Comrade

Comrade

                "Excellent work planting the torches," said Vanna. "The guard found them this morning." Vanna had just returned from her room, having disappeared just after lunch.

                "Thanks," said Tadyel. "I didn't hear anything at lunch, though."

                "They're keeping it quiet until they have a better idea of whether it was the followers or not," said Vanna. "Quite unfortunately. It impedes progress a little, but the find will leak sometime today regardless."

                "Alright, so what's next?" asked Tadyel.

                "We wait for a bit. Others are proving less... prompt in carrying out their assignments," replied Vanna.

                "Okay," said Tadyel. "Um, do you know anything recent about my people? Have you found any Thrath?"

                "Nothing yet. If there are any they've kept their wits. We have tightened security, but we've done that for all out 'guests'," answered Vanna.

                Tadyel smiled. "Thanks," she said. Her smile fading, she added, "Are we doing okay? Here and in the other towns?"

                Vanna frowned. "Yes. But... Although we haven't lost many people, we have lost some. Three undercover agents like myself are dead in total. Luckily, here we've only lost a couple of refugee agents," said Vanna. "It sounds cruel, but the entire point is that they're disposable."

                "I know," said Tadyel sadly. "I understand that."

                Vanna looked away awkwardly. "Today I finally have time to instruct you, and it's about the right time to get back to business as usual here," she said. "Try to get the smocks finished by nightfall."

                "Easy," said Tadyel. It would be easy - she was mostly done already. Waiting for others to act might be less easy. The Followers could strike at any time and it scared her. She just wanted to... She just wanted to go for their throat.

                To Tadyel's pleasant surprise the refugee agents managed to complete their assignment the very next day. Vanna wouldn't admit to the nature of the assignment, of course.

                "I can't say, Gel," she said. "But the riot is definitely good news."

                Tadyel had just described to Vanna what she had been told by a few sources. A sizeable gathering of refugees on the north edge of town - organised by the followers - had heckled or been heckled by some passing townspeople. Heckling quickly turned into insult slinging, and then into a fight between the more aggressive refugees and the townspeople.

                A few of the guard quickly arrived and broke up the fight, but they weren't able to calm down the mob of refugees so easily. After a little bit of bickering one of the guard referred to the refugees as 'useless parasites' which pissed the refugees off. Screaming retorts in anger they rushed the guards and townspeople, who sensibly ran off as fast as they could.

                With the targets of their anger gone they turned to another: the buildings around them. The gathering had been taking place near a temporarily unused warehouse - it was the wrong season for it to be full. The mob broke in and trashed the inside in the process of 'clearing' it out. By the time the rest of the guard managed to arrive the entire building was a mess, much of its few contents broken beyond repair.

                Furious at the damage and at the excuses made by the refugees ('we need more space to live!') the guard kicked the refugees out of town. Not just the refugees involved in the riot - all of the refugees. Saner heads prevailed and the few being sheltered or able to pay for lodging were allowed to stay, but the handful of camps within the town that occupied empty blocks were forced to pick up, pack up and get out. As for the Followers, they were banned from entering town altogether - though Tadyel doubted the effectiveness of that decree.

                "Are we going ahead with the next part of the plan you and Eden came up with?" asked Tadyel.

                "No," said Vanna. She rested her arms on the counter, one either side of her lunch. Quite a late lunch - Tadyel was just back from the pub. "Not for another day or two. We need to wait for certain equipment to arrive."

                "Alright," said Tadyel, disappointed. On the other hand, it was a day or two grace on the coming bloodshed.

                "There is one new piece of information I have for you, however. Tonight one of the other agents in town will be visiting. Her name is Dorothea, or more commonly Dot. We have reason to believe that she is compromised as well so she will be staying and working with us directly," revealed Vanna. "She will not be working as a clothier.

                "Her cover is pretty simple: she's scared of the Followers and convinced me to allow her to stay here, in the centre of town. The guard believe her to be a little paranoid, but she is actually being watched by a group of Follower sympathisers. Eden decided it was too risky so she's been shifted to work with us.

