The Missing Traveller

Alister cast his eyes to the ceiling, which thumped with footsteps. Seconds later, two men and another woman trailed down the stairs in the corner.

“You don’t need to yell, Runea,” the younger man, although still at least ten years Alister’s senior, grumbled. His nose dominated his features, giving him the appearance of a rat.

The woman who invited them in—Runea—narrowed her eyes at him. “Otherwise you don’t hear me. Now come along and sit down.” She’d a distinct mothering air about her, although she didn’t look much older than the others.

The other man and woman didn’t say a word as the four of them sat opposite Alister and the others.

Runea pointed to them in turn as she spoke. “This is Luca, and Denipha, my brother and sister. And Brient, my husband. I’m Runea. What are your names?”

As they introduced themselves, Denipha, the other woman whose wrinkled skirt detracted from its rich texture and intricate patterns, poured the tea and passed the cups around.

The man with the nose of a rat—Luca—folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. “So, you want to talk about Seniro?”

Ren nodded. “That’s right. We understand you all defended him during his trial. Was he wrongfully accused?”

Brient, a man with blonde hair which seemed to stand straight up, narrowed his eyes. “Are you here on behalf of the Defenders?”

“No. We’re just hear to ask about your brother.”

“Why? Has he decided to apologise after all these years?”

Runea snorted a laugh, and Ren raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”

“So it’s not that,” Runea said to her family. “I knew it.”

“Can’t we just hear what they’ve to say, anyway?” Denipha said, almost pleadingly. Runea rolled her eyes.

“I don’t see the point—”

Ren leaned forward. “Excuse me, but what are you talking about? Unless the trial records are false, they say you defended him at his trial. Especially you, Runea. What happened?”

Lucas piped up. “She’s angry because he lent her…” He trailed off under Runea’s fierce glare.

She swept her gaze to her guests. “Tell us why you’re here, first.”

They’re not going to want to help us, Alister realised. He sent a meaningful look to Ren and titled his head to the door, but she just smiled slightly. She was either so confident, she didn’t see the tension between Runea and Seniro, or she had something up her sleeve. Alister prayed it was the latter.

“I’m a scribe in the newly formed Room of Records.” She pulled out a notepad. “Trials in the past ten years haven’t been recorded adequately, as we can clearly see in this case. There are missing sections, names and times are lazily done…I’m here to clear up what happened at the end of your brother’s trial. I don’t need exact dialogue, but it would be extremely helpful if you could give me an outline of what happened, from your perspective.”

Alister was impressed, and by the looks of Mirielle and Yuri, they were too.

Runea narrowed her eyes. “Why didn’t you say that when you arranged the meeting, or came inside? And what are you three here, for?” She cast her suspicious glance to Yuri, Alister, and Mirielle.

Ren smiled sheepishly. “This is actually part of my training period. Alex, too. We take turns taking the lead. Mirna and Yuri are my assessors. I apologise for not saying so earlier.”

Yuri nodded. “Make sure you do, next time.”

Ren nodded like any student would, and returned her attention to the Sunders. “So, if you wouldn’t mind…From the beginning would be ideal.”

Runea glanced at her family. Her siblings seemed convinced, but her husband, Brient, tightened his jaw.

“Alright.” She sighed. “It was so long ago, now. Let’s see. We were notified of Seniro’s arrest, and his trial was due for the next day. I visited him in his holding cell to get his story. I’m a lawyer. He told me he didn’t do it, and we worked out a case.” Her lips turned down. “I found out at the trial he did do it, and it wasn’t the first time. The gama didn’t realise the case against him was so strong.”

Ren nodded as she scribbled away on her notepad. Alister glanced over at the page, and resisted a grin; it read ‘Calm down, Alister, I’ve got a plan’ over and over again.

“The first time he did it, he lent Brient and me the marks.” She turned her head down. “We were…struggling to make ends meet.” She looked up, her eyes alight with anger. “But he certainly didn’t tell us where he got the marks from.”

