Quick Fix Game 54: The Smoking Mirror

[Araris Valerian]

8 hours ago, Szeth_Pancakes said:

Araris - He just seems vaguely suspicious. Not sure why. This may just be my imagination, but I thought it was worth noting.

This is what it means to be Araris. It is for everyone to suspect you without any reason.

Also, you have both myself and Steel as your top suspicions, but we are the only ones that actually helped get a kill in last turn. Not sure I like that.

However, currently it seems like the votes are shaping up to be like last cycle, which isn’t a great way to get information. Would you be willing to vote on one of your null reads? Devotary is pretty suspicious to me (same reason as Mat is), ... actually, that’s the only non-village read you have I really want to vote for.

8 hours ago, Matrim's Dice said:

What was I supposed to do? I was happy voting Archer, there was no reason for me to change to another train because I didn’t want to be on another train.

But you also didn’t really make an effort to get other people to join you on Archer, or to find a lesser suspicion that someone else was willing to go after.

I’m not a huge fan of Aureole jumping on Szeth. A “mild” read after D1 is normal. I could probably jump on a train here. Killing a newbie early is a bit unfortunate, but we could be 25% of the way through the game already, so we don’t really have the time for feelings like that.

So my top 3 are Mat, Devo, and Aureole, in decreasing order, but I’ll vote for any of them if someone will join me.

[danex]

Apologies for my absence, I haven't been able to get on the shard for the past few days. I'll be reading everything through shortly. 

[Mat]

1 hour ago, Araris Valerian said:

But you also didn’t really make an effort to get other people to join you on Archer, or to find a lesser suspicion that someone else was willing to go after.

My main reason at the time for my suspicion on Archer was something kind of complicated from PMs that I honestly didn't want to try to explain. It was also the last day of my vacation (today was the return trip home) but since I'm back at my computer I should have more time for convincing

[Aureole]

(I was on this page, signed in, and then I was on a page for typos in Starsight. I find this odd.)

25 minutes ago, Araris Valerian said:

I’m not a huge fan of Aureole jumping on Szeth. A “mild” read after D1 is normal. I could probably jump on a train here. Killing a newbie early is a bit unfortunate, but we could be 25% of the way through the game already, so we don’t really have the time for feelings like that.

The issue is not the existence of mild reads. The issue is mild reads for reasons that are useless to the rest of the players. 3 of 4 reads were based off of tone/instinct, which does not allow for scrutiny or connection based off of the read. Typically, a case against a player must have a foundation of previous suspicion, and these mild reads are an excellent way to provide such basis without actually having initial justification. Furthermore, baseless trust is not common in my experience except as a tactic by people to gain reciprocal trust, though it may be different on this site. The remaining read was based off of what I assume to be playstyle, citing that Archer was town when doing so most of the time. If Archer does analysis every game, then by default, Archer would be town most of the time because the scum percentage is only 25%. This is similar to saying that because a given player is town most of the time, then that player would be town in a given game. On this site, how common is it to possess and share reads based on tone, instinct, and other immeasurable means? My opinion of the reads is indubitably tarnished by the meta of where I have played mafia.

[Szeth_Pancakes]

45 minutes ago, Araris Valerian said:

However, currently it seems like the votes are shaping up to be like last cycle, which isn’t a great way to get information. Would you be willing to vote on one of your null reads? Devotary is pretty suspicious to me (same reason as Mat is), ... actually, that’s the only non-village read you have I really want to vote for.

Honestly, I set out to make a reads list, and then realized I had no elim reads worth anything. So, both my elim reads are a millimeter off from being nulls. I do think Devotary is a bit suspicious after looking back on that instance (the one where they weren't doing anything towards the end of the cycle), and "a bit suspicious" constitutes a vote for me right now. I would like to emphasize that this is not me being pushed around by Araris. He just pointed something out, that upon review, does seem suspicious. I still am village reading Mat, because (at least to me) his personality change when he is elim is about as obvious as if he'd picked up Mordeth's ruby-hilted dagger.

[Araris Valerian]

Okay, I'll switch from Mat to Devotary.

