Ambassador Reika looked around the carriage and examined Taka's party closely, her eyes darting between them with a cold, calculated sharpness. The Ambassador wasn't physically imposing, but her aura was at least on par with Deon's power and carried herself with a self-assured gravitas that spoke to a position of power.
"What's done is done," Ambassador Reika said. "In the future, contact my office with changes I should be aware of."
The ambassador pulled out a small battery-like device from her bag, then handed it to Maeve. Maeve accepted the device and examined it, poking and prodding at the thing.
"Attach it to your LTD and it will connect to my operator's device instead of Deon's," Ambassador Reika said.
Maeve gawked at the contraption, and even Zirko raised an eyebrow at it. Syla was uninterested in the attachment, and kept their focus wholly on the Ambassador.
"You may refer to me as Ambassador Reika, or Madam Ambassador, or Reika, it matters not to me," the Ambassador said.
Ambassador Reika turned toward Taka's golem, "I've been made aware of your unique method of communications."
Taka used his TELEPATHY skill on the Ambassador: greetings, Ambassador Reika. It is a pleasure to meet you.
The pleasure is all mine, the Ambassador sent back, not at all fazed by the use of telepathic communication.
So you are our point of contact while here in Modonia? Taka asked.
Yes, Reika sent back. "I am your primary point of contact while here," Reika continued out loud, "but you are free to use any of the members of my staff as you see fit. They've all been thoroughly vetted, and you can trust any of them as you trust me."
Zirko huffed in response which garnered a scowl from the Ambassador. Syla continued to stare.
"Hello, Syla," the Ambassador said warmly. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"
Syla's gaze remained unmoving as the edges of Reika's smile twitched. Taka broke his connection with Zirko and used his TELEPATHY skill to open a link to Syla.
Syla, are you alright? Taka asked the elf. Is there anything I can do?
No, thank you, Sir Filo, Syla replied, her gaze as still as stone.
Reika turned away and shook off the tension. She looked at Maeve, then Zirko, then back to Taka.
"It's quite a party you've assembled, battle mage," Reika remarked. "I hope you are all as skilled in games of wit as you are in combat."
"We are more than capable, ma'am," Maeve piped up.
Taka realized he still needed to ask Maeve about her background, as all he knew was that she was a knight and could use lightning magic, but there was clearly more.
Ambassador Reika gave Maeve a half smile, then turned back to Zirko.
"I've already passed along all of the information Deon gave me to the Spirit Government, and I'd wager that you all have at least two tails by now," Reika said. "You lot ought to proceed with caution, especially when conducting the, off-hours visits... things have changed her drastically in the past few decades. Prejudice towards non-fae otherkin has skyrocketed, so you will all be at risk. We've been trying to work with the military police to assist in the investigation of the Farnauk disappearances, but they're being difficult--"
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"Farnauk disappearances?" Zirko asked.
Ambassador Reika stared blankly at the lizard man for a moment, "did you not read the briefs?"
"Marg did," Maeve said shyly.
Reika cocked her head, "Marg, the orc? The silent orc?"
"She writes," Zirko offered, trying to lighten the mood; it didn't work.
Ambassador Reika let out an exasperated sigh. She looked up at the roof of the carriage, muttered something profane under her breath, then back at their party.
"While you dealt with an attack in Kronkswell, there was a series of disappearances, all committed in one night, here in Modonia. The first ones declared missing were the Farnauk family, hence the name. In one night, 112 -- 112 so far -- otherkin went missing in the outskirts. There were no signs of struggle, no marks, no fluids, no physical evidence left behind. All that remained was a small, very small residual trace of mana, so small that the type could not even be determined. Many of my staff have extended families living in the outskirts, and many of them have uncles, cousins, siblings, even children who have vanished. The military police -- the only police in Modonia -- have allegedly been investigating, but so far have not made any progress. The Modonian military police also have a history of violent persecution towards otherkin, so no one is waiting with baited breath. We have a team, a small team, a duo, of our own investigators here, but the military police have denied them any kind of access to the case. They are both lizard folk, so..."
Ambassador Reika's eyes drifted to Zirko, who hung his head a degree lower than usual.
"I still bear the shame of--"
"My job is not to berate you or make you atone, Zirko" Ambassador Reika interjected. "My job is to maintain positive relations between the larger Demon Empire, and the semi-autonomous Spirit Kingdom."
Syla's expression darkened and Reika shifted in her seat, uncomfortable under Syla's gaze. The Ambassador let out another sigh and leaned in, then rubbed her hands against her face.
"But like you all," Reika said quietly, "above all else, I serve His Majesty. I will do whatever it takes to find who led the attack against Kronkswell and bring them to justice. Daldrus has been off the board here since the war, so my intelligence team has been working as hard as they can to find out who and what he is connected to, and where they've been hiding."
"Are we sure they're in Modonia?" Maeve asked "Not hiding in the woods somewhere with less eyes around?"
Reika smiled at the question, "if they had any sense at all, they would be. However, it seems like we are facing a new version of the Creationist Church, and regardless of what iteration their followers might be, they have far too much pride to abandon their Holy Land."
*Holy Land... Taka shuddered at the thought. From Syla's story, he knew just how extreme these guys could be, but hearing the Ambassador talk about it reminded him of the Crusades and the battles fought for Jerusalem all throughout human history. But these Creationist pricks had real magic power and had done terrible things at the expense of innocent children to make their "Holy Tree," so whatever they were planning, it would not be good.
"Due to the timing of the attack on Kronkswell and the Farnauk Disappearances, we believe they are linked and just one step in a much larger plan," Ambassador Reika continued. "I will introduce you to my in-house investigation team, and they will assist you wherever they can as you look into the attack on Kronkswell, and I hope you reciprocate and can work together to kill two birds with one stone."
The carriage slowed to a stop as they sat in silence, digesting all of the information the Ambassador had dumped on them. I should've read the briefs, Taka thought to himself, remembering each time he had elected to practice moving in the golem with Zirko instead. Taka bounced his legs up and down slightly, making the golem wobble; he didn't regret all the training he did, but that was a lot of information... I should redo my questions soon--
"Oh, and Sir Filo?" Ambassador Reika prompted, snapping Taka out of his thoughts.
Yes, Ambassador? Taka responded.
"I may have a way for you to produce speech through an external device, it's an experimental method, but it could prove useful while you are here and will allow my researchers to collect valuable data," Ambassador Reika said casually. "There are not many intelligent creatures, or rather, intelligent creatures we know of, and that we can communicate with, who are unable to speak out loud. You, as a creature who possesses the knowledge of language but with no mouth, will provide an excellent baseline for its effectiveness."
The Ambassador opened the door to the carriage and motioned Taka to follow, and the light that shone in from the sky felt truly divine in the moment.
"Follow me," Reika said as she exited the carriage.
