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Completed Chapter VI: Eye of the Storm

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"I've already had a minute, actually, but at least it was an entertaining one," the bann said, crossing his arms behind his back as they started walking. "Now, I know better than to ask what that was all about, but at the very least I think it's safe to say that your wits haven't been dulled by wine at all - which is rather fortunate for me."

While being exceptionally tall for a human, Teagan still had to look up in order to meet Auri's gaze. The bann led him casually down the middle of the Great Hall, much in the same fashion that Ilhirel had led Maggie earlier, and just like them, the man and drakkar eventually ended up in the hallway beyond - just a few steps from the courtyard. With both gates thrown wide open, October's cool night breeze was swiftly upon them.

"You're doubtless kept well informed of events back home, Ambassador, but tell me: When were you last in Daskárd?"
 
Maggie​




Maggie blushed deeply at the compliment. "I hope He is," she replied with unfeigned humility. "All that I do is for him, or in His name. And -- I am glad you like me too, even if I don't understand why you should." She looked at the altar and sighed, shaking her head. "I believe what you say of the Temple. I have seen some of it myself. I suppose we're only human, when it comes down to it. But I believe our calling should make us want to be more -- to try, at least -- and if we find ourselves unable or unwilling to try, then it is a false calling. I don't know yet what I can do about it, besides continue as I have done, and encourage others like me. Some, I think, only need encouragement, to follow what their heart and soul tell them is right rather than simply going along with their peers."
 
Though she was still hearing Maggie's words, Ilhirel now seemed a million miles away. She stared into the nearby flames with a detached fascination.

"You could pray, perhaps," she suggested after a prolonged moment of silence, with an odd note of bitterness to her voice. "Pray for your Maker to come back and... fix this... before it's too late - and hope he hears you. He certainly isn't hearing me."

The sorceress fell quiet again, but spoke up before Maggie could respond.

"You should probably go now. I'm sure your friend is worried sick over what I might have done with you."
 
Auri Grashaal the Insatiable

- Drakkar Ambassador to Asgard -​

Wolf Rawrrr said:
"You're doubtless kept well informed of events back home, Ambassador, but tell me: When were you last in Daskárd?"
Click to expand...

"I was hither but a month hence," Auri replied quietly, not certain what reason the human had for raising this line of thought. "Why do you ask, Bann Teagan?"
 
Maggie​




"I believe He hears all of us," Maggie replied with soft sincerity. "The answer is not always what we want or expect, but He does hear. I will pray for the Temple and the priests, but I will also pray for you." She glanced at the door, but then turned back to Ilhirel and smiled. "Shall we do so now, before I go? I'm not the long-winded type, and we're already here at the altar and all."
 
Date: October 10th (Friday), year 3321
Location: City of Alicante, the capital of Asgard
Weather: A dark, cloudy night with occasional gusts of chilly wind.


  • Around 20:45
    North Wing Hallway, Alicante's Royal Palace


    Bann Teagan did not respond right away. His grayish-blue eyes casually scanned their surroundings. The corridor outside the Great Hall wasn't empty, but for the moment there was no one in their immediate vicinity.

    "Hmm... So not since the Resistance declared open war again in the south, two weeks ago," the bann mused. "Regardless, that just means you've not been able to witness for yourself the changes of which you've certainly heard in the meantime. The rising tensions throughout the province, the demonstrations of the radicals in and out of Darran, the calls to arms... But it's worse than the reports would have us believe, Ambassador. Much worse."

    Teagan looked both ways before delivering the final piece of information.

    "You see, I've been to Darran this morning... And I know for a fact that the situation there is about to escalate. The extremists have more support in the government than anyone realizes. They're not calling for independence anymore, Ambassador. They're making it happen." Teagan's voice dropped considerably, "One way or another, Daskárd is about to cut ties with Asgard."
 
Maggie​




Maggie was taken aback by Ilhirel's reaction. She couldn't see what was so funny, but that was a clear dismissal, and at least the queen wasn't angry at her. She bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. Good night." Then she walked down the aisle, pausing at the door for a final look at the little chapel, before slipping through the doors and making her way back to the courtyard, where she started hunting for Auri, Meric, or anyone else she knew among the crowd there.
 
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Auri Grashaal the Insatiable

- Drakkar Ambassador to Asgard -​



Auri could not help but smile in a proud and pleased way. His eyes seemed distant as is looking back into memories past. "Ahhh, I cannot altogether be surprised by it, Bann Teagan. I suppose when one gets to my age, relatively or otherwise, you can see little bits of writing on the wall. My people must be what we have always been or die properly in the process. Better to fight and fall and remain what you are than to serve and scrape under the yoke of any other. Is there really another way for anyone who truly counts themselves the drakkar?"
 
