Chapter 263: Amongst our weaponry are such diverse elements as...

Pre-chapter note:

Somehow, I ended up uploading the same chapter twice, it seems. ^^'

Guess I've been a little preoccupied with the launch. ;)

Here's the actual new chapter for yesterday!

Enjoy!

Marty’s question causes my stomach to sink and a silence to fall over the war council.

Though I guess if it were up to him, it would remain to be seen whether the Cinnamon Circle will actually be a war council at all.

Agath is the first to react. “Peace?” she snorts. “We’re not at peace with the Peilor. We’re at a stalemate. And while we’ve agreed to temporarily cease hostilities, our administration is following a rigorous set of protocols to ensure we maintain constant vigilance and that the voluntary militia of Ascendants is prepared to defend the people at any moment. Don’t fool yourself into thinking Mara has given up on conquering our Realm; that’s sheer folly. Delusion!”

A voluntary militia of Ascendants, huh? I wonder if Akir’s part of that... From his earlier words, it sure sounds like it.

“All right, we’re at a stalemate,” Marty calmly glubs, as a big bubble forms at the end of his pipe, then pops. “Are we prepared to break that stalemate when we haven’t gained an advantage? Can we justify the inevitable victims such a decision will reap?”

“We have gained an advantage,” Agath argues, her twelve-pack visibly trembling beneath her suit which seems plastered against her ridiculous abs. “The humans have captured a Peilor!”

“Sure, but we haven’t—”

“Enough,” Goddess intones, her voice calm like a brook meandering through a forest. “The topic to be discussed here is not the reopening of hostilities. Not yet, at least. We’re here to talk about opportunities. Our previous efforts to infiltrate the Yin-Yang Realm were fruitless, to the point we had no choice but to abandon them. Now, perhaps, we can achieve more.”

Marty blinks his big brown eyes, nodding slowly. “Hmm, I see. So we are considering reconnaissance, missions of stealth. What, specifically, will the goals of these operations be?”

“That, is an excellent question,” Goddess remarks, faint amusement twinkling in her eyes. “Emma, Kaitlynn, I’ll speak frankly. For my people, the only way I can see this conflict being resolved, is with the death of Mara.”

I swallow, sharing a glance with Kaitlynn.

“The experiment to forcibly sever the prisoner’s mortal tether unfortunately failed,” Goddess continues. “But there may be other ways we could hurt Mara. Imagine if we could launch an attack on her real body while she Visited the Realm of Imagination. If her connection can’t be severed, perhaps we can simply destroy the anchor on its other end. With her tether loose in the wind, I imagine she would have no guide to follow back to her Realm.”

Akir’s eyes widen and he leans forward. “She’d be trapped here! If she had nowhere to retreat, Your Highness could definitely Erase her.”

I purse my lips. “Well, that’s only if destroying her crystal body would actually break her connection to it. Right now that’s just speculation.”

“That’s certainly something we would have to investigate, first,” Marty glubs leisurely. “Of course, even if we can prove that it’s a viable tactic, actually pulling it off is another matter altogether. I’m sure Mara’s defences will be formidable, even when she isn’t home.”

Kaitlynn shakes her head. “Even if she were defenceless, it might be hard to destroy her body. Those crystals have incredible Toughness. And to be honest... Killing Starmother would not necessarily stop the Peilor from bringing over planet Earth.”

That’s... a good point.

I sigh. “At the very least it would remove a major impediment, but you’re right, Kait. Our first priority is to prevent the abduction of our home planet. Considering the timeframe, I would settle for a short-term solution like sabotage, for now. Still, we have to recognise that for a long-term solution, some radical change will be necessary in Peilor society. And whether that takes the form of a coup or a genocide, it will probably involve taking out Starmother.”

Goddess nods regally. “Our goals overlap, but the things we wish most to protect, differ. However, that’s what these talks are for, to iron out our differences and ensure a successful cooperation. Tell us, what opportunities do the two of you see?”

Kaitlynn takes a deep breath. “Well, frankly, from our talks with Suri, we’ve come to the conclusion that even sabotage would be pretty hard to pull off. So we’d like to start with rescuing our friends. We figure that’s both a goal in itself, and a useful effort to gather more information and, like, co-conspirators.”

