CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
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Alaric Sampson
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21st of Decepter, 935 PC
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Narah Loe stood with her hips pressed against the table waiting to brief the group leaders on their restructured missions. She was shaped like a slim-cut hourglass and had a face that suggested you don’t fool around in her presence. Not uncommon for those from the west, they all treated life like a duty given to them by The Creator. Her stoicism and focus were welcome reliefs amongst a group of misspent talent. Her jawline could act as a whetstone and her Yilan braid of pitch black hair was the remnants of stories not to be told to children. Technically, each of the two dozen notches in her braid represented a life she’d taken, but in Alaric’s eyes they were each a reason to trust her with the huge responsibility he’d thrown on her sturdy shoulders. Especially after he’d learned most of the notches came from encounters with Lotus.
“Sir.” She nodded at Alaric for permission to begin.
“By all means,” he said as he stepped up beside Tripelthin at the table. Put everyone in pretentious chairs and he’d be right back in the High Chamber – even the disinterest shown by half those in attendance was discouragingly similar.
Narah swept her hand across the large, tattered map, flattening it the best she could. There were black lines drawn all over it, so tediously perfect that Alaric wondered how much quicker she could have finished the task without her obsessive personality. “We have one major change to go over, then several other smaller ones that revolve around the routes you’ll be taking to your destinations.”
Elgar let out a childish sigh. “Could we just get some kind of summary? I’m not spendin’ my last night here looking at a map for hours. Especially when I know my route better than any of ya.” There was truth in his claim. Not much of his specific mission had changed and what had, he'd dealt with himself.
“I have taken it upon myself to write down your new instructions,” Narah said to him. “But I’d like to tell you a few things first.” She spoke with respect for his last name, not his behavior.
“Fine. Start with me then.” He went back to leaning on the table with both hands. An unlit smoke stick hung from his mouth. It had been lit when he walked in but Narah put a quick end to that.
“We’ll get to you when we get to you,” she said, bringing a grin to Alaric’s lips. “Jameson.”
The half-wit lowered his bottle of rum. “Yes, ma’am.” That was like him, always polite to the ladies, never sincere, but always polite.
“You’re no longer going to Locke with Mr. Sampson.”
“Mr. Sampson,” Elgar said. “Keep it to Alaric. He’s no more important than the rest of us.”
Narah clenched her impressive jaw. “I’ll call him what I’d like, thank you.”
“What d’ya mean I ain’t goin’ to Locke?” Jameson said, standing up now, looking at the map in confusion.
Narah pointed to a line coming out of Thronerock in the middle of the continent and heading east toward the Pettermine Mountains. “You’ll be leading a team to Northcrest. You’ll go through the Pettermines and to the harbor in White Hall. There is a man named Captain Bahdeir there that has agreed to take you to the island. You’ll have to find the glacier on your own.”
Elgar slapped his friend on the shoulder. “Lucky bastard. All the women and gambling you could ask for out there.”
“There will be no gambling,” Alaric said. “If you arrive before Captain Bahdeir is ready to depart, you are to stay in an inn outside the city that is far enough away from the temptations of White Hall that even you can ignore them.”
“Who’s goin’ with me?” Jameson asked.
“Camila, Yormir, and the Pattersons,” Narah said. Jameson gulped. Lace Patterson would end up being the true leader of their group but Alaric had chosen Jameson as a way of keeping him sober. Hopefully.
“Keep Camila safe,” Alaric said. “I’m counting on you.”
The charmer blew so much air out of his lungs he could have deflated and no one would have been surprised. “How do we even know the Marsallas are out there?”
“We don’t, but we’d be remiss not to check,” Narah said, her hands clasped tightly behind her back.
“And if they aren’t then you do whatever it takes to figure out where they are,” Alaric said, insinuating Jameson use the magic he so often tried to forget he possessed.
“Don’t worry, there’s nowhere else to take them,” Tripelthin said. “Not treasures like them.” A snap ignited his thumb as he leaned down to get a better look at the map. “I see you have Elgar going through the Widow’s Den.”
“Yes, along the Candlebury River,” Narah said. “His idea, not mine.” The Candlebury River cut through the entire empire like it was tearing a piece of parchment in half, making it an essential part of many routes and somewhere Lotus patrolled often.
Elgar finally showed the slightest hint of interest in the discussion. “I’ve got a guy that can cut the trip in half with his punt. No better way to make sure I get where I’m goin’ before the rest of ya.”
