Adeenya faced west, standing atop the wall, watching the vastness of the plains stretch out before her. She had asked Loraica to join her, but she could not guess what the Maquar woman would do.
When at last Loraica approached, Adeenya did not give any indication that she had heard the other woman coming near. They stood in silence for a few moments, both staring to the west. Adeenya turned to face the terir and, for the first time, appreciated Loraica's true size. She stood at least two heads taller than Adeenya and was nearly twice as broad through the shoulders. Her skin was darker, her features less distinguishable in the soft light. A foe to be reckoned with, but now, she hoped, an ally.
'Thank you for coming,' Adeenya said. 'I have a plan, but carrying it out requires your help.'
'Why me?' Loraica asked. Some would have asked what the plan was first.
Adeenya smiled. 'I'll be honest with you and admit that I had wished to convince Taennen to help me, but he seems…'
'Distracted,' Loraica finished, and Adeenya agreed. 'And why not go straight to Jhoqo?'
Adeenya weighed her options and chose honesty. 'The urir seems… less than pleased by my participation in serious decisions here,' Adeenya said.
Loraica looked to the west again and said nothing for a few moments. 'What's this plan, then?' the Maquar asked.
Adeenya hid her surprise at the woman's lack of protest over her characterization of the Maquar leader. 'Taennen was informed that someone inside the citadel, not an attacker, killed your wizard,' she said.
'Who?' Loraica said, stepping back, her face wrinkled in confusion.
'His source didn't tell him,' Adeenya said. 'But if it's true, that person is helping the attackers and we must stop them,' Adeenya said.
Loraica arched an eyebrow and said, 'And who is this source?'
'The formian,' Adeenya said, continuing to speak so as to cut off Loraica's objections. 'Yes, I know. It's probably nothing. They're probably just angling for their freedom. But what if he did see something? Isn't it worth trying to find out? We could all be in grave danger.'
Loraica shook her head but said nothing.
Adeenya could not say the words she truly wanted to say: The Maquar, bastions of law and order that they were, could not see what Adeenya saw. It was only her perspective as an outsider that told her for sure that Guk was not lying. She didn't think the beast capable of it, actually. In perhaps the biggest twist of irony she had ever seen in her life, Adeenya knew that the Maquar and the formians had a great deal in common. They both cherished law and hated disorder. But she doubted the Maquar would see it that way, so she painted her plan in a more hypothetical light.
'We need to lure that person out,' Adeenya said. 'Lure them out? Why not just interrogate the formian?' Loraica said.
Adeenya stared at the woman for a moment before saying, 'Do you honestly believe that would help after having met the formian?'
Loraica shook her head. 'But if there is no one, if the formian is lying, then how do you lure out someone who doesn't exist?' Loraica said.
'Then we're not luring them out. We're proving Guk is lying and that Jhoqo is correct. And, if Jhoqo is right, then what harm does it do? We can't do anything about a dead wizard who broke under torture, but we can do something if there is a traitor,' Adeenya said.
Loraica rolled her eyes and turned away, saying, 'This is pointless. There is no traitor.'
Adeenya reached out to stop the Maquar woman and placed a hand on her shoulder. 'There's something else,' she said.
'What?' Loraica said, eyeing Adeenya's grip on her. 'Something was stolen from me during the fight. Something no one should have known about,' Adeenya said. 'What was it, Orir?' Loraica said. 'A pendant.'
'Well, I'm sure it was valuable or held meaning for you, but-' Loraica began.
'No, no. It was magical. I used it to communicate to my commanders back in Durpar,' Adeenya said.
Loraica looked at her for a long moment and said, 'Go on.
'It was hidden away in my pocket, but they knew exactly where to look. They restrained me specifically to look for it,' Adeenya said.
Loraica nodded and said, 'I've always been told that items like that give off some sort of aura if you know how to see them. They probably just saw that aura when they looked and decided to take it.'
'No,' Adeenya said, shaking her head. 'They specifically came after me. They knew what they were looking for, I'm telling you.'
'Who else knew about this pendant?' Loraica asked, leaning in closer.
'Only a handful of my own soldiers and your wizard,' Adeenya said.
Loraica jerked back at the mention of her comrade. 'Khatib? How?' the large woman said.
Adeenya shook her head. 'I'm not really sure. He approached me shortly after I used it to contact Durpar. He made it clear he knew about it, but said nothing else.'
'This doesn't make any sense,' Loraica said, easing herself against the wall.
'I agree, Terir. That's why I need your help. I don't believe any of my soldiers would have given out that information. Nor am I suggesting that Khatib betrayed us,' Adeenya added, cutting short Loraica's objections. 'But he knew about it and now he's dead. Perhaps whoever killed him didn't want him able to talk anymore.'
Loraica drew herself to her full height again and spoke. 'If the formian is telling the truth, then who would be fool enough to show themselves as Khatib's killer, regardless of what lure you use?' Loraica said.
Adeenya said, 'I find foolishness is never in short supply.' Before Loraica could respond, Adeenya continued. 'They'll reveal themselves if they think we already know who they are. If we spread the word that the formian knows who did it, then Khatib's killer either takes the chance that he or she won't be discovered… or eliminates the threat the formians knowledge represents,' Adeenya said.
Loraica shook her head. 'No. Jhoqo would never allow it. We're responsible for the prisoners and their safety.'
Adeenya agreed and said, 'There's no doubt that it's risky, but if there is a traitor among us, isn't it worth risking the life of a prisoner?'
Loraica continued shaking her head. 'As a Maquar, a true soldier, we understand that the way we treat our prisoners indicates our own worth,' the large woman said, folding her arms across her chest.
Adeenya took a deep breath and released it, holding back her barbed retort, before saying, 'We do not kill our prisoners, and many Durpari have died protecting their prisoners in the past, as I'm sure have many Maquar. But we're talking about risking the formian for the safety of everyone in this citadel.'
'This plan is the same as murdering the formian. He would become a target for Khatib's killer,' Loraica said.
'For the traitor,' Adeenya said. 'Remember that. If there is a traitor among us, we need to lure him or her out before this goes any further. Before anyone else dies.' She paused, letting her words sit on Loraica's mind. She wished she could make Loraica see what she saw, but knew it just wasn't possible. Adeenya cherished freedom and righteousness but knew that sometimes, the rules needed to be bent to achieve them. That was something a Maquar could never see.
Adeenya continued. 'We will do everything we can to protect the formian until the traitor reveals himself. What's the other alternative? You agree we must reveal the traitor if there is one, yes?'
'Of course,' Loraica said, pushing herself away from the wall to stand upright.
'And it seems quite possible that there is one, given Khatib's death, the attack, and my pendant, right?' Adeenya asked.
Loraica rolled her head from one shoulder to the other and ran a hand through her dark hair. Her lips curled and she asked, 'And if we cannot protect the formian? If it dies?'
'Then we will have failed,' Adeenya said, pausing for a moment. 'But we'll have our traitor. It doesn't matter anyway, does it? There is no traitor.' Adeenya grinned. 'Right?'
Loraica's face showed her struggle with the idea. Adeenya wanted no one to die, but she was willing to let the formian die if it meant revealing the traitor.
