Dispatched

The knock on the door was met with an invitation to enter. Yorresie stepped through and into the office of the church counselor. She had been summoned immediately upon returning from the sorcerers' college campus.

"You sent for me, Counselor Wilmette?" the nun said by way of greeting.

Ursula spared her little more than a glance before returning to the papers on her desk. It was light work, the sort of thing one could complete while holding a conversation without jeopardising the quality. "Yes. I wanted to inform you that you will be accompanying the knight escort on tomorrow's trade expedition."

"Why?" The question left Yorresie's lips faster than she could stop herself.

Ursula's eyes snapped up to the nun, equally surprised to hear anything resembling insubordination from her.

"I beg your pardon," Yorresie apologised. "I did not mean to sound so curt."

"You will be going because we always send a servant of Geod to represent the city in official functions. You will be going because you are the servant that has been chosen this time." The counselor's tone was firm, informing the other woman that this matter was already closed against alterations.

"I just..." Yorresie persisted anyway. "What... purpose would one such as myself serve in this capacity?"

Ursula sighed. "Sister, I understand your ****. Dyna's knights were not an affable lot even before this recent competition, but you mustn't allow their incivility to drive you from the righteous path of your duties to Geod and Merridian. Think of it this way: you must go as a lodestar for our misguided warriors, and to ensure that there is at least one incorruptible heart to reflect well upon this good city."

"I understand, Counselor," Yorresie said with a defeated tone.

"Chin up. If the brutes act out, you'll simply be given grounds to condemn them." She shuffled some of her documents. "Your things have been prepared for you, and a substitution for your class has been arranged. You need only ready yourself to depart tomorrow morning."

"Yes, Counselor."

"Unf! What are you doing back there?" Tivra groaned.

"Quit your whining," Edie dismissed her. "I know you've taken worse."

"Would you just pull it out already?"

"I'm not done," Edie protested.

"Not done? What do you mean not done? It feels like I'm already pumped full! What else could there be to do but pull it out?" Tivra was less than pleased with her comrade's performance.

"There's a method to this, you know," Edie chided back.

"Honestly, if I knew you were going to be this careless about it, I would have picked someone else," the taller woman grumbled.

"Yeah, like who?" Edie challenged. "Name one person as receptive to you as I am."

"Oh, don't you go milking it," Tivra said with a verbal wag of the finger. "I don't need a bloody soulmate for this sort of thing, just someone who's going to pay me ANY AMOUNT OF HEED."

"Don't be such a drama queen. As if there was much in here to begin with. Have you seen the size of this thing? I can all but guarantee that you've been impaled on bigger-"

There was a slam as Zaida threw open the door with a box in her hands.

"Oi! Don't you knock?" Edie scolded her.

"Sorry. The wind took it."

"I'm in the middle of something here, and Miss Bitchy-Breeches is sensitive even without me jumping at slamming doors," Edie said mockingly.

"For the love of- how hard is it to remove a bloody stinger?!" Tivra exclaimed.

"Harder with you complaining the whole time!"

"Good to see you're back safe... sort of. What happened?" Zaida asked, surveying the situation.

"Seems Tivra strayed too close to a hive and now her life is ending." Edie stuck out her tongue as her focus narrowed. "And... done." She triumphantly held the detached stinger aloft.

"Did you need to wait for the venom to lube its own point of entry or something?" Tivra criticised. She tried in vain to get a look at the minor injury on her back. "Felt like it had no more left to give by the time you got it out."

"Yak, yak, yak," Edie flapped her hand like a big mouth. "If it was so insufferable, then next time you can sit in line at the infirmary instead."

Tivra shook her head and took notice of the box carried by Zaida. "What have you got there?"

"I'm not sure," she said, looking down at the thing as though a label may have manifested since she had taken it. "Someone at the postal office asked me to bring it to Dyna or whomever since I was heading this way, and I accepted."

"Someone at the postal office you say?" Tivra elbowed Edie. "That wouldn't happen to be a certain influential figure in Merridian, would it?"

"This is going better than I thought if you're already taking her package," Edie gave her hips a few suggestive thrusts.

Zaida canted her head in perplexity.

"Forget about it," Tivra waved the unspoken question away. "More importantly, you've got an assignment tomorrow."

