Hello everybody, another update, how surprising is it not? Anyway things are starting to get crazy up in here. I have been working my ass off getting to you. Ain't I great? You better say so otherwise there will be consequences. Now this chapter isn't much in terms of combat and such, but more like NCIS or SVU or some other cop show. So if you don't like those kinds of shows, too bad, so sad, go cry if your mad.
Now be sure to check out the wiki later on, will update it over the next two weeks, as it will be all I am doing, along with making a chapter. Because I really want that wiki up and running. Also any questions leave a review. or PM and I will try to get back to you as soon as possible.
Anyway on with the story and have a good days.
Transcendence
Chapter 19: The End Approaches
Everything was not going very smoothly in Theramore, in fact, things were degrading faster than he had hoped they would. Captain Vimes looked down at the small reports he had been given over the last three days, reports that have been less than promising. A few dealt with the failed attempts to find Reethe, every inch that had been covered had yielded no results in locating the traitor.
The few people that had searched the swamps around Lost Point Tower were unable to locate the renegades, always resulting in no leads to locate where they had gone to ground. Also the other towers have reported no movement in their areas, while that had narrowed down the search he was still having one single problem. The fact he couldn't use any of his men to find these treacherous bastards.
The simple reason being, that any one of the men he sends to capture them could be traitors in their own right.
He had to resort to using Pained and Tervosh for scouting missions along with Tarem, but they were only three people and their attempts have borne little fruit. In fact, his resistance to using the guard had actually complicated things. The guard has become restless with the fact that the investigation is underway and yet none have been called upon to help. Word had spread that there are possible traitors in the ranks, and those traitors are responsible for Shady Rest.
"This is getting out of hand." Vimes commented to himself, rubbing his eyes before running it through his hair.
The majority of the reports that were scattered in front of him were actually incident reports, specifically incidents that involved different guard units getting into fights with each other. Different squads were getting into scuffles and accusing one another of treason, others would simply fight out of simple suspicion.
The officers could do little to stem their soldier's anger; after all, those same officers were in the same boat as their men. Officers of rank rarely spoke to one another, only sharing the occasional glance before moving off. The entire command structure had simply fallen apart as soon as these rumours of traitors being in the ranks had spread.
If these events continue, then the entire city would fall to chaos and then it would likely result in some kind of mutiny. He couldn't wait any longer on this, he needed to act immediately and stem this possible rebellion from gaining momentum. But to do that he needed help, and there was only one person in Theramore he could use.
"Damn it, I'm going to need that boy again." Vimes grumbled irritably, knowing that he had no choice but to bring Ichigo back into the fold.
Him and that girl would double his detective force, and then he may actually start getting somewhere, hopefully they would be enough. Because if they didn't pick up the slack as he hoped they would, then it may results in some kind of civil war erupting in this city.
Ichigo looked out the window, letting him mind drift and clear as he watched the cloud pass by. He had been like this for the last few days, keeping himself locked in his room and venting his frustrations on anything he could. It had helped, but still there were some hang-ups over the fact he had been booted off the case because of the incident with the Tauren. Something that gave him time to actually clear him mind and actually start thinking for once.
He had a lot to deal with all at once when he woke up in Theramore, surviving a murder, dealing with a conspiracy and also seeing that the deaths of everyone in Shady Rest was looked into. But with a little time on his own and a few words with Adelina he started to think a little more clearly than a few days ago. It had allowed him to remember the reason he was here and also what he had to do.
Yesterday afternoon he had tried to speak with Jaina Proudmoore, try to see her and see about getting him sent back home. But he was denies entrance, being told that things were to chaotic for the Lady of Theramore to see anyone, and that he had to wait. Even this morning he was unable to meet her, the same problem as before, all tied to Shady Rest.
He got pretty irritated with that, demanding to see her, but her handmaiden had set him straight when she confronted him. Telling him to stop acting like a baby and actually think about others instead of himself, saying the lives of everyone in Theramore was greater than his own personal problems. If only she knew, but still he could understand the reasoning she was trying to make. His problems didn't amount to the possibility of a war with the Horde that could ignite the entire world into a conflict.
