Because he dressed in finery and spent most of his days sitting in important chairs, giving orders, and being entertained, people tended to forget that Emir Zaman was actually quite strong.

When Catalina Zhao delivered the news of what had happened in the backwood village to the Chosen of Digax, everyone in the room got a reminder of that strength as he slammed his fist down onto the meeting table, and the mahogany surface cracked straight down the middle. Catalina was the only one who did not flinch.

"They what?!"

"Escaped," Catalina repeated, examining her fingernails as if they were a far more pressing concern than the rage of her master. "That's when people leave even when you don't want them to, and then you can't find them afterward."

"I know what it means." Zaman was grinding his teeth. "I want to know how."

"They killed the only elite on the scene and ran very fast," Catalina said. "Urks aren't known for their tracking ability, and they covered their tracks well. We know they're on foot, at least for now, and that they can't have gotten far, but 'not far' is still a big enough area that we haven't found them yet."

"We should send a full regiment after them!" Zaman's general declared. "Surround the area and flush them out!"

Catalina couldn't remember the general's name. He'd only gotten the job as the Chosen's Sword in the last year, and was fond of waggling his strategic dick around in an attempt to seem important and necessary. He reminded Catalina a lot of his predecessor, who had suddenly and without notice retired to the coast after a disagreement with Garem Westmin—Zaman's actual sword.

"Oh, certainly," Catalina said. "Send a very big, very noisy army after them. They won't see that coming from days away and easily avoid it. How could they?"

The general glowered, but to Zaman's right, Garem Westmin spoke. "She's right. We're going to need to be precise if we want to catch these Outsiders."

"And I supposed you're volunteering yourself and your brat for the mission?" the general asked.

The brat in question was currently watching the entire meeting from the rafters, perched like a bird on a wire. Garem really was training her well. He and Catalina were the only ones who saw her.

"Emily and I are still busy with work for our patron," Garem said, stressing "our" in such a way as to include everyone in the room, even Zaman.

The room went silent for just a moment. In general, Zaman's "patron" was not to be spoken of in these meetings. The Chosen himself preferred to pretend that the man did not exist. But as one of the major reasons Zaman was the Chosen right now, Garem had always enjoyed the freedom to break protocol.

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"I was actually going to suggest one of your elite squads for the task, General," Garem said. "They're flexible and competent enough that they should be able to handle five upstarts."

It was a double power play. On one level, Garem was demonstrating that he was secure enough in his position to step on Zaman's rules of decorum. On another, he was insinuating that his time was too important to be spent dealing with five outsiders, making it both an insult and a challenge.

Catalina smiled. She liked Garem. She liked him a lot.

"Don't you two start," Emir grumbled. "Catalina? What is your assessment?"

Catalina tilted her head this way and that, turning the question over in her mind.

"They took down the one elite easily enough, and Gorpmorp before that. We know from everything we dug up around Shadefall that they're experienced monster hunters, and the performances two of them gave in the Dragon's Dance were impressive enough. Masters's people have similarly high assessments of them… Hm. I don't think any squad of elites could take them, but I would say…"

Again she paused, now running through her mental list of the army's assets. Personally, she thought coming after these Outsiders with direct force would be a waste of time and manpower. Better to just wait for Garem and his girl to not be so busy with their boogeyman, and send them. But that would take a while, and she could tell Zaman was impatient to do something.

So she decided to play to her audience, as she usually did, and considered whether it would be better to be conservative with her recommendation, or immediately jumping to the general's biggest gun. Both options had their appeal, particularly in how they might embarrass the general.

Eventually, she decided that if they were going with a direct assault, even one with the precision of an elite squad, they might as well truly throw subtlety out the window.

"Send Agnizzar."

Eyebrows around the room raised, but Catalina continued before any of them could raise questions. "His team has a skilled enough tracker among them, and his combat record's impeccable. The outsiders are in the wilderness, so there's no need to consider collateral damage. We'd have to send him eventually if we started with more delicate units and they failed, and by then we might have lost our chance. Why not start with an asset we know can get the job done?"

Another implied insult to the general, that some of his elite squads wouldn't be up to the task. Catalina could see a vein bulging in the man's temple.

"That seems reasonable," Garem said. "Although I wouldn't dismiss the other squads out of hand. Perhaps some should be pulled from the border with Trandore to support?"

"If we send Agnizzar, Agnizzar will get it done," the general said indignantly.

"Then it sounds like we have our man," Catalina said. "Your Eminence?"

Zaman wasn't stupid. He could see the insults and sniping taking place in his inner circle, and if he thought it was impeding their ability to enact his will, he would have done something about it. But, bickering aside, the choice was still a sound one. Destroying problems with extreme prejudice was exactly what someone like Agnizzar was for.

Emir nodded his assent to the plan, and waved to the nearest page. "Send word to the barracks. Inform my axe he is being let off his leash."