Shocking news swept the North like a storm. Magister Caelinus, stalwart defender of the North, had declared himself Emperor, gathering all the legions of Utrad and Turannia into a unified rebel force.
And then even more shocking was the news that the rebellion had ended mere days after it had been declared. The rebel army had not even reached Velusitum when a visiting Amiciti Populi Elteni killed the would-be Emperor and devastated his vanguard. The rebel army quickly collapsed in the aftermath. Some of the legions returned to their posts on the border, hoping the Northern Court might forgive their involvement out of necessity. Others disbanded entirely, former legates and centurions gathering their most loyal troops and setting off on their own while the rank and file disappeared to remote farms and crowded slums. Another group gathered as many soldiers and notable citizens as they could and set off to the north, likely making for the ports to escape into the North Sea.
But whatever the fate of the officers and troops, the rebel faction had abandoned their mission. Utrad surrendered before the Northern Court could even organize a response.
All thanks to one wandering friend of the Empire…
A man dressed in the garb of an Exploratore once again made his way into the Corvanus Exploratores HQ.
“Let me guess, you’re going to ask me what in the world is going on in Utrad?”
The man shrugged at the Magister Exploratores’s question.
“And if I am?”
The Magister Exploratores scowled at him.
“I’ll tell you what I told the last five people to ask me that. Shove off, I don’t know crap.”
The man raised an eyebrow.
“Oh don’t give me that look. Here, I’ll let you in on a little secret. The Exploratores don’t actually get paid by the Exploratores HQ. And so, the moment someone actually does start paying them, such as a Magister with treasonous ambitions for example, they stop reporting to me for some odd reason. As what happened in the past three rebellion attempts.”
The man heaved a sigh as the Magister Exploratores muttered curses.
“We’re working on it. But I was under the impression you spent the budget on spies?”
“Spies are expensive, you know. If I could afford enough spies to replace the Exploratores, then I could afford to pay the Exploratores.”
The man sighed again.
“But you do know something?”
The Magister Exploratores shrugged.
“Only that the rumors seem to be true. Magister Caelinus, our best defender by the way, went and declared himself Emperor. Then he got into a fight with the Imperial Friend from Turannia, or maybe it was Vibius who picked the fight…scratch that, it was definitely Vibius, don’t need a spy to tell you that. And then said Imperial Friend assaulted Caelinus’s army directly and not only survived but managed to kill the man himself.”
The man raised an eyebrow.
“You believe that story is credible?”
The Magister Exploratores narrowed his eyes.
“Increasingly so. One of my people has been talking to what’s left of the Legio Ianus XII. From the stories they’re telling, we should be very grateful she’s the Empire’s friend. They claim she broke an Anti-Archon Formation head-on, all by herself.”
The man rubbed his chin.
“So Governor Aemilia wasn’t exaggerating her feats or capabilities?”
The Magister Exploratores nodded.
“If what the eyewitnesses say is true, that villainess undersold her.”
“Did you find anything on her, then?”
The Magister Exploratores frowned.
“Not a thing. Hadn’t received an update on her since she left Turannia, in fact. The Utrad Exploratores didn’t even tell me she was in their province for reasons that are painfully obvious in hindsight.”
The man rested a finger on his chin.
“What about Magister Tiberius?”
The Magister Exploratores smirked.
“For some reason, Tiberius’s reports have grown increasingly infrequent and unprofessional since we left him to die against the Dobhar. One might even think he was upset.”
The man sighed again while the Magister Exploratores shrugged.
“But to be honest? If we take Governor Aemilia’s word at face value, which eyewitnesses from Utrad indicate is increasingly reasonable, this Imperial Friend saved Tiberius’s life, and his entire province. He will likely obstruct for her unless I demand he do otherwise. And if I do so…he is not likely to forgive me. In fact, I’d wager that he’d choose her over me and just desert his post. I consider it fortunate that Turannia is bothering to send us any reports at all.”
The man nodded at that.
“That’s fair, we’d prefer to have some eyes north of Velus’s Pass at this stage. Have you found anything else on her?”The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
The Magister Exploratores shook his head.
“No. Every investigation has failed to produce a single relevant record on this person. We can’t even identify the culture of her name or appearance. By all accounts, it appears she just popped into Turannia out of nowhere. But…the absence of information here might be information in and of itself. Regardless, I’ll need people watching her directly to learn anything more.”
The man sighed again.
“Well, you’ll likely get the chance. If she single-handedly shut down a rebellion, the Court will have to extend her an invitation and thank her in-person.”
At this, the Magister Exploratores heaved the largest sigh of the day.
“I only hope at least some of those idiots pay attention to what happened to Magister Caelinus. I do not want to see what happens if she stops being the Empire’s friend.”
The Heralds of Ascension activated their communication devices once again. Their leader nodded.
“It seems all of us are here who can make it. The past few days have certainly been exciting, have they not?”
That got a round of chuckles. The leader then turned to one of their members.
“We’ve had a stroke of luck, however. While our network in Utrad was largely dismantled, the Herald of Rain followed the target of her investigation into the province, and so happened to be present for recent events. Let’s now review the situation, and then discuss how we shall proceed. Herald of Night, I believe you were working with the Herald of Tremors on Utrad. Can you describe the preceding situation for anyone who might not be aware?”
The Herald of Night nodded her head.
“The exposure of a major asset in Utrad to Magister Caelinus was a serious setback, but we managed to turn it into an opportunity. We planted ‘evidence’ among our network in Utrad that exaggerated the scope of our operations. Over the course of his purge, Magister Caelinus was led to believe we had compromised the entire Empire, or the entire Northern Court at minimum, and was convinced that rebellion was his only viable recourse. He moved as we predicted and began preparing for his revolt. Although our network in Utrad was severely limited from that point onward, since we knew what to expect we were still able to keep tabs on his progress.”
