PI: Fort Dusk (Samheen 29th)

[Grant]

There were no more words between them for a time, the scout's only reaction a swift shrug to dismiss the answer before she turned and sped off through the forest, moving with some speed. Agile and fit, Sharaz set a brutal pace, but moved through the forest with something not unlike uncertainty. After a generation of captivity below the surface of the world, the forest was rather unknown to the dark adhiel...and as such, they navigated it rather poorly if Sharaz was any indication of such.

The journey to Fort Dusk was a blur of movement that spread over the next day and a half. Sharaz interrupted their travel once to take shelter from the sun in a shallow grotto, relaxing and sleeping for a few marks and eating a curious ration of what looked like ivory or bone, but could be bitten and chewed like a hard cake or biscuit.

As the sun rose on the 29th, the walls of Fort Dusk could be seen rising up from the rocky, forested hills just ahead. Of walls, there were four, each of crude design enclosed to form a protective square. The stones semed to be...overgrown by lichens or moss, and a strange system of ropes ran from the forest floor up to the highest point of those walls, each rope holding countless branches, shrubs, and even logs in their grasp. The effect was immediately clear, of course: Fort Dusk had been camoflaged.

"We are here. You must deliver your report to Keeper Aukon personally. He will relay your words to the Commander, if they have value," Sharaz pointed forward to the only break in the crude, unusual walls...a small doorway that allowed access into the Fort. Curiously, Raevyn could spot no barbican or gatehouse whatsoever protecting the open doorway...and the Fort, while impressive amid the otherwise unbroken wilderness, was strangely weak compared to the monuments of fortification she had seen in the Western Kingdoms. "Fare well, Just Raevyn," murmured Sharaz, her crouching form motionless as she left Raevyn to proceed to the fortress itself.

[Raevyn D`Altamooriana]

The torrid pace of the last few days journey had been more than Raevyn had bargained for. It made her feel surprisingly out of shape. The only extensive running she had ever done had been her Emerald Guard training back in Taloh. Of course there was that time in King's Court however where she displayed her surprisingly effective tactical evasive manuverings. Say what you will, but it takes a wily, albeit scared to death adhiel to escape an angry charging mob.

Sharaz had unexpectedly left Raevyn to her own devices once the two arrived. Something that could have proved a fatal error had Raevyn actually been a spy for the Oneist's. Sharaz had taken for granted that just because Raevyn was a dark adhiel that it meant she was one of them. It would be a point that the Gaurdswoman would bring up to Aukon once she found out just where exactly he was.

The assassin was by no means an engineer. She was far from it, however the differences in the structures of the Fort Dusk, and the surface fortresses was one that almost anyone could see.

"Farewell just Sharaz," Raevyn said before departing. It was echoing the sentiment. The assassin wondered if the two would meet again though. It had been some time since the dark adhiel had been amonst her own kind. The last time being of course that fatal day in the blazing sun of Amun Rah in the oasis. A day that Raevyn would gladly forget ever happened.

[Grant]

Another curious absence from Fort Dusk was a proper clearing. The undergrowth and foliage had been cleared away along the grounds around the outer curtain, but the trees themselves...the tall, majestic trees...had been spared all the way up to within ten yards of the fortress wall, a serious deficiency when considered by Western eyes. All of the trees nearing the fort were splashed with a paint of varying colors that Raevyn could only take to be range markers, but beyond this, the trees were largely left intact...and so she had a very short walk to reach the entrance to the fortress itself.

Thankfully, the entrance to Fort Dusk had been protected...though many might argue against the durability and stamina of those defenses. A large pit that reached far, far down gaped across the entrance, with only a loose-layed drawbridge run over the gap such that it could be lifted and joined to the inner courtyard to form a barrier to fill the gap. If the drawbridge were pulled away, the gap would be perhaps five yards across...enough to stop casual attacks, but hardly adequate to confound professional sappers or engineers.

Flanking the entrance were four soldiers of Gulanadur. The soldiers of the achadhiel nation were dressed in dark livery, typical for their history...and each wore a helmet made of a material that Raevyn couldn't easily place initially, a type of Khurbul or boiled leather that was both rigid...but didn't have the hammered strokes or polished sheet of any metal she could recognize. Leading these four was a knight wearing more traditional leathers, but his leathers were studded and scaled with plates of the same curious material. The knight watched the newcomer approach with apprehension and distrust, his flaring eyes inspecting Rae carefully before he nodded and offered her what amounted to a polite greeting.