Date: October 10th (Friday), year 3321
Location: City of Alicante, the capital of Asgard
Weather: A dark, cloudy night with occasional gusts of chilly wind. Rather cold.


  • Around 20:45
    North Wing Hallway, Alicante's Royal Palace


    The bann looked genuinely surprised at Auri's response, as well as a little impressed.

    "Hmm... I see," he said, clearly contemplating what to say. "Well, I wish I could say that that was all - that I merely wanted to warn you - but in truth, I've come to ask you for a personal favor in regard to this. A close friend of mine has a daughter posted with the Drakkar Diplomatic Corps. Some kind of experience exchange program. She's been in Darran for the last several weeks, and now... Well, now it looks as if she's about to overstay her welcome."

    "Auri," Teagan switched to the drakkar's first name, perhaps in an effort to better appeal to him. "I am not against the idea of your people's independence, but the absolute wrong kind of drakkar are about to seize power. And the Royal Army's pulled virtually all of its troops out of the province during the course of this week. There is no one left to protect those elves and humans who still remain. You say you are not surprised, but I don't think you understand the urgency of the situation. Darran could go on lockdown as soon as tomorrow. And when that happens, when the new regime takes over, what do you think that will mean for the non-drakkar? For those that couldn't have fled in time?"

    The bann's face was alive while he spoke. This was the most animate Auri had ever seen the man, which served to prove just how invested he was in the matter. Eventually he fell silent, allowing Auri some time to contemplate.
 
Maggie​




Maggie quickly found Auri, talking to someone she recognized from before dinner. Unfortunately, her encounter with the queen had completely driven the man's name from her head, although she did recall this was someone Auri had been happy to see, at least. From here, their conversation looked both intense and important -- no one else was near enough to overhear, and both looked extremely interested in what was being said. Maggie wasn't sure the other man would appreciate her intruding at such a time. She looked around hesitantly, folding her arms in her robes as the chill air made itself known. There were braziers all around, so she went to the one nearest where Auri and his friend were talking, so that he could see her more easily. "Excuse me," she said to those already around her chosen brazier. "May I join you?"
 
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There were four people huddling around the fire. As each of them instinctively looked up and shifted to make room, Maggie recognized one of them - but not before he recognized her. It was Elias Ferrani, whom she'd met previously. As friendly as he'd been at the start of the evening, the young man looked yet happier, if surprised, to see the priestess again.

"Ah, the fair lady Maggie! By the grace of the Maker, please do! Our group will be all the richer for your company."

Elias' group consisted of two men, both somewhat older than him, and a younger woman who looked to be about Maggie's own age. Judging from their clothing they were all of them nobles, though Maggie couldn't even guess at their individual importance.

"Don't fall for it," the woman said, openly rolling her eyes. "He said the same thing to me."

"Only because it's true!" Elias defended himself, though the disarming smile on his face alone would have sufficed. His olive skin looked almost bronze in the light of the fire, which, coupled with his curly black hair, made him appear even more handsome than Maggie remembered. "Ah, but would that I were given sufficient time, I'd compose a poem for each of you that would -"

"Yes, doubtless you would," one of his male companions interrupted, looking a little irritated, "But they'd believe it just as readily as we'd believe the far-fetched tales you've been feeding us all evening. Which is to say, not at all."

The other man, having politely nodded his welcome to Maggie, chuckled at the words of his comrade while Elias feigned indignation.
 
Auri Grashaal the Insatiable

- Drakkar Ambassador to Asgard -​



Auri thought deeply. If these circumstances were accurate, it was quite possible that Auri might have to clash with his own people, and while that might have been nothing out of the ordinary for the drakkar, being willing to do so for the protection of non-drakkar certainly was. There was also the added understanding that either Auri would be somehow accomplishing this either with the help of the Resistance or completely on his own. The latter did not worry him. The former did. It meant risking lives like Maggie's.

If Auri was going to consider either route, he needed one thing in great detail - facts. As many as he could get his claws on. Only then could he decide whether to wholeheartedly assist Bann Teagan or regretfully turn him away.

But then there was Dina whom he kept a distant eye on. And more importantly, at least to Auri, was Maggie. There she was being her impeccably-civil self, having to endure Ferrani the tongue-wagger. He raised his claw high in such display as to hopefully catch Maggie's attention. That he was relieved to see her and out of The Sorceress's social clutches was understatement. "My dear Maggie! There you are! Of course you may, priestess! Come! I have something for you!" He carefully reached inside one pocket for the goodies he had procured for her.

