Nanowrimo Experiment

[Absolution Black]

ooh tingles! Looking forward to the next instalments!

[Cambrius]

Very nice... a politically savvy questioner. Dangerous!

[edonil]

Glad everyone is liking Isabella...and that she's giving some of you the shivers, cause she was supposed to in the first place! Changing gears with this section, moving back over to Captain Arias. Hope you enjoy it!

“There’s the signal. Mages, you have your orders. All hands, ready the ship for rough weather!" Arias yelled, folding his spyglass. He pulled his cloak around him as he walked back to the bridge, predicting all manner of unpleasant things once the mages onboard his ship began their work. He caught a glimpse at the stern of the three mages, Ensign Lillian Fel, Mage-Captain Alexis Stormhand, and Mage-Commander Arthur Windborn, as they stood in a tight group with hands touching in the middle. The first time Arias had seen the mages practicing that formation, he had laughed. After seeing what they were able to do with it, he had made it a priority to disappear whenever they stood like that.

He stepped into the bridge just as the first hints of a dark cloud formed right over the mages’ heads. Excitement and dread filled him as he thought about what it could mean if this worked. The goal wasn’t just to create a storm, Wintertide had told him. The actual aim of the mage groups that were present on every Huntsmen in the air with the Merlin was to create a storm that would sustain itself, for hours. The Mage-Captain didn’t expect it to work, but he did expect that they could generate one that would only require short bursts of additional energy to last the required time.

Arias hoped that his friend knew what he was talking about, because the other end of the spectrum that the mages had discussed was accidentally creating a hurricane. He’d been in the midst of a hurricane only once in his life on an airship, but that experience had been more than enough, and he wasn’t keen on repeating it. He was unsettled by the feel of electricity charging in the air around him, but kept his face blank. It certainly wouldn’t help anything for the crew to get the impression that their captain was close to being scared out of his wits…especially since it happened to be true.

He didn’t like magic. He knew it was, in many ways, incredibly silly, but that changed nothing about his attitude around it. In spite of his years knowing Wintertide, Stormhand and others, and in spite of having courted Stormhand at one point in time, he still found what they did unnerving. Small pranks didn’t bother him, Wintertide having cured that years ago. But anything on the scale of what they were attempting today had him nearly terrified. The military strategist in him knew that mages were vital to the war effort, especially when used like this. The stubbornly irrational side of him didn’t seem to care about any of that.

In the meantime, he still had a job to do, and he was thankful for the distraction of his own work while the mages did theirs. At the moment, that job was simple; don’t look terrified in front of the bridge crew. Once the storm got itself up to speed, he’d have more to do. Subtly taking a deep breath, he brought both hands behind his back and clasped them firmly together, hoping that no one else heard the slight creak of leather as his gloves compressed sharply.

The cloud above the mages was expanding rapidly, and his trained eye could see the signs of more clouds in the distance. Each of the five ships were around a half mile away from their partners, giving them plenty of clearance to maneuver once the thunderstorm began. The formation was a loose sphere, a suggestion from Wintertide to maximize the effectiveness of what the mages were doing.

Suddenly, Arias was unable to see anything as the cloud grew larger than his airship. He clamped down on the panic that burst into his mind, and forced himself to remain calm. This is what’s supposed to happen, he reminded himself, pushing the panic back. A few moments later, his eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness, and he could see the crew of his ship steadfastly continuing their work as the heavy rain started.

Lightning cracked nearby, causing everyone in the bridge to jump, a few of them crying out in surprise. Arias was quietly amused at the slightly embarrassed look on their faces at their outburst, but said nothing. The next bolt didn’t faze them, and they continued about their work with all the professionalism of their many months working together. The captain could feel his ship being moved about by the strong winds, and watched with satisfaction as his helmsman expertly corrected Merlin’s heading.

The door to the bridge opened and Arias smiled as he saw the three drenched mages stumble in, exhaustion plain on their faces. “Well done,” he said quietly. “Well done indeed. You’ve done us proud, now it’s our turn to take over.” Fel smiled at the praise, Stormhand and Windborn seemed too tired to acknowledge it. One of the midshipmen on the bridge walked over to them, footing unsteady in the heavy storm, and directed them to the entrance to the lower decks.

Arias nodded with satisfaction, then turned to his communications officer. “Anything from the rest of the squadron?” he asked. The man sitting at the desk with the transceiver held up a hand for a moment, continuing to copy down what he was hearing onto a piece of paper. Arias wished, not for the first time, that he could understand the beeps and pauses that made up the communications branch of the Assarian military, but that training was jealously guarded at the moment. Finally, the communications officer tore the sheet of paper out of his book, and handed it to the captain.

The note was from Wintertide, observing everything from a merchant ship down below. Arias’ reading was interrupted abruptly by a violent blast of wind that shook the Merlin, and he looked up in alarm, but already the ship was being righted. He shook his head, and continued reading.

A slight smile crossed his face as he saw that all five ships were in what Wintertide described as a “mass storm cloud” that had been generated by the mages. The conditions down at the surface weren’t too bad, yet, but the Mage-Captain was predicting that the storm would be at least equivalent to the heavy winter storms that struck this part of the ocean.

Arias looked up just in time to see lightning snap against the foremost part of the ship, and his mind froze as he heard the engines shut off. For a few agonizing moments, the Merlin hung in midair with no power, and then she began to fall. The captain began yelling orders to brace for impact as the crew that he could see began to panic. The heavy airship’s lighter than air balloons contained within the hull kept them from plummeting as fast as they should, but without the engines actively lifting them, it was going to be a rough landing in another couple minutes, and that only if they were lucky.

“Bloody hell!” Arias spat, running for the entrance to the lower decks. He yelled for people to get out of his way, sprinting to the engineering section. He knew the engineers were going to need as much trained help as they could get with starting the engines back up, so he started grabbing members of his crew who had that kind of training. The group of them arrived in engineering to find alarms of all kinds going off, and the head engineer, a man known only as ‘Steam’ for reasons unknown, shouting instructions as he fought with a turbine.

“Steam!” Arias yelled. “What do you need?”

“I need these damn engines to turn over,” the engineer retorted, his face red with exertion as he pulled a wrench around. “They aren’t meant to just shut off, must be something in the electrical circuit shorted when we got hit by that lightning bolt! If I could just get them to start, I think we can get enough control to land, but I’m not sure.”

“Well, you’ve only got a few minutes,” the captain said. “Think that Captain Stormhand would be able to help out?”

“It’s worth a shot, just get her in here,” Steam said, then turned back to giving instructions to the frantic engineering section.

Arias turned around and nearly ran into Stormhand. The tanned woman was panting from running and her raven hair was a mess. “I felt the lightning bolt, anything I can do to help?”