[Szeth_Pancakes]

1 minute ago, Araris Valerian said:

Okay, I'll switch from Mat to Devotary.

I believe your vote was already on Devotary (unless I'm missing something)

[Mat]

36 minutes ago, Aureole said:

which does not allow for scrutiny or connection based off of the read.

In all fairness, I scrutinized Szeth's tone-based village read of me quite easily  But I can see how it wouldn't be the ideal kind of reads for someone new to the site who doesn't know anyone's meta.

Speaking of reads, have some:

• Mat- Hello, I'm village
• TUO- Their few posts ping me as village, but I also can't help but wonder if they're sincerely trying to put out more reads than usual, or are doing so because they're elim and feel like they need to so as to appear village.
• Ash- Just RPd, which is NAI for Ash, especially D1. Would like to see more from him though if that's possible.
• Steel- Their vote on Liranil could mean anything, though I'm curious as to why it stayed. @Steeldancer?
• Archer- They suggested a plan in PMs (I started the PM though) that had quite a few holes that I'm legitimately surprised he didn't notice before I did. It's enough to make me think he just hoped I wouldn't notice them. Also seems more pushy than usual in thread, though that can be explained by trying to start discussion. I'm not sure how to take his not voting, but I view that as NAI for now since elim!Archer would feel comfortable doing that as long as he's controlling the thread, which he is. I'm concerned I'm confbiasing him at this point but idk what to do with Archer. Our playstyles conflict so much with each other that I almost always elim read him so there's always that grain of salt.
• Szeth- I know I said that I didn't necessarily village read him, but I do now after my reread of the thread. Archer, rest easy knowing that I wouldn't be this blatant about a teammate, especially after your theory :P.
• Danex- Nothing, I have nothing. As long as he doesn't claim that elim!him would be more engaged, we're good  
• Devo- As interested as I am in Steel's vote, I'm also interested in Devo's. It actually reminds me in a weird sort of way of my vote on Aureole from earlier, except Devo's stayed. What's also interesting is that I agree with Devo being kinda sus for not changing the votes up at the end of the turn, even though I also didn't and I know I'm village. For me though I also had IRL reasons, and I can't say the same for Devo, but maybe they did idk.
• Araris- Araris is weird for me to read right now. village. Let's go with that, yeah.
• Aureole- I realized just now that the Striker kill was likely just low-info because he hadn't posted, so my line of 'reasoning' for my earlier vote was even worse than I had thought. I pretty much have no read on Aureole for the moment, but it's probably null leaning village.

Mat, Szeth, TUO, Araris, Aureole, Ash, Dannex, Devo, Steel, Archer

If anyone wants to go with Steel or Devo I'd be fine with that but I'm sticking to my guns for the moment. I'm back in my own time zone so I legitimately have no idea when the cycle ends so that should be interesting.

Edit: Woah ninja's, stand by...

Edit2:

12 minutes ago, Szeth_Pancakes said:

his personality change when he is elim is about as obvious as if he'd picked up Mordeth's ruby-hilted dagger.

Oh come on, it's not that dramatic  Good reference though, and appropriate for me.

Quote

Currently Reading: (Good - Bad) 1. The Eye of the World (WoT #1) by Robert Jordan — trying not to imagine Mat as @Matrim's Dice. 

Same and it's really weird. Though I'm on book 10. Still.

...I know I literally just said I'd be fine with Devo if that picked up but for some reason by stupid brain still wants to stay so stay I will. Might change over in the morning. Probably will change over in the morning I dunno >>

Edited July 18, 2021 by Matrim's Dice

[Szeth_Pancakes]

6 minutes ago, Matrim's Dice said:

Oh come on, it's not that dramatic  Good reference though, and appropriate for me.

Thank you, thank you.

And yes, I know. But it always seems obvious to me for... some reason.

Edit:

Quote

Same and it's really weird. Though I'm on book 10. Still.

Yeesh, I just realized that rereading Stormlight is going to be really weird for me ._.

