Novea sat there upon that so-called ‘bed’; maskless, hood completely lowered, hair evidently messy… She had awoken an hour or so ago. The clock ticking above confirmed it was late afternoon; she had slept for quite the many hours indeed.

Normally, she would never sleep in all of her…gear. Indeed, her remaining throwing daggers, her primary stabby dagger, a few darts of which it was best they not poke her, and such did not create for comfort. Likewise, Ravens effectively donned a padded garment underneath that cloak of theirs, which was certainly not the most comfortable of things either.

Yet so crippling her exhaustion had been, she had passed out as soon as her figure had made contact with that so-called ‘bed’.

Now, however, her potent hazel-amber eyes, still groggy, stared away upon that clock so ticking and tocking, ever-onwards without relent, following the flow of time. Oh, the turn tables indeed, for now she was the one waiting for Antica’s return… And with each passing interval of that clock’s hand, she became more and more…uneased.

“I shouldn’t have left her to wander on her own; she doesn’t know this city…” Novea, breaths becoming more anxious, so lamented… “Shouldn’t be taking this long… She left dead morning…” Her breaths only became tenser… “What if…”—dread entered being—“What if she didn’t even make it? The quarters above...aren’t the safest, and…what if she got cornered and then… Ugh!”—she grasped her forehead—“And they already chastised me enough for the goblin shit! Raven Mother…”

Novea’s eyes, however, then drifted their sight to that…organized pile of Antican thingies, obscured by that stretched out cloak of dark-violet and lightly discernable hexagonic patterns. Staring at the pile alone…was enough to calm Novea’s nerves, reminding her of whom Antica was… However, the ‘icing on the cake’, so to speak, was quite literally…that which was so gently atop that cloak-obscured pile.

Three insects; one dragonfly sort of thing; two butterfly sorts of things; none of which were alive. Such strange and refined shapes, indeed, of an almost glistening ‘teal’—darkish cyan—sort of color, with a small light of an ever-familiar cyanic color on their center bodies. Mechanical-esque, indeed. Yet even discounting the ever so very hard to see wisp-dusty cyanic glimmer which occasionally flaked off, there was an odd…special esoteric sense to them. Mechanical-esque yet also rather magical.

Truly, Novea’s eyes could not help but be captivated. She tried to wrap her mind around…what exactly these things were—a curiosity one more her own.

“Hm…” She stared… “Rather lively little ones…”

Indeed, these things were rather…animate; the dragonfly looking one, in particular, seemed more especially so. It moved around the most and interacted with the other two butterflies, nodding its tiny head and shaking around as if…communicating, commanding, and instructing…or something. The butterflies, however, seemed static and unresponsive, although not necessarily in a way that seemed non-comprehending, but rather…intentional indifference.

There were evident personalities to these things, Novea could recognize. “Guess you’re not puppets or…conjured golems, then; too lively and…independent, or… Hmm…” she mumbled aloud, cogitating… Indeed, these deductions only made things more confusing… “So, more like familiars or spirits, but… No, maybe even more…expressive, or…” She sighed; “Definitely not ordinary magical ‘nd spiritual buddies, that’s for sure… It’s like machine, mannequin, and spirit merged into one…”

However, Novea’s eyes soon found themselves drifting astray, her mood abruptly sinking from this pondering of such magic-oriented subject matters… “Sometimes I really do wish…I ended up at the Collegium…” her quieting breaths lamented, her hand pressing her forehead with a clench… “I could’ve been…something…so much better…than this…” Her teeth tremored slightly, an all-consuming sorrow filling within… She sniffled; however, with a single ahem, she stopped herself from shedding a tear.

Suddenly, the three mechanical insects froze in position, their cyanic lights brightening and blinking, before the dragonfly in particular swung itself around in quite the buzz; its attention fixated upon that ladder and hatch.

Novea turned her head in much the same… “Does that mean…” Indeed, she immediately inferred… Promptly, she sprung up onto her boots in anticipation.

She waited.

And waited.

Waited…

And waited…

Waiting…

“…” Novea kept waiting… Her eyes drifted back to those mechanical insects. They remained attentive, the dragonfly still in its same fixated position of anticipation… “…does this mean…you fellas…” Indeed, they had noticed an impending arrival too far in advance.

Ten…or so minutes passed before that dragonfly finally buzzed in a tiny hop, its cyanic light blinking responsively. Steps could be heard above, noises soon vibrating from that hatch.

