Hello everyone, another chapter for Transcendence and for the Compendium. Not much to say for this, the Shady Rest arc is still underway and going about as expected. Be sure to review when you can.
Also to let you know, check out the wiki for the responses to the reviews.
Transcendence
Chapter 18: Prime Suspect
A massive circular symbol appeared on the floor, covered in hundreds of intricate runes and symbols of unknown purpose and origin. But the old Captain could tell it was a summoning circle when he saw it, it was likely meant to bring back everyone from the field. It is expected, it was midnight, well past the deadline that they were meant to return. He could only wonder what had caused the delay.
In a brilliant flash that illuminated the room, the climax that signaled that they had arrived, as it lessoned in intensity a moment later the Captain looked upon the arrivals.
Captain Vimes was surprised with what he saw, there were more people coming than he expected. He saw the hermit magi Tabetha, he had expected her to come here. But he did not expect to see two others, a woman and likely her son huddled close together, the former laying on a small stretcher. From the looks of the bandages around her abdomen she had been wounded.
"What is this?" Vimes demanded quickly, moving towards the group and wanting answers for a few things.
"Survivors, these two escaped Shady Rest before it was destroyed," Tervosh stated, motioning two clerks forward and making sure to instruct them to be taken to the inn, quietly and without people seeing. "Tell no one."
Both clerks nodded and quickly took the boy and mother, carrying the stretcher she was placed upon and keeping the boy close. As they left Vimes decided to take this to a more secure location, he could see several other clerks nearby, as well as some on duty guards that he dare not risk listening in on this.
Vimes brought them to a small room off to the side, quickly locking the door. He turned to them all; everyone was huddled in a semi-circle facing the old Captain. Running his hand over his weary eyes he attempted to remove the tiredness from them and get this meeting underway.
"What happened? You were supposed to be back within a few hours, it is near midnight," Vimes started.
"We were investigating the town for any remaining evidence," Tarem stated, "From there we discovered that the town had been picked clean of any evidence indicating that it was a Tauren attack, although the hoof prints remained, it could likely be played off as a Centaur attack if need be."
Vimes found this concerning, if the evidence had been removed beforehand then they had only the testimony of two individuals, maybe three. That would not stick, not completely anyway.
"Was it the Tauren then, did they remove it after the attack?" Vimes asked, suspecting as such.
"No, it was Theramore Guardsmen," Tarem stated, shocking the elderly Captain, whose hand dropped to his side and he lurched forward as if about to jump the man and throttle the information out of him. "They were there only an hour before us, removing or destroying any evidence, but they were not smart enough to remove all their prints from the scene."
Vimes sagged slightly at this, it was something he truly feared coming true. More traitors were within the walls of Theramore. The though alone made his age catch up to him, he felt more tired and wanted nothing more than to sleep these worries away in a dreamless sleep. But even he couldn't allow himself that luxury; this was something he had no choice but to hear out.
"So then the guards that attempted to murder these two were not the only traitors," Vimes asked, looking at Adelina and Ichigo.
"So then those two were not the only ones then?" Adelina inquired, looking at Captain Vimes scathingly for leaving out very crucial information. If these people had tried to kill them, they could make a second attempt. They should have been informed.
"I decided to keep this quiet, we couldn't risk the possibility of them discovering we knew, and since you were not in immediate danger we decided to inform you after your return," Vimes said, quickly getting it out of the way, they had much more important matters to deal with at the moment. "Continue Tarem."
"While we investigated the two Ichigo remained outside the town perimeter," Tarem continued his report, and while doing so Vimes cast a glance at the bowed youth. Then to Adelina, the person he suspected had something to do with it, who glared at Vimes. Challenging him to speak up on it. He chose not to. "But for some reason, that he never explained, left and entered the swamps, following the same trail that the Guardsmen used to leave after scavenging through Shady Rest."
Vimes looked to the boy, he had known he was not in the best shape mentally to take part in this investigation. The chances are he would snap under the pressure and likely have a breakdown that would leave him unfit to continue. Or he would develop an unhealthy desire to find the people responsible and track them down.
From the look in his eyes Vimes suspected that the second scenario was the case. The murderous fury in his eyes was enough to tell him that Ichigo was ready to continue. That was what he was looking for, someone who had not only the drive but a personal investment in this to see it through. Ichigo would be a major asset to bringing in those responsible and also these traitors.