“Ask Steam, he knows what’s going on,” Arias said, jerking a thumb at the engineer. “I’m going up top to get everyone ready for the landing, even if we get the engines working it isn’t going to be pleasant.”

They stepped around each other, and Arias sprinted back up to the bridge, giving orders to the helm. “Lift her nose up,” he said. “We don’t want to go diving into the water, we probably won’t get back up if we do!” He turned to the man at communications, who was already tapping out a distress signal.

With a whining roar, Arias heard the engines finally start up. “Thank God,” he breathed. “Alright everyone, brace for a crash landing!” The captain watched as all of the members of his bridge crew, along with everyone out on the deck that was still being drenched by rain, grabbed for anything to hold themselves steady. He reached up and took hold of a piece of bulkhead as the ocean began to appear through the dark clouds.

The Merlin hit the water with a bone shuddering collision. The bridge was full of cries of alarm as the airship skipped across the surface, the terrifying sound of warping metal going throughout vessel. After a few more skips, one in which the airship threatened to flip over lengthwise, it finally settled, leaving the sound of rainfall the only thing that could be heard in the bridge for a long time. Arias looked around in the stillness, then smiled as he could hear a loud cheer coming from the lower decks, which quickly spread.

The captain laughed in relief, then waved his hand for calm on the bridge. “Alright, people, let’s find out the damage. See who’s hurt, get them to the surgeons. I want to see if we can get under our own power by the time help arrives!”

[TheOneWhoFell]

Wow! That was exciting I think... a little more detail... a few more flashes of what is going on... might make it feel... more solid. I don't think it felt rushed... but I (personally) want more detail. Maybe you could do a clip from Stormhand's POV? give the other side of it... I don't know.... just a thought

I'm really enjoying the read so far

[SteamHammer]

What she said.

[Necromorph]

Well, I finally caught up with the whole story...took me a while, haha.

Very nice work, E. I like the scope of both factions' inclusion in the story. As others have said, I like that both sides are portrayed about equally. The characters are original and well written....Can't think of anything that really stands out that needs fixing.

Keep up the good work, look forward to reading more.

[edonil]

Glad everyone is still enjoying the journey of this book. I do intend to go back and add in a section in Alexis' POV, but I'm trying to avoid going back and starting revising now...once I do, I won't stop, and that won't help. So, if the muse wants to write that, I'll let people know and edit that post. Here's the next section, sorry for putting it up late, I was exhausted this morning and the muse wasn't helpful in figuring out how to wrap the scene up.

Didn't like how this scene originally ended...if you've already read it, skip to the red to see the changes.

Soli watched dusk approaching quietly, listening to the sound of the ocean. She had made it a habit to sit on the deck as twilight set in while on the Wave Dancer. The courier had been at sea for two weeks, well on its way to Assar, but even with the number of times that she’d seen the sunset, it still took her breath away. The habit had become almost a ritual, a chance to calm herself and relax from the training that she was putting her Wing through.

The sun dipped below the horizon, and she could hear the sailors changing watch behind her. Standing, she stretched, working the stiffness out of her limbs, and stared into the sky as the first stars came out. Nature fascinated her, and it was unusual for her to get the chance to see everything from this angle. Since the beginning of her service in the armada, she had been assigned to airborne carriers, and the difference between the evening sky in the air or on the water was astonishing.

Shaking her head, she turned to walk back to her quarters. The courier was a surprisingly large ship, and in spite of her guest status she had managed to acquire a room to herself, a privilege she treasured on the voyage. Unfortunately because of the nature of sea travel, she wasn’t able to get as clean as she would like, but she was looking forward to the chance for a real bath once they arrived in Assar in another week.

Well, if they arrived, she reflected grimly. Though the Wave Dancer was flying the white flag that indicated a desire for peace talks, there was no guarantee that the Assarian navy wouldn’t open fire anyway. Ambassador Rath Thay had expressed his opinion that their enemy would honor the age old sign, but she still had some lingering doubts. She couldn’t imagine that a nation who had leveled a port city with no warning, or even a declaration of war, would have too many qualms about opening fire on an ambassadorial mission. Still, that was the pessimist in her and she knew it.

Besides, she thought with considerably more cheer, it wasn’t as if the courier was completely undefended. Her unit had been tasked with the defense of the ambassador and his entourage, and they had been more than equipped to accomplish that task. While her dragon hadn’t been ready to join them on the assignment, the first of the phoenixes were ready, and they had been able to fit four of them on the Wave Dancer. The flyers were gorgeous and she was glad to have them. The lack of any other serious military options on board was troubling, but all of her mages were present and ready to see action- at least in their minds. She still had her doubts, but their confidence was a good thing for now.

All in all, if they encountered a hostile Assarian ship, they’d be able to make a good accounting of themselves. She still wouldn’t put any real money on the odds of them drastically changing the outcome of such a scenario. She shrugged as she opened the door to her room, fighting to shake her dark mood. She paused at the door, allowing her eyes to adjust to the darkness, then stepped in, pulling her shirt over her head as she closed the door behind her. She paused for a moment to find a candle, after a minute or two, and the occasional swear, she finally gave up on hunting in the dark. She snapped her fingers, calling on her fledgling arcane powers. The friction of her bare fingers wasn’t much, but it was enough to create a small flame over her hand.

“Aha!” she said triumphantly, picking up the candle from her dresser. It was a small matter to transfer the flame to the wick, and she blew out the flame over her hand. As she turned around, she jumped backwards in surprise, letting out a startled squeak as she saw the cloaked figure in her room. Soli covered herself with one hand, anger filling her eyes as she recognized the ambassador’s personal guard in her room.

“What the hell are you doing in my room?” she snapped. “Get out! You have no right to be here!” To emphasize her point, she brought her candle towards her mouth and blew on it, sending out a short burst of flame at him.

The man waved his hand, and the flames went around him. His red eyes glimmered coldly in the candlelight, and he looked at her almost without seeing her. She shivered as she felt his eyes on her, and her anger grew. “Dammit, Zygmunt, get out of my room!”

“Calm down, Wing Captain,” he said with a slight smile. “Your modesty is safe, I saw nothing I shouldn’t. I’m here for the ambassador, who wants to meet with you tomorrow morning for breakfast.”

“Fine. Now get the hell out of here. And if you ever come into my quarters without my permission again, whether I’m present or not, I will gut you. Understand me, bodyguard?”

A sneer lit Zygmunt’s face. “Very well, Captain.” He turned on his heel and left, closing the door behind him. Soli let out a shaky breath, rage slowly dulling from a thundering roar to a quieter growl. How dare that bastard do that? She locked the door, savagely slamming her hand into the doorpost, then collapsed into a chair with her hands over her eyes, memory lashing her mercilessly. She could remember even now the feeling of helplessness she had felt as a child when one of the household servants had attempted to rape her. At the time she hadn’t even understood what was happening, she had only known that she was terrified.

