Agent of the Sway: Recovery - Part One

The sun had just risen in Shenkuu, bathing the returning Cyodrake's Gaze in light. The flying ships were a common sight for the Empire's citizens, but the new passengers on the deck were still getting used to the novelty.

     Captain Tuan had been generous. In return for help locating his missing navigator, he had given travellers the chance to ride to the long lost land of Shenkuu. Others were already making their way up the twisting mountain paths towards the Imperial City. Shenkuu was lost no longer.

     Another land had been added to the map. Gradually, the corners were being filled in by unseen hands.

     When the ship had docked, the Blumaroo chef made his way down through the mountain mists to the tea house. In a dark corner, he met an Acara.

     Silently, the Acara passed a large bag of Neopoints across the table.

     "Many thanks," the Blumaroo, Bonju, said, pocketing the bag. "The Captain will be happy, I'm sure. You are certain the Emperor will not mind the sudden publicity?"

     "We have been working to smooth things over with him," the Acara replied. "The prospects of trade routes with Neopia Central seem to outweigh the risks of an end to Shenkuu's isolation. Rest assured, the crew of the Cyodrake's Gaze will not face any repercussions for your services."

     "Good," Bonju said, full of relief.

     "Your navigator was unharmed, I take it?" the Acara asked.

     "Hoban's a good actor," Bonju replied. "Anyone would think his outrage was genuine - but he's fine. We got a couple of questions on the way back as to why my punishment for attempted murder was just being locked in the hold for a few days, but they seem to have died down. People have bought it."

     "Excellent," the Acara said, standing up to leave. "If we have further need of your services, you will be contacted."

     Outside, the Acara wrapped a thick travelling cloak around himself and disappeared into the mists.

     But he didn't go alone. A shadow came away from the mountainside and followed, quickly closing the distance.

     The Acara reacted too late, finding a sword at his throat. He recognised the distinctive etching on the blade - Faerieland issue. He knew exactly who was behind him.

     "Agent Greal, I presume," came the voice.

     "Lady Falmouth," the Acara replied.

     "So, even now the agents still work to undermine Fyora," she said. "Tell me, what interest does your kind have in Shenkuu?"

     The Acara turned to see the white Xweetok. Knight of Faerieland.

     "I will tell you nothing," Greal stated.

     "We shall see about that," Falmouth sneered, bringing the Acara in close.

     There was the whisper of pink magic, and the pair were gone.

     ***

     The green Wocky was the most impeccably dressed prisoner that Queen Fyora had ever held.

     Duke Hopesmeade had been the first of the Sway agents to be captured in the aftermath of Altador's return to the world stage. He was not the last.

     The cells either side of him were now filled with Sway agents. Falmouth had been busy, rooting out agents in lands across the face of Neopia.

     But still, Hopesmeade remained silent.

     That was, until the day Fyora and Falmouth visited him.

     "We have just arrested Marko Vanderson on the Darigan Citadel," Falmouth announced proudly. "You know him?"

     "I am loosely aware of the man," Hopesmeade replied casually. "Some sort of councillor, I believe."

     "Former councillor, now," Falmouth said with some relish. "Lord Darigan was quite surprised to find that one of your number was so high up in his government. But no longer. Like so many before him, Vanderson is now safely under lock and key."

     "For now," Hopesmeade replied. "My organisation does not stay behind bars for long."

     "I was foolish," Fyora said. "A thousand years ago, I considered your kind mere servants of the Darkest Faerie. But I understand now, you were something much more sinister."

     "She was a pawn in our game," Hopesmeade said. "We knew her influence on the Altadorian council would only serve to corrupt the others. We couldn't allow that to happen, so as I understand it, we took proactive steps. We encouraged her rebellion - when she had become committed to the act, we left her."

     Fyora stared at him for a long while.

     "You know a lot for a mere agent, if I may say so, Duke Hopesmeade," she said at last.

     "You may say so if you wish," Hopesmeade supplied.

     Falmouth was wearing a wicked smile.

     "It may interest you to know that Vanderson slipped up in his testimony," she said. "Cross referencing it with the statements from our other prisoners, we were able to requestion some of them under different lines of enquiry. We have garnered some surprising results."

     "Such as?"

     "We have an identity for the leader of this little cult," Falmouth said.

     Hopesmeade gave a little chuckle.

     "Have you really? And who, pray tell, do you think it is?"

     "To put it bluntly," Fyora said. "You."

     Hopesmeade's face went completely still.

