The Hornet's Nest: Part 13

The more she learnt about them, the more Caolinn realised she’d never understand the Nightmare Court. It wasn’t just their rejection of a sylvari’s usual path, their turning towards goals that made no sense to her; she could at least accept that everyone had their own motivations, and not all sylvari could be the same. Looking down at Venomblight, though, she knew she’d never be able to fathom how anyone could live like that. Everything the Court had created here was a perversion of the land and of nature’s true form. In that, they had a lot more in common with the Inquest than Torwen liked to think.

“How do you want to play this?” Darr’s voice was a murmur at Caolinn’s side.

A prickle of anticipation touched her flesh. Running her own operations was one thing; commanding others, including these two asura, was quite another. Still, Darr had put her in charge here, and perhaps for good reason. She knew Torwen better than anyone outside the Nightmare Court. The decisions had to be hers.

“We have two choices,” Caolinn replied, glancing to her other side, where Amber was also listening. “We can go in by stealth and try to rescue Nairne without anyone noticing. Or…”

Unsurprisingly, Amber was grinning. “Or we go in all guns blazing. Is that what you’re suggesting?”

“Amber…” Darr cautioned, but Caolinn shook her head. Much as she’d like to punch Torwen in that smug, duplicitous face of his, there were only three of them. An all-out assault would be foolhardy, to say the least.

“Stealth first,” she replied. “We can always fight later.”

Amber made a disappointed noise, but she still nodded. “Lead the way.”

The thief’s invisibility couldn’t cloak all three of them for long, so it was up to Caolinn to pick a path that would keep them hidden by more conventional means. Luckily for her, not only was Venomblight a veritable warren with plenty of hiding places, but most of the Nightmare Court seemed to be resting. It wasn’t difficult to choose a way through the camp that allowed them to pass unseen.

The centre of the camp was equally empty. A few Courtiers patrolled at one end, Nightmare Hounds at their sides, but they were laughing and joking amongst themselves and didn’t seem to be looking for trouble. Caolinn shook her head in disbelief. They’d raided the Valiants and taken Nairne barely a day before, but they didn’t seem to expect retaliation. Did Torwen really think the Order of Whispers was so toothless?

Maybe he was right to think that. It wasn’t the Order who’d come after Nairne; if Hixx and the rest had formed any kind of rescue plan, they were being spectacularly slow in executing it. For all his flaws, Darr had always been right about the headaches of working with – by comparison with his own operation, at least – such a slow and unwieldy organisation.

“There.” Amber’s murmur brought Caolinn back to the present. The asura was pointing towards a shadowed corner of the camp, where a series of cages had been erected. These, unlike the one Darr had been held in at the Old Sledge camp, looked far more permanent.

With a gesture, Caolinn sent Darr one way and Amber the other. The two asura melted into silent invisibility, leaving Caolinn alone. She straightened from her crouch, surveying the rest of the camp – and then set off across its centre, shoulders back and a dagger in her hand.

She was almost disappointed to reach the cages without incident. The Courtiers really were being lax; perhaps Torwen wasn’t even here any more. He’d caught Nairne, and now his business – making trouble, no doubt – was elsewhere.

Caolinn ducked into the shadows around the cages, peering through their grubby bars. Darr materialised at her side with a soft laugh. “Brazen of you, my dear. It might be wise to try drawing Torwen out after we’ve made our rescue, though.”

Caolinn shrugged. For all her years as a spy, suddenly she found she’d had enough of hiding. One way or another, it was time to end this.

Only the last cage was occupied. Nairne lay on bare ground, her clothes torn and tangled, her skin bruised and dirty. Still, she struggled upright at the sound of their voices, crawling to the bars of the cage and wrapping thin, sinewy fingers around them.

“And here you are.” Nairne’s voice was a dry croak. “My heroic rescuers. Or are you just here to taunt me, Caolinn? You’ve been working with these scum, haven’t you?”

Caolinn winced; she deserved that. “Not willingly, I can assure you. Torwen’s spell is broken now, though. Is there a key for this cage?”

“Torwen has it,” Nairne said bitterly. She peered out between the bars, eyes widening as she took in the two asura. Her eyes fixed on Darr. “What are you doing here?”

Darr crouched beside the cage. “Saving your behind. Although I’m sorry we couldn’t stop the Court taking you in the first place. They overwhelmed us too quickly; that was a miscalculation on my part.”

Nairne snorted. “Oh, so you’re actually willing to accept responsibility now? How many years has that taken?”

Caolinn stepped back, allowing Amber to take her place. The asura ignored the conversation taking place before her, turning to the cage’s lock instead and applying her thief’s tools to it. “I’ll have you out of here in no time.”

Nairne seemed to be too focused on Darr to care. “I’d rather rot here.”

Darr’s sigh was so quiet that Caolinn thought she was the only one to hear it. “I see. This is about Orr.”

“Of course this is about Orr.” Nairne lunged forwards, grabbing the bars so suddenly the whole cage shook. “You sabotaged my mission. Three Agents died. You never once took responsibility for that.”

“Oh, but I did.” Darr shook his head. “I never meant to undermine you, Nairne. Yes, I was an idiot and I should have listened to your orders, but I was young and headstrong. I only ignored you because I was arrogant enough to think I knew better.”

“So it wasn’t personal, is that what you’re saying?” Nairne asked bitterly. “Your dereliction of duty still led to three deaths.”

“And I’ve had that on my conscience ever since.” Darr’s gaze had been unfocused, distant, but now he stared at Nairne in obvious pain. “Those deaths weren’t entirely my fault, whatever you think, but I could have done more to prevent them. That’s a weight I’ve carried for years; I’ll never be rid of it. Why do you think I left the Order? Being an Agent was my life, and I threw it all away.”

Nairne fell silent. Caolinn watched the pair, wondering at Darr’s sudden contrition. He’d always been so dismissive of the Order of Whispers, scathing of their methods and their motives. She could see a different side to that now, though. It wasn’t arrogance that had led Darr to abandon the Order in favour of hiding in a cave, trying to run his own missions with no resources and no team. It was guilt.

Well, she knew all about that. At least she had Torwen to blame for her misdeeds; Darr, it seemed, had nothing but his own youthful foolishness.

There was a soft click, and a thud as the cage’s lock fell away. Amber stepped back. “There. If you’re finished with this oh-so-touching reunion, I suggest we make a move.”

For a moment, silence fell between them, and Caolinn almost thought Nairne was going to stick to her decision to stay captured, if the alternative was being rescued by Darr. Eventually, though, the Lightbringer staggered to her feet and pushed the cage open.

“I suppose I should thank you for rescuing me,” she said dryly, “even if we’re all going to soon regret the attempt.”

“Regret?” Caolinn asked. “Why?”

Nairne wasn’t looking at any of them, instead staring off into the middle of the camp. “How easily you made it in here. Didn’t you wonder at that? The Nightmare Court as a whole might not be the brightest of adversaries, but you didn’t really think Torwen would be so careless, did you?”

A prickle of unease ran down Caolinn’s back. Whatever she thought of Torwen, and whatever his faults, carelessness wasn’t one of them. How else had he so meticulously controlled her for so long otherwise?

Slowly, Caolinn turned. Whilst they’d been absorbed in breaking the lock – and, indeed, in a reunion of sorts – the sleepy atmosphere in Venomblight had changed. Where before there had been only silence, now a dozen Courtiers had gathered, and they were advancing quickly. Every one of them was armed.

“Not much of a trap,” Amber said dismissively.

Caolinn wasn’t so sure, but at least this made the next decision for her. She’d wanted to try stealth, and they had done, but now… Now it was time to fight.