Rusty Nail

"You have to be patient." Elya grimaced at the bitter ale she was forced to drink and scratched her head. This wasn't the sort of place one could get away with nursing a mug of water or a cup of tea if they actually had the courage to accept something unpurified here. The inn was nestled within a dilapidated shack on the edge of the docks, rotten slats of driftwood and rope teetering on the verge of collapse. Elya's inquiries indicated that the 'Rusty Nail' ignored most of the laws of Konstanz by its very existence. Both Imperial and hygiene, not that anyone codified laws for the sake of cleanliness. The Rusty Nail was a sign such laws may be necessary. The only reason the guard didn't shut the place down was its clientele. Keeping all the rough, burly sailors near their ships while they were getting drunk made containing their bouts of violence much easier.

"Let's just grab them." Alexis growled, eyeing the small store-front they were observing across the street.

"We can't afford to make any waves. If the people behind them become wary, our efforts would come to nothing." Elya chided. Following Suri's advice, she ordered her Knights to dig through older records in the guard's quarters, trying to find the earliest mentions of Stardust. They'd unknowingly fallen into a reactive mindset as the traffickers were exposed, looking for the dealers based on new information, ignoring their origins. However, it was clear they would have been in business for several years at least and even the most secretive of organisations would leave some sort of trail in all that time.

No one was perfect.

Their diligence paid off, finding several reports from three years ago, detailing the arrest of a few small-time criminals in possession of a few packets of Stardust. The terrified criminals apparently betrayed their supplier, a local ship captain who was brought in for questioning and subsequently incarcerated. Since the charge was minor, they were all released within a few months, weeks in the case of the captain who happily paid to commute her sentence.

A footnote for the towns law enforcement at the time, but the captain was arrested twice more over the next half a year on similar charges. In each case she paid an ever increasing amount in fines. By the third arrest the amount was far too large for a small time ship owner to be able to afford, even with loans. Only someone with a lot more money would be willing to pay so often.

And so they found a lead.

The captain ostensibly sold her ship and purchased a small shop on the waterfront, moving away from her life of crime. Elya would have to be a fool, or mindless drone of the Theocracy, to believe the woman cut ties to the drug trade so easily.

Even if she'd wanted to.

Elya swirled her mug, staring at its murky contents and puckered her lips in distaste, tilting her head back to swallow the terrible ale. She slammed the mug down and glared at the store-front, not having to put on an act to show anger and disgust.

"I don't like this Milady. Why are we even here? We could have sent any number of people to keep watch." Alexis reached up to adjust her bandana, unused to the strange cloth.

"There's something I need to confirm." Elya followed suit and touched her own head, frowning at the coarse texture of her hair. Before coming here, she'd gone to Nikolai for a magical means to disguise herself. Unfortunately he only shook his head, patiently explaining to her why sustaining spells without a proper 'focus' and 'intent' wouldn't work without his presence. She'd become lost when he started describing the refining process for a 'focus' and quickly cut him off. Nikolai pouted, but she patted his cheek to cheer him up and he happily handed over a small jar filled with a black, tar-like substance, claiming it was capable of changing her hair colour without causing lasting damage. Elya had hugged him in delight and dashed out to get ready for her surveillance, ignoring his calls about proper application procedures, which she now regretted. But it worked, turning her shining silver hair to a gorgeous silky black, in appearance at least. The stuff left a rough powder on her scalp once it dried, making it terribly itchy.

The surly one-eyed innkeeper of the Rusty Nail waddled over, rubbing at his eye-patch and clothed in a dirty apron. The scent of stale food and sharp alcohol wafted from the man and Elya resisted the urge to recoil at the stench. A hard bitten sailor would be used to far worse.

"What d'ya want?" he rasped, leaning on their table to loom over Alexis. She could barely understand his words, the accent so thick and foreign. Almost as if he wasn't speaking Imperial at all. Elya's eyes narrowed, seeing the lust flickering in the man's eyes as he stared at them lasciviously. Without turning her head Alexis spun a dagger and drove it deep into the table, inches from the innkeepers fingers.

"Keep yer hands to yerself scum." She slurred, not bothering to face him. "If we need somethin' we'll ask ya." Her affected drawl pricked at Elya's ears, sounding fake. She hoped it was because she knew her friend so well and not because the accent was ridiculous.

"Don't get so worked up lass." The man grinned and backed off, his gaze promising violence. "Ya ought to keep that temper o' yours under control. Wouldn't want ya to… get hurt."

Elya waved her empty mug to catch his attention. "One more." She rasped, avoiding accents entirely, trying instead to mimic the weariness in Aunt Natalia's voice. The innkeeper snatched her mug and poured another frothing portion of ale, more foam than drink.

"I hate to repeat myself and nag Milady but how will this help?" Alexis asked once the man retreated to his bar, glaring all the while.

"I already told you about Nikolai's suspicions. We know the Black Hand isn't involved and we have to prove it." Pushing her mug away, Elya sighed and returned to observing the patrons entering the shop.