He took the hint and dropped it, but asked that when she was available to contact him as he needed to speak with her on an urgent matter that did involve the safety of the world. Luckily she did consent to that, and for some reason Ichigo could have guessed she knew who he was. From that point Ichigo had been waiting for something to happen, but sadly nothing had and it was starting to agitate him.
He may have calmed down and cleared his head, but that didn't stop him from feeling so useless at the moment. He just wanted to do something, get back out there and look for the bastards who were involved with Shady Rest. Let him do something that can help rather than sit in a room and wait in monotony for something to occur.
Adelina had been around several times, just to check up on him and keeping him from completely going off the rails again. But most of the time she spent it with James and Lynn in the room down the hall. Something Ichigo was glad for, both of them were alright, a little shaken up from the entire ordeal, but alright.
With that last thought Ichigo dropped his head onto the pillow and looked up at the ceiling, waiting for another day for the woman to finally get to him. He just wanted to be involved so not only could he help in finally figuring out who committed the massacre, but also so that he could speed up his return home. It may sound selfish, but this world was not the only one at risk of destruction if they did not figure this out quickly.
"Excuse me, Ichigo Kurosaki?"
The substitute looked up at his door, having heard to query accompanied by a series of knocks from outside. Immediately he bolted to his feet and went right for the door, maybe Jaina Proudmoore was finally able to see him.
Opening it quickly he came face to face with a guardsman, who looked surprised by the young Shinigami's quick reply. But Ichigo simple walked out and stood in front of the man, expecting him to give the message he had been waiting to hear.
"Yeah? Did Jaina Proudmoore send you?" Ichigo asked, hope in his tone as he finally was going to be meeting her and seeing about getting back home.
"No… I was sent by Captain Vimes, he wishes to see you…" The guardsman replied, watching as the substitutes face go sour at the mention of the man. "He told me to collect you and your companion."
Ichigo growled out in irritation for a moment, another day without reply it would seem, at least from the person he wanted to meet with. He turned around and walked back into his room and collected Zangetsu, letting the cloth wrap around his torso to keep it fastened to his back. Walking back out he watched as the man stood at attention and waited, but Ichigo gave him a look and told him.
"Give me a minute, I will go get her." Ichigo said, moving off down the hall to Lynn's room, the likely place where Adelina would be.
Knocking on the door and waited for a response, hearing a calm reply from within he opened the door and stepped inside. Ichigo found Lynn sitting on her bed and watching her son sleep on the opposite one, while Adelina was beside her. Lynn had recovered over the last three days, thanks to the tentative care of Adelina and Doctor VanHowzen, and was now able to walk without aid, nor get dizzy doing so.
"Ichigo… it is good to see you, I have not been able to thank you for saving us." Lynn said, smiling slightly, although one could see that her face looked older, as if several years had been taken from her.
Ichigo had no doubt that the experience in Shady Rest, the Swamps and Lost Point had taken a considerable toll on her. He wouldn't doubt that she would be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after all of this, but at least she had something to keep herself sane for. Her son was still alive, if that was enough, maybe it would allow her to keep some semblance of a normal life.
"I'm sorry I couldn't do more," Was Ichigo's reply, not wanting to be reminded of how short he came when he tried to save Shady Rest, he chose to leave those memories behind and go straight to the point of his visit. "Adelina, Captain Vimes wants to see us."
Cold as it may be, he wasn't one for being affectionate or overly kind, not with how things were going right now. He didn't want to be boggled down with guilt or anger for what happened and why he couldn't stop it. The fast he left the situation the better off he would be, and likely Lynn as she wouldn't need to hear that he was responsible for not saving her husband.
"Alright, Lynn I will talk with you later, get some fresh air if you can, it won't do you good staying trapped in here." Adelina said, giving one last supportive squeeze of the woman's shoulder before she stood and followed after Ichigo.
