Chapter 7

Armando could have gotten up himself, but pushing away the stranger's palm was rather rude, and so he accepted the help. Once on his feet, de Gorazzo looked around. Contrary to his expectations, there were no signs of battle magic, no smoking craters, no patches of burned grass, no melted cobblestones torn from the ground. The night wind rustled the leaves, swayed the branches of the bushes, and a cricket sang somewhere nearby. It was impossible to tell that only a couple of minutes ago there had been a light show on the moonlit outskirts of the forest. A dozen paces away, the bailiff spotted Gotech. He stood with his axe in his hand, exchanging frowns with Lady Jana, who was blocking his way, preventing him from approaching Armando and the strangers. De Gorazzo didn't know what would happen if the big man risked simply walking through a ghost, and Gotech himself wasn't eager to check it out just yet. Lady Jana seemed shabby, her figure transparent and shaky, her body flickering with white lights. On her shoulder, on her thigh, on her back, like scars left by the touch of demons.

- If you put down your weapon, Don, our conversation will be much easier, - the bearded man said to Gotech. - You realize that if we wanted to harm you, we could have just stayed out of it, don't you?

The desert giant muttered something under his breath, but put his axe away. The ghost put her sword in its scabbard, too. She folded her arms across her chest, nodded to the big man, and slowly vanished into thin air, just as she had when she first met Armando. The young official took advantage of the pause to take a closer look at his mysterious saviors. The couple looked curious.

Both the swarthy bearded man and the blond-haired girl wore identical black jackets, loose pants and high boots. The girl's costume was complemented by thick leather gloves up to the elbows, reinforced with steel plates, and the steppe man's outfit by belts crosswise across his broad chest. Armando paid attention to the flat flasks, tight pouches and purses hanging from his belts - they gave away a military mage in the bearded man better than any mark. His companion could not boast of any magical equipment, but a heavy battle sword with a simple, shabby hilt hung at her hip. The mage himself had a soldier's cleaver, like the ones merchants like to carry on the road.

- And who are you, may I ask? - Gotech asked sullenly, coming closer. He had his hand on the iron of the axe, but Armando knew it was a ruse. If anything happened, the giant would strike first with the sharp hook that replaced his left hand.

- They are Imperials, - de Gorazzo answered before the bearded man could open his mouth. - The ghost is clearly with them. The ghost of a Guardsman, left in this world only to protect the Duchess of Elvart. A vassal of the Empire.

- Imperial spies, then? - Gotech came close to the mage, looming menacingly over him. The pale girl took one sliding step and found herself behind the giant's back. Her slender fingers, wrapped in brown leather glove, froze over the hilt of her sword.

- Not quite, really. But for the sake of lengthy clarification, yes, sort of. Spies. - Either the magician was very good at controlling himself, or he'd seen more frightening sights than a black-skinned giant with a hook for a hand. He didn't turn pale, didn't back away, only tilted his head back so that he could look Gotech in the eye. - What is more important at this moment is that we are your friends.

- Spies of the Empire are friends of Darth's royal bailiffs? - Armando chuckled, following the girl with his gaze. She seemed frail enough, even thin, but she was as tall as Gotech, and she certainly knew how to use her blade. - Very interesting, yes.

- It so happens that today you and I share common goals and interests. - The bearded man turned toward de Gorazzo, fearlessly giving Gotech the back of his head. - People who are not affected by magic, and who have access to incredible technology. You were sent here to find these people. So were we.

- How did you know that? - Armando frowned.

- They've made a mess of things in our land, too. Across the border.

- No, I mean how did you know we were sent to look for outsiders?

- Given the mess that's going on in Daert at the moment, would you be surprised if I told you that Queen Octavia's court is overrun with real spies? Including imperial spies? - The magician said it softly, clearly trying not to sound like a sneer. - The kingdom's secret police have forgotten their duties and are playing domestic politics. Your queen tries to handle secret matters personally, but she still needs to involve other people.

Armando pressed his lips together but didn't say anything. What was there to say? The bearded man held out his hand again, this time offering a handshake:

- Shall we call a truce for a while? I am Master Carlon. A mage. My partner is Maria. Lady Maria, for that matter. Bodyguard. We know your names, noble dons.

De Gorazzo was not such an fierce patriot that he disliked shaking hands with an Imperial, especially for the sake of the business, so he clenched the mage's calloused palm:

- A truce for the duration of one conversation.

- Well, that's not bad either, - the master grinned. - Hopefully, after the conversation, you will wish to extend it.

Gotech, relaxing his shoulders, stepped around the bearded man and stood beside Armando. The imperial stepped back and touched Lady Maria's elbow, who immediately removed her hand from her sword. Now the royal bailiffs and the imperial agents stood face to face - though Armando was not oblivious to the invisible presence of Lady Jana. Lady Jana... suddenly an idea struck de Gorazzo. He met eyes with the mage's partner, said in a sympathetic tone:

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- My condolences, lady.

- Condolences? - the girl who had been silent until now. Armando liked her voice - soft enough, not too high.

- As I recall, all the guards of the Duchess of Elvart are named sisters. So the Lady Jana is your--

- Yes. - A shadow flickered across Maria's face, but Armando had no time to realize what it was that the girl had so quickly suppressed. - Thank you, Don. Jana and my other sister were killed by one of the men we're looking for. The ones you're looking for.

- Before we get into serious conversation, I would suggest that the bailiffs take their things out of the inn, - Master Carlon intervened. - I think there's something burning in there.

Armando looked over his shoulder and saw the flames in the windows of the tavern's first floor. Probably a puddle of burning oil had scorched the straw scattered in the corners of the main room and set fire to the furniture.