                "Dot's lived here for a few years longer than I have, working as a builder and labourer. She comes from the northern cities rather than from over the seas so she doesn't stick out. I think most of the town have forgot that she wasn't born here, actually."

                "How old is she?" asked Tadyel.

                "Forty 'something'," said Vanna. "According to her. Forty-eight according to the records. She's a healthy and very capable fighter, don't worry. She'd beat you in a moment, and me in a handful if we were both unarmed."

                "Is she friendly?" asked Tadyel.

                "Yes," said Vanna. "But sometimes a little obnoxious - not obnoxiously friendly, just obnoxious. She likes jokes and getting right up in your face when she talks." From the tone of voice Vanna used Tadyel could tell she wasn't too fond of Dot.

                That was the last they spoke of Dot - conversation turned to the rest of the day's work and the evening training. Tadyel was looking forward to meeting Dot, though. Someone new to work with! Someone else around whom the ever-growing stack of secrets she kept was not a worry.

                Dot arrived just before nightfall. A strong, hammering knock announced her arrival throughout the shop - and to their neighbours as well. Then, very loudly, she added, "Vanna! I'm here! Come help me get my stuff inside!"

                Tadyel reached the door first. Pulling it open revealed a bulky woman who was about as tall as Tadyel. Her bulk was evenly split between fat and muscle - she was quite an imposing sight. She looked at Tadyel with some curiosity, piercing dark green eyes in a face edged by grey hair pulled back into a complicated bun. Beside her were two very large bags; both dwarfed by the huge pack on her back.

                "So you're the 'apprentice'," said Dot. "The one that isn't ... dead. A pleasure to meet you at last. Ah, Vanna!" Dot turned her attention to Vanna, who had appeared beside Tadyel.

                "Dot," said Vanna, looking past her at the street, "don't be familiar with my affairs in the open."

                "You're right," said Dot. "A hand, if you would?"

                Vanna and Tadyel popped out of the shop and took one bag each. Vanna strained as she lifted hers - "How did you bring two of these here?" she asked, only just able to lift it comfortably. Tadyel's was similarly overwhelmingly heavy. She grunted as she started walking it inside, following behind Vanna.

                "I had some help until I reached the end of the street, and then moved them down one at a time," said Dot. Tadyel could hear her voice following behind as they went inside. "I'm not that strong! Though my backpack does weigh more - where can I set it down?"

                "You're getting Mavnen's old room," said Vanna. "It's clean. Shut the door if you would."

                "Oh yes," said Dot, pausing to swing the door shut with a slam, "The traitor. Thrath blood running true." She hawked a spit.

                "Don't spit in here," said Vanna.

                "Fine, fine," said Dot. "How did she fool you, anyway? I know we thought it wasn't possible, but, well."

                "She was a capable infiltrator," said Vanna. "She'd been doing it all her life. This is your room." Vanna pointed through the open doorway. Mavnen's personal effects had been removed, leaving the room bare but for a bed and wardrobe.

                "Looks good enough," said Dot, bustling inside. Vanna and Tadyel followed, dumping the heavy bags to the floor with a pair of loud thuds. Dot placed her backpack gingerly on the ground, showing much more care than the other two. "So," she added, "about that tea?"

                That evening was the first time Tadyel had a proper 'dinner' in the shop. It wasn't just a couple of things thrown together. Vanna used the small kitchen to its fullest extent, working alongside Dot to cook up foods Tadyel had never seen - foods from where they had each come. Dot wasn't super enthused about it until she saw certain delicacies she hadn't seen in years.

                Although the food was fancy the setting was not. They ate together at the kitchen table; the third spot occupied for the first time in a few days. Only a handful of meals had ever seen Vanna, Tadyel and Mavnen gathered there...

                "So," said Tadyel, eager to get her mind off Mavnen, "What can you do?"

