Rizaneth stopped outside the gate. She couldn't decide on what steps to carry out next. With so many ideas in her head, she couldn't decide at all. She thought of going to eavesdrop on the elders of the Southern Water tribe to hear about what they were planning. That sounded too boring to her, so she put the idea at the back of her head. The next idea was to go to the Southern Earth tribe and carry out the investigation she had been asked to do.
Suddenly, the previous idea sounded more enticing. Instead of thinking about it, she could do one thing after another, but where was the fun in that? She took out a bronze coin and tossed it into the air.
'Heads: I'll go and eavesdrop. Tails: I'll go to the Southern Earth tribe', she thought as she tossed the coin.
The bronze coin went up in the air, spinning slowly, and after reaching a certain altitude, it began its gradual descent. It fell onto the back of her hand, and she covered it for some time. Even though she was alone, she hesitated to open and see the result. Through gritted teeth, she revealed the result. It was a heads!
With a soft sigh, she headed in the direction of the tribe's hall, where the elders usually held meetings. She didn't know if they were going to be there, but then, since they wanted to discuss something important, where else would they go? After arriving at the hall, she confirmed that they were there, and they were holding a meeting. With a not-really-evil smile, she went into the next room, and started her eavesdropping.
As the elders reached the hall, Elder Mahkith was the first to speak, "So what is your plan, Astrid? And why didn't you tell us about it before?"
Elder Astrid replied, "First of all, you people left the hall yesterday having made a concession that didn't include me. None of you listened to what really happened, and I was sure none of you would agree either."
She paused, before continuing, "Second, I thought about this plan on my way home yesterday. I couldn't reveal it to you without the risk of you shooting it down, so I took a gamble, and it paid off."
Fal Mora had to admit. This was a thoroughly convincing argument. And since this argument had saved them from leaving the hall with their tails between their legs, so it must be extraordinary. The only thing they could do was listen. There was no hope of shooting down this plan this time, and that was quite unfortunate. No one liked being told what to do, well, among the elders. Especially, when the person telling them what to do was a woman. The question some would ask is, why then did they allow her to be part of the elders if they didn't want to listen to her? Unfortunately, that is a long story that will be told one day, when the time is right. However, the short version of it includes a debt of gratitude.
"So, what's the plan then?" asked elder Peryite.
"First thing we need to do is to get Commander Valdis to arrest Karim. From what I heard from the warrior yesterday, Karim seems to be the mastermind. If we take out Karim from the picture, then the Southern Earth tribe will be like a headless chicken. This was the reason why I wanted to talk to Saedis first. Only with Saedis's approval can we command Valdis to do this", she paused yet again. She looked at their faces, and written on them, was something akin to respect. It wasn't fully there, but it was close enough.
She continued, when she saw they were really listening, "After taking down Karim, we can capture the zombie, and then finally, we increase the tribe's tribute as punishment. To prevent the tribes from merging together into one, we need to sow discord among them, by spreading false rumours. So what do you think? Can this be done?"
Fal Mora and the others exchanged a glance, before he replied, "Astrid, we know we mistreated you before, however, we are willing to forge a new path if you're willing to forgive and forget the past. We will support you on your plan, but next time be sure to tell us beforehand, alright?"
Elder Astrid couldn't believe what she was hearing. Of course, they sounded sincere, but she didn't trust them to keep their word. And the way he said it, it didn't sound like an apology at all. Oh well, things might get worse. But right now, she had what seemed like support, so she might as well use it to its fullest.
What they didn't know was, as they were discussing all of this, Rizaneth was hearing the entire plan. She was smiling from ear to ear, as she heard everything. Quietly tip toeing out of the hall, she left the building and went to look for commander Valdis. She and Valdis were good friends. That was if "good friends" annoyed the heck out of each other.
As she arrived at the barracks, she was already thinking of what prank to play on him.
"Hey Will, old pal. How are you?" she said, as she went inside.
Commander Will Valdis, who was in the middle of addressing his troops, developed black lines on his face, when he heard her voice. To call her annoying would be insulting those who came up with the word. She was beyond annoying! And to Will Valdis, calling her annoying might as well be a compliment!
"You're dismissed!" he spoke to his troops, ignoring Riza.
"YES SIR!" the troops responded, as they dispersed.
Rizaneth walked towards Will and hit him violently in the back, while saying, "Long time no see there, old pal!"
"Riza! What do you want?" he responded, partly in anger. The other part? It was resignation! To him, Rizaneth Wolfe was a cancer he could never get rid of. Not only were her pranks annoying, it was hard to get along with her.