Chapter 8 Part 1 of 2 (Patreon)

Elan Silaz shuddered awake as his carriage came to a stop. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, he moved a curtain to look out at the darkness all around him.

“Vuzgal’s undercity,” Elan muttered to himself as he saw people waiting outside the carriage.

Time to get to it, the world doesn’t wait on the director of Alva’s Intelligence Agency that is for sure.

He opened the door of his carriage and stepped out, the guards were all elite Close Protection Detail members. All of the council leadership had similar guards to make sure they were safe at all times.

“What do you have for me?” He asked the group waiting for him as he walked towards the castle behind them. It was the heart of the intelligence department in Vuzgal, it housed several answering statues that they had bought through Elise.

“Reports on everything happening in the Fourth Realm,” Detrick, the manager of Vuzgal’s intelligence networks, passed Elan a storage ring that was stuffed with information books.

“Meeting with Lord Chonglu tomorrow to talk about what’s happening in the Fourth Realm.”

“How are things with the foreign traders?”

“They are getting bolder, based on the snippets of information that we have got from the answering statues, they are coordinated. If with one another or by another power we don’t know at this time.”

“Suspects?”

“Other trading conglomerates. I am thinking its the Stone Fist Sect.”

“They’re not going to let go of Chonglu and Mira?”

“They must have made the connection to Erik and Mira leaving their clan. They can’t go against her, but they can attack her husband and weaken him,” Detrick said.

“So they think,” Elan muttered as the doors to the castle opened and he walked in.

“Sir! I think that there is something you need to see!” Dang, head scribe in charge of the answering statues, saw Elan and walked up.

“What is it?” Elan asked.

“This,” Dang pulled out a piece of scroll and held it open.

“Domonos Silaz, from the First Realm. Recruited by Elder H~” The document ended abruptly. “Talk to me Dang.”

“I had the answering statue tell me where this information was recorded, I checked it against our Wandering Inn records. It was Mercy Kostic, known as Mistress Mercy. She had a direct connection to Colonel Silaz before he joined Alva.”

“When was this information recovered.”

“It was recovered on the last day of the competition.”

“Why is it only getting to me now?” Elan demanded, his mind working. Kill her? She was with her grand Uncle who is close to High Elder Cai Bo. No that will draw more attention. Can we cut off the information? We’ll need to divert attention. If they go to Chonglu City, it has changed names but if they dig they’re sure to find out more.

“We went through all of the information that was gathered on the most important people and then filtered down to the least important. Mercy was just a hanger on, so her information was the last thing we looked at.”

“We need to take control of the narrative, seed information into the city that Erik and Rugrat found Domonos, show him getting the attention of a mercenary, gets healed, becomes stronger, joins the Alva mercenaries. Send word to Evernight in the First Realm. Have her cover over things there. Make sure that attention isn’t drawn to the Beast Mountain Range, or to what was Chonglu City. Thankfully with the new leader the city has changed to Asmai City. Control the ceremony with Chonglu, we need to limit his name being said.”

Sleep was forgotten as Elan’s mind was buzzing.

“Send word to all of the Alvan higher ups in the field, have them use illusion masks or wear their head gear all the time to keep their identity hidden. Shit, I need to send a report to the Council Leader.”

Elan could see several paths. He needed to create options but he had a sinking feeling, covering up everything, he couldn’t do that. It would lead to more questions, not less. If they chose to follow the thread of information.

It could pull everything apart.

Elan pulled out a piece of paper.

“Turn around,” He said to Detrick. Detrick did as ordered.

Elan used his back as a desk writing out a hurried message.

He turned to one of his Close Protection Detail people.

“Take this to Alva. Make sure the Council Leader and Glosil see it.” He put it in the woman’s hands.

She looked at him and then her leader.

“Go! We don’t have time!”

She turned and ran back out of the castle.

“Get those other messages out pronto.” He looked to the assistants who had been jotting down what he had been saying. “Detrick, call up the realm Deputy Directors, get them into motion. Where the hell is Mistress Mercy? Is she doing this on her own or do others know about this? Look at discrediting her. Make it look like she is trying to get others attention with outlandish theories. Dang, good find! I just hope we can get in front of this.”

Elan walked towards his Vuzgal office, trying to come up with plans and contingencies.

“Push back the meeting with Chonglu. Make sure he gets the latest information books on our current intelligence.”

***

“This is the third damn military exercise that the Vrunad Empire has done in the last month. Is their military so rusty that they have started to walk in circles? Maybe we should send a few of our people out there to help the old feeble spinsters home!” Aditya threw the papers down on the desk causing the candle to flicker against darkness that cloaked King’s Hill.

Even with candles across the town, alone, in the middle of the Beast Mountain Range, it felt darker.

She watched and waited as Aditya breathed deeply and rubbed his tired face.

“Sorry, just. You know.”

“Indeed I do and so does the rest of Alva. They are hoping that you can pull this off.”

“I wish I had the confidence that you do.”

“Don’t worry, soon enough, people won’t be jealous of your Beast Mountain Range instead they’ll want to get the hell away from it.”

“I feel so much better,” Aditya looked at her from under hooded eyes.

Evernight smiled.

“What do you expect, with Alva releasing so many powerful beasts. Already, mercenary groups are pulling from King’s Hill back to the outposts. Increasing the number of people in their hunting parties. It’s spread everyone out more. While some people are scared, others are eager! With greater rewards and greater challenges people are sure to get stronger. Though the possibility of getting hurt increases as well.”

“Something that the other nation leaders have to think about, rewards and losses come on a knife edge. Nice if they can claim it all, but to fight us just to fight beasts. Few leaders would be willing to make such a foolish decision.”