                "More than you!" said Dot merrily. "My job and my real job mostly. I can do most odd construction work and labour all day without a sweat; I can keep secrets and am strong enough to be a threat."

                "She also likes to rhyme," said Vanna. "And pun, according to Eden."

                "I save them up for Eden 'cause she likes 'em," said Dot. "I can make an exception if you'd like. I've been thinking, perhaps I could say 'well structured' when talking about building?"

                Vanna groaned. "No, I'd rather you didn't," she said.

                "Have you built many things?" asked Tadyel. She caught the pun right after asking the question - 'structure'. It was almost enough to make her roll her eyes.

                "A few. The new brewery and a dozen houses over the years. Working with others, of course - and I was an apprentice for half a decade," said Dot. "Are you building up to asking me about my fighting skills?"

                "No, I just wanted to change the subject," said Tadyel. Vanna groaned again. Oh, 'building'. Tadyel grimaced a little. "I would like to know if you want to tell."

                Dot smiled broadly. Her teeth were a bit of a mess - a couple of gaps indicated missing or broken teeth. "I was a competitive boxer up north until we all moved here," she said. "I still practice my skills, with a bit more general hand to hand training."

                "Boxing?" asked Tadyel. The word brought to mind people punching each other, although she'd never heard it.

                "Oh, yes, peninsula and oppression. Well, roughly speaking boxing is a fist-fighting sport; and usually two people punch each other in a ring. There's a point system but you can win by knocking your opponent out," said Dot. "Boxing without a helmet got banned because of all the deaths, though, so I had to wear a helmet. It wasn't always enough."

                "It sounds painful and... pointless," said Tadyel. "Why did you do it?"

                "Fun, fame," said Dot, counting things out on her fingers. "It was a competition so people would come and watch us pummel each other. The money was good if you won. I was able to show my family that I wasn't useless, even though I can't use the magic."

                "You're here rather than at the fortress, though," said Tadyel.

                "I volunteered! We all volunteered," said Dot. "In a way we're like the Thrath - oh, don't look sour Vanna - we're loyal to our family, our blood. We're just not violently against the rest of humanity."

                "And we work for the good of this region," said Vanna. "Rather than a genocidal cleansing."

                "Well now," said Dot. "We do plan to do it to the Thrath."

                "Only due to the threat-" began Vanna, stopping herself mid-sentence. "We shouldn't discuss this."

                "Why? Your apprentice?" asked Dot. "She should know the end game."

                "It's not relevant until we reach it," said Vanna. "It isn't set in stone."

                "I'd like to know," said Tadyel.

                Vanna looked at Tadyel for a moment, then said, "If we manage to push the Thrath back when they attack, if they are sufficiently weakened, we plan to march into the peninsula and kill them all."

                "Including the children and the old," said Dot. "I'm not particularly pleased with the idea myself, nor are a lot of others."

                "You should do it," said Tadyel. "They're... They're all horrible."

                "There has to be an alternative," said Dot. "Killing those who can't fight-"

                "They can't fight well, sure, but they still kill people for fun," said Tadyel. Her face had adopted an eerily stony visage. "While we were heading north we passed near Thrath camps a few times. In a couple of them we saw children being taught how to torture people by the elders. None of the kids had any qualms and most were giggling happily. A happy, smiling child tearing off a man's flesh is fucking horrifying."

                "I... see," said Dot.

                "There are plans that prevent them from ever attacking again but don't involve genocide," said Vanna. "But they're still extreme, and many are impractical."

                Dot sighed. "I just don't want that much blood on my hands," she said.

                "It can't be avoided. This is a war for survival," said Vanna.

                "There is more blood - the blood of my people and many others - on the hands of the Thrath, and they aren't going to stop until they're dead," said Tadyel. She ate her last mouthful of food amidst the silence.

                "Well, that was a ... worthwhile conversation to have," said Vanna. "But now it's time for some training. Dot, would you spare with Gel for a bit?"

