Khenal
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Chapter Three-Hundred Eighty-Four
🕑 Added 2025-08-12 01:49:00 +0000 UTCI wonder how difficult it would be to smite someone? I never really gave it any thought, but after hearing Onyx give Cappy’s report, I’m sorely tempted to figure it out. I should probably try to figure out this divine magic stuff eventually, and the Earl and the thieves seem like a good test dummy.
I quash that train of thought, and even chuckle to myself as Teemo sighs in relief. Getting mad and flying off the handle is a good way to get collateral damage, and with how narrow the difference is between Change and chaos, I can’t go letting loose without knowing exactly how it works. That and, you know, cold blooded murder is what I’m trying to prevent.
No, I think it’ll be better to ensure they get turned over to the king or the army or whoever the kingdom uses to arrest those sorts of people. It might seem a bit ironic for me to want to stick to the local rules and laws, but I don’t think they’re really in need of Change. There’s already a system to judge and a punishment in place for what they’re planning, and me barging in and busting heads would just make a mess of things.
It’s always good to make sure righteous anger isn’t just pride being sneaky. So I take a deep metaphorical breath before making any decisions. Honestly, besides the anger at them potentially targeting Aranya and who knows who else, the report is great for us. It sounds like they’re giving up on attacking the hold, which will be nice. Between Coda’s designs and the army parked right outside it, there’s just no good way for them to really try to strike there.
And them hoping to use me as the scene of the crime is them just throwing our sneaky rabbits right into the briar patch, exactly where they want to be. Teemo smiles as I start plotting.
“I think the Boss is more determined than ever to stop them, and they’ve just so kindly given us the home field advantage. Now we just need to figure out how to use it.”
Onyx grins wide at that, and I can feel even Violet’s eagerness to see them brought to justice. Stopping them should be pretty simple to do now. The obvious way to make it look like Rezlar died would be to have him ‘fall’ off of the tree. Between Teemo and my plants, it’ll be as safe as possible, though a freefall is never exactly safe. But however we fake his death, we still need to prove the Earl and the thieves are working together.
Witness testimony is all well and good, but I want hard evidence tying them together, the sort of things they can’t just wave off as lies. I think that’s going to be harder to accomplish. Getting info out through Cappy is one thing, but something material will be another.
“Cappy, is there anything physical to prove they’re working together?” asks Teemo for me, and though the little mushroom doesn’t seem to react as far as I can tell, I still get the impression he’s thinking.
After almost a minute, Onyx answers for him. “He says there’s a lot of documents for their plans, but most get burned once they’re done talking, and the ones that don’t are vague enough that the Earl could probably weasel his way around them. He has seen some papers in a safe, but never close enough for him to read. It’s a lot harder to hide mold inside a safe than on the underside of a drawer or something.”
Hmm… we need to see what’s in that safe. Are there any other things that might be proper leverage?
“Anything else we could use to point to the Earl? If Toja’s putting all her secrets in one place, it’s going to be the most secure place she can manage.”
It takes Onyx only a few seconds before she translates for Cappy. “Nothing else he can’t infiltrate, at least. It’s behind a false wall behind another false wall behind a bookshelf in a secret room only accessible by another secret passage. He hasn’t noticed any enchantments on it, but he hasn’t had a chance to really look.”
Teemo nods for me. “No way it’s not enchanted out the wazoo. You throw that much obscurity security at something, you’re going to use all the other security you can manage, too. So, how do we get to it, Boss?”
We’re going to need Thing and Queen, and you, too, Teemo. Queen’s ants will dig into their base via the sewers, Thing will neutralize whatever magical surveillance they have, you expand the tunnels just enough for you and Thing, and Cappy will help direct. Once inside, stay within the walls and check out the safe. Between Thing and some of the crucible ants, I know we’ll be able to get through. Then Queen can examine what’s in there and use the metal elixir to seal up the crack like we were never there. If it’s incriminating enough, we’ll arrange for the authorities to get it. If not… we’ll have to hope the Earl has something we can use, instead.
As for the Earl and his adventurer’s guild, we don’t have as much info as we do the thieves. Zorro and the foxes, thanks to their disguises as cats, are a fixture around the guild, and even sometimes get pet by the various adventurers, but aren’t ever let inside. There’s apparently a pretty strict rule to not let critters inside, probably for the same reason the thieves keep their territory as clean as possible. But while the thieves can get away with just killing everything, adventurers are held to higher standards.
Killing all the miscellaneous animals for a block around a guild would be pretty poor optics. So they just shoo them away from the entrances, and only kill what few get into places they shouldn’t. It’s a lot easier to claim security when something is clearly well inside the compound where it shouldn’t even want to be in the first place.
We’ve been staying away from infiltrating the guild for a few reasons. One was the simple fact that we can’t… well, I guess Cappy kinda can be in multiple places at once, but it seems like he still needs to focus his attention to notice things. We’ve been figuring it was a better bet to have him focus on the thieves with Zorro keeping tabs on the Earl’s movement.
