Anyone who sees the message reads:
I know she’s here somewhere. Bring her to the Abbhen pass by sundown or next time I’ll gut you in your sleep, freak.
"A hate letter! Altien alive," Laurett looks faint with worry. The group's conversation has her full attention and her hands are uncharacteristically still, but she does not attempt to read the message herself.
Smitty is still distracted by customers on the other side of the tavern.
"Ezikiel," Blaine repeats in a hard voice, like he's committing the name to memory.
"What can I say?" Blaine sits up a bit straighter and flashes Henri a proud grin, looking very pleased that she noticed. "I'm a man of many talents. I'll see to it someone checks up on them."
Henri senses his pride is real, but she gets the impression he is exaggerating it to avoid the question and hide other emotions that might be more telling.
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Rubbing his scar, Xizoh gently waves off Laurett's concern. "It's not the first and it will hardly be the last.," Quieter, he adds, "I'm just worried because he's already proved he is dangerous, but sneaky too? Not a chance I'll go along with his demands but I'd like to avoid another tracheotomy. Any ideas?"
Blaine's grins fades and he sighs. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I figured you're pretty smart," he smirks.
"I can't tell you much. Truly," he says. "I work for a coalition between the Abbhen and Altiendel governments that shares resources, news, and people. I can call in favors over either network if I play my cards right. And you, Ms. Coy," he looks at Henri. "We think you may be useful to us."
Henri has always known the Abbhen and Altiendel militaries have worked together, but she didn't have a clear idea of how exactly before now. She gets the impression she's been recruited as an asset to feed information to this coalition. She suspects the gun and training were investments in her future cooperation, and it strikes her that this coalition now also knows her real name and family situation.
"Marcus Steele isn't dead. Silo made contact through a sending just yesterday," Dara says.
Kieran looks skeptically at Dulae for confirmation. "Is that true?"
Dulae nods solemnly.
"F*ck." Kieran squeezes his eyes closed with intense thought. "F*ck. Who else knows?"
"Silo, Captain Vazquez, and our team," says Dulae.
"Let's keep it that way," Kieran says darkly. "An Order extraction team may just smoke him and any other survivors. We need to get someone to them first."
Dara gets the sinking feeling something is amiss at the highest level of the Order of Reclamation.
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Alaina, Cel, and Xizoh remember that they're meant to report to the military building with all of their gear packed up, ready to teleport to Kinghaven shortly after dawn. They probably have less than half an hour.
"Its formal name is the Joint Coalition of Altiendel and The Free Kingdom of Abbhen for the Advancement of Responsible Magics." Blaine shrugs. "But anybody who's actually involved calls it the Joint Coalition."
Blaine takes a sip of coffee, weighing Henri's question. "I certainly hope so. You're good in the field and I think there's a lot I could teach you," he flashes Henri a charming smile before adding with slight emphasis, "Ms. Coy."
Still, she took a pull of the cigarette and shrugged. "I suppose I owe you something for helping me with magick. But I can't guarantee anything. I left Altiendel to get out of politics, you know?"
'The Joint Coalition of Altiendel and The Free Kingdom of Abbhen for the Advancement of Responsible Magics' sounds like a reasonable name that's been influenced by both kingdoms to Henri. Overly long and descriptive fits with other Abbhen government terms she has heard, and the intentional pleasant-sounding vagueness of 'advancement of responsible magics' sounds like the handiwork of the Altiendel government.
Henri sees a flicker of what could be uncertainty or guilt cross Blaine's face at her reaction to him using her last name, quickly replaced with a cocky grin at her acquiescence. "Oh, I'm sure we'll find something agreeable for you to help with," he smiles at Henri, looking satisfied. "We'll make a great team, you and I."
He glances at the ebb and flow of people in the mess. "We should probably get you on your way to your first mission soon. You have your feathers with you?"
Henri remembers the dozen small bird feathers Blaine gave her and their purpose.
Laurett raises her eyebrows when Cel announces he's been practicing spying, but does not comment.
Xizoh smiles at his friend, then glances uneasily at the note. "Henri knows him best," he says hesitantly. "And as much as I don't want to burden her, I think she should know."
She pulls the last of the smoke from the cigarette before putting it out into the tray, sighing.
"I suppose so." She nods and pats a pouch on her belt.
"Yep, I've got them on me. No worries."
"You're capable and observant," Blaine shrugs. "I expect you'll do very well."
His eyes flick to the pouch on Henri's belt that holds the feathers. "Good. Keep them close," he says. He reaches into his pocket. "And take this too," he pulls out a heavy-looking ornate brass key and hands it to Henri. "If you get into trouble, jam this into a door's keyhole to make it harder to follow you. Touch it and say elderberry to open it again, but you'll lose the key. Got it?"
Henri vaguely remembers one of her brother's mischievous friends using keys like this to play pranks on their siblings and parents. Henri thinks the key would also make the lock much stronger and harder to break, but she isn't sure if it would do the same for the door.
"Will it be safe here after you go?" Laurett asks, looking worried.