"Thank you, I will try." Lynn said, not sounding to enthused really, likely she was still scared of something, and didn't want to leave her son or the room. Something both Ichigo and Adelina could understand, considering the ones who had tried to kill her and James were dressed as Theramore Guardsman.
Finding the guardsman both Ichigo and Adelina were escorted out of the inn and through the courtyard, moving straight towards the Barracks. Along the way they both noted that the guard presence had increased, more patrols and on duty soldiers. But despite the fact they were keeping the area safe and maintaining the peace, despite crime being nearly non-existent here, the feeling of apprehension was thick in the air.
In fact Ichigo could see that some of the guards were eying each other, glaring and narrowing their gazes at different groups. Even some of the squad leaders appeared to be less than friendly to their fellow officers, not even speaking in greeting when passing by one another or even acknowledging their presence other than a single glance that held suspicion.
"Something is wrong, everyone is tense," Adelina said, and Ichigo nodded to that, everyone looked to be ready to cut each other's throats at the drop of the pin.
What the hell caused this?
"Watch your step bastard!" Ichigo heard someone yell, looking over he saw two guards squaring off, with three others behind either of them.
But not moving to restrain the rowdy two, but looking to help out should a fight start. In fact everyone was looking, waiting to see what was going to happen, in baited breath as the soldiers kept barking at one another. Ichigo didn't understand, what the hell had caused this to happen? Why was everyone turning against one another?
"Watch yours boy! Do that again and I may think you my enemy, and we all know what happens to traitors here,"
Ichigo and Adelina were surprised by this, was the guy that he was arguing with a traitor? If that was the case then why was he not being detained? Surely if they knew he was a traitor he shouldn't be free.
"I'm no traitor you scum! I have seen you moving around the docks! What are you doing over there?"
The barrage of accusations and goading was halted soon enough, when a woman in full plate came over and rasped her knuckles along both their helmets. Shouting at them to get back to patrols and stop acting the fool, having to actually force them away from one another and threaten the stockades on them.
"Did that actually just happen?" Ichigo asked, looking at the Guardsman, who turned back to his route to the barracks.
"The Captain will explain, can't do anything out here, people might hear and it might start something." The guardsman said, not saying another word as he led Ichigo and Adelina into the Barracks and towards Captain Vimes office.
Entering they found the man in question behind his desk and rubbing his temple, clearly tired and in desperate need of reprieve. Sadly he would not be getting any of that, instead he eyed both the substitute and druid as they entered and stood before his desk.
"You're here, good, I need to talk with you both," Vimes said, rising from his desk and stepping around it. "You both are back on; you will be investigating the swamps to search for Reethe in the next hour."
Ichigo and Adelina were surprised with this, not expecting that he would bring them on and simply state what he wanted. Adelina had another suspicion there was more to this, after all the first time Vimes only wanted Ichigo to find them because of his personal investment in the massacre. Using it as a motivation to find the people responsible and use her as someone to keep him controlled while he did it. She wouldn't be fooled like that again, and she was not the only one.
Narrowing his eyes at the old Captain the substitute tried to figure out the man's angle, there was more to this than what was being let on. Sadly he didn't have enough to go on to actually figure out what he was planning, so he could theorize his reason for bringing him back on. But Ichigo wasn't just going to get all happy and thank him; instead he was going to get his answers from the horse's mouth.
"Why?" Ichigo asked, as if it was a requirement to his acceptance of offering his help to Vimes, looking as the Captain raise his head and stare at the boy with exasperation.
"From what I suspected you didn't want to be taken off the investigation," Vimes replied, levelling the boy a glare, he had enough problems as it is and the boy being difficult was not going to be another one. "Has that changed since I tossed you out, or have you developed into an arrogant little shit who think he can gloat now that he is being brought back on?"
"No, but I do want to know what you are trying to pull, first time I asked and you rejected me, then without a question you let me on before I can ask and that was only because you wanted to use me like some damn dog," Ichigo replied, a scowl of anger on his brow.
