Jorgen-22

After concluding her meeting with Jorgen, Crecyda must again be hidden in an abandoned house a distance from Galin's castle. Now, they converse in Jorgen's room. He notices that Crecyda seems a bit lighter in step and brighter in eyes compared to before their meeting, even adjusting the uneven parts of her headscarf in front of him.

"Tell me about your situation," he says.

"What can I say?" she replies.

"Did he...?"

"He didn't go crazy, didn't hit me. Whatever terrible things you might be thinking, he didn't do."

"That's good. How do you think he is, then?"

Crecyda looks at Jorgen silently, her left hand nervously tracing the back of the chair.

"Um, you didn't have us monitored, did you?"

"No."

"No wonder there are so many questions. Weren't you supposed to take me somewhere to hide?"

"You seem unwilling to answer my questions."

She sighs. "Jorgen, I'll do my best to repay what you've done, but I really don't want to tell you everything right now. Anyway, I'm standing here fine, Renner didn't hurt me, and as you can see, I'm not collapsing or fainting. Isn't that enough for you?"

"Fine, I won't ask anymore."

"And don't go asking Renner either. I know you're planning to."

"I hope you said a proper goodbye to him. You won't be able to see each other for some time. First, as you already know, to avoid Galin, you can't leave the city with me and Renner."

"So... what are you going to do with me?"

"I'll arrange another route for you. It'll be risky, so I hope you can muster up some courage."

"I've taken too many risks these past years, almost didn't make it here alive. Whatever method you choose, I'll accept."

"Good, you're mentally prepared."

"After leaving Stromgarde, will I be able to see him again?"

"Not so soon. This whole thing needs to be handled discreetly. In fact, a few of my subordinates don't even know what happened. After all, your reunion with him needs to be kept from both Galin and my superiors."

"So... you must bring him back to Stormwind."

"It has to be done this way, it's my duty, Crecyda. Maybe there will be other changes later, but I have to complete my mission."

"You might as well leave him in MI7 forever," she looks at him. "That... might have been our last meeting."

"I can't promise you anything, I can only say that the situation is unpredictable."

"I understand. Anyway, I'm already grateful enough."

"I hope you're not too despondent now. I'll arrange a small boat and a follower for you at the abandoned dock south of Stromgarde. You'll sail from there, land on the west coast outside the castle, and wait for us to pick you up. This water route is dangerous, even without any accidents, you'll spend several days at sea. As far as I know, you don't have experience in this regard. If you're too down now, you won't make it. Got it?"

"No... I'm not despondent, really," she smiles at him. "See, I'm actually quite happy. I'm not lying to you."

After Crecyda leaves, Jorgen sits on the sofa, reflecting on the developments so far. It can be said that everything is going well. Being able to take Lawrence and Renner away as planned is a success from the mission perspective. Similarly, from a mission standpoint, removing Crecyda and Glocara, although distant from the core events, can reduce instability. He doesn't think it's right to try to get Tusha to leave because wherever he goes, he'll be an uncontrollable factor, and perhaps it's more advantageous for him to temporarily stay in Stromgarde so he can focus on resolving Lawrence's situation. Moreover, if Tusha were to leave, he would certainly become a prisoner, not a guest. Next, all that remains is to have a formal meeting with Galin, and then it will be over.

For Crecyda, the situation is not so simple. Jorgen didn't clearly tell her what dangers she might encounter at sea. Apart from unpredictable weather, pirates may also appear nearby. After landing, she may encounter beasts or ogres, and Jorgen cannot guarantee that she will be picked up at the agreed time. But as Crecyda said, she has already overcome the danger of death, so she should have the determination to take this final step. Whatever happened between her and Renner, it seems like a good thing now.

He stands up, ready to meet Lawrence with his followers. At this moment, a guard brings in a member of the Seventh.

"Master Jorgen," he says, "I've come from headquarters on Lord Mardias's orders."

After dismissing the guard, Jorgen asks, "What is it?"

The visitor hands him a sealed letter. Jorgen takes it, opens it, reads it, and closes it. It's a handwritten letter from Mardias.

"You don't know what's in the letter, do you?"