If Maggie joined them, then Auri handed over the goods to her while offering an hushed explanation to Teagan. "Bann Teagan, I trust no human more than Maggie of the Maker. What you can say to me, you can say to her, but I understand if you have reservations and thus refrain."

Auri turned his rotund body to fully face his troubled fellow. His expression and demeanor were of the utmost seriousness. "My dear Bann Teagan," he repeated his title and name for Maggie's benefit in case it had slipped her mind. "Either here or elsewhere, tell me everything. Leave nothing out."

While the aged drakkar emptied his mind of preconceived notions and prepared himself to listen, one more thought nagged at him like a baby drakkar fresh out of the egg. What in the world had happened to Asher and how were they going to get Dina out of here?!
 
Elias and his friends made no fuss at all about seeing Maggie leave so soon - at least not once they realized just what type of company they'd be contending with. As high-born as any of them might have been, there were very few people in the kingdom that could compete with a bann; not that the drakkar ambassador didn't hold any weight himself. With only a minor complaint (or two from Elias), the nobles all politely bowed while Maggie switched teams.

"Yes, I believe I got that impression about you two earlier," Bann Teagan agreed, smiling politely at Maggie before refocusing on Auri. "Very well then. What I would ask of you, ambassador, is to use your authority to request what is known as an emergency personnel transfer. As you are the drakkar ambassador stationed in Alicante, and the person in question is currently employed with the Drakkar Diplomatic Corps, it would be well within your power to request her presence at your side for... Whatever obscure reason you make up. I've taken the liberty of bringing the required documents with me," the bann tapped on his coat, simultaneously subtly checking their surroundings. "Even if someone were to question the order, which they probably won't, there would be no time to do so. I'd have my agents deliver it before dawn."

True to his word, Teagan did not seem to mind Maggie's presence at all. He kept his eyes mostly on Auri, and now stood awaiting his reply.
 
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Maggie​




A few minutes ago...
Maggie couldn't help feeling more welcome by the handsome Elias's words, flattery though they might be. After all, he had nothing to gain by treating her so, did he? So surely he meant his flowery compliments on some level. The woman's comradely advice made her feel equally welcome, and she settled in among them to keep warm while she waited for Auri to call her over. Which, as it happened, was not very long afterwards. The priestess smiled apologetically to her temporary companions. "Please excuse me," she told them, "but it was Auri who brought me tonight, so I really should join him when he calls." Returning their bows with one of her own, she left the brazier and its small grouping.

Now...
Maggie bowed respectfully to Bann Teagan as she approached him and Auri. Blushing slightly at Auri's complements (he wasn't as flowery as Elias, but his words somehow seemed more sincere), she accepted the offered goodies with a smile and nod of thanks, then stood quietly beside her big friend, listening and munching away.
 
Auri Grashaal the Insatiable

- Drakkar Ambassador to Asgard -​



Auri knew well what it was to be caught up in war. Put simply, war was hell. If this daughter of Bann Teagan's close friend had not gotten out with the Royal Army, there had to be a reason. Furthermore, she was a stranger and if he were to help, he would need credibility.

"All right, Bann Teagan." Auri nodded and looked the Bann squarely in the eye. "I will do what I can to help you. But help me smooth this out. What is her name and title? Why did this woman not leave with the Royal Army and what credible cause would I have to call her to my side? If I appear as a human sympathizer, I might have much to answer in fang and claw to my fellow drakkar."
 
Once again Bann Teagan covertly rechecked their surroundings, looking subtly less than pleased but continuing nonetheless. "Her name is Elsa Reuven. Her father is Baron Sigmund Reuven, of Darkvale."

The name didn't mean anything to Auri, but that was unsurprising. A bannorn could easily contain a dozen baronies. The local barons usually all knew each other, and their presiding bann was of course obligated to be well acquainted with all of them, but to know all of them across the kingdom was a feat that few could boast of. A handful of barons were rich and powerful enough to really matter, but normally their sphere of influence did not extend far beyond their own barony. In the case of Baron Sigmund Reuven, Auri couldn't even be sure of which part of Darkvale his domain was in. In a way, this made sense - had the nobleman in question been a more powerful figure, he might have attempted something on his own. But as it were, this Baron Reuven was simply lucky to have befriended Teagan at some point. And they had to be good friends indeed for the bann to approach Auri with this kind of proposal.