Tripelthin looked at him, still leaning his round stomach on the table. “You trust him?”
“Aye. With my life. Obviously.”
“But is it worth the risk of wandering right into a hot bed?” Tripelthin asked.
Elgar, in a fashion true to his arrogance, shrugged as though no Lotus could possibly track him.
Narah pointed to a spot in the northern region of the map that was slightly west of Iron Helm and spoke directly to Elgar. “The only other change to your route worth mentioning is that you’ll be using the tunnels below the city now instead of using the insider you had before.”
Elgar crossed his arms arrogantly, showing his approval of the idea to use the abandoned tunnels with a smug nod. “Aye, no reason to worry about me. We’ll be inside those walls before the rest of you get where you’re goin’. It’ll be nice to see ol’ Rellin in chains.
“No,” Alaric said for Narah who was becoming exasperated with the blonde nuisance. “You will follow orders and strike on the first day of Janus. Any earlier and you leave too much time for the Lotus to notice what you’ve done. We need each pillar to fall in perfect harmony.”
Narah said, “Exactly. I will not enter the floating castle until the first glimmers of sunlight on the second day of Janus. Any disruptions before that will make my job much more difficult.” The absolute lack of emotion on her face would have been enough to drive home her next point but she chose to pull her warrior braid over her shoulder and run her hand down the notches as well. “I will not appreciate it if you put me or my brother in danger.”
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Elgar rolled his eyes and plucked the smoke stick out of his mouth to speak more clearly. “I’ll strike while the iron’s hot. What that does for the rest of ya is for the rest of ya to figure out. We get Rellin and that cunt’s entire empire will crumble.”
Alaric’s fingers tingled with warmth as his magic poured out of his soul and waited to be used. The burning sensation of his scars wanting to tear apart was much warmer though, persuading him quickly. “Elgar, my brother, my bane, either do as you’re told or don’t go at all.” The threat was mostly innocent to everyone else in the room, but Alaric was sure the memory of him breaking Elgar’s legs when they were young men was running through his brother’s mind just then.
The lack of retort gave Alaric an opportunity to wrap up this portion of the discussion. “My team and I will infiltrate the university as soon as we see the Lotus Army respond to Narah’s work in DuVale. Remember, as a team leader, you are to prioritize completing your mission over any single life.” He glanced at Narah. “Except for the boy. Keep him alive at all costs.”
Narah took control of the meeting again as Jameson climbed out of his chair, rum still in hand, and politely guided Alaric away from the table. All the things that had gone wrong in the man’s life were clearly racing through his mind. That, or all the new ones that were bound to happen with him at the helm were making him queasy. He took a swig of rum and wiped his mouth nervously. “Ya sure ya want me leading a team?”
“Of course,” Alaric said as straight-faced as he could. “Why wouldn’t I?”
The shake of Jameson’s head answered for him but he went ahead and spoke too. “Well… reckon I’m more a follower than a leader. End up in all kinds of trouble when I’m in front.” The only thing that came to Alaric’s mind was a saying Tripelthin liked, No truer words will be spoken today.
“If I didn’t think you could do it, I would have put Lace in charge.”
Jameson gulped. “About that… ya think I could maybe swap him out for somebody else? Garth maybe? I get along real well with Garth.”
“You drink with Garth,” Alaric said. “Lace will keep you on your toes.”
“Or on my ass.”
“Whatever gets me the Marsallas back.”
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Alaric stepped to the end of the table and prepared to roll up the map. “Any questions?” There was no necessity for questions with how thorough Narah had been but that’s how the Voice of the High Chamber finished meetings, so that’s how Alaric finished meetings.
Neither Elgar nor Jameson said anything. Not that he expected either one to be diligent and overly prepared, but he always gave them a chance to impress him.
Narah walked toward her dresser to retrieve a few pieces of parchment, handing one to Jameson who looked at it like a man who couldn’t read would look at a piece of parchment covered in words.
“I’ve made you each an itinerary in case you forget anything we’ve discussed,” Narah said. When she got to Alaric she shrugged her shoulders bashfully. “I didn't think you’d need something like this sir, but I thought I’d be safe and make you one anyway.”
He took the parchment and laid it on the table. “Thank you, Narah. I’ll never be able to repay you for all that you’ve done these last few days.”
“Giving me the chance to kill the Lotus Queen makes us plenty even, sir.” She wasn’t very good at her smile but it had loyalty in it and that’s all that mattered.
Elgar headed for the door. “Come on, Wick.”