                "Sure," said Dot. She looked, and sounded distracted - Tadyel's passionate hate for the Thrath and what she had seen gave her a lot to think about.

                Eying Dot's muscular bulk again, Tadyel said, "Please go easy on me."

                Sparring with Dot was every bit as brutal as Tadyel expected. Vanna insisted that they spar hand to hand first, something to which Tadyel very reluctantly agreed. During it Dot was definitely pulling her punches, but she threw so many that it almost didn't matter. The barrage of blows left Tadyel stiff and sore within the first half hour.

                Swapping from unarmed to armed combat helped a little but Dot easily outdid her there as well. Not quite as much as Tadyel expected given how tired and battered she felt though, which was nice.

                Vanna sparred with Dot as well. Wisely she kept to weapons sparring - Tadyel was annoyed that she wouldn't fight Dot unarmed herself. Rather than complaining Tadyel just rubbed her bruises and relaxed.

                Their match was quite interesting - Dot's fighting style was a lot closer to what was natural for Tadyel than Vanna's, emphasising her strength. Dot's agility with a weapon was quite poor. Given how fast and powerful she was without one it was very strange.

                Vanna was the aggressor during most of the sparring, only being on the defensive after one of Dot's stronger swings caught her. Despite that Dot was a lot closer to Vanna in skill than Tadyel was. It served to underscore how much more Tadyel had yet to learn.

                Feeling too sore to continue training or work through exercises on her own Tadyel - with approval from Vanna - headed to bed. Thankfully exhaustion allowed her to slip right to sleep, avoiding endless looping thoughts about whether it was really right to kill all the Thrath. Her dreams were kind as well; although in some she felt like she'd agreed to something horrible.

                The next day was quite ordinary. Dot was sleeping in as Vanna thought it best to let her sleep rather than restlessly hovering while they worked. Vanna took the opportunity to teach Tadyel a couple of leather working techniques, for use in the rare occasions that a garment was partially leather. There were a couple of leatherworkers in town, but neither of them made particularly fashionable merchandise so Vanna was occasionally called upon to make gloves or belts.

                Contrary to Vanna's worries, Dot was barely a distraction after she awoke. She spent the couple of hours eating, exercising and then - as it was lunch time - eating again. After lunch she headed off into town to catch up with a few people and chat with the guard about the eyes watching her again.

                It was a pleasant afternoon of easy but busy work. She gained some mental distance from the events of the past couple of days, Mavnen's death, Dorothea's arrival, and knowing what the Magi intended for the Thrath.

                In the early evening Tadyel was suddenly woken from her busy peace by the sound of the front door slamming open loudly. No-one among the handful of angry customers had ever made such a noise slamming it shut.

                "Vanna! Tadyel!" yelled Dot, causing the clothier and apprentice to drop their work and rush to the front of the shop.

                "A couple of townspeople are dead - Numin the leatherworker and her teenage son Minnow," said Dot as they reached the front. "They caught one of the followers leaving."

                Tadyel watched a strange look, a mix of trepidation, surprise and determination, appear on Vanna's face. "When?" Vanna asked.

                "About an hour ago. It's already boiled over. The boy's father and step-father are both almost blind in anger and - well, the plan's on, even though this isn't our move," said Dot.

                "Has someone told Eden?" asked Vanna.

                "She should be finding out right now," said Dot. "But it's go time. I'm not sure we even need to egg anyone on. They cut out the kid's tongue and then tore his eyes out while he was still alive." Tadyel felt herself turning a little white at the horror of that image. It was the kind of stuff the Thrath did for fun.

                "Let's go then," said Vanna. "I'll lock up."

                Tadyel felt lost. "Where are we going?"

                Vanna had already dashed inside, leaving it to Dot to answer. "We're going to the Follower camp. Half of town are probably already there. They're going to burn it down," said Dot, "even if we don't go."

                "Oh," said Tadyel. "What if they resist?"

                "Then they burn with the camp."