"So what if he kicks them out of town?" Alexis grumbled.

"He's not one for half measures. I doubt he'd stop until the Hand's agents in the Empire were uprooted. He won't leave an enemy behind him. You're the one who's terrified of True Imperials and warned me to take care in any case."

"Not terrified, just wary. I dislike this business with the Black Hand as it is Milady."

"Your objection's noted, but we'll do it my way."

"But-"

"That's an order Vice-Captain Barsi."

Alexis twitched at the reprimand, looking hurt. Pulling her dagger out of the table she sulked, surveilling the shops surroundings.

"Trust me Alexis." Elya whispered. Her friend grunted in acknowledgement, refusing to face her.

While the street they watched wasn't a major thoroughfare, enough traffic passed through to make it a viable location for setting up shop. Especially one that sold trinkets and exotic items like the store they currently observed. The patrons came from every section of society. Sailors on furlough, citizens passing by, travellers taking a break on land, there was something to cater to all their needs. From small stone sculptures carved by the Volha Monks in their monasteries along the Ridge, to intricately designed silver jewellery formed by the magic of Teristani shamans.

The setting sun bathed Konstanz in a deep orange glow, a flash of light in the distance resolving into the Eye of the Great Dragon. Nikolai's testing of the spell continued, handled by Jarek these days. Nikolai claimed it was to give his apprentice experience, but Elya just thought he wanted to avoid the boring repetition required for testing. At least his description of the process sounded boring to her.

A twisted shadow flickered at the edge of her vision. She turned quickly and caught sight of a handsome middle-aged man in a mottled brown robe sweep into the shop, his dark hair streaked with solid grey. Elya gasped as the pendant on resting against her skin heated up. Fumbling the crystal hanging from a simple silver chain out of her shirt, she bit her lip at the ominous crimson light flickering in its depths. This was enough to confirm her suspicions. Whoever was behind this had ordered the assassination.

"What is that?" Alexis stared wide eyed at the magical pendant.

"It's a Flash Pendant. It's supposed to light up if there are signs of Dark Magic or Demonic creatures."

Realisation dawned on Alexis' face and she tossed a few copper coins onto the table, probably more than five times the value of the terrible ale they'd consumed, even at the inflated prices of the Rusty Nail. They moved to stand but the scowling innkeeper rushed over and barred their way.

"Move aside." Alexis yanked out her dagger and waved it threateningly, ignoring the suspicious glares of the inns customers.

"Now there's no need to do that Milady." Elya gaped at the innkeepers cultured voice, all traces of the accent gone. If she hadn't heard him before. she'd swear the man came from one of the Houses in the capital. He held his hands out, palms visible to signal peaceful intent. The other customers seemed disappointed at the gesture. They would have hoped for a fight.

Lifting his eye-patch to show a perfectly healthy eye, the man grinned and slowly pulled a small roll of paper from the inside of the cloth, tossing it onto the table with a flick of his wrist. "Please give my regards to the Count and pass this to him. I would have used the regular route, but your presence means that things have escalated and wasting time following procedure may be disastrous."

"Who are you?" Elya whispered, keeping her voice as low as the innkeepers. "And how did you recognise us?"

"While your attire is appropriate, you smell of soaps and perfumes, not the sea." The man explained, fixing his eye-patch in place once more. "The accents were acceptable, but weak. They don't match your appearance at all. Even under all that dirt you still look like Nobles. It may fool the local rabble, but anyone paying attention would double check after spotting so many inconsistencies."

"I thought the accent was fine." Alexis mumbled and Elya hushed her.

"Who are you?"

"I can't tell you if you don't already know Milady. My sincere apologies. You should leave before people become suspicious." His demeanour returned to that of a sloppy innkeeper, glaring at them and waving a clenched fist ferociously. "Git woman! If ya don't have decent coin don't ya dare to show yer face again."

"You don't deserve even this much for this sorta swill." Elya rasped. Even though she was surprised, she managed to come up with a response and snatched up a few coins along with the paper from their table. The innkeeper winked at them in approval, hurling insults as they left.

Scurrying back to their office in the guards quarters Elya pulled out the paper, showing Alexis the seal emblazoned on it.

"He's an agent of the Ministry of the Interior?" Alexis looked dumbfounded. Who would have expected the Ministry to have an agent disguised as a shabby innkeeper in one of the worst parts of town?

With trembling fingers Elya broke the seal and unfurled the note. It was probably intended for Nikolai's eyes alone, but in this situation she believed she had every right to see what was on it.

[Signs of 2nd Vilinian M. Corps Confirmed.

Motive: Vengeance/Reconquest.

Stardust funds for possible counterattack.

Caution and immediate action advised.

Z.A.]

"The 2nd Magical Corps was at Galicia right?" Alexis belatedly leaned out of the room to check if anyone was nearby. In their excitement and fear, they'd forgotten to take such a simple precaution.

"I didn't think any of them survived."

"This is bad."

That was an understatement.