Edited July 18, 2021 by Szeth_Pancakes

[Devotary of Spontaneity]

11 minutes ago, Matrim's Dice said:

As interested as I am in Steel's vote, I'm also interested in Devo's. It actually reminds me in a weird sort of way of my vote on Aureole from earlier, except Devo's stayed. What's also interesting is that I agree with Devo being kinda sus for not changing the votes up at the end of the turn, even though I also didn't and I know I'm village. For me though I also had IRL reasons, and I can't say the same for Devo, but maybe they did idk.

I was around a little under two hours before rollover. I could not be on at any time after that. I kept my vote on Steel because in the absence of anyone bothering to save Liranil, I thought Steel was more suspicious than her. I counted on votes being cast in the 90+ minutes I couldn't be there because only half the players vote. Of those, four of them were seemingly based on nothing while Araris's appeared intent on making sure somebody died with no particular interest in the target's alignment. Since people frequently vote close to rollover, I assumed the vote tally would change and perhaps someone different would die. The fact that it didn't should have been an indication to the people who actually were around at rollover that Liranil was more likely to be village.

[Mat]

5 minutes ago, Devotary of Spontaneity said:

I was around a little under two hours before rollover. I could not be on at any time after that. I kept my vote on Steel because in the absence of anyone bothering to save Liranil, I thought Steel was more suspicious than her. I counted on votes being cast in the 90+ minutes I couldn't be there because only half the players vote. Of those, four of them were seemingly based on nothing while Araris's appeared intent on making sure somebody died with no particular interest in the target's alignment. Since people frequently vote close to rollover, I assumed the vote tally would change and perhaps someone different would die. The fact that it didn't should have been an indication to the people who actually were around at rollover that Liranil was more likely to be village.

I believe that you couldn't be on after that and honestly it wasn't a stretch to assume the votes would change, so that all seems good to me. The disconnect I have is you actually finding Steel suspicious last cycle, though I guess here you just said 'more suspicious than Liranil' which seeing as Liranil didn't post that makes some form of sense in a way that I feel like it shouldn't.

[Devotary of Spontaneity]

1 minute ago, Matrim's Dice said:

The disconnect I have is you actually finding Steel suspicious last cycle, though I guess here you just said 'more suspicious than Liranil' which seeing as Liranil didn't post that makes some form of sense in a way that I feel like it shouldn't.

For tossing a random vote on Liranil, then not mentioning it again when she was actually up for death. This makes sense for Araris, less so for Steel. My original vote was thinking Steel and Liranil could be teammates, but this was no longer a suspicion by the time I decided to keep my vote on Steel.

[Ashbringer]

3 hours ago, Szeth_Pancakes said:

Honestly, I set out to make a reads list, and then realized I had no elim reads worth anything. So, both my elim reads are a millimeter off from being nulls. I do think Devotary is a bit suspicious after looking back on that instance (the one where they weren't doing anything towards the end of the cycle), and "a bit suspicious" constitutes a vote for me right now. I would like to emphasize that this is not me being pushed around by Araris. He just pointed something out, that upon review, does seem suspicious. I still am village reading Mat, because (at least to me) his personality change when he is elim is about as obvious as if he'd picked up Mordeth's ruby-hilted dagger.

 

3 hours ago, Araris Valerian said:

Okay, I'll switch from Mat to Devotary.

I’d contest this. For starters, again Mat did the same as Devotary last turn, and… I don’t like this. You say that you don’t want to be pushed around but you made Araris of all people change his vote… 

Plus I’m really bad at E-Reading Matrim. Or a lot of people, but mostly Matrim.

This is interesting. Mat

(And work was fine, if a bit long and busy. I’m pretty full on a schedule tomorrow as well.)

[The Unknown Ajah]

10 hours ago, Archer said:

Good analysis, but I can't help but notice it didn't lead to a vote. Are you suspicious enough of one of those two to vote on them, or are you leaning towards clearing them both and picking a different target? 

I'm not particularly suspicious of either of them, and the fact that I don't think they're e/e means I wouldn't want to vote the villager, plus there is a quite high chance of v/v, so chances are I would be voting on a villager.

3 hours ago, Matrim's Dice said:

TUO- Their few posts ping me as village, but I also can't help but wonder if they're sincerely trying to put out more reads than usual, or are doing so because they're elim and feel like they need to so as to appear village.

