Chapter 94: The Chimera Intelligence Agency (Patreon)

Willem had been expecting to do some very questionable things to survive in this place, but as it turned out, Sarah had it all sorted. They spent the next few days in the luxury of the oligarch’s palace, quietly discussing their plans. Sarah’s sister, Seventy-Two, was easily able to slip them in alongside the rest of her servants, as she had the owner of this estate under her thumb. He had left her as his regent in the wake of the invasion as he fled to the capital.

One day, Sarah went away with Seventy-Two to speak to the various sisters that were supposedly congregating. Willem was left alone for a while, and he busied himself by contemplating business questions. Naturally, his mind drifted off to what he’d left behind. Were his properties being sequestered? Was the king seizing it all, nationalizing it? He hoped not, but he couldn’t exactly complain if it was the case. Oh well. It wouldn’t be the first time.

But more than that… How was his family doing? The king was a ruthless man, and it wouldn’t surprise him if he’d put out a blood price on their heads. He hoped that they could weather it long enough for the situation to be resolved.

Eventually, the door to Willem’s chambers opened, and a red-haired woman walked in—Seventy-Two, he recognized. She looked subtly different from Sarah, but even he was barely able to tell the difference.

“Your lover sent me to retrieve you.” She gestured outside. “She’s spoken to the others, and let them in on her plan. Now, they all want to meet you.”

“Can’t blame them.” Willem stood up. “Let’s go see the Underground Railroad.”

Willem followed her through this sprawling estate, and they headed deep down. Seventy-Two didn’t say a word. She had a rather saucy saunter that he found a bit tasteless.

“Do you have a different name?” Willem asked. “It’s cumbersome to call you Seventy-Two. It’s like I’m saying your age. It’s uncomfortable.”

“Each of us sisters were given a number the day we were born. It’s always been our name,” she said.

“Yeah, I am capable of using context clues. Thank you for dumbing it down for the audience, though,” Willem joked. “How come you don’t have an accent?”

“Because we learned the tongue from a native speaker since the day we were born,” she answered. “If you learn a language while you’re young, you don’t get an accent. And even if you do have one, there are ways to get rid of it. It just takes practice.”

They descended into a place that looked very obviously to be a dungeon. He could see several hulking beasts strapped in cages. They seemed far more dangerous than Sarah had ever been, but they were chained all of the same.

The two of them went into an unoccupied cell, and then Seventy-Two pressed a brick in. Moments later, a wall shifted, and she pushed it over with one hand. Within were several gleaming red eyes peering at them. Beyond that, Willem couldn’t see a thing in the darkness. Seventy-Two entered inside, and he took a few moments to steel himself before following. Thereafter, the hidden door shut behind him.

Fires came alive when the doors shut, illuminating the place. He saw a little shy of two dozen women that looked quite similar to Sarah standing, there lined up. They were all similarly alluring, but Willem was a professional. Many young women had attempted to acquire his wealth through such sordid means as standing there in front of him, smiling. He knew how to keep his eyes raised and his wits about him.

“Sarah wanted you to pick her out from among her sisters,” Seventy-Two said. She gestured to all of them lined up there. “Which one is she?”

Willem took a step forward as if he was going to choose, and then jerked his head back and pointed at her. “I told you. You can’t fool me.”

Sarah, wearing Seventy-Two’s form, ground her teeth together. In the next moment, her face and body shifted back as it usually was. “What was it this time? I paid close attention to my body language.”

“I just used my deductive reasoning to puzzle out that you simply couldn’t wait to see me,” Willem said dryly.

Sarah sighed and then walked forward. “These are my sisters. None of them can compare me in terms of fighting powers, espionage, or magic, but they’re all decently intelligent. What’s more, they’re decent enough at infiltrating. They’re going to be key to enacting our goals here in Avaria.”

“I can’t fathom why you let him speak to you like that, Nine,” the real Seventy-Two said.

Before Sarah could respond, Willem chimed in, saying, “Compliments make her too suspicious. And… it’s Sarah, not Nine.”

Sarah didn’t dispute that point, standing by his side with her arms crossed.

“Given that your sister is Seventy-Two, I can assume this is some pretty crappy turn out,” Willem remarked to her.

“This is better than we were expecting, actually.” Sarah looked at Willem. “As a matter of fact, it’s a majority. The others are all dead.”

“What about your mother?”

Some of her sisters looked angry at that, but Sarah explained calmly, “She’s in the capital. It’s not going to be possible to get to her—even if we could, she’s like a sheltered princess. There’s not a chance in the world that she’d support us.”

“Hmm.” Willem nodded sagely. “So… what is the plan, Harriet Tubman?”

Some of the sisters looked confused, but he’d told Sarah that joke eight times already, so she resignedly put her hands on her hips and said, “Our plan is to live out a fantasy we've had since we were children.”