Another Herald crossed his arms.
“Wait, you’re saying you wanted him to rebel? After he learned of our existence? Wouldn’t it have been better to get rid of him?”
The Herald of Night shook her head.
“Assassinating him at that point risked bringing more attention to ourselves. On the other hand, a rebellion in Utrad would suit our designs well, as it would draw attention and resources from other parts of the Empire. Still, you are right we did not want the Magister to overthrow the Northern Court entirely; a real possibility as he was one of the most experienced commanders in the North. As such, once the Magister showed signs he was ready to begin his rebellion, the Herald of Tremors moved to corrupt the Mines of Might. Doing so would cut off the Magister from his main source of Mana Iron, reduce his overall popularity, and create a threat behind Velusitum he would have to guard against. We predicted this would hamper his efforts and prevent him from any successful offensives against the Northern Court. The rebellion would develop into a long war of attrition between Utrad and the Imperial North that would occupy the majority of the Northern Legions.”
The leader nodded at her.
“Thank you, Herald of Night. Now with that as a background, Herald of Rain, can you tell us what exactly occurred here?”
The Herald of Rain nodded.
“My subject made her way from Turannia to Utrad, arriving in Velusitum shortly before Magister Caelinus declared himself Emperor. While she was there, she entered the Mines of Might, and appears to have stopped the Herald of Tremors.”
One of the Heralds glared at her.
“Why didn’t you warn him about the subject?”
The Herald of Rain shook her head.
“Because I didn’t know he was there. And since Magister Vibius has been working hard to purge us from the province, I ceased all communication while in Utrad. I didn’t know the Herald of Tremors was involved until this very meeting.”
The Herald of Night nodded.
“I can confirm that. We kept things compartmentalized after the purge. The Herald of Tremors acted alone for that very reason.”
The group went silent for a while. Finally, one of the Heralds spoke.
“Then the important question is: was it intentional by the subject?”
The Herald of Rain shook her head.
“Unlikely. She first made contact with Vafum Broadbane, who leads a diver company in Khalbuldor specializing in the Mines of Might. The Mines had been shut down due to an attack by an Adamant Bull Worm, which I now assume was the Herald of Tremors’ doing? In any case, said situation had Vafum worried even before the subject arrived, so I believe he requested her assistance clearing the threat to the dungeon. She had assisted the Empire with several other dungeon-related affairs on her trip to Velusitum, this was likely more of the same.”
The leader nodded.
“Perhaps, but we shouldn’t assume anything at this stage. Please, continue.”
The Herald of Rain nodded back.
“Shortly thereafter, the Magister Exploratores per Utrad Vibius returned to Velusitum, and seems to have taken interest in the subject. He immediately reached out to the subject’s two Exploratores companions, the pair from Turannia, and had them report to him at the Exploratores HQ. They did not return to their inn after that as far as I can tell. The subject then visited the Exploratores HQ twice, and on the second trip, left in force and at speed, carrying her companions with her. Magister Vibius left Velusitum shortly afterwards, and then the subject confronted Magister Caelinus and his forces.”
The Herald of Night rubbed her chin.
“From Magister Vibius’s prior behavior, he likely attempted to recruit her against us, and then attempted an assassination when that failed. He never liked variables he couldn't control.”
The leader turned to her.
“The exact details might never be known to us, but the overall situation is. Herald of Night, what does this mean for our plans?”
The Herald of Night hummed for a second before speaking.
“This has to be considered a partial failure. There will be no civil war in the North now, and the Northern Court will not need to send its full army to Utrad. The Court’s legions won’t suffer significant casualties, either. And, of course, we lost the Herald of Tremors, one of our own. On the other hand, it is not a complete failure. Magister Caelinus and his subordinates are gone, Utrad’s forces have taken a heavy blow from the fleeing rebels, and those that remain will likely be gutted by the Northern Court’s retaliation. The North will likely need to commit at least several legions to maintain control of Utrad, and to hunt down the surviving rebels.”
Another Herald frowned and crossed his arms.
“That may be true, but it means the North will still have the means to respond to any crisis that may pop up. We can no longer assume freedom of movement, or ineffectual responses. We already failed in Turannia and lost our contingency plan, and the subject responsible for both these failures is still at large. All this makes our next plans extremely risky, to the point that I am in favor of calling them off.”
At this point, the Herald of Rain interjected.
“That may be true, but I have discovered some new information that might be crucial.”
The leader motioned to her.
“Oh? What have you discovered, Herald of Rain?”
“In every town prior to Velusitum, the subject first visited the local Exploratores HQ. They changed behavior in Velusitum, however, and made contact with Vafum Broadbane and Agedia of the Mélusine instead. I found this odd so I investigated and found that those two were the former companions of the current Magister Exploratores per Turannia. So I started monitoring them and I happened to overhear something of great interest.”
Another Herald frowned.
“These were the companions of a Magister Exploratores and they just let you eavesdrop on them?”
The Herald of Rain smiled.
“No, they were careful, with all the privacy wards up and everything. But no one is prepared for the gifts offered by our Masters, no? And no dwarf expects to be betrayed by their drink. I was able to listen in from the bottom of their cups.”
The leader focused on the Herald of Rain.
“What did you hear them say?”
The Herald of Rain told them.
The room went silent.
And then the leader started to grin.
“My brothers and sisters, if we can confirm this is accurate, then I think we have stumbled upon the perfect opportunity. Let’s discuss what we must do to take advantage of it.”