Another is because of the adventurers. Not only do they have more levels than the thieves, and a wider variety of affinities, but they’re at least theoretically bystanders. There was a lot of friction between them and Karn’s guild at the start… and still is, honestly, but they’ve mostly gotten the hint that trying to mess with the other delvers is not a good idea. I can give them the benefit of the doubt and figure most of them are, if not good people, at least unaware of the Earl’s shady dealings. And if they’re not involved, they should get to keep their privacy, too.
But if the safe is a bust, we might need to get something from the Earl himself, or the Guildmaster. He’s gotta know what the Earl is up to, right? He even came along when the Earl visited me that one time. But how to infiltrate the guild? The basics shouldn’t be too hard. A little ant hole beneath the floorboards should be easy enough to hide, but how to get deeper?
A big part of how difficult it was to infiltrate the thieves was having to worry about a wide range of affinities. Digging might alert anyone with earth affinity, the gremlins would probably be spotted by those with shadow, and so on. We can get around the earth affinity thieves with small ant tunnels, because just like a mountain isn’t as solid as it looks, neither is the ground. There’s a lot of cracks that ants can slip through anyway.
But then getting into the guild proper will be harder. Thing can only deal with detection enchantments at one place at a time. I’d like to have Cappy infest the Earl’s guild, too, but that might take too long. We need someone on the inside, but who? And how?
I’m pretty sure Aelara’s group would be happy to do it, but I think they’re a bit too close to me. Not only is Aranya technically in their party, but Yvonne is my other Resident, too! I might be able to act like I’m trusting the Earl more than Miller, and so encouraging them to join his guild, but it’d probably be safer if the insiders don’t have any real connection to me. Depending on how paranoid the Earl is, he might think it’s Miller telling me to get closer to the Earl to get information! I mean, I would be trying to get information, but I don’t want him even considering the possibility, if I can help it.
I could try contacting that party that tried to tip us off… but I don’t really have a way to do that. And I don’t even remember their names! They don’t seem to like the Earl, but that doesn’t automatically mean they’d be willing to be double agents for me. The only other party I can think of would be Rhonda and Freddie’s, but that one’s right out. Even if the Earl would accept them, it’d just give him a chance to kill Rezlar whenever he wanted!
Could I offer a quest? Pft, yeah right. I’d have to hang it in the open to entice anyone new, and that’d give the whole game away. I grumble as I chew on the problem a bit more, before I feel something from Titania. I turn my attention to her, wondering what she needs, and she’s smiling wide from atop a little leafy throne high in the canopy of the Tree. Before I can try to guess why she wanted my attention, a face and a concept press through the bond.
Gerlfi and his bargain with her! I check her status and see she’s actually been summoned a few times as he and his party delved me, mostly to get an idea of her capabilities and how well she works with some of his other fey, seems like. And she hasn’t called in the time he owes her yet.
I pat the bond with her and return my focus to Teemo, his grin echoing Titania’s. While Gerlfi's debt isn’t nearly enough to force him to infiltrate the Earl’s guild, it’s easily enough to bring him here and offer him a quest, after a bit of explanation. If anyone can navigate a delicate bit of double crossing, it’s someone who regularly makes deals with fey.
Comments
AssumedPseudonym
Chekov called, and he said something about a gun…
William Anderson
TYFTC! Love getting to see that little fey deal show it's face!
Ben Bass
TYFTC! Oooh, great call by Titania, that sounds like a really good move and way to offer a quest to Gerlfi! I have a feeling that the Earl's own guild will gladly double cross him.
Ethan Barrow
TFTC!! Making favors with Fae is always something to be careful about for sure.
Cha0sniper
Catfish scion named Kawm Tench xD
Cash Money Rat
I have a minor suggestion for if/when thediem claims a part of the under swamps, banjo playing skeletons riding flat bed air boats and a catfish Scion
Win Rar
Don't think the kingdom quite acknowledges him as a god yet. They still classify him as a toy dungeon.
Art Dragon
Oh I can’t wait to see the looks on the Earl’s face when he realizes that they’re up shit creek without a paddle! Not only that but they freaking steeped in it too!
Kenneth Welever
Oh yee of fey bargains, I come to call, a call of mischief, deception, scullduggery, and adventure!
DittoMikko
I very interested in how this will unfold, I proper excited for the Earls downfall
Juno Tubolino
Oh, Gerfli and the veterans!! I can't wait for them to meet the guildmaster & the conspiracy theory orc!!
Stickboy172
Oh... this is going to be much more fun than I thought.
Roger F Tueting
“It’s always good to make sure righteous anger isn’t just pride being sneaky.” - I like that. Good chapter.
Eriach
Titania you marvelous Queen!
Orion Belt
Titania you genius
Herakilla
Thanks for the chapter! I love how that bargain with Gerlfi comes back around right when needed! Almost seems... Like fate
Rick Delallata
I'm really looking forward to how this shakes out. The fallout once it's done is going to be very fun too
Dotakiin
I would think the witness statement of a god would be a bit harder than normal to dismiss.
