haillenarte: (063)
francel de haillenarte ([personal profile] haillenarte) wrote in [community profile] gurabad2019-05-27 12:24 am

061 » cross my heart and hope to die

[it is a little-known fact that ishgard operates one of the largest networks of spies across eorzea.

the garleans may think themselves clever for sneaking one or two acolytes into the vault, but francel knows better. in truth, the holy see and the high houses tolerate garlean subterfuge because they have other problems to deal with, and it is easier if the imperials believe that they know things about the city-state that welcomes no outsiders. ishgard now is in a state of political upheaval; too much change has happened in too few years. under the benevolent leadership of archbishop thordan vii and — it is widely rumored — his son, ser aymeric de borel, the azure dragoon struck a decisive blow, killing nidhogg and destroying his eyes for good. instead of marching on the remaining dravanians, however, thordan vii controversially chose to offer peace to hraesvelgr's brood in the churning mists and to the impartial dragons of anyx trine — and now ishgard makes for war in ala mhigo to settle debts owed to the eorzean alliance.

the decisions of his eminence are justly rendered, even well-reasoned — but he is not especially beloved by the commonfolk. many in ishgard see the archbishop's unpopularity as a power vacuum towards which they will step.

but lord francel de haillenarte sees opportunities of his own.]
valhourdin: (15)

[personal profile] valhourdin 2019-06-10 04:27 am (UTC)(link)
[ Zephirin knew better than to make himself an obstacle, a distraction around which his nimble companion must maneuver, and so he consigned himself to the fringes of the fray, blade poised to lend the House Haillenarte agent his aid, should the aevis draw upon stubborn reserves of strength. He surged forward just as the young spy performed his graceful leap from the creature's back, striking at the aevis's nearest wing, her underbelly when she turned his way—

And then, the encounter was ended, in mere moments. Blood pools beneath the slain heretic's grotesque corpse, dots the ground. Her slayer, meanwhile, appears serene, unsullied excepting his clever knives.

The words out of his smiling mouth prompt another raised brow, but something amused and appreciative plays about Zephirin's lips as his eyes flick from the dead dragon to the man standing over his handiwork. ]


I hardly had time to think on aught but so abrupt a meeting with another of our unwilling hosts. [ He would have been foolish to grow distracted himself, chasing a pointless question's answer. ] You have my thanks, however.

[ Their way is cleared, at least the next stretch of it, and Zephirin resumes making for the room's exit, in search of the heretics' winding road. ]

I take it the message contained no other line to guide us?
valhourdin: (13)

[personal profile] valhourdin 2019-07-01 09:54 am (UTC)(link)
[ Once more, the House Haillenarte agent's demeanour shifts — his words of caution are sensible, but given his teasing thus far, one might expect him to speak of a lovers' rendezvous between these heretics with the same irreverence. Instead, remarks that could have been flippant now lend him a somber air. The dead, foes of Ishgard, are made ordinary men and women beneath the choices that sealed their fate.

House Haillenarte's chosen spy is a man of many masks, but Zephirin wonders fleetingly whether this reveals something of his heart. Over his shoulder, he studies his companion a moment longer, perhaps a moment too long, guarded, before he turns, taking the lead, pushing aside the rough-hewn fencing forming the far gate to the small storeroom. ]


Perhaps. Our objective is unchanged, of course, no matter any secondary investigation, should we chance upon something of note.

[ Emerging from the room behind them, they do not find a winding road. The storeroom was a poorly-lit cave; beyond it, the path would end in a steep drop, if not for the suspension bridge stretching across the dark chasm ahead. It swings uneasily, creaking, but the ropes and planks bear their weight.

On the other side, the path curves along the rock face, through a gap between shimmering walls. Pillars of ice line the way to a set of sturdier doors — here, no one stands guard any longer.

Caution remains prudent nonetheless, for the doors are locked, upon closer inspection, and gaining entry will take some time. Like as not, the heretic slain in the storeroom carried a key, but without it, a lock pick or brute force are its replacement, one slower, the other noisy. ]
valhourdin: (12)

[personal profile] valhourdin 2019-07-09 10:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[ The House Haillenarte agent's solemnity is short-lived — he seems to prefer his teasing, almost veiled barbs. He has repeatedly proven himself reliable, however, effortlessly taking each new turn of events in stride, and Zephirin leaves him to his tools and his task. Relegated to playing the brawn to the younger man's brains, though not exactly a hulking brute himself, he assesses their surroundings: assuming that there are no hidden paths, the gap through which they came is the only way to reach this locked door.

This won't take but a moment, confidently promised, should give them time aplenty to uncover what lies beyond, and the dwindling handful of heretics little opportunity to follow their tracks.