- We must get the horses away, - said the young bailiff to Gotech. - And you, honorable spies, come with us. On the way, explain why we met here in the first place.

The mage shrugged his shoulders:

- As you wish. We have a camp in the grove, so I suggest we go back there with the horses.

As he walked, he began to tell a story:

- A couple of years ago, outsiders tried to replace the ruling family of Elvarth with their own protégé. They killed the duke and attempted to assassinate his daughter, who had become the new duchess. During the assassination attempts, the guardsmen Maria spoke of, her sisters, were killed. Investigations have determined that alien agents are infiltrating imperial lands from Coalition territory. Initially we suspected it was your intelligence intrigue, but then... the same thing happened in Daert that should have happened in Elvart.

- You want to convince me that the royal family... - Armando began, but the mage interrupted him half-heartedly:

- The royal family of Daert was exterminated by outsiders and their local associates, among whom there are large feudal lords and experienced mages. Mostly demonologists. Listen to the rest of the story. Imperial Intelligence assumed that there was some kind of secret organization within the Coalition and tried to discover its structure. Lady Maria and I were sent here by Christina of Elvart personally. We cooperate with Imperial Intelligence, but we don't work directly for it. We are agents of the Duchess, not the Emperor.

- A huge difference, of course, - Gotech snorted. They had already reached the stables and unlocked the bolt on the gate. The horses inside were agitated, their hooves thumping, and de Ardano's stallion tried to bite, so the conversation had to be temporarily interrupted. While the bailiffs calmed the horses and led them out into the fresh air, a fire had started inside the inn. The oxblood windows were burnt through, flames and black smoke billowed out. Only when the group had turned back toward the grove did the Imperial mage continue:

- Our group urgently needed to capture an alien field agent. When Imperial Intelligence informants reported your departure from Daert, our commander decided that our enemies would surely know about it. We instructed Lady Jana to keep an eye on you at night, and we ourselves organized an ambush at the final point of the route. Alas, the enemy proved more cunning. They set up a trap using magic, and activated it remotely, setting demons on you. I noticed a surge of magical energy at the moment of summoning, but I had to choose between chasing the summoning mage or saving you. I chose the latter.

- Noble, - Gotech thanked sarcastically.

- Huh. I just wasn't sure I could defeat such a powerful mage. Especially if he had an escort, - snorted the master. - We'd hoped at first to have a knife-wielding assassin or a pair of crossbowmen at your side. It wouldn't have been hard to take them alive. But the enemy has struck large, so to speak. Either way, we're not out of pocket. You see, noble dons... I'm asking for your help.

- What kind of help? - Armando was more alert than before. They had just passed the unfortunate forest edge and were deepening into the grove.

- Our commander... captain... well, she was careless and got caught during a solo reconnaissance, - the mage sighed. - Luckily, she wasn't killed on the spot, but taken somewhere. For interrogation, I suppose. The tracks led us to an abandoned farm where the outsiders seem to have some sort of auxiliary base. They don't keep their headquarters there, but they probably take prisoners there to keep them out of sight. We don't know how many people are on the farm, but it's definitely more than a dozen. We could use an extra blade or two to storm it. In fact, today we were hoping to get either a prisoner with important information or a couple of the queen's saviors.

- And you expect us to help you out of gratitude for your rescue? - Armando arched an eyebrow skeptically. He was always good at that grimace.

- Ha, - the mage snorted again. - Two days ago, we saw a red-haired man in his forties being led away from the tavern. Allegedly his friends, supposedly taken away drunk... Was that your contact?

- Damn it! - de Gorazzo cursed.

- He may be held in the same farmhouse.

- May be?

- And if not, we will share the information with you ourselves. Even in the Empire, Queen Octavia is seen as an ally in this situation. Her actions have convinced us that she is not involved in the conspiracy. Rather, she's a pain in the ass to the conspirators, whoever they are.

- Then why doesn't your Emperor address Her Majesty officially? Directly? - The young official pulled the branch that was about to poke his eye out with a sharp twig away from his face.

- How do you envision it, Don? - The bearded man looked at Armando like a fool from the church pews. - And could someone tell the queen anything now without half the world knowing about it? Agent might whisper it in her ear, but none of our people have intimacy with Her Majesty, I'm sorry. Oh! Here we are.

The imperial spy camp was skillfully hidden in the heart of the grove. There was a fire in a deep hole, tethered horses grazing nearby, and a single bed for two under a small shelter. Armando grinned involuntarily and gave Master Carlon an appraising glance. Lady Maria, despite her enormous height, thinness, and a certain clumsiness, was a real beauty, and ten years younger than the stout, overweight magician. And yet it was doubtful that they would sleep under the same blanket just for warmth.....

- Have you made up your minds, noble dons? - The imperial asked, standing at the edge of the camp. - Will you help us, or will you go to the city to look for another informant?

The royal bailiffs looked at each other. Gotech nodded, showing that he trusted his friend's decision.

- How far is it to this farm? - Armando asked. - And when do you plan to attack?

- At dawn. If we move now, we can reach it just before dawn.

- And then what?

- That depends on how much you respect the laws and rules, Don, - the magician grinned wryly. - If you do, we'll just part ways. You'll go to town and report us to the proper authorities. We'll be long gone by then. If you're willing to compromise, perhaps we can work together. Against a common enemy, in the name of Queen and Emperor.

- Sounds good. - De Gorazzo shrugged and realized he still hadn't buttoned his jacket or tucked his shirt into his pants. He'd jumped out of the bedroom at the screams - it seemed like an eternity ago - and was still standing in front of the Imperials looking like a garden scarecrow. - We'll help. Just... give us a couple minutes. There's a few things we need to clean up.