Alaina lays down a gold for each of the six nights plus two more on the bar. "It couldn't hurt to ask someone from the military to stay here for a few nights."
"Thank you dearie," Laurett accepts Alaina's gold. She nods and smiles uneasily. "Wouldn't be the first time we've had to set a watch."
She wraps up a half dozen slices of bacon and a half loaf of buttered bread in a clean white cloth and passes it to Alaina and Cel. "Let me give you some breakfast at least. Anything else we can get you before you go?"
"You're leaving?" Smitty says, walking up behind the group with a disappointed look.
"How can we be sure we won't be identified as investigating this case on your behalf?" Dara asks.
"I doubt we can be sure," Kieran sighs wearily. "Even if we keep it quiet, it's hard to know who might be listening and how."
"Still," he considers. "If you're picked out as agents of the kingdom there should be some protection in that, unless things have really gone to sh!t."
He glances around at the still empty room. "Now where the hells is everybody? I swear it's past dawn by now."
Dara thinks it's not quite past dawn yet.
"What?" Blaine asks in a teasing tone at Henri's suspicion. "You don't trust my judgment?"
He rises. "Come on," he gestures for Henri to follow. "Let's get you on your way upstairs. You're all packed up?"
Henri roughly shook her head. "No. I mean... yeah. I've got it." It took her a moment to process Blaine's question. "Yeah, my stuff's all packed and ready to go, I just have to grab it." She stands, sighing. "I'm ready to get going."
A little later, the door to the Captain and Silo’s office swings open. “Good morning,” Lieutenant Buhari greets them, gesturing that they are free to enter. Dara sees Captain Vazquez, Silo, and Lieutenant Narwita also inside.
Kieran nods to Dara and walks toward the office. Dulae takes a step to follow him, but hangs back after noticing Alaina, Cel, and Xizoh enter the waiting room, followed shortly by Henri. All look ready to travel.
Smitty straightens up and solemnly extends his hand to Xizoh. “Thank you for what you’ve done for Rik.”
“Oh yes, Altien bless you doctor!” Laurett says gratefully, also sweeping Xizoh’s gold off of the bar. “And bless all of you for what you did on that mountain. I’m sure Smitty’s great grandchildren will hear about it.” She beams at the group, looking proud and a bit teary. “Safe travels, loves. Be sure to come back and visit us!”
If the group packs up their gear and heads out into the cold morning, they find the streets quiet. There is no sign of Ezikiel or other trouble.
As they make their way to the military building, what may be their last glimpse of Mount Oranis looms in the distance. They find the usual dull early morning bustle and the smell of coffee wafting up the stairs as they enter the warm building.
In the waiting room, they see the office door to Silo and the captain’s office open and a tall man none of them recognize is walking into the office. Dulae and Dara are standing in a quiet corner of the waiting room and notice them enter.
A moment later, Henri comes up the stairs behind them.
“Like I said,” Blaine smirks. “I figured you’re pretty smart.”
He leads her back to the practice room, unlocking the outer door and waving to the guards to pass through the inner door. After Henri grabs her gear, Blaine puts a hand on her shoulder. “Write with any news, and don’t you dare lose that gun.” He gives her shoulder a squeeze. “Good bye. Good luck.”
If she makes her way to the briefing, Henri spots Alaina, Cel, and Xizoh ascending the stairs just ahead of her. She notices they seem very tense and uneasy.
As the four of them enter the waiting room, Henri sees the door to Silo and the captain’s office is open and a tall man Henri does not recognize is walking through it. Dulae and Dara are standing in a quiet corner of the waiting room and look up when the rest of the party enters.
“Morning, all!” Silo calls cheerily from inside the office, sounding eager to begin.
Cel stays quiet on the trip over, a look of frustration on his face. When Silo calls, Cel responds in a quiet and non-commital tone, "Morning.
Upon arrival to the office, Henri smiles at her friends. She glances at what appears to be looks of uneasiness on their faces, but before she can comment on them, Silo greets them. Henri nods in reply. "Mornin'."
Noticing the party doesn't immediately come into the office, Silo leaves them alone to talk.
Doing his best to return Henri's smiles, Xizoh waits until Silo retreats to produce the threatening letter. "Seem's you were right about your brother. Not one to give us is he?" The half elf hands his friend the paper with an anxious expression, carefully watching her reaction.
Dulae's expression hardens at the mention of Henri's brother.
Henri thinks this is clearly a trap and the message is intended to draw them out into terrain Ezikiel is sure he can control somehow. She is equally sure he will have secured some means of escape should a stronger force from the military come instead. It strikes her that there are some very nasty surprises he could have built over five days that may lie in wait for them or the next unfortunate passerby.
She is troubled that Ezikiel chose to target Xizoh in particular. She knows he is not one for making idle threats. She thinks he will probably go after Xizoh whether or not she runs on her own, potentially even before he comes for her.
