Frostnova stood in front of a lavishly decorated hall, warm light shining out from the inside of the building. Two guards stood in front of a set of carpeted steps, turning to regard them as they walked towards the building. At Andrey's behest, Levina wore a short grey dress, simple and convenient; it wouldn't impress, but she wasn't meant to be the center of attention anyways. Fredrich simply wore a uniform of the Fifth cell.
Frostnova, much to his amusement, had balked at the sight of the identical copy Levina had suggested she wear. Well, she didn't need to. She wore her new combat equipment, playing the role of guard and enforcer – it was probably best that Andrey showed some strength in that field. His crystal had been stitched into one of her pockets, keeping it safe from danger.
"Alright, let's go over this again." Andrey began as Levina handed over the invitations for the three of them to the guards. "You've been assigned as a guest of honor, which is… unfortunate. That means you'll be talking with most of the big shots. They're here for me, however, so you'll just have to sit there and look intimidating. They might try and get some information out of you when they think I'm not looking; just tell them you don't know."
Andrey paused as they were ushered in, Frostnova looking up to regard the massive crystal chandelier within the room. She was eventually stopped at her assigned seat by a waiter. Andrey was pleased to see allowances had been made for her "unique situation;" the other chairs on the table kept a good distance away from her. It was something Andrey had excused as a side effect of her wand. A weak excuse, but sufficient. Nobody would dare question him anyways.
Once Frostnova had settled down, Andrey continued. "If you feel like some… threats are needed, feel free to use your Arts. I might also use some of mine, though I'd much rather not overexert and fall asleep. That would be embarrassing."
Frostnova idly nodded. "Mhm. I understand, Andrey."
"Yep. Just wanted to make sure."
Frostnova smiled. "I know. The "guards" at the door were untrained. The cells don't expect trouble?"
"Any low-level threat can be dealt with by the leaders themselves, at least in theory. And the higher-level ones should have been identified and dealt with in advance. I'm not sure how well that still holds up in practice nowadays, though." Andrey explained. "Speaking of which, they should be arriving soon."
As he spoke, a wiry man walked through the door alone, sitting down beside – well, as close as he could get – to Frostnova. Frostnova studied his black-and-white tuxedo for a moment. It was stylish, though the man wearing it seemed surprisingly thin. No hidden weapons as far as she could see.
Meeting Frostnova's gaze, the man smiled softly. "You're the Spymaster's enforcer, yes? A pleasure to meet you. I'd offer you a handshake, but… ah, well. Circumstances prohibit it, I suppose. You can call me Razor. The current commander of the First Cell, at your service."
"The First Cell deals with assassination, of all sorts. Poison especially." Andrey helpfully added.
"Will he try and poison me?" Frostnova asked, nodding in reply to the man. Best not to risk speaking.
"Not when I'm watching. Outside of that… something to loosen your tongue at most." Andrey replied. "Though the leaders of the First Cell were almost infamous for their alcohol tolerance."
"Your presence is acknowledged." The voice of the Spymaster suddenly invaded their minds. Frostnova was prepared. Razor was not, and Frostnova spotted a small flinch.
Nonetheless, he immediately bowed his head. "Understood, Spymaster."
Before their conversation could continue further, another man walked through the door. Almost the polar opposite of Razor, he struck an imposing figure, towering over the guards beside him, and he quickly made his way over, sitting down to the opposite of Razor.
"I'd guess that's the commander of the Third." Andrey supplied. "Enforcement. Good, we have the allegiance of the two most useful cells."
Well, that explained the painfully obvious hammer on his back. Frostnova turned her head to look at him. Eh, she could probably kill the man, thought his sheer bulk would make it tough.
The man laughed loudly when he met her eyes. "A caster, I presume? I, Kalva, lead the Third; we could use someone like you."
"You're certainly a boisterous one." Andrey said, and Frostnova was surprised by how arrogant it sounded. He played the role well. "Ah, well. All are welcome, so long as they are useful. Who else has answered?"