Aureole- I realized just now that the Striker kill was likely just low-info because he hadn't posted, so my line of 'reasoning' for my earlier vote was even worse than I had thought. I pretty much have no read on Aureole for the moment, but it's probably null leaning village.

If you look at my most recent games (I don't expect you to, but it's there), you'll notice I've been trying to find reads and have been getting back into the scum finding groove. Your idea that I'm trying to appear village as elim is very valid, even if it's not true.

I have to disagree, while I'm getting mixed feelings from them, I would have to go with slight elim on Aureole. Their attack on Szeth felt very weird and elimmy, but it could also be new player syndrome, so I don't intend to vote on them until cycle three or four. That's also assuming I still find them sus by then.

[Devotary of Spontaneity]

56 minutes ago, Ashbringer said:

I’d contest this. For starters, again Mat did the same as Devotary last turn, and… I don’t like this. You say that you don’t want to be pushed around but you made Araris of all people change his vote… 

Araris didn't actually change his vote, but did have Mat as a higher suspicion than me. Mat did indeed sit on yesterday's results, but then so did everyone else, timezone issues notwithstanding. I think I would be willing to vote for either Szeth or Mat, who appears to be his highest trust. Szeth's reads don't seem to be that of someone who drew conclusions from reading posts, though that may just be me being biased because I think I have made AI or at least noteworthy posts this game, unlike most games. I think Szeth for now, see what the votes look like closer to rollover.

Bonfire Day Six:

We lost two good soldiers yesterday and confirmed that Awakeners are present within our party. Hopefully there are few enough of them that we can still root them out while maintaining operational security, but in case of failure I must prepare a message for King Dedelin. One of the perks of being in charge of the effort to prevent outgoing messages is that I have the best chance of sending my own message without it being intercepted. Meanwhile, I must prepare for the fight that will surely ensue even if we manage to catch these Hallandren agent.

Missive: Gatemaker – King Dedelin

Our mission has been compromised. Operatives in the employ of Hallandren have begun to assassinate members of our expedition. As of the time of this writing, six days after our journey began, I believe they have not managed to warn the dye fields, but I cannot ignore the possibility that the Hallandren army will be waiting for us or that enough of our agents will be picked off as to render our operation inviable.

In case of mission failure, we need an alternative strategy. Our armies cannot match Hallandren’s on the field, an even victory in a guerilla war costs Hallandren merely their unused corpses and the souls of their poor, while we suffer unacceptable losses of people, land, and resources. I hereby recommend reaching out to Pahn Kahl independence movements with trade offers while our diplomats avoid open hostilities with Hallandren for as long as possible.

We cannot supply overt aid to the Pahn Kahl without provoking conflict, but we can let them know that they have an ally in resisting tyranny and supply them with money, weaponry, intelligence, and personnel as they request. We cannot afford a failed Pahn Kahl armed rebellion, but unrest at home will force Hallandren to negotiate with us rather than face a war on two fronts. While they have the military potential to do so and win, their dependence on Lifeless armies to fight carries with it some glaring vulnerabilities. First, their Lifeless commanders cannot give them complicated orders without risking their lives by accompanying the army. Those commanders can be assassinated, or preferably forced to give up their codes, should it come to war. Second, Hallandren’s citizens will be reluctant to fight should their own lives, instead of Lifeless, be threatened by war. Open warfare is still to be avoided, as even in the absence of further orders, tens of thousands of Lifeless unleashed on Idris spells our doom, but enough internal resistance to conflict will convince the Court of Gods to negotiate as they cannot long survive without public support.

Enclosed is a list of prominent Pahn Kahl known to support independence as of our latest intelligence reports. Be warned that many Pahn Kahl may support the Hallandren Empire, either willingly or because they feel they have no other choice. Hopefully this will be enough for your other agents to get started in the event of my team’s failure, or even if we succeed. An independent Pahn Kahl that views Idris favorably would be a valuable ally.

P.S. In the event that I do not return, and should you weather this current crisis, may I once again ask you to consider my social suggestions? I am sure Austre would approve.