"Ichigo found a camp situated at Lost Point Tower, filled with dozens of Kul Tiras soldiers," Tarem finished, surprising the Captain enough to bring his thoughts back to the matter.
Kul Tiras was an island nation off the southern coast of Lordaeron, it was famous for its navy and shipwrights. In fact it was the home and kingdom of Lady Jaina Proudmoore, who was titled as the Princess of Kul Tiras as her father ruled there as its Lord and Admiral.
But after the fall of Lordaeron and the end of the war at Hyjal the remaining forces of Kul Tiras came across the sea. Lord Daelin Proudmoore, Jaina's father, attempted to locate his daughter and any last remnants of humanity. He did find them, but when found others aside fror the Alliance he took action.
He waged war against the Horde, attempted to wipe them out and secure the region from them. This act of aggression was met in kind, and in the end it was halted when Daelin Proudmoore was slain by the Orcish Horde in this very city. His forces were scattered, his fleet near completely destroyed, and only a mourning daughter to remember the man that had been lost.
Yet despite his death he became a martyr that many flocked behind to continue his work, the work of bringing the Horde to their knees. Kul Tiras now existed as a renegade gorilla group focused solely on bringing down the Horde. They were few and almost nonexistent, in fact the old Captain could almost say for certain they were near all but extinct. But with this bit of information, it appeared that was not so.
"Kul Tiras, this definitely complicates things," Vimes said. "What else did you find?"
"They, along with the Guardsmen, were working together, along with a third group that we have bits and piece of information upon," Tarem responded.
"This group, who are they?" Vimes asked, and Tarem motioned Pained forward, she was more knowledgeable of this group than he so she deserved to speak.
"They are a mercenary group that operates out in Tanaris, specializing in siege weapons and raids on trade routes," Pained stated. "They are called the Quarvel Raiders, although I need time to try and locate where they are and why they are here."
Vimes was silent for a moment, the name bringing up some very recent memories that he was beginning to regret remembering. He sagged slightly as he realized what was going on, he didn't need to hear the rest to get an idea of what was happening. He suspected enough and knew it would be correct.
"I know them," Vimes said, and everyone looked at the elder Captain in confusion.
"Sir?" Tarem asked.
"The Quarvel Raiders were sighted in Shady Rest about six months ago, they were suspected of being responsible for several attacks on the Gold Road," Vimes stated, many looked at him with open surprise at the sudden information.
What he was saying that information on a group that had ties to Kul Tiras, likely not known at the time. They were operating within an Alliance settlement and attacked caravans along the Gold Road, a stretch of highway that was mainly operated upon by the Horde.
"You knew about these mercenaries and never investigated?" Tervosh asked, surprised that something like this could have slipped past them, or more correctly, past the Captain.
"Of course we did, but the investigator didn't find anything, reported that there was no one in the town aside from the people," Vimes barked back.
"Who was the investigator?" Tarem inquired, he would have the man's head on a platter for messing this up, his screw up likely was responsible for this entire event from occurring.
"Pavel Reethe," Vimes replied after a moment of thought.
Silence descended upon the room as they digested the Captain's reply, some sharing a knowing glance with one another and also realization dawning on them with the more than likely implications.
"Pavel Reethe was the one leading the traitors," Tarem stated, and again the Captain was surprised.
"Guess we now know why you didn't find anything," Tervosh said.
Reethe obviously was the one who got in contact with the Raiders, likely making some sort of deal with them. From there Reethe likely organized to keep them from being taken notice of by Theramore, allowing them to continue their raiding on Horde caravans. But how did Kul Tiras fit into all this.
"This doesn't make any sense, how would Reethe contact Kul Tiras, what would be his connection with them?" Vimes demanded, asking the question on everyone's minds.
"Maybe it isn't him that was in contact with Kul Tiras, maybe someone got him in contact with them," Pained said, sharing her theory with everyone. "The Kul Tiras renegades likely wouldn't be able to keep hidden for long, not after we were actively looking for them, and also within our territory."
Everyone gave the Elven warrior their full attention.
"They likely have been in the southern part of the swamps for some times, likely using it as a place to bunker down as we do not venture through that area," Pained stated. "They also must have come further north to escape the dragons, but couldn't risk going too far without us noticing, so they either guessed the tower was safe to hide in or someone told them."