“He was only trying to help,” Denipha mumbled, and Runea shot her a glare. She cast her eyes down into her teacup.

“Be that as it may, he broke the law, and made a fool out of me, giving us stolen money and letting me prattle on about his innocence! I took him aside, but he refused to apologise for what he did. And so I refused to help him win his trial. And I could’ve done it. I visited him a month after to try to knock some sense into him, but he said I was the one who should apologise for leaving him in the courtroom.” She rolled her eyes, and her mothering air dissolved. She acted like a stubborn youth who couldn’t get her way.

Ren stared at her. “You’re telling me Seniro would likely be amongst us if you had apologised?”

Runea raised her eyebrows.

Brient leaned forward, his eyes dark. “I don’t know what you’re implying, but you’d best work on your tone.” He glared down at Yuri and Mirielle. “Aren’t your novices taught to respect their clients?”

“You must learn to treat everyone with respect,” Mirielle said. “Whether it’s a simple case review, or you’re interviewing a convicted murderer. Is that clear? I’ll finish the interview.”

Ren’s lips became a thin line and she looked down. “I’m sorry.”

Mirielle leaned forward. “We’ll be out of your way, soon. So since visiting Seniro a month later, have you seen him since?”

“Denipha went once,” Luca said, “but Runea didn’t let her go again.”

“He can’t be trusted,” Runea muttered.

“And that was the last time he was visited?” Mirielle asked, and the family nodded. She stood. “Thank you for your patience. I apologise if we were unprofessional.”

Runea waved a hand and showed them out, while Brient stood at her side with his arms crossed. Denipha’s wide eyes followed them as they left.

As soon as the door closed, Mirielle hissed at Ren. “You have a plan, do you? Then what is it? There’s no way they’re going to help us! Denipha might, but I don’t think she would risk her sister finding out again.”

Ren rolled her eyes. “Calm yourself. We’ll discuss it when we get back to Yuri’s.”

The walk back was silent, and for Alister, painful; his leg ached.

When they finally arrived and closed the door behind them, Mirielle raised her eyebrows.

Ren threw the notebook on the table. “Of course they won’t help us. But we don’t need them to. Seniro hasn’t been visited in years. Even if the guards remember what Denipha looked like, she could’ve changed since then.”

The memory of Ren bounding up to them with flowing brown hair and blue eyes came to Alister’s mind. “You’ll disguise yourself?”

Ren smiled, although it was more of a smirk. “He catches on quick. Denipha’s about my height, and I’d a good look at her while we were there. I’ll go visit Seniro, under the pretence of wanting him and Runea to put this whole mess behind them. That way, we get the information first hand, and we don’t need to involve someone who we don’t know or trust.”

Mirielle raised her eyebrows. “Except Seniro. How do we know he’ll help? For that matter, as soon as he realises you aren’t his sister, won’t the guards catch on?”

“He’s stubborn. I’m willing to bet from his lie to Runea, he does want to get out of there, but he’s too stiff-necked to apologise to his sister and accept her help. What better way to get around that than to get him out without her help? As for him recognising I’m not Denipha, I’ll slip him a note that says if he wants to get out of there, to play along. It’ll be tricky, but far from the hardest thing I’ve done.” She glanced at Yuri. “You think it’ll work?”

Yuri rubbed his stubble. “If he plays along, and you don’t attract the guards’ attention, I think it just might.”

If Seniro agreed to help, he would observe the guards for a full week, and send them a letter with the information they needed.

“How do the guards get into high sec?” Alister asked.

“They use a separate entrance,” Yuri said. “I worked in high sec once. Our best bet would be through the iron door; it would be near impossible to get through the guard’s quarters.”

“This whole thing is already near impossible.” Despite her remark, Ren’s eyes were alight. She claimed she hated them, but Alister suspected she enjoyed the plotting and scheming.

