A crossroads at the heart of the city, Dami’s Cross was truly a wonderful location to sit and enjoy the liveliness of Ersand’Enise. Well manicured lawns, pruned bushes and trees, the gentle ambiance of flowing water from the canals and the gentle chatter and movement of people making their way to-and-fro. It relaxed Valerian, who sat at a bench near the center of the Cross, well–if somewhat haphazardly–dressed in
finely tailored clothes. On the bench beside him were the remains of what one might consider a rather heavy meal—not to mention an impromptu one. Nonetheless, people more or less let him be, not sparing him more than a passing glance.
A great many were used to seeing him at Dami’s Cross as it was one of his most frequented haunts and on top of that he was a student and it wasn’t uncommon to see them moving about these parts. Of course, today he’d come alone and decidedly to simply enjoy the pleasant weather and the simplicity of watching people go about their day-to-day doings.
However, as he enjoyed his leisure time away from classes and the busy work of both his school and his maintaining his numerous–if shallow–relationships with his schoolmates he found a sudden interruption as a note appeared out of nowhere in the palm of his hand. Attention shifting downwards, he raised a single eyebrow, a curious smile tugging one edge of his lips upwards. It wasn’t often that this sort of thing occurred, particularly to him. He’d made a point of staying well away from the various machinations of politicking that he knew a great many students involved themselves with. Shaking his head slightly—and admitting that he was equal parts bored and intrigued—Vel brought the note into the light and held it fast so the day’s breeze wouldn’t carry it away.
His attention diverted, he turned to reading the note.
It said:
Library, half an hour: third floor, old wing, the study booth with the crooked owl on its door. Extra credit.
“Curious…” he said to himself, his voice lost in the sound of casual park-goers enjoying the fine stresian day. Sighing slightly—resigned that he’d have to answer what was effectively a summons—Vel pushed up from his seat and read the note once more before stowing it in a pocket.
The handwriting was clearly Jocasta’s and, for that reason, it was not as if he could exactly ignore the message.
‘Ah well, there goes my peaceful afternoon in the park,’ he thought as he headed for the library.
Though the note had given him a deadline of sorts, Vel made zero effort to hurry, instead taking a rather leisurely stroll. On his way he bought himself a light snack, which was finished well before the building in question came into view. Making his way inside he wove past other students, staff, and the occasional visitor keeping his silence until he noticed the crooked owl. Staring for a moment, Vel turned from the door, looking about the library for a spell before deciding that he’d not make any trouble. It was too much effort and it wasn’t as if this was clandestine. He knew who had called him.
So it was that he pushed the door open and entered the small—even cozy—study booth. The Tan-Zeno was seated there in her wheelchair, hands folded over a series of papers in her lap. She had been a student the previous year, before receiving a special evaluation and passing a series of exams. Now, she was an instructor, if a junior one:
his, in fact, for Preservation. She raised an eyebrow.
“If I’d added the word urgent, would it have made a difference?”Vel chuckled lightly and sat down with ease, his eyes flitting to the intricate ring on his left hand, noting where each of its two dials were before he glanced up and met Jocasta’s eyes.
“Mmn, couldn’t be that urgent if you’re calling me,” he replied with another chuckle, his manner as easy and relaxed as they were casually self-effacing.
“Besides, I figured I’d give you time to arrive,” he gave her a small smirk as his eyes darted to the wheelchair for an instant. There was no malice or insult there, if anything it was more like he was playing at being overly-considerate.
Then, she was not where she had been. She was behind him, tapping him on the shoulder.
“We’re going to talk as we walk,” she replied, turning and wheeling down the hall.
”Do try to keep up for once, Vel.”Sighing, Valerian got back on his feet and followed her. A beat passed before he replied,
“You know I can’t match your stride, Jocasta.”As he said the words a faint metallic
clang rang out. She’d sense some of the power he was constantly drawing being released as a faint flick against the metal of her wheelchair.
“I can always help,” she offered sweetly.
“Now,” she continued, voice lowering,
“Much as I enjoy slapping you around verbally, I didn’t call you here for something social.” Vel could feel the familiar echo effect of a sonic dampening bubble take shape around them.
