by Zack Finley
We had our traitor. Even while Inoa was trying to break through his shield, Argon and I prepared to swap out the oxygen to secure those in the next room.
Argon stayed at the peephole, and I walked to the door, telling Jorvik I was coming in. Argon swapped all the oxygen out in the area near the commander, but only half in the other half of the room. When Inoa announced the commander was down, I burst through the door and cuffed him.
The others in the room were drowsy from lack of oxygen and were slow to notice what was happening. I stunned the traitor, the two guards, and the transport mage, letting Jorvik and King Arvich recover as Argon restored oxygen in the room. Argon and Inoa brought the mage cuffs and secured the teleport mage, just in case.
Neither Jorvik nor the king was prepared to listen to my explanation after seeing their comrades collapse stunned in the room. Had he not been concerned about the king's safety, I felt sure Jorvik would have teleported away. I knew we'd have a host of reinforcements arriving at any moment.
"Stop," I roared, paralyzing both the king and Jorvik.
"Inoa, take the traitor to Klee. We'll contact you once we are done here." I sent a message to Argon to ward the room to keep people from breaking or teleporting in.
"I promise you will not be harmed. I didn't expect to find the Losan traitor so easily, but now we have a chance to save your kingdom. But only if you mount a series of raids over the next few hours to make sure Losan survives the week."
I could see Jorvik calming down, but the king was enraged. I freed them both from the waist up and sat in a chair near them. "Jorvik, we have warded this room against entry, so you might tell your guildmates to standby. We have done everything possible to avoid getting anyone hurt and would hate for something to happen by accident."
"Release me at once," commanded King Arvich. "What have you done with Allixon?"
"Were you aware Allixon is a mage?" I asked.
"He is no mage, I've known him for more than 50 years," spat Kind Arvich.
"The man you came to the meeting with is a mage," I stated. I knew Jorvik had truth sense and I suspected King Arvich had some type of truth amulet as well.
"That mage is the leader of a coup plotting to overthrow the Losan government and to collapse the kingdom's economy," I said. "If he succeeds, Losan will be the fourth country on the west coast to collapse in the past two months."
"If they are using the same pattern here as in Augun there are up to 20 more mages in Losan gathering forces for the overthrow attempt. Should any of them escape, there may be dire consequences for this kingdom," Argon added.
"With the commander of the Losan King's Guard compromised, we must be very careful in using guard units to corral the danger," I said.
"You will leave my kingdom at once," shouted King Arvich.
"Ramda, I need to communicate with King Rufix right away," I sent.
"He has one of your comcards. Let me get you together," Ramda replied.
"What can I do for you," commed King Rufix.
"Can I bring King Arvich to talk with you? He doesn't believe us about the coup, especially because the traitor was his guard commander."
"I haven't spoken with him in years, but we have a reasonable relationship, so bring him here if you think it will help," sent King Rufix.
"King Arvich do you know King Rufix of Augun," I asked.
"What does Rufix have to do with this?" King Arvich demanded.
"He has agreed to talk with you about how the coup developed in Augun. Or, I can take you to either Ylee or Kavil so you can see for yourself," I offered.
"He is right about Ylee, Kavil, and Augun," said Jorvik. "We sent guild members to the three cities to verify his reports. It is how he convinced me to invite you to the armorer's guild. Also, look at their armor. Each wears a set of the lost armors. I believe this indicates the gods have blessed their actions."
This pronouncement silenced the king.
"Of course, nothing was said about paralyzing my king or kidnapping the commander," growled Jorvik. "But, the reason we met in this clandestine way to avoid alerting the traitor in our midst. I never considered the commander could be a traitor, but the man they teleported away was definitely a mage."
"I’m sure he is an imposter,” I said. “We uncovered two traitors holding high positions in their respective governments. Under questioning, we determined they were mage doppelgangers. Spies took over the identity and physical appearance of the real officials. We believe the men the mages replaced are dead. None of those replaced had close family. Each replacement avoided any mage co-workers. We believe the imposters arrived months before the scheduled coup," I said.
"All evidence points to an identical tactic in Ylee and Kavil, but we haven't verified all aspects of it. The upheaval in those countries occurred weeks before we became aware of the devastation in Augun. We believe a single organization launched all of the attacks but have been unable to learn the true identity of the parent group," Argon said.
The king and Jorvik were still glaring at us. I could also tell they were digesting the information.
"King Arvich, we wanted to warn you directly. We couldn’t for fear it would precipitate the very coup we were trying to prevent. We convinced Jorvik to invite you here. It was a lucky break you brought the traitor with you. Once Jorvik confirmed the real Allixon was not a mage, we had to act. That was how Inoa identified the traitor in Klee and thwarted that assassination," I said.