"I guess she told you her side right?" Captain Vimes asked, looking over to the scrutinizing gaze of Adelina.
"I figured it out when I was riding to Shady Rest, I doubted you would allow me onto this unless you had a good reason, or you had no choice," Ichigo answered, looking at the Captain seriously. "I take it the fact that your soldiers are on the verge of killing one another has something to do with me being here."
Vimes for once was impressed with Ichigo, actually figuring out that he had only brought him on because he had personal investment and reason to find the culprits, he never pegged him as smart. It must have been that scowling visage and his uncontrollable desire to be a pain to the guard and also his strike first and ask questions later.
"You're sharper than I gave you credit, had that temper of yours not gotten the better of you, maybe this entire mess would have been resolved by now." Vimes said, turning back to the table and picking up a file.
"You threw me off the investigation, that's on you not me, but I want to know exactly what the hell is going on and why I should bother helping you when I am being put on the short end of the stick and used as a damn glorified dog to sniff for clues." Ichigo demanded.
Vimes looked at him and threw the file at the boy, who caught it and opened it. Ichigo looked over the strange symbols and language that he couldn't understand. Regardless Captain Vimes told him what was going on, giving the abridged version of the situation.
"Rumors are spreading through the guard, everyone thinks there are traitors in the city," Vimes replied, leaning on his desk.
"Aren't they meant to know that already?" Ichigo asked, looking up from the report and tossing it onto the table.
"No, that information was withheld to not let the traitors know we were onto them sadly it didn't work, but it seems that another problem had arisen from the information being leaked" Vimes replied, turning and looking at both of the young teens seriously. "The guards are at each other's throat, everyone thinks the other is a traitor, even the officers are not above this. Especially since many now realize that the poisoning of the two guards from before lets everyone knows that they aren't above killing to remain hidden."
Ichigo and Adelina shared a look; it made sense really, after all the thought of traitor in the ranks would likely make people worried. The possibility that they will also kill you would make anyone edgy; murdering your own comrades is something frowned upon. Even Ichigo found it disgusting when he had it revealed to him at Lost Point. So the guardsman having a standoff was to be expected.
"You want us to find Reethe and make him tell us who the Traitors are," Adelina said.
"Yes, he is the only one who can end this, and you are my only choice when it comes to finding the man," Captain Vimes said. "If I sent someone in the guard I could likely be sending an assassin, which is a risk I cannot take considering how many may have turned."
"But if you did send us wouldn't this problem still be here?" Ichigo asked, even if he went off the guards will still be at each other's throats, there had to be more to this. "You have something else planned don't you?"
"Yes, I plan on telling all that you have been sent out, and that you will be bringing back Reethe," Captain Vimes said.
"You want to try and lure the traitors out?" Adelina said, seeing what Vimes was planning.
"Exactly, they can't risk staying in the city if they know they will be captured, they will try to escape and when they do we can pounce on them." Captain Vimes said, smashing his fist into his palm. "Either way works, so long as you can find Reethe in case the contingency doesn't."
"It won't be easy; the swamps are massive, finding Reethe will be hard enough while trudging through it, especially if he is moving around." Adelina said.
"No it won't, Reethe is a Theramore Guardsman foremost, and he will stick to the training he was given regarding the swamps." Vimes said.
"How do you know he won't just try something random to evade capture?" Adelina asked.
"Because if you don't stick to what is known in those swamps, you will die," Vimes replied. "Besides, our scouts in the region have narrowed down to where he may be squatting, the Northern-most part of the Quagmire."
"Even so that is still several dozen leagues of swampland, searching it by ourselves would be near impossible." Adelina said, looking at the Captain disbelievingly that the two of them alone would find Reethe.
"I have little choice, you will be going with Pained, she is a skilled tracker and will have the necessary skills needed to search the swamps. Hopefully she also has gathered some Intel; we need to find these traitors before there is a mutiny on our hands." Vimes replied.