“There’s a problem or… an opportunity,” she admitted,
“depending on how you look at it. I figured it might be something that appealed to you.” She stopped all of a sudden, palms scrubbing all of the speed from her wheels, and turned to regard him.
“This is your last chance to leave, or you’ll be obligated to listen to every word of my damsel-in-distress plea.” Beneath the joking words, there was a hard-to-miss seriousness to her tone, however.
Matching pace with her as the bubble went up around the, invisible but very much apparent to his senses, Vel raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly as he gave her a sidelong glance. Following her lead he stopped and considered her words. After a brief moment of thought he sighed and shrugged with that familiar begrudging smile.
“As a gentleman and a blooded heir of the noble house of Leclère I have little choice, but to listen.” Though his tone was flippant and amused, the words themselves belied them, serving as an acceptance of her proposal. Clearly she had his attention, if not his interest—though that was harder to gauge.
“Niallus Saberhagen, Maura Mercador, Ingrid Penderson, Abdel Bukhari, Trypano Somia, Kaureerah Wenhan, Rikard Ambrus, and Yalen Castel. Maybe you know some of them from previous classes?” She didn’t wait for his answer.
“They were dispatched on a diplomatic embassy to Retan by Zenith Upta. They’re supposed to track down and kill an agent of the Traveler who’s been operating there.” Her voice remained informative, but he would be a fool to miss that she was evaluating him in some way.
Though his easy smile remained, something in his expression shifted, his eyes becoming more thoughtful as he considered her words.
“Standout students,” he commented idly as he listened. However, as she mentioned the Traveler, his eyes darted back to her, revealing a brief flash of intensity, before he deliberately relaxed.
‘This is serious…and she’s trusting me with it. What does that say about me? What does that say about her judgement?’ Pausing, he reconsidered. No, he trusted her judgement, this was something else.
“An opportunity. You want to bring me into this.” It wasn’t a question he was posing as he met her eyes and she offered a tight nod in response.
“Truth be told, I don’t want to bring anyone into anything,” she admitted, starting to move again,
“But the school establishment’s sucking up to the Twin Emperors and they’re…” she lowered her voice even though they were in the bubble
“fucking evil. We also have a couple who might try to flip things and bail out the Traveler’s agent and start some kind of coup.” She was coasting along, just in front of him now, and she slowed up and glanced over her shoulder as they approached an archway into the other wing.
“And why’d I come to you?” Her smile was toothy.
“You like authority like a cat likes baths, Vel, and I’m sick of older people telling us what we should want and do.”At that comment Vel couldn’t help but smirk, a glimmer of that familiar mischief entering his amber eyes as he regarded her. So unassuming and inoffensive if you judged her by her appearance. Just a small pretty thing in a wheelchair, all smiles, but the reality was different. She was sharp as nails, tough as diamondscale hide and had all the guile of a wizened old fox that had seen far too many coups.
He knew she grated on some, but Vel thought that was some of her appeal. He hated to admit that it might be some of the Leclère blood in him. Nonetheless, she was waiting for his answer and he could hardly keep a lady waiting long.
“You know me too well, Lady Re,” he said, giving her a mock bow, his smile having grown. As much as he’d tried to stay out of the politicking of his peers,
this he had to admit was almost certainly worth his time.
“Besides, I can hardly say no now, I know too much.” Ever playful, even in the face of events with incredibly dire ramifications.
“I’d hoped so,” she replied, turning on the spot. She fished one of the papers off of her lap and handed it to him.
“I checked in last night. This is how things have evolved. This is what our group’s been up to.” She pursed her lips, preparing to drop the bubble.
“Thing is, they’re there in an ’official’ capacity. You need to be… not there…officially. You’ve got the pigpox if anyone asks. I’ve used my Zeno powers to write you a note for it.” She sniffed and glanced around. A handful of people had glanced their way, but that was a regular occurrence with the Tan-Zeno.
