"Daddy, you can't just go out like that?" the little girl pouted as she stretched her hands wide open. Josim smiled as he put down the helmet in his hands. He held his daughter in his hands and kissed her on her forehead, then pinched her lightly on her cheek.
"Alright, Daddy has to go now," the man said as he stood up. A very indistinguishable look flashed over his face when he saw his daughter's mangled left hand. He still maintained a warm smile to match his daughter's happy and bubbly attitude. No matter what he felt, he couldn't sullen his daughter's mood.
"It's for you that I do this," he thought to himself as he walked out the door. As a prominent commander in the army, Josim held considerable authority in the city. Despite that, he still couldn't live in Tristan city's inner Sanctum and he had to cross a wall to get to work.
As he got in his carriage and his people take him to the palace, he noticed that the sigil outside his manor was hanging upside down. He nodded to himself and got into his carriage and took off to work.
Commander Josim felt like one of the fillers in the war room. The King, the Reuzean prince, the Guminate prince, and other top dignitaries were also present there. That, and all the top commanders and generals under them. Sitting in a nondescript seat around the table, Josim was almost invisible.
There was a reason for the meeting to be held. Some very disconcerting news had reached them. A lost legion and a severely battered beast, the exiled Queen seemed to be able to handle anything they threw at her. Many of the people present were just learning of the excursion now, and the massive loss they endured.
"The truth is, there is nothing special about that girl. Her power is coming from that adventurer. We take him out, we've got her!" The Reuzean prince said in anger. Many people agreed to that fact.
"Don't worry about that, I have the matter at hand," The prince of Gumina said. "Have the letters gone out?"
"Yes, Your Highness," one of his aides answered. Many were at a loss of what the prince was talking about.
"Have we got any feedback?"
"Yes, Sire. 4 out of the nine messages we sent out have already been responded to," the aide answered.
"What about Fulah?"
"No response from them yet, Sire." The prince was quiet for a while. Fulah city was very close to Tristan, closer than most of the other cities. If they still had not responded, that could only mean one of 2 things, they were either delaying or didn't intend to respond.
"Where are we on getting the designs of the weapon they used?" The prince abruptly asked.
"We are working on it, Your Highness," another aide answered.
Commander Josim was seething in his heart. he couldn't understand how the King could allow the prince to override him like that. Even if this king was a puppet king, he shouldn't allow such blatant disrespect for Tristan. The prince was leading the meeting himself, not the King. He wasn't even bothered with decorum anymore.
***
That night, Josim did not go to the manor but decided to work on the stables. It was widely known that he loved his horses and would occasionally go and work with them. It was a hobby of his.
"Any news?"
As he brushed his main stallion mane, a voice was heard from behind. He didn't react or turn back. He started talking, recounting what he had learned from the meeting. Gumina was trying to reach out to other city-states, and so far 4 had responded positively. The others had either rejected or not responded yet.
From an onlooker's point of view, Josim seemed to be talking to himself, or the horse. The man that was listening in was well hidden, and Josim himself did not know who he was. All he knew was that he was part of Custer's network.
To those who knew of Custer, they learned he had been commissioned by the Queen herself as her spymaster. Many were impressed by how wonderful the spy ring had been set up. What they didn't know was that Barda had written out tradecraft instructions and suggestions in one of their communique. As a former spy, Barda was very well skilled at that. For instance, it was his suggestion to use innocent-looking signals to reach out to important targets, such as an upside-down sigil.
After his espionage act, Josim went back to the house with a smile on his face. He felt immense joy to have done his patriotic duty. What he didn't know was that Custer was receiving 3 other reports on the same meeting that night, one coming from the King.
Due to the high dissatisfaction levels in Tristan, especially on how the war went down, many well-placed individuals were willing to do all they could to bring down the usurper. That meant Custer was able to expand his network, especially since he used the name of the Queen.
Custer did not dally any longer. He had his people draw up a compiled report and send the message to the Queen. He then looked at the sealed note in his hand. Another message to take to the Queen, one he was not privy to. He still didn't trust the source, but he was not the Queen, he couldn't make decisions for her. He sealed both reports and handed it to the courier. It would take the whole night for the messages to get to the Queen.
***
"If I am going to give you this, you need to show me all the pieces you have," Barda held the little pebble-sized orb in his palm. Lady Arnea had a deep desire for it, but she held herself back.
"That was not what was agreed," Lady Arnea said as she stood up to him, trying very much to intimidate him.
"I still have 3 of these things left. You show me what other pieces you have, and I might just be willing to trade some more." Barda held the essence tantalizing. Barda had 2 left since he had consumed one, but he was in no hurry to consume another.
While he understood the value of the essence, the felt the space pod fragments were better. As much as he valued the essence, he felt that his greatest asset was his mental processing power. To him, magic was just a bonus. Moreover, he knew where to get 10 more. Gumina was being so generous, he might as well pay it forward.
"I said I have all of them. I will just trade you another piece," she said.
"Show me the pieces and I'll tell you what I want."
"So different pieces differ in value? How about I give you the largest one?" She probed.
"Show me the pieces and I'll tell you what I want," Barda repeated himself. As he did, he eyed a specific corner of Lady Arnea's room keenly. There was nothing there, so it did not make sense why he was keenly looking at it. Lady Arnea, however, was very uneasy, and so was one other person.
After his meeting with Lady Arnea, Barda had identified a specific Energy signature on a cloud she was playing with. Today, the Energy signature was in the room with her, and it was right around the area Barda was eyeing. He still couldn't make out what the energy signature was, but he very curious. Since Lady Arnea had revealed she knew some of his secrets, he was simply paying her back.
Both Krib and Arnea wondered if Barda could see through the shrouding magic that they were very proud of. If he could, they didn't want to think of the possibilities.
"Fine, come tomorrow, and I will have the Magic Mirror Spells set up for you," She conceded, wanting to get Barda's attention off the corner.
"Change of plans, come find me at the workshop tomorrow with your spells," Barda said as he walked out. He was not sure what plans the woman had by inviting him to her chambers, much less with that mysterious power lurking around her. He didn't think it beyond her to mean him any harm. While he was extremely overpowered, at the face of magic he didn't feel invincible enough to strut around whenever, especially around a mage.
Besides, I have already achieved my objective for coming over. Barda thought to himself as he re-read the notification that flashed in his mind:
[Several documents scanned.]