glowing hand slips out of his sleeve Silo hurries over to him, bookshelf and all other questions forgotten. “Oh my stars, the mark of Oranis,” he beams. “You must have devoted your studies to healing, young sir,” he says with admiration. He cocks his head, peering at Xizoh’s hand. “May I have a look sometime? It’s not often we have the opportunity to study the magic of the spirits.”
Captain Vazquez frowns, tapping a finger on her armor. “A novice caster in the league with some greater evil and a benevolent spirit in the mist. Well… this certainly changes our perspective. Thank you for your report, sergeant.”
The tone of the captain’s voice when she calls Dulae ‘sergeant’ doesn’t seem wholly in keeping with candid straightforwardness she generally speaks with.
“Remind me, Lieutenant, what were the items stolen from the general store?” Captain Vazquez asks Narwita.
“Risa reported five scrolls and four charged teleportation orbs missing, sir."
The captain frowns deeply. "Please find out exactly which scrolls were taken as soon as we are done here." Narwita nods.
The captain takes another breath, then says “Well, I have to admit your ridiculous maps worked, Silo. Thank you.” She looks at all five of the party in turn. “And thank you for your service. You will be paid in keeping with your courage. The military will handle things from here.”
Silo protests good-naturedly, “Oh come now good Captain, didn’t you say not ten minutes ago you didn’t have as much support from central as you'd expected?”
The captain gives Silo a warning look.
“We should all go up the mountain tomorrow and give them what for! I’ll have you know I’m a very powerful wizard.”
Captain Vazquez can’t help but chuckle at this. “Silo, you’ve never been in a fight in your life.”
Silo gives her a winsome smile. “It’s just one necromancer, maybe it’s time for a change.” He shrugs. “Then again, perhaps not, but right here you have capable people who have scouted out the land, the caves, and the traps, of which apparently there are many.”
The captain heaves a tolerant sigh. ”I will consent to hiring this search party only, Silo. The rest should go home.”
Captain Vazquez turns back to the group. “We offer to hire you at double your rate to serve as scouts and guides for a combat mission first thing tomorrow. If you agree.”
"Good! Then we should feast," Silo says, hand on his stomach. "Come, I will buy you all dinner. As much as you can eat!"
Alaina thought for a moment or two. She didn't come up here to do search and rescue, however, there was a part of her that wanted to prove she was a good warrior. That pitiful display of hers in the caves just ground against her brain.
"I'm willing to go looking again," She finally said.
With Silo finishing his statement, Cel takes it as a cue that the group is dismissed, and begins to stand. As he stands he doesn't leave the room despite a strong desire to do so, but he doesn't actually answer the Captain's question either assuming that he was not part of the offer. "I'm...I'm sorry for earlier." He still doesn't move to leave, waiting for an actual dismissal.
Captain Vazquez nods at Alaina and Silo smiles at her approvingly. "Very good. I would have that map back now my dear, if you would." Silo reaches out his hand to Alaina for the map.
Cel's apology grabs the captain's attention. "Yes..." The captain flicks through a small pile of papers until she comes to a piece that's ripped in two. "Mr. Runil. You are a problem.” She taps Cel’s application on the desk slowly, her forehead creased in thought.
"I said not to test me, and you wrecked my office." She puts a stone weight back on top of the pile of papers. "I said I wouldn’t hire you, and you went on the mission without authorization." She casts a fleeting pointed look at Dulae, then takes a long pause, studying Cel intently.
Lieutenant Buhari winces at this, as though he is expecting some backlash for this outcome after taking a chance on advocating for Cel.
"Still..." the captain continues, "It is good of you to apologize. And the fact that you're still alive offers some hope you may yet develop some self control."
Finally, she frowns at Cel, looking decisive. "You may volunteer tomorrow, if you wish, but you will not act unless specifically directed. You may walk, eat, drink, and breathe, but otherwise I don’t want to see you so much as sneeze without orders. Understand?”
Silo smiles broadly at this and Buhari looks pleased as he jots down another note.
Cel nods quickly, but says nothing else
The captain's expression softens a bit. She leans down to unlock a drawer and lays out five small leather bags on the desk.
"Come collect your pay for today with the rest of your party, Mr. Runil. You did earn it." She gestures to the bags on the desk.