"You think someone in the guard has been actively keeping them hidden from the rest of Theramore?" Vimes asked.
"It is more than likely, Lost Point is no longer along our scouting routes, and it is the closest point to civilization where they can gather supplies as needed without rousing too much suspicion," Pained continued her analysis. "But finding that tower by accident is unlikely, and knowing to use it is even more dangerous, it is safe to assume they were told that the tower was no longer occupied."
"But even so that could be coincidence," Tervosh replied, not finding the logic in this form of argument.
"If they were located at the tower, close to Shady Rest, the town's people would have eventually learned of their existence and eventually we would have learned of them ourselves," Pained continued. "The only way rumors of them remaining hidden wouldn't have reached us would be if someone was intercepting that information and kept it away from us."
Everyone understood the reasoning, with an encampment so close to a population center, such as Shady Rest, they would have been found. A large population of soldiers would require large amounts of food and water, and Shady Rest is the only source they could acquire both easily. Eventually the townspeople would have noticed them and their recurring presence, eventually discovering they were located at Lost Point Tower.
But if that information was being intercepted by unknowns, possibly and likely traitors, then Kul Tiras could remain virtually undetected indefinitely. That was most likely the case, as the Quarvel Raiders and Kul Tiras have not been discovered by the guard. Even worse still, the town was being used by both as a means of raiding the Gold Road, and the goods pilfered likely moving through those streets with impunity.
"Two conspiracies, how did this happen?" Vimes asked, throwing his arms up and frustration, the fact either had slipped past them was infuriating, both was even more shameful.
"That would mean that we may have another leader within Theramore pulling the strings," Tarem said, bringing the attention back to him. "It makes sense, since there is someone who calls himself the 'Lieutenant' and appears to be leading this entire operation."
"Could it be Reethe?" Vimes asked.
"The leader of the Kul Tiras soldiers didn't believe so, and I am doubtful he would expose himself like that, he has to be still inside the city," Tarem said. "Besides we discovered a letter addressed to the Kul Tiras soldiers to remove Reethe as he was starting to become doubtful to their cause. The letter had no distinctive signature, besides it was from the 'Lieutenant'."
"We have at best two dozen different officers that are lieutenant, I can't simply detain them all, it would cause all kinds of problems," Vimes said, he knew if he started arresting officers there would be mutiny on his hands. If everyone learned that there where traitors within their ranks the guard would be torn apart by paranoia of their fellow soldiers being potential enemies.
"Are we going to be playing this delicately then?" Tabetha asked.
"Yes, we will continue to investigate, we will be the only ones who will have roles in this, it is too risky allowing anyone else to be involved," Vimes replied. "Were you able to secure any prisoners?"
"We captured nearly half of the Kul Tiras soldiers, but all of the Theramore soldiers are dead, save for Reethe who escaped with the remaining renegades," Tarem stated, seeing the Captain's questioning gaze he clarified. "Reethe turned on his fellow men, and he defected to Kul Tiras, from there the Kul Tiras soldiers turned on the traitors, who tried to silence them all."
"Are they still at the tower?" Vimes inquired.
"Yes, they are being detained by Tabetha's apprentices, but there is more," Tervosh said. "They were holding large quantities of Horde armaments and weapons, taken from convoys most likely, it could be proof of who may have attacked the town."
"How so?" Vimes inquired, interested in this bit of information, with it they may actually figure out the culprits.
"All of the convoy crates were signed and written in Taur-ahe, and we have names, the one who sent it and the one to collect, if we find out the people behind the names, we are closer to bringing them too justice," Tervosh answered, looking hopeful that with that they can finally get some justice for these people.
"So then the attack was more than likely carried out by a warband of Tauren, do we know of any group that operates in the Barrens comprised of Tauren?" Vimes asked, and immediately several eyes wandered over to Ichigo.
Vimes turned and looked at the boy, who did not react under the collective gazes of those around him. Instead his gaze held firm and never left the Captain, who stared at the boy with a mix of curiosity and aggravation of likely what was about to come next.
"Boy, do you have something to say?" Vimes inquired calmly, although he had a feeling that the reason everyone had the boy out was because they didn't want to be in the firing line.