Now it was Razor's turn to speak. "Gabriel, Spymaster. The man paid for this, after all. Besides him, the commanders of the Fourth, Eleventh, and Twentieth, as well as other..."
He paused, and Kalva took the opportunity to speak. "Unnumbered cells. Gabriel tells us they're being put on the other tables."
"I see you have expanded our operations. Good." Frostnova was surprised at how the two preened at the praise. The Spymaster was quite important to them, for a long-dead man. "Though I am less impressed by the others' tardiness."
"I am certain they have a reason." Razor said. "Well, most of them. Gabriel is often quite slow."
Razor probably didn't like Gabriel, then. Then again, finance and assassination were about as far apart as they came.
Eventually, the leaders of the other cells did arrive. It was nice to see the organization of the cells hadn't changed much; it meant that Andrey's knowledge was still useful, and it would be easier to maintain the role of the Spymaster. The Fourth held the role of intelligence, while the Eleventh and Twentieth held lesser roles of research and negotiations, respectively.
For once, he had to thank his past self; with the exception of Gabriel, they all seemed quite loyal. None but Gabriel were actually late; the other three leaders simply arriving as a group, almost exactly at the time Andrey had given. Whether as a show of unity or simply a coincidence, he didn't know.
Without further ado, the group dug into the food. Kalva was… quite the eater. Frostnova ate comparatively little; likely guilty about how she was accepting such luxurious treatment. Or perhaps the fancy-pants dinner simply didn't sit well with her. He didn't know, opting instead to jump between the different leaders. Kalva was the only one armed, surprisingly; the cells were likely well-hidden, then. Good. That spoke of power.
He'd really come far, hadn't he? From being almost rejected by Frostnova to leading a country-spanning insurrectionist faction, if only as a figurehead.
Well, now was not the time to reminisce. Their food mostly done, one of the leaders finally spoke up – unsurprisingly, it was Kalva. Andrey liked the guy. He seemed honest, at least; Andrey wasn't sure how he had gotten involved in a spy cell of all things.
He smiled and began. "Your plan, Spymaster?"
"We will break into the Mausoleum, acquire my body, and proceed from there. The Third Cell's forces will be the most useful. I require twenty skilled men."
Kalva nodded. "Consider it done."
"The Mausoleum is comparatively undefended –" Gabriel flinched – "those traitors apparently see no value in defending some bodies and the Witch King's ashes. This will simplify matters greatly. Razor, your assistance would be valuable."
"I will think of a means to assist." Razor nodded.
"Kalva, provide me with your troops, and I will give further orders to them."
Kalva nodded. Soon, the leader of the Fourth Cell spoke up. "What of after you reacquire your body? Such a brazen attack will put the city in turmoil."
That was a dangerous question. Andrey considered it for a while, before replying. "Order the cells to lay low, and perhaps develop operations elsewhere. I will be traveling to Ursus. The government is rife with corruption, and I believe we will be able to utilize their forces to strike at these traitors where they least expect it. My enforcer will follow me."
In other words, he was getting the hell out of there and hopefully never seeing these dangerous people again.
To his surprise, however, the entire table broke out into clapping, Frostnova soon joining in. Razor bowed. "It is good to see you haven't lost your skills, Spymaster. I would never be able to think of such a master plan."
He kneeled down, and the rest of the leaders soon followed suit.
"What? That was total nonsense." Andrey said to Frostnova.
"It does sound impressive." Frostnova noted.
"It does?" Andrey asked.
"Your Arts help."
Sighing, Andrey activated them again. "You may all stand. Repay me with action, not empty platitudes."
"Yes, Spymaster." This time it was Kalva. He and Razor seemed to hold the highest standing here. "So it is decided, then?"
"Yes."
"Then it is time to eat, drink and be merry!" Kalva slung an arm over the unfortunate man beside him and laughed.
"He doesn't seem like a spy to me." Andrey laughed.
