Information Gatherers

We soon ended up in a random tavern that none of us had been to before. After ordering food and drink Thelora scanned the room. Lariss pulled out her Anti-Eavesdropping ball and rolled it on the chair next to us. Once she was satisfied that no one had followed us Thelora started to fill us in on what had been going on.

"Since last year's chaos, the Bandit Queen didn't allow any attacks within Torinheim. The Duchess' people were getting too close because of the chaos it caused. Skadi thought moving some of her more sensitive operations to here would shield them. Within the last five days all of them have been destroyed." She said.

"What's the Bandit Queen going to do about it?" I asked.

"Nothing. The attacks were done so secretly that Skadi didn't even know until late yesterday. She sent me to investigate and when I returned to report my findings, I couldn't find her or anyone at the base. The place was wrecked." She said.

"Do you think it was Wassa or Bornhilda?" I asked.

"I'd lean towards Bornhilda. We aren't the only team doing tasks for Skadi. The others have been hitting Wasaa hard in the previous week. Unless she has outside help or has been able to hide her strength, her forces should be weakened." Thelora said.

"So what's our next move?" I asked.

As Thelora was thinking, Lariss spoke up. "Maybe this is a good thing? With Skadi gone we can just drop out can't we? Do the others even know who we are?"

"I can't give a good answer to that question. Before we came back I'd say Lariss was unknown and Wilmaer known just to Wassa, but I wouldn't have thought Skadi's operation would be decimated within a week." Thelora said.

"What is the last task Skadi wanted us to do?" I asked.

"She wanted us to kill Bornhilda. The protection around Wassa is too high for us to kill her and Bornhilda has been having too many successes as of late." Thelora replied.

"Let's stick to the plan then. We kill Bornhilda." I said.

They both looked at me, Lariss was in shock and Thelora was analyzing me in a new light.

"If what you're saying is reliable, she is in the lead to be the next Bandit Queen. Those that joined her mostly did so in response to Wassa killing their leaders last fall. Once she's dead, they are unlikely to join Wassa. If Skadi is still alive they might join her. Otherwise killing her will throw things into chaos. Either is fine with me." I said.

"I see, you're finally making a move." Thelroa said.

"You can't say you didn't see this coming. Besides, if we pull this off you might be able to swoop in and declare your own desire to be the next Bandit Queen." I said.

She gave me a broad smile. "Oh you are good. Trying to placate me with promises of rewards. Unfortunately I don't want to be Bandit Queen."

"Then what do you want?" I said.

"I'll let you know after we kill Bornhilda." She said.

"So what's the plan?" I asked.

"I've already sent messages to those we can trust to join us. Skadi had been gathering information on Bornhilda's main hideout. Once we have the necessary back up, we'll sneak in and kill her." She said.

"What are her forces like? Getting in might not be too hard but getting out again. After she's dead, it might become more difficult." I said

"She doesn't have too many strong allies and most of them are spread throughout the north protecting her interests. At least that was what I was told." She sighed heavily. "From the beginning our information has been off in one way or another. Truth is I don't know what it'll be like. What I do know is that if she wants to fully secure her spot as successor, killing you would be her best bet."

"I agree. If Wassa is too protected and Skadi is out of the picture, killing me would make her look good. And since the other two groups have bloodied each other recently, she'll have the most power." I said.

"Are you really that important to them?" Lariss asked.

"It's a silly symbolic thing. By sheer chance I messed up Wassa's final test before she became the official successor." I said.

"Well lucky you." Lariss replied.

"Alright, I have a few things I need to prepare. We'll meet back here shortly after supper. I'll have some more information by then. Until then I advise the two of you to stay in the Adventurer's Union. It will decrease the chances of them coming after you for the time being." Thelora said.

Shortly after that we left. Once I was sure Thelora had split off from us I pulled Lariss into an alley. Everything about this seemed off.

"I have something I need to do. Head to the Union and I'll meet you there soon." I said.

"Be careful." Lariss gave me a quick peck on the cheek before heading out first. I watched her a little stunned by her action. I really needed to figure out my feelings towards her.

I rotated my shadow mote and made my way towards the Jagged Tankard. Dropping my Cloaking spell in a nearby alley I stepped into the tavern and let a waitress know I was here to see Floriana. My treatment this time around was a lot better and I was soon led up to her room.

When I entered she was in her bathtub, the steam didn't hide much and I was distracted for a moment. Another woman who I needed to sort out my feelings for.

"Were you that disappointed with not getting any last night. I was prepared for a morning quickie but that… priestess had to show up. How was tea by the way?" She didn't stop washing her body as she spoke, her sponge making its way down her leg as she raised it out of the water.

"It went as well as expected. I don't think I increased his curiosity but I don't think I lessened it either. But I'm here for another matter." I said.

She let out a sigh. "I thought as much. When I got back this morning I had a number of messages from my network. It seems this succession has gotten interesting lately."

"We can't find Skadi and Thelora let me know the last task was to kill Bornhilda. I would be grateful for any advice or information?" I said.

"First take your clothes off and join me in case anyone comes in." I hesitated for a moment before disrobing and slipping into the opposite side from her.

"Over the past few days Wassa and Skadi both had important operations hit. Mostly from each other. Surprisingly Bornhilda only made a few attacks and suffered minimal attacks herself. One attack she did launch was at Skadi's main hideout sometime after midnight. For some reason it was only after that when most of the other information started to come to light. Someone did a good job of controlling the flow of information." She said.

"Is Skadi still alive?" I asked.

"I can't be certain but I'm leaning towards yes. Kidnapping a rival will look better than outright killing them and even though Bornhilda is currently in a position of strength, the current Bandit Queen doesn't favor her. She still wants Wassa as a successor but still needs the support of the powerhouses of the organization." She said.

"I thought the Bandit Queen had complete control and her closest allies supported Wassa." I said.

"She currently does and many of the higher ups do as well. But most of her direct lieutenants are still a little wary of the change in power. This whole succession is to pacify them by proving competence in her heir." She replied.

"None of them want the position?" I asked.

"No, they aren't the leadership type. As long as they get their fill of treasure, they are willing to follow." She said.

"What can you tell me about Thelora? You seemed to hint that she was good at keeping and finding out secrets but since I've been with her, nothing has gone according to plan." I said.

"Hmm that is strange. Towards the end of the fighting last fall, Skadi started to make gains with the help of a mysterious newcomer. It was the only reason she survived. It wasn't until you told me her name that I was able to start to confirm they were the same person. Even now most of Skadi's gains came from information that Thelora was able to provide." She said.

"So it's just the operations I'm involved in that don't go as planned." I said.

"As far as I know, I don't have extensive knowledge of what's been going on. My employer wants to stay out of it as much as possible so I've had to be more discreet than usual in my information gathering." She said.

"Can you tell me anything about Bornhilda's hideout?" I said.

"I can tell you where it is and maybe give you some idea of the floor plan. Though anything I can give you, Thelora should also be able to, if not more." She said.

"Tell me what you can. I can then compare what I hear from her." I said.

It wasn't much but Floriana let me know the location of the hideout and its general layout as well as possible forces. When she was done I thanked her and started to rise out of the tub.

"Are you sure you want to leave this quickly? The waitresses might gossip about your… stamina." She said.

"I'm not too concerned about that." I said but before I could get out more she turned her back to me and pressed herself against me.

"Even so, I need my back washed." She passed me a sponge.

I settled back down but she pressed her back hard against my chest leaving me with only access to her front.