Letter 31: Custody, Escape, Fine Clothes, and an Ally? A Way Back Home?

General Summary

Mother,
My respite lasted not nearly long enough. As I sat, eating fish, I received a message from Bartley, the lead investigator we had encountered earlier outside of GG’s place.
“Bartley here, your friends are in custody and told me about Tillvum. What can you corroborate? Meet me at the PeaceKeepers Office to help them.”
I cursed voluminously, mother. These words I shan’t speak to you, nor shall I record them here, but I exercised a great deal of creative phrasing.
Custody?
How are they in custody? What battle must I have missed? What forces must’ve Bartley amassed in order to subdue Alyonna, Vessyr, Ingoria?
Custody!?
How is that even possible? Never have we ever been remotely, since we first met, close to being put into custody!
Was I alone now?
No, no I was not. Baermak remains. He was in the library doing research, and there he likely sits.
Dropping the fish, I leapt up and flew to the library to gather Baermak. But Bearmak was already heading to the office, so I kept a watch above him. It was good I did.
As I watched Baermak saunter toward the station, he paused, looking at the station. Two people ran from the building as he approached, looking behind them. They were not reacting to his approach; they were fleeing something inside.
Movement caught my eye: on a rooftop above, a sneaky assassin-looking man was drawing down on Baermak.
I quickly focused in on the assassin, and he seemed to perhaps sense me, but too late. By the time he began to turn my first arrow was already in his shoulder. I could see the wince on his face as the second arrow landed in his chest, a little closer to his heart. The third arrow was already on the way.
It didn’t hit his heart, but it did embed itself in his chest next to the second. At that one I heard him grunt, even from my distance. I hurt him, but did not drop him.
The grunts and impacts of the arrows alerted Baermak, who looked up and saw his would-be attacker. Baermak cast something at the man, hurting him further I think. But still not killing him.
I could now discern a commotion emanating from inside the station. I couldn’t make out exactly what was happening, but it did sound like combat; shouting, metal, things breaking. Not my most pressing concern. Hopefully my friends are now free and fighting their way out, and not in too much trouble. Because this assassin was obviously in need of removal from the calculation.
As I readied another volley, he disappeared; or rather, the entire rooftop vanished in a sphere of absolute darkness.
I waited, circling above the station, but keeping my eye on the sphere of darkness. And Baermak.
He ran into the station. I sighed.
So be it.
I followed.
Ingoria dashed past me, through the lobby, as I entered, passing to my right. Baermak and I followed her through the door to the right, and she stopped at the corner. Baermak and I ran past around the corner. As I dove around, bow in hand, I saw Baermak engaging a group of three assassins. One stood between us; the other two stood behind him, attacking him. I attacked the one between us, shooting him twice. He, even with his back turned, somehow sensed me and batted at the first arrow, slightly deflecting it from hitting his kidney. It still hit, but not as well as it should have. Surprised, I was not nearly as focused as I should have been. My second arrow hit, but not as hard as I wanted.
Black tentacles emerged from Baermak’s feet and whipped at the assassins around him, grabbing onto one of them and damaging the others. He then created an echo of himself in the corridor with us.
Hmm?
Pretty neat, actually!
Beyond Baermak, down the corridor on the right, I heard sounds of combat from what looked like a stairway. And…perhaps…Tillvum’s voice. Something hit the ground.
Something big.
A body.
The three assassins in front of me kept attacking Baermak, occasionally landing blows, but he simply stood, emotionless.
A Gnome ran down the stairs into the corridor on the other side of Baermak and cast a spell. I recognized him: he was one of the investigators we spoke to earlier. His spell held two of the assassins, frozen. He saw that it worked and then ducked around the corner, yelping in startled fear.
Baermak had taken a beating. He looked unsure on his feet, so I shot at the assassin who remained unheld even though the held assassins were such easy targets. Held, they were no longer threats. I focused in and shot the assassin twice. He didn’t fall, but he looked close to doing so.
Ingoria sped past me from behind and jumped on the same assassin, stabbing and clawing at him until he fell to the ground.
I could hear Vessyr mumbling from the stairs; it sounded like a spell. I recognized hisgrumpy tone. I assumed Alyonna was by his side, as much as she surely did not want to be.
Baermak lashed out at the assassins again, with more spells. One of his spells was a whip burning with a green flame. Very cool! His echo also closed in on the assassins, attacking them. Baermak and his echo hurt the two remaining assassins, but did not drop either. That, he left to Ingoria.
One of the assassins snapped to, just as the Gnome peeked around the corner and shot him with some bolts of light.
Ingoria finished him off. She turned and clawed at the remaining assassin, still held, then turned and ran down the stairs.
