Delia
I have to admit I was surprised by the lion.
Well, it looked like a lion, anyway. Sorta. The creature had appeared right in the middle of us Derns marching to the ocean to join the fleet. When I say appeared, I don't mean it walked in. It materialized in our midst. It also looked bigger than a lion, and it had horns and blue streaks. I'm pretty sure a lion doesn't have horns, although admittedly I haven't seen many lions.
I readied my warhammer and stepped forward. "If you're intelligent, creature, you won't move or attack. You're surrounded by several hundred Derns. That might even be enough to take down an Inarvi with few casualties. If you're capable of speech, state your name and species."
The tension in the air was almost tangible as I and the creature glared at each other. Finally he rumbled, "My name is Nyan Ocia."
~*~
Solaris
I glanced up briefly from the sheet of paper I was taking notes on when a large, red-faced man barged into the room and shouted something about his daughter. This ought to liven up this meeting, which was a minor discussion about supplies and therefore no use to us because we couldn't cut off Senetran supplies coming as they did from the center of their country.
"I want a task force of men so I can go search for my daughter!"
Nobody in this room had the authority to give him those men, but they all looked too scared to mention that. The man was evidently drunk, and had an aura of power about him that made me think of magicians.
"Sir," ventured one of the officers, "your daughter will be fine. Seirapheen is a very capable magician, and I doubt a task force that would be small enough to not weaken the army could take her down."
The girl from the falconry? And a magician. Useful information if her father actually had any power and the girl was stupid enough to head near the border.
Her father stopped pacing and glared at the officer. "I'll send one of the Inarvi after her then!" He stomped out of the building before the shock subsided.
Yeah, her father had power, unless that was a drunk boast.
"Sir..." The officer sighed and asked me, "Can you copy down as much of that conversation as possible, scribe? They're not holding me accountable for what that fool does."
I obliged.
~*~Later that night...
Cel and I met in the dining hall. It was loud enough that no one could hear us, but not crowded enough that we couldn't get any privacy. Perfect for her to give me information. I refused to let her run the information to the falconry; I wouldn't be able to live with myself if she was caught.
"I saw Ether today," she told me. "He was sad when he talked to me because he said he'd have to go away soon. I asked where, but he just smiled at me and told me it was a secret."
I frowned. Ether was leaving the army...intresting. I had the feeling that in a few weeks, another border post or two of Derns would be dead, but he wouldn't have had a problem with telling Cel that. Or was Ether the kind of person who thought kids shouldn't be exposed to violence at a young age?
"I have to go, honey," I told Cel. "Stay safe and, please, be careful."
She nodded solemnly and scampered back to the kitchens.
There was no way to make my letter misleading if it was intercepted, but I accepted that as a risk of the job. This is the letter I sent the Derns that night:
All here are devoted to preparing for the war. They know you're going to try to separate the Kyromes and them, and are hurrying to get there first. One of the Inarvi is leaving camp for who knows what, and I suggest you warn and reinforce the borders.
We have an interesting situation. Apparently the daughter of a man with power over the Inarvi has ran away from home. If she approaches the border, be warned she is a powerful magician but most likely a profitable hostage. Here is her description as best as I can recall:Dark hair and eyes, skinny, and there's this falcon that follows her everywhere. Keep an eye out.
The sun of Dernland.
I signed it with the codename we had agreed on and sent it off.
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