Soli took in a shuddering breath, fighting back tears, then stood up and walked over to her desk. She picked up the bottle of wine sitting there and took a swig of it, trying to fight off the memories before they paralyzed her. A tear slid down her cheek, and she sat on the edge of her bed, fighting the demons of shame and terror that attacked her. It was a full ten minutes before she trusted herself to not cry, and another five minutes before she felt anything approaching normal. She looked down, only mildly surprised to find that her fist was tearing a hole in one of her bed covers.

“I am so going to kill that man,” she muttered, anger returning. She hadn’t liked the ambassador’s guard from the beginning, and this certainly hadn’t helped. She knew at least part of her anger was related purely to her past and not the man, but at the moment she didn’t care. She’d have to warn Ambassador Rath to keep the guard away from her, otherwise she was going to make no guarantees about his survival. The sense of violation, however mild compared to her past, was very real, and she was never going to let that happen again. And if she heard anything similar to this from one of her unit…Zygmunt would be lucky to die quickly at that point.

Soli put down the bottle of wine, and curled up on her bed, eyes closed in an attempt to bring on sleep as soon as possible. Her last thought before drifting off was a sincere and strong hope that her rest would be dreamless.

Edited October 25, 2011 by edonil

[Thechosenone]

Still as good a read as before. Thanks sir

[Absolution Black]

Really enjoyed the last two parts though I too agree that the crash section could possibly benefit from a bit more description...sadistic as it sounds I do like a good crash scene in books!

Apart from that, glad to see Soli back and Arias....

Keep it up!

[TheOneWhoFell]

What a creeper! *shivers* I like the humanization of Soli in this portion... giving her frailties... weaknesses... makes her a more dynamic character great job, Ed!

[edonil]

Made some changes to the previous scene...for the changes, see the above in red. For the reasons, see below. Seriously, you need to read the changes for this to make sense. Go ahead, I'll wait.

...And welcome back! (The following was written in Word, hence the font changes)

So, I just felt the need to explain the decision for this change. Perhaps I don’t need to, but I’m going to anyway. This originally wasn’t a part of Soli’s character. As of right now, she is probably the furthest she can get short of villainy from her base character. Which, as an author, I’m okay with. I’m very proud of Soli as a character, and as such, I want to do her justice. The original wrap up to this scene didn’t do that in my mind. It was flippant, rushed, and certainly didn’t build Soli as a character (although, based on Fell's comments, I do believe she would disagree with that). Hence the rewrite, in spite of my many promises to not do any for a while. In some ways, I’m quite proud of Soli in going this direction (my characters have much more control over themselves and their development than I do, in many ways)…in other ways, it’s somewhat terrifying. I’ve never done this with a character before, and it’s new territory. But, even more than that, Soli is now the new ‘bar’ for my main characters…by doing this, she has far more depth and strength to her than she did, and she has become, in my mind, the most ‘real’ of the entire cast. While I look forward to the challenge of building up Arias, Faulkner and the other members of the cast, it’s also somewhat scary. Anyway, that’s all from me. Hope you guys don’t mind the change too much, and, as always, thanks for reading.

Edited October 25, 2011 by edonil

[TheOneWhoFell]

I like the rewrite... she did seem kind of weak in the first, but with an explination, it makes more sense. I was kind of wondering why she didn't go for a weapon, or at least look to see which was closest. But being paralyzed by fear due to past traumas... it works

[edonil]

Thanks, Fell. Glad that people like the growth of Soli. And now...scene change!

Arias finished the paperwork with a sigh, signing his name at the bottom of the page. After the incident with the Merlin, he had been told to deliver a full report detailing what had happened, and it had taken quite a long time to find all the information. More importantly than that was the annoyance that so much of what had occurred was a result of things he didn’t understand. The captain knew he was anything but stupid, but oh, how his ignorance of science made him feel like he was.

He stood up, stretching his arms behind his back, then gathered the papers on his desk. The sooner he filed this report, the sooner he would be able to join the others in the officer’s club on base. He had a mug of hot chocolate waiting for him, or would once he got there. Grabbing his uniform hat from the dresser next to his door, he stepped out into the bright sunlight. A smile lit his face as he felt the warmth on his skin. After so many days of bad weather, it was good to see clear skies.

It was a relatively short trip to the Commodore’s office, and he stepped in to see the secretary seated at the desk. What was the man’s name? Ah, right, Elijah Kern. “Good morning, Secretary Kern,” Arias said, nodding his head.

The tall man looked up from the desk, blowing a strand of black hair out of his face. “Captain, good to see you. I take it the messenger found you successfully?”

Arias froze. “Messenger? No, I can’t say that I’ve heard from a messenger...I’m just here to drop off my report from the Merlin’s crash.” He held the report up, and the secretary’s blue eyes flicked to it before back to meeting Arias’.

A barely audible grunt came from the frowning secretary. “Very well. Commodore Kerwin wants to speak to you. If you’d be so kind as to step in? I’ll take that report from you and see that she gets it when she has time.” He stood up, towering over Arias, and walked over to the door. Kern knocked, barely glancing back to Arias.

“Yes, Elijah?”

“Captain Falmarin here to speak with you, ma’am,” the secretary said.

“Good, send him in.”

Kern opened the door, waving Arias into the room. The captain stepped inside, idly wondering what was going on, then snapped to attention as he saw the Commodore sitting cross legged in an armchair, reading over a letter. He suppressed the urge to sneeze as he smelled the tobacco smoke in the room and sincerely hoped she hadn’t noticed it.

“Captain,” she said around the pipe, glancing up at him. She gestured with her free hand towards the second armchair. “Please, have a seat, I’ll be with you in a moment.”

“Of course, ma’am,” Arias said, slipping into the chair. He looked around the small room and noticed that nothing had changed in the six months since his squadron’s arrival at the base. The furniture was the same, nice enough as it was, the paintings, what few there were, hadn’t even changed location and even the flowers seemed to have been replaced by exactly the same kind in the vases. He wondered how much of that was Kerwin, and how much was her assistant. Knowing them, he decided it was probably both.

Kerwin finally put down the letter, setting it gently on the short table between them, then pulled out her pipe and tapped the contents into an ashtray. Her amber eyes studied him for a few moments, then she sighed. “This is probably going to be very strange news to you, Captain. I just received word from the capital that we’ve got a Drasvarian naval courier on its way. Apparently, based on the limited communication the Navy has had with them, Drasvar is interested in peace.”

