Letter 30: A Simple Recon...It's Never Simple

General Summary

Dear Mother,
After all of my time spent scouting yesterday I met back up with the team, and we all shared information. They had interviewed GG's assistant Adsmiir, and also Silaar's assistant Tillvum. Our suspicions centered around Tillvum, as she was only recently hired as a Light Keeper, and there had been some skullduggery between her and Adsmiir over attaining the position of Silaar's assistant.
Adsmiir was clearly distraught over the murder and GG's apprehension, and he very clearly did not get along with Tillvum.
This situation clearly called for your expertise. Many times do I wish for your presence, but never more than when delicate politics are at play.
Surveillance of Tillvum was the obvious next step. Baermak would go to the library and see if he could figure out what magics they might have used to pull this off and also frame GG. Ingoria and I would head to Tillvum's home with Vessyr. Ingoria and I would share the Sending Stone. I would follow Tillvum when she left, messaging Ingoria when Tillvum returned, while Ingoria and Vessyr would investigate her dwelling, looking for evidence of contact, murder, or anything, quickly vacating when they received my message.
I got there and hovered above the house. I didn't see Tillvum, but I did see people hustling about, heading to work, their morning shopping, or whatever. I loitered with a clear view of the front door, ready to follow Tillvum.
Below me Ingoria snooped around the house, bouncing from window to window. She seemed excited, headed back to Vessyr (Alyonna had joined him), spoke for a second, and dashed back to the house. Vessyr and Alyonna followed her.
I watched them closely, curious.
Ingoria ducked through a window, into the house. Alyonna followed her, but Vessyr split off down an alleyway. A passerby, or perhaps a guardian, saw him, and followed. I swooped lower, keenly focused on the guardian. He closed with Vessyr and they traded words; I could not make out their conversation; only Vessyr's gruff tone.
Though to be honest, "gruff" is Vessyr's regular tone.
I was ready to send an arrow when the man turned and left, waving dismissively at Vessyr. He frowned and looked back over his shoulder, watching Vessyr, until Vessyr had passed Tillvum's house, then the man turned and went on his way.
So, not a guardian after all. Just a random stranger, checking in on his neighbor.
I flew back up to keep watch and saw Vessyr double back and sneak into the house. Why were they in the house already? What had they seen?
An uncomfortably short time later out of the corner of my eye I saw Tillvum jogging casually toward her home. She had been out doing her morning exercises. I messaged Ingoria that Tillvum was inbound, and waited.
Nobody left the building.
Tillvum jogged up the front step and entered her home.
Still, nobody left the building.
The door closed behind her.
And my friends remained inside.
I felt my heart speed.
Still, nothing.
Something was going down, and I needed to be there.
I headed in. As I landed by the front door I heard a loud scream from inside the house. A voice I did not recognize. Tillvum. I glanced around and noticed several people on the street notice me. Me, standing there by the front door to the house from which a terrifying scream had just emanated.
And then I couldn't hear a thing, not even myself. Not even my breathing.
A Silence spell.
Opening the door, I saw Ingoria next to me, Vessyr a few feet away, and Tillvum over in the corner to the left. I focused on her and shot.
She dipped and my first arrow went wide. I noticed that I could hear the bowstring, and everything else. No more Silence. I shot her again and this time she didn't move fast enough. The arrow embedded deeply into her side...and a glistening trail of blackness spun out of her wound, winding through the air, slamming me in the chest, and knocking me back a foot.
I noticed Alyonna laying at Tillvum's feet. She stood up and cast a spell as Ingoria ran forward and began beating Tillvum.
Vessyr ran up and joined, just as Tillvum disappeared.
I sensed no trace of her.
I locked the door behind me and told the team that people on the street had heard the scream and noticed me. We needed to get out, fast. I ran toward the open window.
Ingoria beat me there, bouncing out and shouting "Meet on the opposite rooftop!"
I followed her, heading up, and noticed a guy running down the alley toward us. I didn't notice the guy behind me, who did that assassin thing where he suddenly appeared beside me in mid-air, stabbed me, and then tried to grab on to me, wrapping his arms around mine, hoping to drag me to the ground.
I shrugged him off and swooped up, into the darkness.
Tillvum had assassins guarding her! We were right!
Out of sight, out of range, I drank a healing potion, then dropped back down lower. I could see none of my friends, but did see several assassin types shooting in the direction Ingoria fled.
No idea where anybody went, I decided to stay and keep watch. There might be more to learn here, and we were obviously not meeting up on the opposite rooftop. Where were we meeting up? I loitered above as an assassin crept about on the rooftop below me, intently looking for us.
He looked up and found me.
Before I knew what was happening, he was on me, trying to wrap his arms around me. He pinned my arms to my side, his weight simply too much, and I began to drop. I wriggled free and pushed him off, but somehow he grabbed me again. This time he got a hand on one of my wings. I felt the extra weight pulling me down as I spun to the left, beating wildly with my free wing. I struggled with him, pulling his legs with my talons and sinking my claws into his cheek. He shouted but did not let go, and we began to plummet. My heart racing, I leaned over into a full dive, allowing my weight to fall upon him, then turned hard to the left, flinging him away like a discarded parasite. Free, I headed straight up into the darkness.
Swerving to the north, I looked for Ingoria; the direction in which they pursued her. I had no idea where Alyonna or Vessyr had headed. But I couldn't find Ingoria anyway. She might have headed north, but might also have lost her pursuers and doubled back, or... who knew? She excelled at losing pursuers, and I was a pursuer. I gave up and headed for the cove.
Surely they would join me there.
So I waited.
I fished.
But I only caught enough to feed myself.

Report Date

24 Nov 2023