“Nilia…” Novea’s attention swiftly returned to that hatch clearly opening, that anticipation returning, her breaths becoming more…burny…alongst her heart.

Waiting.

Waiting…

…waiting…

For indeed, there was an audible…struggle in opening that Bureau-approved hatch, far more difficulty than the one opening would ever care to acknowledge or comprehend.

“…maybe I should…help…” Novea was contemplating…

However, in no time at all—which was to say in more time than necessary—, that hatch finally opened as an ever-familiar alien of a girl came…not climbing as much as…hopping straight down into the safecellar… only to realize she had to actually close the hatch… Thus…without any words…she proceeded to climb up that ladder, close the hatch, and then…hop down.

“I am back…” Antica finally announced, pretending as if none of that had just happened.

Novea, of course, had been staring on; her face was with quite the amused expression… She was clearly trying not to giggle… “You are really silly sometimes…” she blurted instead of greeting, before quickly aheming.

Promptly, Fly buzzed forth in lancing glimmer as it proceeded to affix its tiny legs onto Antica’s shoulder.

« Salvé tébi’terù » Antica thus greeted her little automaton, evident warmth within her hollow voice. Her mask-obscured ignited eyes then began to scan around, focusing especially on her pile of…stuffs. Her two butterfly automatons were still where they were. “Well, it seems to me that…all is well” she simply observed, focus returning attention to Novea.

“I didn’t do anything… Slept most of the time, so I hope you don’t mind my breaths…” Novea…mellowly remarked, a bit awkward…

“Why would I mind your breathing?” Antica tilted her head slightly, before stepping away from that hatch and approaching closer.

“…rightly” Novea just sighed, before straightening her mind and focus. “Anyway, so…” She tried to gather her thoughts and words… “How did it go?” she finally asked… “Your meeting with the Company…”

“It went.” Antica merely replied.

“You were gone for…a long while, so… May you…be a little more specific?” Novea…cautiously asked.

Antica…took a moment; “I will tell you what I have been permitted to disclose…” She thus proceeded to do exactly that.

-|-

“…” Novea stared, processing all that which she had just been told…

“While I am pending new orders, I am to remain stationed within the United Central Company’s district headquarters; they are willing to extend the same courtesy to you and the two adventurers accompanying us; they do not have an interest in dividing our…‘team’. They are also willing to extend greater accommodations by providing the unicorn and wagon we have been using for transportation an exclusive and secure spot within their depots.” Antica thus continued on.

Novea nodded away… “Wow… I’ve never heard you sound so rehearsed before…” she frankly remarked… “You aren’t going to be any more specific, are you?”

Antica’s mask-obscured eyes drifted ever-slight… “I have been given…clearly specified orders of what to and what to not speak, Nine…” she frankly replied. The irony of her being vague and nonspecific despite her prior contentions…was not lost on her.

“No, yeah… I get that…” Novea began to so reply, “you’re a really orders-driven gal, and you just…met with a Far West military officer…” She sighed… “Well, at least they’re keeping you here—for now… Can’t rule out they won’t boat you off to Grandberry, since that seemed to be…” Her breaths quieted as her thoughts retreated into her head… “Sorry, I’m just sorting through my thoughts…”

“You are fine…” Antica reassured.

“Hugh… Nice of them to use you to formally inform us of their Earl Walnut plan too…” Novea’s thoughts blurted, processing…

“Which was something you already knew, no? Although you tried to be vague…” Antica remarked.

“Yeah, no, yeah… Even with the vague details the Company told us, there was only one person conceivable who was of ‘relevant status’, a ‘long-spanning United Trade partner’, and…conveniently close enough to the bulge to even be practical…” Novea so replied… “Despite our clear concerns, the issue was less that, and more…” She abruptly paused, before letting out quite the sigh as she grasped her forehead, stepping back as if coming with terms with so much; “Oh, wow, they really pulled the rug under us…”

Antica tilted her head… “What do you mean?” she inquired.

Novea looked at her frankly… “Plans like this, to enlist an earl and organize this ‘grand tour’, do not appear spontaneously; they take weeks to articulate at minimum… The Company had to have been keeping this up their sleeve for…maybe since last two weeks, maybe since the start… I don’t know…” Her replying became musing, though quickly refocused; “Either way, they waited to tell us anything until yesterday…”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“The United Company regrets to inform of a ‘conflict of interests’ and loss of confidence with the Guild regarding the Blossom search but wishes to continue cooperating on other precedent matters.” Antica, almost robotically and as if from memory, so conveyed; “It appears that both have been withholding crucial things.” These words, however, were more her own; indeed, it was not as though the Guild informed the Company of its ‘behind-curtain’ correspondences.