“What?” Arias stared at her, unsure of his hearing. He shook his head to clear it. “I can’t have heard that correctly. Drasvar is interested in peace?”

“That’s the rumor,” Kerwin said. She stood up and walked over to her desk, pulling out a pouch. She gently took a small amount of leaves from the bag, and proceeded to fill her pipe. “I don’t know any details, unfortunately.”

“This doesn’t make any sense,” Arias said, resting his chin in one hand. “I mean, they attacked us. They started the war. Sure, we downed one air carrier, but…” he trailed off. “I don’t understand this at all.”

Kerwin shook the match to put out the flame then took a draw on her newly lit pipe. “I don’t understand it myself. It is a bit strange, but nevertheless, it appears to be how things are going to progress. As such, your operation to capture an air carrier has been suspended for the time being. Additionally, I’ve got shipping orders for you and your squadron.”

“Shipping orders? We’re possibly going to have a treaty, and command is going to send us away from the only base on the coastline that has enough room for the squadron? Why?”

Kerwin shrugged, blowing out a cloud of smoke. “Nary a clue. Raven and her half-squadron is actually supposed to provide an escort of all things for the courier. Your half of the squadron will be ferrying some courtiers and diplomats from the capital to Port George, where the negotiations are supposed to be held.”

“Really? Why would any of the Huntsmen be involved in this?”

“I don’t know.” Some of Arias’ frustration must have shown on his face because she gave him a well-practiced look. “Captain, have I ever deliberately withheld information from you?”

“Yes. Twice, in fact,” he deadpanned. “Ma’am.”

She coughed a few times, fist pounding her chest, then glared at him. “Dammit, Captain, this is important! If I knew, I’d be telling you. Leave it at that. You’ll get formal notification of your orders by nightfall. Dismissed.”

With a sigh, Arias stood. “Sorry, ma’am. I’ll let my officers know.”

She nodded, then waved her hand. Arias saluted, then left. As he walked out of the building, his thoughts were conflicted. Peace with Drasvar…it sounded so nice. Wars were bloody and violent, and he’d be glad to see this one go. He couldn’t help but wonder, though, if this offer of peace was sincere, or some sort of trick. Time would tell, he thought as he pulled on his hat. For now, he had work to attend to. As he headed off to begin preparing Merlin for leaving, he thought regretfully of the mug of hot chocolate.

[SteamHammer]

Another great chapter.

[Absolution Black]

yet again you have delivered another solid chapter...keeps the story ticking along at a good pace and helps to define characters that little bit more!

[elril]

Hmmn, so the Assarians are of the opinion that the Drasvarians attacked them; but we have heard Soli believing she was fighting because the Assarians sacked/levelled a Drasvarian port city? Did I get that right? Either the spin is at high RPM's or someone is playing both off for suckers.

I was most amused at the cliche of the commodore smoking a pipe spun with the fact it is a female CO. I actually liked that a lot. Well done Edonil.

[edonil]

Hmmn, so the Assarians are of the opinion that the Drasvarians attacked them; but we have heard Soli believing she was fighting because the Assarians sacked/levelled a Drasvarian port city? Did I get that right? Either the spin is at high RPM's or someone is playing both off for suckers.

I was most amused at the cliche of the commodore smoking a pipe spun with the fact it is a female CO. I actually liked that a lot. Well done Edonil.

You did get it right, and I'm not saying. I'm glad that you liked that little inversion there of the pipe smoking CO...it took a little bit of research to get it right, but I do like how it turned out.

[edonil]

Soli watched the Assarian airships with a sense of foreboding, recognizing the distinctive silhouettes as they approached the Wave Dancer. She tapped her foot on the decking to release some of her nerves, scanning the sky for sight of her flyers out on patrol. Ah, there was one of them, keeping pace with the lead airship. Probably guiding them to the courier, she supposed.

She glanced around, and bit back a frown as she saw the ambassador and his bodyguard. The ambassador had been quite apologetic on behalf of Zygmunt, but that had done little to cool Soli’s anger. Since then, the ambassador’s guard had kept well away from any of the soldiers on board, finding more company among the courier’s small crew. A few days later, Soli still wanted nothing to do with the man. Unfortunately, events seemed to conspiring to force her to work with him.

She walked over to the short, jovial ambassador with a polite smile on her face. “Ambassador Thay,” she said. Her eyes flicked to Zygmunt, and she fought down her revulsion to nod to him. The bodyguard smirked, but returned the greeting.

“Wing Captain!” the ambassador said brightly, reaching up with a cloth to wipe sweat from his balding head. “Glad you decided to join us. Are you ready to meet our escorts?”

“Ready enough,” she replied. “Do we know who they’ve sent us?”

“Unfortunately not,” the middle-aged man said, frowning. “Assar promised us that we’d see some of their best, and so far, I must admit to being impressed. Those ships are very unusual compared to ours. Do you recognize the design?”

“The airships I’ve seen are called Huntsmen,” she said after a moment. “They’re of the same design as the ships that took down the Destiny.”

“Really?” Thay said, an odd look on his face. “Not even in the city, and we’re all already playing games. Interesting.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, Wing Captain, your unit was brought along to prove that Drasvar still has strength and will to pursue the war if we must. If you think of politics like a card game, that’s our opening bid, as it were, although we haven’t told our fellow players just yet. Assar’s opening bid seems to be one of a position of strength, to remind us of what they’ve accomplished already in the war. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if those airships are the ones who brought down the Destiny.”

Soli stared at him for a moment. “All due respect, Ambassador, but that’s somewhat insane. Are they deliberately trying to provoke us?”

“No more than we are by bringing you along.” Thay waved his hand as if trying to keep her calm. “This is all just a game, my dear. A game with severe consequences undoubtedly, but in the meantime enjoy the thrill of it!”

Soli stared at Thay for a few moments. “I hope you know what you’re doing,” she finally said.

“Captain, this is my realm of expertise. Trust me, I’m the best at what I do,” he said with a smile. “Just as I’ll trust you if we find ourselves in a war situation.” He turned to stare up at the airships and looked confused. “What are they doing?”

Soli looked up and felt her jaw drop open. “What in hell?” she heard Zygmunt say behind her, a sentiment she thoroughly agreed with.

The airship had started to descend rapidly towards the Wave Dancer, the roar of its engines drowning out the waves. At the last moment, the pointed prow tipped up and Soli could see the water being pushed away from a set of engines mounted underneath the ship. It settled noisily in the ocean next to the courier, a fine mist spreading around.

Soli could hear the sound of voices from the other ship, and watched in fascination as the crew scurried around on their tasks. The Huntsmen ship started to move forward after a few minutes, apparently seeking to match pace with the Drasvarian ship. “An airship that’s seaworthy,” she murmured. “Amazing. This is what Assar managed to make?”