"No one left with the Army, Ambassador," the bann said, looking a bit irritated. "The legions stationed in Daskárd were pulled out only to engage the rebels in the south. Those who recognized the implications of such a sudden and complete recall, especially considering the recent changes in the political climate, decided on their own to leave before things inevitably changed for the worse. Some who lacked such wisdom, or held on to faith that the situation wouldn't escalate, or were unwilling to abandon their homes, or were simply too slow to organize, remained. In the case of Elsa Reuven, perhaps she mistakenly believed that she could still accomplish something by remaining at her post. I'm not certain."

"It's true you might face some backlash over this," he admitted. "But that would only matter if you returned to Daskárd while the new government was in power. I find it yet more likely that you'd be labeled a... human sympathizer... on account of your lengthy post here in the capital, so far from anything drakkar - especially if you refused to return to Daskárd when inevitably summoned. But if I thought you were the kind of person to answer that summons and leave here to go serve the regime that is mounting, I would never have approached you in the first place... So in light of all that, I really don't think that the credibility of the cause you list on the transfer order would matter at all. If someone back home wanted to see it that way, they would take issue with it regardless of the degree of legitimacy."
 
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Auri Grashaal the Insatiable

- Drakkar Ambassador to Asgard -​



Auri kept his voice low and his eyes open.

"It is as you say, but I would know just a little more. Call it the satisfaction of my personal curiosity. I don't need to know her life story, but should I hear her name again, I should like to know something about someone who is, at the moment, a complete stranger. Give me just a few personality traits. Some general interests. That's all."

As Auri spoke, he discreetly motioned for Bann Teagan's papers. Dina was not the only soul who needed saving today.
 
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Bann Teagan sighed.

"I wish I could, but I've only laid eyes on the girl a couple of times, and we barely spoke. Her father is the one with whom I've built a rapport over the years we've known each other. She seemed to be the quiet, intelligent type," he said with some measure of certainty. "If this goes well, I could arrange for you to meet her yourself, if you want. We should be able to find some privacy for this in the south wing," he tapped his coat and stepped out into the courtyard to lead the way.
 
Auri Grashaal the Insatiable

- Drakkar Ambassador to Asgard -​



Auri cracked a smile as he waddled southward. He kept Maggie and the others that were still in sight within his as best as he could.

"Meeting her would prove helpful, Bann Teagan; even if our personalities do not mesh, it would assure me that she made it back to safe grounds. Once there, I would imagine your worries chased away and your heart lifted. Come," he said very softly. "I have a parchment to put quill to!"
 
Bann Teagan looked visibly relaxed as he led Auri and Maggie across the courtyard. As if a great weight had fallen off his shoulders. He'd soon tense up again, though, for just as the trio stepped inside the south wing of the palace they ran into someone that they might have expected...

"What a colorful ensemble," Ilhirel remarked, forced to stop short of the gate due to the sheer amount of space that Teagan and Auri (but mostly Auri) occupied. A flash of irritation crossed her face, probably because of this, but mostly the young queen just looked tired. Fatigued, even; not at all the way that Maggie left her just several minutes ago.

"Your Majesty," Bann Teagan gracefully replied, "I was just about to make use of the library to answer some of Maggie's questions regarding the history of the palace. With your permission, of course. Apologies for getting in your way."

"You do not need my permission, Bann Teagan, and I do not need your apologies. I simply wish to be on my way." The young queen was quick to wave off any subsequent attempts at apology and slipped past them with surprising agility, paying a meaningful glance only to Maggie before she exited into the courtyard.

*** *** ***​

"Wish I'd known she would come through there," Teagan said as he took out the document from his coat and reached for writing supplies. "It's unlikely to rouse any real suspicion, but we certainly could have gone without that encounter."

The room was a library that doubled as a study, big enough to allow a dozen people to use it at the same time. As Teagan predicted, it had been completely empty. Banquets rarely involved libraries, after all.

The document presented before Auri was indeed a standard transfer order. It included some default wording and several empty fields, such as the current date, the date when the actual transfer would take place, the identity of the person for whom it was meant, from where and to where the transfer would be made, the reasoning behind the decision, and of course on whose authorization it would be performed.

It needed only to be filled out and signed.
 
Maggie​




Maggie followed the two men, thinking it would be arouse less suspicion if she were to stay with them rather than repeatedly leave and rejoin.

"Your Majesty," Bann Teagan gracefully replied, "I was just about to make use of the library to answer some of Maggie's questions regarding the history of the palace. With your permission, of course. Apologies for getting in your way."

