Chapter 256: Chapter 237: Wartime Espionage

The capital city of Cernlia had a nice and central location, overall. Certainly not as bad as some countries she had seen in her travels. It was also rather big and reasonably nice, for a human city in these times, Madris supposed. Certainly might illustrate why Cernlia could claim to be one of the great nations remaining.

The city of Cera - which she suspected the country had been named after, although the original records seemed to have been lost - was encircled by several tall walls, the last set only raised in the last decade to enclose the entire steadily-growing city with its poorer outer parts. King Nicholas, the Third, had spent quite a bit of money on it up until five years ago or so. Anyone who’d hoped things would get better after this expense was stopped would have been disappointed, of course.

Not that Madris particularly cared what the Cernlians thought. Usually, at least. She had taken on this task for Regina and she was determined to do her best, which did necessitate knowing what they thought.

She sighed a little as she looked at the city, rumbling towards it on the wagon she was hitching a ride on. Slowly. The sight did give her a bit of nostalgia, she had to admit. She’d been here before, twice, but that wasn’t really it. From this angle, seeing the light gray stone of the walls reaching into the sky, it almost looked like a familiar city back in the Eternal Dark. One she had left behind long ago, and which had changed too much in the last few centuries to recognize, anyway. She already knew she would be disappointed if she was to look for deeper similarities. If nothing else, the city stank a bit more, even if it did have good sewers. Humans tended to crowd together closer than her people and occasionally included animals, however, which had predictable consequences. She was glad to enjoy the relative quiet before the noise of the city would fill it.

The human man driving the wagon glanced at her, then turned back to face forward without saying anything. Madris had considered simply hiding here, leaving him oblivious to her presence. But in the end, she had decided against it. It would have been easy and not much of a danger, but not without any risk. Besides, she had been trying to be more conscientious of her actions and acting in such a way did not strike her as very ethical.

Instead, she lightly brushed the surface of his mind, making sure he did not have any ill intentions towards her without truly delving into his thoughts or emotions. Thus assured, Madris closed her eyes and leaned back in her seat, focusing on the minds in her vicinity.

The city was, as ever, a large and growing tangle of minds, a stream of feelings and thoughts and impressions. She navigated it with the ease of long practice, pausing to take the pulse of this collective. Cera teetered, she found, between anticipation and unease, hope and fear. The end of the war was in sight, if not already here, and people were relieved and looking towards the future. At the same time, it was not quite over yet. And another conflict might loom on the horizon, which the shrewder and more observant realized and dreaded. News of Kiara’s ‘disappearance’ had arrived a while ago and rumors swirled thickly. Many of them contained a grain of truth.

As they came closer, she dove deeper into the consciousness of the city. She wanted to know how much people knew and what the average commoner thought, before she focused on the nobility who would most likely have more power to affect change. It was not an easy task, but after sifting through several common sentiments and shared attitudes, she thought she had it largely figured out. The knowledge of the Starlit Hive and the Hivekind was very varied in scope, as was their attitude towards it. Some Cernlians simply dismissed them as ‘monsterblood’ barbarians. Surprisingly, many were wary of them for similar reasons, as monsterbloods that were proficient warriors. Many thought they couldn’t be all that bad, since Lyns had allied with them. That fact seemed common knowledge. And, she realized, Lyns was fairly popular here, despite having led a rebellion and starting a civil war. People hoped he would make a good king, however. To be fair, if she dug a little deeper, most of that sentiment seemed to be based on the fact that he was evidently not his predecessor.

The wagon rolled into the city after passing a rather bare-bones checkpoint manned by a few soldiers, and after taking a quick look around, Madris concentrated on the people of importance within the city.

Being human and from this part of the world, they were almost entirely nobility. She supposed Delvers might have counted as well, as they had wielded a bit of influence in Cernlia, historically. But most of them had retreated to their headquarters during the war and the influence had declined somewhat as they stayed out of it. And, of course, they were allied to Regina and thus the Hive now. She suspected the political influence would return, but perhaps in another way. Anyhow, there were a few wealthy and influential merchant princes in the city as well, and from what Madris could tell, they were guests at the palace almost as much as the nobles, so there was not much difference.