“Ho, Wave Dancer!” a young voice shouted from the Assarian airship. “This is His Majesty’s Ship Raven! Permission to come aboard?” Memory stirred at the name, and Soli found herself barely suppressing a snarl as she remembered the Destiny’s final moments. Raven had been the ship to fire the last devastating shots into the air carrier. It looked like Thay was right about why Assar had sent the Huntsmen squadron after all.

The courier captain, a quiet man Soli had met only once in the three week trip, nodded to one of his lieutenants. “Wave Dancer, permission granted!” the young woman yelled back.

Soli watched as a small lifeboat went over the side of the airship and people clambered in. It was a tense fifteen minute wait as the lifeboat approached, then the sailors on board the courier began throwing ropes down. Soli walked back over to rejoin her flyers as the first of the Drasvarian soldiers climbed up the rope ladder.

She recognized the black and gold uniform of the Assarian Marines on several of the ones carrying weaponry, along with the blue and white uniform of the Navy. She stared intently at the man who wore the insignia of a captain. He was handsome enough, if you liked older men. His grey eyes glanced around, stopping on Soli, then moving on to Thay. The Assarian captain bowed, one arm crossing his chest.

“Greetings, Ambassador. I am Mage-Captain Matthias Wintertide, of the Huntsmen class airship Raven. In the name of His Majesty, King Damon, I welcome you to Assar. My squadron and I are here to escort you to the port city of Ithis.”

Thay returned the bow. “Thank you, Mage-Captain. I come on behalf of the Council of Magisters, to open negotiations. We appreciate your willingness to guide us. May I introduce the leader of our military guard, Wing Captain Soli Navin, of the Aegis?”

“Wing Captain,” Wintertide said with a nod.

Soli took a step forward, holding out a hand, forcing a smile onto her face. “Mage-Captain, it’s a pleasure.”

The Assarian took her hand and kissed the back of it. “The pleasure is mine.” He turned to the ambassador. “We’re a few days away from the city. If you and some of your staff would care to join, I’d be honored to have you as a guest for dinner onboard the Raven tonight. We’ll be staying with you here on the ocean while the other ships maintain watch overhead.”

“Gladly, Captain Wintertide, your invitation is most generous,” Thay replied.

[TheOneWhoFell]

hmmmm.... The plot thickens.... ... ...

[Thechosenone]

As always, the most important thing i can congratulate you on is the readability. Edited nicely with a real easy flow. That's important. Good work.

[edonil]

“Lukas!” the familiar voice hissed.

Faulkner stirred, waking up from his dream. He blinked his eyes blearily, reaching up to clear them, but the chains stopped him. With a sigh, he shook his head to try to clear it, then looked around for the speaker. The spartan room was dimly lit, but he could barely make out a figure in grey standing in one corner.

“C’mon, Colonel, time to wake up,” the man said. Faulkner frowned, his exhausted mind trying to place the voice, but it wouldn’t come to him. The Victrixan colonel sat up, favoring his injured leg. The wound had been treated, but the Drasvarian surgeon had informed him that it would bother him for the rest of his life. Abruptly, the voice clicked into place with his memories.

“Waechter,” Faulkner spat. The figure stepped forward into the light, and the colonel recognized the features of his betrayer. “What do you want, you treacherous bastard?”

“You wound me, colonel,” the Hunter said. “Twas the best chance I could see out of the situation…besides, if I hadn’t given the fort to the witches, we’d both surely be dead. So, a little gratitude might be in order, eh?”

“Gratitude?! How dare you-”

Waechter rolled his eyes. “Calm down, Colonel. After all, we don’t want ta bring the guards down on us. Would be a terrible mess to have them all coming here as I’m breaking you out.”

“You’re doing what?”

The Hunter snorted, pulling a key out of a pocket. “You heard me right.” A snarl twisted the man’s mouth. “I’m quite sick of staying here, so a jailbreak it is. I ain’t sure about you, but I’m most certainly ready to leave. It just so happens that my best chance to do so and get out with my skin intact is with you. Hence, our little situation. Now hold still.”

Faulkner waited as the traitor unlocked the chains. His limbs stiff from over a month of imprisonment, he rubbed his wrists to ease the pain that had been his constant companion. The Hunter stood up, and Faulkner lashed out with a roundhouse punch that caught the other man squarely in the jaw.

“Dammit, colonel,” the Hunter snapped, grabbing his bleeding lip. “What the bloody hell?”

“I owe you far more than that,” Faulkner replied, his eyes cold. “But I suppose I’ll have to content myself with getting out of here alive and never seeing your ugly face again.” He paused, and looked at the Waechter critically. “Why do you need me to get out? You seem to be doing just fine on your own.”

“Oh, aye, just bloody fine. Fine enough to not be able to go anywhere in Victrix,” the other man replied, wiping his lip on his coat. “I’ve no regrets, colonel, ‘cept not leaving soon enough. The witches say I’m free to leave whenever I care, but I know the lie of that. There’s nowhere to go, now that the capital’s been sacked. They control every which way out of the country. Means if I want out, I need myself a smuggler, and they won’t take on a deserter. But if I can bring you along, mayhaps I can weasel my way out of here.”

“The capital’s been…sacked?” Faulkner repeated, disbelieving.

“Damnation,” Waechter muttered, then sighed. “It’s gone, colonel. Took only a week after all the stuff you told them. Wasn’t a long fight.” His lips curled sourly. “But it was bloody. The army didn’t die easy.”

The colonel swayed on his feet, stunned. A week? He couldn’t even remember everything he’d told Isabella, but he didn’t think… It was several moments before he was able to regain control of his thoughts.

“Did they take any prisoners?” he asked hoarsely.

“Lots of them. Look, can this wait? We’re on a bit of a schedule, in case you think elsewise.”

“Did you see my wife? And my children? Isabella said that she’d get them out of the city before they attacked.”

The Hunter evaded his gaze. “I ain’t been looking for prisoners aside from you, colonel.” He pulled out a pistol, anger flooding his face. “And we’re leaving, now. No more questions, no more answers.” He jerked his head toward the door. “Let’s be out of here, shall we?”

“You bastard,” Faulkner said. He sprang forward, rage giving him energy and strength, and tackled the Hunter, grabbing for the pistol. Waechter stumbled back in surprise, dropping the gun to the floor. He raised his arms in an attempt to shield himself from the furious blows the colonel landed.

Faulkner lunged for the gun, picking it up deftly. He could feel the pain of his injuries at the edge of his mind, but he fought them off. The colonel rolled, and fired a shot, shattering the Hunter’s knee. Waechter yelled in pain, grabbing for the wound.

