The Hornet's Nest: Part 6

It didn’t surprise Caolinn to learn that even in a lair she’d shared with Darr for years, there were secrets to be uncovered. She’d always got the impression that he wasn’t willing – and perhaps wasn’t even capable of – sharing everything with her. The Order of Whispers had instilled a code of deception in him, one he’d never been able to break.

And now Caolinn had broken it for him.

There was a short tunnel behind the hidden door, leading to a small, unlit room. A handful of documents had been tacked to the walls inside, ranging from maps and diagrams, to long lists of names. The longer Caolinn studied them though, even by torchlight, the more uncertain she became. There was nothing out of the ordinary here. Why had Darr felt the need to hide any of it?

Nairne seemed equally mystified. “Was this part of some mission you weren’t involved in?”

Caolinn shook her head. She recognised many of the names, the floorplans of buildings they’d investigated when hunting the Inquest, the maps pointing to their bases. But then why wouldn’t she? It wasn’t just that she’d been an integral part of Darr’s operation. He’d left these here for her. Hidden in this room was a message only she could decipher.

She scanned the documents a second time, then a third. Slowly, the answer dawned on her. All of these maps and plans related to missions they’d undertaken in their very earliest months together. Afterwards, their focus had shifted, and Caolinn had been assigned to tailing, then befriending, Spark and Weir instead. In those early days, though, Darr had been consumed by tracking the Inquest, almost as obsessed with it as Amber had been.

And he’d been determined, all that time, to get inside the Infinite Coil Reactor.

That was one mission Caolinn had never assisted him with. As far as she knew, Darr had never got inside the lab at all – it was too heavily guarded for a single individual to breach. Caolinn had always believed his efforts futile, and ultimately they’d proved to be exactly that. Darr had spent months in Mount Maelstrom before he gave up, though, building relationships with anyone he thought might be able to aid him. Which meant she knew where he was.

Her hesitation must have shown on her face, because Nairne’s eyes had narrowed in suspicion. “This means something to you, doesn’t it. What do you know?”

Caolinn’s first instinct was to deny everything. She could feign ignorance and walk away, leaving Darr in peace. She’d come this far, though, and she didn’t like the line of reasoning this hidden room had brought her to. If Darr was out in Mount Maelstrom again, what was he doing there? Was this yet another mad mission to target the Infinite Coil Reactor, alone?

And if it was, should she even care? What Darr did was his own business – she’d made that perfectly clear to him. She had her own mission now, one that couldn’t be compromised by endless worrying about what trouble he might have got himself into.

Yes, her mission – one that required her to divert attention away from herself and keep on the Order’s good side. She’d never find the Inquest in their midst, never expose Nairne, otherwise.

“He’s in Mount Maelstrom,” she said. “Somewhere in the region of the Infinite Coil Reactor.”

Nairne’s eyes were still narrowed, as though she couldn’t quite believe Caolinn told the truth. “Does he have a base there?”

“Not that I’ve ever heard of. He’ll stay well away from the Pact camp at Gallant’s Folly, which means there aren’t many other places he can go. Whitland Flats, perhaps. Darr’s always been friendly to sylvari, and there are Wardens at Old Sledge. He might ask them for help, or at least shelter.”

Nairne was still watching her, though Caolinn kept her own gaze turned resolutely away. Yes, Darr had always liked working with sylvari, even more so than with his own people, at times. It was all too easy to believe he could be working with the Nightmare Court now.

The Nightmare Court. The name had popped into Caolinn’s head out of nowhere, but she couldn’t entirely shake it. She was well aware of her own ally’s affiliation with the group – Torwen had made no secret of it. What about Darr, though? What alliances would he make if it meant getting the better of the Inquest?

“Thank you for this, Caolinn.” Nairne sounded grudgingly approving; she wasn’t the type of leader to offer praise if she could help it. Caolinn was well aware, though, that without her, the Order would likely never have found Darr at all.

It was a long, lonely walk back to the Chantry of Secrets. Many of the Agents had stayed behind in Darr’s lair, picking over the detritus of his life. Caolinn was deemed too much of a risk, though, too close to their target, and was sent back to headquarters with nothing more than Nairne’s verbal pat on the back. She spent the rest of the afternoon alone, too, locked inside her cramped room, pacing back and forth. Convincing herself she’d made the right decision was harder than she’d expected.

It was long after midnight, and Caolinn hadn’t slept at all, when she had a visit from Torwen’s mesmeric messenger. This one was just another purple globe, but when the sylvari spoke, she knew he was there on the other side, listening.

“Darr.” Torwen said the name flatly, dubiously. “Why would you involve yourself in a mission to find him?”

“I wasn’t given a choice.” Caolinn continued to pace. “Nairne’s going to throw me out of the Chantry if I don’t give her a reason to trust me. She knows I’m suspicious of her.”

“And she’ll still be suspicious, no matter what missions you undertake.” The globe rustled, as though Torwen had shrugged. “You’re just doing her dirty work for her in the meantime.”

“What was I supposed to do?” Caolinn couldn’t keep the frustration from her voice, nor could she believe Torwen was questioning her on this. He was no friend to Darr – was he? Had she been right to fear Darr had allied himself with the Nightmare Court after all?

“You’ll do as you see fit, I’m sure,” Torwen said dismissively. “Just remember who your real target is, Caolinn. The Inquest’s claws sink ever deeper into the Order of Whispers. You don’t need to befriend Lightbringer Nairne. You’re here to bring her, and all her kind, to justice.”

A fresh surge of anger towards the Inquest built in Caolinn’s chest as Torwen spoke. She watched the messenger globe wink out and stood there for a moment in the darkness, letting the feeling wash over her. The Inquest had destroyed so much, and even though they’d been beaten in Rata Sum, their operation was far from dismantled. It would take time and patience to do that; she needed to make sure she had plenty of both. Torwen was right about Darr in one respect: she couldn’t let herself be distracted.

Slowly, the anger faded. Here in the darkness, it was impossible not to imagine she was back in that tiny, hidden room, surveying Darr’s secrets, ones he’d intended only her to have. It might well be for the greater good of the Order of Whispers, and therefore for all of Tyria, but she couldn’t quite dispel the tightness in her chest. She was drawing the traitors and Inquest infiltrators from the Order’s midst – and she was using Darr as bait to do it.