Mirielle ignored her and continued to discuss with Yuri the letter Seniro would send back to them. It would need to be coded to make it through the guards’ scrutiny.

Ren shrugged. “You’d be surprised at how many letters and reports I’ve sent to my employer. He’s used the same method for decades and not once been caught.”

“What is it?” Alister asked.

“Every ninth letter spells out the message. It can sound forced, but this Seniro has days in a prison to figure it out. So I’ll add that to his message, too.” She looked to Yuri. “Do you have a pencil and paper?”

While he went over to a desk, Ren went on. “So it’ll say something along the lines of ‘if you want us to bust you out of here, just play along.’ We’ll need to explain we’re trying to get someone out of high sec, and if he helps us, then he can escape, too. I’ll give—thanks, Yuri—” she took a paper and pencil from him and scribbled words down. “I’ll give him an opportunity to agree to help us, and then have the list of things for him to observe over the next week. What time the guards’ shifts change, when the high sec opens…”

“How many guards are on at any given time,” Yuri added.

“Perhaps he could recommend a time for us to break in,” Mirielle said, and Ren stared at her. “Yes? That’s why we need him in the first place, right? We’ll have a week to figure out how to get in while he observes, and then however many more days to finalise the plans. He would know the best time to try.”

Ren nodded. “Right.” She wrote it down. “Yuri, do you know what the policy is on visiting prisoners?”

“As far as I know, for low sec, visitors are allowed during daylight hours. You’ll need identification, though.”

Ren checked her timepiece. “Then we should get going. I’ll make a Pass Card tonight, and visit our informant tomorrow morning.”

Alister held the scorpion stance as he watched sweat roll down his nose. It must be five minutes by now. He refused to ask Yuri if he could stop; it seemed to lead the man to push him harder.

“Alright, weapon evasion.” Yuri threw two staves in his direction, and he managed to grasp them despite his clammy fingers. Without so much of a five second break, Yuri delivered a straight strike with his own staff.

Alister gritted his teeth and let the strike slide off his staff, before readying himself for the next attack. The two of them had been at it for over an hour, but Alister was eager to continue until Ren returned.

She’d stayed up late the night before, crafting a Pass Card identical to her own, aside from the photograph and name. Mirielle and Alister headed to Yuri’s to wait, and Ren went to the prison in a wrinkled dress and a long, black wig. Alister had doubted she could look even similar to Denipha, but by the time she finished applying countless layers of powder to her face, and pulled a light brown wig over her head, the two of them could’ve been twins.

Ren had been gone for two hours, and Alister was grateful for a distraction. Yuri gave him no time to think between his attacks. Alister swapped the two wooden staves out for Ranvier and a practice sword when Yuri brought out a blunted sword of his own. Ranvier was light and swift, although a sword’s balance took some getting used to.

“Are you two nearly done?” Mirielle asked, and Alister’s focus wavered for a fraction of a second. He cringed under Yuri’s sword that swirled towards him, but it hovered an inch over his shoulder.

“What would we do in the meantime?” Alister kept his eyes on Yuri as he shifted away from the blade. “We’ve a week to plan the escape, if Seniro agrees, and—”

“That’s the problem,” Mirielle muttered. “What if he doesn’t agree? We should figure out what we’ll do, then; maybe look through Ren’s list of the other prisoners on level seven.”

Yuri lowered his sword. “There is no use worrying about that, now. We’ll figure out what to do when it happens. For now, there is nothing to do but wait.”

“Maybe you could go for a walk to one of the squares?” Alister suggested. She fiddled with her bracelet often, despite not having the power to spin it in the air.

“I have plenty of books,” Yuri added.

Mirielle sighed. “I’ve already read all about Baudouin’s ascension to the throne; that was at least three hundred pages. And I don’t want to miss Ren coming back. We still don’t know how we’re going to stop the guards from pulling the alert, why don’t we figure that out?”