[Archer]

14 hours ago, Matrim's Dice said:

Smh when have I ever said I village read Szeth. Never. I don’t elim read him either but that’s not the same thing.

I’m totally sending this right back at you  

When I asked ya, you said you weren't willing to vote for Szeth at the time, so that's what I was working from. 

Unfortunately my red color button is broken and I am incapable of voting. sadness

12 hours ago, Devotary of Spontaneity said:

I did expect someone else to vote, yes, if not necessarily on Steel. The votes on Ash, Striker, and you didn't seem to be based on anything, and I thought there was a decent chance that either Steel was evil or that someone would attempt to save Liranil.

I actually liked the vote on Steel, for D1. I wish they'd been around today to interrogate. Now I'm conf biasing it into e-e distancing but ignore my brain, it does that

9 hours ago, Danex said:

Apologies for my absence, I haven't been able to get on the shard for the past few days. I'll be reading everything through shortly. 

Hi! Remember to vote!

9 hours ago, Matrim's Dice said:

My main reason at the time for my suspicion on Archer was something kind of complicated from PMs that I honestly didn't want to try to explain. It was also the last day of my vacation (today was the return trip home) but since I'm back at my computer I should have more time for convincing

I need new conversation starters is the TL;DR on that. It still feels like e!Mat jumping on something for a mix to me

9 hours ago, Aureole said:

(I was on this page, signed in, and then I was on a page for typos in Starsight. I find this odd.)

The issue is not the existence of mild reads. The issue is mild reads for reasons that are useless to the rest of the players. 3 of 4 reads were based off of tone/instinct, which does not allow for scrutiny or connection based off of the read. Typically, a case against a player must have a foundation of previous suspicion, and these mild reads are an excellent way to provide such basis without actually having initial justification. Furthermore, baseless trust is not common in my experience except as a tactic by people to gain reciprocal trust, though it may be different on this site. The remaining read was based off of what I assume to be playstyle, citing that Archer was town when doing so most of the time. If Archer does analysis every game, then by default, Archer would be town most of the time because the scum percentage is only 25%. This is similar to saying that because a given player is town most of the time, then that player would be town in a given game. On this site, how common is it to possess and share reads based on tone, instinct, and other immeasurable means? My opinion of the reads is indubitably tarnished by the meta of where I have played mafia.

At this point I'd rather have some sort of reads/vote/T31D than nothing. How people sort them is usually just a reflection of their playstyle. Gut reads are meh, but they're a double edged sword. Allow you to 'justify' your votes later, but they also hold you accountable if someone asks you to vote for someone you 'suspect' and you don't want to. 

8 hours ago, Matrim's Dice said:

If anyone wants to go with Steel or Devo I'd be fine with that but I'm sticking to my guns for the moment. I'm back in my own time zone so I legitimately have no idea when the cycle ends so that should be interesting.

Rollover is 11am EST.

Right now the VC is:

Archer: Mat

Devo: Araris, Szeth

Szeth: Auri, Devo

Mat: Ash 

Current preference is to exe Mat, so if anyone feels like backing Ash up there, I'd be much obliged. *cough Danex? cough*

[Kasimir]

20 hours ago, Archer said:

Interesting. Kas managed to write a novel based on the deaths of two people who hadn't even RPed. Well done, GM :D.

Spoiler

Reminder that you have under an hour to decide who dies today. The power of life and death is in your hands!

[Mat]

6 hours ago, Ashbringer said:

Plus I’m really bad at E-Reading Matrim. Or a lot of people, but mostly Matrim.

This is true lol. It's also true right now.

I really don't know where to go. I'm lessening my sus on Archer (half just because I feel like I owe it to him for attacking him every game :P) and Devo explained herself well. I would move to Steel except he hasn't posted this cycle making me think that he had something come up that also prevented a switch at the end last turn.

That's the weakest of my counterarguments to myself, so Steel. Does anyone know why Szeth has votes?

[Steeldancer]

Oh my gosh I forgot how fast these games go. I spend one day reading chainsaw man and I completely forgot about this. Not the best excuse of all time (but it was a really good manga). 

