Agent of the Sway: Departure - Part One

The Shenkuu ships visited Faerieland regularly these days, carrying cargo holds full of spice from the fertile lands below. The Faeries performed their own magic on the foodstuffs, turning them into entirely new delicacies.

     But that wasn't all the ships brought with them. Travellers not willing to use magic, and those wanting to avoid the attention of it, often used the ships as passage.

     The brown Kougra was one of many that stepped off the gangplank, no different than any of the travellers. But perhaps that was the point - he was trying to look as if he was unremarkable.

     Clayton Moore had to be careful. He was, after all, a member of the Sway. And Faerieland was the domain of their enemy. If Fyora got even a whiff of what they were up to, it would be the dungeons of the palace for him and the rest of the organisation.

     "Rook," a blunt sounding voice greeted him.

     A Techo with a thin moustache and greased back hair was waiting in the wispy clouds near the sky dock. He was dressed in a formal black military suit, which Clayton thought made him stand out like a sore thumb.

     "You must be Knight," Clayton greeted him.

     The Techo supplied a brief nod as confirmation. The Sway didn't use names any more, only codes to identify themselves. A few years ago, using names had almost caused them to be completely eliminated.

     "We must get away from the docks," Knight said. "Follow me."

     It was an order, not a suggestion. Clayton fell into line beside his new partner, though his face made it clear he wasn't happy about it.

     "I don't know what your orders are, but..." Clayton said.

     "But what, Agent Rook?" Knight cut him off. "But you're used to taking the initiative on operations? Used to being treated as a little more important than you actually are? No longer. I do not tolerate such nonsense in my operations."

     "Pardon?" Clayton said. "Listen, I've been working independently now for-"

     "Three years," Knight said. "Yes, I have been briefed. Since the death of Duke Hopesmeade, so I understand. We all saw what a mess he caused when he was discovered, and I understand you have almost compromised our organisation as well. Personally, I blame your mentors. I always considered Lord Faversham and Duke Hopesmeade rather... weak. Hardly surprising their traits rubbed off on you."

     "Now wait just a minute," Clayton said. "I was told that this was to be a joint operation."

     "Then you were misinformed," Knight said, continuing on as if Clayton's presence was a frivolous option. "The Duchess doesn't take risks often, Agent Rook. I understand you have links to the Thieves Guild which have endangered us before. You have been given chances, Rook. So many chances, and yet you failed us. You have lost the Duchess's favour. Now you are my charge."

     "I've been demoted?" Clayton gasped. "This... isn't right."

     "Isn't it?" Knight asked. "So Tura-Kepek did not in fact escape you on Mystery Island? The Duchess was not forced to cut a deal with the Order of the Red Erisim to deal with your failure? A deal that, I might add, could endanger the very fate of the planet?"

     Clayton fell silent.

     "I thought so," Knight said. "In time, perhaps you will earn your redemption. But not today. Today, you work for me. You will not find me so easy to get around as your former mentors, I assure you of that."

     The pair had reached a house on the outskirts of Faerie City. The Techo took a key from his pocket and unlocked the door.

     "A safe house we will be using," Knight explained when Clayton took in the meager furnishings. "We will be meeting our contact in the marketplace soon. I trust you are familiar with the brief of this operation?"

     "Yes," Clayton said.

     "Then tell me it," Knight instructed.

     Clayton gave a little sigh. This was like being back in school.

     "The sorceress Quizara has been tutoring at the Faerieland Academy," he said. "Secretly, she is working to overthrow Queen Fyora using a spell she stole from the Order of the Red Erisim known as the Question Curse. She requires the Scepter of Questions to use the curse, which Fyora currently has in her possession. We will help Quizara gain the Scepter, and in exchange get access to the Hidden Tower. Afterwards, we will betray Quizara and break her curse."

     Knight nodded.

     "Quizara believes she is close to gaining access to Fyora's stores," he said. "That is why we have been summoned here."

     "You're not normally stationed in Faerieland?" Clayton asked.

     "Of course not," Knight said, turning his nose at the building's pink walls. "I cannot stand this place. The sooner we have what we came for, the better."

     ***

     Clayton had met Quizara once before, back when she had been at the Order of the Red Erisim's headquarters in the Haunted Woods. He recognised the orange Kougra's distinctive mane of white hair from a distance, and guided Knight over to her table at a cafe in the Faerieland marketplace.