"Welcome, traveller. I am Aukon D'tar-Devir, Heart Keeper for the Great Ascent. You...aren't with the scouts. May I ask your name, and from where you have come?"

[Raevyn D`Altamooriana]

For an instant her heart felt like it skipped a beat or two. Even though Raevyn didn't know much of these forces from their attire, she knew war, she was a combat veteran. Raevyn also remembered well the nature of her own kind and the ruthlessness that could be expected of them. The assassin knew better than to lie to him, it would surely mean her death, not that she had a reason to lie to begin with.

With caution Raevyn approached the man who spoke. She made sure to make it clear that she didn't intend any harm or malicious intent. Her hands were more than a safe distance from any of her weapons so that there would be no doubt in anyone's mind whatsoever.

"Thank you Lord Devir," the dark adhiel responded not knowing what is title was, while showing a modicum of respect to his position. Then for the first time in as long as she could remember she spoke her name, her full name. Words that she hadn't used together since she had originally left Gulanadur a long time ago.

"My name sir," she paused slightly before continuing. "My name is Raevyn. Raevyn D'Altamooriana from House D'Altamooriana." For a moment there was a certain satisfaction the fell over her, then came a moment of doubt and uncertainty. There was nothing to be ashamed of, or to be threatened by. She didn't think so at least, but uttering her full name for the first time again was something that made her slightly nervous. She then continued.

"I am not with the scouts sir," the assassin then added. "However I have travelled far with valuable information. Information sir that can be used to help fight the approaching enemy."

Never before had she been so straightfoward with someone. She had always told only what she wanted to be known. However she knew the peril she could be in if she weren't completely open, and honest.

[Grant]

Behind the sentinels, there were semi-permanent buildings and tents that might have handily housed several hundred adhiel. While Raevyn couldn't see the opening to Gulanadur from where she stood, it seemed rather likely that the hole would no doubt be within as well, for the ground inside the outer curtain was broken, rocky, uneven, and clearly not ideal for a fortification...unless it protected something shockingly vital.

The man that had called himself Aukon glanced up over Raevyn's shoulder as if he expected to see pursuers behind her...though his glance was no more than a flicker as he inspected her more closely. "Then you came from above?" he said, his tone particularly even and without inflection or bias. If he were impressed, astonished, spiteful, disappointed, excited, pleased, or enraged, it seemed likely that he would speak in much the same tone. Heart Keeper Aukon was a man that did not easily reveal his thoughts or feelings. "I'll take you to Cannes Scha'mur, Lord of the Acent. But before I do so...I must know just what enemy approaches? Do you perhaps refer to the Askuwheteau tribe nearby?"

[Raevyn D`Altamooriana]

"Yes," Raevyn started to answer, "I have come from above sir." Again, the dark adhiel found no need or want to lie to him. His demeanor was shocking to her as she expected a different reaction from him than the one she received. It shouldn't have come as much of a surprise however, Raevyn barely showed emotion either. When she did, as was most often the case when it came to her, it was anger, fury, or rage.

The assassinhad been away from her native lands for some time now. This was evident by her having a difficulties understanding some of the terminology that Aukon was using. She had no clue as th what the Lord of The Ascent was, or what it meant. Raevyn thought to herself who or what the Askuwheteau tribe was. The poor girl didn't even know anything about this fort, until just recently.

"Askuwheteau tribe," Raevyn repeated. "I am afraid sir that it has been sometime I have spent on the surface world. I know not of who you speak." She then added what she knew about the humans, the followers of Dominicus. She didn't tell him everything of course. There was no need to have to repeat herself once she and Aukon reached Cannes Scha'mur.

[Grant]

"The...Askuwheteau tribe. A centaur clan that patrols around Fort Dusk," replied the Heart Keeper evenly. He motioned towards the glades behind Raevyn with casual dismissal. "Thankfully, they are few, but they attend to us still...and will happily see us driven back down into the depths. Do not burden yourself with any feelings of ignorance, D`Altamooriana. None of us were familiar with their kind before the Ascent...and now that we fight them, we've come to understand them very, very well."

Turning, Aukon motioned Raevyn forward through the narrow opening in the Fortress curtain and into the interior of Fort Dusk. He moved with direct purpose, waving off the guards around him and treading among the tents and stacks of materials gathered in the Fort. Their destination was abundantly clear the moment they cleared the entry portal: the central tent, circular in shape, held a prominent banner of the Scha'mur clan above it, proof that this Lord of the Ascent would be within.