“That’s what they probably told you…” Yet Novea gave Antica quite the look; “But I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they waited to tell us anything, both their plan to effectively…eliminate the Bureau’s involvement and their conveniently timed ‘wanting to see you’, the same day we were set to arrive at Strawberry—what was supposed to be our coordination point with the Company in Grandberry’s stead…”

“You suggest, then, that there was some…orchestrated intention to—” Antica, skeptical, was inquiring, yet…

“I don’t think we would have been sent here if there was forenotice, I’ll say that much…” Novea bluntly interposed; “They basically lured us in and pulled the rug, snagging you… It’s hard to say if this was the intent all along or…” She began to muse.

“Hm.” Antica muttered… There was something about the notion of her being something ‘to be snagged’ that…she did not appreciate, frankly. Nevertheless… “This seems to be…a ‘stretch’ to me.” Indeed, not everything was always machinations in motion. “They just do not consider my ‘skillset’ to be suitable for the search of Blossom and believe that I would be better suitable for more pressing problems.”

Yet Novea, once again, gave her quite the look; “Oh, please, do not tell me you actually believe that?”

“Hm?” Antica felt partially provoked deep down within, truth be told; “What is that supposed to imply?”

It was immediately obvious to Novea that…she had perhaps overstepped, having become perhaps…too factionalist. Her eyes quickly withdrew… “Sorry, I didn’t mean to…” She sighed, before her mind simply returned to her cogitations… “I should clarify… I know I say ‘Company’ a lot, but…obviously, I don’t mean to imply the whole United Company contrived this North Creamlight plan specifically to withhold it from us just to lure and snag—the Company…and even the Guild…are not monoliths, after all…”

“…‘monolith’, as in…to be ‘homogenous’ or ‘singularly composed’?” Antica…tried to clarify the meaning.

“Yeah… So, there are competing interests within it, and in all likelihood, it was intentionally withheld by…” Novea’s words retreated inwards, musing… “Hmm…” Her hand instinctually found itself upon her chin…

Antica stood there, letting Novea sort through her…cogitations.

Novea’s eyes finally returned to her; “Do you know whom the officer you spoke with was?” she abruptly asked; “Their affiliation specifically… Governor’s Armies, Provencia… Exiled Legion?” There was emphasis on the last.

“I am not permitted to disclose that to you.” Antica, however, promptly stated; “Again, I have strict orders.”

“Rightly…” Novea sighed, grasping her forehead again… “Nearly forgot…” There had to be a way to navigate around this… “Hm…” she began to cogitate, eyes drifting; “Well, did you at any point hear the word ‘bourgeois’?” she abruptly asked.

« … » Antica, however, remained flat affect, her half-mask hiding any possible reply from her eyes. “I do not see how…that word is relevant.”

“Nil, there’re only a few select types of people who casually use that niche loan word, especially in our language…” Novea frankly remarked, before…retreating back into her cogitations, stroking her chin. Hm… Well, that obviously did not work… Hmm… Oh, wait… “Say,” her eyes came returning, “I just want to know, but… This meeting happened in an office, rightly?”

Antica just stared, a little…confused; “Uhm… Yes?”

Antica…actually answered. This indicated to Novea that… Indeed, she found her opening… “Did his office have any decorations? Like, say, flags?”

“Uhm. Yes? Two of them…” Antica was still confused; “Why?”

“I like flags—they’re weird, but… Did you happen to get a good look at them?” Novea inquired, keeping her voice as inconspicuous as permissible.

“Obviously…” Indeed, Antica had taken a good look at them during her…inspection of her surroundings when she was there.

“Can you describe them for me?” Novea inquired.

Antica was still quite confused, having not yet made any direct connections of relevancy. “One was the Company’s striped flag, the other was…different…” she began to recall; “It was…really just…three of the… ‘Vertical’? Yes. Vertical bars—black, red, and white in that…order. There was something in the middle, but it was folded so I could not see goodly…” she described, before peering at Novea; “Why…are you asking this? I do not see the…”

Yet Novea let out quite the exhale; “Yepp, Exiled Legion…”

« … » Antica so blankly stared, realizing in this moment what she had just done… “Oh…”

“Yeah. Oh.” Novea had a little victorious smirk; “Granted, I already kind of knew, but now I have confirmation…”

“Smartly played…” Indeed, Antica could not even be mad.