     "A pleasure to meet you again," she said with a smile to Clayton, before turning her attention to Knight. "You, I don't know."

     "Good," Knight said curtly, sitting down opposite her. "We aren't here to learn each other's life stories. We have business."

     "Indeed we do," she said with another smile. "I'm close, I can feel it. I've been teaching ethics at the Faerieland Academy, of all things. But it's proven useful. I've managed to convince Queen Fyora to give me access to the Hidden Tower and the use of the artefacts within for training. Teaching the students why exactly Fyora doesn't like the use of some of the darker strains of magic, that sort of thing."

     "Then it appears you are ready to move," Knight said.

     "Not quite," Quizara added. "There is a catch to the Queen's agreement. She's not going to let me use the artefacts without supervision. I have a minder, Lady Falmouth, and I need her taking care of before I do anything else. That's why I contacted you."

     Falmouth. Of course, it had to be. The Faerieland knight had been the one to arrest Duke Hopesmeade and initiate a purge of the Sway across the face of Neopia. They had only survived by hiding and convincing Falmouth that the Sway were dead.

     "That will be difficult," Clayton said. "Falmouth is a dangerous adversary."

     "I have a deal with your leader," Quizara said. "You will help me."

     "Yes," Knight agreed. "We shall. You will give us details of movements. Times and places. We will arrange a distraction for Lady Falmouth. The rest will be up to you."

     Knight abruptly stood up.

     "You will find a Crokabek waiting in your study at the Academy," he said. "When you have the required information, use it to contact us."

     He supplied a quick curt nod to Clayton, signalling him to follow.

     "Our goals, I can see, will be aligned," he said once Quizara was out of earshot. "I have had research on this Question Curse undertaken by the museum in Neopia Central. They claim, magnified by the Scepter, that it will strike down every single Faerie in Neopia. Theoretically, it could be used to strike down every Grundo, or every Ixi, or even any Tree, if the user willed it. The curse merely uses the magic of Neopia to find a target."

     "I don't follow," Clayton said.

     "I hadn't finished," Knight sniped. "The Duchess is aware of a place, a prison originally designed to hold the Darkest Faerie before the solution of her petrification presented itself. It is a place where Faeries can exist free from the magical force of Neopia - the same force that the Question Curse exploits. We know of it because once, a less foresighted leader of the Sway attempted to assault Faerieland - the Faeries fled to their bunker and our efforts were for nothing."

     "You mean there is a place in Neopia where the curse will not work," Clayton said. "I've never heard of it."

     "I wouldn't expect you to have," Knight said. "This Faerie Haven, as it has become known, has become more than a mere prison. Fyora has remodelled it as a magic bunker to protect Faeries from the most brutal forms of magic. Faeries freed from the Question Curse will be able to flee to Faerie Haven to escape falling under the curse again. Lady Falmouth, being such a close aid of Queen Fyora, will be aware of the Haven's existence and importance. If we lure her into believing the Haven is under attack, she will leave Quizara's side to investigate."

     Clayton nodded.

     "Where is Faerie Haven located?" he asked.

     "On that matter, the wizards at the museum were silent," Knight said. "We will have to discover the location. I believe the texts in the Faerieland Academy will hold answers. You will find them for me."

     "Leg work?"

     "I am in charge of the operation," Knight scoffed. "I have more important things to do."

     Clayton somehow doubted that.

     ***

     Quizara waited at the cafe for a few more minutes after the Sway agents left. She wasn't alone for long. A young speckled Xweetok came and sat next to her.

     "Did it go well?" she asked.

     "Yes," Quizara answered. "They have agreed to help me get rid of the knight. They didn't say it, but I expect, once the Curse is active, they will seek to betray me."

     The young Xweetok looked shocked.

     "After you made a deal?"

     "What have I taught you in my lectures?" Quizara smirked. "People lie, Xandra. All the time. It's only ever a problem when you aren't expecting them to lie. Since we know the Sway will turn against us, we can plan in advance. We will turn on them before they get the chance to do the same to us. How are your studies going?"

     "I believe I can summon a few creatures through the Void if needed," Xandra said. "I'm not strong enough to produce an army. Nothing like what I witnessed in Neovia."

     "Keep studying," Quizara instructed. "Your power is growing by the day, I can sense it."

To be continued...