If Heart Keeper Aukon held any interest regarding the followers of Dominicus, he revealed nothing of it...and sought to learn nothing, either, listening passively to Raevyn without pressuring for any detail. He only spoke when they reached the pickets surrounding the Lord's tent, pickets that ringed the temporary structure at more than three paces distant such that they could intercept any would-be eavesdroppers or spies. Announcing his intentions and the visitor's name, Aukon brought Raevyn past them and to the tent itself, pulling aside a shimmering curtain made of a milky, almost transparent leather to reveal the Lord himself within.

"Send her in, Aukon. Then leave us. Send your scouts southwest to insure she was not followed," came the voice of Cannes. As adhiel went, his voice was deep and flat as well as rough and broken, as if he had suffered trauma to his larynx in the past. He stood tall for an adhiel, perhaps a full half foot over five, and he wore a suit of armor that gave him to take on the appearance of an insect. Black and yet iridescent, it's segmented pieces formed an almost complete fortress over his body to compete with Western Plate mail, but his was formed of the same dark chitin that must have been so common underground in Gulanadur. His helmet, placed upon a nearby table, was smooth and rounded, but decorated with spikes and horns from insects that must have, in life, been of an impressive size, with one forward horn reaching upward at almost a full foot in length.

The Lord Commander himself stood before a large brass mirror mounted to a thatched pole at the center of his tent. He stared at his own reflection with careful criticism before he raised his dagger again, it's gleaming, sharp edge scraping against the side of his head to remove even the most stubborn of stubble from the side of his clearly visible scalp. Only a single lock of white hair grew from a patch at the back of his skull, a patch that was long and braided and reached down to the middle of his back.

"So. A D'Altamooriana finds her way to Fort Dusk," began the Lord Commander once Aukon had bowed and disappeared outside the tent. Glancing over at Raevyn, his harsh face scanned over her fatigued form before he turned his attention back to his mirror. Scrape. "So you have information about the surface? About...Dominicans, perhaps? Have you been to the West, then?"

[Raevyn D`Altamooriana]

"I have Sir," Raevyn answered the adhiel before her. He looked as though he had seen his fair share of battle himself, or perhaps it was just the rough life that one lives in the darkness and danger of Gulanadur. "I know much of the Dominicans," she then continued telling him of what she most recently remembered. That being the great flying ships that made her sick to her stomach. She told him of the outpost and how she had set it ablaze the morning that she left their ranks to find her own kind once more.

Raevyn went on to tell the man about the portals that she had been through as well, and how throughthe use of portals people could travel great distances in short periods of time. It didn't dawn on Raevyn that he might have already known these things, but that wasn't her concern. The assassin also told the Lord Commander about the demons she had fought in Taquar. She even lowered her shirt slightly around her neck to expose the wound she had received where Draydis had stabbed her in the chest.

That of course lead the assassin to tell him of her time in the Emerald Guard as well as the training she had received while there. In fact, the armor she wore now was that of the famed Adhiel force. Raevyn told him everything she could, she took time to make sure she went over as much as she could with as much detail as her memory could muster.

"There is," the assassin paused briefly. It surprised her that she had took so long to get to her next subject. "There is one more thing sir," she said to him in her most solemn and stern of voices. "I know not only of the Dominicans sir, but I know Dominicus as well." She wanted to spit on the ground as his name rolled off of her tongue but didn't due to respect for the Lord Commander.

"It was in a great desert," her memory still vivid of those fateful days. "It was in Amun... something, that I can not remember." Raevyn told him of the events that lead up to her meeting with the god of the humans. The search for the Stones, the battle with the human forces and their escape up the mountain. Raevyn even went on to explain that some sort of magick must have been performed by him as the armor she had been wearing suddenly changed into something else.

For a moment Raevyn doubted he would belive such a tale. She wouldn't have believed it either if someone else had said those things to her. She told him of how she just felt invigorated as well while the phenomena happened. Then with a look of overwhelming sadness, even for her she told the Lord Commander of how Dominicus had began to slaughter the thousands upon thousands of adhiel from the high mountain top where they stood.

"As far as the eye could see," she said, "nothing but adhiels trapped in what appeared to be glass. The horrfied looks on their faces forever frozen." The visualization of it all was enough to make her a little bit weak in the knees, as if she would faulter while standing there explaining this to him. Yet she wouldn't dare, not if she could help it. Her ego, and pride wouldn't allow it. It wouldn't allow for anyone to see any weakness in her.