Alister frowned. “Because the best decision will be made when we’ve more information. We can start planning as soon as Ren gets back.” The thoughts he managed to mute during his spar with Yuri rose to the surface. What if she gets caught? What if Seniro doesn’t agree to help us, or worse, tells the Defenders…

He tightened his grip on Ranvier and the other sword, and Yuri regained his stance. “Do whatever you want to fill the time, Mirielle. I’m sure she’ll be back soon.” He met Yuri’s strike with his staff to form a cross.

Mirielle didn’t say anything for the next half hour—Alister assumed she found another book, or perhaps was playing another game of checkers against herself—while he and Yuri continued to spar. His progress was slow, but not unnoticeable.

Yuri prepared him for unexpected forms of attack, and showed him ways to evade weapons and strikes. Eugene’s fundamental approach seemed similar to the way formal academies would teach their students, but the skills Yuri equipped him with were more practical for use in real fights. The only area Yuri insisted he practice diligently was holding Ranvier at the correct angle for a single-edged sword.

Alister just hoped he wouldn’t have to use those skills in the near future.

When the door finally opened, Mirielle all but bounded to Ren, whose wig and makeup made her almost unrecognisable. “How did it go?”

Ren eyed her, bemused, and turned to Alister and Yuri, who ceased their sparring. “It went smoothly. He didn’t make it obvious he didn’t know me, and agreed so quickly, I don’t even think he read the whole thing.” She laughed. “Like I said, it’s far from the hardest thing I’ve done. So we’ve a week until we hear back from him. He seemed confident he’d be able to code the letter, and when the guards were out of earshot, he said the only time the high sec doors are opened is to let in new prisoners.”

Alister sheathed Ranvier. “Did you find anything else out about the prison?”

Ren sat and leaned back. “I did. Acting like the timid woman Denipha is, I asked the guard if we were safe from the high sec part of the prison. He said there was an underground staircase and iron door leading there, and there was no way the prisoners there could escape.”

Alister raised an eyebrow. “Good to hear.”

Ren maintained her smile and went on. “The room matches Yuri’s map exactly. I also went through the front section the same time as some deliveries, and asked the guards if I wanted to send Seniro anything, how long it would take. They told me deliveries are made every day. So to get into the front section we just need to disguise as the deliverers and make sure they don’t come as well. We need someone in low sec, which can be me while visiting Seniro again, and someone in high sec, and then we’ve a way to open the iron doors. All that’s left is a date and taking care of the guards. And a way into high sec.”

Mirielle’s eyes widened. “You found out all of that and didn’t get caught?”

“It doesn’t eliminate our problem of getting into high sec,” Yuri said in his quiet voice. “The door only opens for new prisoners.”

Ren raised her eyebrows at Alister and Mirielle, and their eyes met.

“That’s not an option,” Mirielle said at once, “is it?”

Alister leaned against the wall, but his muscles tensed. “What would be the point? Then we would just have two prisoners to break out of high-sec. We need to find a way through the door, or the guard’s entrance.”

Ren’s hard stare fell on Yuri. “You’re the one who’s been a Defender. What kind of things are we mining? Anything that can cut through metal?”

Yuri’s calm expression didn’t change. “Cut…no. But there was red rust.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a liquid developed to mine more quickly. Red rust eats through most rocks and metals.”

Alister’s eyebrows knitted together. “Eats through? What do you mean?”

“I suppose it just speeds up the corrosion. If you put red rust on a metal, in a day’s time, it will fall apart.”

Ren glared at him. “All this time we’ve talked about iron doors, and you just now bring up this red rust?”

“I wasn’t certain it’s still in use. When left unattended, it had a tendency to eat away more than intended. When I left, they were planning its cessation.”

“But even if they don’t use it anymore, they’d still have stores of it somewhere!” Ren threw her hands up in frustration. She leaned forward. “You’re sure it would work on the high sec doors?”

Yuri nodded. “It ate through gold. It would work on iron, without a doubt.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Impressive.”

