The Gemini Project: The Sun Guardian

The Seekers Contacted

"Sir, I'm afraid we have a problem," Orionde murmured as he stood next to his general, leaning against the tree his leader was in front of.

They stood quietly, watching the campfire in the far distance while the other soldiers were gathered around it for warmth; telling stories and catching up on the news of the city.

"What is it? Why are you so hesitant to speak?" he wondered as he watched his second in command in his peripheral vision.

"Well, we've received word from one of the roaming patrols; a message from Isla."

"I don't understand why that's a problem. Isla is..." he trailed off, knowing Orionde would understand. He wouldn't dare implicate Isla was anything but one of the loyal King's Guard, not while they had another patrol group stop by for the night.

"...a friend of ours, of course," the Captain completed. "One who likes puzzles. None of the patrols along the way have been able to decipher her latest code sequence, and so, it made its way here."

An encrypted message wasn't rare from Isla, the mercurial Mage known to challenge the minds of the Guard around her. She'd often hide treats in the forest, and her notes would hold clues that would be passed around from soldier to soldier, in the hopes of someone being able to decipher the code, and share the reward within their patrol group.

"That eager to feed your sweet tooth?" the general asked as he held out a hand, and the note was passed to him.

A minute of silence once again, before they murmured to each other, well aware the forest hid eavesdroppers.

"She's using an encryption we created together. It reads, 'a Dark Mage has knifed the leader of an ally. He needs an antidote. Can I send him to you? Escort needed'.
"Well then, looks like we're about to get no-questions-asked company, and we need to bring in our own healer. If a Dark Mage knifed him, we're likely dealing with a poison."

"Or venom. If it's the Usiku Mages..." Orionde trailed off. "Besides, Isla has her own healers who could create an antidote. If she's sent the letter to us, she's likely asking for our venom specialist."

"Fair point. I'll ask Damien to return early." In a louder voice, the general replied, "I'm not sure I understand this message either. It's still unclear."

"The marks on the back of the paper are different from the ones she makes for the treat clues."

The general agreed, passing the note back to Orionde.

"Then you should leave at dawn, Captain; tell Isla her message wasn't understood, and find out what she meant. It could be important to the safety of the Kingdom."

The Captain didn't miss two of the visiting patrol guards casually looking their way, though attempting to not appear curious. He was sure the General had noticed; the reason for the order.

"Yes, Sir. Anything to serve the King," Orionde said, lying through his teeth.