"I know of a group of Tauren warriors who operate in the Barrens, I ran into one of them on my way here, he said he along with them were sent to stop more raids on the Gold Road," Ichigo said, and watched as Vimes took in a calming breath before looked at Ichigo intently.
"Why did you not mention this before?" Vimes inquired, he knew better than to overreact, the boy knew little about this and likely didn't understand the significance until it was revealed. So he kept his calm and decided to let the boy have his piece before he said anything.
"I didn't suspect it at first; I didn't even realize it until after we found the stolen shipments, then I remembered what he told me," Ichigo said, lowering his head and still reeling from it all, and the anger of that late realization.
"So you know of a group of Tauren operating out in the Barrens, who have been assigned to stopping more raids on the Gold Road, likely raids by the Quarvel Raiders?" Vimes asked, and Ichigo nodded his head. "Do you know where they are located?"
"Why?" Ichigo asked.
"We need to investigate and see if they're responsible, if we can find evidence or signs that they had recently been in a battle or if we can find someone who you recognize we can determine it is them who attacked," Vimes stated.
"I went there already; it wasn't them," Ichigo replied, and from that everything went silent, even the breathing of everyone else seemed to become oddly quiet.
"You went there? When was this?" Vimes asked, although he was trying very hard to keep himself from yelling at the boy, he knew if he did that he would get defensive and start arguing. He needed him to talk, and the only way to do that was to keep calm.
"After I realized it could have been them, I went there and confronted them," Ichigo answered.
"Confronted, you walked into their camp and confronted them," Vimes said, slowly walking towards the boy, he couldn't remain still, he had no choice but to slowly advance on the boy and fight down the urge to strangle him. He had entered a Tauren camp and confronted them, and likely told them things they should not know. "Did you tell them anything?"
"I wanted to know if they were responsible, I wanted answers and I brought proof, they didn't admit it, but the guy I met said he would investigate Thunderbluff for that name." Ichigo replied, his features not changing as he stated what he had done.
But Vimes simply looked at him, his jaw was clenched and his face was marred with many creases.
"You… went to them… and gave them evidence?" Vimes asked, struggling to control himself, so he did not leap forward and throttle the boy then and there. "You alerted the Horde to the massacre, one that they are linked to, and not only that, you allowed them to depart and possibly investigate on their own terms?"
"Yeah, I did it…" Before Ichigo could start he was pulled up by the collar, his face inches away from the Captain, that was frothing at the mouth.
"Do you have any idea what you have done?!" Vimes yelled at the boy, furious with his stupid actions. "You have made them aware; now that we suspect them they will likely be covering their tracks!"
Ichigo was momentarily surprise but fought back, scowling at the Captain and pushing himself away.
"What the hell were we supposed to do? Sit back and scratch out asses while we follow up looking for people who could be responsible, I knew they were there and confronted them!" Ichigo shouted back.
"And what did you accomplish, them saying they were innocent and another saying he would investigate, can you take his word for it?!" Vimes demanded, growling the words through his teeth, and veins bulged beneath his wrinkled skin.
"He said he will prove their innocence, I intend to make sure he does!" Ichigo shouted back.
Ichigo may have allowed him to leave but he wasn't going to let him walk away from this, he would make sure he found Drekhve. If he didn't have the answers he wanted then he would make sure he paid for it.
"How, you damn fool?!" Vimes shouted, throwing Ichigo aside and walking away, already knowing that this has become a major problem.
The Horde would investigate this, if word of the massacre reached the Warchief or the High Chieftain than more than likely those involved would know. Then they would likely disappear without a trace and simply hide until this died down. But in that time there will be political unrest, there will be demands and accusation thrown around.
This could escalate things badly, Theramore and Ogrimmar may have a peace treaty, but that paper can only handle so much. If a political incident comes about because of this, then there is going to be fighting. If that happened then Dustwallow Marsh will become a target, something they couldn't afford to happen.
"I took a gamble with you, it payed off, but now you have made this investigation all the more problematic," Vimes breathed out calmly, despite the warring anger inside.
"The hell! I found the bastards and then I got someone to actually look for the people who had attacked Shady Rest!" Ichigo shouted back.
"Don't be naïve boy; you have no proof, the one you spoke to will hold to his word, and you have no idea if he will even try to help you," Vimes rebuked. "All we know is that there is a band of Tauren Warriors in the Barrens who may or may not have been responsible, and all we have is their word that they did not do it and they will investigate. I am sorry, but that is not good enough."