Cel's eyes widen slightly in surprise, but he does as instructed and comes to collect. He takes his pay, nods quickly, and says, "Thank you, I won't...uh...ma'am." The last word is said in a manner that suggests Cel isn't sure of the correct salutation, but he does sound earnest in his response.
Xizoh nods his head, his hand held out. "You're the wizard, go ahead. Count me in for rejoining.
Xizoh's stomach rumbles angrily, demanding tribute. "Dinner sounds delightful."
Well that's unexpected, Dulae thinks to herself after the captain offers to hire Cel the next day. Ms. Steele and Fireball will be pleased. Dulae is mildly surprised to find she's somewhat pleased herself.
"I also intend to see this through," she answers the captain with determination. That bastard won't get away next time...
Inside the bag you find not 200 gold, but 50 platinum pieces. (2.5 times more than promised for the day.)
"Lovely. How very agreeable of you," Silo says to Xizoh. He bends over Xizoh's hand, gently takes it by the sides and rotates it slowly to view the glowing mark at different angles. "Absolutely fascinating."
While Silo is enraptured by Xizoh's hand, the captain smiles at Cel's earnest reply and nods at Xizoh and Dulae in recognition of their agreement.
Alaina stepped forward and handed the map back to the occupied wizard, then collected her payment. Looking inside the pouch, her eyes widened slightly. Wow, that's more than I've ever made in a bout at the arena. Perhaps this wasn't as bad an idea as I thought.
Cel doesn't even look in the bag, anxious to be out of the Captain's scrutiny . He puts the bag in his backpack, and continues to stand at the table. His eyes are switching between the Captain, the table, Silo, and back to the Captain again unsure if he should leave yet or wait to be dismissed obviously uncomfortable with the dilemma in his head about what to do.
Seeing that it looked like the Rabbit was getting ready to bolt again, Alaina slipped the pouch into one of her pouches and said, "If there's nothing else Captain, I believe I will wait outside for the others. It's getting a bit stuffy in here for me."
Turning and stepping to the door, she then looked over her shoulder, "Coming Rabbit?"
Henri sighs and hefts the bag in her hand, opening it to examine the contents. It was a lot of coin, that was for sure, but a look of concern crossed her face at the mention of heading out to the mountain again tomorrow. Searching with the rest of the hired ragamuffins was one thing - especially for this much coin. But spending an extended amount of time in the company of military toughs was not what she had signed up for. She glances at her companions, most of which she had only known for a day.
But the Captain had paid and invited Cel. Henri hadn't expected that. She pulls out a piece of platinum and fiddled with it for a few moments as she was listening to everyone else talk. The gold. The necromancer. The zombies. The military. It had been a long damned day. But as the rest of the party agreed, she shrugged to herself. Someone had to be there to pick up the slack, and she couldn't very well trust the wizard or the captain to do that. Henri finishes her cigarette and flicks it onto the floor. "Fine. Sure, I'll join ya. Only for the gold of course. But as you've seen, you're buyin' the best." Henri's neutral expression changes into a grin and she stands, and puts the platinum into her pack with the rest of her coin. "And I could definitely use a drink." The elf takes a few steps towards the door, getting ready to leave.
Seeing Alaina eyeing her unexpected payment, Silo says, “I still intend to keep our agreement, Ms. Steele. Let’s discuss it after your mission tomorrow, hm?”
Captain Vazquez nods at Henri. “Very well then. I will see you all tomorrow morning. You leave at dawn. Don’t be late.”
Silo claps his hands together, looking pleased. “Excellent. Now I'd like nothing more than to celebrate the lives of those we’ve lost, the great success of this new magic, and drink many drinks to your bravery. I’d bet it’s already boisterous at the Wolf and Bear. Shall we?”
Captain Vazquez puts a hand on his shoulder and says sternly, “Not so fast Silo, you still have business to finish here.”
Silo sighs wearily, but quickly brightens. ”I won’t be long, I’ll join you there. Please order whatever you like - tell Laurett to put it on Silo’s tab.”
The captain turns to the party and says, “Whoever’s behind this has stolen from the general store and the Mountain Lute, that we know of. They can reach us here. We all need to be careful.” She gives a small nod to her lieutenants.
