Theft of Decks 4, CH 29

The following is supposedly stolen information from a faction called the Keepers in Liberty lands. Again, the language is cryptic, and we do not know who they are. Still – if true – it attests to a fractured society, with a large section of them working undercover. Their purpose in society is, as of yet, unconfirmed. Again, I am going to be so famous in researcher circles when I return to the Elemental library next. I see how they could misinterpret the situation here, though. The fact that a state spies on its own people… it’s disgusting. (Page 52.)

Being raised to Hearts came with another change of housing, unsurprisingly. From the outside, there was little difference, even if the size of the house doubled from their previous house. On the inside, however, the difference was immense. Every single piece of furniture was better quality, every room larger, more ornate and elaborate.

The help was improved as well. They now had servants in the house at all times, except at night, and even had a hand around twice a week whose only job was to make the servants as invisible as possible, making them work around their schedules as smoothly as could be. This part did to prove counter-productive at first, given that they had to take care not to be caught plotting out in the open. Shortly, they got more comfortable with the new servants and their habits, and learned how to work around them.

They bent to their tasks with a will. Kith and Liam spent an inordinate amount of time, for them, planning how best to handle themselves inside the wide hallways of the palace, which summons to combine if needed, how to best move through the place at speed and avoid any unnecessary conflicts.

Sera and Cilia teamed up to handle the crafting – Sera handling and coordinating all materials and tools needed, as well as the communication with Reen, while Cilia worked at all hours, trying to reach the result she was looking for.

Chase toured the city, continually giving out cards. By now, he’d given out hundreds of cards and was eagerly waiting to see the creation of another Deck of Darkness. He also visited a few of the public arrangements in Salvation hosted by some of the pillars or minds of the city. He didn’t talk to any of them, the only interaction being a meeting of eyes with the pillar they’d spoken to across the distance. This served him fine, however, since the only thing he really wanted was to see the higher-ups interact with those lower in society, absorb their manners and way of speaking and moving.

They saw progress on all fronts.

Cilia created several dozen bracelets that should, theoretically, and in combination with Sera’s cards, be able to cancel the influence of any crafted items in the palace. She insisted that she still was far from where she wanted to be, with perfection lurking just out of reach. The illusionary mask created to disguise one of them as the pillar was still acting up. She insisted she’d get there eventually and had heard about similar items being possible, but the progress would be a question of trial and error for her.

Reen had arranged for a hideout for them. It wasn’t much – merely the ‘misplaced’ home of a member of the mass, that he’d managed to get lost in paperwork – but it was perfect for them to store all the goods they were preparing for their heist as well as their own armaments, in case they were needed. He also made sure to have Spike moved there, in order to reunite him with Kith. From that moment on, Kith was a lot happier, with several daily visits to his adoring Guardian.

Sera was taking careful stock of their goods, making sure they had a clear idea of how many items they’d need. She took charge of handling the purview of building their clandestine set of storage with long-lasting foodstuffs for the return journey, and started thinking about how to make it home. To arrange this properly, she talked to Nordon, who, by now was getting downright antsy about how long they were staying. His experiments were becoming weirder, but the results were rather impressive. The boosts from some of his drinks actually outpaced regular buff cards.

In short, what started as entirely unrealistic was slowly starting to appear more doable, like an expected mirage on the horizon turning out to be real.

Chase was touring the city, yet again. He’d been noticing something strange lately and was deep in thought, considering whether it was something he should be reacting to? Perhaps he and Reen should adjust their methods on how to share cards?

All told, it might be a silly thought. Yet, Chase felt rather weird about it. Over the past couple of days, the people approaching him in the streets were less shocked about their cards. Oh, their faces still lit up in joy and celebration. But that shock he’d seen during the first few days – the slack-jawed disbelief of somebody who’d had their entire world turned upside down? That was gone. What could the reason be?

Maybe the first people to get new cards had been the least fortunate ones. People on the verge of giving up, who’d never expected that something would come along that could make their lives easier. Or maybe it was a case of the cards slowly spreading out far enough that the secret of their existence was becoming more of an open secret. If that were the case, they’d have to keep their eyes open, and likely he’d have to talk to Reen about who he told about everything. After all, it would only take a single person telling on them before they would be on the run, and have to go undercover in their hideout.

“Liberty free me.”

It was a simple phrase. One uttered tons of times here - in prayer, in public speechcraft and the like. It was not, normally, used as a greeting.

