I asked Queen Kol to convene a meeting of her diplomats and intelligence experts. For the Izlandi Kingdom, that meant gathering a handful of experienced bureaucrats and a few shadowy spies. These bureaucrats seemed more competent than the ones that usually hung out in the royal palace, probably because their promotion and training was actually out of the control of the tumultuous royal family and court. The spies were a similarly independent group, who spent many years in the other two countries, building up their own identities and networks for the benefit of the Izlandi Kingdom. They also ran counterintelligence operations in the kingdom, since the Lux Republic and the Singing Horde definitely had their own spies in the kingdom too.
“Are you the only people who have experience in the Singing Horde?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes, great elf,” said a portly middle-aged demon woman, “the Singing Horde is notoriously difficult to infiltrate. As you know, most of the spies working inside the kingdom were executed recently. Worse still, we have found that most of the spies who had returned to the kingdom have also died under mysterious but seemingly unconnected circumstances.”
Kol frowned. “They’ve been killing our spies inside our own kingdom? And we don’t even know how they’ve been doing it. How is that possible? Is our intelligence network that weak?”
A bald, elderly demon bowed slightly to the queen. “I am sorry, your majesty. As the acting director of the intelligence ministry, I accept full responsibility for the failure.”
“Acting director?” said Kelser.
“Yes, the previous director was killed by a monster while chopping firewood for her cabin in the woods,” said the acting director.
“She wasn’t killed by a monster, was she?” asked Kelser.
“No, we do not think so. But there is no sign of any other activity. Honestly, we might have expected the Lux Republic to outsmart us, but the Singing Horde’s recent activity has caught us completely off guard,” said the acting director.
I sighed. “So now all we have to rely on for this important intelligence briefing are the two of you, and…”
“Me, great elf,” said a short cloaked individual who had been standing quietly in the corner.
“And who are you?” I asked.
The cloaked individual stepped forward. He reach up with two hairy arms and grabbed the top of his cloak. Revealing his face, he said: “Spot is my code-name in this kingdom, great elf.”
“Wait a—” began Kelser, pointing a finger at Spot. “You’re—”
“Yes, I am a beastman,” said the white-furred doglike beastman who called himself Spot.
“No, I meant, we’ve seen you before. You were running after that little boy on the night we snuck into the royal palace!” said Kelser.
“Ah, I knew I’d sensed something that night,” said Spot.
“Sorry for tripping you up, by the way,” I said.
“Ah, that was you, great elf. No, it was an honor to have witnessed your magic, even if I hadn’t realized at the time,” he said, humbly.
I stared at polite beastman carefully. The monster that he looked like was called an Anthra Terrer. I had no idea if his tribe or species had the same name as the monster, or if they were related somehow. His long legs looked far less strange now that he was walking upright, but since his arms were long too, it was quite bizarre watching him hold the cloak. It seemed like his fingers were more versatile than I’d assumed, and one of them could serve the function of a thumb. His big beady eyes weren’t rolling around anymore, but his ears were still flickering around and there was a thin film of mucus on his snout. Despite his sophisticated way of speaking, his mouth contorted in strange, almost comical ways while he was speaking, which made him look terrifyingly uncanny.
“But why is a beastman spying on his own people for the demon kingdom?” asked Kelser, tactlessly.
“It is not a complicated story. The Singing Horde has never been very unified. Our tribes compete against one another for power and resources. My tribe was pushed into a desperate position by the other tribes, and we had no choice but to seek outside help. Another subjugated tribe had already contacted the Lux Republic, so my tribe decided to work for the Izlandi Kingdom,” he said. His beady eyes turned downward. “I was only supposed to be establish contact, but when I returned, my whole tribe had been wiped out. And now, my only purpose in life is revenge.”
Silence. A talking dog speaking in a sophisticated manner had just dished out a heavy backstory and a vendetta against his own country. I blinked my eyes at the absurd situation.
“I am sorry,” I said, “please forgive Kelser for prying so much.”
“No, I understand. You need to be able to understand my motivations so you can trust my information,” he said.
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I nodded. Surveying the room, I asked the diplomats what they could tell me about the relationship between the three nations. Their representative said the three nations had been in competition with one another for as far back as their scrolls and oral histories went. The country in the North had always been ruled by spirits, the country in the South by demons, and the country in the East by the beastmen. The territorial boundaries, political structures, and relationships between the three changed very rarely. Most changes were temporary. A village might switch hands for a generation. The republic might elect a dictator, the king might be deposed, the council of chieftains might break up, but things would be back to normal soon enough. Historically, the kingdom had always been the most powerful of the three, but only by a little bit. The republic’s core lands had favorable defensive geography, and there was no way to defeat the Singing Horde on the steppes because of their superior mobility. Even though the kingdom was the most prosperous and powerful, it had the most vulnerable geography, so it was mostly on the defensive against the other two.
