Xix and Seises had their group going through the docks and making sure they looked as presentable as could be expected for the new arrivals coming in, with the army due to surprise them any day they needed to be in top form. Xix was concerned about how her team would do with being cruel to the new arrivals in front of the officers. Most of them had gone through so much when they arrived, she didn’t like the idea of putting more through the same. She hoped no one would break character.

  Seises was focusing on trying to make the cabin that might need to be used. She was trying to come up with a way to make it seem like the cabin was being used for its normal purpose without actually using it. She was considering having one of the female members stay in the cabin, screaming and moaning like it was already in use. They only ever took one new arrival there at a time after all. Seises knew it was a flimsy plan, it hinged on the soldiers not wanting a turn. Worrying wasn’t going to do anything, and she returned to getting the cabin ready. Pyn was vigilantly standing guard making sure no guards were approaching from the city. He was being overly cautious according to Xix but still he wanted to keep watch.

  Seises called out from the cabin saying everything was ready and not a moment too late. An elven warship was seen coming up on the horizon. Xix called for everyone to get into their places for the elven army arrivals. Xix swore under her breath, she hadn’t counted on the army being the first to arrive. She had hoped they would be here in a couple days.

  A large warship breached the horizon. It was a marvellous sight compared to the ship they were used to seeing. It was nothing like the ship they had arrived on. It was pristine, not a barnacle to be seen, not a rip in the sails and no braces or rune magic keeping it together. The crew was in top form, not a person out of place and not an unnecessary person to be found. The commander was standing by the helm, she wasn’t even issuing orders. She was just watching. Waiting for someone to step out of line. Wanting a reason to let loose on the men, to make their voyage just a little less comfortable. Her eyes darted from crewman to crewman till finally she found one. A smile pursed across her face; it was an evil looking smile. One that didn’t hide the cruel intentions about to come.

  She found her target, one of the new recruits was struggling to tie down the sails. He was a beastite; she didn’t care what kind. He was lesser to her and that was all that mattered. She looked at the quartermaster and pointed at the beastite and in one motion managed to convey her intent. The quartermaster moved over to him and brought him to the ground.

  “Get me the irons!” He bellowed, as he tightened his grip on the poor beastite.

  Without a word, without a struggle the beastite relinquished himself to his fate. He was escorted by the quartermaster to the brig where his possessions were stripped from him, and he was placed in prisoner rags. He was left there among the ten or so other prisoners the captain had found to be slacking. Some were elves whose families had opposed her being appointed to her new position, she was not above a little retaliation.

  As they pulled into the dock, Xix and her crew of impostors made their way to greet the new arrivals. To Xix’s surprise the new arrivals were already dressed in the inmate clothing and had been branded. The commander departed after them shoving the slow ones to the ground and laughing.

  “Got a little board eh?” Xix said while spitting on the first new prisoner. “You’ve gone and done our job for us. Not complaining, an easy processing is a good processing.”

  The commander looked down her nose at Xix, “We simply wanted to make sure it wasn’t bungled by...”

  She paused looking around at the state of the dock and the quality of the guards. She didn’t see an elf among the guards. The commander wondered how far Venthal had fallen to use so many unsightly beasts.

  “Your kind,” The commander finished, eyeing up Xix.

  Xix wanted to get in this Elfs face, but for the sake of the mission she controlled herself. She motioned for some of the others who were expecting to process new prisoners to take the shackles off. They got the new prisoners some water and sent them on their way. Xix walked with the commander to the gate leading to the interior of the island.

  “Is Venthal still in charge? I assume he hasn’t lost complete control of the island,” the commander demanded.

  “Yeah, he’s still in charge. Keeps the prisoners in line when they go to the city. He makes sure new guards are regularly made to replace lost ones. He also handles the extermination of vermin as needed,” Xix answered, trying not to smile as she knew what the commander and her soldiers were going to be walking into.

  The commander looked pleased, at least as pleased as she could. She motioned to her men, and they set off towards the city. Xix breathed a sigh of relief, the first part of the plan was complete. Xix knew it might not be so clean on the way out, but she hoped nothing would go drastically wrong.

  Ashera, no longer wanting to wait around the base, decided it was time to do some recon of her own. She headed for the armoury to gather some supplies. She was looking for a set of the nanotech armour, the same armour she had provided Xix and everyone else the night prior. She also dorned some of the old ragged cloth the others had been wearing till now and a concealable weapon just in case things went sideways.

  “Now where did I put that damnable dagger?” Ashera said, speaking to herself.

  “You mean this one?” a voice said, from behind her.

  Ashera spun around to see Artemis standing there with a concerned look on his face. She knew she had been caught. Artemis was smart, it was like he had grown to know what she was thinking before she was thinking it over the past year.

  “Yes, that one,” Ashera said, extending her hand to take the dagger. “Don’t look so concerned, I'm only going to take a look. I won't cause any problems.”

  Artemis sighed and handed over the dagger. He didn’t really want to stop her, in fact it was quite the opposite. He wanted to join her, but because he was the only wolfite on the island he might draw too much attention. Ashera noticed that he was looking down and had an idea. She went to the recon equipment and got two pairs of glasses.