"Anything else we should know?" Ichigo asked, he wasn't exactly thrilled about the search, likely they wouldn't find anything, but if things continued like they do, it was unlikely he would meet Jaina Proudmoore until this mess was resolved or likely never would if it escalated.
"Bring him back alive, he is the only one who can fix this entire mess." Vimes stated firmly.
Ichigo nodded his head; he wasn't going out there to murder anyone, not again. He needed to bring Reethe back, if that man knew who the traitors were then he could finally get some justice to those who were partly responsible for Shady Rest. Without another word both he and Adelina left the office and towards the stables, they both had work to do.
Vimes watched them leave, glad that they could at least get past any mistrust they had for him to finally get this done. There was a lot riding on them both, if they did not get through this then everything up till now would simply result in Theramore falling to chaos. He just prayed that when they come back they had something to offer; otherwise this entire endeavor may actually result in a mutiny.
"You two ready?" Pained inquired, her gaze focused solely on Ichigo who returned it with a serious expression showing he was ready and able to go.
"We are prepared," Adelina said, looking between Pained and Ichigo, and seeing both of the were gauging the other, letting out a breath as it was clear that Pained wanted him to speak as well, to be held accountable.
"I'm good, let's go." Ichigo said in finality, mounting his horse and waiting for Pained to take the lead.
She did so, quickly mounting her horse and trotting off towards the gate. Adelina joined them both, following close by Ichigo's flank. Pained thought over what she learned over the last few days of searching, mainly about Reethe and likely the renegades he was hiding with.
More than likely they would be somewhere in the Quagmire, it was the only place that was remotely safe. But Reethe had been out there for three days without food or fresh water, and with so many others with him he likely doesn't have anywhere he can go to get fresh supplies. Meaning he would need to reveal himself soon enough, she had an informant nearby, someone who could shed some light if there had been any thefts in the area as of late.
"Sir, the girl and boy have departed, along with Pained; it would seem that everything is in motion." Private Hallen stated, looking at her commander, who sat behind his desk and was flanked by two men.
"Good, now that they are out of the city we can move onto the next phase of the plan." The Lieutenant said, rising from his seat and moving for the door. "Get the men together, a meeting is being held soon and when it concludes, so will this charade."
"Yes sir," Hallen replied, before walking off to begin the next phase of their operation, there was a lot that had to be done before the big reveal.
"The men are getting restless, we have nothing to placate them with, and if this keeps degrading then we may likely have our men killing one another." Sergeant Amelyn said, looking quite aggravated, she along with several other officers had gather to discuss their obvious problem with the chain of command and obvious trust issues. "We need to get this over with now; we need to send people to find the traitor."
There was some shouts and calls of agreement to the Sergeant statement, many being vocal or simple showing their support with a nod. Colonel Lorena and Captain Vimes along with two other Captains stood on small stage and were addressing the other officers.
"It had been dealt with, I have sent out three people to find them," Captain Vimes stated.
"Two kids and a bodyguard are not people you sent to apprehend a traitor," Lieutenant Nath replied, not liking the Captains choice, something that many others shared.
"It is a lot better than sending a traitor to find them," Captain Thomas growled out from Vimes left, barely audible, but someone from the crowd had heard his grumble and retorted.
"We don't even know who the traitor is!" Lieutenant Aden shouted out, stepping forward. "How can you say one of us is a traitor when you have no proof other than the words of some renegades?"
"Could be you, could be Nath, could bloody well be anyone, they don't need to be a lieutenant to be in charge of those lunatics. Besides it wasn't the damn renegades that poisoned two of our own to keep themselves hidden," Captain Stevens said.
"How dare you! I am no traitor!" Lieutenant Nath yelled out in indignation, his brow furrowing and his eyes burning with anger.
"Enough!" Colonel Lorena yelled out over the bickering crowd, sick and tired of all this damn squabbling. "We have no idea who the 'Lieutenant' is, for all we know it may not even be his real rank. The only thing we know is that he along with likely any soldiers that are under his direct command are responsible."