“Okay, I think I get the bigger picture now. Thank you. Now, you three. What can you tell me about the Singing Horde?” I faced the three spies.
“Great elf, it has been many years since I returned from the horde. I had infiltrated as a captured concubine by planting myself as an easy target for one of their raids. My master was a mere hunter, but he was favored by the chieftain, and loved to boast to me at night,” said the middle aged demon woman. “The Singing Horde is a loose collection of affiliated beastmen tribes. They rarely unite for any purpose other than to defend their homeland against incursions by the kingdom or republic. The council of chieftains is used to resolve disputes, but only the strongest of the tribes can have a seat at the table, forcing the others to pledge fealty to the tribes of the council.”
“I see. But I only want to know about one thing. Their religion,” I said.
“Religion?” said the demon woman. “Well, I know they worship the God of Music, but I do not think anybody is particularly devout. At least not in the tribe that I was in. Some of them might sacrifice some monsters to their god for luck before a raid or something, but nothing more than that.”
“Perhaps I can help with that, great elf,” said the acting director. “I was never actually placed inside the Singing Horde, but I have collected the information from many spies over the years. I have learned that the subsidiary tribes are generally not very religious. It is only the tribes of the council, the most powerful tribes in the horde, that could be considered devout. They have many elaborate ceremonies and traditions around the God of Music, most of which involve strange concoctions and instruments. Their music is more chaotic than it is enjoyable, at least to our ears, and their most important ceremony is attended only by the chieftains of the council.”
“Do you know anything about that ceremony?” I asked.
“No, I am afraid not. The chiefs refuse to talk about it, and if any information ever leaks, everybody involved is mercilessly executed,” he said.
I frowned. “And what about the god himself, what do you know about him?”
The director blinked. “No.” His brows furrowed. “That is odd. Now that I think about it. Despite all of the information I have found, I do not think there was anything describing their god. At least not anymore than what we already know about him in the kingdom.”
“What do you know in the kingdom?” I asked.
“That he is a false god. You have heard the story of the Heavenly Eye and how the God of Music was an outsider, an invader?” he said.
Right, I had heard that story. But that wasn’t very useful. I needed to know more than myths and stories.
“Great elf,” said Spot, “I believe I know what you want to know.”
“You do?” I said.
“You want to know how dangerous my god is, correct?” he asked.
“In a way,” I said.
“Then you should know, our god is powerful. Incredibly powerful. But he will not help us. He has not helped us in many generations,” he said. “Personally, I do not think he has ever helped us, despite what the stories say.”
“Then why do you say that he is powerful?” I asked.
“Because although he does not help us,” said Spot, his voice quiet, “he punishes us frequently.”
“He punishes you?” asked Kol, her brows furrowed.
“Yes, your majesty. The God of Music is cruel. Why, just recently, he wiped out an entire tribe for refusing to accept the new Overseer.”
“Wait, the who?” I asked.
“The Overseer? She is like a head priest. She oversees the council of chieftains, and stands apart from the politics of the tribes. I have heard from my contacts in the horde, that this new overseer is incredibly powerful. She has complete control over all the chieftains. I suspect the execution of our spies was done under her orders, as well.”
“I see,” I said, looking up at the sky. It was getting late. “I think that is all for tonight. Thank you all so much for your assistance. Let us meet here again tomorrow.” We dispersed for the night. I thought about what I had learned about the Singing Horde. I was now almost completely certain they were working for the Immortal of Madness. All I had to know was whether the Immortal was directly involved. I knew I had to go East to find the answer to ‘annihilation,’ but I did not want to have to face the Immortal of Madness again.
The next morning, Kol called me into the throne room at the crack of dawn.
“They’re gone,” said the queen.
“Who?” I asked.
“The three spies you met yesterday. I do not—”
“Your majesty, we have found them!” came a voice from outside.
“Good, bring them in,” said Kol.
In came two black shrouds covering two dead bodies. A guard revealed the faces of the corpses. It was the middle aged woman and the acting director.
“What about Spot?” I asked, quickly.
“The family said they have not seen their dog at all,” said Kol. “I am afraid we will find him like this soon.”
I turned back to the two corpses and bit my lips.
I had been worried about them last night, so Kelser and I had set up motion detection magic and traps around their rooms. Nothing had been triggered all night. These two had been dragged from their homes and killed, and there had been nothing that I could’ve done about it.