Chase forced down a smile. Carefully kept secret or not, this would never get old. With a mental nudge, he accessed that carefully kept space next to his heart, nudged the energy moving. Moments later, he felt the touch, as somebody wearing the bright blue getup of a member of the mass ‘incidentally’ touched his hand, and kept moving with just a tiny hitch in his steps. He couldn’t help a grin from building. This guy was better than the average in hiding his emotions.

The person kept walking at a brisk pace. Then, suddenly, he stopped dead, just twenty feet ahead of Chase. He stood stock still, looking down at the pavement.

Chase fought down a chuckle. That had happened to him as well, more than once, when he got a card that was better than he’d hoped for. Thinking back, he might have also thrown a tiny tantrum when Sticky Fingers underwent an unexpected change, going from Rare to Epic. He raised his hand to give the man a supportive pat on the shoulder when he passed him by again. Before that happened, however, the man turned around and faced Chase head on.

The middle-aged man was a mixed-race. Half Liberator, half Furyborn. His hair was dark and short, but his eyes burned with a deep fire. It was the look on his face that captivated Chase though. There was guilt there, mixed with determination, and a dozen other warring emotions.

“A warning.” He said. “Reen has been taken in.”

“Taken in by who?”

“By the guards. They came earlier in the day. I… you should probably hide.”

For a moment, Chase just looked at him, as his world came tumbling down. He’d acknowledged the possibility. He’d known it could happen. But now that it was coming true, he blanked out as his mind refused to take it in.

Seconds later, he was walking home, sprinting when he reached stretches without Keepers.

“Oh, well. We had a nice run of it. Learned a lot. Got some nice cards. Time to get on the road and start running.” Kith’s voice was strained, but forcibly light. “Princess. You were about done with our escape plan, right?” He was stuffing a backpack with things, including his hand axes.

“Yes.” Sera drew out the word. “We will be short on provisions, but we should be able to make do. Only… is that really the right decision?”

Kith snorted. “What do you mean? Of course it is. They got Reen. That means, either they already got Nordon and all the other outlaws hiding out in his building, or they’ll get him soon. Once they do that? They’ll know everything. Who we are. What we were planning. Pits, there’s bound to be a hunt in the weeks and months to come, to track down all of those who managed to get themselves some new shiny cards.”

Sera looked aghast. “So, we are going to leave him to fend for himself?”

Kith snorted. “Listen. Princess. This isn’t a matter of giving up on him. It’s a matter of what’s humanly possible. We don’t know where they’ll be taking him. We don’t know what they’re going to be doing to him, but I’m sure it won’t be nice – and the end result’s bound to mean bad news for us, if they catch us. Do you truly want us to go digging in the palace? Especially knowing that, the moment I activate my shadows instead of that damn Devotion to Liberty card, they’ll be aware that we’re up to something?”

“I – no.” Sera hung her head, curls hiding her face. “Trying to delve aimlessly through the palace would get us all killed. Is there truly nothing we can do?”

They shared glances across the cluttered kitchen table. Liam was awkwardly looking down, drawing doodles in the thin layer of dust on the table. Then he looked up, blinking. “Radine. Perhaps, if Nordon and the others haven’t been caught yet, we can-”

Kith interrupted, nodding glumly with lidded eyes. “Way ahead of you. She’s been hunting and is returning right now. She… no. The door to Reen’s house is open and it’s swarming with guards, moving in and out. No signs of any prisoners, but… damn. Those are some of Nordon’s brewing implements they’re carrying out. They’ve found the hidden rooms.”

A pained silence filled the room. Chase’s fist struck the table, again and again, until Sera grabbed his hand.

“We should go.” Cilia’s voice was a hoarse whisper. Louder, she repeated, “We should go. The more time we spend here, the larger the risk that our hideout is compromised.”

“She’s right.” Liam said. “We need to be out of the city, the moment it’s revealed that we’ve been part of it. Hiding from all those damn Keepers out in the country is going to be tough enough, even before they start looking specifically for us.”

“No.” Kith breathed.

“No?” Liam looked confused.

“I wasn’t talking to you. Something’s happening. I’ve got Radine circling the city, and it’s chaos. A procession is coming from the palace. It’s… the damn Savior! A ton of guards. And… they’re bringing Reen out too.”

“Where are they going?” Chase asked, in a voice that said he knew the answer already.

“Execution Plaza. They are going to kill him.”