Not a lot of time left in the turn, and I have no idea what's going on. I guess... I'll leave things in the air and vote Matrim . Leave it to the dice gods to decide. 

[Mat]

That would make me feel better about my vote on Steel but now I'm moving to Devo for self pres.

[Steeldancer]

Never mind, Devotary appears to have accused me of hating cats. Such an accusation is unforgivable. I love cats, second only to huskies and chinchillas. 

[Archer]

Well that got interesting! Auri is sussing Szeth for their scattershot /shallow reads. And I would say they've been pretty suggestible all game, just based on my observations. I'm not going to be able to get a post in without being ninjad am I. 

I recommend someone vote on Mat because I can't imagine the elims would allow this to happen, but also Steel showing up like this is weird. Weird because I hadn't pegged Devo and Steel as e-e. Gonna stop and post now because I wanna see what steel just said hello

Edit: *confused Archer noises intensify*

Edited July 18, 2021 by Archer

[Mat]

Part of me is paranoid that this is an attempt to draw me back to Steel so that he can hammer a tie or something weird but that makes like zero sense.

Steel

Edit:

1 minute ago, Archer said:

I recommend someone vote on Mat because I can't imagine the elims would allow this to happen,

A bit overconfident, I think :P.

Edited July 18, 2021 by Matrim's Dice

[Kasimir]

Cycle closed. Pity you can't change your minds and start creating more vote trains again  

[Kasimir]

QF54: Day Three - Crossing The Serpent

In Hallendren accounts, the Pahn Kahl are a footnote in a story of triumphant conquest. The recalcitrant, backward Pahn Kahl fishing villages and jungle encampments are swept into the expanse of Hallendren, and then there is peace and progress and plenty for all.

In Idris, the Pahn Kahl are a tale of a fall from grace. 

The chronicles tell us that the Pahn Kahl lived in peace, within their dense jungles. And then they gave it all up to assimilate into Hallendren city life.

I don’t think it’s that simple.

Everything in the Hallendren jungle seems likely to be a trap. Everything in the Hallendren jungle seems likely to kill you. Back in the monastery, one Idrian monk spoke of a world almost like this one: lush jungles and glittering beaches, and monsters lurking beneath the waves. Where to live daily is to battle for survival. I thought him delusional. Now, though, I wonder.

The jungle is a world unto itself. Is it any wonder the Pahn Kahl gave it all up, for a chance at the safety and opulence of T’Telir?

 

 

They left the three casualties behind.

Wryn was not entirely cruel: they could little afford it, but he left a packhorse with supplies and two other soldiers with them, for safety, with orders to catch up. Kalsin took Taidon aside and showed him the various trail signs he would be using to mark their path. He prayed quietly to Austre to watch over them, to keep their wounded safe, that the trail markers would not be tampered with, because there was little else he could do, now.

He hoped the Hallendren spies were not among the wounded, nor the men left with them, but he supposed if they had been, then Variel would not have died. 

Kalsin was not sure of Taidon: he supposed he was not sure of anyone, apart from himself and Wryn, but the man seemed reliable enough, if out of his depth. Still, even a farmer knew how to use the spear and a sling. There were enough beasts in the mountains of Idris that preyed on flocks and livestock. 

Privately, Kalsin supposed it was better this way. He did not think it would go well if Taidon was sent into combat against Hallendren Lifeless. Taidon was courageous enough, but he was no soldier. At least, not yet.

Variel, dead. Liranil jungle-taken. The first actual tallies on the ledger of the dead that this expedition had accrued, and it was already difficult to bear. 

 

 

Progress was painstakingly slow. Mindful that mistakes could lead them too far astray, or into further dangers, Kalsin favoured meticulousness over swiftness. Still, they had to retrace their steps a few times as he re-interpreted the markings on the map and the landmarks they depicted.

One of the squad, a shepherd by the name of Geren, soon fell behind as they navigated a treacherous rope bridge across a swollen river. The Serpent, it was called, on the map, thundering down further downstream into waterfalls. Likely fed by meltwater from the mountains, though it had been the wet season of late.