She did not recall being explicitly prohibited from describing something as mundane as that office’s scenery and decorative objects; her failure to think beyond that and realize what she was truly answering was completely her error. Novea had identified a weakness and simply exploited it.

Nevertheless, Antica sighed… “Fine, so you have confirmed, may you tell me, then… This ‘Exiled Legion’… What are they?” She was curious; “They seem to be separate…”

“Far West mercenaries, basically…” Novea’s eyes were frank; “They formed some fifteen or more years ago from exiles of some ‘revolution’, but now they are practically a major component of the Company’s armies…” she thus answered; “The Company’s military is…a composite. You can tell affiliation from their coat color; black is usually Exiled Legion, though not always… They don’t compose…a huge portion of their armies, but a lot of the Company’s officers come from them”.

“I see…” Antica acknowledged… “Hm… ‘Revolution’, you mentioned?”

“Yeah… There was some huge ‘revolution’ that happened in the Far West some…thirtyish? Twenty-fiveish…years ago?” Novea was answering…

“That is quite the range…” Antica remarked.

“Listen, the Far West has always been…deliberately secretive to us about their ‘mainland’ matters. All I know is that it was violent upheaval that lasted at least more than a decade, consumed the attention of every Far Western power which is what’s suspected to have emboldened the Empire to start its expansions, and that…literal boats full of people were just thrown into our lands as punishment afterwards” Novea thus explained.

“Hmm. Interesting…” Indeed, Antica did find this interesting for whatever reason. Regardless, “So, what is this Exiled Legion’s relevancy, then?”

Yet Novea’s eyes returned to their astray musing… “Yeah, that’s the thing…”

Antica tilted heard… “…you do not know?” Then why did she probe into this?

“The Exiled Legion is…complicated; their relationship with United Trade is… Let’s just say, there’s a…contradiction, and a lot of the ‘old guard’ are still… Hmm…” Novea began to muse, her thoughts retreating into mind…

Antica stood there as Novea cogitated, before…

“How much did the officer you spoke with know about you?” Novea abruptly asked, eyes returning… “I don’t need a straight answer, just…”

« … » Antica remained silent; nevertheless, her mask-obscured eyes drifted aside… “Too much…”

Novea sighed; “From my understanding, there was strong reason to suspect beforehand that…the Company’s military knew a lot more about you than they should…” she mused aloud… “Someone’s been leaking…”

« Kâ viden, nê diçhes… » Antica silently muttered; such was already well apparent to her, indeed.

Novea continued her cogitations nonetheless… “Maybe not to the Company’s… Just the Exiled Legion, then? Or… But why and… Hmm…” Most of her thoughts were contained within, with only some escaping as chopped words. “Wait…” She continued musing as she instinctually pressed her chin, becoming focused as if she were slowly coming to something…yet was still missing…

“It seems that something has caught you…” Antica observed; “What is it?”

“Yeah…” Novea’s breaths mumbled; “It’s nothing, just…” She paused, musing… “I’d be cautious of the Exiled Legion’s intents is all…” She promptly ahemed, clearing her head as she reprioritized; “Anyway…” She proceeded to lift her facemask up before redonning her corvid mask, lifting her hood and tightening it… “You told me everything you were supposed to, rightly?”

“Yes, I have.” Antica replied.

Novea nodded; “Alrightly then, so… I’ll go and…convey what you disclosed to me to…the relevant persons… In the meantime, wait here. Got it?”

“It is gotten.” Antica acknowledged.

“Goodly heard… I’ll hopefully be back with…whatever new instructions, if any…” These words said, Novea promptly made way to that covert wall of a door, pressing the slab as it slid open, and departed away…

Antica stood there, now alone as that door slid closed. She sighed, mask-obscured eyes drifting to her two butterfly automatons… Well, at least she had some familiar company.

-||-

The covert wall-door so rumbled as it once again slid open, that ever-familiar cloaked figure stepping through.

“Alrightly, I am back…” Novea immediately announced, before…pausing…as the covert door rumbled closed behind, noticing… “…you haven’t been…standing there…this entire time, rightly?” Indeed, it was as if Antica had not even moved at all; she was standing right where she was when Novea had left.

