The trio was ushered into a tent similar to all the others. Although mundane, the inside was quite spacious, with rugs covering the dirt, pillows spread about, and some areas masked off with cloth partitions. A slight breeze wafted through, coming from openings in the conical roof.
A commotion came from outside, then a crowd of Horde entered: several warriors and a few Words, but most striking was one huge individual towering over the others, squinting and walking like his head weighed a little too much. The Words were subtly deferring to this last person.
Tenthé was not very good at picking up social clues, but even he could figure out what was going on, especially after the Envoy elbowed him and pointed at the big guy. One thing life around the Mission had taught him was how to recognize someone recovering from over-indulgence. He was tempted to pull out something cold, greasy, and fishy, then eat it. Very tempted.
He decided not to. But, depending on how things went...
Everyone in the tent moved back and forth for a few seconds, then separated with the Horde on one side and Tenthé, Leo, and the Envoy the other. As the two groups eyed each other, Tenthé wondered what they were waiting for. Just as he thought that, a warrior came in carrying a chair onto which the Mentor settled. Another warrior handed him a flagon of something that he downed in a single draft. Once he was done, he burped loudly and let out a sigh a relief.
“That is so much better,” he said in a deep, powerful voice. “You’d think I’d have learned, but… guess not.”
He moved around the chair, getting more comfortable, then he looked at the trio. “So, what have we here?”
One of the Words spoke up, “The group is from the City Proper. The girl is some sub-race, the boy is supposed to be something special, but I don’t see how, and the other kid wearing the armor that smells of old magic is Leo LePoiterice. You know them.”
At that less than flattering introduction, Leo and the Envoy bowed fairly low. Tenthé did not.
A Word growled at him, “Boy! You better show proper respect!”
“Okay!” Tenthé said brightly before doing nothing else.
“No, no!” the Envoy half yelled. “Uh… the boy isn’t trained! Let us deal with him!”
The Mentor broke in, “Now, now. Let’s hear what they have to say before we start distributing due justice. No need to enforce protocol. We’re all friends here.”
He smiled warmly, which offset the cold looks from the Words. Tenthé reached into his cloak and pulled out something gooey and pungent and started munching on it. He ignored the Envoy’s glare. The Mentor took one look, burped, and turned a little green.
The Envoy, showing skills she had kept well hidden, launched into recovery mode. “We’ve come from the City Proper to investigate if the rumors of what we have heard about the Horde and Angel City were true. Imagine our surprise to find such old enemies actually co-existing in some version of harmony.”
The Mentor was staring at her. “Oh, aren’t you cute? I’ve heard of your kind, but you’re so fuzzy! Does it tickle?”
Before another incident could occur, Leo stepped forward. “Your Highest. May I speak?”
At a nod from the Mentor, he continued, “I am a scion of the House LePoiterice, and I have been sent to discuss plans of how we can proceed in a manner that benefits us both.”
“Ah, yes,” the Mentor acknowledged, “I have heard of your family. Some of the other delegations were not overly flattering in discussing your House. Something about unfavorable trading agreements and so on. Quite amusing.”
“I’m sure, sir. We are like the Horde, in that there is constant conflict. And also, no shortage of envy. My House does hold the ascendant position in the City Proper. There, no deal is real unless we’re involved.”
For a member of the Horde, the Mentor seemed to enjoy the bandying. Much friendlier than the Words, who just glared. Tenthé amused himself by reviewing the techniques he’d come up with to try on the Horde since their last meeting.
The Mentor was speaking, “… the other delegates did mention your family while we were negotiating our current deployment here, at Angel City.
“Although we prefer a martial approach, occasionally we need to stop and re-tool, using the facilities of a functioning city. Things like forging and whatnot. Quite a while ago, we negotiated a deal with Angel City and the City Proper to allow us this time to relax and refresh ourselves. In fact, the City Proper was very generous in helping to finance our break. I do not involve myself in the petty minutiae, but I find it enlightening that not all the factions from your city know what is going on.
