It was morning when Jay stumbled into his office. After the long night, he wanted nothing more than to tumble into his bed, but he could not rest until his final task was completed.
"I know you are here," he said blandly into the darkness.
"That's good because I'm not trying to hide," a slightly amused voice responded. Unlike the colonel, it had no trace of fatigue.
"People who aren't hiding don't tend to sit in the dark like one of the shadows." Jay lit a lamp, flooding the office with light. A cloaked figure was lounging lazily on a chair near the colonel's desk. "Nor do they shroud their face in the shadow of darkness, leaving the world to guess how they look..."
Silver tugged at the edges of his hood, hiding his smirk. "Noted."
With the pleasantries out of the way, the men got down to business.
"I suppose I owe you some thanks, and I must officially offer you a warning." Jay sat casually on the other side of the desk. While his words could have sounded harsh, his tone indicated that he was merely stating facts.
"You may do both in due time, Colonel, but I did not spend the night waiting in your office simply for that." The Guardian did not want to dance around politeness.
As chipper as he seemed, Silver found snoozing in Jay's office until he returned had been somewhat excruciating. He would have much preferred to watch the proceedings of the camp and gather his own intel. But the glare and jerk of his head that the colonel had given the Guardian when Jay saw Silver on the roof was enough to stop him from those actions.
The silver-eyed man had reluctantly obeyed and waited for the colonel to finish with the work.
"I appreciate you not interfering with us as we took apart the guest house. My official ignorance on your part in the whole mess makes doing paperwork much easier." Jay allowed a ghost of a smile.
"What? Whatever do you mean!" Silver placed his hand on his chest as if wounded by the comment.
"The wire? The rickety bed? The mysterious fire? The bread crumbs? The stolen arrow--I won't even ask why you have fletching from our fort..." Shaking his head, Jay was already making a mental note to take inventory and make sure everything else in the stronghold was accounted for.
"Me? Are you officially accusing me of something." Silver's eyes flashed.
"Of course not," Jay waved his hand to brush aside the remark.
The Guardian shrugged, his voice suddenly indifferent. "That's a shame. It would be a change of pace to be accused of something I actually did. Did you know I am known as one of the foremost experts on starting fires?."
Jay scratched at his arm nervously. "I am going to pretend I didn't hear any of that and get to my point. The whole thing last night was almost like the plot of a bedtime story. I am not sure anyone will even believe it at all if I added you into the mix."
Silver nodded slowly. "That is just as well. I am most obliged to you if you leave me out of your report and give all the credit to your hard working men. As for credibility, a certain high-ranking individual would certainly believe you. And because...well...because he does not care for me, mentioning me would get you the wrong sort of attention."
"I can guess who that may be..." Jay mused but said no more on the subject. "I am glad we have an understanding then. For your help, I will gladly give you any information about what we found."
"What exactly did you find?" This was the main question Silver needed answered.
"We found a lockpick set, a writ from King Willric, a Lakilian royal badge, two forged seals, a rope, a coded notebook, and Ryker's more personal belongings in his home...but I suspect you already knew that." Jay looked at the Guardian closely, but Silver did not react.
"Please continue." The silver-eyed man could see there was more.
"We found a knife tied to the headboard of the bed which Ryker could not reach when he came crashing down. And there was a small packet of powder in his coin purse that he keeps demanding to have returned to him. He claims it is medicine." There was a question in there that Silver took a moment to consider.
While it could indeed have been medicine, the Guardian had a hunch that it was something more sinister. "Don't give it back to him. If you do, I think he shall take a long nap and never wake up. Vipers are not allowed to be caught. Ryker will be more willing to die than risk that shame."
"Noted. There were also some rather unique weapons stored away in the stables with his horse. They were wrapped in a canvas, and Max had been forbidden from touching them. I can only imagine what a man of Ryker's skill would be able to do with them." Jay's brow furrowed. It was very likely they had been used before, but hoped not here. "Of course Ryker insists they are not his, but with all the evidence we have, it is rather a moot point. He's a condemned man."
Silver was assured by the colonel's confidence. "All the same, I do think you should look into the background of anyone who arrived within a month or two of your dear inspector. I think he was working alone, but it is better if you can shake out all your snakes at one time."
Jay recognized the suggestion with a nod. His wheels were already turning to try to recall anyone who had been overly friendly or overly hostile with the inspector. The operation to clear his men of suspicion would take some time, but it was doable.
"At the risk of overstepping, I do think you should find a way to notify the king directly of this development. He is the only one that we can be sure did not send the spy into our midst. Of course Commander Borit will deny that he had any knowledge that Ryker was a Viper, but it will at least make His Majesty more diligent in the military's affairs. And… as soon as you are able, send word to the other forts to look for men bearing the Vipers' tattoo." Silver paused.
The colonel could have easily taken all of this as criticism, but Silver hoped instead that he was merely confirming what Jay had already been thinking. No one under the powerful officer was likely to speak to him so freely. Giving advice without being asked would have been counted as insubordination.
The colonel was quiet for a long time. He moved over to his desk and scribbled a hurried note onto the paper. He handed it to Silver, who checked it over.
"That is nice. But how will you make sure it gets to the king?" The Guardian passed it back to the colonel.
"If I send a courier on our fastest horse, I should be able to have him catch up with Gilbert and the detail before they reach the palace. Do you think the woman with him would be able to get the message into the king's hands directly?" Jay watched as Silver nodded.
"I think she can actually make sure that Gilbert himself delivers it, which would be better over all," the Guardian answered.
"Then I shall instruct Gilbert to act accordingly." Jay wrote off another quick note for Gilbert. He placed the communication inside an envelope and affixed it with a military seal. Then he wrapped Gilbert's letter around the first and sealed it as well. "I will send it off as soon as you go."
"Then I will be off as soon as possible." Silver stood from his seat.
"Thank you Guardian, for your help. That would have been much harder without you." Jay reached out and shook the man's forearm.
"We both want to protect this land and its people. I am glad I was useful." Just as Silver was about to disappear into the darkness, a final thought occurred to him. "Colonel? Didn't you say you had a warning for me?"
Jay gave a crooked smile. "Ah yes, that. As the colonel of this fort, I must warn you that if I ever catch you sneaking around my fort like a thief in the night again, I will have you arrested and tried for trespassing… or worse."
Silver bowed slightly. "That will never be an issue," he promised. He smirked at the thought. 'Because you'll never catch me.'
In a moment, Silver was gone.