The colonel stood up, injured leg on fire, but a smile lit his face. He felt nothing but grim satisfaction as he looked down at the Hunter. He raised the pistol to Waechter’s face. “Now then, Adler, you’re going to tell me what you know about my family.”

“Damn,” the Hunter gasped, oblivious to the weapon in his pain. “Bloody hell, damn it all! My knee, my damn knee!”

Faulkner calmly clicked back the hammer of the pistol, then fired a second shot by Waechter’s head. “Answers, Adler. You’re going to give them to me.”

“They’re dead, dammit!” the traitor snapped, tears down his face. “I saw them while wandering the streets a few days ago, and they’re all dead.”

Faulkner swore his heart stopped. His Emily…their children…all dead? Rage threatened to blind him, but he held it off. Right now, anger would only get him killed, and he wanted to live at least long enough to shoot that witch Isabella through her black heart. She’d promised him that they would be safe, and she’d lied. She would pay for that.

Faulkner turned to limp away, and stopped as he heard Waechter coughing behind him. “I’m surprised you ain’t killing me,” the Hunter gasped.

The colonel turned slightly and smiled. “Why would I do that? Drasvarian soldiers will find you here eventually, and then they’ll give you to their torturer, Isabella. I find that so much more fitting than me putting a bullet through your head.”

“Damn you!”

“Oh, more than likely. Especially after what I intend to put Drasvar through for their crimes. They may have conquered the heartland of Victrix, but they’ll never hold it.” The colonel started walking again, strangely calm. Drasvar had brought war to his home, it was time for him to return the favor.

-----

Isabella smiled as she watched the colonel step out of the room. The man was such an interesting puzzle. Too bad that he needed to go at this step in the plans. In her own way, she was quite fond of Faulkner, he had such a sense of tragic nobility to him. With a shrug, she stepped out of the hidden compartment in the wall, and walked over to the bleeding Waechter, her boot heels clicking on the floor. “Well done, Hunter. Marvelous performance!”

“Performance?” the traitor asked with a gasp. “Who said that was faked? I did as you said, now fix this damn knee and let me out of here.”

“So eager to get away from me?” she pouted. “I’d almost think you didn’t like me anymore, Adler.” She leaned down, steadying herself by putting one hand in the pool of blood spreading from his ruined leg. Her other hand reached out to caress his face, and he flinched away from her.

“What? You don’t think I’m beautiful anymore? You didn’t seem so opposed to my touch the past few weeks.” She laughed at the pained expression on the man’s face. “It’s been a fun few weeks, my dear.” Isabella leaned forward, kissing him passionately. “But now it’s time for all this to end,” she said somewhat regretfully as she pulled back.

“What the hell are you talking about?” he demanded. “I did everything you asked! Even pointed out Faulkner’s wife and kids so you could kill them.”

“You did indeed!” she said brightly. “You’ve done wonderfully. But now, there’s one last thing I need you to do.” She continued caressing his face. “I need you to die, Adler.” Her eyes flared widely, and Waechter screamed as his flesh began to melt under her touch. It was a gruesome death, but her smile never dimmed as she continued to stroke his face.

Finally she stood, blood dripping from her hands. She looked down at the congealing liquid with some curiosity, then pulled out a cloth from an inner pouch. Briskly, she cleaned the blood from her hands, then dropped the cloth onto the ruined corpse of her lover. She grabbed a torch, then blew on it towards the remains, creating a fireball that caught everything in the stone cell aflame. Isabella stepped out of the room, using her magic to tap her thoughts into the general’s radio frequency.

“General Drake, this is Isabella.”

“Isabella? I take it our pawns played their roles as intended.”

“Yes, General, they did. Our plans are moving along nicely now.”

“Good work, milady. I’ll make sure that the guards put up just enough resistance to the colonel leaving to keep him from being suspicious. What about the Witch Hunter?”

She glanced back at the inferno building behind her. “He has been dealt with,” she replied with a hungry smile. “I take it that the objective has been taken?”

“Of course. I’ll notify the master of our progress and get his insight on where we should progress from here. It shouldn’t be too long. Will you be joining us for dinner tonight?”

“Certainly. If possible, could we make it a large meal? Today has been taxing so far.”

“I’ll let the cooks know. I’ll be eager to see you. Drake, out.”

She turned back to watch the inferno, arms crossed over her chest as she watched the flames rise higher and higher. The symbolism was oddly fitting, she mused. Soon, the world would look much the same as that room. But, she smiled, it would be only the cover for something much larger. With a firm nod, Isabella walked away to fetch some guards to put out the flame. No point in burning down the keep early.

[TheOneWhoFell]

I love what you've written so far. My only regret is that, starting tomorrow, I'll be writting my own novel (which, btw, I have no idea how to begin... I think I might start in the middle...). So I may not be commenting on your writing, but I'll finish reading it as soon as I'm done with mine

[edonil]

Arias tugged uncomfortably on the collar of his jacket, scowling as his hand brushed the embroidery. “I feel ridiculous,” he said to no one in particular.

“Oh, quit being a grump,” Alexis Stormhand said next to him as she picked up her mask. Arias transferred his glare to her, and she just smiled. “Come now! Masquerades are a ton of fun, Arias. Don’t be so serious.”

“She’s right, Arias. Enjoy the evening,” Wintertide said as he stepped into the room. He stopped behind Stormhand, wrapping an arm around her waist and gently kissing her. “You look lovely, my dear.”

“Thank you, Matthias,” she beamed. Arias had to admit, she did look good. The deep blue velvet dress she wore clung to her figure in ways that both revealed and hid everything with the help of some strategically placed white lace. Even…

“Wait,” Arias said, staring at his friends. “When did this start?”

Wintertide started chuckling, while Alexis scowled. She reached into a pouch at her waist and handed the other mage a handful of coins. “Cheater!” she sniffed. Arias stood there mystified as the grinning Wintertide put them into a jacket pocket.

“We made a bet guessing how long it would take you to notice. Tonight was the last night for you to figure it out before Alexis won by default. We’ve been together for the last month.”

Arias stood there, dumbfounded. A month? “I don’t pay attention to anything, do I?” he asked finally.

“Mm, I’m afraid not,” Alexis said with a laugh. “Whatever your skills in military matters, you’re absolutely blind to anything social.” She reached out and patted his shoulder gently. “Don’t worry about it, though, it’s part of your charm.”

“Lovely. Do I at least look presentable?” Arias asked. She eyed him closely.

“Absolutely, although your mask is a little bizarre. A blank face? What exactly inspired that?”