Vimes looked at Ichigo with a hard gaze, coming to a decision he had hoped he would not make under these circumstances.
"You are no longer to take part in this investigation; you have done enough, go back to the inn and remain there," Vimes ordered, turning his back to the boy and towards Tarem.
"What…!?" Ichigo shouted.
"You have compromised this investigation, given evidence to possible suspects, and based on your current mood you are not fit to help," Vimes stated calmly, not even glancing at the indignant substitute. "Go back to the inn, you are done."
Ichigo remained motionless for several moments, the realization slowly sinking into his minds that he had been removed from the investigation. When it finally hit that he would be out he scowled in anger before storming off towards the door. Slamming it shut with a loud bang, his angry footfalls the only thing that was heard after his departure.
Adelina quickly moved to follow, pacing towards the door. She stopped when she neared Captain Vimes, sending him a heated glare, making her opinion of his actions known.
"You asked for this, you know that," Adelina growled, expecting something from him, but nothing along the lines of his reply.
"I asked for a blood hound who wanted to find those responsible, I had that, the only problem was he didn't have a good handler," Vimes replied, looking at Adelina with an equally irritated scowl.
Adelina snarled a little at the comment, but held her tongue and simply left the room, following after the clearly furious Shinigami.
The remaining occupants were silent as they allowed the Shinigami and druid to move away. But despite it being quiet, there was an internal struggle with some to voice their concern. They all knew Ichigo was far from normal, and this could cause complications if he wanted to get back into the investigation. His previous actions with Kul Tiras and the Tauren warband he confronted was evidence of that.
"He won't take this well, Ichigo will want to get back in," Tervosh said, knowing full well that after Lost Point he had become almost personally invested in this case.
"While that boy is acting like an animal I will not have him here, if he calms down I will consider it, but not before," Vimes replied, dropping the issue at that; he didn't need that boy getting on his nerves again. "Now, what else do you have?"
"Nothing Captain, if we could, me and Pained will report to Jaina and Lorena and inform them both of the situation," Tervosh said, and received a nod from the Captain.
Pained and Tervosh made their exit, they had a lot to report to the Colonel and Lady Jaina. As the closed the door behind them the only occupants that remained was Captain Vimes, Tabeth, and Investigator Tarem.
"You should be careful with the boy sir, he is dangerous," Tarem warned the Captain, referring to Ichigo.
He saw what that boy did at Lost Point, witnessed the one sided slaughter he caused. Never before had Tarem seen such murderous hatred before, that boy practically radiated with it. All because he saw the wounded and dying Lynn Hyal, whom he had previously had little relation or contact with. Yet there was obviously a personal attachment when he found her as such, there was no way he could become emotional at seeing a dying woman who barely knew.
Unless he was reminded of a situation similar to the one he saw, then it is likely it triggered a traumatic moment from his past. Likely someone he was close to, or possibly, he was in the position of James at one point. Either way it was dangerous, if he had another psychotic break he could be a danger to everyone here. Ichigo somehow managed to destroy the tower, how he did that Tarem didn't know, but finding out was not something that should be made a priority.
"Only when provoked, not scolded," Tabetha admonished the Investigator.
"Sir, when we arrived on the scene he went into some kind of rage and decimated the Kul Tiras forces, he dispatched twenty soldier single handily and of them only eight survived," Tarem stated, ignoring Tabetha's comment and giving the detail that was most important.
"What caused this rage state?" Vimes inquired, narrowing his eyes at the statement.
Ichigo had seemed like a fighter, his attitude and behavior showed he had some experience with fighting. Yet, he bested twenty men? He defeated twenty men and did so single-handedly with that sword he now carries on his back. That did not seem possible.
Although Vimes was getting the feeling this boy was far from normal, there were several things that made that apparent. The first was when some of his men said when they tried to corner him he vanished into thin air and appeared behind them. Saying he just simply disappeared from sight and then reappeared an instant later behind them. He would suspect him a mage, but the guards say he didn't use magic, he simply moved from one point to another.
Then there was when he moved to meet with Jaina and inform her of the incident regarding Shady Rest. He remembered the apprehension in her voice as she asked about him; it was obvious she was quite worried he was here. Very insistent on meeting with him, even showing some worry on doing that.