”A drink or two sounds like fun. I’ll take you there,” Lieutenant Buhari offers.
”Me too, I could do with a walk,” Narwita agrees, holding the office door open for the group.
“Just a moment Sergeant Toema,” says the captain. “You should stay a minute. There’s a letter here for you.”
You notice the captain studiously looks at the desk when she tells Dulae that there’s a letter, which seems out of character.
----
Outside the office the halls are quiet; Zahan and Kolda are gone.
Lieutenant Buhari smiles at the group as they make their through the waiting room and down the stairs. "There's probably a big group at the tavern by now. I'd bet people will be interested to meet you. I hope you join, but if you'd prefer I can bring you some food somewhere quiet," he offers.
As they step outside a cold wind sweeps across the street, blowing around the drifting snow. A few others, bundled up and hurrying through the snow, are also headed toward the warm, inviting lights of the Wolf and Bear. Inside the fireplace roars, the lanterns burn brightly against the darkness outside, and the room is filled with laughter and banter. The tables and chairs are mostly filled with people in military uniforms, looking cheerful.
Laurett gives them a quick wave from behind the busy bar. Smitty smiles at them in welcome as he weaves expertly through the room with his arms full of empty mugs.
Blaine Guillen, sitting at the bar, turns around to follow Laurett's wave. Spotting the group, he smirks at Henri and turns around again.
Zahan and Kolda are holding large mugs of ale and laughing with three other soldiers near the bar. Silo's apprentices are packed tightly together at a small table playing a rowdy game of cards. Faces scattered in the crowd cast frequent curious glances at the party.
Kori and Wydon wave enthusiastically at Cel and the party from the nearest table. Kori gestures to empty seats near them.
Sanaa catches Alaina's eye from near the back of the tavern, sitting at a small table with no sign of Ryul nearby. She raises a glass of ale in their direction.
Narwita melts into the crowd, but Buhari hangs back to see if any of them take him up on his offer.
“Silo, this is Lieutenant Toema, of the Order of Reclamation,” Captain Vazquez brusquely introduces Dulae by her true title. Silo nods, his expression serious.
“I apologize for thrusting that team on you, Lieutenant; it was the best chance of allowing you to pursue this lead. It seems it worked out.” She spreads out a map of Altiendel in front of them.
“After you returned, Silo and I attempted to contact the head of the Order. Apparently most of the Order has been suddenly dispatched to the northern border on some urgent mission. The head of military is away in Sianken, which leaves her second, Leadon, as our contact point for both the king and the Great Temple.”
She points to a spot on the map thirty miles north of Southtown. “The forces from Kinghaven won’t reach us for another two days. Reinforcements could easily teleport here to aid us in the meantime, but Leadon has been resisting. I’m hoping hearing from you will change his mind." She gives Dulae a quick, confident smile. "Silo, will you connect us to Teresct?”
Silo casts a complicated spell that Dulae recognizes as Sending.
“Reporting to Commander Leadon. Captain Jaya Vazquez with a witness to a large-scale necromantic event in Southtown. Re-requesting immediate assistance.”
There is silence for a moment, then the spell crackles back to life. A masculine voice says, “Captain, it is natural to expect this over the site of a big battle. I am sorry for your loss, but there’s bigger trouble elsewhere.”
The spell fizzles, and a moment later, another sparks in its place.
“We'll send a unit tomorrow afternoon if we can spare them.” He sighs. “Honestly Jaya, you've got a whole garrison there, can't you deal with one necromancer?”
The captain looks stunned. Silo gives her a questioning look, gesturing at the crackling spell. She waves no, and he dismisses it.
“Well…” she says. “Well it seems we’re on our own for the time being.” She clears her throat and turns back to the map.
“This is not to leave the room. Given the forces we have, we will deploy a third of our strength, roughly three dozen not counting the civilian scouts, and raid the caves at first light. If we cannot capture him, we will target his personal items and Silo’s team will devote all their energy to making a map to find him.”
She turns to Dulae. “I’m relying on your experienced judgment, lieutenant. Given what you've seen, is this a viable strategy? And do you think the boy is reliable enough to be counted on for it?”
"Yes, let's," Alaina responded to the Wizard. She was still unsure why Marcus would working with a magic-user when he disliked magic.