Proofread by Thomas F
Rayna Sable
"We have told you before that we do not want the spies from the Silent Forest, Mr. Marysel," said Shaun to the half-elf in front of us, his voice filled with frustration.
We are in the conference room of the intelligence headquarters, meeting with Marysel, the official of the silent forest.
"We do not spy on your dominion; these are not our spies, but they are our citizens, and we will take them back into our custody," he replied, looking at the list of names in front of him.
The man is lying through his teeth; those five are his spies. These are the ones we are telling him about.
There are more, which we have not. We are controlling the situation, feeling him out.
"We had also caught your spies. You agreed that you would never do that," he accused. "We did not," replied Shaun with a straight face.
Spy craft is a game where you never admit you have your spies in their countries. We have been doing it back and forth, and it also helps that we catch more of their spies and they catch ours.
It helps with exchanges.
"Still, we will exchange your spies with our supposed spies," I said, and the man nodded before taking out the binder and pushing it in front of us.
"This is the latest intelligence we have on the Empire."
Their agreement with the undead bars them from sharing intelligence with us, but only intelligence related to them. They still share intelligence related to the empire and other states not related to Vris'alud.
Shaun used his skill, and what he read entered my mind.
"It seemed like it didn't turn out as great as we had thought," said Shaun.
"Aside from the Duke of Blackwell and Duke of Tharvale, nobody else could make any progress," "If we were to calculate the gains and losses, then the empire had lost a little," said the half-elf.
I hummed in affirmation, also noting down information about Tharvale. Lord Silver had asked to be kept informed on all information about that man.
The latest imperial offensive hadn't been as successful as they had thought.
Empire is plenty powerful enough, but it is splintered, with two main camps, along with many neutral lords and dominions. If it were not so, they wouldn't have been suffering such losses.
I am happy about it because without it, Greltheaven wouldn't have existed in the state it is in.
The Imperials would have taken control of Velvet Garden long ago
"What is Silent Forest's assessment on Mahal?" asked Shaun.
Every camp is making preparations as the king tries to resolve the differences to ensure a peaceful succession. Still, given the limited time he has, it is likely to be an arduous task.
"Things are still under control." He replied.
It is not an answer, but, like always, he refuses to tell us anything. They provide detailed information to us on the empire, and good information on a few states around it, like Tabes, Edruin, and others, but when it comes to other states, they remain tight-lipped.
Especially their neighbors or the states where they might have an interest.
An hour later, the meeting ended. We sent off the man before returning to Shaun's office.
"The investigation on Volmin is finished; he is clean," I informed as I opened my file.
"Go ahead with the recruitment," he ordered.
Volmin is an officer, a Lt. Colonel, whose name had come up during the last conflict with the Marquess Grimvale's forces. Many call him a coward because he prefers to avoid conflict, but he is resourceful and quick-witted.
Also, highly intelligent.
It was his timely arrival that enabled him to save Lt. Colonel Bandstone and her company.
We need this kind of person, and once more, it is going to irk the army.
They want us to inform them whenever we recruit their people; we do most of the time, but with some people, we keep them in the dark.
"What is the progress of violet masks in Panar?" he asked. "They are doing well," I replied.
Their main aim is to suppress the information on the mine.
The news of mining couldn't be suppressed, nor are we trying to suppress it. We are spreading it instead.
What we want to suppress is part of the information; that is, we are looking for something other than crystals.
We have kept the news tight; even the violet mask unit didn't know what they had to do. There are so many tasks they have been given, and suppressing particular information about the mine is one of them.
We have to be extremely careful regarding it since we don't know what the hell we would find in there.
Until we do;
We discussed other items on our agenda until we finished with them all.
"You are going to meet her once more?" he asked. "Yes," I replied, to which he sighed.
"I believe it is a waste of time. You have been trying for months; move to the other targets," Shaun stated in boss mode, and I smiled. "She is important; if she agrees, it will help us a lot," I replied.
"Don't give her too much of your time," he advised, and I nodded.
She poses a threat as a prisoner, yet we possess a means to manage her. That's why no inmate managed to break free and cause harm, even though they made numerous attempts.
A few minutes later, I exited his office and went to mine.
Until the afternoon, I stayed there before rolling out in my wheelchair. It's good, but nothing could compare to legs.
Lord Silver had offered to fix them by sending me to the Archmage's City, and I want to do nothing more than that, but there is a lot of work.
Too much work.
If I leave now, it will affect things.
It isn't just merchants sending spies; they are the least of our worries. It is imperial spies and those from the undead that are the crux of my worries.
Grimvale, Summerfield, and Zanav are also sending their spies here.
There is also the graft and conspiracies that I handle. The police are becoming capable of investigating them, but one agency is far from enough.
Especially when there is corruption in the police and other departments.
The corruption in the dominion is much less than in the empire, but old habits die hard.
Especially when many people we recruited come from the empire and other states, where corruption in the bureaucracy, police, and guilds is the norm.
We are always working. Investing, arresting, and punishing. So, one day, we will wipe out corruption from the dominion.
It will take years, but it will happen.
Besides being crippled is a tool, there are advantages; people always underestimate you, and that is an enormous advantage.
Soon, I rolled into my carriage. It is a specially made carriage for me. I could comfortably get in and out of it with no help.
Twenty minutes later, the carriage stopped at the gate of the large compound of the prison.