This was getting them nowhere, without any proof or evidence to at least point to someone responsible there was no way they could at least narrow down those who may be a traitor. They had close to fifty people that fit the bill, and that was those who had rank and power to pull this off. But since there was no real way of telling how many officers may be involved there was no way to determine if it was one group or several.
"For now we can only wait for them to bring back Reethe, it is the only thing we can do." Lorena said, knowing that having this meeting was the only way to clear the air, but it seemed to have only stirred up more trouble.
"What if they don't?"
"Then we deal with that when it comes," Lorena said, not willing to give another answer to it, not after how quickly they turned to arguing before.
She was about to call the meeting, ending it and have them get back to their duties when she was thrown to the side. The nearby wall had exploded, sending everyone onto their backs as the stone flew into the room and the pressure pushed everyone down.
Lorena swayed on her back, trying to find her bearings. She looked around, her vision swimming and also her ears picking up nothing else but a constant ringing. With a heave she pulled herself up into a sitting position and saw that the entire western part of the room's wall was missing. In fact the adjacent wall had also been blown out, exposing the street of Theramore, and the dazed and surprised towns folk outside.
Quickly getting over the wave of nausea and confusion Lorena pulled herself to her feet, watching as several other officers do the same. She brought her hand to her head and found her palm wet with blood, finding that she had been cut across the forehead by a piece of stone. Ignoring the wound she looked around and yelled out the most common question someone would ask at this moment.
"What happened!?" She yelled, trying to ignore the ringing in her ear as she tried to hear what was being yelled out, by the officers and by herself.
"We don't know!" Captain Vimes replied, moving to the hole that now opened up to the outside of the keep, several rooms having been punctured by the powerful explosion.
He could see that the explosion originated from a storage room, he could see the remains of a small room, along with several crates and racks. His memory telling him that was the gun powder storage room, meaning that they had been the cause of the explosion. But that didn't change the fact that they had exploded, something that just doesn't happen at random.
"Sir! The prisoners have escaped!" A Guard yelled as he ran in, alerting everyone to the situation, and giving a damn good idea why there was an explosion.
"Get to the stockades, now!" Lorena yelled, drawing her sword and moving to the hole in the wall, using it as a shortcut to reach the prison cells they had set up at one end of the keep.
Everyone followed after her, moving past injured guardsmen who were being tended to by medics and other unwounded soldiers. When they arrived they found not a single renegade in their cages, instead they found eight guards dead on the ground.
She moved forward and searched, before finding a nearby guard, propped against the wall and with a sword through her right breast. Lorena kneeled down and removed her helmet; she was breathing raggedly and appeared quite pale.
"Get the medics!" Lorena yelled, holding the woman's head up and trying to keep her awake. "Tell me what happened,"
"We were attacked… fifteen guardsmen… came in and attacked… they let the renegades go…" She said, struggling with her words, and appearing to be choking.
"Where did they go?" Lorena asked, watching at the woman's eyes fluttered slightly and her head drop. "Hey stay with me! Do not go to sleep!"
"They… ran… to the cellar, they used the hatch… near… the south west… tower." She said, struggling to keep her eyes open.
"Keep your eyes open, who was leading them? Did you see him?" Lorena asked, and for several second she did not get a response, the woman breathing shallowed and she appeared to be in the last moment of her life.
"Am I… going to die?" She asked, and Lorena hesitating in speaking.
"You're going to be fine, the medics will get here and you will be alright." Lorena said, lying to the girl so that she could at least have her last moment be peaceful. "Who did you see?"
"Lieutenant… Jerald…" She said, before her head sagged forward, as she did the medics came, ushering Lorena away and checking on the girl to see if she could be saved.
"Get to the Cellar; see if there is a service hatch or something down there!" Lorena ordered, watching as several men rush toward the entrance to the cellar. "The rest of you, get the men together, and scout around the isle, we cannot allow them to escape!"
