“What of King Arneau? What is he doing about this?” asked Elaine, and Sequinnen sighed.
“Nothing yet. Since Dellorim has remained mostly untouched by the Order, he feels no need to step in and take action. With the Thunder Plains slowly spreading into our borders, these two events will prove to be our downfall.”
“Then we must make him take action before it is too late!” exclaimed Gradius as he stood up and grabbed his hammer by the head. “I will not stand by and watch as our homeland falls into chaos and disorder!”
Sequinnen raised his hand and said, “Calm yourself, my friend. The Order knows Arneau is only waiting for a reason to act. If they don’t give him that, then Dellorim should remain untouched for the most part.”
As Gradius calmed himself and sat back down, the mood in the room changed as they all realized what this meant. The implications of that course of action were quite profound.
“As I’m sure you’re all aware until Dellorim becomes a part of this, we Paladins can do nothing of great note. The Order knows as much I suspect and will do everything they can to hinder our movements. It’s smart, they’re playing it close to the edge and carefully picking off our defenses.” said Sequinnen.
“This is ridiculous! We can’t just sit back and watch as another Ark war breaks out!” exclaimed Fugue.
“I’m afraid that’s exactly what we have to do Fugue. According to the laws that the original members of our sect laid down until all the countries of Demilnoxis are united as one front our powers as Paladins are limited to the bare minimum,” Sequinnen replied, a sour look on his face as he too struggled against this harsh truth.
“That said,” he continued, “Our agents in Farnor are already active and can use most of their powers since their nation is under siege. If our members in Sarna, Shorda, and those few in Galle’noray can find sufficient evidence of Order activity, then they too can join the battles at near full capacity. Not all is lost just yet.”
“Speaking of Sarna and Shorda, how are they taking this?” asked Luth.
Sequinnen leaned back and rested his head in his hand, his fingers outstretched to support it, “Emperor Talex is doing everything he can to prevent Order activity in Shorda, and he’s even helping out Clan Chief Lennox of Sarna. Since they started working together on this the Order hasn’t been able to make a significant move in the past four months.”
“Those two working together? I can scarcely believe it!” added Abbot with a look of shock.
Sequinnen nodded and continued, “I should also note that the Queen of Galle’noray is strengthening the defenses of her kingdom. The elves are no fools, they know as well as we do that the world is teetering on the verge of another war. The only country that isn’t doing anything at all is Dellorim. Even the Dwarves have bunkered down and locked themselves away in their mountains.”
Gradius shuddered with anger, and Elaine patted his shoulder to try and calm him. He nodded in thanks and took a deep breath before relaxing and hiding his anger once more. In a barely even tone, he said, “This is preposterous. We cannot sit back and wait for the end to come while we’re capable of doing something. Is this not exactly why we swore our oaths as Paladins in the first place? Let us bring the fight to them!”
“Listen Gradius,” began Luth. “We all live here in Dellorim and we all know what’s at stake here. That said, we can’t just go around starting fights. That isn’t what we stand for and you know it.”
Gradius seemed to deflate then and he let out a long sigh, “Then there is no hope for our land is there?” he asked.
“I wouldn’t say that,” began Elaine. “I mean, there are other ways to accomplish the task are there not?”
Fugue scoffed, “Like what?”
Elaine smiled and replied, “Well, the Order is looking for Cypher, aren’t they? They almost slipped up with this operation. Had one of us seen them kidnap two citizens and destroy property in Seven City would that not count as an attack on Dellorim? Our laws would allow us to retaliate then and use our full powers.
“My suggestion is that we just spread the word that he’s back in Dellorim. We all know now that they’ll stop at nothing to get their hands on him. This means that eventually, they’ll try to capture him again, and when they do, we’ll be ready to catch them in the act.”
Sequinnen sighed again, “I’m afraid that we cannot do that. It would be under false pretenses and would nullify any attacks the Order might make. This would mean that any lives they might take in this attack would be lost for nothing. The rules are quite clear on this and so too are the spells that bind us. We would have to bring him back to Dellorim for this plan to work,” finished Sequinnen.
“Then I’m off to find him and bring him back here,” declared Gradius.
“No, I think we should leave that task to Elaine. After all, she is the one who trained him and let him go to the Order in the first place,” replied Abbot.
“I agree,” began Luth. “Elaine is someone Cypher can trust, and if one of us tries to bring him here against his wishes, it will only result in a battle that we don’t want and can’t afford.”
“To be honest I don’t have a problem with going after him. But it’s going to take me a while to track his ass down. The world is a big place and as I said before my unit is on lockdown right now. I can’t afford to let the mole slip away should one exist.” Elaine said.
“Then Elaine you will search for Cypher and bring him back here,” began Sequinnen. “You may tell him anything he wishes to know in order to get him to come to us. But you won’t need to track him down on random clues alone.”
“I will ask for permission to use the Archanem of Seven to look for him,” continued Sequinnen. “I’m sure that our leader will allow me this considering the present situation, and we might as well use it to our advantage if it’s in working order again. We should also focus on finding his friends, Alex and Melodi.”
Luth stood up and said, “I can handle that.”
Elaine nodded and replied, “Then I’ll prepare and head out first thing tomorrow morning. I might not be able to use my entire unit but I can still make use of my most trusted members. Having a few more pairs of eyes on this will speed things up quite a bit.”
Sequinnen shook his head, “I’m afraid that this will have to be a solo mission. We cannot allow the King or his men to know of your departure. You leave tonight. I will have the necessary items packed and waiting for you near the Academy Slingate.”
Elaine wrinkled her face and said, “What of my duties here in Dellorim? I know that classes have been suspended until further notice, but I still have obligations do I not? I can’t just drop everything and fuck off on a trip around the world out of nowhere, can I?”
Sequinnen picked up a folder containing some documents and handed them to her. “I had the foresight to assume things would turn out like this and I’ve already chosen a suitable substitute. Renna will maintain the image that you’re still in Dellorim. She will be cloaked with your appearance and has been schooled in your mannerisms and speech patterns. No one will be able to tell the difference between the two of you.”
“Very well then sir,” answered Elaine, “I’ll do my best to find him quickly, of that you can be damn sure!” Sequinnen nodded and continued speaking to the others. With that, the meeting continued for another few hours as they discussed tactical options and possible invasion plans the Order might employ against Dellorim.
The Order only had a few courses of action when it came to attacking Dellorim. This country was known for its high number of Conductors. If towns and villages started getting attacked, they would have plenty of warning. Even the townsfolk would have ample time to escape and regroup in Seven City. As strongholds went, Seven City was the ultimate defensive position in Dellorim.
It was big enough and had more than enough defenses to protect nearly the entire population of the country if the need should arise. The members of the Radiant Corps sitting around the table placed a lot of trust in the ancient defenses of that massive city. After all, it had once been the capital and protected the royal family.
Several other plans were of course discussed and even the option of mobilizing the royal army came up a few times. The Order wouldn’t catch Dellorim off guard, and they certainly wouldn’t be able to take out the royal family easily, no matter how many Conductors they had at their disposal.
The conversations were long and detailed, but it was all a bore for Elaine. She had her orders. She soon departed, with Sequinnen’s permission, and headed out to find her young pupil.
“Please still be alive Cypher…” she thought as she received a packet of instructions and stepped through the shimmering portal.