From her own experience with Ezikiel, she thinks choosing and preparing their own ground to fight on is Xizoh's best chance outside of hiding in the military building indefinitely. She thinks she could advise on what would take Ezikiel by surprise. Ezikiel seems to have the run of the Abben Pass valley, the best choice for an ambush near Southtown away from people that might get caught in the crossfire. She would bet wherever they go Ezikiel will follow eventually, although teleporting should leave him perhaps a couple weeks behind without many clues.
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Henri takes the note and furrows her brow, an expression between fear and anger forming on her face as she reads, and then comprehends what is written on the paper. "Altien damn him..." she mutters quietly, not even having the energy for a true curse. She looks at Xizoh, biting at her lip in stress, reaching for a cigarette out of stress and contemplation. "I'm sorry to wrap y'all up in this," she said softly, lighting the cigarette. "But knowing Ez, at this point he's probably set traps all up and down the pass for us. And even if he catches me and I run on my own... he'll probably come after you for making him work for it."
She takes a deep breath of smoke, and as she speaks the fog rises from her mouth gently. "If we do teleport out of here today, it'll probably take him a while to catch up to us. A few weeks at least. But we could also try to take him down here, since we at least have some idea of where he is." Henri glances at Alaina. "I don't want to ask any of you to do that, or to hold Red up from going after her dad, though. He's... I'm not your problem."
Cel turns to Silo, "Do we have to teleport out today? Can we wait until tomorrow?"
Hearing Cel's question from inside the office, Silo frowns and walks back into the waiting room to speak with the party. "I can teleport you anytime, of course, but the Prince arrives in Kinghaven early tomorrow morning with her troops and you won't be able to pass through unnoticed after that," he says. "You'd risk interference from our unknown enemy even as soon as you arrive if you wait."
"Silo," Captain Vazquez says sharply from the office door, waving him back into the office, away from the wide open door that leads from the waiting room to the rest of the building.
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Sighing at the bad habit, Xizoh ignores Henri's vice. Placing his hand on his friends shoulder, the half elf gently squeezed the sharpshooter's shoulder. "Every burden shared is a burden more easily hefted high. You're our friend Henri, it's not a problem." The soft smile on his face sits in contrast to the band of scar tissue around his throat, but Xizoh seems all the more resolute for it.
His shadow shudders for a moment, and the doctor frowns. "I'd love a chance to correct his worldview, but I don't think that's the best idea, at least for the moment." After Cel's question, he places his face in his palms and breathes out sharply. "Sounds like we need to decide soon if we want to get to Kinghaven."
"I don't like this," Dara frowns at the mention of traps.
Alaina's grip tightens on her shield. "Let's end this. We know where he is."
"And he knows where we will be," Dulae shakes her head. "If we take a team to the pass he'll either kill some of us or run. If you're going to take him on, draw him out somewhere you control, or at least somewhere he hasn't spent five days building death traps. "
"Like where?" asks Dara.
Dulae shrugs. "Well, you can't go south until it's been cleared out. Inside a structure in Southtown could work, but it may take collateral damage. This building would be ideal but he might not come near. There are some nice valleys for an ambush to the north. We could ask."
"Near Kinghaven?" asks Dara.
"There too, but he might lose you for awhile with the teleport," Dulae speculates.
Henri doubts Ezikiel would be tricked into entering a building staged for an ambush when he's had so much time to scout for signs that something is off. She also thinks they'd have to take great care hiding their tracks to catch him by surprise outdoors, especially in the snow.
Cel, feeling a bit overwhelmed with strategizing considering that's the opposite of his forte, tries to contribute, "I don't like the sound of 5 days of death traps...but I do like the sound of an ambush! We should do that one!"
Henri smiles somewhat, tapping the ash from her cigarette. "Thanks," she says quietly, before sighing and thinking about the plan. "I think that..." She tries to summon thoughts from her mind, but they are clouded by Ezikiel's cruel voice, and she physically shakes her head, trying to knock the sounds loose from her imagination. "I really don't know if we should stay. If it affects the mission and he's had so much time to prepare... I doubt it would be easy to lure him into anything - he'd probably notice if any of the area around here was off. At best... well, it would be really hard to take him by surprise in Southtown. We would have to be very, very careful in any case." The elf shivers, and pulls her hat lower. "I dunno if it's possible, here."
Dulae whispers so that her voice doesn't carry farther than the party. "That's true. Ms. Steele's father may not survive long if someone realizes your goal."
Alaina grimaces. "Fine. So we go."
"Are you sure that's what you want?" Dara asks Alaina. One step closer to disaster.
The Wolf nods resolutely. If anyone's going to kill him...
"I think your brother will try to follow you," Dulae says to Henri, concerned. "You should be careful."
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"Gah!" Henri clenches her fists and bites down on her cigarette in frustration. It was just a moment of anger, but it seems to release some of the buildup within the elf. "Yeah. I think if we leave, as long as everyone in the group comes..." she glances at Dulae, almost involuntarily, "...or has a military escort, we should be fine. Temporarily. Red's dad is a bigger priority, and it might be better to plan out an ambush elsewhere." She leans against the wall and takes the cigarette out of her mouth, breathing more smoke into the air. "But that's just my thoughts. If you really want to fight Ez, well... Of course I'll be there."