Lorena watched them all move off, moving to find and stop those bastards from getting away with this. She turned back to the medic; they had laid the woman down, and were placing a blanket over her. Lorena turned from it, taking in a deep and calming breath, she needed to focus and not get bogged down by emotion.
"What is going on here?" Jaina Proudmoore called, taking Lorena from her calming state as she moved to speak with her Queen.
"It was a jail break Lady Jaina, the Kul Tiras renegades were freed by Lieutenant Jerald and fifteen of his men." Lorena stated, turning back to look at the shrouded body. "She told me it in her dying breath."
Jaina was silent for a moment, looking at the dead bodies of her soldiers, feeling sorrow that they had been cut down by the same men they once serve alongside. Closing her eyes she composed herself, knowing that the ones who took their lives still were roaming free.
"Where are they now?" Jaina asked.
"We do not know, they escaped into the cellar when the explosion occurred, but I do not trust they would enter there unless they had a way out. So I have the men scouring the isle as we speak, we will find them." Lorena said, walking with her Queen out of the barracks and into the open yard of the isle.
"Have the docks searched, if they do try it will not be by land," Jaina said, knowing an escape by the gate would be impossible, especially if they were attempting to escape with over twenty Kul Tiras renegades, their only choice would be by sea.
Lorena nodded, looking around the isle to see the guardsmen were moving together in perfect formations and seemed to be working together without any issue. The previous tensions and hostilities lost when the fiery explosion engulfed the keep as well as news that someone had freed the renegades. It was almost obvious it was a traitor, but the traitor they were looking for was not known.
"Colonel," Lorena and Jaina turned to find Captain Thomas behind them. "We found a passage behind bench, it leads outside the walls and to a small rocky coast, and there we saw several boats moving off onto the water."
"Their trying to escape by sea, get the ships ready, we are going after them." Lorena said, moving off towards the docks.
"Wait a moment, the fog is still thick and we have no idea what is going on yet or where they are heading, organize the men and inform them of the situation," Jaina said, this time being the calm and placating one. "They will not travel far, not by boat, out ships near Northwatch will stop them and they will not travel south less they risk starving before reaching land. We have time to organize this hunt, let us use it."
Going out into the fog was dangerous, there were many small islands and rocks close to the coast, sending the ships out to chase the boats would be impossible. They would have a difficult time dodging the rocks let alone finding the boats hiding in the mist. Until it cleared they had no choice but to wait and prepare for the hunt, luckily the traitors did not steal a frigate otherwise they would need to board it.
"Yes, Lady Jaina," Lorena conceded, understanding her queen perfectly, remaining where she stood to receive her orders.
"Good, organize the men and prepare, we have an hour or two before the mist recedes before we begin the search." Jaina said, moving off to see about getting a message to Northwatch Hold and informing them of this incident and their course of action.
"Yes my lady, Captain, get the officers together, we have some planning to do," Lorena said, moving off back into the keep, they would hold another meeting, this time not to assess who the traitor may be, but how to finally bring him to justice.
"Yes ma'am!" Captain Thomas replied.
One Hour Later
Every officer had been gathered, all stood at attention in front of her. Their faces a mask of conviction in their next task, she did not need to tell them what they would be doing, on how they needed it to be done.
"Alright listen up! We have twenty renegade Kul Tiras soldiers on the run; they have been freed by Lieutenant Duron Jerald, along with fifteen of his men." Lorena said, looking over the forty assembled officers in the Guard and Marines. "They have escaped on dinghies and are moving north, that area is notorious for the jagged rocks and shallow waters, as such our ships cannot follow."
"So we will be coordinating our ships and infantry on keeping them trapped there until we can capture them," Lorena continued. "The Bleeding Sparrow and Wavecutter will patrol the coast, preventing them from escaping into the sea, while our forces will patrol the coast and ensure that they do not land and attempt escape into the swamps."
Lorena turned to Captain Thomas and Captain Andrews, both of whom she spoke with regarding setting up the patrols. She motioned her hand forward for them to speak, Thomas was the first to step forward and deliver his instructions.