“A worthy endeavour,” Marty glubs placidly. “And what would you wish of us?”

Kaitlynn glances at me, and I recognise it as my cue to take over. “There’s two problems facing us right now. First of all, we need to find a way to actually reach the Yin-Yang Realm, and specifically Peilinor. We have some ideas to test regarding that, but if they fail, we may need help sneaking a conjured object onto a Visitor. The other major issue, is that even if we make it there... we have no idea where our friends are.”

“Suri, unfortunately, doesn’t know,” Kaitlynn continues. “And the longer we have to spend flying around Peilinor looking for them, the worse our odds of remaining undetected will be.”

“And how can we assist you in this matter?” Agath asks gruffly.

“We need intel,” I state simply. “From what I understand, the Peilor like to come to this Realm on a kind of vacations, right? They may have their ways to put ears to the ground here, but so do we. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about the Peilor, it’s that they love their gossip. If we can eavesdrop on a lot of them, consistently, we’re bound to learn something about one of our friends.”

“They like to Visit the art exhibitions,” Akir grunts thoughtfully. “My patrons often complain about noisiness around the Lifecycle and the Pond of Silence. I suppose I could ask for more stories about them.”

Marty lifts a meaty fin to stroke his long whiskers. “Cloudspire municipality receives a lot of complaints about the Peilor holding parties at some of the more scenic spots on the beach of the glittering sea. Some of them have a tendency to dig holes in the sand, too, for some inexplicable reason. I’ll have some trusted members of my staff go through the reports.”

I guess complaints about tourists are one of those truly universal things.

Digging holes on the beach is a pretty dangerous thing to do on Earth, actually. Especially if you dig too deep and the sand collapses on top of you... I guess that’s not an issue here, at least.

“Our administration has numerous written reports to go through as well,” Agath says, with a calm that belies the fire in her eyes. She seems much more in her element now that we’re discussing a plan of action. “We try to keep an eye on all Peilor activity in the Realm, and are aware of various other locations they like to frequent. However, I’m afraid we generally track their actions from a distance, so our transcriptions of their conversations are lacking. It would be best if we start monitoring their communications more clearly now. Would you be willing to take up that task, my lady?”

There’s a kind of reverence mixed with fanaticism about Agath when she addresses Goddess, that makes something click inside my mind.

I see. It’s not contained violence, it’s restrained violence.

Rather than a simmering pot that’s about to boil over, Agath is more like a carefully controlled industrial furnace.

All the trembling muscles are a conscious display, and she’s far more in control than she lets on; it’s how she shows her devotion.

It’s also a warning. Those vibrating abs and bulging biceps are saying, ‘Disrespect my mistress and I’ll rip you to shreds.’

Goddess nods slowly. “I’ll need to narrow my focus for this. I’ll be relying on your people to pick up my slack in monitoring the Realm.”

“Of course, my lady,” Agath intones respectfully, neck-muscles bulging as she bows her head.

“Now,” Goddess intones, turning her unblinking gaze to the couch Kaitlynn and I occupy together with Akir. “Could one of you please bring out the prisoner? I should like to see if she has any... input.”

In response, Agath’s permanent scowl deepens a little in what I interpret as distaste, while Marty just looks mildly intrigued.

“Of course, Your Highness,” I reply.

However, Kaitlynn is the one who jumps up and heads for the bookcase, seeming a bit nervous about this.

Soon enough, Suri comes out the secret passage after her, wearing her humanoid guise and remaining standing when Kaitlynn sits back down.

A hush falls as Goddess weighs Suri with her unblinking gaze for a long, drawn-out moment, somehow managing to make the simple blue-velvet armchair she’s seated in look every bit like a throne.

To her credit, Suri keeps her back straight and her head held high under the scrutiny.

As the moment stretches, the only sounds in the room are the little pops of Marty’s bubbles reaching the end of their short life, the protesting groans of Agath’s suit when she breathes in, the crunch of the biscuit between my teeth, and the scratch of Trisha’s quill as she presumably jots down that I’m one step closer to a starring role in one of her plays.

