"We've lost contact with our people in Dabirri."
The old dwarf had an expression on his face that was somewhere between frustration and fury.
"How could it have happened so quickly ? The last information we had was that the horde was a week's march away. Or perhaps I should say a week's shamble. They don't usually seem to have a sense of urgency."
Sitting opposite him at the table, Sabine idly flipped over a paper, some kind of report.
"They moved quickly enough when they took Ciudad Cassaro," she murmured. "Three days from San Felro to breaching the city walls. That's faster than our armies move."
The two of them sat for a while in glum silence, each processing the news and thinking through their ideas for a response. They knew they had privacy here; the small private chamber was deep below Duke Guthrun's citadel and was well screened against scrying.
Image created by AI in Wombo.art
Image created by AI in Wombo.art
They made a strange pair, a skinny middle-aged woman with bleak eyes set in a careworn face, and a battle-scarred dwarf who was wider around the waist than he was tall and was most definitely past his prime. Their relationship would best be described as "complicated". Each of them was a spymaster, but each controlled an operation for a different ruler.
The two rulers were allied, but in turn had a complex relationship all of their own.
Queen Shrekana claimed the throne of Jakta which had been seized by Gortig von Telram when the royal family had all died in the fire a couple of years previously.
Duke Guthrun ruled the Western Wilderland, having led it in a vicious war of independence against the Jaktan armies led by then-Count Gortig. The end result had been a treaty of federation, Jakta and Wilderland each independent but owing allegiance to one single crown. Now that crown sat on Gortig's head and the Wilderland owed him fealty. Duke Guthrun hated him (it was pretty mutual), and was in rebellion against the crown of Jakta by hosting Shrekana. Unless he helped Shrekana win, which would make both of their problems go away.
Just to complicate things further, both sides in this incipient civil war had been forced to agree a truce. A greater enemy threatened not just them, but the whole of the civilised realms of Argull; a ravening horde of undead sweeping north from Lymbrium Nomoth Klasmet.
Image by Enrique Meseguer from Pixabay
It was Sabine who broke the silence.
"We need more information, Sir Galuk. We need to know what happened, and what changed. I guess that means we need to send a single agent, the best we've got."
She pulled out a crystal ball, saying "I'll contact Celeste and get her on the case straight away. Tara Von Ulthar will probably go as well, to back her up with a bit of firepower."
Galuk raised a hand. "Not so fast. Celeste is good, but as subtle as dragonfire on a dark night. She stands out wherever she goes, she can't help it. I think Zithaka would be better for a job like this."
"Zithaka ?" Sabines eyebrows lifted in surprise. Probably a calculated gesture. "She's just a kid, and a total loose cannon. If you send her, she'll come up with some mad scheme of her own, all idealism and fantasy. Do you even know where she is right now, how to get in contact with her ? She's bound to be up to some crazy illegal caper !"
Galuk grinned, the scars on his face moving like some kind of weird flexible tic-tac-toe board.
"I know exactly where she is. Kelos, hunting down the remnants of a bunch of cultists who thought worshipping the undead would spare them. So not far from Dabirri, she can be there within the week."
The grin spread wider. "As for being just a kid, well, she was that ten years ago. Now, it's just a façade she maintains when it serves her purpose. She can be almost invisible when she needs to be. Your network is good, I admit it. But if they couldn't keep tabs on her, that proves she's the best we've got. If she fails, we'll send Celeste. But she won't fail."
Sabine raised her wine glass, a rueful expression admitting defeat. "It's true. We thought she was in Tiraz, or maybe Tallshavn. Send her, and let her know she'll have all the backup she needs from my people."
