Chapter 221

Chapter 221<~> Chapter 221

Not half a bell later we were called into one of the meeting halls with Feylaria Winethorn. The moment I stepped in, I recognized the familiar sensation of being in a [Zone of Silence] and could sense the presence of a few other similar magics that would obfuscate our conversation.



Feylaria smiled at me as I walked through the door and gestured to the seat across from her. There were two men with her that looked like they were guards but she was the only one sitting at the table.



"I suppose if you're asking to speak with me then it must be about the proposal I gave you and your friends. Is that why all of you came?" Feylaria asked.



All of us took our seats across from her and I cleared my throat. "We want to participate in your plan and warn you about something that will coincide with the riot."



For a moment she looked as if she had faltered, the second piece hadn't been what she expected. "A warning? Of what kind?"



I looked over at Lorriene who cleared her throat to get the elf's attention. "I'm a member of a group that opposes the Tamin church and slavery as a whole. We made contact with a high-level member and told him a little about the riot that would soon happen. He intends to step in and... cull the members of the Tamin church in the confusion. He is afraid of them taking control of the city in the wake of the upcoming riot."



"When we talked to him, he was already planning on having the Duke of Torquin assassinated and subtly supporting Marquis Saffadder as we discussed earlier," Silva added.



Feylaria's eyes narrowed. "How high level?"



Silva met her gaze. "Double mine, at least. He is probably in the low one-hundreds."



Her brows knit in contemplation. "He intends to cull the Tamin church? And then what?"



"Leave before someone else high-level shows up to challenge him," Lorriene replied. "He knows that this would be an escalation that may attract other high levels in the area but his goal is to weaken the Tamin church's hold on this city during the riot. Even if a few level one-hundreds from the Tamin church showed up after, they wouldn't have the manpower to control the city before someone else stepped in. He directly told us to avoid killing any guards so the city doesn't become too destabilized. He hoped the elves could take control of the city to secure it from monsters and cede the capital to Marquis Saffadder eventually, once the Duke of Torquin is out of the picture."



Feylaria crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. "You want me to mobilize an army to take control of the city at the same time as our plan to crush the slaver's guild? What about the cult of Amphores?"



I frowned. "According to the man we're talking about, they're intentionally pushing the country into a civil war. He believes the reason the cult targeted Baron Morrister and Count Korland was to incite people to rebel while their collars are suppressed. Other than Marquis Saffadder, there are no other nobles even close to being slavery abolitionists left and if the collars aren't functional, it is a lot easier for the slaves with higher levels to start an actual slave rebellion. Once the King's death comes out, if there's no one popular with the general populace ready to replace him on the throne, it'll create further division. You can guess where that path leads."



"Does that make Marquis Saffadder a target of this cult?" she asked.



"I believe it does," I replied with a nod.



Feylaria frowned and tapped the table in thought. We sat in silence for a few minutes while she worked out whatever she was thinking.



"Their operation is too large for that to be feasible. They have to keep paper records of everything to operate, making multiple copies and storing recent enough copies for them to be useful somewhere would be far too expensive for them to maintain. The only organization that could possibly maintain a backup of their records would be the Libraries of Sorsette and there is no world in which Sorsette would approve of that. They probably keep some backups but likely only for the highest value slaves and the majority of the slaves they deal in wouldn't qualify." Feylaria glanced at Torien and Morrigan. "They would keep backups for the Pantharians though."



Lorriene interrupted. "Wouldn't matter in our case, I was told Lilith purchased my nieces directly and my 'master' also technically purchased me through the Slaver's guild."



Feylaria nodded, "Then you should have nothing to worry about as long as Lilith and your master in name don't try to recollar you themselves. Any escaped Pantharians that you come across should be wary though."



"I'll pass that along," Lorriene replied.



"Anyway, there isn't much else to discuss. Once you are inside, use the magic items I give you to free any slaves you can and tell them that you're starting a slave rebellion. You can tell them not to trust the cult of Amphores but that's up to you. Make sure to tell them that they can escape to the Northern Greens if they don't have anywhere better to go, all elves and beastfolk are welcome."



"What about humans?" I asked.



She raised her eyebrows. "You would seek to help humans as well?" Her eyes trailed along my group of friends. "I assumed you were primarily concerned with beastfolk. Humans are also welcome to come to the Northern Greens, though they are likely to be relocated to other countries later. Zarcuda is happy to take any beastfolk from other lands with a few exceptions, and the Northern Greens will of course take any beastfolk rejected from those specific isolationist tribes."



I wasn't sure how to react to the assumed racism cast on us but I chose to bite my tongue. I suppose that many beastfolk are distrustful of humans even if I haven't encountered it much. A majority of the people I dealt with were either beastfolk or elves with the exception of Cecilia, who is also an adopted elf. I understand it could look that way in this atmosphere in the same way that Jasper had wondered if I had a problem working with men. I wasn't making these choices, it has just kind of happened that way.



I cleared my throat. "We'll also need disguises. Pantharians stand out in a crowd and I am pretty recognizable myself."



She nodded. "I anticipated that. I have two dozen shimmerscale potions that will visibly disguise all of you as canine beastfolk for a full day. Just tell me how many you need and I can provide you with them."



I looked over my friends. Me, Bella, Morrigan, Torien, Silva, Lorriene, and Mimi? Would the potion even work on Mimi correctly? I wasn't sure. Even if it didn't, Mimi can hide as something else. "Seven potions then. Everyone else will be protecting our carriage and passengers while we wait."



"I'll have seven potions ready for you when I give you the tools to remove the collars then."



"Three days from now. Is there anything else we should know?" I asked.



"I'll be clear and reiterate this point. If you are caught, the Northern Greens will deny any involvement with you. I will not come and save you and I wouldn't expect Tarklin Silvergrove to stick his neck out for you either. It cannot be known that the elves are conspiring to start a riot, would support kingslayers and assassins, or attack a foreign institution. Do not expect us to help you if you're captured."



I nodded. "Tarklin Silvergrove told me as much."



"Then we are clear," She said with a nod. "I do wish you luck though. May Fortuna smile on you."