It painted a very clear picture that the boy was far from normal. If he could actually make Lady Proudmoore nervous then there was no telling what he could be capable of that made that so. It may even be possible he isn't human for that matter, and that was something he was dreading.
"He found Lynn and James Hyal, the former was mortally wounded and based on what I could guess he became distraught at the sight and attempted to kill those he saw as responsible." Tarem answered.
Everyone was quiet for a moment as they digested the information.
"Then the more reason he should remain as far away from this as possible, if he is that unstable, then him getting involved may endanger more lives," Vimes stated, making up his mind then and there.
"Actually he still has a role to play in this; you cannot keep him from it," Tabetha said, moving forward and trying to make her piece.
"You cannot make me put this boy into the field as he is, he will need to be watched constantly to prevent him from doing something reckless, and with this recent information to make sure he doesn't have another incident," Vimes said, not willing to allow Tabetha to have her say. "Tarem follow me, I want your help with something."
Without another word both moved for the door, Vimes had a lot to work on and it was already late. The Captain wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight, and he might as well use that time for something productive. First he needed to figure out Reethe's movement over the last few months and then see if there is anyone he was working with.
Tabetha let out a sigh as she remained behind, this was not going well. Hopefully they would allow Ichigo back into the investigation; he was going to be the one who would break it open. But there was also the problem with the Tauren, it would seem that they may not be able to fulfil their promise. Maybe she could send a note to an old friend to help.
Ichigo slammed the door shut hard, ignoring the yell from down stairs at his actions. Moving over to the bed he dropped down onto the straw mattress, feeling the straw beneath the coverings crack as he sat down. But he cared little for the barely comfortable bed and more for that damn old man.
'Compromised this investigation… I'm trying to find the bastards that did this!' Ichigo growled in his mind.
Ichigo knew that he was taking a gamble with Drekhve; he may not follow through with the agreement. If that bull does pull through and gets evidence, then all for the better. But if not, then Ichigo knew where he had to go in order to get it. He wasn't an idiot to think that there were two ways this could go, and he was going to make damn sure that it went the way he wanted it.
As the door opened Ichigo glanced up, seeing Adelina walking in, he went back to his own thoughts. He was drawn from them again when she sat down in front of him, forcing the substitute to look up at the worried face of the young druid. He looked into her glowing amber eyes and tried to figure out what was troubling her so, it was easy to see it was him she was concerned about. For some reason he could always tell when she was worried about something, guess he was getting to know her better.
"Are you alright?" Adelina asked, Ichigo snorted at the question.
"What do you think?" Ichigo asked, trying to take some of the scathing out of his tone, despite being tough Adelina was often very fragile when she was around him.
He never did like making his friends nervous or sad, especially when he was angry, so he tried to keep calm. Yet even if he didn't he knew Adelina would know that it was just the mood he was in than anything else. It was good in a way to have someone observant enough to be able to tell the difference.
"I know you want to get the people who did this, but I have to ask, do you really need to do this?" Adelina asked, watching as Ichigo's head shot up and looked at her, waiting for her to continue. "You are in Theramore, you can go home from here now, why involve yourself in something that doesn't involve you."
Despite the easy question the answer was much harder to give, several minutes it took for Ichigo to begin to form a reply. He was mulling over her words and trying to actually find a reason why he should remain. She was right that he could leave at any time now, all he had to do was speak with Jaina and she could probably create some portal and he would be gone.
He had a lot of things he needed to get back to, a lot of people he needed to save and protect. So why stay?
"Because I couldn't leave knowing that I didn't see this through," Ichigo said suddenly, saying it rather than allowing it to remain within his mind. "I want to find the people responsible, make them pay for this one way or another, so long as they pay for their crimes."
Adelina didn't speak; she just let him do the talking.
"I have always acted like an idiot sometimes, always trying to do things my way and not willing to let someone tell me how it should be done," Ichigo continued. "Even now I am being told how it should be done, told not to do this or that. I know I took a risk with Drekhve and those other Tauren, for all I know they could be responsible and just lying."
Ichigo looked up and stared right into Adelina's eyes, his orbs shining with conviction despite the doubts and insecurities he voiced mere moment ago.
"But I do not doubt I did the right thing, it may be stupid and it may come to bite me in the ass later, but I do not regret it. I don't want to leave because I want to see this though to the end, I am going to be the one who finds Reethe and figure out who is behind this all, and then find out who attacked Shady Rest and make them pay too."
