"And you can really hear me well, Sir Filo? Truly?" Syla asked.

  "Yes, I can," Taka confirmed, still getting used to his voice coming out from the device on his back.

  Syla examined him closely upon the arm chair of a large lounge chair, putting their face inches from his back as the elf lightly poked the device, the 'voice box,' Zirko had called it.

  After spending the rest of the day with Dr. Quinoth as the doctor ran at least a dozen tests on Taka, they had returned to the Ambassador's building, which the doctor had told them was the Demon Empire's Embassy. On the upper floors of the building were living quarters for the staff, as well as a guest suite that Syla and Maeve had already moved into, which would function as their home base for as long as they were in the city. Taka had overheard Zirko and Deon talking about other safe houses hidden throughout Modonia before they left Kronkswell, so Taka assumed those weren't connected to the Embassy. At least, not officially.

  The guest suite was decorated in a style similar to that of the castle of Kronkswell, and made Taka feel at home. There were four separate bed chambers, but Syla and Maeve had already set up the largest of them for two beds. When Zirko arrived, he set all of his things in the closest room, then set up a foldable cot in the common room, near the door of Syla and Maeve's shared bedroom. Taka had requested a potted plant, as he found dirt most comfortable to sleep on and was pleasantly surprised at how soft the dirt in his new potted bed was. In the pot was a single white lily, which made Taka feel a tingling of sadness as he remembered the Lily Minion that had saved his life.

  Syla, content with their inspection of Taka's device, moved on to his ears.

  "Why didn't you tell Pa-- His Majesty?" Syla asked.

  "Because," Zirko cut in, "we were on a tight schedule. Wasn't relevant to the situation at hand, not enough where it would've changed any of our plans."

  The corner of Syla's lip curled. Taka could tell the elf was not satisfied by Zirko's answer but knew better than to press any further. Syla seemed to have full trust in Vanz'goran, but Zirko had his reasons for withholding the information. It could've been partially due to his own involvement in using a transmutation spell, one that Vanz'goran likely was not aware Zirko possessed. It was considered taboo, after all, and Taka would repay his debt to the lizard man by keeping his secrets.

  Maeve entered the room, cracking her neck as she jumped on to the couch, laying down on her back.

  "So, captain," Maeve said with a hint of snark, "what's the plan?"

  "I'm not your captain, Lady Xesha," Zirko snapped back. "But you are right, now is a good time to talk."

  Zirko sat on a chair beside Syla, who also sat across the table from the couch where Maeve lay. Taka looked at the group from atop the armrest of Syla's chair, nervous for what may come.

  "First thing's first," Zirko began, "no one goes anywhere alone."

  "That includes you," Syla said.

  "Besides the Ambassador, we still can't be sure who we can trust completely, so stay on guard all the time," Zirko said, ignoring Syla's comment. "Those two, Len and Fen, I've heard of. They've been instrumental in developing the intelligence network in Modonia, and we mustn't underestimate them."

  "You think one of them is the mole?" Maeve asked, her ears perking up.

  "Could be," Zirko said plainly. "Might not be. Don't know yet though, so, act like they are, and if they are, we'll find out."

  Taka looked around the room nervously and used his TELEPATHY skill and opened a link to Zirko, the lizard man cocking his head at the worm as he feel the connection establish itself.

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  Are we confident in our privacy here? Should we be talking aloud about all of our plans? Taka sent Zirko.

  "Understood," Maeve said, at the same time as Taka sent his message. "I'm not trained for espionage work, though, so with Fen and Len..."

  "Fret not," Zirko said to Maeve, "We'll loop them into our investigation as needed and keep ourselves protected when we do."

