"This doesn't make any fucking sense," murmured Garthan as his eyes scanned the missive in his hands.
Jareth looked blearily up from his untouched dinner plate and raised a brow in inquiry. "None of this does… but what do you mean in particular?" Sarah put her hand over Jareth's, squeezing it lightly.
"We have further reports of some kind of operation in Surinar Vale… a couple of servants mentioned a rumor that a Goblin girl was taken from there. No mention of it being Helena."
"We know this already," started Jareth.
"But…" said Garthan, his frown intensifying. "Those servants belong to a minor noble. One not connected to the King nor the military. How the hell would they know about this when no one else does?"
"No one?" asked Sarah. "Not even the King?"
"Not from what I can see here. There's been no whiff of even a thread of a plot in Caelan's own quarters. Nor his chief advisor's. If anything, he seems to be more focused on a border dispute to the South of him. Not one shred of communication has come to either one of them about Helena. They haven't even said a word that can be taken crosswise about her. But somehow… this minor noble's servants know more about it than their King does."
"So… maybe this noble is the one involved?" asked Jareth.
"I thought the same thing, only… he isn't. Or, if he is, he's a lot more tight-lipped than his servants. He's had no communiques from anyone other than his mother and occasionally the castellan of his country home."
Sarah's brow furrowed as she looked between Garthan and Jareth. "Then… maybe it's not the noble, not the King or the advisor that's feeding them the information."
Garthan nodded, "I thought that too. So, I dispatched a watcher to see who those servants were meeting with. At all times, it was other servants. One of them, though… might be of interest. He's a valet, serves a minor officer in their Army. His master isn't even in Haorsham at the moment, apparently, he's on maneuvers with his unit. But… where is he getting his information from if not his master? And before you ask, no… there is no connection between this officer and that minor noble, nor was the officer ever a part of the Naruvian Legion."
At that moment, Freebo 'popped' into the study. Glancing around quickly, his gaze focused on Garthan and he scurried over, handing him a scroll. Garthan unrolled it, read it quickly and muttered a curse.
Jareth felt a bit of panic overtaking him, "Garthan… what…?"
"The latest intelligence. That servant? The one whose master is on maneuvers? He told his friend that he'd heard a Goblin girl was being held in Fellmark."
Sarah rose from the table, her hand hovering near her throat. "Then… we go there. Go there and get her…"
Garthan's eyes were gentle as they rested on Sarah. "That's just it, Sarah… I have operatives in all the small towns near Surinar Vale. Including Fellmark. There's no trace of her there, no one has seen anything even remotely odd going on there. Now, is it possible that they were able to bring her in without anyone noticing? Yes. But is it likely?"
"Likely or not, it's the first lead as to her location that we've gotten," said Jareth slowly. "I think… we send Randel over there. Watch and see if anyone in particular flees Fellmark."
Randel, who had been sitting quietly listening to their exchange, nodded. "In my experience, civilians tend to freeze in place, at least at first. Almost as if they don't believe they could be in danger. Their garrison would scramble to prepare for action. But… whoever has Helena, if they're there… they'll probably try to get out right away. We might be able to catch them." He met Jareth's eyes gravely, "You do understand… marching on Fellmark is going to be seen as a preamble to war."
"This is a preamble to war," snarled Jareth. He took a breath, then shook his head. "I'm sorry… Randel, I'm sorry. I…"
"Don't," said Randel as he reached over to clasp Jareth's arm. "You don't need to apologize. I understand. But we have to be prepared for what might come if we do this."
Jareth looked over at Sarah. He could see the same fear reflected in her eyes that he himself was feeling. Not about the possibility of war, but… fear for their daughter.
"Right now, it's all we've got," he said, his voice getting hard. "Let's stir the pot and see what comes up. It's worth a try. In the meantime, Freebo, can you find out from Sir Didymus if they've searched Fellmark yet and if they haven't, ask him to get on it right away? And… if he already has, we'll need to do it again. We have to be sure."
"You got it, Kingy," said Freebo, right before he 'popped' out.
Jareth looked over at Anduin and Jacen. "Randel will head to Fellmark with our 2nd and 3rd Batallions. We'll hold the 1st and 4th in reserve, along with the Home Guards. If this little excursion provokes a military response from Iftanzel, we'll have Anduin ready to meet the threat. In any case, we'll need to alert the Home Guards to what's happening. If we get word that Helena is there, or really, if we get word that she's anywhere, Garthan and I will infiltrate and retrieve her."
Randel rose from the table and moved toward Anduin to discuss their deployment. Jacen started whipping out dispatch orders for the Home Guard, his pen flying over the small pieces of parchment.
Garthan still had a pensive expression on his face as he watched the preparations. Before Jareth could ask, he heard Sarah's voice.
"What is it, Garthan? Something is still nagging at you."
He looked over at Sarah with a slight frown, "It's just this… it's no secret that we have spies all over the Underground. Hell, at this point I think they all see an Ughlánas behind every flowerpot. Now, I rather like that they think we're so omniscient, but we have to remember that it's a double-edged sword. The fact that we can't trace a source of this information besides a minor commander, who isn't even in Haorsham… I have to wonder. Is this being disseminated to us as a ruse? Are we being drawn to Fellmark for some other reason?"
"I see what you mean," said Jareth. "And we should keep that at the forefront of our minds. However, right now… it's all we have."