CHAPTER 80: SPY

The mood changed entirely as the words left her lips.

Liam jumped to his feet and drew his waraxe, Darius doing the same with his sword. Annie spun to look into Red’s eyes.

"Explain."

With unusual urgency, Red spoke.

"A weed has taken root and now stretches for the flower. The white oak, built and strong, full of unexpected vitality."

With a shared nod, Liam and Darius sprinted in opposite directions, their heads swiveling around as they looked for something only they knew.

"Is there anything else we should know?"

Red shook her head, allowing Annie to stand and join them. Rising up, Charon scanned their surroundings and frowned.

"What’s going on?"

Her hand twitched at her waist, as if prepared to draw some imaginary sword. With narrowed eyes, she leaned forward to look at something at the edge of the park and jutted her chin at it.

"A weed in the garden means there is a spy in the Fort."

The word "spy" caught both Charon’s and Emerius’s attention, the latter drawing his swords with a soft ring.

"And I just found him."

She whistled loudly a high-pitched tune of three notes. It was clearly a signal of some sort, with the intended effect equally obvious.

Liam and Darius, already on the move, froze for a half-second as they snapped around to look at Annie. With only a cursory glance, they saw where she was looking and set off in that direction, meeting in the middle as they charged.

Annie chased after them, calling back as she ran.

"Don’t just stand there, come and help!"

The two shared a confused look, neither sure about what was happening. With a shrug, Charon figured "what the hell" and joined in the hunt, Emerius just behind him.

They darted around trees and over benches, scattering a few people still lingering after the play, their inner musings interrupted by the sudden excitement. Murmurs of confusion began to spread, some standing in alarm and others preparing to draw weapons.

A few even began to watch closely, believing this to be connected to the show.

Charon spotted the man just where Annie had pointed.

He was tall and wearing a white robe, with broad shoulders and a friendly disposition. He was walking towards the main street, as if going for a stroll without a care in the world.

Liam didn’t seem to care, raising his waraxe as if to strike at the first available opportunity.

Sensing danger, their prey glanced behind his back, his eyes widening to the size of dinner plates as he spotted the approaching party.

Without a word, he began to run, streaking off the dirt and onto the cobbled roads.

’Damn! This would’ve been so much easier if he didn’t look!’

None of them stopped the chase at the park’s edge, almost stampeding through some citizens as they crossed the border.

With frightening ease, Emerius passed Charon, catching up to Liam and Darius before moving in front of them as well. His agility knew no limits as he found the surest footing with every pump of his legs, propelling himself forward at a terrifying rate.

Charon noticed he was also gaining on the two warriors, his small stature and lack of carried weapon allowing him to be swifter in the packed street.

Once he caught them, he slowed his pace, allowing himself to exchange a couple of words.

"Do you know what’s going on?"

Liam was the one to respond, his massive frame unbothered by the strain of running.

"Spy. Red must’ve overheard some thoughts that gave him away. If we don’t catch him before he makes it to the lower rings, we will never find him. Shit bastard could have all sorts of information by now."

Frowning, Charon sidestepped a couple holding hands and jumped over a small divet in the road, unwilling to let himself be crippled by a sprained ankle.

"What will you do to him if you catch him?"

A wicked grin crossed his face, somehow reflecting on the head of his metal waraxe.

"We get to interrogate him ourselves before turning him in. We have special permission to watch over these sorts of events, Red being a mind mage and all. We may even get promoted from this!"

Charon wasn’t sure he liked the gleam in Liam’s eye, nor the weight he gave to the word "interrogate". It implied a more physical level of information acquisition than he was used to, but wasn’t entirely against.

’It might not be the most efficient legal system, but if that’s how the Fort does justice, who am I to argue?’

He just hoped it wouldn’t get him in any trouble, or Emerius for that matter.

The man in the white robe ducked into a side alley ahead, Emerius hot on his tail. The group pivoted hard to join them, moving in tight formation. Their boots slapped on the stone as the walls began to press in from either side, the gap narrowing with every step.

It eventually reached a breaking point, leaving a hole for a single man to move through at a time. Crossing it, Charon realized they were in another part of the Fort.

They were on a quiet street, one that looked like it hadn’t had people cross it in a while. Moss and weeds covered the walls and grew from the cracks on the ground. A broken lantern hung limply from a ring, swaying to create strange shadows.

A metal gate stood at the end, the spy just before it with a wicked dagger in his hands. Emerius was waiting just across from him, both of his swords raised to strike.

Spotting them, the man called out, his voice high-pitched and whiny.

"Stay back or I’ll gut you! You don’t know what I can do, you don’t know anything! I’ll have you all dead before you know what hit ya!"

His spare hand slipped through a fold in his robe to grab something hidden from view.

Raising his arms as if to surrender, Darius approached slowly, stopping once he was beside Emerius.

"No sudden moves. If you drop the dagger, we can discuss this civilly. There is no need for bloodshed today."

The man’s eyes darted between them, full of hatred and fear. His dagger twitched menacingly, as if the weapon itself was unsure what to do.

"You weren’t supposed to find me, this wasn’t the plan! I was promised this would be an easy assignment! Why are you all getting involved?"

There was an insanity to the way he spoke, as if he wasn’t all there in the head. It reminded Charon of a cornered mouse, squeaking and clawing at everything to make sure it survived no matter what.

The four of them faced off against the single man. Emerius shot Charon a look that told him exactly what he wanted.

’If this looks like a fight, I’ll bring them out at a second’s notice.’

Darius took a tentative step forward.

"I understand this is not what you wanted, but it is what has happened. You can not take all of us on at once. Surrender, now."

His words did not have the intended effect, the man growing more erratic in his movements as he staggered forward and screamed.

"Stay away! I will kill you all! You don’t know what you’re doing!"

’Okay, this isn’t going to end without someone getting hurt. Better him than one of us.’

Momentarily closing his eyes, Charon easily found the energy in his chest and activated his spell. Twelve purple portals rose from the ground around them, everyone except Emerius backing away from the sudden display of magic.

The skeleton lieutenant, four infantry, five defenders, and two archers appeared, their weapons at the ready.

Moving according to Charon’s thoughts, the defenders took the lead to create a shield wall, their tower shields locking together to create a single surface. The archers flanked them to the sides, while the infantry and lieutenant hung back as a second line of defense, just in case.

Watching the approaching horde with wide eyes, the spy ripped a bottle full of green liquid from his robe and pulled the stopper with his teeth. He then threw the container with all of his strength, the glass shattering against the metal barrier to release a gas cloud.

Everyone instinctively backed away, something in their brains screaming in protest at the thought of them even coming close to touching the fumes.

The man cackled triumphantly as he crowed.

"How does it feel to have your lungs liquify? To have your skin bubble and peel? This is justice for everything your so-called High Elders have done!"

As the wind dissipated the gas, the spy’s words died in his throat, his dagger clattering to the ground as he realized the skeletons were unharmed.

’Melted lungs? Really? These guys haven’t had organs for centuries! Possibly longer! I think they will do just fine with your stupid potion.’

Looking over at Darius, who was staring at the skeletons with bewilderment, Charon asked a simple question.

"Do you want him to be conscious right now?"

A slow head shake was all the confirmation he needed to send the command.

One of the defenders stepped forward and slammed his shield into the cowering man’s face, his nose crunching under the blow as he crumpled to the ground like a discarded tissue.

’Damn, I wish I had recorded that. It’d make a good alarm sound.’