Successful Mission

[Brian]

"Aren't you full of good news?" she asks, frowning.  "Okay.  At any rate.  Given enough time, Liandral's tools will be sufficient to overcome any opposition we'll find outside the keep's gates."

[Bjorn]

Bjorn grunts.  "What, exactly, are Liandral's tools?"

[Brian]

"Weapons, of course," she says, smiling slightly.

[Bjorn]

Bjorn eyes Lindsay, and then smiles coolly. "Fair enough," he says.  "Trust has its limits."

A sudden thought strikes him, and he frowns.  "How long before we ran into each other were you looking for me?"

[Brian]

"I wasn't," she says, shrugging.  "I just suspected you would end up revealing yourself sooner or later."

[Bjorn]

"I wasn't quite clear," Bjorn corrects himself.  "Today, right before we met in the hallway -- how long were you looking for me?"

[Brian]

"About ten minutes."

[Bjorn]

Bjorn frowns.  "Then it probably wasn't you," he says.  "I was being followed earlier.  Couldn't see who it was, though."

[Brian]

Lindsey looks thoughtful at this.  "So, in addition to traitors, we've got ... what, an assasin?"  She glances across the courtyard, which is still empty, except for the chickens, which are all huddled in a corner near the keep, and her vassals.  "Well, I'm not exactly trusted by Lord Kevin anymore, so I'm fairly restricted in what I can do at this point."

[Bjorn]

"You can try to join the other side," Bjorn points out.  "People have turned traitor for less reason that being rejected by their commander.  If you can even find a name that we should be suspicious of, we're better off than when we started."

He speaks a bit abstractedly, still thinking things through, and then, cocking his head, looks sidelong at Lindsay.  "So that's your entire strategy?  Wait around until you have enough power to pull through tools to dispose of the army?"

[Brian]

"Of course not; but you already seemed to have well enough in hand.  Why show our cards before we were forced to?" she asks, smirking.  "As long as you didn't die, then there would be nothing to worry about.  But now that Lord Kevin doesn't trust me anymore, and I'm willing to bet Serril, either, we've got to make sure you don't completely exclude us from whatever's going on.

"And Liandral is hardly the only one of us with an ability to deal with this menace."

[Bjorn]

"I didn't say Liandral was," Bjorn says drily, "but if you have no plans on how to hold the Dreadmarch back until you can access your abilities, you're bigger fools than I thought.  All the more so, depending on what advice the Cabal left behind."

He purses his lips.  "Kevin might be wary of the Lorekeepers in general, but not Serril in particular.  Hrmph."  He looks Lindsey in the eyes.  "You knew I was Order of Symmetry because I told you, I'd guess.  But you also knew who I was in particular.  How?"

[Brian]

"I infered it from your bard friend," she says, shrugging.  "Your behavior fit the record we have of your profile, after that."

[Bjorn]

"I need to shut him up," Bjorn grates.  "Any Cabal agents shouldn't be able to do the same, but better safe than sorry."

He crosses his arms, fingers drumming across his bicep, before shrugging one shoulder.  "All right, then.  You need time to access your abilities.  We have traitors and possibly an assassin or two running around.  You don't know where most of the rest of your allies are.  We need to find the traitors, and hold back a depressingly powerful Dreadmarch until you can bring your guns into play.  So.  What now?"

[Brian]

"You seem to be handling things pretty well with the Dreadmarch," she says, after a moment of thought.  "I can handle an assasin.  Besides, I was sent here to make sure you didn't die."