The soft scrape of tools at work continues; no other noise disrupts it. Half-turning away from the opening in the far wall, Zephirin watches his companion's hands. ]
valhourdin: (15)

[personal profile] valhourdin 2019-07-20 04:24 am (UTC)(link)
[ In no time at all, testament to the House Haillenarte agent's arsenal of skills, they cross the threshold to the vault containing the heretics' cache of crates. The crates, all firmly sealed, their origin plain, are indistinguishable from one another in size and shape — they could contain ceruleum or crystals, and enough of either to pose a considerable threat, whichever the case.

Quietly, Zephirin shuts the doors behind them, sealing in the sound of their voices and movements as they inspect the room. He approaches the nearest stack of crates, lower to the ground, and works carefully to pry open the uppermost crate for a look within. ]


Ten on crystals.

[ He has no interest in a wager, unconcerned if he should lose, but he replies easily, simply for the sake of an effort made to play the young spy's fellow. A summoning in Nidhogg's name now seems as likely as Ishgard set alight and razed to the ground without the aid of unholy powers. Both ceruleum and crystals gathered may be another possibility.

Heaved aside, the crate's lid opened a crack already reveals a faint blue glow. Zephirin's brows draw together; he straightens, moves out of the way to a second crate for confirmation. ]


...'Twould seem your wager is won.
valhourdin: (11)

[personal profile] valhourdin 2019-07-25 12:35 am (UTC)(link)
[ They are in need of a diversion, but the heretics' leader is an unpredictable foe — no doubt he knows what they have done, that most of his followers are slain. Precious little stands in his way. He might carry out his threat, and make his escape, all in the span of a breath.

And yet, matching his speed is not wholly impossible: House Haillenarte's daring spy could seize another opening to act as swiftly as each previous time. That much, Zephirin is willing to trust.

In a bid to keep the heretic mage's attention on himself, stalling for time, he attempts the only diversion that presents itself then — silence, after all, was not required of them. ]


You would set it aflame, even knowing that others loyal to your cause remain within Snowcloak?
valhourdin: (13)

[personal profile] valhourdin 2019-09-07 12:10 am (UTC)(link)
[ Bound, bereft of the means to turn the tide, House Haillenarte's agent truly looks young, vulnerable in the heretic's hold. Zephirin's heart sinks to watch the scene unfold unhindered, no empty threat to taunt them. Their opponent has them cornered.

Zephirin's eyes meet Francel's but briefly before he keeps them fixed upon the heretic, following the man's wandering hand, returning soon to its counterpart near Francel's face. Any closer, and the flame flickering in the cup of the heretic's palm would singe his captive's hair, scorch his smooth skin. It would spread to his garments, the whole of him.

Zephirin does not move. The attempted diversion failed, and negotiating with their ruthless adversary is like to prove a waste of breath, but he tries again, blandly, as though speaking of something utterly mundane: ]


A single man or else the both of us? What would you gain?
valhourdin: (03)

[personal profile] valhourdin 2019-09-09 10:25 pm (UTC)(link)
[ There is no time to marvel at the House Haillenarte spy's resourcefulness. As soon as Francel is clear of the heretic, Zephirin springs to action, leaping at the mage to knock him to the ground and hold him pinned there, twisting the man's arms behind his back. The heretic hisses through his teeth, shifting beneath the knight's weight atop him, to no avail. "Go on, then." His grimace becomes a sneer. "Finish it."

It might be for the best to end it here, Zephirin considers, rather than risk permitting the heretic to recover, to cast his spells. Hesitating a second more may cost them their chance.

But the House Haillenarte agent, who could take up his daggers and slit the heretic's throat, does no such thing — it stays Zephirin's hand, too. Instead, producing a length of rope from within his cloak, he hastens to bind the man's wrists.

Scoffing, the heretics' leader closes his eyes. "You won't break me." ]


Have you something to keep him quiet for the nonce?

[ That, and effectively disarmed. Zephirin lifts his head, turning to his companion. ]
Edited 2019-09-09 22:28 (UTC)
valhourdin: (08)

[personal profile] valhourdin 2019-09-11 11:45 am (UTC)(link)
[ Zephirin's hand closes around the vial, cradling it carefully in his palm. For a second, his gaze lowers to Francel's mouth, contemplative, and then he nods his thanks, and his fingers busy themselves with the potion, uncorking it. The heretic's eyes remain closed, as if he was given a draught for sleep, not to stifle his magicks — perhaps he is resigned to his fate, or ignoring his captors out of spite, or perfectly unperturbed.

It makes no difference. Tilting the vial sideways, Zephirin pours the concoction within onto the man's exposed neck, where Francel's teeth have left marks. Now, as the red liquid trickles down his skin, the heretic mage shudders, gasping sharply, and stiffens.

Zephirin sets the empty vial down beside the man, rising to his feet for a final look around the storeroom, before he stoops to haul the captured heretic up from the ground. The day is not yet won, as the House Haillenarte agent remarked — somewhere within Snowcloak, one or two of the heretics still breathe, and their leader will resist questioning.

Nonetheless, it would be remiss not to acknowledge the young spy's part in securing the day's success thus far; for Francel, Zephirin has a few grateful words to add aloud: ]


I suspect that without your ploy, I would be naught more than a heap of ash.

