Heart of Dorkness

Scourge Forty-Five - Permission

Scourge Forty-Five - Permission

Find anything yet? I ask as I leaf through a pile of letters.

Biancas dad has a pretty good system in place here. There are cabinets along one wall of his office, with all the papers within them divided into three broad categories. General news--which has the most cabinet space--blackmail material, and then unrelated information.

Within those, every letter and report is placed in order of date, with a marking at the top of the page telling the reader what the report relates to. Thats just for the top-most drawer. Those below are organised into topics, like different families and important people. So, I imagine that part of how Biancas dad organises his things is to read everything so that he knows which folder to put it into exactly.

Its a cool system, and its really boring to dig into.

Most of the things in the recent drawer are reports about stuff that I cant imagine myself caring about.

So-and-sos farm has a reduced crop this year. Whatshisface has been sleeping around with some people in the red-light district and he has some weird tastes. Miss Whatever has been meddling with some politician and has gotten him to accept a deal with poor terms.

Esmes having a bit more fun with it all. Shes actually sorting through her pile in a similar manner as how Biancas dad has it organised. Shes always been good at sorting through this kind of thing.

Felix has laid her head down on a desk in the corner and is dipping in and out of sleep.

Im tempted to join her. In sleep, not on the desk.

Not very much, Bianca says. There are a few things. Shipments from Algecante have been either late or havent shown up at all.

A tax person from the capital went missing on-route to the city, Esme says while tapping one of her piles. That seems somewhat noteworthy, I guess.

Everythings pointing that way, I agree. Anything else?

Bianca stands up and heads over to the wall of cabinets. She opens a drawer and sifts through it. Here, this will be older, but its all about Altum. She tugs out a file folder and brings it back to her desk.

Esme and I abandon our own piles and head over to stare over Biancas shoulder.

She shifts through the pages relatively quickly, starting from the back where the reports are oldest and making her way to the present. The oldest are well over ten years old, but theyre pretty sparse.

Looks like someone commissioned a church to Altum in the capital, Bianca says as she finds a report that goes into a bit more detail.

The next one is about the same thing. And someone blocked the idea, Esme says. She reaches over Biancas shoulder and touches the report. They were refused a loan from Mortimer?

Thats big, I say.

Esme glances up. Is it? she asked.

Im surprised you dont know, I say. This seems like something my smartest friend would just know off-hand. Mortimers entire thing is money and bureaucracy. Even mom respects him when it comes to that kind of thing. If hes refusing to give someone a loan, then there's a good reason for it.

Hmm, Bianca says. That was some years ago. This is somewhat more recent. She snaps a page straighter. The church of Luto filed a protest with the city, asking for more guards around the citys cemeteries to guard them against grave robbers. They accuse some of Altums people of interfering with their duties.

Grave robbing sounds like something a necromancer might be up to, I say.

Makes sense, Esme agrees.

Bianca shifts through the next dozen reports a bit faster. A lot of them are just tangential things, mentioning Altum along with others. I imagine that Biancas dad has a lot of these reports copied so that they can fit in multiple folders.

Theres not much else here. This mentions a church being built in Algecante... another protest from Lutos people about their church in Algecante being interfered with... ah, heres one that says that Altums people have been bribing certain governors. The Notari family received a hefty bribe.

Thats a lot of stuff, I say. But its kind of all spaced out. I bet most organisations get just as many reports of weird things they were up to.

Bianca nods. This is all relatively subtle. Most of these events are months apart. Common folk would overlook these, if they ever heard of it in the first place. We reached the more recent reports and Bianca set one aside. This is from three months ago. I think thats the last time father was here. Report on the sighting of undead to the south of Algecante. A few churches started to form subjugation squads, including Heroes.

It was the last page in the file.

I walked over to the desks where wed split things up. That was a few months ago, right? There should be something more recent. If those groups went out, then there has to be a report or two of what theyve done.

How long does it take to reach Algecante from here? Esme asks.

I suppose that would depend on the urgency of the traveller. A few as three days, if you have horses to spare. Two weeks with a slower caravan making pauses at every stop, Bianca says.

I nod. Thats a good question. I look through the pages, looking for anything that mentions Heroe of Altum. Then I land on a report. Oh, found something, I say.

The reports from someone in Heroes church. No name on the report, but from the contents Im guessing its not someone really high up in the organisation. Maybe a trainee or some clerk or something. Whats it say? Esme asks.

Uh... subjugation squad eliminated... four survivors return... eight other members marked as missing in combat. Some protest from the surviving members, but they cant confirm the death of the templars. Undead seen in greater number than expected... ambushed at night on route to Algecante.

Bianca frowns. Whats the date on that?

Ah, I look at the date, then work it out. This is a month and a half old.

Heroe has a number of templars in Caselfella, most in the capital. It wouldnt take them long to march back down to Algecante. They wouldnt let this kind of insult pass, Bianca says.

I didnt notice anything mentioning a big group of them leaving the city. Youd think at least one report would mention that kind of thing, Esme says.

They were at Castanedas Stop, I say.

That doesnt make sense. Why would they be to the west? Bianca asks.

I shrug. They got lost? I ask, knowing that its a silly reply. Anyway, this just means that were not going to be the first to go to Algecante to stir up trouble.

It means that a host of templars werent enough to subdue whatever is happening there, Esme says.

Shes right. A decently big group of Templars is actually pretty scary. Some can get to be pretty strong. Theyll have at least two classes, if not three or more. Lots of vigilance cultivators. How did that other group get ambushed then? Overwhelming numbers or undead?

I think when we head south, we might want to do so with an army. Mom might be a bit annoyed at me raising a horde, but shell understand. Plus, shes quick to forgive.

The door to the office squeaks open and Rafael pokes his head in. Miss? Ah, you are here, he says. Then he takes in the room and the bit of a mess weve made of it. I came to inform you that the water for the baths is being warmed. Food is served as well, though it isnt anything impressive... Your father won't be pleased to see his work so disorganised.

Bianca seems very done. Whether or not he is pleased is entirely up to him to decide. Please keep your own opinions to yourself, she snaps.

The man is taken aback by that, he stares at Bianca for a moment, but her face is expressionless. That doesnt stop me from feeling the roiling fear and anger barely contained in her core.

I dont know if Rafeal has the ability to sense that, at least not the trained ability, but even someone untrained in cultivating can likely tell that you shouldnt mess with Bianca.

I, yes, lady Malicieux, he says before darting away.

Bianca sighs. Well, thats something. To think all I needed to get a modicum of respect and to be treated as more than some baggage was the willingness to roast people alive.

Roast? Felix asks as she raises her head.

Yes Felix, dinner is being served now, I say.

Oh, nice. Did we learn anything important with all of this? she gestures to all the papers.

I think about it for a moment before replying. Not really, no.

***