"That day I swore to myself that somehow, someway he must pay for his since against my kind," Her voice was full of steely determination as the hatred began to well up inside her once more. It began to breathe a new life into her, as if her hate was replenishing her like a mother's milf to a newborn.

"I do not care how many humans I have to kill to get to him," she then went on, but the words suddenly stopped flowing freely from her mouth. She had whipped herself up into almost a frenzy. A maniacal frenzy that could only be sated in one way.

[Grant]

"Ha!" barked Cannes as he rubbed a towel to his shaved scalp. The towel was unlike anything Raevyn had seen...and unless her eyes were mistaken, it was a rag made of pure, white silk. "So you would recommend me to turn my forces against these Westerners, would you? You know...you are the first to advise such a course. Between our hatred of their One God, our hatred of the adhiel that have lived above us for so long, and our hatred for each other, we have found ourselves with too many throats and not enough knives, have we not?" he gasped, smiling some secret smile to himself as he inspected his work in the imperfect mirror one last time.

Turning, he gave Raevyn a cursory inspection before he moved to the table to seat himself behind it, using it much like a desk. He didn't offer Raevyn a seat as was custom in other lands, for he had taken to treating her as a soldier (something of a honor considering her circumstances). "So the Westerners aren't following you right this flicker. Which is good. I still have time to make a decision. You've told me your story, D`Altamooriana...now let me tell you mine, and perhaps you will learn something in it."

"I have been given the assignment of Ascent Lord to placate certain...factions...below. The Queen had little choice in the matter, but she chose me due to my unorthodox clan. The Scha'mur Clan is far from the largest or the most influential...but I am patron among them, and I have an interest to win enough glory, power, and prestige for the Scha'mur to rival either the Devir or the D'tar. To do this, I must do well here in Pan's Isle. The Queen has asked me to do nothing save to fortify and strengthen our position here such that we will never be benighted beneath the earth again. This is her only wish...for if this happens, she will be credited with our escape and survival. However, the patricians...and for that matter, the bulk of Gulanadur...would be pleased to see the clans and people of Pan's Isle eradicated in revenge for yahren of captivity below the surface. I confess, this is a lovely cause. It would...please me to show them why they leap at shadows and fear the night."

"And now I have you. The D`Altamooriana clan would slay the Westerners...though without the Westerners, we would not have come so far. Do you really think Fort Dusk would have survived if they had not arrived when they did? How many centaurs would have come to drive us back down if they had not come? We face perhaps five...maybe six dozen out in the woods right now. Only a tenth of their strength, if our scouts can be believed...and we face so few because so many of them are to the Southwest fighting the Westerners you so despise."

"So what am I to do, Raevyn D`Altamooriana?" asked the Commander, though Raevyn could tell the question to be nothing more than rhetorical. A man like Cannes would never ask such a question if he didn't already know the answer. "It seems I must kill them all. Only by complete conquest of this island will the Scha'mur Clan rise to a power that would match the Queen herself. Everyone would have reason to rejoice...all the patricians, all of our People, and even their Queen...and only then will we have our justice and vengeance...and only then will we force the world to recognize us for the injustices visited upon us. You may add another God and his people to our list of enemies, D'Altamooriana...you may add ten...but it does very little to change our situation, does it? So tell me this, then."

"What is it that you would have me do? Oh, I have far more troops than you might expect...far more than you can see. But...how do you believe they should be used?" asked the Commander, this time with less rhetoric.

[Raevyn D`Altamooriana]

Raevyn paused for a few flickers and gave great thought to the words that The Ascent Lord had given her. She didn't want to look a fool in front of the man, nor did she want to show any weakness whatsoever. Even though the young adhiel had seen more than her fair share of combat in her years, she didn't think that her knowledge in that affair could possibly compare to his wisdom.

If left to her vices, if the choice was hers and hers alone to make she would have gladly leapt at the opportunity to gain some sort of vengeance on the humans, more specifically the followers of The One. Yet that was something that given the information she had just received was probably something that for the time being, would have to wait.

Her mind raced as she processed what she knew, and what she was just told by Cannes. Defying the Queen she knew would be a fatal mistake on his part. However the young adhiel was always looking for ways to get ahead. What better way to gain the money, fortune and fame that she wanted, or would later need than by falling in the good graces of the Queen. If there was a way to use this to her advantage, Raevyn would surely find it.