I don’t care if I have to put on tights, these cookies are worth it, damnit!

Finally, Goddess opens her beak. “I understand you’ve promised not to lie to Emma and Kaitlynn. Does that promise extend to lying in their presence?”

“It does,” Suri replies.

Goddess glances at me for confirmation, to which I nod. The intent of Suri’s promise did, in fact, cover misleading tactics like that.

“Good. I would like to ask you some questions.”

It’s a statement of fact. Goddess would indeed, I’m sure, like to ask Suri some questions. But it’s also more than that. There’s a threat beneath the question, unspoken, but not unheard.

Suri is silent for a brief, but noticeable moment, before she capitulates with a sigh. “Ask and I’ll answer to the best of my knowledge.”

I can feel some of the tension leave Kaitlynn’s body next to me.

Goddess wastes no time in asking her first question, clearly prepared. “Tell me, through what mechanism did Mara attain so much Espir in such a short period of time?”

Suri doesn’t seem to need to think hard or long about that either before she confidently replies, “I don’t know. I’m not sure anyone does, other than Starmother herself. It’s the kind of mystery people don’t dare to discuss too loudly or publicly, for fear of... reprisals.”

Goddess nods slowly. “I expected as much, but I felt I should ask, regardless. Then, what, in your opinion, are Mara’s weaknesses?”

This question seems to throw Suri for a momentary loop. “In... in terms of her abilities and power, Mara has no weaknesses that I can think of,” she starts hesitantly. “Psychologically speaking, however, it is my opinion that she... suffers from megalomania.”

“Could you elaborate on how you believe that manifests as a weakness?” Goddess asks immediately, allowing Suri no reprieve.

While Suri’s humanoid projection shows no signs of distress, the minor cracks in her voice and the mild chafing against my Command for her to stick to her promises tell a different story. “I believe Starmother is... overconfident. While her abilities are incredible, she does not seem to consider or plan for the possibility of her loss.”

“Could you provide an example of this behaviour and its consequences?”

“I—yes,” Suri chimes, again sounding unwilling, uncomfortable with the subject for some reason. “An example would be when Kaitlynn and I were launched into the portal in your throne room, and Emma was able to follow us, thus foiling Starmother’s intentions. With better planning and the assistance of a few more Peilor, that scenario could have been prevented, or at the very least rendered a lot less likely. However, Starmother didn’t bother, probably because she prefers showing off and relishing in her own power over cooperating.”

The last line came out with an amount of bitterness that seemed to surprise even Suri, and I’m starting to get a picture of why she’s so uncomfortable speaking about the subject.

She’s basically being forced to reveal her criticisms about what’s starting to sound more and more like a totalitarian ruler. These are clearly all things she’s thought about in the past, but probably never dared to speak out loud.

Well, this may be a bit uncomfortable, but frankly, I think it’s good for her. And since she never held back on things she considered good for me...

“It probably didn’t help that she considered you expendable, right?” I ask pointedly.

Goddess glances briefly at me but doesn’t seem to disapprove of me joining her interrogation.

“Indeed,” Suri replies through gritted teeth, sounding unhappy to admit it. “She appears to care only for herself, though I wouldn’t consider that a weakness.”

“I would,” Kaitlynn pipes up. “If she doesn’t care for anyone, then I doubt anyone cares for her; she’ll have no one to rely on if the chips are down.”

“Well said, miss Kaitlynn,” Marty glubs warmly. “Fear may inspire obedience, but it does not inspire loyalty, let alone comradery.”

Meanwhile, my mind is racing. “She might not care about anyone but herself, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t care about anything else. If she likes to show off, that means she cares about her image. How others view her.”

“Her pride,” Akir grunts. “We might be able to use that against her.”

“Exactly,” I drawl. “If we challenge her, lay an obvious trap, she’d probably jump right in just to prove we can’t actually harm her.”

“Perhaps,” Suri chimes coldly. “Or she might decide you’re beneath her notice and blast you from a distance with one of her stars.”

Wait, what?

Author's note:

Apologies for the mix-up, and thanks for reading! ^^