"Now, the coast will be patrolled by every available squad we have on hand, each one will have a specific section to cover," Captain Thomas said, motioning to a large map, showing the coast of Dustwallow Marsh. "During this time we will send out search boats, to find and bring the renegades and traitors back."
Then it was Captain Andrews who stepped forward and deliver his piece.
"We are coordinating with Northwatch Hold on this as well, we can corner them off in the rocks and shallows and force them to land, when that happens we will converge and take them into custody." Captain Andrew said.
"We need them alive, the Renegades are expendable, but we need the guardsman alive, they are the only ones who can bring this investigation to an end and finally reveal who is friend and who is foe." Lorena said, and with that the meeting ended, she slammed her fist onto the table and gave her final order.
"Get to your posts, patrol routes will be provided when you depart," Lorena said, moving off with Captains Andrew and Thomas, while every other officer marched out to get their men and prepare to leave. When they were in private they spoke quietly to one another, ensuring no one else heard.
"Have the Knights patrol the roads, make sure that they are out of sight and no one sees them, we can't risk that one of the patrols could let the traitors past," Lorena said quietly to the two men, who nodded their heads in understanding.
Within half an hour the patrols had been set, each group moving up along the coast of the marshes to keep the renegades and traitors from escaping onto land. Each had a single league of beach to patrol and keep under guard, to make sure that nothing got past them.
"Sir, over there!" A soldier yelled, and Lieutenant Greyshield turned and looked to see that several boats were approaching the shore.
"Move on them lad, we need to get to them fast!" Greyshield said, having his men move to the beach as the Renegades and Traitors made it to ground. "Look what the tides cast in, what took you?"
"The fog was thick," Lieutenant Jerald said with good humour, shaking his counterparts hand and sharing a good laugh.
"So glad you could join us Lieutenant Jerald," The Lieutenant said, he along with fifteen of his own men walking down towards the beach, Private Hallen at his side with her trusty boomstick.
Both Greyshield and Jerald saluted their fellow officer and leader within their group.
"Good to be here sir, glad everything worked out for us," Jerald replied.
"Yes, that is good, now we can finish this once and for all," The Lieutenant said, looking over to his second in command. "Lieutenant Greyshield, you can continue your patrols, but first hide the boats."
"Yes sir," Lieutenant Greyshield said, having his men move forward to drag the boats out of the water and onto the beach to hide them.
The lieutenant smiled to himself, everything was going perfectly for him. It was so easy to plan this out; after all he had set this up in a manner where Lorena would only have one option in order to carry out this man hunt of hers.
"Lorena and Vimes would suspect there are other who would side with me, what do we do?" Jerald asked. "Were you able to acquire Private Hendel's services?"
"Yes, the man was so easy to use, all I needed to do was threaten to release information he was selling secrets to the Defias Brothers," The Lieutenant smiled as he said that, he had actually forced the man to take his place along the coast. "But still Lorena is no fool, she likely has men set up along the roads from Theramore to Northway Point."
He knew that Lorena or Vimes would not be so easily fooled by the sudden appearance of a traitor; they will always suspect that there are more involved. But without proof that is the problem, they can't do anything without it. He knew they would not risk the loss of the traitors by pairing squads together, they didn't have the numbers to accomplish doing that and also keeping Jerald trapped in the water
So instead they would likely have a force nearby that would move along the roads and paths to try and search for anyone moving away from the coast. It was more than likely a squadron of Knights, maybe two if they were overly suspicious. But even they couldn't travel everywhere, there was a thick part of swampland that the knights couldn't travel through, they would sink into the mud. That was where he and his men could pass unhindered and pursue the boy.
"Have our brother in Kul Tiras armed, we are going hunting." The Liuetenant said, looking at the thirty Theramore Guardsman under his command and the twenty armed Kul Tiras renegades. They were the perfect force to take down two troublesome little kids and Pained.
"Yes Lieutenant"
There you have it, remember to check the wiki out to see your responses to your reviews. Have a good one.
