“You have a mole. “
Seis paces in the presence of Trinsi, Usel, Lunetta and Cheron. Together, they stand in the General’s private office. His office is a product of recent renovations, but the location is familiar to Seis. It once housed the quarters of an old friend. A friend long gone now.
She continues, “This is someone that started six to eight months before the incident with your family. This person had access to the supply of Waters of Ryn. Unfortunately, many nations are familiar with the ceremony, but most likely the culprit is of a northern town. They are not Storm themselves, as they would not expose themselves so early.” Cheron has never heard Seis speak so coherently and as serious as she has today. To be frank, he often thought of her as all bronze and not much brains, but she was proving herself otherwise. “Finally, they are not a Knight of the Syardom, but work closely with them, as an armourer, a smith, a beast master, etcetera. Is any of this setting off any bells?”
Lunetta glances at Usel with eyes that say ‘should we tell her?’ Usel responds with a look of uncertainty. At any rate, they both know that the long silence has given them away.
“We have someone already in custody for the incident…” Lunetta admits.
Seis’s eyebrows shoot up, “Is that right? Confession and all?”
“Of course not,” Trinsi huffs with a frown. She’s yet to cast any other expression that isn’t annoyance so far.
“No, he is adamant that it’s a mistake,” the future Queen sighs, “but he fits the time frame. He is a beast master from the north, and he was caught trespassing in the vaults the day of the incident.”
“May I speak to him?”
---
The five make their way down to the lowest levels of the castle. The day has been long and the sun is sinking into the horizon. The air is energizing despite this, unlike that of the dry and unforgiving Southern Falls. The warmth absorbed by the thick walls during the day, radiates off the stone, keeping even the deeper chambers of the castle warm.
They pass a number of knights on their way in, all of them swooping out of the way as the heir to the Syardom walks along. Cheron is amused and impressed by all of it.
Barred cells are lined against the wall, but most are empty. Something that Cheron and Seis did not foresee. The realm celebrates two hundred years of peace, but Seis is having a hard time believing that the recent incident with Lunetta’s family had been the only threat to the crown as of late? Do they not have petty criminals here? Is the Syardom truly the modern day paradise it renders itself to be? It appears so.
“Here he is.”
They stop in front of one of the cells that at first looks lacking of any occupants. At the General’s voice however, something stirs from the cot in the corner.
“Again?” the man’s voice asks wearily peering over his shoulder. “Wait, who are they?”
Lunetta ignores his question, “Olan please explain to us how you were in the vault.”
The man rolls over, sitting up on his cot.
“Your Highness, I already told you my side of the story, I can’t do anything else if you don’t believe me.” His voice is rough and resenting.
“But you never told us how you entered the vault.”
“Yes I did, I was following someone else.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know!”
“But you understand how this looks bad right?”
“Yes! But you’re not listening to me! I am trying to help you.”
Seis cuts in, “Sir, where are you from?”
“Boulsen Creek.” The prisoner’s voice is quick to answer. He squints at the orange light coming from the group’s direction, his eyes straining to make the stranger’s face.
“Why did you move to the Syardom?” the Ester continues, taking over the conversation.
“I saw a post for a beast master in the paper.”
“And why were you in the vault?”
“I noticed someone walking into it, I thought they were lost. I was going to tell them that they weren’t allowed in the vault. I shoulda minded my own business.” The bearded man scans Seis up and down. “Who are you? I haven’t seen you before.”
She doesn’t answer his question either, “You say that you can help us, did you see something?”
“Yes, the man who went into the vault was wearing a stable uniform,” he overlooks Trinsi’s grunt and the roll of her eyes. Seis is beginning to wonder if they’ll ever roll out of her head at the constant interval she’s been rolling them. The prisoner clarifies, “He was a redhead. There are no redheads that I know of who work in the stables.”
The Ester glances at Lunetta, who stands with her arms crossed over her chest. “He’s right, but we haven’t been able to find anyone matching that description, or anyone else who saw this person.”
“No offense Lady Lunetta, but everyone and anyone that could have seen anything is dead-”
“Watch it!” Trinsi snaps at the uncultured man behind bars, Lunetta raises her hand to silence her. The gesture must come as a reflex to her from the amount of time she spends with her quick-tempered knight.
“I believe him,” Cheron mumbles but is immediately stilled by a glare from Trinsi.
“I also believe him,” Seis agrees, much to everyone’s surprise. This including Cheron.
“May I ask you to elaborate?” General Usel inquires politely.
“He’s been here long enough, if he were working with the Storms he would be dead by now. They’re not in the habit of keeping ends loose. If word hasn’t gotten out that your red-haired intruder was spotted, he might be around. If word has gotten out that they were spotted, chances are he’s dead.” She turns back to face Usel and Lunetta. “Have you taken on any extra outside help since the incident?”
“We haven’t as a precautionary measure.”
“Then your mole is gone, let’s move with caution regardless.”
With a bleak nod, Lunetta apologizes to the bearded man in the cell. “Release him,” she tells Trinsi, who can’t believe what she’s hearing.
“Just like that? You’re going to listen to her? We barely know her.” She doesn’t care if Seis is present to hear her anymore. For all she knows, Seis and the prisoner could both be working with the Storms. Not that she can see any significant value in rescuing a rat like this man, Trinsi doesn’t have an idea as to how they think, there might be a sort of convoluted plan in all this.
Lunetta stares at her friend with a somber expression. She recognizes that her friend is upset and feels guilty for what she hasn’t told her: “Trin… we have nothing else. This is it. Usel and I, we ran through the data- before we went to go see Ester Seis. We got to the same conclusion as Seis. We are going to lose.”
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