Pax didn't have a chance to object before Incedis disappeared, the door almost slamming shut behind him. The rest of their crew stared in stunned silence at each other.
“Well, that was unexpected,” Amil said, his earlier excitement replaced by trepidation.
“What did you expect when you told him the empire's most talented strike forces were targeting rebel bases?” Dahni asked, giving him an admonishing look.
“Honestly, I thought he would already know about it, and I would just be confirming it.” Amil gave them an embarrassed shrug. “I never imagined we'd actually find out critical information to help the rebellion.”
“Go, us,” Pax said with an undertone of sarcasm.
“I wonder if the Light headquarters is a target,” Tyrodon said in a small voice.
That drew everyone's attention, and Pax wasn't the only one to suddenly look worried.
“I doubt we’ll be lucky enough to overhear another conversation like that to find out,” Bryn said. “And none of us can simply ask without drawing more suspicion.”
“With this knowledge, the more experienced spies will know where to search for further information. Their preparations won’t be invisible,” Tasar’s words seemed to ease the tension in the room.
“It's true,” Tyrodon spoke up for the first time. “Once you have a direction to look, it's a lot easier to find what you're looking for.”
“So, what does all this mean for us leaving Salman?” Pax set his mug down with an exasperated sigh. “If Incedis' people can follow up on what we found out, then they don't need us anymore, especially if all the Steelshade strike teams are about to be sent out. That'll basically end our assignment. All that's left is helping the rebellion gain an Awakening artifact, and we can do that by joining the Caravan.”
“Plus, with Thanhil being the hometown for three of us,” Amil said, “we should have the perfect excuse for wanting to join. I think we can make a good case for it—”
The door opened again. Amil broke off what he was saying as Incedis swept back into the room, looking slightly less rushed than he had when he left.
“Sorry about that, but we have our people working on it now. I'll keep you updated on the things pertaining to your work. For now, we'd like you to continue with your assignment.” He glanced over at Amil as he slid his silencing ring on his finger. “As for the crystal, please don’t place it at the Steelshade’s headquarters again. The last thing we need is to tip them off that we've gained this information. We have other sources to find out exactly which bases they are targeting, now that we know about their plans.”
Rin looked relieved at the instructions, while Amil looked disgruntled. Pax could understand. Without Amil taking a risk, they would know none of this, and now they wanted him to sit on his hands and do nothing.
“Now, let me explain why joining the Thanhil Caravan is not the greatest idea.” He gave Pax a sympathetic look before continuing. “My item of news concerns Taming. Your team leader, Turgan, has done an exceptional job building up the Taming business and drawing in enough customers to catch the attention of those higher up. I also just finished coordinating with Mage Eldan to whisper about our ability to help other classes Tame beasts in the right ears.
“As you would expect, the information has generated quite the interest, considering everything that's happening. We now have very senior military and family officials taking an interest, which provides us an excellent opportunity to insert our people into key positions. We'd like to divert all of your crew's attention to helping your team's business, as well as regular visits to the hideout we have outside the gates to help departing rebels Tame adult beasts on their way to join the rebellion.
“Your goal to level up your Taming to handle adult beasts is now your first priority, followed by helping train your team members to do the same. You will also be assigned to help the military liaisons unlock their own Taming skills. That's part of the agreement we are currently negotiating.”
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Pax opened his mouth to object, but Incedis spoke over him. “Yes, we will help them unlock the skill, but we’ll give them as little training and information as possible. By the time they can Tame anything bigger than a baby beast, one side or the other will have won the war. If we win, they will be valuable additions when we need to turn our attention to the beast hordes again. If we lose, then none of it matters.”
He suddenly looked apologetic. “There is one more consequence to our proving how valuable Taming is to the Empire. It has reignited the interest of some of the Amberborn family. They've always been quick to steal new successes from others. So, now, they have put two scions of an ally’s family in charge. In an effort to not appear so mercenary, they have chosen first-year mage students like you. You know them well. They are Aymer and Kali Wynrel.”