“I was feeling rushed and not in the mood, honestly. It doesn’t mean anything, I just grabbed something and paid for it,” Arias said. He could tell that she didn’t believe him, so he attempted to deflect the woman. “Besides, I’m not like any of you mages, I don’t have a name that just naturally translates into a mask.” He pointed to the mask she held in her hand, a silver rendition of her face with blue lightning etched into it.

“As much as this banter is entertaining,” Wintertide said, interrupting Alexis’ reply. “We’re going to be late if we don’t head out now.” He pulled out his own mask, a simple piece of silver and white that went over his eyes, then held out his arm for Alexis. With a smile, she put her arm through his and they started walking out the door. Arias rolled his eyes, and followed them. Just one more complication he didn’t need in his life…

----

“So, Wing Captain, are you enjoying yourself?”

Soli tried to see the questioner from the corner of her eye and fought the very impolite urge to swear as the mask blocked her vision. She turned and pasted a smile on her face. “Yes, I am, sir…?”

“Abner Fireseeker,” the man said, taking her offered hand and kissing it. “Head librarian of the Assarian Mage Academy.”

“I’m pleased to meet you, Abner,” she said. She took a sip from the wineglass that she held and took a moment to study the librarian. It was hard to guess his age without being able to see his eyes behind the mask, but she guessed him to be about thirty, based on the lines around his mouth and the dark head of hair she could see. A little taller than she was, he leaned forward, almost as if his back was bad. His outfit was demure, a green robe cut in simple fashion with little embroidery.

“How did you know who I was?” she asked finally.

He smiled at her, picking up a wineglass from a passing servant. “My dear, you’ve become quite the celebrity here already. A beautiful foreign woman such as yourself here in our humble town? And a mage at that! Why, stories of your splendor have already begun circulating the Academy among the young men.” Even with the mask, Soli could see the wink he gave her. “Actually, I took the time to speak with Ambassador Thay, and he indicated that I might want to meet you and discuss magic with you. It’s rare to have a military mage here from Drasvar, and I must confess to a great deal of curiosity.”

“I’m not sure if I’d be the best person to talk to,” Soli murmured, taken aback by the candor of the librarian. She wasn’t sure if he was trying to charm her, but if that was the case he was failing utterly. “Actually, I’m just a student myself. I only started my training a few months ago. My second, Sergeant Ann Jensen, would be a better person to ask. I can introduce you, if you’d like?”

“My apologies, Miss Navin,” Abner said, bowing his head. “If you wouldn’t mind, that introduction would be most helpful.”

“Of course.” Soli looked around the room, silently thankful for the masquerade. Normally, Jensen was difficult to spot in a crowd due to her brown hair, a common color in Drasvar, and her slightly below average height. But tonight, Jensen wore a bright turquoise mask shaped like her raptor, and it took only a minute to find the sergeant. “If you would follow me,” Soli invited.

-----

“Arias, this is Sergeant Ann Jensen of the air carrier Aegis,” Wintertide said, gesturing to the woman in front of them. “Sergeant, this is Captain Arias Falmarin, commander of HMS Merlin.”

“A pleasure,” Arias said courteously. She nodded in greeting, looking like some large owl as she did so, although the ensemble of colors certainly was off putting. Her mask was turquoise, with silver trim on it, while the coat and breeches she wore made him smile mentally. Here was a woman who apparently didn’t care what polite society thought of her.

“Captain of the Merlin, are you? Another of the Huntsmen design?” she asked, her accent curious. He couldn’t quite place what was odd about it, but it was certainly different.

“Yes. The first off the line, actually.”

“Unusually young for such a position, aren’t you?” she asked, tilting her head to one side. The image of the owl came to mind again, and he fought a grin.

“So that Arias doesn’t embarrass us all with his humbleness,” Wintertide commented drily, “It’s worth noting that while Merlin was the first completed, it wasn’t the first laid down. Merely the one with the fewest problems during construction.”

“And yet, I’m squadron commander,” Arias said with a smirk behind his mask. “After all, I am senior officer of our group.”

“By a whole five minutes! Just because your name came before mine at graduation!”

The laughter was interrupted by the arrival of a new pair to their group. The man was vaguely familiar, but Arias couldn’t place that face for the life of him. The mask certainly wasn’t helping anything, for all that it only covered the man’s eyes. But the woman was definitely someone new.

She was dressed in a sleek emerald gown that shone in the light of the hall, and held herself with a noble elegance. Her fox mask was trimmed in red fur that matched her hair, and gave her an exotic air. He found himself grateful for his mask so that she couldn’t see him staring at her.

“Abner! It’s good to see you, been a long time since you’ve left your books,” Wintertide said with a smile, holding out his hand.

“Captain Wintertide. It has been a long time,” the other man said, grabbing the captain’s hand. He nodded to Alexis. “And Captain Stormhand, I haven’t seen you since we were students at the Academy. Enjoying the night?”

“Of course, Librarian,” she replied with a smile.

“Wing Captain Soli,” Wintertide said, bowing. “I hope you’re enjoying the evening. May I present my companion, Mage-Captain Alexis Stormhand, and my superior, Captain Arias Falmarin?”

“It’s good to meet you, Captain Stormhand,” Soli said. “Captain Wintertide has told me much about you.”

“Really?” Alexis asked with a sidelong look at her partner. He grinned and winked, the action barely visible behind the mask.

“Greetings, Captain Soli, Librarian Abner,” Arias said, nodding in greeting. The group paused as they heard the sound of music from the next room.

“Music! Well, it’s about time that they started some dancing,” Alexis said with a satisfied smile. “Come on, everyone, we can continue talking out on the floor!”

Oh my goodness that was annoying to write...and I didn't even get out of the scene. Just doing some setup for later scenes and tossing in some lighter mood to the story after the last section. Just shy of 1,500 words today, but oh well...I'm very late getting to bed as it is. Hope people like it! For all that it took a while, I like how the scene is coming along.

[SteamHammer]

I like it. It's light hearted and like all your chapters it's easy to read. Great pacing.

[edonil]

“Music! Well, it’s about time that they started some dancing,” Alexis said with a satisfied smile. “Come on, everyone, we can continue talking out on the floor!” She grabbed Wintertide’s arm and started dragging him over to the room.

“Miss Jensen, I presume,” the librarian said. The sergeant looked at him oddly and he shrugged. “Captain Soli told me to ask you about Drasvarian magic, if you wouldn’t mind?”

Jensen gave her captain a very old fashioned look from behind her mask. The woman shook her head then smiled. “I’d be glad to, librarian, but only if I can ask you about Assarian magic.”

“Certainly! After all, that’s what tonight is all about, isn’t it? A cultural exchange in preparation for an end to the war.” He held out his arm and Jensen looped hers through it. The mages walked away, chatting briskly. Arias watched them, bemused by the situation.