"Do you want us to take you to see King Rufix in Augun or go to Ylee or to Kavil?" I asked both the king and Jorvik. "We can even take you to see one of the ex-slave camps in Augun we are emptying for King Rufix. The assassins brought in companies of slavers and marauders to terrorize the Augun countryside. In Ylee and Kavil that ended with sacking the main cities and destroying the waterfronts."
"I've known Rufix for most of my life. I've not been in Ylee or Kavil since my youth, and if the destruction is as you claim, I won’t recognize them. You have given me much to contemplate, but I will not do anything as a prisoner, you must release me at once," demanded the king.
"He is nearly convinced, but if he is released now, he will not act swiftly. I think we have to take him and Jorvik to see King Rufix. Jorvik is convinced but not comfortable with the way you are strong-arming his king," sent Argon.
"Jorvik, I'm taking you both to meet with King Rufix, please allow them to talk before teleporting away. It is critical King Arvich takes this threat seriously," I commed to Jorvik.
"If you cuff me, I'll be unable to teleport away," Jorvik sent.
I cuffed Jorvik, then released him and the king from their paralysis. Before either could do more than shift their weight, we teleported to the ballroom in Augun. Argon warned Ramda and Olive we were on our way. I specifically teleported into the ballroom to give King Rufix a moment to prepare.
The massive hole in the ballroom wall was still there, its repair not a big priority for the Augun group. The area remained a transit hub, and a guardsman saluted us before escorting us to King Rufix’s office.
A lot of noise and dust were coming from the corridors connecting to the collapsed area of the keep. I asked our escort about it, and he said the civilian corps was removing the debris and the remains.
Ramda escorted us in to see King Rufix the moment we arrived.
"Arvich, it’s good to see you," said King Rufix. "You too, Jorvik."
Rufix looked sternly at me, "I think we can dispense with the cuffs, don't you Duke Steve?"
"Sure, King Rufix, I just wanted to make sure we all got here without a problem." I removed Jorvik's cuffs and backed away.
"I think it would be better if you let a few old friends chat," suggested Rufix, indicating to Argon we might wish to leave the office area. "Ramda or Jorvik will contact you very soon."
We left, hoping Rufix could convince King Arvich to act quickly.
It had been several days since we spoke with Ramda and I was busy catching up on the happenings in Augun
while Argon commed Inoa.
The Augun mages were slowly reporting in, perhaps spurred by a combination of patriotism and economic incentives. The first groups to emerge were the mages who guided the barges, encouraged by the five bargemen we had recruited early in the fighting around Flom. Some goods and people were now moving up and downriver.
The Augun King's Guard was struggling to keep up with recruitment. They now had more volunteers than they had trainers.
The basas-based mail service was doing a booming business as families attempted to reconnect across Augun. King Rufix had already committed to keep this service active until further notice. Ramda used it daily to send out official proclamations and information to distribute throughout the kingdom. The king ordered the service expanded to include the villages along the river system as well as the nine slave camps. The garrison commanders in Asme and Flom were authorized to expand the service to other inland locations.
Ramda still maintained a com card network, but these were now restricted for emergency use only.
The king's guard garrisons at Asme and Flom were gearing up to move refugees from the slave camps into town and on to Augun if they desired. Most of those remaining other than our recruits had volunteered for the civilian corps. The king appointed a retired king's guard captain to take charge of the civilian corps, but it was just starting to get organized.
Argon looped me in to her conversation with Inoa. I asked her if we could include Jorvik.
Inoa agreed after a minor tweak to our communication link.
"Jorvik, I want you to hear this as I do," I sent. "We have information on Allixon."
"Hi Jorvik, I'm Inoa, we didn't quite meet in your conference room. We mean you and your king no harm, but we needed to capture the ringleader of the coup without alerting any of his squad of assassins," sent Inoa.
"Did it work?" Jorvik asked.
"He was overcome before he could alert anyone. We were lucky he just thought he was getting sleepy when he passed out," commed Inoa. "I have questioned him extensively, but much is hidden behind a black geas. We have to be very careful when approaching the most sensitive information to avoid triggering it. Since he is our only Losan captive, we are not pushing him very hard."
"Have you learned nothing?" asked Jorvik, letting his anger and frustration at our actions show through.
"The assassination is planned in nine days. The pirates are due to arrive in the Losan port any day now. One of the assassins has already hired the barges to transport them upriver. We have the identities of his accomplices. One big complication to removing them quickly is that Allixon has systematically purged the Losan King's Guard of trustworthy men over the past several months," Inoa sent. "While he has provided the names of scores of king's officers who were cashiered and could help reconstitute the new Losan King's Guard, this won't help us take down the assassins now."
"How many mages are involved in the plot?" I asked.
"With Allixon, there are 20. This seems to be their preferred pattern," Inoa responded. "Several are operating in pairs and a number as singles."
"How do they intend to launch the coup?" asked Argon.