Amil let out a groan as Pax stared in surprise at Incedis. When Aymer hadn't joined Graybrew for the attack in the ruins, he'd hoped the boy had let go of his grudge to focus on his own studies. But it seemed he’d just found a more devious way to act on his hatred. Hopefully his sister Kali, who’d always seemed a decent person, would temper his bad behavior.
“Their father's Oakhouse Consortium has long worked for a closer connection to the Amberborn family. This has given him the perfect opportunity. Aymer and Kali both have the Taming skill already, but haven’t leveled it. And their success rate with Taming is abysmal, killing as many beasts as they Tame. I'm sure they are working to remedy that right now. Thankfully, we were the first to contact the top military leaders. They now understand our greater experience and skill in the area, so the Oakhouses will have to work hard to catch up.”
Pax blinked, shaking his head at all the new information and how it changed their plans. “I guess I can see why you need us here for the Taming issue, but what about the Awakening artifact and the caravan? Even with the progress I made today, there's no guarantee I'll be able to Awaken anyone on my own. If you aren't sending us on the caravan, you still have to send somebody, right?”
The others shot Pax interested looks at the hint at trying to Awaken someone he’d just mentioned, but didn’t interrupt.
Incedis nodded. “I just took care of that when I passed on the information about the strike teams. I'm sorry you won't be the ones to join the caravan to your home. If it's any consolation, I just received an update from my contact there. With everything going on, it took a while for the message to make it here, but someone purchased the indentured contract for your friend, Crafter Tomis.”
More stunned than he'd felt during the entire meeting, Pax flinched at the swelling emotions and questions that suddenly surged inside him. Who had purchased his contract? Where was Tomis now? And what about the littles? Was anyone feeding and protecting them? His anger and worry made his question come out harshly. “Why didn't you tell me earlier?”
Incedis made a placating gesture with both hands. “I'm sorry. I planned to mention it at the beginning of the meeting, but Amil kind of ambushed me with information that was too critical to wait on. So, I'm telling you now. I will also give explicit instructions to our people that join the caravan to visit your friend's crafting workshop to get better information. They’ll check out the last known locations of the rest of your crew there. It's the most I can do.”
Pax rocked back in his chair, overwhelmed by an urge to just drop everything and head to Thanhil now. He might not know where his brother was, but he knew where the rest of his Viper crew was. Despite sending back money and supplies to Tomis through Incedis, it still wasn't enough. With war breaking out, he needed to get his friends somewhere safe.
It seemed as if Incedis had read his mind. “I will also have our agents grab any of your friends that are left in Thanhil and bring them to the closest Rebel base. You've done so much for the cause. I will ensure that we do our best for your people. Understand?”
Pax blew out a breath, knowing he didn't really have a choice. Without the support of rebellion agents, he had no way of getting to Thanhil, much less taking his friends somewhere safe. “So, when can we leave the capital, then? I think all of us are done with this place and are ready to return to the ruins so we can train up our skills and directly help the rebels.”
Pax glanced around at his friends, glad to see them nodding their agreement.
“I understand your desire to leave. Turgan and the rest of the team feel the same. But two things need to happen first. We need you here to help us handle the Taming business until we can train up substitutes to take over. And we need to ensure that the light headquarters has not been discovered and placed on the strike team's target list. We aren’t sending you somewhere that isn’t safe.”
Pax groaned, recognizing more things he couldn't argue with. He wasn't the only one looking unhappy about it, but the rest of his crew still looked determined to do what they could for the cause.
Incedis thanked them and went over a few more details of their coming schedule. It wasn’t long before he dismissed the privacy screen and had them take turns leaving to stay inconspicuous.
That night in bed, Pax tossed and turned, despite his exhaustion. All he could think about was how truly insane everything was becoming. In the middle of racing thoughts and worries, he fell asleep and dreamed of rescuing everyone he cared about.