“I will let you in on a few details you are obviously not aware of. We gave our word to bypass the City Proper, much to the relief of your people. From what I know now, I regret that part of the agreement. All indications are that the City Proper would be easy pickings for my warriors, but such is life. A deal’s a deal.”
Leo pushed for more details, but the Mentor was quite adept at talking around the issues while not actually saying anything. Finally, everyone made parting noises, and a Word escorted the trio out of the tent and back to where they entered the encampment. They remained silent until reaching a secluded spot where it was possible to discuss matters without being overheard.
“Fuzzy, am I? I’ll rip their throats out with my cute little claws.” The Envoy appeared a trifle annoyed. She went on to hiss her native language. Very likely it was nothing flattering.
While she ranted, Tenthé asked Leo, “So. Be honest. Did you know anything? It seems to me that this should have been something you, or your family, would have known about? Maybe?”
“I have no answers! I agree. Even though I’m like, way down the list, I should have been told!”
The Envoy had calmed down somewhat, and injected, “We ought to talk to Elishua. She keeps up on the secrets in the City. She should have heard about this. I mean, she really should have!”
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While they were talking, Tenthé noted a few individuals sporting the armor of the City guard casually walking past, getting into position. Seemingly, all at once, the trio found themselves surrounded. Tenthé was impressed, it had been very well done. Leo was certainly surprised, but the Envoy, not quite as much. While they were being encircled, Tenthé had indicated they should let it happen.
A guard wearing the markings of a sergeant spoke up. “Sirs, and Madame, if you may, would you mind accompanying us? There are people who would like to have a word.”
Immediately Leo started sputtering, “Do you know who I am? I am a LePoiterice! This is completely uncalled for. We are just walking around! I demand you let me and my friends go on our way. When my father… I mean, our partners in this city hear about this, you’ll be lucky to be on latrine duty!”
This sounded more like the old Leo. Unfortunately, the soldiers were unimpressed. In fact, as Leo continued, they appeared to be more than willing to risk whatever unfortunate fate Leo’s nebulous contacts would mete out, just to make him shut up.
If Leo started something, matters would escalate quickly, so, in an unusual bout of diplomacy, Tenthé reached up and put his hand on Leo’s shoulder. Using a little power, he calmed the boy’s raging emotions.
To the guards, it looked like Leo was getting himself under control. As things settled down, the guards urged them in the direction of the City gate. When they reached it, the guard escorted them through a small door that opened into a large plaza. Tenthé observed number of troops positioned inside, probably to hold the gate if the Horde became restless. Even this bit of awareness showed Angel City to be more practical than the City Proper.
After crossing the plaza, they entered a warren of buildings and small streets, heading deeper into the city. This layout would be miserable for an invader, all the worst of urban fighting. Tenthé approved. As they moved along, he noted a few street signs that could be removed or switched to make life more interesting. In addition, the multi-storied buildings that defined the streets would allow the defenders to rain spells on anybody below. In fact, he caught the occasional hint of movement up high which might be residents, but just as likely, soldiers.
After quite a number of twists and turns, the impromptu parade emerged into a more parklike area surrounding the large buildings of the city center. Very similar to the City Proper. The guard aimed them toward a fairly bleak structure, more like a fortress than the other buildings. This could be anything from a prison to a fortified redoubt. In any case, it did appear they were going to have the opportunity to learn more.
The guards did not take them through the main entrance, but rather, led the trio around to the side, down a small staircase, and through a reinforced wooden door. Obviously, they were not getting the celebrity treatment.
As they had been walking, Tenthé quietly probed their surroundings. Their Dreamer was keeping a tight grip on the City. Everything was precisely done, and just so. All was as it needed to be to react to the Horde, or any other aggressor, quickly and efficiently. The hallways they passed through were quite formidable, with multiple chokepoints manned by guards who appeared to know what they were doing. Tenthé mused that this building would be a challenge to take. A few defenders could hold off many attackers.
There was a small hint that their future wasn’t entirely bleak when the group left the utilitarian region of the building and entered a hallway that, although formidable, was larger, slightly more ornate, with the occasional statue.