"But why?" Adelina couldn't help herself; she needed to know why he wanted to remain, what drove him to forsake the chance to return home later rather than now.
"Because I could never face my family knowing that I turned my back on those who died without even trying to do something. They may be gone, yet I still can do something, I can still make sure their killers are brought to justice and the ones who allowed that town to be targeted are as well," Ichigo answered, looking at her and his scowl was one of finality, he had made his decision and he wouldn't back down from it.
Adelina nodded her head, understanding Ichigo's argument; he had a moral code that went above just doing right because it was right. He did this because it was part of who he was, always going out of his way to make sure others are safe and protected. He was a truly admirable person when he wanted to be.
"I understand," Adelina said, smiling before leaning back and laying down on her bed. Planning on getting some sleep while she was at it.
Ichigo remained motionless for a moment before he followed her example and laid himself down. He looked up at the ceiling and tried to get some rest, but he couldn't help but let his mind wander. Several thoughts came to mind as he let himself slowly relax, his muscles going slack and the stress and anger slowly working its way out of his mind.
He remembered the attack, how he went berserk and allowed his Hollow to partially manifest. He didn't summon his mask, not just that, he had actually allowed his hollow to rampage. Ichigo allowed him to actually give him reason and justification to actually kill those people, he had actually used his Hollow to take revenge. It scared him that he allowed that to happen. Had his time in the Nether really done more to him than he imagined?
Ichigo shook his head lightly, not wanting to think on it anymore. He closed his eyes and tried to force himself to sleep, and after a few minutes he was graced with a dreamless and bliss-less sleep he so craved.
Vimes glanced over the tome in his hand; it was the ledger of the guard's postings and movements over the last few months. Currently he was looking up the current routine of their treacherous Lieutenant Pavel Reethe, and he had been quite busy for the last four months. He had gathered it last night after his meeting with the investigation team and had read it through the night. The contents were startling.
Pavel Reethe had been posted once every two weeks at North Point Tower, taking a simple sentry post, despite being the senior officer present. Yet based on current information he arrived a day late for each posting there. No reason was given for each delay, but every single one of them was nearly exactly eighteen hours between his departures from Theramore to his arrival at the tower.
A trip there would take less than an hour by horse, something he took on each occasion. That was a whole seventeen hours in which he was unaccounted for between his departure and arrival. But the old Captain had a good idea what he could be doing with that time and where he may be going.
"How bad is it?" Colonel Lorena asked, she was sitting adjacent from the Captain, who was behind his desk and reading over the book.
"Very bad, and quite problematic in terms of our next move," Vimes said, looking over the guard squad postings and finding that every casualty at Lost Point were guardsmen under Reethe's own personal command.
"Is it the fact that we have a Lieutenant in Theramore that is a traitor and likely any soldiers under his command are the same? Or that we may cause a diplomatic incident because we have clear motive for the Horde attacking Shady Rest, yet they have an excuse for doing the same?" Lorena inquired, looking quite serious despite the brazen ways she spoke.
"Both, we know that this 'Lieutenant' is the leader of this group of traitors, but that doesn't mean he is the senior ranking officer among them, or the only Lieutenant among their ranks," Vimes said, finding the possibility that any number of officers and soldiers could be possible traitors was painful for the veteran Captain, "And the Horde would likely cause all kinds of problems when they realize that Shady Rest was being used as a base to attack Horde caravans, worse if they realize Kul Tiras is involved."
"Looks like we have to keep this quiet then, make sure neither party gets more information to work against us," Lorena said, if they could keep this on the down low they could avoid the traitors suspicions and also keep the Horde from getting involved.
"Sadly the Horde may already know," Vimes replied, an angry frown on his brow.
"What happened?" Lorena inquired, looking worried at the implication on how they may have discovered this.
"That boy, Ichigo, found a wandering warband of Tauren, he questioned them and made a deal with them, apparently they will be investigating who the convoys were sent by and if they were the culprits in the attack," Vimes answered; not very pleased with the boy and even less with how everything was falling apart.
"He did what?" Lorena said, shocked at that, there was no way that boy could walk into a Tauren camp and make them do this, there was no way.