The army the marquis had led against the king was still largely intact, but currently on a sweep through the eastern part of the country to mop up the last resistance and fully secure his rule. Unsurprisingly, Lyns himself had elected not to remain with them for long, in the wake of Kiara’s departure. He had hurried preparations for his coronation, not willing to postpone it and presumably hoping the added legitimacy it would give him would help to weather this crisis.

Madris was honestly not sure what he expected. She had taken a peek at his mind now and again, but she exercised all due caution when it came to the soon-to-be king. Not only was his mind better protected than most, but getting caught accessing it would have all sorts of unfortunate repercussions.

Instead, she focused on his followers, who were almost all uneasy and nervous. Most of them had clearly not expected the situation to devolve like this, or at least hoped it wouldn’t. Some approved of his intentions to send Kiara to the Esemen, others cursed the way he had alienated her. She caught a few thoughts that he should have quietly killed her in an unobtrusive manner. All the same, most of them appeared to realize the potential for another war.

After getting a better idea of their general attitudes, while the wagon was winding its way up the city streets towards the palace, Madris finished an overview of the notable Lyns supporters in the city and considered how to proceed. After weighing the pros and cons, she chose a military leader to dive deeper into.

As far as she was concerned, she was simply spying for another side in a war, which was perfectly allowed, if perhaps slightly morally dubious. Not that interrogating someone in a conventional way would be better, in her opinion. But that was not the reason she was cautious. As long as their opponents did not know she could do this, or that Regina could do the same, her side had an undeniable advantage. It needed to be preserved as long as possible, which meant not alerting targets to their minds being infiltrated.

Madris vividly remembered how her own people’s tactics had changed, after she had come out of training. Naturally, over two centuries had passed by then, but she knew time was not the only reason for the differences, she had watched them adapting. Compartmentalizing information, setting up backups and identification protocols, relying on externally secured ciphers, coded messages and stored information under heavy magical protection. It had been disconcerting, seeing the dangerous dance of her people shifting in her steps (even if it had also been exhilarating, realizing she mattered so much, that she was powerful enough to exert such an influence, evoke such a change just by her existence). There was more than one reason Madris had never liked taking part in internal rivalries or intrigues, and only reluctantly in the one major war happening during that time. She had turned the course of the war, they had heaped praises and awards on her and given her a title, and she had left, disenchanted.

Dismissing these thoughts and memories, she focused on her current target. The information she wanted was relatively easy to find, even if she had to be careful to look for it without arousing any suspicion. She risked subtly sending a direction to her target, prompting him to think of the army and the path it would take. He was already considering how long they would be gone and when they would return to the capital, or at least found these thoughts easy to connect to existing worries, so it would seem natural.

The - former, now - rebel army would return sooner than originally planned. Their route was only changed a little, but they were under stern orders from the marquis to expedite whatever possible. That was not a surprise. He had to know that this situation left him vulnerable.

Right now, the army being away from the capital left either of them possible targets. The fact the marquis had still not brought them together indicated he was too concerned about not looking like he was worried. Not that she could blame him for worrying about not appearing weak under the circumstances. He might believe appearing strong could help dissuade Kiara from attacking him, and he truly needed all the help with that he could find.

Madris knew it would never be enough. Several people had already contacted her to fill her in. She knew Kiara had already sworn allegiance to Regina, in the manner of her people. She would likely need to repeat it publicly in Cera, but that could wait until she had won. With the heir to Cernlia firmly under her protection and control, Regina would crush all resistance to install her as ruler. And she wanted to do it quickly.

Thus Madris was here, gathering further information and watching. Madris felt herself smile. She was looking forward to it.

After passing on some of the information she’d gleaned to one of Regina’s Drone Keepers — delightful kids, and better conversationalists than she’d expected — Madris focused on her immediate surroundings again and hopped down from the wagon. She ambled away down the street, careful to keep her hood up despite the slightly suspicious nature of such attire. It was cold enough to warrant it, at least. Contacting someone as far away as the Hive’s bases, even if they were naturally built to psychically receive and process information, sapped her energy. She still kept up her usual glamour-like effect that made her appear insignificant and unnoticeable, but with little power invested in it. There were ways of recording images or life signatures that would not be fooled by such a thing, anyhow.