Kalsin studied the bridge for any sign of weakness. Monkey bridges, he thought. That was what they’d called them, when he’d trained as a tracker. More common in the Hallendren lowlands than in the Idrian highlands, they were a narrow length of rope that spanned ravines and rivers, with only a second rope by which to navigate.

There was a big, glaring problem though, even after he’d tested the rope, and the knots that secured it. Well, several glaring problems. For one, the rope was a faint grey, and Kalsin’s skin crawled, even as he tested it. Someone’s soul was trapped in the rope. Would the depths of evil to which the Hallendren would sink to never end?

Gatemaker studied the rope even as Kalsin’s hand went to the hilt of his sword. He wanted nothing more than to cut the rope, here and now, to slash through it and burn it, to send the soul on to Austre’s grace and Austre’s mercy, as was proper.

But he was also a soldier, and a tracker in the Idrian army, and he knew that this was their best shot at crossing the Serpent. And then there was the other problem: what did they do about their packhorses? Kalsin studied the map again. There was—possibly—a ford upriver, but they could not afford that detour. And yet to leave the packhorses behind would put them in a difficult position. Could the packhorses make this crossing? Kalsin did not know. He hoped they could.

“Awakened rope,” Gatemaker murmured. “Likely with an appropriate command to hold the supports. Of course. To secure the bridge beyond the usual constraints of weather, though not, I think, wear and tear.”

Kalsin shot her a wary glance. Idrian intelligence was always a law unto themselves, but Gatemaker seemed less concerned by the Hallendren evil than he would have expected. Austre, was he already beginning to crack? He was seeing shadows around every corner, and he supposed Wryn would laugh at him if he knew Kalsin was already beginning to suspect their own Idrian agent. Or perhaps Wryn would share his concerns. His mind went back to their surreptitious conversation in the palace, for fear of being overheard.

“You’re familiar with Hallendren Awakening, then,” Kalsin said, attempting to keep his voice calm and uninterested.

“Know your enemy, Lieutenant,” Gatemaker said. Did anything ever perturb her, he wondered. He thought back to those Awakeners in the safehouse and wondered how much he really wanted to know the enemy.

 

 

Hoofbeats.

Kalsin’s hand went to his sword. He saw Gatemaker peeling back the oilskin cover that protected her bow and the waxed string from the pervasive damp.

It was Taidon, on Dexan. The packhorse barely seemed winded, even as the farmer dropped off the horse ungracefully, like a sack of potatoes thumping on the ground at the harvest.

“Hallendren…” he gasped. “Hallendren spies.”

Wryn was there, taking control before the whispers could begin anew in the squad. “One thing at a time. What happened? Where are the others?”

“Jaim was Hallendren,” Taidon said. “Or working for them, I don’t know which. Wasn’t so sick after all. Stabbed Keit and Falfen, strangled Auri, and then tried to do for me.”

“But you survived,” Wryn said, prompting him.

“Killed him,” Taidon said. “Wasn’t too different from wolves after all.” His eyes were distant enough that Kalsin suspected he was still suffering from battle-shock. What the farmer needed was time, time to unwind and to process the fact he’d come out of a life and death situation. Kalsin didn’t know if he would get it. “He ruined the supplies. It’s just me and Dexan left. So we thought we’d come to you.”

Wryn clapped him on the shoulder. “Good work,” he said. “If I had my way, you’d rest, but we have a way to go before nightfall, and we must cross this river by then. 

“Oh, don’t worry, captain,” Taidon said, grimly. “I’m good for a while more yet.”

“Good man,” said Wryn. “Well, then. Let’s see to getting the packhorses across the river.”

 

 

The packhorses foundered, but working together, Derrick and Vincer persuaded the horses across the river. Dexan, at least, seemed intelligent for a horse, fording the Serpent with little fuss. As each horse made it across the river, dripping and heaving but very much safe, Kalsin felt that knot of worry loosen in his chest.

At last, the horses were across, and most of the squad had safely crossed. The monkey bridge swayed and danced as each person balanced on the ropes, but seemed to hold. Kalsin couldn’t shake the feeling of revulsion as he held on to the rope for balance and crossed. Hallendren evil, he thought, yet again. Austre forgive him, a person’s soul was trapped within that rope, and all he could think about was the fact they, too, were using it as the Hallendren did, to cross the Serpent safely.