"Apparently he met one of their warriors before arriving in Shady Rest, he trusted him enough to at least investigate and report back, but I doubt that is the case," Vimes stated.
"Terrific, if he told them about the convoys then the Horde will have a field day with this. If they try to defend the actions of this warband that did attack them then the Alliance will more than likely want reprisal," Lorena said, knowing full well what happened several months ago when a Horde ship was attacked by pirates and they accused Theramore of not offering aid despite being in the area, which they were not.
"That is why we need to put this to bed quickly, if the Horde begins their investigation and is able to even figure out about Reethe or Kul Tiras then everything will go downhill from there," Vimes stated firmly, looking up at the Colonel.
If the Horde learned that Theramore officers and soldiers were aiding Kul Tiras, who instigated raids on their trade routes from an Alliance settlement, then they would technically be in the right. Even if they did attack the town, and had no legitimate excuse to suspect this or know who was responsible they could feign knowledge. Then the Alliance and Horde would be at each other's throats for the foreseeable future, and the Barrens would likely turn into Ashenvale. Instead of Horde warbands fighting against the Sentinels, it will be Theramore soldiers who will be fighting to keep their territory.
"Do we have any leads?" Lorena asked, crossing her arms looking at the Captain for answers.
"Reethe is our best bet, he likely had all we need to know, he likely had names and motive for this conspiracy as well as who could be behind the attack," Vimes stated, his gaze falling back onto the book, searching for anyone he may have had contact with more than usual.
"Reethe has been in the swamps for nearly two days now, he would likely move to escape as quickly as possible, he wouldn't risk remaining there since we can cover it quickly," Lorena said, it was true, the swamps may be large, but there were very few places a person could remain that were safe.
In fact only one fifth of the swamp was actually safe to remain within for an extended period of time; the rest was occupied by different forces. So that gave them a much easier area to cover, and since they were dealing with a Guardsman, he would stick to those safe areas because he knew he had no choice.
"No he wouldn't, but without supplies and equipment escape is nearly impossible, he would likely make attempts to gather food and water to try and escape through the Barrens," Vimes said.
"That would be dangerous, he knows we would look for him, and if he does try to steal he would likely reveal himself doing so," Lorena said.
"But sadly we can't inform the men about him, not while more traitors move within our ranks," Vimes replied. "If they don't know where he is, then all the better for us, we cannot risk them finding him."
If this Lieutenant ordered Reethe to be silenced, then that means Reethe had information that he really didn't want to be let out. If that man didn't know where Reethe was, then they had the advantage and could locate him without risking others doing the same.
"I understand your logic, but if we wait too long he will escape, it would take days to search the swamps without proper support and aid, by then he may actually risk escaping into the Barrens and then he would be beyond our reach," Lorena said, knowing that Reethe would be facing execution if he is captured, so he would likely make sure he got as far away from Theramore as possible.
"That is why we need to find him, the sooner we capture him the sooner we can put this to rest," Vimes said.
"But who do we send? We can't risk sending anyone unless they actually want Reethe dead," Lorena stated. "Pained and Tervosh could help but they are only two people, and against possibly two dozen warriors, as poorly armed as they may be, it is too risky."
"I will think this over, but we need to get Reethe here, for now I sent Tervosh to bring those Kul Tiras renegades in, he should be back by this afternoon," Vimes said, looking over the ledger once more.
"Then what do we do?" Lorena inquired.
"We hunt down the rest."
The Lieutenant looked over the table; tapping his hand impatiently, something was wrong. He had not heard back from his men at Lost Point, not a single Raven that had been sent had been replied to. In fact they were coming back now; their messages were not unrolled or read, meaning that the persons there were no longer able to receive messages.
"Sir, I checked the inn, it appears that two more survivors have been found and that the boy and Night Elf have returned," Private Hallen informed, walking into the room and saluting her superior.
"So then what of Lost Point?" The Lieutenant inquired.
"We do not know, but it may be safe to assume that they have been compromised, although we have no idea how much they know," Hallen said, and watched as her commander stood from his chair and paced the room, deep in thought.
"What of Reethe?"
"We do not know, he may have been killed or captured, but if he has been captured we likely would have been arrested by now," Hallen said.
The Lieutenant continued to pace, thinking hard.
"Get the men together, see if we can figure out what happened at Lost Point, listen to everything, we need to plan this out before we can act," he said.
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