I shot the remaining assassin, but he still didn’t fall. Baermak zapped him with flaming green magic, finally dropping him. We both ran down the corridor toward the stairs. As I passed him, I reminded Baermak that there was one more on the rooftop; I had not finished him off.
The one on the rooftop had not forgotten about me, either.
A sting of sharp pain in my back, and I fell.
When I woke, the rooftop assassin lay on the ground beside me, staring right at me, bleeding out. Baermak stood over me, putting away a jar of ointment. Witherspoon, the Gnome, looked at me in a panic and asked “What’s going on!?”
“Assassins sent to kill GG! There are more downstairs!”
Witherspoon looked absolutely befuddled.
I locked eyes with the dying assassin again. He seemed to be pleading. “No,” I thought, “You die alone.”
I leapt to my feet and ran downstairs with Baermak. At the far end of the room lay five obvious cell doors. Alyonna sprawled motionless on the ground in the center of the room, and as I approached a guard poured a potion down her throat, bringing her back to consciousness.
Several guards also lay on the floor, being revived. Vessyr and Ingoria peered in a cell, breathing heavily. Tillvum lay, dead, inside the cell.
We called for Witherspoon, who sped down the stairs and stabilized Tillvum. They stripped her and threw her in a special cell for magic users.
Witherspoon seemed to take charge, ordering agents to and fro. Baermak slumped into a corner, exhausted.
Alyonna and Vessyr sifted through some broken glass on the ground, inspecting it for something. I ignored them.
The room reminded me of the cells where I was originally held prisoner. Underground. Wings bound.
The room seemed to be shrinking. Gray. Closing in. I closed my eyes, hoping to see the sky, but I pictured that cell. Underground. Wings bound. I could feel my chest starting to heave. I needed air. Sky.
Witherspoon asked us to stay here as they sorted things out. I asked if “here” meant in this very room, or just locally, and he responded that local was fine.
Before he even finished that sentence I had turned.
I bounded up the stairs and out into the everlasting gloom, soaring to the sky. Well, what passed for sky in this cavern.
Eyes closed, I felt the wind whispering through my feathers as I stretched my wings, picturing the sun, moist clouds beckoning.
Wide wings Long fall
Breathing slowly, deeply, I let myself glide on what currents I could find, the cells dissipating behind me. Below me. Not concerning me.
Looking down, I saw my friends leaving the building.
I followed, above, silent.
In the wind, mother, I heard your voice.
Surely this is resolved. GG is no longer implicated and we can leave. We are coming soon, my mother.
We met up at our quarters in the Light Keepers and rested. GG was there and elected to stay with us, as he felt safer with us than with anybody else in this realm. At least for now.
GG still had the false memory of the murder in his mind; he quite vividly remembered killing Silaar. Even though intellectually he was now aware that the memory was an implant, the emotional memory remained.
Baermak shared that he had received a letter from Lady Sassafrass. She was calling in her favor, and wanted to meet at The Hound’s Tooth tomorrow. We asked, and GG had heard of The Hound’s Tooth; he was surprised to hear that we were going there. Apparently it’s a very high class tailor!
We were not leaving after all.
Another delay.
So off to the tailor we went.
The sign on the door said “Closed”, but the door opened as we approached, and the sign flipped to “Open”. A well dressed Gnome welcomed us in, closed the door behind us, and flipped the sign back to “Closed”.
On one wall was…a diorama. Of sorts. Dozens of dolls, of many different races (but no People), each dressed in a different set of fabulously fancy garb. But the dolls were animated, dancing, talking, eating. It was fantastic! Oh to see such a thing as a fledgling! I would never have left this room!
Another Gnome appeared and asked if we were ready for our fittings. We looked at each other for a few beats, and Alyonna finally responded, “Yes.” The Gnome took her into another room.
They served us fancy sandwiches and tea while we waited. The sandwiches were so small, mother! Each but a single bite!
Good, to be sure, but so very small.
Next went Ingoria, then Vessyr. Then me. The Gnome seemed quite eager to take my measurements. Not intimidated at all. Much more intrigued by the challenge. He asked all of the right questions, and despite never making clothes for any People, figured out right away which measurements to take. I gave him my preferred colors (the colors of the sea) and our family crest. He said our clothes would be ready in two days.
Leaving the tailor, we headed over to check in with Witherspoon. Tillvum remained in her cell; they were waiting for Zinalla (the big boss, apparently) to arrive. Tillvum remained a significant threat, and they didn’t want to take any risks. Several Light Keepers had failed to show up to work today, which likely indicated that they were part of the plot; those leads were being pursued.
Witherspoon told us that GG was looking for us, so we headed over to see him. He was now acting Head Librarian! His charges were cleared!
He told us that Zinalla expressed her gratitude for our actions, and looked forward to chatting with us in the morning. We assured him that we would be available.