"Of course not, Master Jorgen. I'm only responsible for delivering it to you. Also, Lord Mardias asked me to tell you that after you've read the letter, he hopes you'll return to the Seventh immediately."

"How long did it take you to get here?"

"Two weeks. I've done my best. If you think there's been any delay, I'm willing to accept punishment."

"No... you did well," Jorgen wasn't interested in probing the messenger's work situation; he just wanted to know when the letter was sent. "Does Galin know about your arrival?"

"I entered through the gatehouse after formal notification, so his guards might inform him. I apologize, Lord Jorgen, but Lord Mardias emphasized the urgency, so I couldn't resort to clandestine methods..."

"It's okay. But you must leave immediately now, don't let Galin's men find you."

"Understood. Then I take my leave, Lord Jorgen."

"You've accomplished an important task. After returning to the Seventh, I'll reward you."

After the messenger leaves, Jorgen walks to the fireplace and burns the letter. The pale yellow paper quickly collapses and blackens in the flames, emitting a faint crumbling sound. The contents of the letter are very short, only about ten words. Jorgen has a strange feeling: the letter came just in time. He had planned to leave as soon as possible, and now he has another reason—more accurately, he has no choice.

After watching the flames for half a minute, Jorgen leaves the room and sees two followers hurrying towards him in the corridor. They walk quickly, with anxious expressions, and one of them has a fresh bloodstain near his right eye. Jorgen furrows his brow.

"What's happened?" he asks.

"My lord, Prince Galin has taken an individual away," the one with the injured eye says. "We tried our best to stop him, but we were short-handed, and we couldn't resist without your orders. Two of our brothers are badly injured and are being treated downstairs."

This news isn't entirely unexpected to Jorgen. He had imagined all possible scenarios and corresponding solutions, but this came too late. When the work is nearing completion, it's the most difficult time to deal with unexpected situations.

"How did the individual behave? Did he resist Galin's men?"

"We don't know... we only saw Galin's men surrounding the house. And before we left, he warned not to approach Lawrence's cell."

To avoid raising suspicion from Galin, Jorgen didn't hide the temporary location where Renner was being held. He instructed the guards to station outside, forbidding anyone from entering without his consent, but it seems Galin ignored this. As for Lawrence, he is still being guarded by Galin's men so Jorgen plans to take him back before he leaves.

Regardless of how things develop, what Jorgen least wants to see is bloodshed. Once he establishes a hostile relationship with Galin, Jorgen and his few followers will be surrounded by countless enemies. Galin clearly understands the advantage he holds, which is why he orders the attack on the Seventh's people, even though it is a very dangerous provocation in the long run. Anyway, this doesn't seem like a carefully planned action.

"My lord, we disappointed you..."

"Now is not the time to say these things. Call the others, follow me."

"Do we need to prepare for battle?"

"Try to avoid it, I'll handle this. But remain vigilant, wait for my orders."

Jorgen leads his men towards Galin's audience chamber. It seems Galin is completely reneging on his promises and reclaiming Renner and Lawrence. Perhaps he found out about Crecyda's situation, or maybe he simply changed his mind—Jorgen doesn't have time to analyze why Galin is doing this, he just needs to go and ask him immediately. Although Jorgen doesn't think Galin dares to attack him personally, he still adjusts the position of his dagger slightly so that it can be drawn more conveniently. He has had almost no opportunity to use a dagger himself in the past two years, and he doesn't expect to use it now. Injuring one or two guards or Seventh agents might be a minor conflict, but if it goes further, it will become a problem between MI7 and the Seventh, even Stormwind. Considering that both MI7 and the Seventh want to conceal the experimental plans from the outside world, things cannot be allowed to escalate to this extent. Compared to not being able to take Renner and Lawrence away, this is a bigger, truly irreparable failure.

Like everyone else, Jorgen dislikes encountering setbacks when things are about to be completed, but what he dislikes more is when two necessary things conflict with each other. The letter requires him to return to headquarters immediately, which is beneficial for pushing things forward, but now, two things are demanding different things from him. He doesn't think he can solve the MI7 situation immediately.