PftA Book 5 - Chapter 12 - Mission Briefings

I followed Anya into a large conference room where Councilor Lance, Arbiter Farrah, and eight unfamiliar individuals had gathered around a l

I followed Anya into a large conference room where Councilor Lance, Arbiter Farrah, and eight unfamiliar individuals had gathered around a large, rectangular table.

I identified each of them, wondering which one was the notorious Assassin responsible for my time locked in a Challenge Rift. When I scanned a handsome elf sitting halfway down the table, I paused.

[Cin’Specter – Level 100 – Alchemist/Enchanter/Chef – Time]

I expected one of his professions to be Assassin, so seeing a completely different set of professions caught me a bit off-guard. The specific professions also struck me as odd. I certainly hadn’t expected him to have interests so close to my own.

Unless it was all false, which was entirely possible. It was likely, even, given who and what he was.

I found it particularly interesting that the Assassin was not shown as a true Pinnacle. Those who had already earned the requisite experience to ascend had an asterisk beside their level, marking them as eligible to level up.

Since he did not, that meant he was under no pressure from the realm to ascend. It also meant he couldn’t just trigger an ascension to escape if something went wrong.

“Trinity Emie,” the red-scaled drakin at the head of the table said with a surprisingly soft voice. “Thank you for answering our summons so quickly.”

“And thank you for all of your hard work in finding the hidden strongholds,” Councilor Lance added. “Hopefully, we can put the intel you’ve gathered to good use and end this war without further bloodshed.”

Several of the attendees raised their brows at Councilor Lance’s comment. It seemed that my efforts hadn’t been openly shared. That was probably a good thing since I didn’t want to be targeted by another Assassin.

I nodded and slid into an empty seat as far away from Cin’Specter as I could get.

“Alright. The mission is simple. Trinity Emie will transport the strike teams into position, and each group will be responsible for eliminating their targets. Focus on the highest-ranking individuals present and work your way down from there.

“If things get too heated or casualties start piling up beyond what your team’s Healer can handle, have your team’s Space Mage evacuate you. Everyone will be wearing a [Beacon] talisman, so nobody should be left behind.”

The newly minted Arbiter turned toward me. “We need you to fill the Space Mage role on Team Eight since it doesn’t make sense to bring in an extra Space Mage when you’ll already be there.”

The request came as a bit of a surprise since I thought I would only be dropping the teams off at their assigned locations. I hadn’t really given much thought to how the groups would be getting away once they completed their mission.

I just assumed they would use a similar [Escape] talisman like the ones being utilized by the enemy.

I sent a questioning glance toward Anya, and she shrugged as if saying, “This wasn’t my decision.”

I glanced at the team leader for Team Eight. He was a lithe elf with dark skin and black hair.

[Onor’Omnimage – Level 96 – Mage/Scholar/Teacher – Arcane]

On the surface, the elf looked like a scholar. But the fact that he’d reached Tier Ten and had been selected for this mission proved that there was far more to him than met the eye.

“How will that work if she has to put us in stasis before transporting us?” Onor asked.

“I believe that only applies to getting through the wards undetected,” Arbiter Farrah said before turning her gaze in my direction. “Is that accurate?”

“Yes,” I replied. “As long as I establish an evacuation point beforehand, I can teleport us directly there during the escape. It’s just getting through the wards that’s the problem.”

“I don’t understand why we’d need to be in stasis in the first place,” one of the other team leaders commented. “That seems like an unnecessary complication. No other Space Mage requires something like that.”

“It’s because I’ll be placing you into my inventory,” I answered. “As a reward for surviving a Challenge Rift that I was not qualified for—” I shot a glare at the Assassin, “—I received an upgrade to my inventory. I can store living people who are in stasis with no problems. That allows me to slip in on my own and retrieve those I bring without nearly as much risk.”

I glanced around the room to gauge the team leaders’ reactions.

“If you are uncomfortable with that method, I could always just teleport everyone outside of the wards and leave you to your own devices. I assume, since the Council has asked me to provide transportation for everyone instead of having you rely on your team’s Space Mage to get you inside, that there is a significant advantage to my approach.”

My eyes shifted to the council members and Anya. She wasn’t technically a member of the Council, but at this point, she might as well be.

Arbiter Farrah’s eyes met Anya’s before she answered my implied question.

“We’ve determined that using Trinity Emie’s approach would have the highest chance of success. Normal infiltration methods significantly increase the risk of mission failure.”

“The Oracle has seen this?” another team leader asked.

Anya nodded. “I have. Though somewhat unconventional, Emie’s approach offers the greatest likelihood of success.”

The team leaders seemed satisfied with that answer, though the one who brought up the question still felt compelled to say, “I’d still like some kind of guarantee that nothing untoward will happen while we are in such a vulnerable position. It’s not that I don’t trust the tri-affinity mage, but surely nobody would begrudge me some kind of assurance that my team and I will be safe in her care.”

“We can have Trinity Emie swear an oath to that effect if it helps reassure everyone,” Councilor Lance said confidently. It was obvious he’d already discussed the matter with Anya.