He then offered us some very nice magical studded leather armor and a neat bracer that stored potions for later use. These they had taken from Tillvum. Vessyr took the armor. One neat aspect of the armor is that it appeared as any type of clothing you might desire. Ingoria took the bracer.
We went back to our apartments to wait for Zinalla’s arrival. That’s when Alyonna messaged you.
I have been so worried, thinking night and day, wishing we could get out of here. It’s good that there’s so much to do, but as the adrenaline has worn off and we’ve had time to rest, eat, and talk, I’ve thought more and more about your imprisonment.
I do not want to be here, and I do not want you to be there.
I do not want to help Lady Sassafrass. I kind of want to kill Keesha, but only because I promised Alyonna.
I want to come home, raise an army, and free you!
But I cannot.
I must not.
The next day we met with Zinalla for brunch in her private quarters.
Which were very, very nice. Lots of books, as you might expect, but still. Lots of very nice books, gilt edges and leather binding. Gold clasps. Row after row on dark wood shelves. It seemed a place you could get lost in, forever.
We were led to the dining room where we were encouraged to eat while we waited. Zinalla finally entered via a spiral staircase. A Drow.
She expressed her personal gratitude for our help, and apologized for the misunderstandings and miscommunications. I watched her closely and could tell that she was honest and forthcoming, but…
Something was off. I stopped eating.
Alyonna reacted…strangely. She was … stunned for some reason. Surprised. Surprised to see Zinalla. Or surprised to see Zinalla here. And curious. Not afraid, but…something.
She stared at Zinalla very intently.
And while Zinalla wasn’t staring, per se, she did spend an inordinate amount of time looking at Alyonna. She might glance at the rest of us now and again, but mostly she looked right back at Alyonna.
Alyonna recognized Zinalla somehow.
And Zinalla absolutely recognized Alyonna.
I heard the team chatting with Zinalla. Background noise. They talked about Keesha, about the threats, about GG, but I watched Alyonna. And Alyonna was … odd. She had not yet taken her eyes off of Zinalla. Not one single time.
Zinalla mentioned something about the purpose of the Light Keepers being the collection and preservation of knowledge, and something about that statement was…evasive. I love this ring but I don’t always know what to do with the information it gives me. You could surely make great use of it! So I didn’t know why, but I did know that Zinalla wasn’t being entirely truthful. There was something else underneath.
And still, she was intently watching Alyonna. Measured, in control.
While Alyonna was…tense, tightly wound.
Baermak asked if the Light Keepers had dealings with the Unseen, and Zinalla, looking directly at Alyonna, said that it was “a family matter, as I’m sure you know.”
Zinalla said she had been with her family prior to her recent return here.
Now, right here in this room, mother, we needed you. The subtle politics at play in the conversation were honestly striking in their subtlety.
Suddenly Alyonna asked about Zinalla’s sister.
So…she did know Zinalla. Family friends, apparently.
Alyonna asked if Zinalla was Unseen.
“No.”
Alyonna asked why Zinalla went back home. “To help.”
Alyonna raised an eyebrow.
“She’s still family.”
“Still…”
“For what it’s worth, I spoke to my sister and she’s sorry for what she did to you.”
So…so I was still confused.
Zinalla said that the Light Keepers weren’t directly working against the Unseen, but that they were using contractors (such as ourselves) instead.
Zinalla, and her family, had history with Alyonna. And hers.
There was depth here, mother, depth that I cannot see into. That, perhaps, I do not wish to see into. Like the sea near the cliffs, where the light turquoise turns quickly to a deep marine blue and you know instinctively that danger lies beneath. Do not swim here.
I just watched.
I watched Zinalla.
I watched Alyonna.
Trouble.
Trouble indeed. Zinalla’s sister had been young Alyonna’s handler, and had, apparently, killed Alyonna.
I felt my feathers tighten.
In the end, we agreed that Keesha and her Unseen were a common enemy, and one that we could work together to defeat. I finally spoke, offering my knowledge of Keesha’s base, and Zinalla was grateful, as they know far too little.
She said that the coalition of Unseen and Nightshades had basically taken over the surface world. That jibed with what we had seen at home, with you, mother.
Again, home.
And not just home, but everything.
The Unheard were part of a schism within the Unseen. The Unheard did not want the coalition and actively fought against it.
I asked about possibly coordinating between the Unheard and our home. Zinalla expressed that contact with the island was impossible due to the caves beneath it collapsing. Thinking of the portal, I volunteered that I could easily coordinate.
In fact, I would be quite motivated to do that.
To express the depth of my motivation, I told her about you, mother. I made it abundantly clear exactly how motivated I would be.
I instantly realized that this could be the help we need to storm home, take it back, and free you.
And wipe the Sylvan stain from the face of the world.

Report Date

24 Feb 2024