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| Details |
| Author: | Athena |
| Summary: | Roper sends a report to Siamus about the MacBrides. Unsurprisingly, they're weird, and they're up to something. 1100~ words. Personal Plot. |
| Rating: | M for Mature 17+ |
Arc: The Bride Will Fall
Letter arrives sealed in a letter lock known as The Dagger Trap, a style of folding and locking known for being impossible to open and reseal, considered to be tamper proof to the point of being excessive.
In spiky, aggressive looking handwriting.
5/9
Fallon–
Surveillance of the targets is as complete as it’s going to get. There is no way to fully infiltrate the island without being alive, and they don’t “hire” people. They marry them in, or with indentured servitude with the expectation of never leaving. Fucking ever. They usually keep 50 people on the island, that number exactly. But it’s been fucked up since the Shattering. They lost people, and haven’t replaced them, but they’re looking. That’s how I got as far as I did as Harland (Westfall, farm boy). Smells of desperation.
There’s at least five Gilneans on the island, seems like a family. Daughter married to one of the MacBrides, had to have been in the last two years. No worgen.
They have at least three minor mages, two priests, and eleven various fighters who train regularly. No one is listed as a warlock, according to Official Records. Wouldn’t bet that no one is. There’s something off about how people get on and off the island. Numbers don’t match all the time with the ferry. Could be illegal portals from the mages, but it doesn’t quite fit the patterns.
There’s only about twenty-five of them total now, give or take some children, of which there are fucking few of. For all the people they have there who are married, either they don’t ever fuck, there’s something in the water, or they do something to kids. Couldn’t tell you which one, only that whatever it is, it’s been going on for a while.
Island has been run by Brigitte since before her father Beau died. He was supposedly the head, but she wore the fucking crown. No one talks about her normal. It’s like she’s descended from a Titan to these people. They either worship the ground she shits on, or they’re fucking terrified of her. No one does anything without her say so.
There’s someone on the island who is important, and no one talks about directly. Someone who knows things. A spy, maybe, or an informant, or a prophet. Or a fucking captive naaru, I don’t know. No one would say the name, but everyone knows about them. Never leaves the stronghold keep on the island. There is someone who lives in there with white hair, stays in a room, looks out a window. Could be the same person. Could be another fucking captive. No way to say.
The person keeping the place moving is named Rivera, and she wears something that fucks with perception. Gotta be on her clothes, because when she takes them off, you can see her properly. Older, 40s, gray and brown hair, brown eyes, 5’7”, burn scar on her upper left shoulder, long cut scar of a Cesarean section birth not healed by magic. She used to live off the island, for about seven years, in Goldshire. Moved back after the Shattering.
Man named Kurt manages part of the ‘village’ of the island, and manages the only usual way on and off the island with a ferry boat. Also the one who takes food to a tower by the keep where they’re keeping a man. Probably of interest to you – Joran Green. He never leaves the tower, like the white haired girl in the keep. Possible to see him through a window, but you can tell he’s been in there for a long time. Couldn’t see the door to know if he’s locked in. Will broken, probably. Shows signs of long imprisonment with no skills against captivity. Doubt that brings a tear to your eye.
About a week ago they started changing up their routines. People training more. Got an influx of lumber and stone, and they’ve started doing things to the walls they already have up. People have been clearing things from the paths, clearing brush. And then four days ago, Kurt ferried over horses. The island’s barely large enough to make for good running, let alone needing a fucking horse. There’s something about it that feels like getting a guard up, or getting ready. And you can smell the fear coming off the place from half a mile on the water. That’s not a figure of speech for a death knight.
Suggests to me that they’re getting ready not for a strike here, but anticipating that there’s a retaliation coming down the line. Which means either you’re poking the bear where you are, and you know this already, or they’re about to poke yours, and know you might come back swinging.
Either way, it’s not starting here. It’s starting somewhere else. Neither Syarra or I think it’s likely at the House in Elwynn, or Stormwind. Too much of high risk, low reward targets. Too easy to defend, and security is tight, noticeable to anyone looking. We’ve made it clear that they’re under guard. Unless they’re planning an air strike on either, which is nothing a death knight can do fuck all about, they've got better options.
Doubt they’ll go after Boutille directly a second time, not to the death anyway. Quinn missed the shot, and whatever reason she had for his death is moot now. Only reason to hurt him would be revenge, which is sweet, but also just as likely to fuck them up.
They might be looking for a sideways target. Someone by your House but not in it, less protected. But it’d make them fucking stupid. Put them in the firing line, legal and lethal, without enough damage. If they’re smart, they’ll go either the route of several coordinated hits on multiple targets, which I don’t know that they have the numbers for, or they’ll look for one someone to hit that would cripple your House. Someone that if they miss their shot, they know is going to send a fucking wave over their island for the second time, reason to prepare.
But I’d bet on them getting a target in their line of sight. Not necessarily to kill or harm. Their history reeks of blackmail and extortion, cleverly done. Possibly something like what they did to your wife. Something to make you think about asking for a truce. Or backing off.
Or maybe they’re just getting ready to start a war they’re going to lose. Never underestimate people being just that fucking stupid.
Right now, it’s still your move. But I’d expect that sooner or later, they’re going to make theirs.
Either way, unless we’ve got the clear for an island buffet, we’re out of options for staying on them. Time for us to move on. Where that is depends on you.
– Roper of the Ebon Blade