'This is where you'll be going,' he said.
'The Unseelie?' said Silverdun. 'There aren't any more dangerous places you could send us?'
'I'm sorry,' said Paet. 'I didn't realize you'd only signed up for the safe jobs.'
'Danger I'm fine with. It's suicide I try to avoid where possible.'
Paet waved the notion away. 'I've been there dozens of times. The cities are quite lovely, actually.'
'I've been in one myself,' said Silverdun, recalling his adventure with Mauritane in the City of Mab just before the Battle of Sylvan.
'Yes,' said Paet. 'This time it won't be necessary for you to destroy the entire city.'
'What's the mission?' asked Ironfoot. 'What are we after?'
'Ah,' said Paet. 'A useful question. You're going to meet an Unseelie thaumaturge named Timha, who is a journeyer at Queen's University in the City of Mab. Or was, rather. He left about eight months ago.'
'Where has he been since?' asked Sela.
'We're not entirely sure,' said Paet. 'We're hoping he can tell us that himself.'
'We're taking him out of the country?' asked Silverdun.
'Yes,' said Paet. 'He claims to have intimate knowledge about the Einswrath. In fact, he claims to have the plans for it.'
'You're kidding,' said Ironfoot.
'That's what we've been told.'
'We have to get him,' said Ironfoot. 'I've been through every shred of intelligence on the subject, and we have yet to uncover anything about those plans. I'm getting nowhere with my research. If I could just talk to him for ten minutes!'
'Maybe he can also tell us why they haven't been lobbing the things over the border at us these many months,' said Silverdun.
Paet pointed to a map of the Seelie Kingdom on the wall, larger than the one in his office. The known locations of the cities were marked with pins.
'Your briefing documents are being copied as we speak. They contain all the details, but I'll go over the basics with you now.'
He pointed to a pin on the map. 'The three of you will travel to the Unseelie via lock using false papers, arriving here at the Union Locks.'
He moved the tip of his cane from the first pin to another pin farther south. 'Once there, you'll travel to Preyia by air. You'll rendezvous with Timha in Preyia.' He now drew the tip of the cane to a dot marked on the map just above the Seelie border. 'You'll have access there to a borrowed yacht, which you will fly to Elenth, one of the few land-based Unseelie cities, two days' ride north of Sylvan. In Elenth you'll meet with an Arcadian priest named Virum. He works closely with his brethren on the other side of the border, escorting believers who are in danger into the Seelie Kingdom. He'll help you across the border.'
'Who's going to fly the yacht?' said Silverdun. 'I can't sail something like that.'
Paet pointed at Ironfoot. 'He can.'
'Captain of the sailing club at Queensbridge.'
'Pretty fancy for an army man,' said Silverdun.
'I like to win at things,' said Ironfoot. 'Doesn't much matter what.'
'Excuse me,' said Sela, holding up her hand. 'Why can't the Arcadians spirit him out of the country themselves?'
'Good question,' said Paet. 'They're too afraid. This Timha is a highly placed thaumaturge who's just fled from a top-secret research laboratory. He's carrying on his person the plans for the most powerful weapon ever created. The Arcadians believe, and justifiably so, that if they were caught assisting him, the retaliation against the Church would be apocalyptic. Further, Timha is not himself an Arcadian; some of their members are unwilling to go out on a limb for a nonbeliever. Regardless, Everess tried everything he could think of to convince him, but Estiane refused. As Silverdun may have told you, Estiane and Everess are not the best of friends.'
'To put it mildly,' said Silverdun.
'Personally,' said Paet, 'I prefer it this way. I'd much rather have this man's fate in your hands than in those of a bunch of peace-loving monks. When they're caught, they don't fight. They simply surrender and go to their deaths like sheep.'
'Only you, Paet, could make peace sound like a bad thing,' said
