Barracks, Bearlower
Lying on his bunk he stares blankly at the grey painted ceiling.
The situation would be infuriating if it wasn’t so comical. Cuauhtémoc tracked his prey more than six thousand miles across two continents, they’re less than two hundred yards from his current position. Nothing could stop him from going there, dispatching the traitorous parents, and recovering the stolen property.
Nothing but the hundreds of War Born that have sworn allegiance to said stolen property. He would be pursued and harassed every northernly step he took.
With kidnapping removed from his list of options, Cuauhtémoc attempted negotiations and requested an audience with the camp leader.
When he was granted that audience, imagine his surprise when he learned the baby he was to recover is a freak throwback to the days of legends. He’s maturing twice as fast as normal War Born, and is not just up walking, he’s ascended to some unknown leadership role.
He first assumed the traitors and stolen property were present to defend their actions. As Mayor Commander Fenna presided over the audience, she would look to the stolen property for consent before responding, causing him to revise that thought.
The parents didn’t even remember him from their encounter on the docks. They remembered the encounter, but not him personally or so they claimed. They tendered a believable apology for stabbing him and tossing him into the bay. Being forgotten cut deeper than any thrown knife.
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Cuauhtémoc stares at the ceiling in an attempt to stop his spiraling thoughts.
It was infuriating when Commander Fenna decreed, under no circumstances would they surrender anyone to an agent of the Empire of Blood. Even playing the “It’s the will of the Free’er” card did nothing to weaken their resolve to thwart his mission.
The final irony of the journey was learning from a bunch of secluded War Born that his emperor is dead. No details other than it was Defenders from Mammatus that defeated him in a battle along with his fellow knight Cairn. The battle against Cairn must have been incredible to witness, the emperor was no warrior that battle must have been one of will power.
His outward loyalty is to Rätsel, but he was originally recruited by Trebor and tasked with inserting himself into Rätsel’s organization. He never expected his talent with table top puzzles to get him promoted to the rank of Knight.
He had two objectives, retrieving stolen property and finding out how these two changed their scents. The scent change could have been an inside job where someone swapped samples. Except there’s no one person with that access. It would take a minimum of four people to pull that off. The chance of that is near zero, someone would report the action to get promoted. That puzzle and their sudden rise to a place of rank in a foreign land reeks of spy-craft. The business of spying always circles back to his true master, Trebor.
Retrieving empire property for a dead emperor is less important than finding out how they cheated the tracking inu. The answer isn’t here, it isn’t back in Anapa, but the answer Cuauhtémoc seeks might be found in the Peoples Province of Vorg.
It’s time to report in person to the man that recruited him, Secretary Robert Mills of House Costaguti.