Alister paced. “But you said it takes a day to work. We would have to get to the high sec doors—which you said are down the stairs right in the middle of low sec—and we’d have to do this the day before, and spread this red rust on it without them noticing. And then break in again the day after, with the deliveries, and at the same time you visit Seniro again?”

Ren’s constant reminder of the impossibility of their plan dawned on Alister then.

Ren made a frustrated noise. “You’re right. We still need to figure out how to take care of the guards, and we definitely couldn’t get all the way to the high sec doors two days in a row. I’d imagine after a break in, security would be tightened?” She looked at Yuri, and he nodded.

The four of them sat in silence. How they’d get past the guards was still a mystery, but how to get the red rust on the high sec door seemed even more impossible. If we manage to get a hold of the red rust in the first place, Alister thought grimly. Ren managed to get the locations and details of Lark, Seniro, and his family…

Mirielle voiced his thoughts. “Could your contacts provide red rust, Ren?”

“They do information, nothing more. But if it exists, I can find out where. If it’s no longer in use, it shouldn’t be too hard to break into a random storage room. It’s just getting it through to the prison doors that’s the problem.”

Yuri’s stare forwards didn’t waver as he spoke. “Someone could get there as a prisoner.”

Alister rubbed the back of his neck uneasily.

Yuri went on. “They conduct a search of belongings before prisoners are let in, but a fair amount of prisoners managed to get something through. Something like red rust wouldn’t be too much of a challenge. At least three guards escort a high sec prisoner. Whoever it is could kick up a fuss at the doors and slather it on in the confusion. We wouldn’t need much.”

Alister folded his arms. “What kind of crime would we have to commit to go straight to high sec?”

Mirielle’s wide eyes swung between him and Yuri. “You aren’t suggesting one of us actually gets themselves arrested a day before we attempt to break out Lark? Then we’ll need to get two people out! And what if…” She stopped abruptly, but Alister heard her unspoken question as clearly as if she’s finished it. What if they failed?

Ren shrugged. “If we’ve already managed to get into high sec and release Lark, an extra person wouldn’t be much more of a hassle.” She looked between them. “You two are willing to break into high sec to get this bird man out, just because you think he has information about His Majesty’s plans. What’s getting arrested compared to that madness?”

Alister wasn’t sure why he continued to be surprised by Ren’s cavalier manner to their plan. Once she joined, anyway.

“So you agree with them, too?”

“It’s the only way to open the doors,” Ren said. “We’ve already decided against disguise or sneaking in, and however we get past the guards, it won’t work two days in a row.” Mirielle’s mouth became a thin line, and Ren drummed her fingers on the table in front of her. “Aside from seriously harming someone, the easiest crime to get us dragged into high sec would be a minor assault on royalty. A slap in the face would do it.”

“That’s enough for high security?” A smile crept to Alister’s mouth. “I pity the king’s sparring partner.”

Ren chuckled, and Mirielle rolled her eyes, though a smile twitched at her lips.

“Perhaps it would be enough,” Yuri said. “But to be sure, maybe it would be best to add in a threat to Baudouin’s life. If they take it seriously, they may even add security to him, and there would be less everywhere else.”

“Well, that’s definitely a plus,” Alister said.

“So once we find where the red rust is, we can steal some of that while we’re waiting on Seniro’s reply,” Ren said. “We just need to decide who’ll be arrested.”

The tension in the air became as sharp as a cold wind. Alister’s heart hammered. He didn’t want to subject any of the others to something so dangerous, but when he opened his mouth to volunteer, he found he couldn’t get the words out. The others were silent. Mirielle’s blue eyes fell, and her hands clenched at her sides. Ren’s eyebrows arched expectantly; it wouldn’t be fair to send her to be arrested. Yuri’s expression remained as calm as ever, but his eyes were hard. He’s hardly more involved than Ren, Alister thought. It should be me or Mirielle. But as he looked to the now-brunette Mirielle, he knew he could never let her do it. He didn’t have a choice.

“I will.”