The sun was starting to set as she slowly worked her way up towards the side of the royal palace, keeping a respectful distance to be safe. It glittered a little too much for her taste, and she hated the way the reflected sunlight occasionally stabbed into her eyes when it struck a window or metal pane just so. Who had thought plating the temple’s roof in bronze was a good idea, anyway?

Still, Madris dismissed such distractions from her attention and instead focused on confirming that she had the right locations. She would not have been able to contact many people in the city if she’d wanted to, not within a tight time frame at least. Positioning herself where she could watch without being noticed was important.

Madris, she finally received a call from the Hive Queen.

Regina, she responded, retaining her unhurried pace as she walked down a side street. Is your plan starting, then?

There’s been a slight change of plans.

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Madris sent a mental sigh. You have something else you want me to do, then.

Yes. It’s Kiara’s friend, Margaret. A burst of information accompanied the message.

Madris frowned as she stretched her senses again, focusing on the familiar mind. It was easy to find, given the current agitation of her and the men in her vicinity. It appeared they were locking the girl in in a side wing of the palace. Regina must have had a Winged Drone watching it from the air, to notice so quickly. Impressive. Madris dove slightly deeper.

They intend to accuse her of helping Kiara in her supposed betrayal, and most likely in facilitating her escape, I believe, she told her. It is a clear move against Bluegrass, to get insurance, and perhaps against Kiara, too.

I’d like you to free her. You nabbed Zephyr right out of an army camp, you can do this.

Regina sounded more hopeful than certain of it, and Madris gave into the temptation to roll her eyes. I will, she affirmed simply.

Then Madris cut the connection. Even with Regina initiating it, it still took focus and power to keep it going, and she needed all of her energy and mana.

Instead, she sped up slightly, adjusting her planned course. She had not intended on actually going to the palace, which would most likely be the hotspot of trouble if anything went wrong. However, it was nothing she could not deal with, even if she was alone and already tired.

Madris tightened her hold on the minds surrounding her, letting them swim around her, bobbing in and out of the bubble she’d erected around herself and blanking out her presence from their conscious perception.

Getting to the palace was the easy part, it simply took a bit of time. Madris slipped around people on the street and then strolled right towards the gate. She didn’t bother trying to get it opened. Instead, she took a running start and jumped up, grabbed a metal spike and swiftly climbed up and over it. She might be a mage, but her physical stats were still respectable because of her level and her people were naturally nimble.

She waited until she was sure no one was near before she let herself fall, dispersing the impact with bent knees and keeping it as silent as possible. Then she straightened up and resumed walking.

Now she simply needed to find the right room. Madris once more slipped around passing people. She considered the best entry for a while, then headed for a side entrance to the side wing of the complex and waited beside the door until a servant came out, slipping inside before the door closed.

It was easy to find her target, although she still approached cautiously. Fortunately, she could sense that there were only regular soldiers sent to guard it; strong ones and alert, but no particular challenge for her.

Madris considered simply knocking them all unconscious, then decided regretfully that she did not have the energy to spare, especially to fight her way out if she made a mistake and they were missed, so she would have to rely on stealth. She ducked around the corner and then focused on the minds of one of the soldiers.

He was already a restless sort, and curious about the lady they were guarding. It took only a moderate nudge to make him knock on the door. Madris approached silently, nudging him again to ignore his companions’ complaints.

“Lady Margaret?” he asked, poking his head in. “Is there anything you need?”

Margaret covered her surprise under regal composure. “Not at present, although I thank you for the consideration. Except for the chance to speak to my father.”

“That we can’t do,” an older soldier grunted, pulling his companion back and slamming the door before he started berating him.

“Perhaps I can help,” Madris said drily, leaning against the wall beside the door and lowering her hood while she extended the magic she held to cover the room. “Please do not be alarmed, Lady Margaret, I come as a friend.”

To her credit, the young human woman managed to stifle a scream. “ … Lady Madris?” she asked faintly.

Margaret smiled. “Let’s get you out of here, girl.” She hummed consideringly. “And perhaps you can answer a few of my questions for me.”

“Alright,” she agreed.

“We do need to hurry, though,” Madris continued. “We don’t want to be caught in the attack.”

“Attack?” the girl asked, sounding faint again.

Madris kept her smile. “Just a small one.”

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