Jackal Among Snakes

After a while, Argrave managed to get the story out of Anneliese. When she mentioned going too far, too deep, she was talking about her evaluation of Onychinusa’s emotions. Apparently, what she had experienced was so profound she could all but perceive the elven woman’s thoughts. It had enabled her to say what was needed. But at the same time...

“I cannot shake this feeling,” Anneliese recounted. She sat on a root with Argrave beside her. The Brumesingers sat all around her, nuzzling her to comfort her just as Argrave held her shoulder. “The purposelessness. That’s all she wants, Argrave-- purpose. I know it just as well as she does herself.” She sighed, cupping her trembling hands around her mouth. “I wanted to avoid a betrayal. But in the end... the result is the same, I merely betrayed with deception rather than violence. This might even be worse.” Anneliese grew silent. “What do you think will happen?”

“...I don’t think she can be confined again, given that Erlebnis is manifesting himself and connecting his realm with this one... but she’ll be viewed as a liability once he learns. A liability he’ll be sure to cut off, one way or the other,” Argrave said quietly. “Whatever the case, she’s out of the picture. Erlebnis won’t let her slide. He raised her for certainty, and she failed once. He doesn’t like second chances.”

“Will he kill her?” Anneliese asked quietly.

“I can’t honestly say. He agreed not to all those thousands of years ago, but perhaps this breaks some clause,” Argrave shook his head. “But she’s out of the game. In what manner... we’ll have to see.”

“And Kirel Qircassia... his alliance with Erlebnis might not shatter immediately,” Anneliese said, her trembling fading as she distracted herself. “But it’s been undermined. The god will be suspicious, without a doubt.”

“Mmm-hmm,” Argrave nodded, mulling. “I’ve been working at flipping Batbayar. I thought we’d need to have a direct hand in purging Altan, and whatever other of Erlebnis’ worshippers are in the elven armies... but now, I think we let their system of military policing work on its own. Batbayar was resistant to the idea at first, but now that he’s coming around, I suspect he’s going to engage in a thorough purging of the army. He might even find the malfeasance I’ve been talking about for so long before I put him on the trail,” Argrave reasoned. “Whatever the case, we have a little more breathing room.”

“...thinking of how the forest healed... what do you think the emissaries would do immediately after that happened? Would they continue their hunt of the elven gods, or would they retreat and reassess?” Anneliese mused.

Argrave took a deep breath, her words bringing revelation. “I think they might retreat,” he reasoned. “Erlebnis won’t know what happened until he’s told. He might put the pieces together, but he might not. Regardless, this could be a window of opportunity.” He rose to his feet. “Whatever the case, we need to get out of here. Let’s wrap things up with the dryads, and then...” he paused. “Actually, scratch that. If you need to take some time, take some time. What you did was far beyond anything I could’ve managed, I think. I’m no mind-reader.”

”No... no,” Anneliese rose to her feet. “I will not allow this to put me down. But Argrave... please, never again. I know I chose this, but I never wish to do it again. This feeling of purposelessness does not fade. I cannot say it will. I am not made to manipulate others so completely. I nearly lost myself during that process.”

“You don’t need ‘please.’ You didn’t even need to ask,” he assured, patting her shoulder. “Come on. Let’s finalize these growing rifts while we have the chance.”

“Before you go... I learned some pivotal information. Erlebnis has a breach near Kirel Qircassia’s. His is underwater, off the coast of the North Sea,” she explained. “That has to help us.”

Argrave clapped once, and then nodded. “Yeah... yeah, that is necessary information. I’ll need... damn it. Underwater?” He walked away, pacing as he thought.

thinks I intended to tell

#####

Perhaps it explained the frailty the real Argrave had been cursed with. He counted himself fortunate he didn’t have the Habsburg jaw. Perhaps if he’d gone along with Nikoletta, their children might have had it.

back slowly. She kept the Brumesingers in her arms, and the foxes obediently stayed still. To comfort her, they acted

the grove with the dryads’ tree, Batbayar had returned. He conversed with Orion, and seemed to possess the same feverish and

walked up to Batbayar and asked at once, “What are you still doing

looked at him, taken aback. “What

didn’t you? Then you should be returning to your people,” he told him commandingly. “You’ve got a lot of work

of them in turn. Orion still looked a little upset at the myriarch, but even he gave an encouraging thumbs up. Onychinusa was too absorbed with her own task to care, but

but I’m definitely not upset with it.”

all I need,” Argrave agreed, seeking to end the conversation here. He didn’t care to explain to the myriarch that the dryads

to the dryad that shadowed Onychinusa. “Then... we have two final things, I think. First... new things have come to light, and I can’t keep my promise to end the mandragora. The Yateveos... it might happen.

said. “I claimed my lineage. You did this for me, and so I

“What

any different. I know where my parents died, now.” She looked back to the dryad, who gave her a reassuring nod. “Perhaps... perhaps I can visit there.

Argrave nodded. “But

state more akin to mine. In time, they will all have a grand tree like this one,” the dryad explained on Onychinusa’s behalf, looking up at the purple leaves swaying with the wind above. “With permission given by the last of the imperial bloodline, we can act, so long as she wishes it... and she has bid us act

and

said vaguely. “I got what I came here for, and you got more than you came here for, I suspect. But that other thing I was talking about...” he looked to the Brumesingers, all four of which were still in Anneliese’s arms and dangling relaxedly. “Can those guys get what they want, even despite the thing with the mandragora

stand before the dryad. She knelt down, scratching behind their ears as her dress of leaves scraped the ground. “They wish to gain my mist, do

still seeming guarded... but there was also a connection where there had not always been one. When she looked at Anneliese, her

to care

and the branches craned down. On their edges, fruits budded rapidly. It was like looking at a timelapse of a fruit’s growth-- it began unripened, growing to rich green before converting to

away from Argrave and Anneliese, coming before the dryad. Each of them put one of the silver fruits in their mouths, and then threw their heads back. Argrave had never seen this happen before,