A warm breeze flitted through the tree’s leaves, which seemed to almost glow under the bright afternoon sun. A man shrouded in a green cloak crept over the roots, casting his gaze across the fields around him. It wasn’t hard to see why his people coveted this land so. The territory was vast and beautiful, with magic in the soil itself that made it fertile beyond compare. 

“I’ll admit, I was beginning to worry you wouldn’t show,” a voice drawled above him. “It would be a great pity.”

The smuggler’s eyes snapped up to the black cat tail lying on a particularly large tree branch, its red eyes fixed on him. To any other, it would appear as just another animal, albeit with strange eyes. They would never know the danger they danced with just by talking to it.

“Had a little trouble getting over here. Security’s stepped up.”

“Oh yes. I believe they’re preparing for battle. Another brave, yet fruitless push to gain ground,” the creature said dispassionately. 

“Do you truly care so little for the efforts of your own people?”

“I have merely grown tired of this war that has dragged on for far too long.”

“And yet there is no end in sight,” replied the smuggler with a grim smile.

“Perhaps only to your shortsighted eyes,” the cat muttered. 

The man’s gaze strayed from the cat to the imposing fortress not far from their current location. 

“Are you sure it’s safe to meet here?”

His client followed his gaze and snorted. 

“Please. The lord of that fortress is having a party. The sentries won’t be back until twilight.”

“How often does he host such parties?”

The cat fixed him with what he assumed was an amused smirk and said, “Please try to refrain from insulting my intelligence.”

The man allowed himself a chuckle. “Can’t blame me for trying, right?”

“I suppose not…” 

The two stood in silence for a small while before the green-cloaked man cleared his throat.

“If you don’t mind, could we carry on wi-“

“She failed, by the way.”

The man looked back at the cat. 

“What do you mean?”

“Again, don’t mock me. Did you really think I wouldn’t know who sent that assassin? She may not have given you up to the torturer, but I needed no such barbaric methods to deduce who sent her.”

Those red eyes were glaring at him now. Suddenly the sun felt  as if it was burning him, and the tree’s limbs seemed to reach out for him, like gnarled, monstrous limbs ready to tear him apart. The air was heavy, hard to breathe. The small fires on the fortress ramparts danced against the dark stone, like little demons dancing to his despair. And in the middle of it, those red eyes staring deep into his soul. 

“I believe I said not to try anything until I gave you permission. We have done great work together, but I can easily find a new business partner if need be.” 

The smuggler pulled at his collar, trying to find some relief from his burden.

“O-of course. I’m sorry. I-I just meant for her to gather intel. I didn’t realize…,” he paused, trying to suck in as much air as possible. 

The cat’s gaze held him further until, with a smile, it said, “So you tell the truth.”

Suddenly, the pressure and visions halted. The man fell to his knees, gasping for air.

“Nevertheless, there have been consequences. I’m afraid that there will be exceptionally fewer opportunities to reach the girl now. We must make no mistakes from now on.”

The smuggler nodded slowly, with one hand massaging his throat as he stood up.

“Do you have what you promised?” The creature asked. 

“Of course,” the man replied and pulled out a scroll protected by a gold container. The waning light glinted off the sun insignia on the container.

A girl stepped out from behind the tree with a scroll in her hand. In a flash, the man pulled out the capsule back into his cloak and drew the knife strapped to his thigh.

“Relax, thief. She works for me,” the cat said, chuckling. Its words did little to soothe him.

“You trust her?”

“I brought her here, didn’t I?” Then, to her, he said, “Go on. Show him.”

The girl nodded and handed the scroll to the smuggler. This scroll had no fancy protection like the scroll he had. Instead, it bore only a seal in red wax, which he quickly broke to validate its contents. As he read, his surprise grew. 

“This… this is too good to be true.”

“At first, I thought so too. But I have put great effort into validating the information. And you can give yours to my assistant,” the cat said. 

“Well then. I guess you deserve this,” he said, handing over his own scroll.

“Tell me, do you know what this place is?”

“The Battle of Fort Sygvid, right?” He asked.

The cat hummed, but it sounded more like purr. 

“It was the first time the demons deployed heroes into battle. They won against five to one odds, all the thanks to you.”

The man cast an uncomfortable glance back at the assistant. She was watching them with hawklike eyes. 

“Yeah. Uh, don’t mention it.”

The cat chuckled. 

“I still remember you from back then. A young boy who just wanted to make some quick coin. If only you knew the magnitude of what you had discovered, I wonder if you’d have told me.”

The man shrugged. “I don’t much care about nationalism and all that. Probably the only thing that’d change is how much I asked for.”

“And you question me about my care for countrymen….”

“Well I’m not supposed to care about them. Just a criminal, you know? You on the other hand… what’s the point of this, anyway?”

“Because of you, demonkind received a fighting chance, and the war kept on for two more decades,” it glanced back at the golden capsule. “Now, you may have just started the end of it.”