Alone in the Dark

Ambiguity

Ocia knocked briskly on the door to the Queen's office, waiting a few heartbeats before her Regent's voice summoned her in. Ocia strode into the room and offered a crisp bow before handing the Queen a letter with the seal of the Royal Guard. Before opening the letter, Queen Rael lifted her eyes and looked at Ocia, as if the woman knew that the message went beyond the written intelligence.

Knowing that she was unable to soften the blow of her next words, she only paused a moment before speaking. "Nerini has found Kannein's guard all of whom were torn apart and hung from trees, no survivors. No trace of Lord Kannein himself, however."

Rael frowned and read the dispatch note, nodding slowly. "Says here it looks like they were killed by some sort of animal, claw marks but no wounds from weapons, then their bodies were hung in the forest, cloaked by some sort of spell?"

Ocia marveled at the strength of the woman, who did not show more than a passing display of emotion as she learned of the dark circumstances of her betrothed disappearance. Ocia had seen weaker people reduced to tears for half the pain and fear that the Queen was facing.

"Yes, the pages behind  the report are sketches of some of the wounds and some similar claw marks in trees, along with tracks found around the scene. Our hunters can't identify the tracks and say they aren't actually animal tracks. Though it may be that Nerini needs a proper sketch artist, I'm not sure." Lady Ocia murmured.

She remained silent until Queen Rael was finished looking through the paper, when she handed Rael another letter. This one was stamped with the mark of the fox, from Nerini herself. "Also brought by the guard, from Nerini"

Queen Rael gave her a cool look. "Next time, you lead with her letter."

Ocia paused carefully, before shrugging and forging ahead stubbornly.  "I thought you might like information before ambiguity, Regency."

Rael frowned and broke the seal, reading the short letter from her friend without responding to that jibe at Nerini's infamous penchant for cloak and daggers. "Apparently, scouts were hired anonymously after Kannein's disappearance, to keep watch for any of our agents. Nerini is unsure if said street runners will report her activities, but she's going to continue looking for Kannein. They are some of her former contacts but remain ambiguous on whether they will follow through with their original contract. She's also going to send the bodies home to their families, under care of Lord Kannein's estate clerk. Only the Guard captain and the clerk know it's her that is there."

"And her contacts." Ocia said slowly, fighting the frustration at how trusting the Queen was with her wayward friend.

Even Kannein used caution with his sister. Though he had never said as much, she had spent years watching him receive sparring intelligence reports on the woman who followed no rules and preferred to report to no one. Ocia didn't doubt Nerini's loyalty to Rael, though she was often frustrated with the woman's direct line to the Queen and the fact that Nerini seemed to answer to no one. Not even their Regent, at times.  But Ocia also knew that Nerini's influence with the Queen was such that if she spoke such words of caution, she'd probably end up out of a job.
"No, they don't know that she is Lady Nerini, they just know her under another alias, I don't think they even know she's working for me in particular." Rale sighed, looking at the woman. "You don't approve of Nerini's ways, but you are eager to use them through an intelligence program."

Ocia was caught off guard by the question in the form of a statement, which caused her to think carefully about her response. "I never once said I didn't approve of Lady Nerini, or her methods. I think you tend to overwhelm yourself with being too involved in every aspect of intelligence and these tasks, and she contributes to that by communicating only through you. And I think Lady Nerini would be of better use in a position like mine as opposed to being a field agent, risking her life. But what she is doing is necessary, and I wouldn't trust anyone else to do it."

"You are very opinionated, Lady Ocia." Rael said dryly, watching her for a moment, then nodding slowly. "At least know something, now."

"Regency, another thing, as inappropriate as it may seem. We have a rough budget for our intelligence project." Ocia said suddenly, watching the Queen carefully, knowing the woman was feeling emotions unexpressed on those cool features. The Regent probably didn't want to think about these things at the moment, but Ocia couldn't help but push the issue while it was on the table. "And Nerini is in contact with people who may be able to help us out, if we can gain their loyalty. I think we should make an attempt"

To her surprise, Rael nodded slowly. "I will send her a request to query the possibility."

Despite Ocia's misgivings on Nerini's methods and the trustworthiness of those who operated in the shadows, an intelligence network would be easier to adopt than create, and she could only hope that Queen Rael's trust in Nerini's judgement was well founded. Or all of Aupana would pay the price.