[First Era – Year 6 of the Divinity War; Hopron, secret laboratory]

  When the day ended the laboratory always grew to a roar of voices before it fell quiet again. It was silent now, save for the low hum of some curious entanglement down one of the corridors.

  Moraithe and Saffrael stood at the center of the hush, staring at the case of crystals.

  They had needed to pull some strings, but they had maneuvered themselves into the position where they were the ones who would lock up the rev crystals every night after all the goods had been stored inside. Lock them up every night, and retrieve them every morning. This was the key to their plan for catching those in their ranks who might have divided loyalties.

  Saffrael stood near the vault, her stardust-freckled presence barely more than a shadow among the towering shelves. She looked out over the vast arrays of tubes, trays, beakers, and glass chambers used for growing the various crystals they made here. The residue of their energy hummed softly, a constant reminder of the vast potential of what was made in this place.

  Moraithe's fingers brushed over a rev crystal—its surface alive with pulsing light. He held it carefully, feeling the weight of it in his palm, considering their plan. These wondrous artifacts were all gateways to the same place, a massive warehouse, containing all the supplies needed for the war.

  “So these are what they're going to distribute to all the quartermasters on our side of the war, huh?” Saffrael asked, her tone a little strained as if she was still digesting the implications of their plan.

  Moraithe’s face spread in a mystic grin, still turning the crystal in his hands. “Not just the quartermasters, those manufacturing our supplies will also have one. A shared vault for all our weapons stores, food supplies, and armor. Even Barthum's entropy crystals will be stored here. It's quite the logistical miracle.”

  “Almost overnight it has become our greatest weapon, and also our most vulnerable point. If it fell into the wrong hands …” Saffrael let the words hang in the air, her lips pressing into a tight line. “It would be a disaster on the scale of nothing we've ever seen.”

  “Exactly. That's why this is the perfect bait.” Moraithe turned his gaze from the crystal to Saffrael. “If there's a mole in the research laboratory—someone trying to sell these crystals to the Severed—they'll have to make their move once they think we've hidden the crystals away securely.”

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  “It didn't seem like you had as much trouble making these trap crystals as you did making those arrows, even though it was basically the same thing.”

  “I had to stretch myself across both lives and maintain consciousness in both places to make the arrows. These were easy. I just had to be in the prison cell we put in your revenescent to do them. It was actually more difficult to make them seem like rev crystals, I had to entangle them with the aura of the rev crystals themselves. I've never tried entangling an aura before. It could be a nice trick on the battlefield though. Make it seem like we have barons running around everywhere in the ranks.”

  “Why stop there, how about princes, infinites?”

  “It's got to be believable. Anyway, once we swap out these crystals for the trap crystals, we should be set.”

  Saffrael reached out for the case of rev crystals and stored them in her revenescent. The scent of winterblossoms wafted around her as she took out an identical looking case.

  Moraithe examined the case. It looked identical. “How do you know those are the trap crystals? What if you got confused?”

  “Want to test one?”

  “I really don't want to be stuck in an unbreakable prison cell, thanks.”

  “You said my revenescent was warm and cozy. At least that's a plus right?”

  Moraithe laughed. “We've got work to do. And I have to secure the crystals.”

  Saffrael raised an eyebrow. “Okay, there's one thing I'm not clear on. How do we make it look secure but leave an opening tempting enough for our mole to take advantage of?”

  “You know that our researchers have their own tools of the trade?”

  “Of course.”

  “Have you heard of the entanglement breaker?”

  Saffrael shook her head.

  “It's a device specifically designed to sever entanglements. I even managed to get one.” He pulled it from his pocket and held it out to her. It was a sleek, silver instrument with intricate runes carved along its surface, its edges sharp and delicate. “They are invaluable for breaking sealed entanglements, the very sort the researchers are constantly using. They are also particularly useful for dealing with secure vaults or entangled locks.”

  “It seems like we should have countermeasures for something like this.”

  Moraithe set the case of trap crystals into the vault, which glowed faintly with some ethereal light. “We do. They aren't often used because entanglement breakers are so rare. But I mean to deliberately ignore those countermeasures, feigning bravado, that no one could possibly break my entanglements, they are simply too strong.”

  Saffrael tilted her head, impressed. “I suppose you've tested it.”

  “It slices right through all the locks and protections.” He said as he set those very locks and protections over the vault.

  Saffrael examined his work. “That should do it then. They take the bait, break the entanglement. And when they touch the crystal…”

  “They'll find themselves locked in your revenescent,” Moraithe finished, his lips curling into a mystic grin. “Perfect.”

  They both paused, the weight of their plan sinking in.

  “After they take the bait,” Saffrael said, her voice softening, “We'll send a message to Elithir.”

  Moraithe nodded, imagining all their work coming to fruition. “Once the trap springs, they'll have no way out.”

  Saffrael threw her arms around him in celebration. “Now we wait.”