The sergeant stopped at a heavy door, opened it and gestured that they enter. Once inside, the door closed and the subsequent loud clunk and snap of a spell suggested it was locked as well.
The room was a reasonably nice, with a few hangings over the stone walls, and illuminated by Mage lights, since there were no windows. And, seated on the couch and a few of the chairs, was the rest of their group.
“Yeah, the Mentor was a little too generous with his information to just let us go,” the Envoy said as she poured herself some water, sniffed it, and drank. She then meandered over and sat beside Elishua, who stated, baldly, “I suppose we can talk. There are probably listeners, but it’s not like we’re on a secret mission.”
Nobody mentioned that Magister Grenville was missing. There was a good chance that no-one outside their group even knew she had joined their expedition. Although, her presence was a mystery to them, as well.
While Elishua recounted how the City guard had appeared out of stealth and “requested” they accompany them to the City, Tenthé examined the walls. Unlike in the City Proper, he uncovered no sign of secret passages or hidden compartments. He then proceeded to poke at the wards and found them to be particularly nasty. Any attempt to alter or sneak past would result in the room being bathed in Hellsfire. He could probably survive the conflagration, but his companions wouldn’t. Well, maybe the kids, but he didn’t want to find out he was wrong.
Even searching up and down the planes would cause the wards to trigger. He certainly had other options, but for now, he’d adopt a wait and see attitude. Although, he would freely admit, waiting wasn’t one of his strong suits.
So, a short while later, his meager patience ran out. He reached into his cloak and rooted around until he found what he was looking for.
He pulled out something that looked like a small clear diamond and put it on the floor in front of him. The others stopped their desultory conversation to watch. The diamond let out a pulse of light then settled down to a dim glow. After a moment, bands of colors flowed over its surfaces until settling into a steady rate. At this point, a very deep thrumming grew until it became annoying.
More disconcerting was that the room began to distort and warp.
Tenthé spoke loudly. “This spell is using the local wards to power itself. Any attempt to flood this room with fire will give the device enough energy to grow and eat the city and the surrounding country. As it is, unless you do something, the central part of the city is done for.”
The Guards had to be stationed right outside because the door slammed open and two or three, Tenthé wasn’t sure which, rushed in. They lowered some type of magical devices at him and one of them ordered, “Turn that off now, or we’ll fire!”
“Okay,” was all Tenthé said, not moving. The distortion was accelerating, with the room near the diamond bending toward it, while the other walls receded.
“Okay, what?” the Guard screamed. His voice came from far away.
Someone smart was monitoring the situation, and the wards blinked off. Tenthé stayed as still as before, but the strangeness the crystal was causing stabilized, while the crystal itself began flashing very bright lights of different colors. For a moment, everyone was mesmerized by the light show. Because of that, it took a while for anyone to realize that Tenthé and Leo had gone missing. Even more notable, the guards didn’t notice they were down two guests.
The Guard who had spoken stepped toward the diamond and the distortion began growing. He quickly retreated, and it stabilized. Another Guard further away moved forward, and the distortion increased, but he stopped when the rest of the guards yelled, and the process halted again.
For no obvious reason, the distortion began increasing, this time causing the walls and ceiling to groan as a fine cloud of dust fell. All of a sudden, it stabilized and a guard unstealthed, then retreated back through the door. Apparently, the crystal could detect both normal and hidden enemies.
Everyone in the room froze, unsure of what to do. After a moment, a uniformed kid ran into the room, rushed over to the guard with the most decorations on his uniform and whispered something. Oddly enough, this movement didn’t affect the crystal. After the kid finished, he stepped away and the guard he had talked to turned to Elishua.
“Um,” he started. “I have been requested to tell you that there appears to have been a misunderstanding. You aren’t prisoners. But, we would like a chance to talk. Until a proper official arrives, we have ordered a meal, which should be here at any moment. The door will remain unlocked, but we request you permit a guard to accompany you if you must leave.”
The remaining members of the group looked at each other, then around at the highly distorted room. Elishua turned back to the man who had spoken.
“Okay, sure. Why not?” she declared. “Tell me, is there a toilet nearby we can use?”