Finally, it was Gatemaker left. She held on to the rope, moving with the grace of a trained agent. Step by sure step, she made it along the length of the monkey bridge.

They should destroy the bridge, Kalsin was thinking. It would not be a bad decision, to forestall pursuit. And it would set free the soul trapped within the rope. He felt as though Austre would approve.

And then the rope gave way, and Gatemaker plunged into the raging waters of the Serpent.

Kalsin let out a cry and dove forward.

No thought of whether Gatemaker was friend or foe now: only pure, unthinking instinct.

For a moment, he felt his fingers brush that of the Idrian agent’s. 

And then Gatemaker was swept away. Her head appeared above the water once, and then a second, faltering time.

And then she was gone.

 

 

“This was in her pack,” Kalsin said. The bow, he kept. He did not favour the bow, as Wryn did, but he supposed it could come in useful. He suspected Gatemaker might even approve. He passed the missives over to Wryn. “A coded letter from Hallendren. They were blackmailing her. ‘We know what you are,’ and then offering her life and respect. The honey and the sting.”

Wryn took the news without blinking. “I take it she was ours, though.”

“Yeah,” said Kalsin. “She refused them, it seems. And she had a coded missive for the King.” He handed it over to Wryn who looked at it and then stuffed it into the oilskin carrying packet, with the rest of his papers and the map. “I can’t break the code but the part of the letter that’s addressed to King Dedelin is fairly straightforward. And it’s none of my business, anyway.”

He shook his head. “Look, Ry. Good news and bad news. Which do you want?”

Wryn raised an eyebrow. “I don’t suppose I have the option to skip the bad news entirely, then?”

“Nah. ‘Fraid not.”

“Let’s have the bad news first, then.”

“Rope was cut. I went back to the site. Someone sliced through it. Thing is, a lot of the squad were suspecting Gatemaker, for whatever reason. They suspected Pancakes as well as Taidon, but you have to wonder if someone tried to take matters into their own hands. Then again, any Hallendren spies among us would love to blind us, and what better way to do that then to silence Idrian intelligence?”

“It’s not entirely bad,” Wryn said, at last, thinking through the consequences. “It slows down pursuit, at least.” That echoed the direction of Kalsin’s earlier thoughts. “But I don’t like this.”

“You know the first rule as much as I do,” Kalsin said. 

“Everything that can go wrong goes wrong,” they chorused, “Especially on contact with the enemy.” It’d been drilled into their heads in Basic, for Kalsin had joined only a month later than Wryn had.

“Yeah, well,” Wryn said. “That’s a lot to go wrong. And the good news?”

“We should reach the dye fields in a couple more days,” Kalsin said. “The map gets fairly straightforward from here on out. But we’ll be entering the deep jungle. Lots of bashing through the undergrowth.”

“Oh, fun,” Wryn said. “You tell me the sweetest things, Kal.”

“Save it for once we’re through,” Kal said. “Personally, I can’t wait to see the last of this jungle.”

He wanted to return to Bevalis: to crisp, clear air, to blue skies and the meadows and the mountain’s bones. He wanted the cool wind, instead of the moist heat. He was tired of the shades of green, of the vines, of the leaves and damp, of the chatter, of the moss and the bugs. 

In the jungle, every step felt like they were moving through hostile territory.

In many ways, they were.

 

 

“What did you dream of last night, your Grace?”

“A swift river, Hera. Someone falling, drowning. A lake of fire. A sheet of fire sweeping up from the earth to the sky. I can feel the heat of the flames against my skin. I don’t know, they’re strange dreams, best forgotten.”

 

 

Devotary of Spotaneity was executed! She was an Idrian Soldier!

Aureole was killed! He was an Idrian Soldier!

Quote

Devo (3): Steel, Szeth, Araris
Szeth (2): Devo, Aureole
Mat (1): Ash
Steel (1): Mat

The cycle has begun! It will end at 2300hrs SGT (GMT+8) on the 19th July!

Edited July 18, 2021 by Kasimir