     "To think, we have had the head of the beast in our dungeons all along," Falmouth said. "This explains now why Agent Greal was unable to provide any answers as to the purpose of his mission in Shenkuu - you were arrested before you could provide him with further instructions."

     Hopesmeade let out a little sigh.

     "I congratulate you on your discovery," he said, fiddling about in the side of his mouth. "I don't doubt you were planning on making an elaborate victory speech, Lady Falmouth. Perhaps about how I will be rotting here for an eternity and will eventually divulge all of the secrets hidden in my mind. But you are wrong - our organisation. My organisation, has clear codes of conduct. My imprisonment ends here. And now."

     He managed to break a capsule away from the inside of one of his teeth. He threw it to the ground and slammed his boot down on it as hard as he could.

     ***

     Clayton Moore was called to the Duchess's home in Neopia Central. It was an imposing manor in the Hills district on the city's west side. The elderly Lenny was sat by the fireplace when he was shown in, deep in thought.

     "Mr. Moore," she greeted the brown Kougra. "A relief to see you, it must be said."

     Clayton supplied a nod.

     "I take it you have heard of the explosion in the dungeons of the Faerieland palace?" she asked.

     Clayton supplied another brief nod.

     He understood what had happened. It was part of the Sway's code - if you are captured, make sure you aren't captured for long. At any cost.

     "It appears Duke Hopesmeade and the other captured agents have given us a parting gift," the Duchess added. "As is protocol, all of them subtly indicated the more senior captive agent as the organisation's head - and when confronted about it, Hopesmeade appears to have confessed. It would appear that Queen Fyora has bought it - she believes that Hopesmeade controlled the Sway, and that with his death, the organisation has ended. My sources, or rather those that are left, tell me that Lady Falmouth's great purge has been called to and end. For the time being, those few of us that remain are safe."

     "Queen Fyora and Falmouth survived the blast, then?" Clayton asked.

     "It would appear so," the Duchess confirmed. "They got a magical shield up in time."

     "Unfortunate," Clayton said.

     "Yes, but we couldn't have expected such an easy victory," the Duchess said. "Duke Hopesmeade was a singular agent - what he has done for us will be enough. We became too loud, too bold. We must learn from our mistakes. Firstly, the signet ring."

     The emblem of the Sway was displayed on a ring that every agent wore. It was how Hopesmeade had been identified.

     "I am issuing a directive that they will not we worn unless for ceremonial purposes," the Duchess said. "Keep it on you, just in case, but not for public eyes. The Sway should not be leaving calling cards any longer."

     Clayton nodded, removing the ring and pocketing it.

     "Secondly, names," she added. "Again, we were too bold, using real names all over the place. It allowed Lady Falmouth to track us all too easily. We cannot give them such valuable weapons again. From now on, we shall have codenames for all formal agents."

     She glanced towards the chess board.

     "You will be Agent Rook," she said.

     Clayton nodded.

     "Now, we must turn our attention to rebuilding," the Duchess said. "When I first gained my position some ten years ago, I made sure to install a variety of failsafes. One was designed to repopulate the ranks of the Sway in case of a situation just like this."

     "A recruitment drive?"

     "Nothing like that," the Duchess said. "I had many agents placed in a form of stasis, diminishing our numbers at the time, but ensuring we could never be completely extinguished, even if I was eliminated. Have you ever heard of the town called Neovia?"

     "In the Haunted Woods?" Clayton asked. "A ghost town."

     "Literally," the Duchess said. "For the last ten years, every Halloween the ghosts of the townsfolk walk the streets. Neovia was once a hotbed of Sway activity, filled with our agents. We used a Category C associate named Mr. Krawley to trap the entire town in ghostly forms that not even the local Faerie Ilere could undo. It is time we liberated them - Mr. Krawley can be contacted at the gypsy camp in the woods. I must trust you with this, Mr. Moore. So many agents were either captured or went dark. I cannot afford to send anyone else with you."

     "I won't fail you," Clayton said.

     "It goes without saying that you should be cautious, Mr. Moore. Ilere still lives nearby, and though she is something of an outcast by Faerie standards, she would no doubt still report back to Queen Fyora if needed. I also suspect that, once events get moving, Fyora may dispatch Lady Falmouth to Neovia to check the situation for our involvement - just in case she was wrong about Duke Hopesmeade."

     Clayton supplied another nod. On the way out, he collected a waiting stack of papers from the Duchess's butler detailing Neovia and what he would find there. Outside, there was a carriage waiting.

     The Haunted Woods were calling.

To be continued...