VILE BETRAYER<br>
<br>
The larger building at the end of the square seemed to be, upon further
examination, a town
hall and guardhouse. The mark of the Queen seemed to be smeared with a
brown substance;
feces perhaps? It didn't matter. They weren't here in the name of the
Queen. They were here
on their own business. Under that symbol sat a pair of wooden doors, and
there were two
figures, cloaked head to toe, who stood by them. Obviously, entrance by
that means was out
of the question. They moved around to the left side of the building.<br>
<br>
Many of the windows were lit, and some of the shutters on the second and
third floors were
open. It took Noka no more than an instant to decide what she would do.
"I'm going up 
there," she whispered, and before Glorfindel could protest, she clasped
her hands on her 
shoulders and gathered the wind to her. As his hair whipped about him in
the intensifying
breeze, Glorfindel could sense, rather than see, Noka rise up to the
window above.<br>
<br>
Noka quietly grasped the side of the building to pull herself up, and as
she did so, the
conflagration of air about her lessened. Her fingers grasped the sill of
the window and
she pulled herself up slowly as the wind aided her ascent. Her feet rested
on a cushion of
air, but it could not hold her weight completely.<br>
<br>
After a moment, she was able to peer over the edge of the window into the
room beyond. A
solitary figure sat upon a bed of some sort. It was dressed in a
comfortable-looking red
robe with a book in its hands, reading. The book had odd runes on it,
sigils that might
have been magical. The man had a gaunt, studied look, and was likely a
mage. Spying on a
mage using magic, reflected Noka, was not the wisest thing she could be
doing. She quickly
began working her way over to the next window using the groved wooden side
of the building
as support in addition to her power of wind.<br>
<br>
This next room seemed to contain an archer stringing a bow of some skilled
workmanship. The
man here had a look of patience on his face, the look that a professional
marksman or sniper
might have. There was a cap on the bed beside him, and it had two dyed red
feathers in it.
This was a mark of some accomplishment, noted Noka. In Arcana, the archers
were denoted by
the number and color of feathers in the cap, and she thought that red
might be close to 
the highest rank. In any case, he was no one to trifle with, and certainly
not who she was
looking for. She worked herself over to the next window.<br>
<br>
This one was what she wanted. He lay there on the bed, sandy hair askew,
eyes closed,
breathing quietly, innocently. Gelt. That monster that had betrayed her
and Kian and the
rest of them. Now Derrin was dead, due to that...THING, and Vorris and
Kian were gone,
probably taken north by this creature in here...<br>
<br>
Noka's fingers tightened on the sill and she almost cracked the wood. She
forced herself to
close her eyes, loosen her grip, and exhale. With the exhalation of the
breath, she could
feel herself push the anger out. She tried to think rationally now,
pushing the emotion
away. Now what could she do? Could she go in and start trying to get
answers out of him?
There'd be guards on her in an instant. She could kill him, but that would
only raise the
alarm once he was found, and she wouldn't find out where the prisoners
were kept. Well then,
could she capture him? No...that wasn't an option either. She could never
get him out of
town. Best to think on this and devise a better plan. She let go of the
window and slowly
made her descent.<br>
<br>
---------<br>
<br>
Glorfindel muttered his disapproval at Noka's rashness and quickly decided
that he'd do
something just as impetuous. Leaving Noka behind him, he made his way
around the rear of
the building to check for a back door. There was one, sure enough, this
one also guarded
by two figures. Then he heard some talking, and glanced through a crack
between the
shutters to his right. He caught sight of two men, one of whom was dressed
in dark leathers
and had scraggly black hair and gray eyes. The other was suited up in
heavy plate mail,
despite the late hour. They seemed to be arguing heatedly on some point,
but they kept their
voices down, much to Glorfindel's chagrin. He pressed his ear to the
crack, but only heard
a few muttered phrases; "Raim says"..."stupid Vormos"..."your fault"..."be
ready"..."sick 
of"... The argument seemed to end and the hunched-over scraggly man seemed
displeased as he
left the room. There was a moment's pause, and then he appeared as the
back door opened to
admit him, cloaked head to toe. He stormed out into the darkness and was
lost in the gloom.
<br><br>
Thinking perhaps that he had seen enough, and that Noka probably needed
tending to, 
Glorfindel padded off to the side of the building.<br>
<br>
"Noka?" he whispered.<br>
<br>
"Here," came the quiet reply, as the ninja touched solid ground again.<br>
<br>
"Find anything?"<br>
<br>
"Gelt's up there. Got a mage and an archer, at least. Don't know what
else."<br>
<br>
"There's some kind of warrior downstairs with plate mail. Looks like an
irregular, maybe a
merc. Had some ratty guy in there with him too." He paused. "I think that
other guy is a
shapeshifter. His eyes were gray." Shapeshifters, Glorfindel knew, often
took on the guise
of rat-like men to aid them at their assassin's task. Most often, their
eyes were gray or
yellow, but a few had light blue eyes.<br>
<br>
"More playmates for us. Come on. I want to get into the inn and see if
those soldiers can
be talkative when drunk."<br>
<br>
NEXT...<br>
<br>
Noka and Glorfy try to sneak into the inn. Will they be caught? With Noka
involved? That
should be a foregone conclusion!<br>