"You're a part of the security detail heading out in the morning," Edie elaborated. "You know, like we did the other day."

“You mean I’ll have to leave the city?” Zaida’s throat went dry.

“That is generally where convoys go, yes,” Tivra nodded.

“But… but surely there’s… a greater need for me here in the city. Yeah. What if, um, Marama needs me? He’s probably going to need someone to demonstrate for his students with.”

“Funny you should mention him. He’s actually going to be heading security for the convoy, so he’ll be with you anyway.”

Zaida’s heart sank. She remembered how the two before her had talked about the passive barrier around Merridian that protected against demons. It was true that she had made it through safely once already, but that very well could have been a fluke. Zaida was not especially learned in magical matters, and she preferred not to gamble with being burnt to ashes if she could help it.

“I… can’t go,” Zaida claimed. She figured it sounded better than saying she did not want to go.

Tivra and Edie gave her a look before the former made a realisation. “I think someone’s afraid she might run into some demons.”

“Yes, that’s it. I’d rather avoid any potential encounters with those… erm… foul… things.”

The thunder was stolen right out of Tivra. She had been aiming to provoke some bravado from Zaida, not give her a chance to own up to her fears.

“Sorry to say, Miss Guard-of-Merridian, but if you’re spooked by demons, then you’re in the wrong profession,” Edie said. “Like it or not, you are going along with that escort tomorrow.” Her tone was matter of fact.

“Not to worry though. You’re leaving with a perfectly capable team,” Tivra assured her. “If worse comes to worst, you can always hide behind Marama, then suffer an inescapable reputation as a coward.”

Zaida said nothing at that. She cared little about any potential ostracisation. It went without saying that such things paled in comparison to disintegration. There was nothing she could say to these two that would excuse her from the departure tomorrow.

"What is the convoy for anyway?" the tall knight turned to her companion. "Are they building another farm? I've forgotten."

"I believe they're building a new cathouse outside the town and they wanted charming and brave guardians of the city to sample the goods before it opens to the public."

"Come on," Tivra gave her companion a soft punch in the shoulder. "I'm being serious."

"Sorry, I was lost to a daydream," Edie shook her head clear. "I think it's just a trade caravan or something." She looked at Zaida. "Be sure to let us know if there are any new cathouses, though."

"Are neither of you coming?" Zaida looked between them.

"Pfft, no," Edie scoffed. "We've got greenhorns here to register and train."

"What, do you think all we do is boss you around or jill off all day?" Tivra asked rhetorically.

"But you're always... never mind," Zaida sighed.

"If that's all, then get that crate to Dyna's office, and prepare for your trip tomorrow. I'm going to churn my twat," Edie declared.

"Yes, yes I get it: I shouldn't make assumptions about other people's lives." Zaida's tone was exasperated as she hauled the box out of the room.

"You're actually going to fuck yourself now, aren't you?" Tivra knowingly asked the shorter woman once they were alone.

"Only if I can't find someone else to do it."

Isolt, Madwick, Markil, and a few of their confidants gathered in the inn room to update the superior among them.

"Tell me we're getting close," the lord herald demanded. "If I get dragged into one more game of strip poker, or water wrestling, or whatever other debasing idiocy that passes for recreation in this shameless town..."

"I wouldn't hold my breath, milady," one of the subordinates said, wary of invoking her commander's ire. "Progress is steady, but we're talking about uprooting two of the most prominent orders in the city."

Isolt rolled her eyes impatiently. "Just fill me in on what progress you've made."

"The Geod-grovellers at the church are a tricky bunch to get clo-sss-e to," Madwick explained. "Sss-eems their contempt for the local knights has expanded to a sss-uspicion of all peacekeeper-sss."

"The short version, Madwick," Isolt ordered.

"We've been sss-owing sss-entiments that the latest decree-sss are a deviation from the true teaching-sss of the church. This tactic has been most sss-uccessful with the more hardline devotee-sss, meaning it's the more liberal follower-sss that we have yet to turn on the church."

"How many? Give me an estimate of our progress with the church."

Madwick looked to the others. Initially it seemed that he was consulting them for the most precise answer they could offer, but it became clear that he was just hesitant to give the number he had. "About... thirty per-ccc-ent, or so... are having sss-ignificant doubts about the prieste-sss..."