“I’d make an uncouth joke if you didn’t mention children,” Willem said. “What is it? Bravely running away?”

“No.” Sarah walked ahead, looking between them all. She said with vigor, “Assassinating all of the leaders of Avaria, and putting their heads on display. Destroying the central government of this hellish nation utterly.” The sisters looked spirited. “That’s always been our grand ambition. It’s the only thing that gets most of us excited anymore.” Sarah looked back, and then walked up to him. “We lacked a very important variable. Someone like you.” She tapped his chest. “We’re going to utterly annihilate every oligarch in the capital. And you’re going to be our assassin.”

***

Raphael and Leonardo stood side by side in the king’s tent, their arms behind their back and clenched into fists. King Arnoud sat on a makeshift stool, looking between the two of them.

“Right now, I’m speaking to the two of you as king, not at the infantry commander.” He put his hands on his knees and leaned in. “I’m assigning the two of you a specialized squad. While we do battle with the cyclops, you’re going to sneak past it and head into Avaria.”

Raphael didn’t look exceptionally pleased, but he held his tongue.

“I’m giving you as good a map of Avaria as we have. You’re going to storm through the place, heading straight for the capital. Ideally you’ll do it without being spotted,” the king continued.

“Might I ask why, your majesty?” Raphael finally interrupted. “Have I been performing inadequately as the skirmishing commander?”

The king ignored Raphael’s question. “From the beginning, I didn’t trust Sarah. I knew that she might try something underhanded.” Arnoud stood up and paced around his tent. “I had her covertly examined by Galahad. He confirmed that the enchanted lava within her wouldn’t sustain her for long. She needs to go to the Fount of Avaria to sustain her life, or she’ll die—soon. I had intended on using that fact to force her to desert, enabling me to cleanly dispatch her.” He shook his head. “I never expected Willem to go with her… let alone after discovering the method for the aura bow.”

“So… you want us to go to the capital to intercept them.” Raphael said in enlightenment. “You want us to kill them.”

The king didn’t even turn to look at them, but did give a decisive and affirmatory nod. “That’s where they’ll have to go.”

“They’ll have a head start. Moreover, we don’t know the land. On top of that, Sarah is a chimera.” Leonardo presented all of the negative aspects of this plan.

“And we don’t speak the language, but… they’re in the middle of an invasion. Their heartlands will be less guarded than normal,” Raphael said optimistically.

“Not the capital,” Leonardo argued. “All of the oligarchs will have fled there, bringing along their personal retinues. That place will be a trap of the highest degree.”

“Sarah will show her hand soon enough.” The king turned around. “She needs to make her move for the Fount of Avaria. So long as you can corner her when she does that, you should be able to find Willem. If he’s willing to go with her on this fool’s quest, he won’t allow her to do that alone. Therein lies your opportunity.”

“I have to expect that many of the people that you assigned to the squad will die, Your Majesty.” Leonardo dipped his head. “Respectfully, no one is skilled enough to do this without casualties.”

“Willem is too dangerous to be left alive. If he has time to sink his roots into the country before we break past this cyclops, the crusade will be all the more difficult.” The king stood up. “These men will be remembered. As will you.”

the implication was obvious. It was almost a suicide mission.

“I will be remembered.” Raphael nodded. “But not for this—for the greater things I do afterward.” He pounded his fist against his heart. “As you command, Your Majesty.”

“Your Majesty… the succession of my family would be thrown into question if the both of us died. I have cousins, but…” Leonardo obviously hesitated.

“Write out your line of succession. I will ensure who you want comes to power,” Arnoud promised.

Leonardo looked dispirited, but he steeled himself and also slammed his fist against his heart. “It shall be done.”

“If either of you do return triumphant, you’ll receive all of the land of the Dubois family, including what Willem tried to pilfer.” The king waved them out. “If not, I’ll see that your heirs do. Now, go. And send in Galahad—he should be outside.”

The two of them left quickly, and the king sat back down on the stool that he’d been sitting in earlier. A few moments later, Galahad walked in and kneeled before the king.

“What did you want to meet about, Galahad?”

“I merely wished to inform you that I can send word back to the capital to begin the capture of Willem’s family, Your Majesty. I can have a solid team ready in a matter of hours.”

the king looked back. “You’d be fine doing that to your pupil?”

“I follow your example, Your Majesty.”

The king went silent for a moment. He wasn’t one to hesitate so much, and Galahad seemed uneased.

“Forget about it,” Arnoud said quietly.

“Your Majesty?” Galahad said in surprise.

“Did I stutter?” he turned his head back.

“No, your majesty. I apologize.” he dipped his head. “It has been forgotten.”

“My daughter… is a girl no longer,” the king said ponderously.

Galahad looked up. “She has your steel, Your Majesty.”

“No. Her mettle is her own.” The king’s lips turned in the faintest of smiles.

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