"As Steve suspected, the assassins instigated the conflict on the wharf. Both sides were duped. They will be blamed when the Losan Keep is blown up, killing the king and most of his loyal followers. Allixon will then use the gutted king's guard to destroy Losan while the slavers plunder the countryside," summarized Inoa. "One positive development, Allixon did not involve the King's Guard mages. The guard captain in charge of the mages was isolated from the plot. Allixon was planning to call a mandatory meeting to kill them all before launching the main event."
"How sure are you of this information?" asked Jorvik.
"Allixon believes it, but we have no other cross-reference although Steve's intel from a ship captain in Losan harbor corroborates the timing. We'll need to question the accomplices to get more verification," Inoa replied. "It does match the pattern of their last two plots."
"I think you should join us, now," sent Jorvik.
I could tell Inoa was torn between returning to her questioning and complying, but the need to get King Arvich moving forward took priority. She already sent Argon and me a private message that Allixon was aware of the secondary plot in Klee, but so far hadn't revealed anything helpful about it.
Inoa joined us as we returned to King Rufix's office.
King Arvich no longer radiated fury and he appeared shaken. I couldn't help dipping into his mental state. King Rufix had definitely gotten through to him. I hadn't realized he and Rufix were friends long before they ascended to their respective thrones. Arvich was now willing to listen to what we had learned.
While King Rufix had never met Inoa, he knew of her role in eliminating the threat to Augun. I introduced her to the three men. King Rufix got up from his chair to greet her.
"My lady I regret not thanking you before now for helping save my country," King Rufix bowed deeply to Inoa before escorting her to a comfortable chair at the small oval table in his office. He sat beside her and invited the rest of us to join them at the table. Jorvik and King Arvich sat next to King Rufix. Argon and I sat next to Inoa.
Jorvik summarized what Inoa had relayed, asking her to correct any misconceptions he had picked up. He conveyed the basic points clearly and precisely, neither supporting nor refuting any of the information. Jorvik said he detected no false statements, although he did acknowledge that Inoa was a very strong mind mage.
To give King Arvich a moment to catch his thoughts, Rufix asked Ramda to have someone bring in some chee and a light lunch. Jorvik asked King Rufix if he could have the rest of King Arvich's escort brought in to join them and Rufix agreed. Jorvik teleported out.
In Jorvik's absence, King Arvich seemed reluctant to speak of the coup, preferring to ask first about my armor. After admiring the workmanship, he turned his attention to Inoa. While King Arvich's demeanor was of casual interest, his mind shield leaked enough to verify he was deadly interested in the information she shared. Inoa could certainly give his staff some pointers for improvements to his shield.
When King Arvich began to pry too deeply into matters in Klee, Inoa had to stop him.
"I'm not at liberty to share much information about events at Klee," Inoa said. "I can share anything learned about the Augun coup.
"I must ask you to keep one fact from Augun confidential; few know we actually captured many of the Augun mage assassins. We have learned a lot from their questioning, but we still have much more to learn," said Inoa. “It is better if the plotters think they are all dead.”
King Arvich withdrew his questions about Klee. He was still dissatisfied with our refusal to share that information.
Inoa summarized the Augun plot, leading with a mage impersonating the leader of the Augun secret police.
"Did you suspect him?" Arvich asked King Rufix.
"Not a bit. I didn't see Arbos every day. While I've known him for decades, he was never one of my confidants. I questioned him casually a few weeks before the explosion about some rumors I picked up about the secret police. There was vague chatter about him expanding his group. He told me he was cleaning house and trying to rid the secret police of corruption. It sounded reasonable, and I dismissed it. I suspect if I had pursued the issue, he'd have launched the coup earlier than he did," said Rufix. "I'm confident if someone brought me evidence before the coup that Arbos was a doppelganger, I wouldn't have believed him. Whoever the fake is, he makes a believable Arbos."
King Arvich sat back and looked troubled but asked Arvich no further questions, allowing Inoa to continue.
"We also have information similar schemes devastated both Ylee and Kavil. No traders have returned from these venues. What Steve and Argon learned there led us all to take the threat to Losan very seriously. We are keeping the total collapse of those kingdoms secret, at least for a few more days. Some in our group fear if it becomes common knowledge, the Losan assassins might launch the
ir coup early,” said Inoa.
When King Arvich questioned the reasoning behind that, Inoa said, "We don't think it is an accident that news of the collapsing economies in Ylee and Kavil is still a secret. We think the perpetrators assigned pirates to waylay routine shipping between those ports and the rest of Jaloa. They panicked a lot of mages into going into lockdown. It was only because Steve and Argon stumbled into the problem in Augun that Klee received any warning."
Jorvik messaged me he was on his way after dropping off reinforcements in the ballroom.
"I had 20 kinsmen waiting for me when I returned, I thought they might come in handy, so I brought them," Jorvik said. "Also, the king's guard and mage are quite angry."