  As she passed one pair to Artemis she said, “here these will allow you to see from my perspective. So long as you are wearing the glasses I mean. It will be a little disorienting at first, I’m sure, as you will be seeing what's happening here in front of you and what's happening with me as well.”

  Artemis tried on the glasses; he instantly took them off. As Asheras pair was pointed at the floor, to Artemis it looked like he was going to fall flat on his face. Once Artemis saw he was in fact still standing up he tried again. Ashera raised the glasses to her face too. Artemis was now staring at Ashera and himself at the sometime. It was strange but did give him a little peace of mind that he could see what was going on in case she needed backup.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Ashera took off the glasses and headed up to the exit. On her way up she used her tattoo once again to mimic the branding of a prisoner on her arm, she also used it to change her physical appearance a little. She gave herself elven ears, changed her hair colour to a dark brown and gave herself a massive scar down the left side of her face. She wanted to look as different as possible in case her hood was removed. She breezed past Suntian who didn’t even recognize her and left the building.

  Ashera looked around to get an idea of what was going on. She noticed from the direction of the docks the precession of soldiers headed towards the city. Ashera decided this would be the perfect time to spy on Venthal and see what was going to happen in the island's future. With that thought she hurried to head off the army and make it to the city before them.

  ***

  Venthal and the remaining guards had their work cut out for them. They had to finish setting traps for the rantoru and clean up the mess in front of the city from the previous night. He knew they would need to conscript some more inmates to get the removal done. Venthal went to the closest guard, his new second in command in Rivnears absence.

  “You, get a couple guards and get some labourers to get rid of the rantoru corpses out of here. Make sure they’re here and working within the hour, if the army gets here and sees no one working it will be our asses not the prisoners who get beat. Make sure the prisoners don’t look too strung out, we don’t need to showcase our drug problem,” Venthal ordered.

  With that Cyrth set off. Venthal turned his attention back to setting the most pressing matter, what had set the rantoru off. He had others looking around to see if they had been baited. Nothing had been found so far but he was suspicious of the timing of this event.

  Within twenty minutes Cyrth was back with twenty inmates in tow. Venthal was pleased with how he was taking command of the situation. The inmates were not being given a choice to ignore his orders. Anyone who tried was beaten and put back to work. Cyrth set the inmates into two groups, one to clear the rantoru and the other to deal with the guards corpses. Cyrth himself was taking note of those who followed the orders without lip and marked them down as possible new guards.

  “You guard, you must be new. What’s your name?” Venthal asked.

  “Cyrth sir,” Cyrth replied.

  By the time Venthal saw the army coming, most of the clean-up was under way. The traps had been set up to ensure no further interruptions from the rantoru. Venthal thought everything was under control. Once Venthal saw who was leading the army his face grew cold and annoyed. It was Shendra, she had been one of Venthals' students, she was the best and brightest he had ever taught. Shendra’s downfall was that she belonged to one of the branches accused of breeding with different elven species. That meant no matter how hard Shendra tried she would never make it past the rank of commander. She was full of hate and disdain towards all other families including Venthals. She was consumed by the idea that if she couldn’t go higher, she would bring everyone else down. Venthal knew if she had been sent it didn’t bode well for the guards getting through this ordeal in one piece.

  ***

  Ashera noticed as the army grew closer to the city Venthals demeaner changed from one of confidence to one of irritation. If it was the same Venthal from her time this was new for him. Ashera didn’t mind seeing him irritated for once. She decided to get closer, she figured with her disguise it couldn’t go wrong. She walked up next to the army, following at a distance still but heading in the same direction. Some of the soldiers were weary of her presence but Shendra wasn’t concerned with her.

  Shendra gave her soldiers a look that said don’t be concerned with the locals and increased their speed. The soldiers stopped paying attention to Ashera and moved on. To avoid suspicion Ashera didn’t match their speed, instead allowing herself to be left a little way behind before matching their pace again. Ashera was looking around as she followed the group and noticed how all the other inmates were making themselves scarce as they approached. Heading out to the arid part of the island or off to the wooded area behind the town. Both places that were normally avoided.

  Venthal didn’t like how Shendra and the army were taking their time. He wanted this inspection over with. He wanted Shendra off his island. By the time Shendra and the group of soldiers got there it was clear that Shendra had taken her time on purpose, to throw Venthal off his game. Ashera had noticed the closer they got to the city the more she slowed their pace. Ashera walked past them to the city gates, appearing as though she wanted some water. She stood there in line listening to their conversation.

  “You took your sweet time getting here,” Venthal growled. “As you can see, I’ve already got my hands full with other business so I would appreciate it if you would get this started already.”

  Shendra looked around at the pile of dead soldiers being dragged off and the rantoru corpses scattered around.

  “Busy night?” She asked, amused with the look coming across Venthals face.

  “Yes, a rather long one too. Now your inspection if you please,” Venthal said, heading towards the city.

  Shendra walked beside him. “Yes, we should get this underway. We have some important business to discuss. Firstly, your docks, they are a mess. The soldiers you have out there are in good form, but they seem lazy. Only wanting to do the bare minimum. They were ecstatic almost that we had done all the processing of the inmates we brought with us.”