“Meet me tonight at 2:00 HD: door five in the warehouse by the Silk Gate. I’m going to teleport you in, outside of the city where their magic censors can’t detect and nab you. Remember, magic use is licensed there, so be careful using it. You’ll be meeting someone I spoke with last night. I’m pretty sure he’s an ally. For now, read up, stay safe, and stay away from me, lest anyone suspect too much.” She smiled and kept her body language casual through the whole thing, making it look, from the outside, like some friendly gossip and nothing more.
Taking the dossier in his right hand, Vel turned, looking out a window and into the outside world, the bubble of silence still veiling their words. Leaning on the sill he peered out, his arm shielding his mouth from any would-be lip-readers as he spoke once more.
“So, keep a low profile as much as possible and use my dualistic nature as a front for my, let’s call them extracurricular activities. Sound about right?”Jocasta nodded.
“That’s why you make the big bucks.” She brushed some hair from her eyes.
“You have any other questions, you ask me, okay? Need anything else that’s not just an ego-stroking, you ask me too.” When the bubble fell, she was laughing at a joke he’d told and bidding him goodbye.
”You are just awful,” she squealed,
“But my lips are sealed. I’ll see you after class, hmm?”
It had taken him only a few hours to properly appoint himself for his
little outing in addition to acquiring medicine and the like for his supposed illness. It would keep the ruse going hopefully for long enough to take care of the Tan-Zeno’s business in the Metropolis. As he’d finished those preparations and made his way towards the warehouse that Jocasta had instructed they reconvene at Valerian had begun to consider in greater detail what he would be doing.
This would be distinctly dangerous, but it wasn’t like he hadn’t been sent on the occasional
unofficial mission before. He was an ideal candidate after all for his Dualblood nature meant that any suspicion aroused from detecting magic usage in his vicinity would immediately be tempered by the fact that it was a necessity for him to be doing so every hour, minute, and second of every day. While some of that process was made reliable and easy enough by practice that he almost did so unconsciously, much of it required his constant attention. Nonetheless, this meant that even energy spikes that authorities would typically be suspicious of became mild fluctuations accounted for by his need to modulate his energy intake and output.
In tangent with this, his high status–but essentially non-existent reputation–made it far easier for him to operate under the radar. Anything else was often smoothed out by his personable nature. Still, this job felt different somehow…more dangerous and certainly with higher stakes than anything Jocasta–or any of the others–had tasked him with before.
If he was being honest, it made him equal parts excited and apprehensive, enough so that for once he would actually be
early to arrive. Typically, for missions of any importance, he would strictly be on time. He made a point of being fashionably late for anything casual, but when it came to things of import he made sure he was always punctual–this did not necessarily include his classes however.
So it was that he came within view of the fifth door of the warehouse that she’d indicated to him in her instructions. Rather than enter straight away, Valerian focused as he walked casually in the direction–though he behaved as if he wasn’t even near his destination. Stretching out his arcane senses, Valerian took note of any and all people nearby based on their heat signatures, bio-electric, and biochemical signals in their bodies. Furthermore he determined the orientation of each of them, noting that none of them were quite faced in his direction. With that done he drew upon the energies around him, but this time more strongly than he typically did, thus dimming the illumination within his range, but subtly and on a gradient. Though he’d wanted the gradient to shift–as if it were based on a static location, rather than centered on his person–he quickly found that a bit beyond him. It was of little matter, this was ultimately just a simple precaution after all.
Properly concealed, Vel entered the door and shut it behind himself quietly, adjusting the gradient back to normal light levels as he did so–though he made sure to have the semi-circle that was still outside gradually adjust rather than suddenly return to normal. Relaxing, Vel casually glanced down at his left hand, noting the change in his dual mana counts and then vented energy accordingly to balance the two out once more. The vast majority of that energy took the form of heat, which he harmlessly distributed into the ground. The rest he allowed to be converted by his body into chemical energy.
It would stave off his appetite for a bit longer.
Glancing about, Vel made an effort to locate Jocasta–though he was certain she’d come to him soon enough. She’d have sensed his use of energy from a mile off most likely.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were turning over a new leaf.” Jocasta was waiting, as was her custom. Her eyes searched him up and down.