"THIRTY PERCENT?" Isolt exploded. "YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT WE'VE BEEN HERE FOR WEEKS AND YOU HAVE ONLY SWAYED THREE-TENTHS OF THE DOGMA-DRINKING RUBES HERE?" The captain looked around the room at the underlings before her. None dared meet her gaze let alone answer her demand for an explanation. All hung their heads, except for Markil, who was apathetically picking at something in his teeth. "And what have you to report, hm? I take it you've accomplished something or anything with that nosey knuckle-dragger I sent you after?"

Without a glimmer of haste, Markil plucked whatever debris had been lodged between his incisor and cuspid, and flicked it across the room. "I told her to figure something for Dyna's pendants, and she has yet to report back."

Isolt brought the back of her hand across Markil's face so swiftly and so powerfully that all in the room flinched at the resulting clap. The captain was considerably smaller than the man, yet he was sent staggering by the blow. Before he could recover, she was upon him, taking him by the back of the neck and forcing him down to one knee. Her grip tightened until he winced and reached up in vain to loosen her fingers.

"Listen to me, you wingless halfwit," she spat in his ear. "I can see now that allowing you on this mission was an immense mistake on my part, but until we succeed, it's one we're all going to have to live with.

"I don't know what our Lord promised you as a reward for delivering this town to them - and frankly, I don't care - but clearly, something about the arrangement was lost on you, so allow me to spell it out: THIS. IS. IMPORTANT. Under absolutely no circumstance will I tolerate failure at the hands of some backwater where the citizens are indistinguishable from the stock in their pens. While it pains me to acknowledge it, I am relying upon you to bring this city to its knees. If you cannot be trusted to demonstrate the minimal competence I need of you, then you are a liability." Her grip on his neck tightened further, squeezing an agonised grunt from him. Her voice was dangerously low when she spoke again. "And if you're going to get in the way of my mission for the Lord, then I will send you back to them in a sack woven from the fibres of your own flayed skin. Understand?"

Markil nodded with the tiny range of motion he was allowed by the hand on his neck.

Isolt relaxed her grip, dropping her minion a few centimetres. "You will not wait for this boor to bring your solution to you. You may utilise her, but you may not depend on her. Regardless, find a way to expose those traitors, without exposing ourselves." Not waiting for any form of acknowledgement, the lord herald wheeled around and stormed out of the room.

Those left behind looked amongst each other in awe of what they had witnessed and relief that they had been spared. When Markil stood straight again he rolled out his neck, rubbing the marks that were coming in. He made eye contact with some of the others, daring them to say or do anything to unleash the anger that was burning him up inside. A minute or so after the captain's departure, he too left the room.

Madwick smirked devilishly after him. That's what you get.

"Is Dy- the captain in?" Zaida asked the secretary stationed outside Montague's office.

"Sure is, sis. Are you, like, trying to get a hold of her?"

The secretary was an interesting sort. He had a glorious body that looked every bit as capable as one could hope for a knight to be, but her read of him was... not the sort she would expect to find behind a desk. For starters, she understood that those with clerical duties typically performed them with their shirts on.

"I can totally check if she's taking guests right now." The young man stood and opened the door to the office wide without knocking. Zaida was free to peer past him and see Dyna's status for herself. "Ay yo, Big D, you've got a visitor for you and stuff."

Fortunately, Captain Dyna had not been in the middle of anything sensitive, though the sudden intrusion did seem to catch her off guard briefly. "Oh, uh, come right in."

Zaida did so with her delivery in hand. "Captain," she greeted, shifting the box over to one arm to offer the appropriate salute.

"Hey... Sadie, right?" Dyna attempted.

"Zaida, ma'am."

"My bad. And you can quit with the 'ma'am' junk for now, anyway. Just Dyna is fine." The captain rose from her chair, circled to the front of it, and leaned back on it with her arms folded. "Hey, how did that emergency go? Was it anything serious?"

"Huh?" Zaida was puzzled before recalling back to her last encounter with the leader of the corps. "Oh. No, I was fine. Nothing a little rest and hydration couldn't handle."

"Good, good. So what brings you to me today? I'm going to guess that," the captain pointed to the package under the larger woman's arm.

"Yes, I was asked to deliver it to you as a favour."