  Venthal laughed at this, “Of course they were happy. It meant less work for them and no paperwork afterwards. Hell, if all shipments came like that I’d be elated too. Now where would you like to start? In the barracks or in the tower?”

  As the group approached the gate Shendra turned to her men and said, “alright you lot while Venthal and I handle the inspection you lot bail out these sorry excuses for guards and make this place presentable again.”

  The soldiers all took off in different directions taking command of each project they could see being done. A group of three headed back to the docks, presumably to get it cleaned up as well.

  “Efficient bunch you brought with you,” Venthal said.

  As they passed by Ashera she grabbed onto Venthal and coughed. Using his ragged over coat to cover her mouth. Venthal turned to her and slapped her across the face, knocking her to the ground.

  “You impudent cur,” Venthal said, “How dare you touch me with your filth. Make sure she gets no water rations. If I find out anyone is passing her water, I will personally see to your punishment.”

  Ashera pulled herself to her feet and walked briskly away from the city. Once safely away and hidden from site she pulled out the glasses she had brought and put them on. Instantly she started to receive a signal from the part of her magical tattoo she had transferred to Venthals over coat. Ashera, having forgotten she had given a set to Artemis to watch her, was unaware he was seeing what she was doing and now what she was seeing.

  “Before we get started with the inspection, we should discuss some other business. Besides I’m sure you have this place perfectly under control as always,” Shendra said.

  “Other business? What other business could the army possibly have with this place?” Venthal asked.

  “Not here, once we are inside,” Shendra said.

  A long pause followed this exchange, and Ashera grew worried they had discovered her device. She heard a door opening and closing finally. Followed by steps on some creaky wooden floors and the dragging of what she assumed were chairs. She could finally see a portion of the floor as Venthal hung his coat on the railing. She moved the tattoo drone into a more advantageous position and continued to watch.

  “There’s been an incident,” Shendra began, “the eastern city is under attack. Apparently, you had a prisoner sent here last year, a wolfite. He was arrested after saving the queen from an assassination attempt. Poor fool, he did the empire a great service and was arrested anyway. Anyway, the group of rebels behind it tried again. This time though, there were casualties. We lost an entire regiment of soldiers stationed at the queen's private estate.”

  Shendra looked around, she got up and checked out the windows and at the door. She was making sure no one was listening before she continued.

  “The queen herself was unharmed,” Shendra paused, as if she wasn’t sure she should say what was to follow. “Yanthyr has gone missing in the chaos. The queen is afraid he’s been taken by the rebels; however, we think it’s worse than that. According to some of the staff who were there it appeared as though Yanthyr left willingly with them. We had to silence all who knew of that of course. The king is worried that if that is the case, his son might be the traitor who has been enticing this whole rebellion.”

  Venthal leaned back in his chair, not quite sure what to say. The king's own heir inciting a rebellion this would have massive implications if it were true. Venthal slowly leaned back into Shendra with his thoughts finally collected.

  “What does his majesty want from me? Surely, he can’t mean to have his own flesh and blood imprisoned here or does he mean to have him put in the tower?” Venthal asked.

  “Neither he wants you. He wants the commander of his armies back in a position where he can be used. He wants you to track his son down, find out if he is indeed a traitor and dispatch him accordingly,” Shendra said. “I protested the idea saying I could handle the issue, but he wants me to learn from you this time and to assist not lead.”

  “So, here we are then. Just like the old days, me leading and you following. I never thought I would be training you again, Shendra,” Venthal mused. “I’ll have to find a replacement to stay here though. It will take time to make sure this place doesn’t fall into complete chaos.”

  Shendra smiled, “You don’t have time for that, the king wants you on the ship by the end of today when we leave. You’re current second in command will have to do. Where is he anyway?”

  “He’s in the infirmary. One of the rantoru, a mutant, took his leg. I’m having the Grace regrow it for him now. He should be able to take over by nightfall. Though he wouldn’t be my first choice to take over. I would rather Cyrth took over, he’s fresh from the tower but he has good instincts and has quickly earned my respect in his handling of rantoru incident and aftermath.”

  “Either is fine with me, but if you leave Cyrth in control wont Rivnear take offence?” Shendra asked.

  Venthal mulled it over, “I’ll put Rivenear in power and assign Cyrth to be his second. Cyrth will likely have control anyway Rivenear isn’t that bright. Now that the other business is out of the way shall we continue with the rest of the inspection?”

  Not waiting for an answer, he stood up and motioned for the door. Ashera took off her glasses and sunk down. This was perfect, they would be able to continue with their plan and Venthal wouldn’t be there to stop them. Rivnear from what Suntiana had said wasn’t much of a threat. She had never heard of this Cyrth character, but he couldn’t be much tougher. The thing that concerned her was the bit about Artemis, why had he saved the queen it wasn’t like wolfites had any loyalty to the elves. They were hunted on site from what the others had told her. Full of questions Ashera headed back to the base. Just as she was leaving, she destroyed the piece of her tattoo that was inside the guard tower with a little fizzle it burst into smoke and disappeared.