  Zirko began to talk through the plan for the next day, of Maeve getting interviewed by a joint party from the Ambassador's staff as well as Spirit Kingdom officials, but simultaneously replied to Taka:

  We'll keep all of our discussions as our aliases above ground, including testimony of the attack Zirko sent back. Even with our main investigation into the attack, we will speak aloud, but carefully. Your telepathic abilities should only be known to the Ambassador and our own party, and we can use that to spring a trap, but we must act as if we are safe in our privacy here. Maeve knows well enough where that line is, but we must all protect Syla. I have no doubt we are being watched as we converse now, but the fact of us being here, alive right now, and not having been kidnapped or worse in the past few hours means that they want to know what we know, whoever they are. I apologize that I did not say any of this before, but I had to be sure that our adversaries would not use psychic or spirit magic to control the Ambassador or read any of our minds. My presence here has likely made them wary, whether it be the Aeries or a fae who made me...

  Your presence will also act as a deterrent, and as long as Syla can maintain that illusion, we can work as we have planned for now. Our first objective will be sorting out if either Fen or Len are the mole, and if neither are, then who on the Ambassador's staff is. Until we sort that, using any of our other safe houses proves too risky. Your ability to speak and listen out loud has allowed us to hide the extent of your telepathic abilities, which gives us quite the advantage.

  "...and after the dinner with the Modonian representatives, we should be released for the day. They may choose to continue questioning the next, but we shan't know until the time."

  "I've never been to the Spirit Kingdom before," Maeve admitted shyly. "Is the food here any good?"

  "Oh, yes!" Syla replied excitedly. "There are many different types of cuisine, but fae food might seem a bit... delicate, compared to what we usually have."

  Maeve raised an eyebrow, "are you implying I don't enjoy delicate things?"

  Syla opened her mouth, then snapped it close, then opened it again, but no words came out. The look on her face spoke of confusion, unsure if she did something wrong. Zirko broke the momentary silence with a belly laugh, and Maeve grinned widely.

  "It's not nice to mess with me like that," Syla pouted.

  "Oh, I'm just teasing you," Maeve said playfully.

  Syla let out a yawn and rubbed their eyes.

  "It's getting late," Zirko said. "And we should be up early tomorrow. I'd like for us to scout out the city some more before Mistress Xesha has to give her testimony."

  Maeve groaned, "why me? I'm not good at this kind of thing. I thought Filo was going to as well--"

  "The situation has changed, so it shall be you," Zirko said. "And if they request more testimony, I will provide it."

  But you-- Taka began to send.

  "I know what happened, and would be honored to share the story, if requested," Zirko said, cutting Taka off.

  "I'll run through it all with you again, Maeve? If you want." Syla offered.

  Maeve smiled at the elf, and Taka did too. As scared as he was for Syla's wellbeing being back in the city that caused so much harm to the elf, he was glad to be by Syla's side. Taka felt such a strong connection to the elf and wanted to protect Syla no matter what, and if they were by his side, Taka could do that.

  "Thank you, Lady Sibil," Maeve said warmly.

  Syla got up and bowed silently, eliciting a chuckle from the fox girl.

  "Shall we?" Maeve asked, gesturing toward the bedroom.

  Syla nodded and Maeve waved a goodbye to Taka and Zirko as she went into the bedroom.

  "Goodnight, Zirko, and goodnight, Sir Filo. Sleep well!" Syla said, then ran off after Maeve, shutting the door softly behind her.

  "You should get some rest too, Sir Filo," Zirko said. "You had quite the day."

  Taka was about to protest, but a wave of exhaustion hit him like a truck. He had been poked and prodded at by Dr. Quinoth for quite a few hours, and he was still getting used to talking with his new 'voice box.'

  "Do you plan on sleeping at all?" Taka asked.

  Zirko huffed, "when I'm tired, I will, I haven't done anything all day."

  "Besides the hike here this morning," Taka retorted.

  "A stroll, nothing more," Zirko said with a smile. "I will sleep, soon. We are safe here."

  For now, at least, the lizard man added, not aloud.

  Taka nodded and wriggled around in the dirt.

  "Goodnight, Zirko."

  "Goodnight, Sir Filo."