"Then sir, you should do as the Queen commands my lord," Raevyn answered. There was almost a new boldness to the way she now spoke. Perhaps she felt a little more at ease, or maybe just a little bit more confident. "The Westerners do not pose as a great threat as I thought they had at the moment sir. However I do believe that in the future conflict with them will be inevitable."

Again she thought over the words spoken by Cannes, and of the immediate threat that the hated centaurs posed. "Perhaps would should focus first on the centaurs then, while they are distracted. Fighting a battle on two fronts will certainly be a difficult, nigh impossible task for the. Their numbers will surely diminish will focusing on two separate enemies."

That seemed like the obvious thing to do Raevyn thought at first. Yet it was so obvious to her that surely someone else had thought of that very same thing. By doing so that could be walking right into a well conceived trap. There had to be something else, a different way.

"Perhaps we could convince the centaurs," she paused. Her brief bravado faultered momentarily. "No," she found herself almost silly for thinking the outlandish. Raevyn suddenly felt like Cannes would be staring a hole in her, she turned to face him and looked him directly in the eye.

"The centaur you say that we are facing are facing the Westerners you say," Reavyn than said to him. "Perhaps we can convince them that we are not the real enemy, but the Westerners are. We could work some sort of alliance between the two races and fight together against one common foe. I know this sounds foolish sir, but it is something that not even the centaur themselves would expect from us."

It made percect sense to Raevyn. Then again all of her thoughts made perfect sense to her, no matter how far fetched her ideas seemed.

"Of course if we were to reach an accord with the hated centaur my lord, certain terms would have to be met."

[Grant]

Nodding at Raevyn's words, Cannes sat back and considered quietly for a moment. "Enemies everywhere, D'Altmooriana. Enemies everywhere. On the Western shore, the West has landed...and they've brought with them the horrors you describe. And from the remainder of the island, we have the Panlings...and their bloody centaurs that have enjoyed hunting and slaying our kind for countless yahren. I've even heard rumor that Ursa Etheria fell to the ground somewhere in the area, spilling out their inhabitants into the forests around us. Have we escaped hell only to find the inferno? Hahahaha!"

The laughter from Cannes Scha'mur was a very unsettling thing. One had the distinct impression of unhinged insanity when he laughed, the kind of insanity that drove a mass murderer to laugh with every new victim he chopped into small, wet pieces. Combined with the man's very obvious martial prowess, it was no great surprise he was the patriarch of the Scha'mur clan...and the assigned Lord of the Ascent. "I agree that a peace with the centaur tribes would answer nicely, regardless of the political circumstances in Pan's Isle. Unfortunately, I don't think such a thing is possible. Let me tell you why, and perhaps you might find fault in my logic."

"The centaur were...perhaps the perfect tool to use to keep us...controlled. They're tribal...a culture of numerous tribes...such that no single entity controls them all. That means that we can't negotiate with them as a whole. Second, they're idealists. They believe it is their...Pan Given Duty to guard the world against us, if you can believe it. Next, they're very...primitive in their ways, such that they don't use money as we understand it. They still operate on a system of direct barter, and they do not value metal currency or even precious stones. And finally, they have something about them...something in their natural design...that renders magic fundamentally useless near them. Oh, and...they are nominally allied to the surface Panlings, of course, and they have demonstrated that this alliance has only strengthened during their recent trials."

"When you combine these facts, you end up with the perfect guards to keep us underground. They cannot be bribed...they cannot be deceived...and they cannot be deluded. Frankly, after inspecting them for so long, I began to believe the legend of their creation and purpose myself. Only a God could have planned and presented a race so perfectly designed to meet such a specific purpose. Frankly, D'Altmooriana, I'm not a faithful man...to any deity...but I can certainly understand how others can choose to be so. So...while I agree that an accord with the centaurs should answer perfectly, I suspect that might be impossible...unless you've learned something more."

"And that brings us to the West. As you've said, they might be negotiable....but only for as long as it takes to secure the island. It would be best if we could insure that the West and the Panlings fought to the bloody, bitter end...and that as many of both factions were killed as might be possible. How can we do this, D'Altmooriana?" Cannes smiled, demonstrating that his questioning had turned once again to the rhetorical. He already knew how. "How do we secure our freedom first from the Panlings and their horrible centaurs...and then from the West and their terrifying One God?"