"Assistant director," the guards saluted before opening the gate for me. The carriage moved inside before stopping a few minutes later.
A uniformed orc man opened the door.
"Assistant director Sable," he greeted. "Vice-Chief Murgok," I replied.
He is a tall man, even for an orc, and built intimidatingly; anyone who sees him would think him a warrior, but he is not. He is a shaman, and shamanic abilities are very suited here.
I brought my wheelchair down and moved toward my destination.
The prison is divided into two parts. The first one, where we keep local criminals, is where we keep a minimum risk offenders, while the second part is for prisoners of war.
They are mostly the powerhouses of Vris'alud.
Soon, we reached our destination: a single-story, small, square building. It is housing one of the two most dangerous prisoners we have captured.
Velara Boltas; a Lv. 40+ Assassin.
The other most dangerous prisoner was, of course, Cleon Daphus, former Lord of Gailhorn.
"Once more, I would ask that you not go there alone," he said. "I will be fine, Vice-Chief," I replied and moved toward the gate.
As we reached it, he opened the door and handed me a key to the cell.
I nodded and rolled my wheelchair inside. As I did, a box appeared in my lap.
Soon, I reached the cell inside. The cell is medium-sized, with a table and a bed, and a small bookshelf with five books on it.
I only glanced at it before turning to the woman, who was on the floor exercising. I didn't disturb her and waited; she noticed me, but kept with her exercise.
She is powerful, very flexible, and has impressive core strength.
Over ten minutes passed before she finished, and she barely sweated. She wiped her brow before turning to me.
"I don't know why you waste your time when you already know my answer," she said. I didn't reply. Instead, I opened the door of her cell with my keys before rolling inside.
"The last time you mentioned, you liked the banana pie," I said and placed the box on her table. She said nothing to that, but I could see her eyes moving toward it.
"It is freshly made," I added. The banana pie is best when eaten fresh.
She didn't. Instead, sat down and turned to me.
"I told you my answer last time," she said, and I smiled. "I am not asking for much, just spar with a few of our people, once a week, and nothing else."
"In exchange, you will get more books, a bigger cell, and more outside hours, along with other privileges." I offered.
"I am fine where I am," she replied, glaring at me.
We are using many of the prisoners we have to train our people, but the main purpose is to collect information. Torture is nearly useless for obtaining reliable information, nor are the enticements.
No, the best way to get information is not by asking them about it.
Let them believe they are tight-lipped; they are loyal to their kingdom or to the skill that keeps their mouth shut. Instead, focus on safe things.
It lets them let their guard down, and they reveal things without knowing themselves.
It will not trigger the secret-keeping skill as it only activates on conscious choice.
"I can see that you are, but I can also see that you are bored here. If I had been placed here, I would have gone mad with the sheer boredom," I said, shaking my head.
"Then transfer me to a bigger cell, give me more books," she replied, and I smiled.
"Of course, that can be done. All you have to do is spar with a couple of young ones; if you do that, you will get what you want and more," I said, and could see a small hesitation appearing on her face.
"I mean, what will you lose? It won't trigger the skill, and it will lessen your boredom."
"I hate to say it to you, but the Dominion didn't have any intention of letting you go."
"Your kingdom offered good terms, and Lord Silver wanted to agree, but there was a lot of pressure from merchant states and Kalgha," I added.
I lied, of course; Lord Silver has no intention of releasing her or any powerhouses of Vris'alud.
Her hesitation grew bigger.
The woman is strong-willed; it had taken many visits for her to even talk to me.
On the other hand, Daphus agreed within weeks, but this woman had been holding on for months. I have been visiting regularly, slowly chipping away at her armor.
I never forced her, nor could I, given her strength and will.
I talked to her like a friend and, most importantly, made her believe it's her choice and doing it will not trigger the skill, which is their biggest fear.
"You are really adamant," she replied, and I smiled as I saw more of her resistance chipped away.
"I am not with the others, but with you," I said, and my eyes turned emotional. "We both came from the same circumstances, but despite that, we reached the height we did."
"It will be regrettable to see all these achievements go to waste." Sympathy is a powerful tool that many underestimate.
"Look at me, I am in prison. It had already gone to waste," she said, glaring at me. "No, it doesn't. What I am offering you is an opportunity." I countered
"I will not say that it will let you get out of prison, which I do not believe, but it will give you a chance to advance, and maybe through it will come that which will help you become free," I replied, looking at her just as intently as she is staring at me.
For a few seconds, nobody spoke before she sighed.
"Fine, I will spar with your people, but on one condition," she replied, with eyes becoming especially intense. This woman is much smarter than Daphnis; let's see what she wants.
"I want to fight the man who captured me," she said, and I smiled. "Oh, honey, you are not his match," I replied, to which she glared at me.
As I had said, she is smart. The purpose isn't to spar, but to get more information about the powerhouse; they don't know anything about it.
It will help the enemy a lot if they know about the knight, and cause us a lot of trouble as well.
Not only from the undead but also from the Imperials.
"How about a different powerhouse of your level? If you can beat them, I will ask that powerhouse for the fight you want," I said.
There was some hesitation, but she nodded.
"Good, now that we have an agreement. You should eat that pie, it's fantastic," I said, and she looked at me for a moment before opening the box.
Just as she did, her eyes widened in delight, while I grinned.