"A favour, eh?" Dyna waggled one brow suggestively. "Well whomever this favour is for, you be sure that the good deeds aren't only flowing in one direction." She winked before noticing the markings on the box. Her face lit up with excitement. "Normally deliveries go to receiving and not, you know, the captain's office; but I'm glad you brought this here first." She left the desk to accept the box from Zaida.

"Apologies. I figured your secretary would have said something."

Dyna set the box on the floor before her desk and set to opening it while she spoke. "Yeah, Ahmed isn't the brightest star in the sky, but he's a really sweet guy." She paused to look up at Zaida. "And I'm sure I don't have to tell you about his abs," she said with a self-gratifying grin. She returned to the box before continuing. "A while back I told him knight secretaries aren't supposed to wear shirts at their posts in the summer; you know, to see if he would buy it. I did it as a joke, but now it's like a gift to myself that keeps on giving."

That doesn't sound entirely ethical, Zaida remarked internally. "What is it? In the box, I mean."

"Uniforms!" Dyna exclaimed as she whipped around holding one over her torso. "Looks good, right?"

Perhaps Zaida did not have an eye for this sort of thing, but she did not see anything especially remarkable in the piece displayed by Dyna. It looked exactly like the one she had been issued, with the same colours, the same design, and the same insignias for Merridian's knight corps. The only distinction she picked up on was the superior condition. Hers was vaguely faded and worn from the use she and its previous owner had gotten out of it. The one held by Dyna looked fresh off the loom.

"I agree," Zaida said, a tad too slow to be convincing.

"You see, we usually only get new sets once every few months, but with the influx of recruits, we've had an excuse to commission novel sets much more often." Dyna pressed the piece to her nose and inhaled deeply. "Ah, you can still smell the tailor on it."

That's not all I smell...

Ever since Zaida had arrived at the door to the office, she had been catching whiffs of the familiar scent of demon. After so much time surrounded by humans and nothing but, she was especially sensitive to that smell that she had once regarded as a trait of home. Now it was alien to her. Standing in that office, with only the small open windows bringing some meager circulation with the strong winds outside, she felt like she had been dragged back to her old home. It was not a comforting sensation.

Someone was saying her name.

"Sorry, what?" Zaida shook her thoughts away.

"I asked if you wanted to try one on," Dyna repeated. "Just tell me your dimensions. Hm, might be tricky for you though. Most big enough for you aren't sewn with that much chest."

"No, that's fine. I'm good," Zaida declined. "Shall I pass these along to receiving then?"

"Yeah, one second..." Unceremoniously, Dyna pulled her uniform top up and over her head. She tossed her worn piece on the box and pulled the one she had found for herself on.

All throughout this, Zaida's attention was not on the thrilling display of the captain's abundant bust, but rather the pendant bouncing between it. She was still picking her brain for some way to counteract the magical jewelry's effect without stirring suspicion in Dyna or her coconspirators.

"Ah, like a glove," the captain remarked, straightening her new top. She moved the lid back into place on the box and picked it up for Zaida. "Now if you'd be so kind, run that over to receiving so they can get it to the right people for distribution. Bit of a hassle, but until the sorcerers agree to enchant our threads against wear and dirt, this is how its going to be. Thanks again for dropping by. Have a nice day."

It's no wonder she's been able to hide among the humans this long. She's impressively committed to this charismatic act. Zaida said her own farewells and turned to leave with the crate of uniforms. Wait, what did she say about enchanted threads?

Zaida's train of thought was disrupted on the way out by the entrancing sight of Ahmed's abdominals. Perhaps Dyna's choice to make him display them was not so unreasonable after all.

That night Zaida marched toward the district of Merridian she had come to learn was most dense with magicians. She was on the hunt for a very particular item. Thinking about the disguised demons' pendants and Dyna's words about enchantments had sparked an idea in her. If accessories could be imbued with powers to fend off threats or detection, then why not other magic? All she had to do was find such an item to protect her against the barrier, and she would be free to come and go from Merridian without worry.

But what of my own disguise?

Zaida's pace slowed to a stop. She had not considered that. If she thoughtlessly donned some sorcery-jamming trinket she found, she would simply expose herself before she even reached the edge of town. So perhaps just any old magic-blocker would not do. She would have to find something more specific; something that would only disrupt external witchcraft. She revived her pace.

This might turn expensive fast.