“Obviously not. I returned here when I had heard the wall open…” Indeed, Antica herself had spent the whole time closely staring at her automatons, watching their…doings. “That was fast; I was expecting you to require longer, to be frank…” Certainly, to her surprise, Novea’s departure and return had only taken slightly over an hour.

“Yeah, I was honestly surprised too…” Novea sighed…

“So, you have these ‘new instructions’, then? What is to happen?” Antica inquired.

Yet… “Nothing.” Novea plainly replied.

“…nothing?” Antica tilted her head.

“Yeah… I told them what was needed, and all they told me was to…standby and wait” Novea just said; “Let the wheel turn…”

“…that is it?” Antica was perhaps hoping for more than just a mirror of the Company’s…instructions, frankly.

“Yeah, basically… Though, to be more specific… We’re to follow along with what we’ve been told until things are sorted out…” Novea replied; “That means… If your Company superior wants you to remain at their H.Q., then that’s where you’ll be…” Her…eyes drifted a bit; “I’ll…have to stay here in this safecellar, though… Likely be used for other things in the meantime…” She sighed…

“I see…” Antica acknowledged; “And what of those two adventurers?”

“Same thing. They’re to standby and wait in this city… If the Company is offering them accommodations for their unicorn, then they’re to accept it… I don’t know if they’ll be staying with our ‘team’ or…plucked off to be somewhere else…” Novea thus stated; “I guess it depends on…what your ‘new pending orders’ are going to be, but…” She became more…blushy; “I’m…your…bird, so…I’ll be following you no matter what…”

“It is understood…” Antica acknowledged, her mask-obscured eyes then drifting to her pile of stuff; “Hm. Well, then, I will…keep my things here meanwhile, since this will remain your…exclusive station, no?”

“Wait, really?” Novea was somewhat surprised… “I thought you’d never want to be far from your…”

“You asked me if I believed the Company or…this ‘Legion of Exiles’…” Antica thus began to remark; “I…believe them, I suppose—they have not given me the reasons to doubt. However, I trust them as much as I trust your Bureau…”

“Which is to say…not at all…” Novea frankly sighed…

“Yes.” Antica’s attention drifted a little… “You, however… I think that…I can reliably keep my things here without problems, so as long as it is…only you who is here…” Abruptly, however, her attention came lancing sharply; “Just do not touch.”

“I already…got stung once by your arm-thing; I know not to get stung again…” Novea just replied. Her sight then shifted to that Antican pile, glancing at the two still stationed automatons; “…your ‘friends’, though… They will…stay too?”

“Of course. What else will enforce the ‘do not touch’.” Antica was frank; “Those two will stay”—her focus shifted to her occupied shoulder—“this one, however… will remain with me—or outside and distant, I mean… They are like an extra eye, I suppose that I may reveal…”

“Finely enough…” Novea…kind of maybe…smiled from behind her corvid mask. “Also…” she began to say, blushing preemptively, “I may have to change forms…every now and so most likely… So…we might…still bump into each other, so…” It would be nice to spend time together in ‘normal’ forms, Novea thought… Though, she ahemed; “Anyway, I don’t know how long this is going to…drag out, but…once all is decided, one of us will…probably come fetch the other…”

“It is understood…” Antica acknowledged.

Novea, again, ahemed; “Yeah, so… That’s that, then… The Company played its hand, now we have to wait for the Bureau to play its” she thus finished; “…I said this earlier, but…sometimes you have to let the game play itself, and sometimes you have to…”

“…play along.” Antica completed.

“Yeah… That’s all we can do in the meantime; that’s what I’m going to do…” Novea thus said.

“And I shall do the same, then…” Antica stated in kind; “Wait and play along…”

And so too shall we.

Thus it seems, the plot changes again…

The world uncaring for intended directions…

Fine.

If those newfound marked bunch…

Want to be the would-be antagonists

Then, let them be so.

However, this story has room for only…

One group of villains.

Indeed, it appears we must move forward with that…

Opening debut

And bring these two intersecting stories into synthesis…

Ironically, from the opposite direction as planned

Remaking relevant what has now been rendered irrelevant…

By prior irrelevants now rendered relevant

However…

Although I am likely to feign otherwise for narrative effects,

The persona is unlikely to be ready timely enough…

In which case…

Sol to you know who…

May I borrow your attention?

A testing demonstration might be in order…

A proof of concept…

Though…

When and where?

Hmm…

Hold for later.

Nevertheless,

Let the cards be cast to feet

So that we may watch

And set our…

Cheat.