[ It was a risk taken, but cunning, the only way to catch their opponent off-guard. ]
valhourdin: (05)

[personal profile] valhourdin 2019-10-02 04:07 am (UTC)(link)
[ Meaningfully, Zephirin mirrors the look for what seems to him false modesty, but he does not elaborate to point out his companion's numerous accomplishments this day, nor to assure him that he merely intended to give credit where it was due. It is done, and they have what they sought. Zephirin, at least, is minded to withdraw from Snowcloak, that they might deliver their discoveries to the Holy See.

His own mission leads him to pursue his next suggestion: ]


And what of our other friend's weight? [ The heretic leader, propped up against Zephirin, will be as cumbersome to carry as a pile of wooden planks as they retrace their steps through Snowcloak's caverns and tunnels. ] Have House Haillenarte's Thorns a holding cell nearby?
valhourdin: (13)

[personal profile] valhourdin 2019-10-28 03:15 am (UTC)(link)
[ Would that House Haillenarte were so well-equipped indeed. It was Zephirin's hope that returning with his companion might lead him directly to the Thorns' spymaster — or afford him the time for observation, at the least — but the young agent neatly extricates himself from any such plans. Zephirin, who can refute no part of his reasoning, falls silent for some moments.

He nods, in the end, the barest dip of his head, and turns to go. ]


And yours, I would assume. Our paths may cross again ere long.

[ More than that, he deems unwise to discuss just then, here in the heretics' halls. His report will recount the House Haillenarte spy's deeds, but the Holy See has cause to seek aught else that a prolonged inspection of Snowcloak yields — perhaps, by the time the Temple Knights arrive to retrieve the magitek crates, they will find the tale obscured.

Zephirin foresees another summons, a second journey beyond Ishgard's gates. ]
valhourdin: (05)

[personal profile] valhourdin 2019-12-19 04:07 am (UTC)(link)
[ Traditionally, year after year, the Vault observes Saint Reymanaud's feast day with a service held at dawn, a procession from the Hoplon to the cathedral named for its patron — traditionally, the celebrations do not culminate in a banquet at which Ishgard's lords and ladies break bread with the clergy in hallowed halls. His Eminence the Archbishop himself is in attendance, seated upon a dais at the grand room's far end. A brief address opens the event, commemorating the distant past alongside Ishgard's future reshaped, thanking the nation's defenders sent to the front and those stationed at home. United, Ishgard weathers the brewing storm.

Served beside the finest refreshments prepared in the Vault's kitchens are strategic reminders and distractions. His Eminence knows well that Ishgard herself is become as a crate of ceruleum, and each spark of dissatisfaction left to burn risks setting aflame the volatile ambitions simmering in too many hearts. Talk of heretic plots and imperial agents spread swiftly through the city's streets, in the days following the raid on Snowcloak. Once more, not few called into question the sense in peace offered dragons, in splintering Ishgard's forces.

Tonight, however, the banquet-goers applaud the archbishop's speech, accept toasts proposed. They mingle and dance.

Ser Adelphel, in his element, makes his rounds, passing from partner to partner, all charming smiles and effortless conversation. Zephirin is quieter, mapping the outskirts of the festivities. As he takes up his wine glass, sifting through the chatter around him beneath the musicians' playing, his gaze pauses on one golden-haired guest's profile — no longer dressed in his adventurer's disguise, House Haillenarte's resourceful spy fits the surrounding scene seamlessly, a polished young lord.

Zephirin thinks of his mission's end, of the missing magitek crate.

Slowly, as if by chance, he draws closer. Nothing of his own attire identifies him as the archimandrite of the Heavens' Ward, but ere long, they might confirm each other's names, if nothing else.

He waits some paces away — one of the priests has recognized the lordling, it seems, approaching to greet him. ]
valhourdin: (04)

[personal profile] valhourdin 2020-01-04 04:33 am (UTC)(link)
[ The youngest son of House Haillenarte — a surprising revelation, at first. Lord Francel, untested and no knight, took on his post in central Coerthas following Ser Chlodebaimt de Haillenarte's death, and his surviving siblings attend to duties and ventures far from the front lines. Count Baurendouin himself is best known as a repeated tourney victor, not a valorous leader who fought beside his men.

Yet the gentle and supposedly unremarkable lordling appointed commander of Skyfire Locks stands apart. Aught but gentle and unremarkable when last he and Zephirin met, he was clever and fearless, a master in all things spycraft who held his own throughout and completed his investigation alone.

And he is perfectly positioned to oversee the Thorns' work. He has every reason to guard House Haillenarte's interests closely.

Listening in the hope of hearing more, if not of Father Arvagnion, Zephirin lifts his glass to his lips as though taking cover from ill-timed glances and greetings. He keeps his back half-turned to the nearby pair, priest and young lord.

Once Father Archombadin moves on, Lord Francel might seek to occupy himself elsewhere. ]