Jameson lifted his bottle of rum and stuck out a finger. “Be there in a minute.” Alaric was quite surprised the drunken fool had remembered he’d been asked to stay and talk with him and Narah.
“Hurry up,” Elgar said and left the room. Tripelthin held the door for him politely then followed with no more than a careless wave.
Narah took over the responsibility of rolling up her map as perfectly as she could.
Alaric sat down in one of the chairs they’d pulled away from the table earlier. “Narah.” She stopped ever so briefly to give him the respect of making eye contact. When she went back to her task he said her name again.
She stopped entirely this time and turned to him. “Something wrong, sir? Is the plan not good enough? I’m quite confident everything will-” She stood up taller and waited for him to speak when he lifted his hand.
“There’s something you need to know about the Lotus Queen.” Narah somehow gave him even more attention than usual as she pulled up her own chair and sat down near him. Jameson slid his seat across the floor as well so they formed a triangle.
“What is it, sir?” Narah asked.
“Ya can’t just kill Iris,” Jameson said.
Narah cleared her throat somewhat suspiciously. She looked at Alaric for some kind of clarification.
“He’s right. If it was that easy I would have done it myself years ago. Whether it cost me my own life or not.” Alaric pulled a hard candy from his pocket and offered it to the Yilan who rejected it politely. Jameson’s hand was out but he’d never give the halfwit one of his precious hard candies. “Iris isn’t exactly what you think she is,” he said, tucking the sweet between his cheek and teeth.
“I don’t follow,” Narah said.
Jameson said, “Her soul ain’t in her body. Ya kill that woman ya see walkin’ around as the Lotus Queen and ya kill the most important secret in the empire.”
Narah looked about how Jameson had looked when presented with information he couldn’t process a moment ago.
“We believe only she and one other person knows where her soul actually lies,” Alaric said. “Your job isn’t to kill her, it’s to capture her. Or, at the very least give the boy an opportunity to steal the knowledge from her mind.” He let out a sigh. “And find a way to convince him to speak so you have a better chance of getting the information out of DuVale.”
“So, that’s why the boy is coming with us…” Narah said. Alaric had kept knowledge of Maddy’s magic to just those he trusted most. The kind of people who spent their time in the Black Boar Inn were surely the kind of people who would value stealing secrets from their enemies or lovers enough to make a go at kidnapping the boy.
“Indeed. He is the key to our efforts. One of them anyway,” Alaric said. “You are to keep him by your side at all times.”
Any shock Narah may have felt at first was gone now. She looked determined again, already making adjustments to her plan. “Yes, sir.”
Jameson sat his bottle of rum down and lifted a bag from between his knees onto his lap. A book, worn as a book could be without falling apart, slid out. He nudged the bag onto the floor and laid the book across his lap. “Olt’s Guide to Alchemy. One guess who this used to belong to,” he said to Narah. When he opened it a small quill with green barb and white afterfeathers appeared between the pages. He took it gently between his finger and thumb and handed it to the Yilan. “You’re gonna need this.”
“What is it?” she asked.
“The quill Iris used to write the formula for her magic.”
“Why do I need it?”
Alaric took it upon himself to explain this more directly than Jameson could. “It will conceal a message deep within a piece of parchment. If for any reason you need to send a message by bird, write it with that quill. Then write the words, Rest easy in normal ink. Not directly over the hidden message though. And don’t sign it. I’ll know it’s you.”
“How will you read it?”
“Don’t worry about that part,” Alaric said.
Narah nodded. A good soldier knows when not to question her superior.
Jameson caught their eyes as his finger slid up the spine of the book on his lap, nudging at something beneath the leather. He worked it up and up until finally the tip of a key came through a slit in the spine. He slid it out with ease at that point and handed it to Alaric. “Reckon you’ll need this,” he said.
Alaric took the key and examined it. “What is it?”
“It’ll get ya into the real laboratory. Don’t go wastin’ your time in the common lab,” Jameson said.
“When were you going to tell me about this?” Alaric asked.
“On the road,” Wicket said. “But now that I ain’t goin’ with ya, figured I oughta tell ya sooner. Wanted to wait as long as I could so no one got any big ideas to take it from ya.”
Alaric leaned back in his chair, still looking at the key in awe. He’d never have expected Jameson to provide him something so valuable. Lords, he spent most of his time wondering how the halfwit was going to betray him. He was so grateful it didn’t even bother him when Jameson finished the bottle of rum with a long chug then burped. “Tell me more about this lab.”