Frostnova gave a small smile. "No, he doesn't."
Levina shifted uncomfortably at a side table. The dinner was running well into the night and had mostly been reduced to a few scattered conversations at each table. It wasn't the best of atmospheres, given most didn't know each other, and it certainly wasn't helped by the weapons some carried on their persons. She hadn't taken her dagger, but that was more of a limitation of the dress than anything else.
Fredrich was doing worse, sat beside her. Surrounded by his superiors – the thought still felt painful – he had been coaxed into round after round of drinks. Levina was surprised he hadn't collapsed yet. He certainly was close.
"Another round of drinks for the man who freed the Spymaster!" The man at the head of the table called. He had introduced himself as the head of a local company's finance division; and a member of the Fifth Cell on the side.
Levina idly noted that Fredrich hadn't freed the Spymaster; merely found Frostnova and dragged her into this mess.
Nonetheless, Fredrich nodded, swaying drunkenly as he got up from his seat – before downing his champagne flute in one go.
A man beside him patted him on the shoulder. "That's the spirit!"
Fredrich nodded, and sat down – well, collapsed was probably the right word – into his chair. Levina regarded him with, loathe as she was to admit it, a small amount of pity. Poor guy, being forced into drinking with his superiors. Levina had to do so once. She had the worst hangover the next day.
Though Fredrich was trending less towards a hangover, and more towards permanent liver damage. Should she help? Fredrich was still technically her teammate.
"Hm, perhaps I should." She thought, sipping at her drink. She had gone largely ignored; not important enough to talk with, for the most part. It had allowed her to stay relatively clearheaded, at least.
Then again, she felt Fredrich deserved some punishment for abandoning them to a bunch of spies. Punishment by the legal system, preferably, but… oh well.
She spared a glance around the hall. The dinner was winding down for the most part, and some had already left; though the ones at the main table were still present, a burly man currently engaged in lively conversation with Frostnova.
Surprisingly, Frostnova was taking it quite well – interested, even.
Perhaps it was time; alcohol poisoning wasn't a good way to go. Standing up, Levina strode over to Fredrich and grasped him by the shoulder. "Fredrich, it's time to go."
Turning to the rest of the group, Levina bowed her head. "I apologize. Fredrich has other obligations tonight."
A flimsy excuse. Nonetheless, they let the two of them leave, Fredrich leaning on her bare shoulder for comfort as she led him out. It would've been intimate, had he not been horribly drunk. Not that Levina was interested in him anyways. "Spy" seemed a horrible career choice.
The moment they left the hall, Fredrich extricated himself from her, leaned over a railing, and vomited into a bush. One of the guards grimaced but said nothing. Levina just sighed.
"Come on, let's go." She patted Fredrich's back, and the two left.
"Fredrich and Levina have left." Andrey reported to her.
"Mhm." Frostnova replied, listening to one of Kalva's many stories. This one was on one of their run-ins with an Ursus military patrol on Leithanien's borders. As with many of his stories, it ended in a bloodbath; the patrol was wiped down to a man by Kalva. Frostnova couldn't help but feel a tinge of satisfaction at the fact.
The man's bloodlust was impressive; that was probably how he was recruited, in fact. As was his ability to inspire his troops into an equivalent frenzy. He reminded her of Petrova, if Petrova were a berserker.
His ability to crack stupid jokes matched Petrova, at the very least.
"Nice to see you're having fun." Andrey had mostly retreated into the background, seeing his presence was no longer necessary.
"He's like Petrova." Frostnova replied.
"Yeah."
Nonetheless, it all had to come to an end eventually. By midnight, even Kalva was exhausted, and they all called the dinner to a stop. Kalva and Razor promised to arrange another meeting the next day at noon, and they went their separate ways.
Andrey would be getting his body back. She would make sure of it.
AN: Another chapter done! Not much to say here, though Kalva and Razor – Kalva especially – will be appearing in the later chapters.
RN: Revision complete.