“I don’t mind swearing an oath,” I replied before turning my gaze to the Assassin. “However, I think it would be appropriate to ask for a little reciprocity since I’ve personally been attacked by one of the people in this room.”

Everyone’s eyes shifted to Cin’Specter, causing him to lean back in his chair.

“It was only a job. I was repaying a favor – one that I couldn’t just deny. It was nothing personal,” he said casually. “Besides, you survived and came out stronger for the experience. There was no harm done.”

“You tried to kill a tri-affinity mage?” one of the team leaders who’d remained silent thus far asked, aghast. “Was this before or after the change to the Accords? It had to be after since I recall seeing media footage of Trinity Emie after the system notification.”

The focus on Cin sharpened, causing his expression to harden. “I don’t answer to any of you. If you don’t want my help, that’s fine. I can leave all this to the rest of you and go hop in a Tier Ten rift to finish off the rest of my level. I’ve already decided to ascend as soon as possible, so nothing any of you say or do is going to change anything.

“In fact, the only reason I even agreed to this mission was because the Oracle specifically asked me to. That’s it. I don’t owe any of you anything.”

The gathered team members looked between the Assassin and the Oracle curiously.

“Technically, you owe me the value of everything you stole from me when you tossed me into the rift,” I said quietly, though it was enough to draw everyone’s attention to me.

The elf’s tired eyes met mine.

“You’re right. I do owe you that.” He tossed me a small bag. “That should cover the value of whatever I took. So, are we good now, or should I just leave and let you find someone else to take on the Supreme Leader?”

I was actually surprised that the elf gave me anything. I was still a little miffed that he hadn’t bothered to actually apologize for what he did, but it wasn’t like I could call him out on it without seeming petty.

Though I still didn’t want to work with the Assassin, I swallowed my objections for the sake of the mission. I didn’t want any more blood on my hands than I already had.

“I’m fine,” I said. “Anya said your participation is important. Just don’t come after me once this mission is done.”

Cin harumphed. “You don’t have to worry about me. Like I said, I plan to ascend as soon as possible.”

= = =

“So, what’s the deal with you and the Assassin?” Onor asked as we headed to meet with the rest of the team.

The actual mission wouldn’t happen for a few more days, so each team was taking the time to coordinate and prepare. Most were groups that had worked together before. But a few, like Team Eight, were virtual strangers.

“He caught me off-guard when I was still Tier Eight. Since he couldn’t outright kill me without becoming an Offender, he stripped me of all my belongings and tossed me into a Challenge Rift while I was locked in stasis. When the spell finally wore off, I was stuck there until I managed to level up enough to complete the challenge.”

“I’m assuming it was a Tier Nine rift.”

“It was, and I was only Tier Eight at the time. It took a long time to tier up so I could deal with the bosses. If I hadn’t had the items inside my inventory, I would have been screwed.”

The dark elf raised a brow as he opened the door to our team’s assigned meeting room. Three others were already lounging inside. It appeared more like a casual break room than one meant for team meetings.

“Alright, team. This is Trinity Emie. She’ll be our Space Mage for the mission. We have a couple of days to get to know each other and plan our mission, so we might as well get started. Our primary target…”

I listened as Onor explained the team’s mission. He made it clear that while I was free to engage directly, I was only required to provide transportation and ensure everyone's safety during the transportation process.

After listening to the initial briefing, I lifted my hand to get everyone’s attention.

“I can enchant small beacons to allow me to instantly place anyone critically injured into stasis and teleport them into my inventory,” I said. “It should only take me a few hours if I work inside a [Time Dilation] formation.”

“Must be nice to be an Enchanter with multiple affinities,” a satyr named Ethin said semi-jokingly.

Ignoring him, Onor asked, “Is that something you can do for the other teams as well?”

I shook my head. “No. The recall aspect won’t work across worlds.”

I didn’t mention the E3 talismans since using them within Collective space would only work if I synced them to my demesne. Since I had no plans to grant everyone access to my pocket dimension, it was pointless to mention it.

“If these things will keep us from losing anyone, I’m up for it. We’re already trusting you to transport us in stasis anyway,” the team leader said.

“How does that work? Is it an artifact? I’ve heard of some storage artifacts that work like that,” said Jada, a lillon who looked more human than avian. I gave her and the rest of the team the same explanation I’d given the team leaders.

“Wow. What a lucky opportunity,” Ethin said with a hint of jealousy. “Tri-affinity mages must have all the luck.”

“If that’s what you want to call being tossed naked into a Tier Nine rift while at the lower end of Tier Eight,” I replied sarcastically.

Thankfully, the snarky satyr remained silent. He, like me, was only Tier Nine. According to Onor, most of the teams had only a single Tier Ten member, and that person served as the team leader.

The rest of the team was made up of Tier Nine individuals since the Collective wasn’t expected to have a significant force of Tier Tens hanging around.

Of course, it was always possible there were a few concealed Pinnacles capable of interfering, but we were all hoping they’d stay hidden. If not… Well, hopefully, we’d be able to do enough damage to end the war.