“I hope you don’t intend to ask me to dance,” he heard Soli say. Arias turned and looked at her curiously. She stood with her hands on her hips, head tilted to one side. He found himself wishing that he could read her expression, and cursed the masks once again.

“I’m afraid not,” he said with a smile. “I’ve never been all that interested in dancing. Nor any good at it, to be honest. However, I do love music, and I was intending to sit where I can listen to tonight’s. Could I tempt you to join me?”

“Alright,” she said after a few moments. He held his hand out, but she declined to take it. After a slight hesitation, he dropped his arm, confused.

“Well, allow me to lead the way, then,” he said. They started walking toward the ballroom, dodging through the crowd. Finally, Arias found an empty table at the edge of the room, and pulled out a seat for Soli. She sat down, back straight, and he sighed mentally. This certainly wasn’t going well.

He took a seat across from her and leaned his chair back against the table, closing his eyes to listen better to the music. The song was an old one, a popular song in Drasvar, with a lively beat to it and beautifully led by a violin. It had been a long time since he had heard such a piece, the war hadn’t given him many chances to listen to concerts. Idly, his hand begin swaying to the tune, unconsciously imitating a conductor.

He smiled as the song ended some minutes later, joining in the applause from the dancers. He looked up at the musicians seated on the stage, and was surprised to recognize the man standing at the front of them holding the violin. “Well, they certainly did their best to make tonight memorable,” he said to himself.

“Excuse me? I didn’t hear you,” Soli said. He flushed slightly, embarrassed at being caught talking aloud.

“Sorry. I was just commenting that the diplomats did a great job trying to make tonight remarkable. They hired one of the best musicians in the world, after all.” He pointed to the man at the front of the musicians, who were even now preparing to start a new song. “That’s Marcus Navin, the Bard. I had heard he was in Assar while I was at the capital, but I didn’t realize that he would be here tonight.”

“Marcus Navin?” she asked, voice odd. He turned back to see her staring at the musician.

“Yes…” he said slowly. “Why? Have you heard of him?”

“Of course I have! He’s my older brother. I haven’t seen him in two years.”

Arias let his chair drop onto all four legs, interest piqued. “Really? You’re not just pulling my leg?” He laughed at the look he received. “Fair enough. Do you play any instruments?”

“Afraid not,” she said, picking up a wineglass from the table. “I’m more into the martial arts myself. He was learning the violin while I was learning how to throw someone twice my size.”

“I find that somehow hard to imagine,” he said wryly.

“I can give you a demonstration if you’d like.”

He raised his hands defensively. “Hey now, not trying to insult you, just saying. So, you’re a flyer, correct?”

“Yes. I have been for eight years. And you are captain of the Merlin, aren’t you?”

He blinked in surprise. “Yes. I assume Wintertide told you?”

“Actually, I recognized you from a few months back. I took a shot at you with a rifle and barely missed.” She calmly took a sip from her drink, levelly staring at him.

His mouth dropped open, and he leaned back in his chair. Slowly, he started chuckling. “God does like playing odd jokes, apparently. So, that was you? You know, you didn’t miss by much.”

“I guessed that when I saw you duck,” she said with a slight smile.

Arias laughed, and grabbed a wineglass from the table, lifting it in a salute. “Well, Captain Navin, here’s to God’s little jokes.”

She returned the salute, and they both drank.

----

Zygmunt slipped in through the library window, pistol drawn. He looked around, red eyes glowing in the dark room. He nodded in satisfaction as he recognized the record room that he had seen during his visit earlier that day. According to the information they had, his goal was to be found here. He reached up with one hand and touched the wick of a candle. Within seconds, he had a bright flame illuminating the space.

He picked up the candle, and began to walk through the room, whistling softly as he absorbed the true size of it. This was going to take a while. Still, he had a few days to make the attempt, if he didn’t find the book tonight he’d try again tomorrow. He stopped at one bookshelf, and took out a book, glancing quickly through the pages. Nothing. Setting it aside, he took down the next book, and did the same.

He continued with this task for some time, his mind wandering back to what he had been told to find. A book hidden in plain sight, with information buried for years by the mages of Assar decades, if not centuries, ago. While he knew enough to recognize the contents of the book when he saw them, his sponsor hadn’t known what the book was precisely about. More complications to the task.

With a frustrated sigh, he picked the candle back up from the table next to him, and moved on to the next bookshelf. The last one had been filled with nothing more than notes about economies and taxes. Interesting intelligence to be sure, but not what he needed. He was looking for something more…esoteric.

He searched for hours, the moon rising through the window behind him. Luckily, the masquerade was planned to continue all night, it was unlikely anyone would come looking into the obscure room while he hunted. Suddenly, he froze as he began to put down a book that seemed a little too heavy for its size. He turned his attention back to it, adrenaline coursing through his veins. Could it be…? He began prying the cover apart, and laughed as he saw it separate easily. Of course! What better place to hide a book than inside another one?

He reached into the false cover and pulled out a handful of pages. Taking apart the back cover, he found even more, and began to rifle through them. Zygmunt spread them out over the table, staring intently. After a few moments, he pounded his fist on the wooden surface, growling out a curse. He had certainly found part of the manuscript, but only a portion. It was going to take a lot of work to track down the rest of the pages.

A noise made the bodyguard look up. Cautiously, he picked up the discarded pistol, and crept to the entrance. He pressed his ear to the door, listening, then heard the sound again. Footsteps, coming closer by the sound of it. He swore quietly, and looked around the room. There was too much of a mess spread out for him to put everything away and leave before the person arrived. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he went to hide in the shadows of the room.

The door opened, and Zygmunt watched closely as a young woman entered. She looked around with surprise at the light and the books scattered everywhere. “What’s going on in here? Who’s accessing the records room at night?”

She held up her hand, and Zygmunt could see warmth glow around it. A fire mage then, readying herself to cast some sort of spell. He gave a silent prayer of gratitude for his modified eyes, and raised his pistol. The woman took a few further steps in, looking around carefully. The Drasvarian held himself still, waiting for the perfect shot. Just another few steps…

The Assarian mage looked straight at him, and he swore as her eyes widened. She opened her mouth to scream, and he reacted, pulling the heat from her hand. He watched as the warmth increased, sparking in the air around her and destroying the breath she had drawn in to yell with. She stumbled backwards, agony on her face, and Zygmunt raised his pistol, firing a shot through her head. Blood flash boiled in the fireball around her face, and the coppery smell filled the air. He started to swear violently as the corpse hit the floor, and began tearing through books.

At most, he had a few hours to find the remaining pages. If he failed, he’d never have another chance. He paused only once in his frantic searching to contain the flames from the burning corpse before they caused any damage to the books.