Maggie nodded in support of Bann Teagan's story to the queen, but said nothing, not wanting to extend the encounter. She glanced over her shoulder after her, however, wondering both what her glance had meant and what could have happened in so short a time to tire her so.

*** *** ***​

While Auri looked over the documents, Maggie said quietly, "She didn't look like that when I left her just a few moments ago. So tired, I mean. I wonder what could have happened?" While she spoke, she glanced over the books on the shelves, hoping to find a history book to look through. One on the palace's building would be best (she still had some curiosity about the shrine "hidden" here), but anything to back up Bann Teagan's excuse for their presence here would do.
 
Auri Grashaal the Insatiable

- Drakkar Ambassador to Asgard -​


Auri wondered what had fatigued the Sorceress so. He wondered, but not enough to ask. Clearly, her temper was becoming as short and the old drakkar had no inclination to test it. He simply bowed silently for one of her station as she passed. The mouth, after all, was the source of all calamity.

It was not until she had taken of her leave did Auri speak again. When he did, it was to reply to Maggie whom he was still clearly and greatly relieved to see. Only now could he display it. Still, his mind was on his duty. He felt he should act while they had the opportunity.

"I have not the slightest clue, though my curiosity too is piqued."

Then he glanced to Bann Teagan and his papers. "If you will, my good man?"

As with everything Auri put his signature upon, he read every word until he understood the entirety of the writing as he had for decades upon decades past.

Then, nothing was amiss, he signed the proper place and returned it to Bann Teagan with a friendly and hopeful grin. After all, quills like Auri's had the power to change lives. He earnestly hoped it would do just that for the good of all concerned.
 
Auri and Teagan had barely finished with the document when the library doors suddenly flew wide open! The suddenness was enough to startle even Maggie over by a nearby bookshelf. A large figure rushed inside, deftly shutting the doors...

Maggie recognized A'kal even before he turned to face them, but that was because she'd already traveled and fought alongside him in Dunn. It took Auri a few moments longer, and Bann Teagan... Well, the bann simply stared in surprise.

"Silverlane?" Teagan asked, trading surprise for bemusement.

Yet the burly northerner merely nodded at the bann, going straight to Auri and Maggie. "Meric sent me to find you," he begun to explain. "We've got to get out of here. In all likelihood, all hell is about to break loose!"

"Now wait just a moment," Teagan insisted, furrowing his brow. "If the Resistance is executing some kind of operation here tonight, I would have liked to have been informed. Especially if it involves hell breaking loose."

"Pardon, Bann Teagan," A'kal hastily apologized. "It's not a Resistance job, though it is related; but there really is little time for discussion. The three of us - and a few others - are about to overstay the queen's welcome, you see."

When no one said anything,* A'kal continued.

"Meric has Dina. That's the good news. The bad news is, we won't have as much time to escape as we had hoped. Definitely not for a quiet dispersal. The Sorceress returned too soon, and any minute now she is going to realize that Dina is missing. When that happens, the palace will surely go on lockdown. They'll start a search. Meric doesn't believe we'd ever make it out in time if we took the main path to the city. So he said to go to plan B. Now. Violet has already reported having secured the bridge and a way through the fortress. But we have to move immediately."

"You're escaping through Fort Artan? And Violet is there? Violet Robbins?" Teagan seemed to be on the edge of disbelief. "I take back what I said. This isn't an operation. It's a suicide mission."

"It's a rescue," A'kal corrected him.

"Of whom? That new girl, Dina? Who is she for you to be-"

"Bann Teagan, please! There really is no time! You'll hear the whole story back in Darkvale tomorrow!"

"... If you make it."

"We'll make it," A'kal replied. Then he turned his attention to Auri. "Then you are with us, ambassador?"



*I was going to end my post here, giving you a chance to respond, but ultimately decided that it's probably for the best to just get on with it. It would have created an additional few days of delay, and your characters are probably just eager to hear what's going on anyway.
 
Auri Grashaal the Insatiable

- Drakkar Ambassador to Asgard -​


Auri listened with all of his attention to A'kal the Varden's warning. Meric had recovered Dina. The Sorceress was soon to learn of it. Then she would explode in such fury as to dwarf a dragon.

Upon digesting this news, Auri the Insatiable straightened to his most regal-looking and disappointed pose.

Appearing downcast, he pouted. "But.. but... I was hoping to hear The Sorceress sing..."

He remained there for about two heartbeats, then hastily added, "And if you have the dull wits to buy that, I will sell you the City of Alicante to go with it! Let us get out of here!!" He picked Maggie up as if she were a precious gift and waddled out of there as fast as his old legs could carry them!
 
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