While Dawn and Lara were still exploring the town, Lord Jerald sat within his home going through reports his subordinates had brought him.  Quickly noting the arrival of a young mage, he turned to the next report, muttering under his breath as he read that the mage’s tower was reporting significant difficulties maintaining proper mana levels, the head apprentice having remarked that most under him were “worthless bags of ego” before continuing onward to mention that it should be resolved shortly as the other useful mages returned.

Finishing that report, he reached for another only to stop as a messenger entered, handing him a letter sealed with the symbol of an owl.  After thanking the man and waiting for him to leave, he opened the message, glanced at it, and frowned deeply at the contents.

“Great one, the golden traveler found themselves made a pauper yesterday.  They found th—” and then a blotch of ink and blood covered a portion of the paper.  Clearly something had happened to his spy, yet he still got a message, oddly enough.  Apparently his official messenger to the bandits was attacked, according to the slight wordplay.

Steeling himself for the worst, he continued below the damaged section, only to be surprised, hoping it was accurate.

“Well, I must say this is unexpected.  Leanna showed up while I was writing this report and scared me half to death.  Apparently she has known I was a spy this entire time, and was even intentionally discussing things so that I could hear them.

She demanded I use the same letter rather than restart, so I apologize for the damage, but I spilled the ink when I jumped, and bit my tongue in shock.  I am perfectly fine.  Leanna requests to meet you outside town tomorrow to discuss a troubling situation.  I am unable to go into detail in case this letter is intercepted, but I will be there along with your messenger.  While he was attacked, he managed to escape and ran into Leanna’s bandits, who immediately provided assistance, then hunted down those who attacked him, as they were still looting the carriage.

Leanna told me to state specifically that we will be waiting where she first overpowered you during training, as well as that she would like you to bring the current captain of the guard and their elites, as she trusts that they can restrain themselves as well as protect you.  She also swore “on her oath” that she would only bring two of her elites with her, and no one else aside from myself and your messenger.  Oh, and she just reminded me, she DEMANDS that you bring a healer with you, apparently she is worried about slow-acting poison due to the wounds your messenger received while escaping the ambush, and wants to be sure you don’t suspect her if there is any.”

He rubbed his temples as he finished reading the letter.  He still could not understand why Leanna had turned on him in the past, but all the reports had been painting an odd picture.  Clearly she was still in contact with some of his men, yet there had been no signs of any sabotage or theft that led back to her.  Additionally, aside from the murder of the former governor and his family, there was no evidence she harmed anyone who served him.  Perhaps he had it backwards, two people both committing the same crimes the same way in the same place, despite not interacting, and being caught by the same person had always seemed a bit off to him.

Considering his options for several minutes, he decided on a small degree of trust, and began writing a letter in response.  After two hours he finally finished, having had to stop and think several times in the process.  After allowing the ink to dry, he folded up and sealed the letter with his sigil ring and headed towards the nearest guard station.

Upon arriving, he requested a small force of guards before heading into the noble’s quarter, taking a roundabout path towards a specific home he had been keeping an eye on.  As they approached, a woman appeared out of the shadows beside them, asking if they were going to take him out now.  Confused with the negative response she received, she shrugged before vanishing again, heading back to her post.

After sharing instructions with the guards, he headed a few streets away and into a small unoccupied shop, waiting in the basement with two guards.  Meanwhile the other eight surrounded the house that had been being observed, one knocking on the door and standing clearly in view.  Several times over the following minutes, he knocked on the door again.

As this was going on, Lord Jerald simply stood in front of a wall in the basement, waiting patiently.  Exactly as he had expected, the wall shifted, a hidden door opening to reveal an extremely surprised and equally well-dressed man who froze and went pale upon seeing them.

With a slight chuckle, Jerald calmly spoke, “We have known of you for quite some time, how about we head back to your home and discuss things?  I promise that you will not be harmed as long as you cooperate.”

Several seconds later, the man seemed to recover, though his face remained pale, nodding and turning back around, walking slowly back down the tunnel.  Seeing this, Jerald nodded to one of the guards, who turned and ascended the stairs as the other followed him down the tunnel behind the spy.

Once they arrived in the house and entered the sitting room, Lord Jerald sat down across from the man they had followed.  After allowing the man to calm down slightly, seeing that they were not making any move to restrain him or search the property, Lord Jerald began explaining to the man, “I have known of your activities for many months, though we had more important things to do than stop you.  Things have changed today.  Leanna captured one of my messengers, and revealed she knew of my spy in her group while passing on information.  If this is not a trick, then she is trying to create some trust between us, and I would prefer to believe that is the situation.  As such, I wish for you to deliver this message to her, unopened.”

As the man tried to process what he was hearing, Jerald removed the letter from his coat, handing it to the baffled man.  Once the man accepted the letter, he continued, “Don’t try to escape, however, if you do not return, your family will be captured in place of you.  So long as you do return, you have nothing to worry about, as long as your actions do not change.  I also fully expect you to share these events with Leanna, so do not worry about that.  I do hope you both make the right choice.”

Finishing what he came for, he stood, heading for the front door as the guard followed him.  Exiting the house, he nodded to the guards, told them they could return, and headed back to meet the woman watching over the house to update her on the situation.