“Good. You’re covered.” Her hands were on her wheels and she turned on the spot, easing over a crack in the floor.
“You’ll recognize the contact, then?” she prodded,
“Wu Long. Great big guy, red and gold clothes, bushy beard, speaks scarily fluent Avincian.” She wasn’t leaving much room for formalities
or frivolities.
“Thanks for doing this, and don’t hesitate to benefit yourself as well. Now,” she concluded, already starting to draw from space and time in preparation for opening a portal,
“Any last questions?”Vel, despite her to-the-point attitude, only smiled and gave her one reply.
“Only one. How much will you owe me if I pull this off?”She smiled mischievously.
“Could be quite a bit, or… you might even find yourself owing me.” With that, came a wink and then a flare of temporal energy, but it was a mere blip compared to the great nexus that was the Silk Gate. A portal swirled into existence and, on the other side, what looked like a mountainside and a cave. Jocasta nodded in the Perrenchman’s direction.
“Reshta favour you, Vel.”Bowing his head with a smile, Vel then turned his gaze to the portal and walked through seemingly without hesitation. As he emerged into the cool mountain air, the winds pulling at the edges of his coat and whipping his hair into motion, Valerian gave himself a moment to acclimate himself to his surroundings. Taking a breath, he made a point of not looking back into the portal even as he cast his gaze in a wide arc, taking in his new surroundings.
Everywhere he looked were signs of disaster. It was not the sort that concerned people, but that which would have impacted nature and the animals that called it home. The broken roots and branches of shrubs and scraggly trees could be seen poking through the recently-disrupted snow. Cracked boulders were strewn about randomly, and there were great gashes in evidence about the mountainside as if it had been scoured clean.
It was dawn. There was a cave. The inside of it burned with energy.
Shielding his eyes with an upraised arm as the dawnlight reached his eyes, Vel narrowed his eyes slightly at the cave. Some small part of him wondered what he’d gotten himself into even while another marveled at the beauty. Still, aside from all that, the source of energy he sensed nearby was surely of note–though whether it was wise to investigate was another question entirely.
Taking in a deep breath, Valerian cast his awareness out, narrowing it and his drawing of energy such that he’d gain a clearer mental image of whatever–or whoever–the energy might be coming from. Brow creasing, Valerian discovered little, though he was able to tell that there were two sources of energy. One greater than the other…so great in fact that it seemed beyond his scope to properly measure.
Opening his eyes, he frowned and relaxed, returning his manas to a state of equilibrium. As he considered what little he had learned, Valerian turned and briefly gazed down upon the Metropolis of Wanggang far below. Was he to enter the cave or traverse down the mountain to the city? He began to weigh his options and the likelihood of Jocasta expecting each of him.
‘On the one hand, that could be the contact Jocasta spoke of…on the other…’ Vel sighed and shook his head. Whatever was in there was strong enough that it’d make short work of him if it so desired, but the real question was not whether he could handle it. The real question was simpler, would Jocasta send him into the clutches of something he couldn’t handle?
Unlikely, though she had stressed the precarious nature of the situation. Sighing, Vel resigned himself to risk. Stepping into the cave, he quickly found the light dimming, and so raised a palm and began casting a simple cantrip. Creating something of a feedback loop in his palm, Vel generated a small bright light from his hand and recycled the light and trace heat that escaped.
At least this way he wouldn’t be caught unawares.
Then… let there be light. He was in a grand hall, the ceiling some forty feet above his head, and great pillars rose to either side of him. It was almost unbearably bright, and rendered even more so by the polished marble floors and quartz statues. These seemed to come in pairs, with the figures that they depicted in some form of indirect opposition. In the middle of it, standing before a pair of enormous doors in the Retanese style, was a man. He was large and burly, but not uncouth-looking. His bristly facial hair framed a face that was at once stern and merry, jovial and wise, and his fine robes were of gold and red silk. He clasped his hands behind his back and smiled in greeting.
“It is a pleasure to meet you,” he said.
“I am Wu Long, and we have much to discuss.”
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