"Consider this. What if we were to offer our assistance to the Westerners through contract to their leader? As you've said, the West is far more organized and civil than the centaurs. They have a leader, and through this man or woman we can bind a contract. While under contract, we can sortie in force to fight the Panlings, insuring they are weakened such that they can never again hope to push us beneath the surface. Then, when the time is right, we can insure the Western Leader meets with...an accident...and leaves them with no organization. That would nullify our contract, and leave them helpless...and we would remain the dominant force on Pan's Isle."

"So what do you think of this plan, D'Altmooriana? This means I'll need to put people in place quickly...and I suspect I might have to draft you and send you back to arrange our affairs with the Westerners."

[Raevyn D`Altamooriana]

It took a burn or two for Raevyn to wrap her skull around the concept of her going back to where she had just came from so to speak. This was the first time she had been 'home' in yahren, the last thing she wanted to do was leave it after all that time away. Not that Raevyn was the sentimental type. Fact is she was far from it, or at least she would like to think of herself in that manner.

Personal feeling aside there was the fact that she had an oath, to herself, that the next time she would return to King's Court it would be to destroy King's Court. To burn Domincus' city to the ground. This was hardly what she had in mind for her planned return to the city. It was almost enough to make her forget her crash course in the anatomy of the centaur that Cannes had just given her. There had to be another way, there just had to. Of course things of this nature were more suited to Raevyn's abilities than the open combat she often found herself in, she was still a bit reluctant.

If there were fault in Cannes' logic she could find none, save for one point which even he might not be aware of. That being the King himself. A detail which Raevyn felt would be of tremendous importance to not only Cannes, but perhaps the War itself.

"Their King," the assassin started, "he was ways about him my lord." Again the young woman found herself making sure to give her superior his due respect. This in itself was no small task considering that Raevyn had little respect for anyone the past few yahren. "He can speak to you in your mind. This I know as he had done it to me."

Raevyn told Cannes of how despite the fact that she was in disguise and unknown to the many people around her that day. King Balthasar not only communicated with her, but he also looked directly at her in the process of doing so. "It was as if he was staring right into my soul, like I was there alone instead if one face in a mob." The former Emerald Guard continued stating that somehow he would know they were there, and that he could possibly find out about the deceit or betrayal of any deal made between the dark adhiel and the Oneists.

It was then that she saw the irony of this conversation between the two. She was dicussing tactics with someone far her superior in this matter. Her only experience outside of combat was when her forces were routed by the humans in the desert. Something that Raevyn felt that Cannes might already be well aware of. Yet under the circumstances as they were then, she doubted anyone would've been successful.

[Grant]

"Stop right there," interrupted the Ascent Lord, a serious breach of etiquette...but an unintentional one judging by the strange look that came over his face. "Did you say...the King? Is he here, in Pan's Isle?" he asked, his expression still unreadable. "Or...is he at least expected to come to Pan's Isle soon?"

[Raevyn D`Altamooriana]

Cannes sudden outburst nearly startled the young assassin. However it wasn't enough to make her lose her calm or forget what she was saying. As hard as Raevyn tried she couldn't remember the whereabouts of the King. The last thing she knew was that he was still in King's Court. A possibilty that she hoped wasn't the case because frankly she didn't want to go back there.

Raevyn also didn't want to misinform her the adhiel that stood before her. That would be almost as bad as lying. With a look of stern determination Raevyn tried to remember where she thought of the places he could be. Something which would be alot easier if she wasn't clinging to the solid wood floor of an airship for the fear of falling up out of it on her journey to Pan's Isle. There was also the amount of portal travel that she had been through. From Taquar to King's Court and back she had travelled. It all ran together and Raevyn couldn't put a definitive answer to the question posed to her.

"I am sorry sir," she started. Her voice not weak and apologetic like a child's, but the strong confident voice in which she normally spoke. "The last I saw of him sir, he was still in King's Court," she then went on to say. Raevyn also told him of how she knew that there was a possibility that the King could be in Taquar because her whole reason for being in King's Court in the first place was to find out information on what the King intended to do.

Another thing popped into her mind and she was quick to tell Cannes what she knew.

"Then there are the portals sir," the assassin started. "I have travelled in them myself on more than one occasion. They allow you to travel incredible distances in what seems to be just a few flickers." The immensity of what she just said hit her all at once. "With the power of the portals my lord, he, and perhaps entire armies can be moved," there was a long pause, "anywhere at anytime."

[Tristam]

Thread skilled.